Hero of Darkness

In the face of the joint assault from the Hero's Party, Marcus Brutus, the Necromancer Hero, asserted control over every aspect of the surreal realm he had crafted. Countering their volley of powerful and life-threatening attacks, he rendered their efforts futile. The altered reality bowed to his will, deflecting their skills and neutralizing their attempts to break free.

As the Heroes struggled against the relentless onslaught of Marcus's dominion, he decided it was time to unveil his true strength. Surviving Maximus's formidable one-shot skill, Apollo's Decree, Marcus emerged unscathed. The attack, known for its ability to pulverize mountains in mere seconds, seemed to have had no effect on the Necromancer Hero. Not a single strand of his hair was out of place, and his demeanor remained unfazed, revealing a level of resilience that defied the very laws of the created reality. The Heroes, witnessing this, could only ponder the magnitude of the challenge they faced in the formidable Marcus Brutus.

[That… That was Space-Time Distortion!] exclaimed Rathnaar in disbelief.

Even Kahn was baffled because with his 3rd Enlightenment in Space Law, he could tell the difference between normal teleportation and change the space itself.

[He didn't move from his position. Instead, he twisted the fabric of reality along with the flow of time itself.] Kahn pondered to himself as he observed Marcus Brutus's seemingly impervious stance. [He was present at the exact location when the attack struck, but the space acted like a temporal limbo from a time when he wasn't standing in that position. This is a very powerful manipulation of both space and time.]

Kahn marveled at the intricate mastery Marcus displayed over the fundamental forces that governed existence. The comprehension of such advanced manipulation left him with a profound sense of the challenges they were up against in their confrontation with the Necromancer Hero.

[That seems like one of the perks of Visionary's Reality divine ability it seems. He is the absolute master of this realm so controlling both time and space doesn't seem impossible.] cited Rathnaar in Kahn's mind.

[Seriously, he is doing something that only a person with 3rd enlightenment in both Space and Time Law can do in this world. And to imagine that Visionary's Reality could be used for something like this just because he imagined it to become true… Man, I thought my divine abilities were too OP.] wondered Kahn.

[Do you think our plan will work in this situation?] asked Rathnaar in a worried tone.

[We only have a 30% chance of winning at this rate. And most of it depends on Maximus risking his life to create that opportunity for me.] responded Kahn with an incredulous expression.

Things were not going as he initially planned at all. And the risk of losing was ever-increasing.

[Atreus, I don't think we can succeed at this rate despite all of our powers combined.

Marcus Brutus has had 7 centuries to perfect his skills and this divine ability. He obviously has plans to come out as the victor regardless of the situation we force him to.

Your plan… it might not work at this stage.] spoke the Hero of Nature in Kahn's mind from afar.

Even Kahn in his Atreus persona had a despondent countenance because Maximus was indeed correct.

[Not unless I use 'it'....] said the Hero in a grim tone.

[Do you mean your Divine Weapon?] asked Kahn.

[No… I can't use it here even if I wanted to. Otherwise, even the God's Altar in this realm will be destroyed along with everything in here. What I mean is… my 3rd Divine Ability.] iterated Maximus as he kept charging and attacking Brutus from a distance in his titan form.

[If it can create an opening, so be it.] responded Kahn with a solemn voice.

As for what the 3rd divine ability of the Hero of Nature was… Kahn had no idea but had to act the part since he said he was a spy of the empire who knew about Maximus' powers and their weaknesses.

[It will be active only for 10 minutes and I will not be able to fight after the activation time ends. So it's all up to you whether we live or die after that.] informed Maximus and stopped his attacks.

Swoom!

Swoom!

BOOM!

In the ensuing seconds, Marcus's titanic form emanated thousands of ethereal orbs of energy, transforming the entire battlefield into a mesmerizing sea of stars. Within this cosmic display, all elements of nature burst like bubbles.

Each multicolored ethereal orb radiated a surge of elemental waves, encompassing darkness, lightning, light, wood, metal, water, earth, and wind. The battlefield was now flooded with the manifestations of all 8 Elements of Nature, out of the 13 Elements of Reality.

