Chapter 359

With a single burst of sword energy, the fiery calamity that threatened to consume the world disintegrated into scattered flames.

The face of the Second Apostle, once brimming with confidence, now showed no trace of composure.

‘So he had something to rely on, even as he feigned an attempt at conversation.’

The scattering embers resembled petals drifting in the wind.

Through the shimmering remnants, the Second Apostle’s gaze locked onto Theo’s face.

His calm eyes bore no arrogance or hubris.

‘Does he find this… dull?’

What he saw instead was disappointment—a mix of unmet expectations and boredom.

Something stirred within the Second Apostle’s chest. Everything up to this point had unfolded as he had envisioned. Armed with the gift bestowed upon him by his master, he had been reborn into a higher being.

He had believed—no, known—that neither Theo nor the Ragnar forces would pose any obstacle.

Yet now...

‘How could this happen so quickly?’

In the Beastlands, the power they wielded was nothing compared to this. He had calculated that only Ragnar’s guardian dragon could counter such an attack, yet a single stroke of Theo’s sword had effortlessly unraveled it.

“…Well, I’ll admit, that was unexpected.”

As his boiling frustration subsided, the gemstone embedded in his heart pulsed.

An unfamiliar thrill coursed through him, and a twisted smile spread across his lips.

“Yes... if you couldn’t withstand that, it would’ve been an insult to the one who granted me this gift.”

Clutching his chest with trembling hands, the Second Apostle shivered with fervor.

‘A gift…?’

Though Theo didn’t fully understand what he meant, the Apostle’s words confirmed one thing.

‘The Nameless Sovereign elevated him to this level.’

The Apostle’s overwhelming aura had reached a divine level, and Theo could guess that this “gift” conferred powers beyond merely raising his rank.

However, Theo had no reason to fear. He too had ascended through his recent acquisition of divine mysteries, gaining unimaginable strength.

Even after unleashing such a devastating sword aura, the coiled energy in his dantian remained undisturbed. His mana, replenished in an instant, felt boundless.

If the First Apostle were present, this might have been the perfect chance to destroy the heart of the Sacred Demon Cult.

‘If he won’t show himself willingly, I’ll drag him out with force.’

But first, he would deal with this pawn in front of him.

Vrrrm!

Caliburn vibrated with a sharp hum, its aura turning a deep crimson, mirroring Theo’s fiery eyes.

“Oho! Beautiful... Truly magnificent!”

Even as he gazed upon the aura that would herald his death, the Second Apostle’s eyes glowed with admiration.

Boom! Boom!

A deep rumble echoed from the Apostle as black, viscous mana seeped from his body, exuding a foreboding malice.

Without hesitation, Theo acted.

He lunged, a streak of red light flashing toward the Apostle’s neck.

It was an attack so swift it existed outside the realm of human perception. If the Apostle failed to react, his head would have soared skyward in an instant, blood erupting like a fountain.

But...

Clang.

The Apostle caught the strike with his bare left hand, gripping the blade of Caliburn.

“!”

Theo’s face twisted in disbelief.

He had not held back. This was the same force he had used to bisect a colossal golem—a blow meant to finish everything in a single stroke.

“Hahaha! Hah hah hah!”

The Apostle’s manic laughter sent chills down Theo’s spine.

The Apostle’s veins bulged grotesquely, black and red, as his eyes turned a deep obsidian. Drool dripped from his snarling mouth, making him look more like a beast than a man.

Theo stepped back, retracting his blade.

It wasn’t the Apostle’s monstrous appearance that unnerved him. It was the unmistakable presence emanating from his mana—a power that felt identical to the Nameless Sovereign’s dreadful essence.

‘So that’s what his “gift” is…’n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Theo guessed that the Apostle had fused with a fragment of the Nameless Sovereign.

But he wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“What a vile stench,” Lodbrok growled as she arrived at Theo’s side, her sharp eyes fixed on the Apostle.

Though a coordinated attack might have ended the Apostle quickly, the situation didn’t allow it.

Boom! Boom!

Above them, the Mage Tower’s airships clashed fiercely with the White Armored Dragon Knights.

Meanwhile, Felix and his knights focused on evacuating the citizens, leaving no room for reinforcements.

“Loddy, support the White Armored Dragon Knights,” Theo ordered.

“As you wish. Be careful.”

Without hesitation, Lodbrok took to the skies, leaving Theo alone with the Apostle.

The tension between them crackled as the Apostle’s essence shifted, inching further from humanity.

He stretched out his arm.

Boom!

A wave of black energy erupted from his hand, surging toward Theo.

Theo met it with a precise thrust of Caliburn, splitting the wave as it tore apart the ground on either side.

Crack.

Theo gritted his teeth, twisting the blade to wrap the black wave around it. He spun, redirecting the energy back at the Apostle.

“Oh!”

The Apostle watched in fascination as the redirected energy shot toward him. He deflected it with the back of his hand, sending it skyward.

Boom!

The wave pierced the clouds before exploding with a deafening roar.

Clap. Clap.

The sound of applause echoed.

“To think you could return such a powerful wave—impressive.”

The Apostle smirked, his confidence returning.

“But that was merely a light move.”

Behind him, countless black discs appeared, swirling with ominous energy.

“Now, let’s see you entertain me properly!”

He thrust his hands forward, releasing a barrage of black waves from the discs.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The relentless assault pulverized everything in its path, yet none of it struck Theo.

Whoosh!

Through the haze of dust, Theo surged forward.

The Apostle crossed his arms to block Caliburn, but Theo pressed on.

“Entertain? What nonsense. This is just an execution.”

Theo’s strength forced the Apostle’s arms back, the blade cutting into his flesh, nearly reaching the bone.

The Apostle’s expression twisted with rage, his previous smugness gone.

“Yes, that’s the face you should be making,” Theo sneered.

Slice!

With a decisive motion, Theo severed both of the Apostle’s arms.

But before Theo could follow through and decapitate him, the Apostle leapt back, evading the strike.

Theo froze for a moment, his gaze falling to the severed arms on the ground.

New limbs were already regenerating from the Apostle’s shoulders.

Shing!

The Apostle lunged forward, claws aimed at Theo’s throat.

‘Close combat?’

Theo parried, deflecting the attack while countering with a kick to the Apostle’s abdomen and a slash of Caliburn.

The Apostle blocked the sword with his right hand while thrusting his left toward Theo’s stomach.

Rip!

Theo twisted away, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, though his clothing tore.

The Apostle’s eyes widened in surprise.

Even with divine power coursing through him, he hadn’t expected Theo to evade such an attack.

‘Has he attained divinity as well?’

As the Apostle intensified his assault, Theo’s strength only grew. His relentless attacks pushed the Apostle closer to the brink, reigniting his long-forgotten fear of death.

‘How did this child of a mortal ascend so far?’

The Apostle couldn’t comprehend how Theo, in his few decades of life, had surpassed him, who had endured eons.

‘Is this my final trial?’

The Apostle clung to the fragment of the Nameless Sovereign in his heart. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—accept defeat.

With a deafening roar, his body erupted with corrupt energy, tainting the air around him.

The dark energy spread, warping the surrounding colors as if reality itself were fracturing.

‘So this is his true nature.’

Theo could see the Apostle’s essence—a pitiful, solitary creature clawing desperately against its own despair.

But as the Apostle edged closer to becoming something otherworldly, Theo simply smiled.

‘Unleashing everything now, are we?’

The divine power within Theo surged, reshaping his body from within.

Fully embracing his newfound strength, Theo charged.

Their clash transcended mortal comprehension, reshaping the battlefield into a desolate wasteland where only power reigned supreme.

Boom!