Chapter 74: Here, Gods Are Forbidden
Royal Capital of the Azure Court, Grand Duke’s Mansion.
The sky is falling, the earth is shattering.
This is not an exaggeration, but the literal truth.
Five hundred tons of TNT-equivalent detonating clay had completely blasted through the massive cavity thirty meters beneath the Grand Duke’s Mansion.
The symbol of the Brunnhildr Family, the very heart of the Azure Court Duchy, was crumbling.
First, the foundation was shaken, then the walls, the tiles, and the eaves.
They scattered and peeled away downwards.
The wind carried a heavy roar.
In mere dozens of breaths, the magnificent mansion, like the ancient Atlantean city swallowed by the sea, slowly sank into the earth.
Shaya’s figure hovered above an uncollapsed high point, silently watching the end of this grand architectural complex.
His spiritual power spread out, penetrating layers of building debris, sand, and soil.
Then, it reached directly into the deepest part of the ground.
At the lowest layer of the collapsing strata, several extremely weak life auras were rapidly fading, slowly returning to nothingness.
But, at the very moment those life auras vanished completely.
A new life aura began to sprout.
Initially, the aura was weak and distorted, as if containing components of many different life races simultaneously.
But subsequently, that originally weak aura grew robust in an instant, rapidly expanding.
It blotted out the sky.
The next moment.
BOOM—
A monstrous entity, distorted and bloody, burst through the constantly collapsing rock ruins.
And as that colossal being broke free.
An endless, gloomy golden radiance, carrying unimaginable might, seemed poised to engulf the entire world.
Twilight descended.
The night sky, once filled with the brilliance of stars, suddenly lost its light and transformed into a oppressive, stagnant gloom.
The stars vanished, leaving only a crimson full moon hanging high on the twilight curtain.
Grayish-white metal veins crawled across most of the moon’s surface, pale and blood-colored intertwined, appearing eerie and oppressive.
“I’m still alive!”
“I’m still alive!”
Norton, a bloody mess, let out a deafening roar, the solidified twilight radiance around him trembling with the sound.
No, to be precise, referring to this distorted life form as “Norton” is inaccurate.
Because the real Norton had already died.
He had died in the violent explosion of the massive underground cavity.
Even a peak Five Rings expert, only one step away from being Titled.
With his spiritual power interfered with by the Sage’s Blood, standing at the epicenter of the explosion and withstanding a blast equivalent to five hundred tons of TNT was a fool’s dream.
Even if he had miraculously survived the explosion, what awaited Norton afterward.
Would be the Holy Water of the Blazing Sun Church, instantly vaporized into steam, and the tens of meters thick, collapsing soil and rock strata.
This was the grave Shaya had meticulously designed to bury Norton.
Unless one possessed spatial abilities for instantaneous teleportation, even a Sixth Ring Titled Beast Tamer would face a near-certain death in such a catastrophic situation.
Let alone Norton, whose Path to Godhood ritual had just been interrupted and whose soul origin circuit had been damaged.
Therefore—
In the brief interval of the explosion.
Norton had given up.
He gave up on the plan he had schemed for years, and he gave up on the so-called Path to Godhood.
Norton released his long-held control and suppression over the Twilight Divine Power, choosing to actively embrace the corruption and whispers of the Ancient God.
He willingly offered his demigod body, which was already perfectly suited after being infused with Twilight Divine Power, as a vessel for the awakening ancient consciousness.
Because only in this way could Norton survive the apocalyptic disaster.
A grave meant to bury a human Beast Tamer could not bury a resurrected demigod.
Yes.
He, now.
No, perhaps referring to him as “It” is more appropriate.
He was merely an Ancient God walking the mortal world, retaining a portion of Norton’s consciousness and resurrected using Norton’s body.
…
The distorted life form, retaining Norton’s consciousness, let out a thunderous roar at the twilight-shrouded sky, causing the blood moon mixed with iron patterns to tremble.
His blurred and ferocious flesh was mixed with pitch-black shadows and the bodies of twisted beasts. White smoke now rose from his flesh, which was constantly being burned and destroyed by the radiance of the Blazing Sun, only to regenerate.
These were the traces left by the holy water vapor. The Holy Water of the Blazing Sun Church was harmless to ordinary people; it could even heal minor illnesses and invigorate the spirit.
However, when it fell upon cultists or abyssal creatures, it could inflict damage equivalent to facing the might of the Blazing Sun directly.
To ensure the survival of his newly found host during the explosion, the ancient consciousness had, through a Soul Pact, devoured all of Norton’s familiars in an instant.
