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Chapter 555: Astarat's War: Humans v. Terrors (VIII)

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Since Soren suggested that they make some sacrifices, that's precisely what Solomon intended to do. However, he chose to take them on personally rather than force it upon the younger generation, primarily because he could mitigate some consequences that the others couldn't. Of course, this special privilege wasn't the only reason for his decision.

As mentioned before, Solomon's will to live was weaker than the rest seeing as he was forced to bend to his ancestor's will. Power took precedence within the Supreme Families, and unfortunately for Sapphyr, she didn't possess the same caliber of talent that Sarai did.

Nevertheless, Soren's eyes narrowed upon sensing Solomon's move. "What are you doing?"

"Taking matters into my own hands," Solomon answered indifferently. His dark black hair floated behind his body after the symbol on his forehead continued to absorb all of the Soul Embers. At the same time, Xezos turned towards Solomon and became motionless, losing all signs of spiritual activity.

Naturally, this was related to Solomon's action. The drawbacks of invoking the Avatar Form restricted use of one's Spirit. After all, the simplest explanation of this power was the human using their vessel as a medium to merge with their Spirit's creation. So, in a sense, it could be said that once a Paragon activated this form, they were the combined existence of their power coupled with their Spirits.

Afterward, mysterious black lines appeared from the symbol on Solomon's head, stretching down to the sides of his jaw. Amidst this change, Solomon's hair also turned white, starting from his roots. It took some time, but the white hair soon adopted a pale cerulean luster that seemed to sparkle like distant stars in a clear night's sky.

Most importantly, the black skin crawled up to Solomon's elbows, and blue lines reminiscent of a human's veins surfaced after a few seconds. Solomon's aura seemingly vanished when those lines appeared, emerging as an unforeseen calm. Though he seemed calm, the power contained with his body combusted an infinite number of times in the wake of his usage.

Meanwhile, Valerie paled once this decision was made. She even prepped her Seraphich Exchange to an extreme level if the adverse effects surfaced too quickly. 'Fighting against a Disaster is truly no laughing matter. It even forces one of us to invoke the Arcane Avatar?'

Valeria pursed her lips while clutching her staff lightly. Memories of a past event involving this power flooded her mind causing uneasiness to arise in the pit of her stomach.

Conversely, Soren took a step back without uttering a word. He understood more than anyone that he couldn't change this outcome. "Acquire desirable results to justify the injury of a Saint this only on in the war."

"You're mistaken. This was never meant to be a drawn-out war. If it were, the Terrors wouldn't have sent every last member of their force to this place. They intended to conquer quickly in one fell swoop, so we should respond in kind. Likewise, this war has already moved towards its later stages," Solomon answered in a deep tone.

Due to his current form, his voice and demeanor sounded like an overlap of his and Xezos's unique mannerisms. After responding, Solomon turned towards Brukti while slowly stabbing his rapiers into the ground. The use of a weapon in this form outside of a Spirit in the form of a weapon was foolish.

The violent surge of spiritual force would shatter it in an instant.

Solomon's sudden change sparked an odd reaction from Brukti as his finger twitched uncontrollably. 'Am I afraid right now? What exactly is this power to make me feel afraid? When have we Absorbeyn shirked from an enemy?! It's even written in our flesh; we seek to devour all we must. There is no way that I will retreat in fear when we are so close!'

Brukti felt an inherent fear towards the outrageous increase in Solomon's power. This didn't originate from his mind but Az'kayzak's power fragment. Az'kayzak was the most ancient member of the Absorbeyns present, meaning he was the Absorbeyn who led both the first and second catastrophe.

While he was strongest during the first catastrophe, he sacrificed a large portion of his power to create many Disasters during the second catastrophe. Since he identified his most damning mistake to be his limited forces during the first catastrophe, he decided to change his angle.

It worked but unfortunately, by that time, humans had increased their mastery over wielding their Spirit's powers. But, that didn't mean Az'kayzak was hopeless. It was quite the opposite. After all, he gained access to an unprecedented amount of Death Essence over time, as well as a unique signature he sought but couldn't grasp no matter how much he tried.