Meanwhile, Maximus underwent a profound transformation on the other end of the spectrum. No longer a massive 1-kilometer-tall titanic figure, he had condensed into a 10-meter-tall humanoid shape composed of pure energy. [Kid, this is similar to your…] spoke Rathnaar in disbelief.

[I know. To think that there was someone else among the other chosen Heroes…] muttered Kahn to himself, suppressing his shock.

Because the current form Maximus had achieved was exactly similar to Kahn's Cosmic Aether form!

This was a form Kahn achieved only after gaining the 3rd enlightenment in the Space Law inside the Conjunction of Space that was part of the Tablet of Arcana.

And unlike Kahn who had his entire being turned into a blueish cosmic entity, Maximus was made of all the 8 Elements of Nature.

"To think that a divine ability would allow him to temporarily become a being with 3rd enlightenment in all the 8 Elements of Reality and have absolute affinity as well as control over them… this is so BROKEN!" spoke Kahn in annoyance.

[Just imagine how strong this divine ability will be when paired with both Izanami's Champion and Undying Pyres.

This guy will basically be unkillable even by me who has the Dimensional Law divine ability.] thought Kahn. This was Maximus' 3rd Divine Ability, also known as...

PROGENITOR OF NATURE.

----------------

The clash of these colossal forces promised a spectacle that transcended the boundaries of the physical and delved into the realms of elemental prowess.

"Commandement of the Progenitor!" suddenly, Maximus exclaimed in his ethereal form in which all the elements of reality flowed across his body like converging rivers.

BOOM!

BANG!

Clatter!

Tremble!

The very next moment, the entire new realm created by Marcus started shuddering as if some world calamity had arrived.

Crack!

The ground made of magma and hellfire started cracking and the dark skies started clearing at a rapid pace.

Blergh!

Cough!

On the other side, Brutus started coughing blood as his divine ability was affected adversely.

"You… what have you done?!" he exclaimed in agony, his face revealing a furious expression.

Maximus only smirked a little and replied casually…

"You were so proud of this realm you created just a few seconds ago.

So I decided to overwhelm it with my own elements of nature." [Son of a bitch… that is ingenious. Maximus basically put a trojan horse inside this realm and if I'm correct, then those orbs of natural elements…] spoke Kahn to himself.

[Correct. Only he can control the elements of nature that are spread inside this battlefield and not Brutus. Those powers are exclusive to him and will beckon only at his call.] it was Rathnaar who completed Kahn's sentence.

Like sending a virus into a computer network to crash the entire system, Maximus had evened the battlefield albeit for a short time.

How did it affect this fight?

Marcus Brutus could control the world around him using his imagination. However, Maximus could hijack that control and stop his creations from attacking them.

In this domain, Brutus was like a God. However, Maximus was the one with the ability to defy the powers of that God.

If Marcus Brutus was the Poison… then Maximus was the Antidote. However…

"NO!!" shouted Conan from the back.

Shatter!

Shatter!

Kahn, Maximus, and Borat swiftly redirected their gazes toward the rear of their formation. Even Kahn, typically composed, found himself momentarily speechless.

The realization dawned upon them that while Marcus Brutus had been temporarily overwhelmed and lost his advantage against Maximus, it did not equate to a complete defeat.

Crumble!

Suddenly, the defensive barrier at the back of their battle formation was shattered into pieces and crumbled like a sandcastle in mere moments.

As they briefly celebrated the momentary victory and basked in a sense of relief, it became apparent that the Necromancer Hero was far from taken aback. Instead, he had already initiated the process of dismantling their party formation. The tide of battle had not yet settled, and Marcus Brutus was determined to regain control and turn the tables once more. BOOM!!

"Arghhh!!!"

In a sudden surge of black hellfire, two figures were engulfed by the scalding pillars of heat.

Several defensive formations, spells, magic barriers and artifacts all acted together to protect these two entities that were a 3rd and 4th stage saints.

However, to no avail... Both of them were scorched and reduced to nothingness until not even their ashes remained. The horrifying event unfolded with such swiftness that none of the members of the Hero's Party had the time to react.

Brutus, strategically targeting the saints who played pivotal roles in buffing their allies during the battle, had swiftly claimed his victims. In an abrupt and devastating move…

The Necromancer Hero had killed Speki and Rolakan.