Hero of Darkness

After being forced to retreat and gather in a formation to defend themselves as the transformed Havi thwarted their plans to kill the emperor in a battle of attrition. Now, the Pope suggested a way to get out of their predicament and evade certain death. 

Because as things stood, the 100 kilometers of the battlefield was no different than a pit of fire because of Havi's constant attacks even though his rank was similar to theirs. Forget about him getting weakened over time… it will be all of them who would fall in battle first. 

But as soon as the Pope suggested using one of the church's most prized relics that was handed down from one Pope to another… they all agreed despite the repercussions of being unable to rank up for the next hundred years. 

Firebornes lived around 200 years on average. Even more if one was a high-ranked saint. And all of them were 7th stage saints, 3 of whom purposely faked their deaths while the 4th one had been patiently hiding his new rank up for the past few years. 

Waiting for another century after they took over the Vulcan empire was still a pretty sweet deal. But to do so, one had to stay alive. 

Thus, without even discussing for long, all of them instantly agreed. 

"I was saving Pandora's Box for the Hero of Fire to use after he became a Peak Saint. It could help him cross that final threshold and help him become a Demi-God. 

But none of it will be possible if we're also dead." spoke Demiurge with a gloomy countenance. 

His expression showcasing his unwillingness but none of them seemed to have any choice. 

"This power is enough to help in becoming a Demi-God. But since four of us will be using it… it will help us raise our ranks only by one. 

Still… it should be enough for us to kill him before he uses 100% of his bloodline ability." spoke Leonardo, the oldest one among the four 7th stage saints as his 1 kilometer tall shield specter defended against Havi's furious attacks. 

All of them were aware that Havi was forcefully using only 50% of his bloodline. And if he wasn't suppressed because of the Flamer Killer formation, every single one of them would already be dead. 

Without further adieu, Demiurge quickly summoned a massive treasure box with ancient insignias and archaic formations and all four of them opened it together. 

SHRILL!! 

A high-pitched and terrifying noise filled the vicinity and Havi, who was already a 1 kilometer tall titanic figure… was forced to step back. 

"Too much! So this is what a Demi-God is like. 

We are lucky that we're sharing it… otherwise even a 9th stage saint would've easily died because this power is simply too much for anyone below peak saint." spoke Raphael as all of their bodies were quickly encapsulated in divine golden auras. 

This was one of the biggest assets of the church and kept hidden from over 700 years and now it was finally being used. 

An invisible barrier protected these four 7th stage saints and even Havi couldn't break it with all its might. 

[Not good! I need to kill them before their rank rises!] thought Havi. He was an 8th stage saint originally, obviously he could tell the strength and density of world energy rising in them just by feeling it. 

DHAAAANGGGGGG!!! 

A sky-devouring explosion occurred like a nuclear bomb going haywire and even Havi in his transformed state was forced to retreat 50 kilometers away. 

And finally when the battlefield settled after a minute… 4 massive figures that were four times bigger than his own appeared in the region. 

All of the four assailants had transformed into monstrous beings that gave off the auras of 8th stage saints on their own. 

Donatello turned into a 4 kilometer tall demonic figure with a skull for a head and had four black horns; two slanting downwards while two upwards. On his back, two bat-like wings that spanned half a kilometer each spread wide while a long serpent-like tail was revealed behind his waist. 

The middle of his chest glowed red as if a river of blood was running under it and his entire body possessed the appearance of rotten flesh. 

His double-bladed spear also transformed into a massive 2 kilometer long spear and glowed violet. 

On the other side, Raphael aka the pugilist saint turned into a large red monster with no eyes but had four oversized arms while a lot of bone spikes appeared around the corners of his arms and shoulders. He too grew a tail akin to that of a lizard. 

Leonardo, the Knight saint was not averse to such terrifying transformation either. 

The shield he held transformed into a force field shield that had scalding fire in its core and appeared like it had demonic eyes in the center. The sword in right hand also became a 500 meter weapon that was made out of pure magma. 

Leonardo's entire body transformed into pure fire with no bones or any physical outlines but instead, he had become one with the armor and the helmet he was wearing. He was now a walking-talking volcano himself. 

And finally, Demiurge also achieved a unique transformation by turning into a green-colored creature whose upper body was solid and looked humanoid in structure but the rest of his lower half turned into a combination of pure fire and black fog as if he was born from these two separate existences combined. 

Every single one of them was now as taller than many mountains on earth and their strength and ranks also rose by one. 

In the Vulcan empire, only the imperial family had the ability to transform into such grand and terrifying beings. But now, the four saints of the Church of Hetrax also managed to achieve that feat albeit at a great cost. 

Havi, who was already running out of time had a countenance of trepidation. The whole flow of winning just changed sides and there was still no way to get out of this inconspicuous barrier. 

This was probably going to be the last battle of his life. He spoke in a tyrannical voice instead of cowering in fear, his tone completely firm and resolute… 

"Looks like I have no choice but to go all in."