Now, he decided only one Disaster was enough to stall the humans while he made an unimaginable move.

Suddenly, Brukti's chain of thought was broken as Solomon appeared before him without any indication. "You are to blame for me using this power, so accept the punishment."

Solomon extended his arm, pressing his palm against Brukti's torso with seemingly slow movement. However, the afterimages that followed the path of his hand signified a truly shocking level of speed. Three specks of silvery energy migrated to the back of Solomon's palm and after feeling this, Brukti's eyes constricted to the size of needles.

BOOM!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The attack seemed gentle, but the result countered that assumption. Brukti's body was blown away the moment the three specks pressed onto the back of Solomon's palm, uncontrollably smashing into the floor, large rocks, and finally a dense wall.

Regrettably, Brukti wasn't allowed the opportunity to recover from the intense shock before Solomon arrived before him with a gust of gentle wind.

"You should be incomparably sturdy, so that wouldn't be enough to injure you. With that being said, there's more to come," Solomon said in a tone filled with calm confidence.

Bang!

Another soft blow landed on Brukti's body, creating a deafening but also a hollow explosion. A huge chasm spanning three hundred meters appeared behind Brukti as the wall holding his body was obliterated under the pressure of Solomon's attack.

This time, Brukti tried to defend himself as unconcealed madness filled his eyes. Sadly, the divide in their strength wasn't something that could be bridged so easily. Brukti's attempt to defend was unsuccessful, even causing Solomon to unleash a series of ruthless yet effortless attacks upon his body.

Eventually, numerous sunken imprints appeared on Brukti's body from the constant attacks Solomon dealt.

The drastic change in predicament should've excited Soren and Valerie, but both of them bore serious expression while spectating the fight. Regardless of how much damage Solomon inflicted, it wouldn't be fatal unless they could stop the constant resupply of Death Essence.

Despite how simple that sounded, it was easier said than done. Stopping the resupply entailed preventing the deaths on the battlefield altogether. In times of war, death was inevitable.

Of course, they could also drag Brukti away from the Catastrophe Line, but the issue with that was they didn't know if Brukti possessed any hidden abilities linked to the perverse Death Command of his. If he could conceal Terrors and virtually transport them, who's to say he couldn't return to the origin of the Death Essence at will?

Nevertheless, Solomon had yet to show signs of injury, so they were still in the clear for the time being.

"Only a few seconds have passed. He should persist for more than ten minutes if he continues utilizing the power boost at a minimal level," Soren estimated. Even under heavy usage, this state could be held stably for five minutes. After those five minutes, the toll on the body became too taxing.

Fortunately, Solomon's Spirit possessed a comparatively gentle power signature, so it wasn't as rigid as Gaelbolg, which shredded Soren's body from the inside.

"Too early to say," Valerie muttered in response. The worry in her eyes grew when she watched Brukti rush back towards Solomon with a torrential aura. A huge cluster of deathly energy appeared in his left palm while his green eyes filled with a crimson hue.

"Death Flames!" Brukti roared as he clenched his fist. An aura of death appeared within sweltering flames that cause great decay to anything in its vicinity. The technique exhausted a considerable amount of Death Essence but Brukti ignored the costs.

Solomon took a step back after analyzing the flames. Once he gained enough separation, he made a counterattack by summoning tens of silver specks surrounded by a black aura. This was a move only accessible to him now that he delved deeper into Xezos' arsenal of techniques.

"Arcanic Practice: Constellation Press," Solomon muttered.

The silver dots expanded, taking on the form of a monumental palm that pressed the sweltering flames into oblivion. A sea of Solomon's energy deluged the area after the technique dealt with Brukti's attack.

If he had any, Brukti would clutch his hair in fury after witnessing the ineffectiveness of these flames. Instead, Brukti could only release a bestial roar as all of the Death Essence within a kilometer shuddered.