"What!"
"Stop it!"
Vigorous words were heard from the surrounding as they felt the changes and tried to move rapidly, not wanting to let this Infernal Aberration slip out of their fingers like this. They were dismayed as none of their attacks would be fast enough to disrupt the essence of a being that was making a breakthrough.
This breakthrough would be finished in less than a millisecond, and the moment it did this Infernal would begin the process of ascension and escape from its certain guaranteed death!
Even Athena looked forth in anger as her wings and essence vibrated rapidly, but even she knew she wouldn't be fast enough to land an attack that would disrupt a breakthrough of a being such as this.
It was at this moment though, with everyone feeling cheated as the Infernal Aberration was right about to slip from their grasp, a multicolored aurora of light that was even faster than the speed of light pierced the chest of the Infernal and directly disrupted the path of essence that was needed for its breakthrough!
[Sever.]
A barely inaudible whisper just happened to reach the ears of those listening really closely at this moment.
…!
Immense shock and pain entered the mind of the Infernal as it felt the energies of its body suddenly run amok as they exploded in disorder, its eyes, along with the eyes of Athena and all the Void Rank beings in the surroundings turning towards the direction where the multicolored aurora of light came from.
Many wore shocked expressions, with a particular Elder Spacewarp wearing an ecstatic expression as a wild laughter erupted from him.
"Haha! Genius! Genius! You were no wastrel at all!"
The powerful beings quickly processed their shock as they moved to take this opportunity to land attacks on the Infernal that was about to escape but failed, its breakthrough stopped midway as one of the very few things that could stop a being's breakthrough to the next rank actually struck it!
To bring to a stop someone's breakthrough, they either had to be hit with an extremely powerful attack that took their attention and disrupted the order of the breakthrough, or the even rare case where the energies of the one performing the breakthrough were brought to a complete disorder through the use of a special attack.
The reason for their shock was that this exact special attack had been the one that brought the essence of the Infernal into disorder, and because they knew the identity of that multicolored aurora of light that pierced through the skies faster than the speed of light to land on the body of the Infernal.
It was power that stemmed from an extremely elusive element that very few would have the genius or capability of tapping into, the extremely mysterious element of Aether!
Ranked among the highest sources of energies in the Universe, attacks created from this element were extremely fast and deadly, most of them exceeding the speed of light. Another factor that made the Aether element so deadly was the fact that it brought with it destructive energies that would immediately cause a disorder of essence dwelling within the bodies of its targets.
In the most opportune time, the attack exceeding the speed of light had erupted from a disciple that was closely watching the battle from the sidelines- it was none other than Crixus!
This was the reason for the shocked looks from the Void Rank beings all around, even the jaw of the Vampyre Prince dropping to the ground as they looked towards Noah as if looking at some sort of incredible genius.
But this was the only way that beings who were able to tap into the power of Aether were known as- monstrous geniuses with such amazing comprehension that would only allow them to grow into powerful figures in the future.
This was why Elder Spacewarp had been ecstatic while he landed even more attacks on the disordered Infernal. It was because his sect now had a monstrous genius that was rarely found across the Prime Worlds!
The body of 'Crixus' looked dilapidated of energy as he seemed to be breathing heavily, indicating that the single second where he released that aurora of multicolored Aether had taken all of his mana.
The brilliantly glowing Athena had her eyes shine with a mysterious light as she looked at the struggling infernal still hanging on while deadly attacks rained down from all around. She wanted to finally put a stop to it before it regained order of its essence and tried breaking through again. The Infernal Aberration was heavily injured enough that her last attack would be able to completely seal its fate and end this whole ordeal.
"Scatter."
She sent a command to the surrounding Void Rank beings as instantly, the fiery red skies of the First Realm of Hell gained a brilliantly glowing golden hue.
The Leader and Elders of powerful organizations quickly pulled back from the vicinity of the Infernal as they felt a tremendous amount of power coagulating in the area!
[Judgement]
OONG
A simple word escaped Athena's armored lips as the golden hue that had spread all around quickly materialized into the sharpest rods of spears. A deadly gleam escaped her eyes as she waved her hand down, the numerous spears circling the Infernal raining down and piercing it from every single possible direction.
THUCK! THUCK! THUCK!....
Numerous horrendous sounds continued to resound in the region as for the next few seconds, countless spears skewered the body of the Infernal Aberration until one could not even distinguish one of its body parts from another.
Multiple spears pierced it thoroughly as it was nailed to the ground, with the scene clearing to show a mass of flesh still clinging to life, but this life would soon be wiped away as Athena clenched her fist tightly, causing the numerous spears piercing the body of the Infernal Aberration to shine dangerously as the attack that came from a simple skill called [Judgment] was fully carried out.
BOOM!
A field of golden energies ruptured out with the struggling mass of flesh of the Infernal at the center, blinding people's eyes as they spread out their senses to see a scene of shattered void that was rapidly reforming.
