Fwoooooosh!
A fiercer blaze erupted from the rings of light encircling Raguel's arms.
It was Raguel unleashing his fury at Zeke's declaration of intent to slay a god.
Staring daggers at Zeke, Raguel uttered words in the divine tongue.
"I will make you disappear without leaving even a single soul behind."
Rumble rumble rumble!
Even the mere power of the words Raguel spoke warped the space around them, causing Zeke's unique domain to flicker as if on the verge of tearing apart.
Zeke's eyes gradually turned crimson as he gazed at Raguel.
At the same time, something rose behind his back.
Ssssss—
A massive red eye floated in the air, and crimson lightning surged outward in all directions.
Crackle crackle crackle!
The Eye of the God of Destruction, crafted into an artifact by The Arrogant Savior himself, spewed crimson thunder that pushed back Raguel's flames.
Seeing this, Raguel grew even more enraged and shouted.
"Power from the fallen ones! It's too vile to tolerate!"
With that, Raguel extended both arms, and a massive vortex of flames erupted from his bracelets, hurtling toward Zeke.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The true Flame of Execution, capable of incinerating all, sought to engulf Zeke.
Zeke raised his crimson flame sword.
In response, the red lightning surging from the Eye of the God of Destruction coiled around the crimson flame sword.
Crackle crackle crackle!
As crimson flame and crimson thunder merged, they formed the shape of a colossal blade and clashed with the Flame of Execution Raguel had unleashed.
Boom boom boom!
The crimson flame, sharing the same nature as the Flame of Execution, dyed it scarlet and forced it back.
The flames, unquenchable until the sinner was fully consumed, blazed against each other, filling the surroundings with fire.
Crackle crackle!
The crimson thunder of the God of Destruction, growing stronger with every enemy it annihilated, swelled further as it met the Flame of Execution.
Crackle crackle crackle!
The Flame of Execution and crimson thunder collided, fiercely extending in a bid for dominance.
Raguel scowled at the sight and summoned even more intense flames.
Rumble rumble rumble!
At the same time, flames burst from the massive glowing wings on his back, taking the form of spears that shot into the sky.
They then abruptly changed direction and plummeted toward Zeke.
Fwoooooosh!
This flame spear held power far greater than the one that had sought to destroy Atlas.
Zeke extended his hand toward the flame spear hurtling toward him, infused with Raguel's divinity.
Laevatein, wrapped in prismatic light, and Ascalon swiftly flew forth, colliding with the spear.
Whooooom!
The shockwave from the clash of the flame spear and the two swords spread across the entire space.
Boom boom boom!
Laevatein, cloaked in dark-soul technique, and Ascalon, cloaked in holy spirit qi, shattered Raguel's Flame of Execution.
Surprisingly, the scattered flames of execution began to be absorbed into Ascalon's blade.
Ssssss—
Moments later, Ascalon, having absorbed the unquenchable flames of the constellation, shimmered with radiant light.
At the same time, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[Ascalon, the holy sword, had absorbed the authority "Flame of Execution" of the constellation Raguel of the Scales Palace.]
[The special skill had combined with the authority of execution, awakening the power of the stars bearing the primordial light.]
[The authority unlocked.]
The special skill had evolved into an authority upon absorbing the Flame of Execution.
Whooooom!
Star-soul technique emanated from Ascalon, scattering dazzling light.
The sword itself glowed like a star shining in the night sky.
As the dark-soul technique in Laevatein and the star-soul technique in Ascalon intertwined, a cosmic spectacle unfolded.
"Gaaaaah!"
Raguel could no longer contain his rage at Zeke absorbing yet another of his authorities.
In response to his fury, the ring above his head and the rings on his arms began to resonate with one another.
Kiiiiiiing—
As the rings of light resonated, concentric circles spread out from Raguel at the center.
Raguel attempted to unfold his constellation's domain, allowing him to fully manifest his divinity.
Crackle crackle crackle!
The shockwaves from the concentric circles shook Zeke's unique domain.
Zeke could feel Raguel's unique domain gradually encroaching upon his own.
As the influence of his unique domain "Chamber of Time" waned, the halted time began to flow once more, bit by bit.
Rumble rumble rumble—
Consequently, another flame spear plunging toward Atlas slowly descended.
"If Raguel's unique domain unfolded, he would manifest his complete divinity."
Among the constellations of the Thirteen Palaces, Raguel wielded immense power. If he unleashed his full might, Zeke alone could not withstand it.
To prevent Raguel's unique domain from manifesting, Zeke retrieved something from his inventory.
It was none other than Chronosʼs Clock.
Zeke infused Chronosʼs Clock with the divinities of He Who Surpassed the Wall and Guide of Fair Suffering, then activated the authority "Re-Creation."
Whooooom!
The dormant clock reacted to Zeke's authority and began to glow.
In the past, he had needed the yeouiju and elixir to indirectly access the clock's power, but now, as a constellation himself, Zeke's power surpassed Chronos's rank, allowing him to activate it with his own strength.
Zeke linked his unique authority infinite breakthrough and the authority amplification to the awakened Chronosʼs Clock.
Whooooom!
Golden light emanated from Chronosʼs Clock, and a massive clock appeared in the air.
Click, click, click!
The hands of the golden clock floating in the air slowly moved backward.