Then, it merged the flesh and blood of those familiars with Norton’s body, forcibly grafting them to create this twisted life form.
Ferocious, ugly, yet immensely powerful.
“Shaya!”
“And Sylvia!”
The roar was filled with extreme fury.
At this moment, Norton’s consciousness still dominated the body. The seal set by the Legendary Expert was strong, and even the earth-shattering explosion had not completely destroyed it, merely creating a breach.
The Ancient God beneath the seal was still in the process of slowly awakening from deep sleep. This required time.
If the Twilight God were to fully awaken, Norton’s mere Five Rings consciousness would be devoured without any chance of resistance. But before that, he still had a final chance.
If he could find Sylvia, the key, before the Ancient God’s awakening was complete, he could rely on the Divinity and Authority on the key to maintain his self, and then engage in a tug-of-war with the awakening ancient consciousness. This was Norton’s last opportunity.
Moreover—
Finding Sylvia would be equivalent to finding Shaya.
For this rebellious chess piece, who had repeatedly sabotaged his plans and personally caused him to fall from grace, Norton wished nothing more than to see Shaya torn to shreds.
Norton’s blood-red eyes scanned the entire ruin.
But the next moment, Norton suddenly froze.
Because in his imagination, Shaya, who should have used his spatial abilities to quickly escape the scene after completing all this, and who might have been difficult to capture, was now standing on a raised rock not far away, looking at him with silent eyes.
“You little bastard!”
“You actually didn’t run away, and you dare to show yourself before me!”
The moment he saw Shaya’s figure, Norton could no longer contain his rage and venom.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you!”
“I’ll leave you with just a breath, and then, before your very eyes, I will bit by bit devour the flesh and blood of that little girl, Sylvia.”
“I will let you watch powerlessly as the girl you love is devoured, feeling that pain and despair gradually consume your body and soul…”
Norton’s venomous curse was cut short before he could finish.
Because the next moment, he saw Shaya’s pair of pitch-black eyes had, at some unknown time, turned into pure brilliant gold, like flowing lava.
And before Shaya, a scroll of pitch-black metal pages had appeared at some unknown time.
The scroll of metal pages suddenly unfolded in mid-air, emitting a clanking sound.
Then, on the metal pages, as if made of black iron, a line of ancient, light-golden text was written imposingly and squarely.
“Order of the King of Darkness—”
“Here, Gods Are Forbidden.”
In that instant, a light-golden domain spread out.
Myriad illusory chains appeared from the void, stretching across and tightly binding Norton’s distorted, bloody body.
These chains were all crimson gold, the manifestation of royal authority.
This was Shaya’s “Royal Domain,” working in conjunction with the “Decree of Judgment and Severance” he obtained from the Second Princess. These two entities were more compatible than Shaya had anticipated.
Perhaps it was because the divine decree forbidding gods resonated with the original guardian deity of the Freista Empire, the beast of order—the King of Darkness.
Under the empowerment of the “Decree of Judgment and Severance,” Shaya’s Royal Domain’s effects were enhanced, achieving a one-plus-one greater than two outcome.
“So that’s how it is!”
“So that’s how it is!”
Norton, pierced by the crimson-gold chains, was still roaring.
Deep within Norton’s soul, the ancient consciousness, as if sensing the presence of a familiar old foe, was agitated with rage and accelerated its awakening process.
“The legendary guardian beast of Freista, the first King of Darkness!”
“So, you were sent by the Freista Empire, by Augustine II?”
“Despite claiming to be a ‘godless nation,’ built on iron fists and order, believing that human power can surpass divine might.”
“Now, you can’t bear the loneliness any longer and are trying to covet the authority of an Ancient God!”
“I’ve told you, I’m just a hero who does things on a whim, with no background or backing.”
“I don’t know any Augustine II; they’re all old relics from history books.”
Shaya gracefully descended from beneath the stone pillar where he had previously stood, looking at Norton pierced by myriad rule chains.
“Don’t misunderstand; otherwise, you’ll needlessly provoke an enemy for the Empire, and then Isadorella will come looking for me, which would be troublesome.”
Shaya’s words were still calm: “Oh, but it doesn’t matter if you misunderstand.”
“After all, the dead cannot cause trouble.”
Facing Shaya’s direct declaration of his death sentence with mockery, Norton’s expression froze.
Then, his expression began to change rapidly.
Despair, madness, and struggle surged one after another.
A moment later, on Norton’s contorting and transforming face, his expression finally stabilized.
