Chapter 245 - Darkness Incarnate (3)

Even if he was able to buy time, it would be their victory. If they were able to hold out for a certain amount of time, they would be able to use an ace up their sleeve. It would guarantee their victory.

However, Chanes wanted to end the fight with Reygus before that happened. He wanted to end Reygus with his own hands.

"Ah."

Soon, Chanes realized that there was a fatal flaw to his plan.

His assessment of the situation was correct. He gave the best possible orders he could give.

However, his soldiers couldn't properly carry out his orders.

They were elite troops, but only a few of them had experienced the Dragon Demon war. Most of them didn't have experience in fighting extremely strong foes. Moreover, Reygus was a legend in their eyes.

When faced with these two realities, the shock and confusion felt by his troops was taking too large a toll. The swiftness and the precision needed to carry out the plan suffered as a result.

Moreover, they weren't facing easy opponents that would let such an opportunity pass them by.

Before the troops around him could increase the intensity of their attack, Reygus started to rush forward within the cloud of dust. He minimized the magical energy allocated for his defense, and he tried to dodge as many attacks being rained down upon him. He compressed his power, and he brought down his hammer using all his strength.

He wasn't attacking in order to affect the entire region. The seismic wave spread in a conical shape.

"Sir Reygus! Go!"

Saibein started a fierce attack against the confused enemies. Corrupted Beings and vindictive spirits wielded their cursed power against the Dragon Demon King worshippers. The horrible screams of the Dragon Demon King worshippers rang out.

It really looked like hell had manifested in this world.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Black magic was known to violate death. It infringed upon what was called the final rest of living beings. There was someone laughing like a mad man as this dark power defiled the battlefield.

It was Chanes.

Reygus was coming for him.

Reygus was destroying all the traps prepared for him. He was pushing through the troops under Chanes' command.

This truth made his heart race in a crazy manner. How long had it been since he'd experienced such excitement?

"…ha! It feels amazing, yet I'm having a hard time breathing. This is why it sucks to have an old body. However, it is better than becoming a shriveled up Undead!"

"If you think that was an insult, I'm fine with that!"

Chanes pointed his sword towards Reygus, who was closing the distance at high speeds. The troops, who were tasked his guarding Chanes, rushed forward to greet Reygus.

Kwahng!

Reygus sent the lead warrior flying. It was as if he swatting away a fly. However, these were elite troops. In an instant, they focused on their movement. They split off in both directions as they tried to attack from both sides.

Reygus used one of his shoulders to receive an attack. The attack glanced off his shoulder, and he used that same shoulder to blow away the head of an attacker. He let the other side of his body take on another attack. The powerful sword strike left a deep mark, but it couldn't penetrate the armor. The warrior was surprised by Reygus' preternatural sturdiness. He tried to back out, but it was too late.

Puh-uhk!

Reygus brought up his knee, and the warrior's body was pulverized. The magicians continued to let out beams of light as they tried to gain distance from Reygus. He brought down his foot, and an explosion erupted underneath the magicians. Earth and rocks assaulted them.

"As expected!"

Chanes laughed as he watched his underlings lose against Reygus.

There had been 12 troops guarding him. It took Reygus less than 10 seconds to break through them. Reygus didn't even change direction as he fought them. The only thing that changed was the fact that his speed had decreased a little bit. Reygus continued to charge in a straight line as he slaughtered everyone in his path. He approached Chanes.

Reygus was clearly weakened. His armor was in tatters, and his magical energy was noticeably lower. Still, he was on a different level.

He was all brute force. He was like a walking fortress, yet he was surprisingly fast. There was precision to his movements. He had cultivated his techniques until it could be called a work of art.

Chanes had raised his sword against such a being. He used his Dragon Arts to shoot out continuous beams of light. It was as if a dozen archers was shooting at Reygus. It was a continuous stream of attack.

Reygus didn't stop

<Let's go! Chanes!>

Reygus didn't care if the beams of light hit him or not. He didn't slow down at all as he arrived in front of Chanes.

Chanes had stopped giving a fuck at that moment. He knew it would be useless, yet he attacked Reygus when he came in range. He charged forward as he let out a sword strike containing all the power within his body. He greeted Reygus, who was taking big strides towards him.

Kwahng!

An explosion rang out.

In a flash, Chanes' vision was dyed with darkness. He didn't feel any pain. He lost his five senses. He lost his sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

When he regained them, his senses were so faint that he could no longer get a grip on reality.

"Ha ha ha……."

Chanes laughed.

He could see the sky. His messed up senses was starting to deliver their bleak information.

His body had been sent flying.

The battle was decided with a single strike. He thought about his past self as he put every ounce of his power into the attack. Reygus answered him with a heroic counterattack. The attack ruthlessly broke his body, and he was sent flying for several dozen meters.

It was a wonder that he hadn't died on impact.

However, it wasn't a miracle. Chanes knew this would happen from the start. He had made preparations, so he would be able to have a final conversation with Reygus.

A large shadow appeared above the dying Chanes. Chanes saw two burning red orbs within this dark silhouette. When he saw this, he knew it was Reygus.