Confirming this, Zeke used Chronos's authority "Rewind" through the activated clock.
Ssssss—
Then, something utterly unexpected to Zeke occurred.
Incredibly, Chronos's authority resonated with Zeke's unique domain "Chamber of Time."
Zeke had aimed only to halt Raguel, but the unique domain that had been on the verge of manifesting around Raguel was instead reversed and unsummoned by the clock's power.
Raguel had no choice but to panic as the unique domain he had summoned at great cost to karma was sent back.
"You wretch!"
Underestimating Zeke as a mere human had been his downfall.
Though his true form was human, the authorities Zeke wielded were comparable to those of the Thirteen Palaces' constellations.
In fact, by combining them with human strategy, they surpassed them.
Soon, the time within Zeke's unique domain, linked to the authority "Rewind," began to reverse as well.
The flame spear falling toward Atlas flew backward, distancing itself further from the city.
Witnessing Zeke not only stopping time but actually reversing it with his authority, Raguel cried out in astonishment.
"Reversing time! That's something no authority can achieve..."
Suddenly, Raguel's eyes widened as if struck by a realization, gleaming with light.
Staring at Zeke in disbelief, Raguel realized a faint possibility.
"Could a lowly creature like you possess a fragment left by the primordial light..."
Raguel abruptly swallowed his words upon mentioning the fragment left by the primordial light.
He spread his flame-formed wings and addressed Zeke.
"A lowly creature like you dares..."
Though he demeaned him as a lowly creature, Raguel could no longer view Zeke with contempt.
Raguel heightened his wariness toward Zeke, but it was too late.
Zeke had already fully assimilated Raguel's authority, the Flame of Execution, through Ascalon.
Fwoooooosh!
The crimson flame blazing scarlet from Zeke's hand fully transformed into the Flame of Execution, changing in color and form.
As he extended his hand, the Flame of Execution took the shape of a spear.
Zeke looked at Raguel and said.
"With the authority I took from you, I will slay you."
With those words, the flame spear left Zeke's hand and flew toward Raguel.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The blazing flame spear plummeted like a meteor.
In response, Raguel thrust both hands forward.
The three rings resonated, creating a massive ring of light in the air.
White flame blazed fiercely from the ring of light.
The white flame flowing from the ring writhed like a living thing and surged upward.
It then lunged toward Zeke's flame spear like hundreds of serpents, coiling around it.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The flame spear, ensnared by the white flame that clung like a whip, could advance no further and only intensified its blaze.
The heatwave from the clashing flames spread in concentric circles, distorting Zeke's unique domain.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The unique domain sustained by Chronosʼs Clock shook once more under the intense flames.
The ring of flame created by Raguel began to vibrate violently.
Whooooom!
The resonant hum extending from the massive ring shook Zeke's world within the unique domain, twisting its core.
Crack crack—
Distortions accelerated throughout the domain, and space began to tear slightly.
Soon, heatwaves from the flame collision leaked through the fissures.
Sizzle—
As the heatwave escaped the domain, time began to flow again, little by little.
Seeing this, Raguel focused more power into the massive ring once more.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The ring grew even larger, and something emerged from within it.
Growl growl growl—
Incredibly, a bizarre entity composed entirely of white flame appeared from the ring.
It had dozens of pairs of wings made of light and four faces resembling a lion and a leopard.
Zeke knew the identity of this being summoned by Raguel.
"The second beast to lead the apocalypse, Hela."
He recalled a description from the Apocrypha of a being with a similar appearance to what Raguel had summoned.
The one who commanded the beasts that appeared at the world's end was none other than Raguel.
"The Apocrypha described it as a creature commanded by demons, but in truth, it was one nurtured by a constellation."
The apocalyptic beast Hela fully emerged from the ring, writhing its four heads and roaring.
Roooooooar!
The massive beast's cry further shook Zeke's domain.
At the same time, the Chronosʼs Clock floating in the air gradually lost its light and began to fade.
Rumble rumble rumble—
As the unique domain nearly shattered, the halted time resumed flowing.
Seeing this, Raguel commanded the summoned Hela.
"O beast of the apocalypse! Tear apart that irreverent one! Cast his soul into the hottest flames! I shall personally deliver the most agonizing execution!"
Hela, receiving Raguel's command, charged toward Zeke.
Squawk!
White flame poured from Hela's mouth.
Ascalon flew forward, deploying star-soul technique to block the white flame.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Hela's white flame could not penetrate the light barrier created by star-soul technique.
Squawk!
Wings of light ignited on Hela's back, and arrows of flame surged in all directions.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
The arrows of light arced through the air toward Zeke.
This time, Laevatein unleashed dark-soul technique to block the arrows of light.
Having blocked all of Hela's attacks, Zeke shouted at Raguel.
"It's futile! Raguel, your Flame of Execution no longer affects me!"
Raguel glared at Zeke, his three rings gleaming.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Suddenly, Raguel's body began to be enveloped in light once more.
Whooooom!
The avatar body of Raguel's descent vibrated with unprecedented intensity.
The avatar body and rings of light resonated, and the waves spread outward.
Moments later, those waves finally shattered Zeke's domain.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The Chamber of Time completely collapsed, and the world where time had stopped shattered like broken glass.
Time began to flow again.