Gregorius swooped down from the sky like a golden comet, his entire body enveloped in divine power. This attack was no longer at the level of mortals—it was a manifestation of the wrath of the gods.
Zereth raised his sword to block, but the force that struck him was overwhelming. He was sent flying backward, crashing into the ruins of a building. His black armor cracked, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
"This isn't enough," Zereth slowly got up. "With ordinary strength, I can't defeat the avatar of a god."
Gregorius landed elegantly, his wings of light spreading wide. "SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOLY LIGHT AND LOWER DARKNESS!"
[HOLY LANCE BARRAGE]
Hundreds of spears of light appeared in the air, all aimed at Zereth. Each spear was powerful enough to pierce a mountain.
Zereth dodged with maximum speed, but several spears struck their targets. His shoulder was wounded, his thigh torn, blood flowing from numerous small wounds.
"Still not enough to kill me," Zereth spat blood, his eyes fixed on Gregorius with deep hatred.
But deep down, he knew the situation was dire. Normal strength could never overcome the blessings of the gods.
There was one way, Zereth recalled a technique strictly forbidden by all demon lords. But the price...
Gregorius advanced for the next attack, his sword gleaming with retina-searing intensity.
[JUDGMENT OF THE DIVINE]
A horizontal strike aimed to cleave Zereth in two. Its speed and power far exceeded normal physical limits.
Zereth retreated, but the attack still struck his chest. A deep cut opened, fresh blood gushing out. The pain pierced to the bone.
There was no other choice.
"Gregorius," Zereth said in a low voice, halting his attack. "Do you wish to see the true power of darkness?"
Gregorius paused, his golden eyes narrowed warily. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, DEMON?"
Zereth smiled—a smile that didn't reach his eyes, which had already turned pitch-black. "There is a technique that even Demon Lords fear to use. A technique that can make the user ten times more powerful..."
He raised his sword upward, the tip pointing to the night sky.
"But the price is my own sanity."
[ABYSSAL ASCENSION: MADNESS UNLEASHED]
Zereth plunged his sword into his own chest—not to commit suicide, but to open a gateway to the darkest depths of his soul.
Black blood flowed from the wound, but it wasn't just blood. Pure dark energy began to emanate from his body, far more dense and terrifying than before.
Zereth's eyes changed completely—from black to hollow, absorbing light. His facial expression changed, no longer showing any human emotion, only pure lust for destruction.
"GRAHHHHHH!" Zereth screamed—no longer a human voice, but a primordial, bone-shaking roar.
The power emanating from his body created a vortex of darkness that swallowed the light around him. The ground beneath his feet shattered, creating a crater that continued to expand.
"I can feel his soul being torn," I thought from afar, observing the horrific transformation. This technique grants incredible power, but at the cost of the user's humanity.
Gregorius took a step back, for the first time showing doubt. "WHAT POWER IS THIS?!"
Zereth—or what used to be Zereth—stared at him with hollow eyes filled with primordial hatred. When he spoke, his voice echoed from a different dimension.
"I... WILL... DESTROY... EVERYTHING..."
[VOID STRIKE]
Zereth vanished from where he stood. It wasn't teleportation—he moved at a speed that distorted space and time.
He appeared behind Gregorius, his sword already drawn. Gregorius reacted with godlike speed, but Zereth's attack was ten times faster than before.
CRASH!
Gregorius's shield cracked. For the first time since receiving the divine blessing, his defenses were breached. Golden blood—the blood of a divine avatar—dripped from his arm.
"IMPOSSIBLE!"
But Zereth didn't stop. With terrifyingly blank eyes, he unleashed a series of brutal attacks.
[ABYSSAL COMBO: ENDLESS VOID]
Hundreds of slashes in the blink of an eye. Each strike left a trail of darkness that tore through reality itself. Gregorius tried to parry, but Zereth's speed was beyond physical comprehension.
Gregory's holy armor began to crack in various places. Wounds began to appear on his body—shoulders, arms, legs, chest. Golden blood flowed, but that wasn't the most terrifying part.
What was terrifying was Zereth's blank eyes—no personality there, only an unbridled lust for destruction.
He's completely lost his mind, I thought. This technique worked, but at a terrible cost.
Gregorius was cornered, his breath ragged. The gods' blessings had made him incredibly powerful, but this mindless Zereth was like an unstoppable force of nature.
"GODS... GIVE ME MORE POWER!" Gregorius screamed desperately.
But there was no answer from the heavens. The gods had given everything they could without descending directly to the mortal world.