His wildly chaotic, twilight eyes also quieted somewhat.
“You are arrogant.”
Although his twisted flesh and blood body was still bound by crimson-gold rules, Norton’s words were no longer the irate, ineffectual rage, but carried a hint of ancient, profound calmness.
Shaya raised an eyebrow: “Twilight?”
He could feel that the ambitious schemer “Clown” soul in this monstrous grafted body had vanished.
In its place was some ancient entity that possessed all of Norton’s memories but was deeper and more unfathomable.
“I have many titles. Twilight is indeed one of the appellations mortals use for me, derived from one of the authorities I wield.”
Norton, no, the Twilight Incarnation occupying Norton’s body, spoke again.
Though it was the same voice, it was like the ringing of a bronze bell, ancient and profound.
“Speaking of which, I should thank you.”
“If you hadn’t interrupted this person’s scheme, my avatar might have truly been replaced during my slumber, becoming someone else’s stepping stone.”
“And thanks to you for bringing out that item containing the King of Darkness’s power, my slumbering consciousness was awakened earlier by sensing the presence of my old adversary.”
The Twilight Incarnation’s dark, profound gaze locked onto Shaya.
“Your abilities are impressive. Your cunning, talent, and schemes far surpass that madman named Norton.”
“For beings like us, subordinates of Five or Six Rings are not uncommon; we can create them simply by imparting enough faith.”
“But you are different.”
Though the Twilight Incarnation’s words were devoid of emotion, they did not hide its admiration for Shaya.
“The Path to Legend is forged without external aid—”
“The birth of every Legend is a unique, unreproducible miracle in this world.”
“And you have already forged your own path to Legend.”
The ancient voice, like the ringing of a bronze bell, paused slightly.
“Become my retainer.”
“I can help you reach Legendary status at the fastest speed, even touching a higher divine realm beyond that.”
“Don’t worry, for a rare seed of Legend like you, I will not resort to the crude brainwashing methods used on ordinary believers. Instead, I will allow you to retain your complete self-awareness.”
“Believe me, this will only benefit you; it’s a mutually beneficial transaction.”
Upon hearing the invitation from the Twilight Incarnation before him, Shaya shook his head: “Not interested.”
I really am a popular target, aren’t I? Any random evil god wants to recruit me as a retainer. The Lord of Ashes even wanted me to be a divine son before.
Although they say, “A man kneels only to heavens, but now is the time to prove it.”
Shaya valued himself highly. A mere second-rate evil god whose avatar could be sealed for over a decade was not enough to catch his eye.
“That’s truly a pity.”
The Twilight Incarnation shook its head slightly and did not try to persuade further.
Unlike Norton himself.
As a resurrected Ancient God, It understood very well that every being who forged their own path to Legend possessed a resolute will and would never waver once a decision was made.
Or rather, those who were indecisive and lacked firm conviction would never forge their own path to Legend.
Therefore, It did not waste any more words trying to persuade.
“You have many means, far more than I anticipated.”
“The Holy Water blessed by the Blazing Sun, high-concentration explosive materials, and even alchemical materials that interfere directly with the soul’s origin circuit, which I have never encountered despite my knowledge.”
“You even obtained the scroll that sealed the King of Darkness’s power.”
“But, all of this is actually meaningless.”
“Even the King of Darkness in person could not kill me back then, let alone a scroll carrying a mere fraction of its power!”
The gloomy radiance that permeated the sky suddenly descended.
Then, it surged into the flesh and blood body that once belonged to Norton.
The Twilight Incarnation was entwined with layer upon layer of royal authority chains, but unlike the cultists who were instantly crushed to powder by Shaya’s Royal Domain, it did not fall to its knees, but stood up under the chains.
It had made its decision. Since Shaya refused to become a retainer, it would defeat Shaya first and then forcibly convert him into one.
Although such forced conversion would undoubtedly erode Shaya’s potential for future Legendary advancement, it might not be irreparable.
And by converting Shaya, It could rely on Shaya’s guidance to find the key named Sylvia.
Then, it could fill the last trace of missing Divinity.
The Twilight Incarnation knew very well that its resurrection would inevitably attract covetous eyes. Not only the True Gods of the order side but also other evil gods would not let such ripe, defenseless prey pass them by.
Therefore, to deal with all of this, It had to restore its state to its peak before those Divine Descents occurred.
However, the vast majority of its power was still sealed. At this moment, only the body provided by Norton could freely move.
But—
It was precisely at the moment when the Twilight Incarnation poured all its remaining Divinity and Authority into this body without reservation.
