Chapter 1018: The price of victory (I)

Ezequiel's fists and Tormentras' ax had clashed hundreds of times, and their power rose with every attack. The physical might they were able to unleash was something that pulverized Laws and Concepts in their paths.

The notion that a life form could use physical strength to crush something so ethereal like a Concept, which was basically an idea, was laughable, yet it happened right here.

For the duo, physical strength was all they needed to destroy universes, shattering the fabric of reality in the process. For the Emptiness Thearch and Bringer of Extinction, domain over external forces was only a path to enhance their bodies. Even their Eternal Flames only aimed to improve the brute power their bodies could unleash.

During every clash, the cracks on the armor that protected Tormentras' body grew larger and thicker. Although part of the reason for it was Ezequiel's strikes, most of the damage was self-inflicted.

Every time Tormentras increased the strength of his strikes, his muscles would bulge even more, increasing the cracks in the armor. Finally, after the three hundred and seventy-nine collision with Ezequiel, the black armor that covered every inch of the Knight's body collapsed.

"CRACK!"

A smile appeared on Ezequiel's face as he saw the armor finally breaking apart. He had connected many blows during the fight but did not detect any damage and expected to see wounds all over Tormentras' body.

However, once the armor was gone, there was no excitement in the Emptiness Thearch's face anymore, only shock and awe.

Tormentras' appearance beneath that massive armor was that of a humanoid being with a skull head and a body full of bloody crimson muscle without any skin.

"Ahhhh!"

Not only was it a gory scene, but it was clear that the armor helped Tormetras stabilize his condition since he immediately unleashed a scream of unbearable pain once it was gone.

The enemy's agony was not a problem for the Emptiness Thearch, but along with that scream of pain, what emerged from Tormentras was a shock wave of kinetic force that sent Ezequiel flying away!

"¡AHHHHHHHHH!"

Tormentras' scream of pain only grew louder as his bloody crimson muscle bulged, along with his skeleton, but there was no symmetry on them. Bone spikes emerged from the Knight's arms, legs, and shoulder, giving him a genuinely demonic appearance.

Ezequiel had already regained control over his body, but he could not get closer to Tormentras since the shock waves that emerged from this one's body did not stop.

A solemn light appeared in the Emptiness Thearch's eyes as he felt the strength of Bringer of Extinction rising higher and higher.

Venganza's eyes also grew sharp as he felt the strength of the Knight.

"Hahaha, you fools broke Tormentras' armor. I did not know you were so keen on suicide."

Venganza heard Ravakir's words and turned toward the Echo of Doom, ready to unleash his final onslaught.

Ravakir felt the killing intent in the Revenge' Thearch's eyes, but he kept control over his emotions, not allowing any sign of fear or anxiety to appear.

"Unlike Nihilak and me, who chose to bond our existence to the One Above All after recognizing its might, Tormentras is an artificial life form.

Master created it using hundreds of powerful life forms with bodies capable of incredible might. He was supposed to be an amalgamation of all their physical power, but something went wrong.

The strength his body could unleash was too high for his soul to bear, so Master had to trap Tormentras' flesh and blood inside the One Thousand Seal Armor, and you just broke it.

Now, the only thing that awaits you is your extinction."

Ravakir took advantage of Venganza's interest to stop the battle, at least for a few seconds, so he could find a way to stabilize his condition.

The Revenge Thearch was not so fooled as not to realize Ravakir's plan, but he would take any information about Tormentras he could get right now since the aura of Knight kept rising.

Venganza turned toward Ezequiel, making sure this one heard Ravakir's words. A solemn light appeared in the eyes of both Thearchs as they nodded.

Not wasting a single more second, the Revenge Thearch flashed toward the Echo of Doom, burning with killing intent. Victory was no longer enough. He needed to kill Ravakir as fast as possible so he could help Ezequiel handle that bloody crimson monster.

Ezequiel could not overcome the shock waves that emerged from Tormentras as the body of this one kept growing larger and more monstrous.

