Bul-Kathos furiously cut off the Ancient One's words, his Hammer of Judgment trembling in his grip!
He was restraining his urges for battle and slaughter!
"Mages, you've never been worthy of a barbarian's trust!"
With that, Bul-Kathos recalled Li-Ming.
Even as combat allies, mages were reliable.
But as a barbarian, he and the mage community had never shared any bond of friendship!
Gazing at the Ancient One, his body swelled even larger.
The ancestral phantoms behind him grew more solid. Once his overflowing rage reached its limit, the ancestors would truly manifest in this world as beings of energy!
"Ancestor Madawc, please hold back!"
Bul-Kathos sensed movement from the ancestral shadows behind him and had to communicate with the barbarian ancestor named Madawc.
It wasn't yet time for the ancestors to appear. As one of the rare barbarian ancestors whose name endured, Madawc symbolized chaos. His life was devoted solely to the glory of battle, with no other purpose.
Madawc existed only for honor and combat.
Bul-Kathos didn't want this ancestor to appear in this world—it would spell nothing but trouble.
"Mage! You'd better hurry!"
Bul-Kathos's eyes pierced through his fury with a glimmer of calm.
This was no good sign; it meant the battle-loving ancestor could barely suppress his overwhelming warlust, eager to descend upon this world, rapidly siphoning Bul-Kathos's rage to do so.
The Ancient One silently bowed her head, cradling the Eye of Agamotto at her chest.
The scope of the time manipulation expanded, encompassing the entire park.
Everything around began to rewind. The thugs Bul-Kathos had reduced to bloody foam were the first to reform.
"Barbarian King, I hope you'll stay quietly in this place and avoid causing chaos in this world."
The Ancient One spoke in her most neutral tone while channeling the Time Stone's immense power.
This innocent family was no ordinary one; their death marked the birth of a superhero.
The only superhero capable of serving as a commander.
The Punisher, Frank Castle!
The Ancient One had compromised, altering the timeline she had planned.
This branch of time now veered into a direction she had never foreseen.
In other words, she had lost her grasp on the future.
"Bul-Kathos, I hope that when this world faces crisis, you'll still choose to stand and fight."
The Ancient One murmured inwardly. No longer the barbarian's friend, she could no longer call him by name.
There might be regret, but what of it?
Bul-Kathos was undeniably a powerhouse beyond her imagination, but how long could he live?
Unaware of Nephalem lifespans, she convinced herself with the asymmetry of mortality.
"Perhaps fate truly exists."
The Ancient One let out a soft sigh.
After reversing time, this world was no longer the one she knew.
Everything had shifted into a brand-new reality, originating from that just yet brutal barbarian.
But in that moment, glimpses of temporal fragments from the river of time revealed that she hadn't saved the family after all.
A bizarre force, beyond her comprehension, had intervened!
"Death!"
On Bul-Kathos's body, the lingering power from Malthael suddenly erupted, swiftly extinguishing his rage.
This sensation—he had felt it only when facing Malthael himself.
This power was "Death."
A skeletal lady clad in black robes suddenly materialized in the extradimensional space conjured by the Ancient One.
She arrived silently, without ripple.
Bul-Kathos's body reverted to its original burly form; he had exited the Wrath of the Berserker state.
"I don't recall blessing you."
The lady somehow spoke through her skeletal maw.
Her voice was ethereal and enchanting.
"So, death is omnipresent. That means Malthael isn't invincible!"
Bul-Kathos erupted in laughter that echoed to the skies!
Facing this skeletal lady, the Ancient One felt a terror more profound and shocking than her first encounter with the Vishanti trinity.
"You're attempting to reverse death?"
The skeletal lady observed the restoring scene outside, somewhat surprised.
"I'm merely saving innocent lives!"
Bul-Kathos, in high spirits, boomed at the skeletal lady.
"Even if it means defying the rules of death? Know that life without death is never complete."
The skeletal lady waved her hand, summoning the souls of the family from their direction.
"Life without an end—what meaning does it hold?"
The Ancient One tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn't open.
The skeletal lady's identity was clear: an entity of Death's stature—she was Death incarnate!
Death addressed Bul-Kathos not due to his strength, but because of the mysterious deathly aura clinging to the barbarian, sourced from Malthael—the Archangel who embodied death in the Diablo world.
"I don't wish for the rules to be broken," Death said to Bul-Kathos.
"They weren't meant to die here!"
Bul-Kathos roared.
"Death is fair to every being; the only difference is when it arrives."
Death's words, eerily similar to Malthael's, ignited the barbarian's fury.
"Then can you grant a dead one death once more?"
Bul-Kathos showed no fear!
Death was not annihilation!
Thus, death could only come once!
"The dead cannot escape my grasp!"
Death spoke with a hint of pride.
"So what! When I die, you can see if I can cut you down!"
Bul-Kathos laughed fearlessly, his mirth laced with ferocity!
The Ancient One stood like a statue, utterly powerless.
"I'll take these souls of the departed. What can you do about it?"
With a wave, Death gathered the family's souls into her robe.
But such a blatant provocation would only earn a barbarian's blade!
The Hammer of Judgment was instantly replaced by a deep crimson one-handed heavy weapon.
A broadsword-like armament now rested in Bul-Kathos's hand!
"Ambo's Pride"!
The name of this ancient weapon!
Forged by Bul-Kathos himself, though in the confrontation with Malthael, this blade—second only to his twin swords—had no chance to clash!
"Lady! You're not Malthael, that angel forged in countless wars!"
(End of Chapter)