<Hmm. What the hell? Your body is old and withered, but your spirit remains strong.>

"…haha. Koo-luhk!"

Chanes was laughing, but he suddenly vomited blood. He was dying, but he fought to stay conscious. He used his Dragon Arts, so his words were clear.

"Thank you for the compliment. It is shameful, but my spirit isn't strong. I'm a coward."

<Yes, your actions up until now was cowardly.>

"You are still quite ruthless."

<Still, you fought like a man right now. You are going to the other side before me. Find a place for us, and wait for me. The day of our reunion won't be far off.>

Chanes saw an illusion through his blurred vision. He didn't see the Undead skeleton of Reygus. It was a vision of Reygus when he was alive. He saw Reygus grinning towards him.

In the past 220 years, he had gotten old, and he had lost his honor. He had fallen.

He told himself that he had no choice, but he knew it was a poor excuse. If he had a firm resolve, he would have been able to choose a different path for himself.

He used his injuries as an excuse. He told himself that he had to get along with the others. He used it as an excuse to not change the flow of events. He let himself be dragged along.

This was why he was happy right now. Reygus hadn't changed.

Reygus had died. He jumped 220 years to appear in this era as an Undead, yet he remained the same….

Reygus was still his hero.

"…I was afraid of standing by your side."

Chanes' vision became blurry as he confessed his true feelings.

"If I chose that path, I would have merely been an old man that had nothing. I would have become a burden that would be of no help to you."

This was why he chose to go against Reygus. In his ugly descent into corruption, he had built up a lot of things. He was able to become a powerful foe that could become a threat to Reygus. Instead of dying as a useless burden, he decided to put everything he had on the line. He wanted to become a threat to Reygus.

He knew it was a cowardly choice. He knew this to be true, but he was already walking down that path before he knew it.

Reygus was baffled so he laughed. Then he spoke.

<Anyways, I had fun. What about you?>

"I……."

Chanes' voice faded away as he spoke. He smiled.

"…it was fun. It really has been so long."

These were his last words.

A darkness erupted beyond the corpse of Chanes, and it started to surge forth in front of Reygus.

Reshoo returned to the Plain of Darkness when he received Atein's summon.

He should be protecting seal of the god of Rest, but there were two reasons why he had left the job to Chanes.

First, Chanes had prepared a trap for Reygus if he decided to come that way. The other reason….

<Atein!>

Reygus looked at the Dragon Demon that appeared from within the surging darkness.

Atein floated in the air as his black hair whipped around him. He looked down at Reygus. The surging darkness looked as if it would disperse into the surrounding, but it suddenly changed direction. The darkness gathered around Atein.

No, it wasn't gathering only around Atein. A portion of the darkness was being sucked into Reygus, and it helped in his recovery. As his magical energy was replenished, even his destroyed armor was restored.

This darkness was part of the Great Darkness. Reygus was part of the Great Darkness, so he was able to receive benefits from it.

Atein's Dragon Demon weapon had appeared in front of Reygus. The Darkness Incarnate resolved itself into a clone.

However, the clone was different from the one that had appeared when Almarick had died at the hands of Azell. Kayalia had interfered, so Atein couldn't manifest the clone fully. Atein was able to manifest a perfect clone here. Chanes had bought enough time in his fight against Reygus.

A silence descended upon the battlefield.

Saibein stopped breathing for a moment.

"Father……!"

Atein was his father. He was his teacher in magic. Furthermore, he was like a god-like figure in his eyes.

It had been 220 years since he saw Atein last. He thought time had eroded his feelings, but he felt long lost emotions come alive within his heart. Confusion and fear spread like a wildfire within his soul.

Suddenly, Saibein flinched.

He looked to his side, and he could see Niberis holding his hand. She was looking at Atein, but he could feel her hand shaking.

When he saw this, he amazingly felt himself calm down. In place of fear and confusion, the new resolve he made when exiting the Albatan forest returned to his heart.

"Hmmm……."

Atein had been looking at the empty air before he spoke. To be precise, his clone, which had manifested through the Darkness Incarnate, spoke.

"I never expected this."

He never expected the process of manifesting the Darkness Incarnate to heal Reygus. Atein's consciousness had been sent to this place, and the first thing to catch his interest was this phenomena.

"If it is a fight against you, I might do something unreasonable like healing you. There are times when I do treasure my feelings over logic."

"Has it been 270 years since we've last met each other as enemies?"

At times, Atein and Reygus had been allies. However, there were numerous instances where they had fought each other as foes.

These two beings lived for a long time. The lifespan of a human wasn't comparable. Their stances and circumstances changed over time. Above all else, Reygus wanted to fight powerful foes. He would make up excuses to fight powerful foes. This was why he had challenged Atein numerous times.

Atein spoke.

"I have 7 wins, 2 losses and one tie against you. We will renew our fight, but it will also be our last fight."

<Don't give me that bullshit. Who said I won two times? I lost all 10 times.>

Reygus refuted Atein's words.

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