However, while there was an exponential increase in Tormentras' strength and life force, his soul force began to erode. His mind and spirit could not handle the pressure of such an immensely powerful body.

Without the armor, Tormentras' soul force would keep burning itself, trying to maintain control over that monstrous body. It would just be a matter of time before nothing was left of it, and this one perished.

The question was whether Ezequiel would manage to endure that long.

Tormentras' screams finally ceased. There was a light full of chaotic wildness in his eyes as he focused on Ezequiel. His body had grown nearly twice its original size, and large bone spikes were emerging from his arms and legs.

The Emptiness Thearch had prepared, raising his defenses as much as he could while focusing on every move of the Bringer of Extinction. Yet, even then, he was not able to react fast enough to avoid it.

A large stream of blood spread everywhere as Tormentras' ax cut Ezequiel's chest.

The Knight had become so fast and strong that the Emptiness Thearch could barely move in time to save his head from being cut in half.

As a Lord of Emptiness, Ezequiel had an immortal body capable of instant regeneration as long as no toxic energy hindered that power.

Luckily for the Emptiness Thearch, Tormentras' attack carried pure physical power, nothing else, so the wound on his chest closed in less than a nanosecond.

Unfortunately, that wound had barely healed when another large cut appeared on the Emptiness Thearch's body.

Ezequiel was doing all he could, but Tormentras was simply too fast and strong. His flesh and armor were like butter in front of the Knight's ax, and he could only try to mitigate the damage.

Venganza noticed the state of the Emptiness Thearch, but he could do nothing about it until he got rid of Ravakir. If he allowed the Echo of Doom to move freely, this one could attack him and Ezequiel on the back, or worse, go after the samsara lotus.

Venganza burned his life force without hesitation to kill the Echo of Doom. The Eternal Flame of Revenge and Annihilation Truth burst with power, rising to the highest level.

The sooner he killed Ravakir, the sooner he could help Ezequiel face that bloody crimson monster.

Tormentras seemed to have lost the ability to think, acting purely by instincts and attacking with a suicidal ferocity, ignoring any form of defense. There were dozens of openings, but Ezequiel couldn't take advantage of them without losing his head.

Ezequiel was doing all in his power to hold on, but in just ten seconds, Tormentras had destroyed ten percent of his body. At this rate, he would not last another two minutes before dying.

"ZNNNNN!"

Tormentras' onslaught finally managed to cut Ezequiel's body in half!

The eyes of the Emptiness Thearch glowed with silver light as he pushed his willpower to the limit, making his body explode into hundreds of streams of golden light that reforged away from Tormentras.

Ezequiel was having a hard time adjusting his breathing. He had nearly perished back then. Even if he had an immortal body, it would only take a second for Tormentras to destroy every one of his cells if he lost consciousness.

Tormentras' eyes burned with rage as he realized his prey had escaped and flashed toward Ezequiel with all his power.

The Emptiness Thearch saw the wild Tormentras marching toward him, and he glanced to the side to see the state of the battle between Venganza and Ravakir.

Although the Revenge Thearch's attacks overwhelmed the Echo of Doom, it would still be a while before he could kill the Knight, and that was time Ezequiel did not have.

Determination appeared in the Emptiness Thearch's eyes as he buried his right hand into his chest, reaching his Bloodline Heart. Without hesitation, he grabbed the heart and made it explode.

"BOOOOOMMMMM!"

A burst of energy emerged from Ezequiel, one so intense that it even sent the wild Tormentras flying back.

For an instant, all the battlefields from the Daybreak-Beyonder War froze as they felt a change in the Emptiness.

The wild ocean of chaos in which all universes were born was always in complete havoc and disarray, but a pillar of order seemed to have emerged in the center of the Daybreak-Beyonder War's battlefields.

Venganza, Ravakir, and Tormentras focused on that pillar of order and saw how he now had a crown with sixteen Suns of Origin!