Zereth advanced for the final blow, his sword raised high. The darkness emanating from him was so dense it had torn a hole in reality.
[SOUL DESTROYER]
This attack would not only kill the body, but also completely destroy the target's soul.
But just before the attack landed, Zereth's body suddenly shook violently. Black blood poured from his eyes, his nose, and his mouth.
His soul couldn't withstand the forbidden technique. The technique that had given him tenfold power was also tearing at the very essence of his being.
Zereth stopped mid-attack, his body trembling uncontrollably. His blank eyes flickered—for a brief moment, his true self reappeared.
"My... Lord..." he whispered hoarsely, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "I... can't... control it..."
Then the blank eyes returned, but his body was already beginning to collapse. That immense power came at an equal cost—his very soul.
Gregorius, though mortally wounded, remained standing. He stared at the collapsed Zereth with a mixture of relief and fear.
"A TECHNIQUE THAT CURSES ITS OWN USER," he murmured. "EVEN DARKNESS HAS ITS LIMITS."
I stepped forward from my observation position. Zereth was still alive, but his soul was shattered.
The forbidden technique had granted him incredible power, but at the cost of his sanity.
Interesting, I thought. So even ultimate power comes with a price. But now I know its limits.
This battle taught me something valuable—sometimes, absolute power destroys its wielder.
Gregorius stared at the fallen Zereth with a mixture of relief and fear. But that relief was short-lived—he felt his own body begin to tremble. The wounds he had sustained from Zereth's attack were too severe, even for a divine avatar.
"A TECHNIQUE THAT CURSES ITS OWN USER," he muttered as he staggered. "BUT I AM ALSO ON THE VERGE OF DEATH."
Golden blood continued to flow from the wounds on his body. His holy armor was badly cracked, his wings of light beginning to dim. The blessings of the gods he had received were fading.
Gregorius looked up at the sky, his eyes beginning to lose their golden glow.
"GODS... I HAVE FAILED," his voice trembled weakly. "THE DEMON IS TOO POWERFUL, EVEN FOR YOUR BLESSINGS."
Suddenly, another thunderous roar descended from the sky—but this time it was colder, more demanding.
"GREGORY. OUR FAITHFUL SERVANT."
"THERE IS ONE WAY TO OBTAIN GREATER POWER."
Gregory lifted his head, though his body was about to collapse. "ANYTHING FOR YOUR GLORY."
"GIVE US YOUR SOUL WHOLELY. BECOME THE PERFECT VESSEL FOR DIVINE POWER."
"BUT KNOW—FOLLOWING THIS, YOU WILL NO LONGER BE GREGORY. YOU WILL BECOME AN EXTENSION OF OUR WILL IN THE MORTAL WORLD."
Gregory was silent for a moment. He understood what it meant—he would become a puppet of the gods, losing his personality forever. But looking at me, who stood still, and remembering the threat I posed.
"I... I ACCEPT," he said, his voice trembling. "TAKE MY SOUL. USE THIS BODY AS YOUR WEAPON."
The golden light from the heavens descended more intensely than before. But this time, it didn't just envelop Gregory—it seeped into his very soul, replacing every part of his personality.
Gregory's eyes turned from gold to pure white—no human emotion was left, only the cold, absolute will of the gods.
His body began to transform even more drastically. He grew to nearly four meters tall. His wings of light became six pairs, each gleaming like stars. His silver armor melted away and was replaced by a solid light that formed a perfect shield.
"NOW I AM NO LONGER GREGORY," the voice that came out was a harmony of many divine voices. "I AM THE COLLECTIVE AVATAR—A DIRECT EXTENSION OF THE WILL OF THE GODS."
The power emanating from the body that was once Gregory far surpassed any previous blessing. This was no longer an enhanced human—this was a fragment of the gods descended directly into the mortal world.
His holy aura was so intense that the grass around him not only grew back, but transformed into golden crystals. The air itself began to vibrate at a frequency that reality could barely contain.
I took a step back, feeling the true pressure for the first time. The gods were serious, I thought. They were willing to sacrifice the souls of their loyal servants to create a living weapon.
The Avatar Collective rose, its movements no longer human—each step creating a wave of holy energy that made the ground tremble.
"DEMON LORD," the white eyes stared at me with burning intensity. "NOW YOU WILL FACE THE TRUE WRATH OF HEAVEN."
The sword in its hand transformed into a weapon made of pure light—no longer metal, but solid energy that could cut through reality itself.
This was getting more serious than I thought, I thought. But also more exciting. Let's see how far the gods were willing to go.