The Infernal Aberration that had power exceeding the Void Realm, a being that held the qualifications to possibly become a future Infernal Lord, had faced his death in the hands of multiple Void Realm beings, as well as the timely help of a Saint Realm disciple that made the last attacks possible. But, even more of the attention was taken in by the most brilliant fighter in the battle today, the powerful Athena!
The eyes of many of the Void Realm beings turned towards the War Princes as gulps could be heard from a few of them, this witness of powerful attacks shaking them to their core. First was a disciple from the Profound Astral Sect showing his genius as he stopped the escape of the Infernal, then it was this Athena that continued to shock all of them with her immensely powerful attacks that they did not want to be at the ends of. A few words erupted in their minds as they looked at the region where the attack had landed, a region of space itself had shattered and was only now reforming.
Valiant!
Powerful!
Terrifying!
Those were the only words to describe what they were seeing, but their attention was quickly pulled away by a raucous Elder Spacewarp who went towards Crixus with a wide smile on his face.
"Boy, you should have exposed your genius sooner. You're going to make your father the biggest braggart once he learns of you comprehending the element of Aether."
The face of Crixus looked tired and proud as he looked at the Elder of his sect with a weakened smile, the eyes of Athena and the remaining beings all turning to look at him as well.
Chapter 280 - Averted Fate
Noah's face was that of smiles and enthusiasm as he accepted the gazes of the powerful Void Rank beings, but his heart was cold as a variety of thoughts continued to rise and fall. If he couldn't achieve his objective of taking down this crazy powerful Athena currently, he would go the other path and start scheming!
She was extremely powerful right now that even with the insane abilities of the [Lesser Ct
hulhu], he wasn't too confident in being able to kill her quickly and without leaving a trace for an uber powerful Celestial to come looking for him.
He needed to first get his hands on the Absolute Skill that would allow him to look past the shackles of a Spatial Lock if his enemies were ever to lay one on him, as well as even more skills similar to what the Vampyre Prince held that allowed for him to escape the detection of the Celestials!
So if he could not make any grand moves at this moment in time, he would scheme for now, and even get on their good side as he awaited for an opportunity to arise.
...
Unbeknownst to Noah, an opportunity outside of his wildest dreams would arrive soon enough.
---
Outside of the First Realm of Hell, the Celestial Grandmaster replayed the scenes of the battle that led to the ultimate death of the Aberration as mysterious golden lights coursed through his eyes.
His expectations for Athena were exceeded once again as she showed tremendous control and battle power over all the aspects of the fight. This was truly the lead disciple over the past few years, with very few holding a candle to her brilliance in the various Celestial Stars where they trained new disciples.
When his thoughts arrived at disciples, he briefly recalled his own disciple, Drax, that had fallen under the hands of the dead Infernal Aberration, as well as the other three disciples that died even earlier than him.
He only felt that it was a slight loss, but looking at the grander scheme of things, the disciples' deaths were put to good use in this ordeal. Because of their sacrifices, they had successfully been able to stop the future advancement of an Infernal Aberration that held the qualifications to become an Infernal Lord in the future. This was a high achievement that would go on to prevent countless deaths and disorder that another rising Infernal Lord could have caused.
A few lives lost for the maintenance of order and livelihood of countless worlds was worth it in the Celestials' eyes.
The Grandmaster still couldn't solve the mystery as to why the first three deaths did not show him the Infernal, but he put this aside for now as he focused on the singular issue that the Celestial Star he was on had lost a significant number of disciples in this one mission, and it would not hurt to bring in suitable candidates to quickly fill up the gaps.
His peering gaze went back to the image of the courageous Saint Realm disciple that had stood in the dangerous battlefield where attacks at the peak of Void Realm were being thrown around. In this dangerous battlefield, this disciple had played a crucial role in the death of the Infernal Aberration as he displayed a genius sense of timing and showed the even more monstrous ability of being able to tap into the power of Aether.
At Saint Realm, he was able to release an attack that injured and threw the essence of a being that was breaking the shackles of the Void Realm, a rank above his, into disarray successfully. These were the types of talents that the Celestials favored, these were the beings they would put their resources into training as they watched the working of fate to see if they would have a grand path laid out for them in the future.
The Celestial Grandmaster also observed the Vampyre Prince at the Void Realm that let out powerful attacks that could injure the Infernal Aberration, but this Vampyre Prince seemed subpar!
The Celestials looked for the talents that could skip levels and be able to stand toe to toe with those more powerful than them, a being that was simply outstanding in the same realm like this Vampyre Prince was not worthy of raising in the Celestial Grandmaster's eyes!
So he continued to look at the disciple under the name of Crixus. A genius disciple that had comprehended the rare element of Aether and possessed astute battle sense. Who knew what levels of comprehension he would be able to achieve under the guidance of Celestials?