It saw the light in Shaya’s golden eyes gradually ignite.
“Since you’ve poured all your remaining Divinity and Authority into this body.”
“Then, hiding them should not be so easy anymore…”
At that moment, the Twilight Incarnation understood Shaya’s gaze.
It was the look of a hunter seeing their prey take the bait.
Everything that had happened before—
From Norton’s Path to Godhood ritual being interrupted by a single bullet from the Sage’s Blood, to the explosion in the underground plaza, and Norton being forced to abandon himself in desperation to become Twilight’s vessel.
Then, the activation of the “Decree of Judgment and Severance,” Norton being suppressed by royal authority, and Twilight’s consciousness being awakened prematurely by the King of Darkness’s aura, taking over Norton’s body.
Even up to this very moment, when the Twilight Incarnation, in a bid to break free, infused all its Divinity and Authority into this avatar.
All these changes had been within Shaya’s plan.
He had deliberately arranged all of this, quietly waiting for the moment when all of Twilight’s Divinity and Authority gathered in this body, the moment the prey entered the trap.
But, how dared Shaya do this?
The Twilight Incarnation was bewildered.
After several twists and turns, It had indeed been severely weakened.
The injuries caused by the Sage’s Blood and the Holy Water of the Blazing Sun Church were still affecting this body, and the royal chains from the “King of Darkness” Decree were still restricting the Twilight Incarnation’s actions; any movement would be subject to the “Gods Are Forbidden” rule.
But after possessing this body, even without all its familiars, It was still at the Five Rings status.
And unlike Norton when he was human, this was its home turf.
As time passed, continuous streams of abyssal power would seep out from the damaged seal below, available for It to mobilize.
On its own turf, why would Shaya dare to hunt it, crossing two ranks of status?
As if seeing through the Twilight Incarnation’s thoughts, Shaya’s faint voice rang out.
“Yes.”
“This is indeed your home turf.”
Shaya’s gaze slowly turned towards the surrounding gloomy sky.
And the blood moon on the night sky, stained with iron patterns.
“Even stronger beings than your current avatar would be suppressed here.”
“Therefore, to defeat you here.”
“Then, I have no choice but to become like you—”
“No, something even more evil and closer to the Abyss than you, an Ancient God.”
In Shaya’s hand.
A bottle of silver-white potion appeared unexpectedly.
Then, the cap was opened, and Shaya tilted his head back, downing the silver-white liquid.
“High-Level Armor Potion.”
Immediately after, crimson light flickered.
Akane silently appeared beside Shaya.
Then, the little Silver Spirit, in its Star Spirit Body form, gently closed its eyes.
At this very moment, the culprit who had killed its parents and forced Akane to endure such a tragic childhood, the perpetrator calling itself “God,” stood before it.
When Shaya made the contract with it, he had promised it a chance to avenge the killer of its parents.
Akane had initially thought it was just a casual remark. Anyway, Shaya had not set a specific time, so even if it was fulfilled decades or even centuries later, it wouldn’t be considered a breach of contract.
But Akane had never expected that, in less than half a year—
This chance for revenge had actually arrived before it.
And so.
Between master and servant, the soul fluctuations achieved resonance in an instant.
One hundred percent soul compatibility.
The next moment.
“Armor Up.”
As Shaya’s calm words were spoken, a silvery-blue stream of light descended.
The little Silver Spirit’s metallic body slowly melted.
Transforming into two streams of silver-white and crimson light, they gradually constructed around Shaya’s slender figure, finally taking shape.
When the radiance dissipated, what manifested was a blood-colored full plate armor.
Every corner of the blood-colored armor had sharp curves, like demonic horns.
And from the back of the heavy armor, swords constructed from crimson metal extended, the blood-colored metal merging and spreading out, transforming into ferocious sword wings.
Directly contrary to the traditional image of angelic purity associated with the wings of angels, the two sharp metal sword wings behind Shaya would only evoke thoughts of a demon lord beneath the Abyss, a Purgatorial monarch wielding death and disaster.
On the ground, beneath the starry sky.
Shaya, fully manifested in blood-colored armor, raised his hand slightly.
The next moment.
Crimson light condensed on Shaya’s gauntlet-covered right hand.
Then, it transformed into a single-handed sword, as dark as blood, reflecting a clear gleam.
The single-handed sword reflected Shaya’s current appearance, as demonic, evil, and ferocious as the radiance of the blood moon above.
It was as if—
A sword demon under the blood moon.
Second update today, another chapter to follow.