The Grandmaster made up his mind as he sent a message to the Incarnations he had sent in the First Hell, as well as the leaders of the powers still waiting outside the doorway in their Interstellar Sh.i.p.s. The message was one confirming the end of the Infernal Hunt as a major threat had been taken down in the First Realm of Hell!
His thoughts went in another direction after he sent this message as he moved his fingers in the air and watched the appearance of multiple strings of fate. These strings were something only he could observe and understand as he calculated what the events that transpired today brought to the overall order and balance of the surrounding lands.
His expression rapidly changed as he observed the probable chaos to have increased even more!
Various thoughts passed through his mind as his expression became clouded, not understanding why the defeat of an Aberration that would have brought untold chaos did not actually reduce the unraveling of fate that had been initiated by an unknown being some time ago, and it had even further enhanced it.
'Was my appearance here the cause?'
The Grandmaster pondered the consequences of his own hand that he played as he could not find an answer at the current time, and he actually found himself back to a place even further than square one as the unraveling of fate had now worsened even more, still portraying a future where chaos would increase.
His gaze became somber as he observed the gradual return of the beings he had added his power to go aid Athena, watching as the impromptu Infernal Hunt came to a close with the death of a powerful Infernal Aberration.
They were returning as conquerors that had vanquished a terrible evil that would have caused countless chaos in the future, but the Celestial Grandmaster had different thoughts coursing through his mind.
Had they truly averted that fate?
Chapter 281 - A New Genius
In the fiery skies of the First Hell, Noah was among the last few leaving as he exchanged some words with the Vampyre Prince while Elder Spacewarp floated in the air with an expression that told him to hurry. The Elder was too excited to return to the ship and celebrate the newfound genius of the disciple of their sect.
The moment they had witnessed the power of Athena and the defeat of the Infernal Aberration, the Elders and Leaders of various powers gave their acknowledgement as they began to leave, making the last few remaining beings in the First Hell to be Noah, the Vampyre Prince, Athena, and Elder Spacewarp.
The resplendent armor on Athena's body faded away in particles of light as her gaze landed on Noah, who stopped talking to Prince Cassius briefly as he returned a gaze of his own that only contained acknowledgement. Athena looked deeply at Noah before she gave a simple head nod, and then disappeared into particles of light herself as she returned to the Interstellar Ship they arrived in.
Noah and Prince Cassius exchanged another glance at this as the Vampyre Prince waved his hand and pulled out a blood red crystal.
"This Void Crystal has the directions and location to the region under the control of Pureblood Vampyres in the Underworld. You should come by whenever the commotions die down so we can swap pointers once again."
An agreeable gaze appeared on Noah's face as he replied back with a mysterious smile.
"You might see me there sooner than you expect."
"Good!"
Prince Cassius gave a devilishly dazzling smile as he nodded to the elder and disappeared in blink as well, teleporting to his own ship.
Elder Spacewarp placed his hands on Noah who was still wearing the figure of Crixus as he couldn't wait any longer to return to their own ship, their figures also disappearing from the fiery skies of the First Realm of Hell as weak Infernals that had been pushed back by the fearful auras began to propagate the areas once more.
---
The commotion around the wide array of Interstellar sh.i.p.s cl.u.s.tered around the doorway leading to the first hell began to increase as the event drew to a close, the many forces paying attention to the rankings projected clearly in front of them as some cheered, while others looked on with frustration as the colossal losses of disciples without gaining anything.
The Infernal Hunt was a tradition start
ed by the Celestials, with the incentive to surrounding powers being treasures and the backing of this powerful organization for the ones that performed exceedingly well.
The rewards this time seemed to be getting hogged by one particular force as two of their disciples finished in the top 10.
One name was already in these top rankings very early on, taking the second spot, but this name quickly shot to become number one and even gained a large amount of points all once in the last few minutes.
This was a name that shone with brilliance, from the Profound Astral Sect, it was Athena!
The other name was a disciple also from this same sect, who had appeared in the top rankings briefly before he settled in the top 50s over the last few hours. But this disciple, Crixus, had gradually stacked up points as the time passed and stably took the position among the top 10, being ranked number 9!
Every other name around him were famously known disciples and trainees that were in the Void Realm, and many of the powers had to ask around until they found the information that this Crixus was actually a disciple that was called a Wastrel from the Profound Astral Sect.
A Wastrel!
"Hah, if this is a wastrel, that every single disciple here doesn't deserve to raise their heads anymore."
"This is a dragon among men! Lying hidden to only show his power when it is required!"
"A Genius!"
...
Many forces had their own worries and opinions as they continued to observe the rankings and what rewards they should be expecting to be given to their forces after this, with a particular being smiling coldly in an Interstellar Ship that had a red exterior and shone with strength among the many sh.i.p.s present near the door to the First Hell.
Dazzling silver hair fell below the being's shoulders as his eyes glowed with the color of blood, the large canines in his mouth barely being hidden as he turned his face to the side of the ship and watched a teleportation occur.
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