1039 Fight Of Celestials
People on all the planets noticed two new stars in the sky.
The scarlet star twinkled, like a ruby shining under the shower of lights. The golden star glittered, like the glow of a firework just before it burned the brightest.
It was a beautiful and intoxicating sight.
But people panicked as the coronation ceremony was abruptly halted and the coverage ended suddenly.
They hoped this star phenomenon was due to Julius. The social media and official outlets quickly steered the conversation in that direction and the public was pacified into thinking Julius was performing one final and magical ritual.
"What is happening?" Sovereign Irene flew out of the crystal palace and asked with a solemn gaze.
Bali and Kevin checked their contacts for any information.
The secret footage arrived.
"What the..."
Space was twisted apart as two beings that glowed like stars fought each other.
There were no words to describe their might. Their strength blew entire asteroids to fine dust, their speed let them travel many times faster than a sovereign, and their vitality was utterly high--a single drop of their blood caused rocks to melt and fed a forest.
The ones fighting were anything but mortal.
The three sovereigns stared at the screen with wide eyes filled with myriad emotions. The strongest being helplessness. Then they looked at each other without a word and returned to the palace.
Irene quickly went through a bunch of heavily complex and guarded screens before sighing in relief. "I informed the pioneer group to continue their journey outward."
The Pioneer group, the most important batch of humans sent out of the solar system to keep the flame of the human race alive.
They were supposed to return since the war ended. But after seeing that fight, Irene reversed that decision. Bali and Kevin also did the same with the groups they controlled.
That battle was watched by only a few thousand in the entire human race--extremely important scientists and peak level 9s as well as the sovereigns.
The scientists panicked while the peak level 9s worried about another war.
But the sovereigns knew better.
If Julius won, then he'd claim himself the Emperor and there'd be no issue.
If Julius lost, whatever that being was, would slaughter the entire solar system.
No planet, no army, and no powerhouse would be able to stop the carnage. No, there wouldn't even be a carnage. There wouldn't even be a fight.
It'd be just like how Julius ended the abysses. A single planet-destroying attack that'd end all life in a blink.
That's it.
Perhaps the sovereigns and peak level 9s might survive the first attack. But they had no chance of surviving the second.
Whatever they do now was inconsequential.
The sovereigns never felt so useless. But perhaps this was indeed an era where even they'd be insignificant.
On the other hand, the battle between the Emperor and the "Would-be-Emperor" was going strong.
Their bodies were shining like stars themselves as they flashed and moved thousands of miles above and beyond in a flash.
A thousand punches were thrown in less than a second. Each attack was met with a counter and the shockwaves from their confrontation slowly started to eat away the huge asteroid belt.
As a Mystic--the body awakener celestial--even though Abyss Emperor was heavily injured and weakened to the point of possessing only a first-ranked celestial strength, he's much stronger than Julius.
But Julius was Famine. When attacked, his body just accepted the attacks. It ate them up.
And from time to time, his body would light up in the golden light and spat out the energy waves back at Haedon.
Abyss Emperor's vast experience helped him easily navigate the reflecting attacks of Famine and continue his offense.
Famines would 'eat' the attack but not all of it. The rest still damaged Julius. Slowly, he's taking injuries.
Unfortunately for Haedon, Julius' body was also devouring the blood that splashed out of him and burning it for his own use. The efficiency was terrible, but it was a boost nonetheless.
Mystics were powerful in short and intense battles while Famines were masters in long battles.
Haedon wanted to finish off this battle before things get out of hand. But Julius was stronger than he'd liked.
"You are the final enemy of my race!" Julius roared as their fists connected. The scarlet and golden lights clashed and exploded them both back.
But being a Famine as well as a new celestial, Julius was evidently weaker. There were several fist cavities all over him and many injuries that continued to bleed.
The injuries, however, quickly healed as Julius' sucked the blood of his enemy and burned it up. The weakness from this intense fight also subsided slightly.
On the other hand, Haedon couldn't remain calm. His injuries--caused by the turbulent space channel created by insufficient altars--remained. But his bleeding started to slow down but his current state was giving too much benefit to Julius.
Haedon only regretted packing away all the healing elixirs for his wife and daughter. He had none to quickly heal. But give him enough time and he'd eventually heal back and return to his full power.
'Even in this weakened state, I'll finish him.' Haedon clenched his fists and the golden light around him started to glow brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding.
The aura in the space grew turbulent.
The blinding golden light shrank into Abyss Emperor's fists.
Something had changed.
Those fists gave Julius a glimpse of his death and he no longer hesitated.
With a snap, Julius summoned the seven artifacts. When he reached the celestial rank, he thought he'd be invincible and no enemy would be able to stand before him. It immensely hurt his pride now that he had to rely on external things.
The artifacts hovered around him without any effort and began to give off a different colored light each. It was a weak glow and weak improvement, but Julius' strength, vitality, and resilience all improved significantly.
Only the slate didn't glow. And neither did it float around as freely. It stuck to his forearm and Julius let it be. It calmed his mind slightly.
"Come." Julius raised the Demon Sword of Neptune and pointed it at the abyssal.
While Julius absorbed Haedon's blood, the sword absorbed Julius' and glowed brighter. Julius felt it hum and the feedback from the sword increased his strength considerably.
The deva artifacts, after all, were never just sovereign-grade treasures. They were used by the deva celestials and were weakened only due to the erosion of time.
Julius was able to use only a bit of their original power. That already gave him a very considerable boost.
"The legacy..." Haedon stared at the artifacts with a sad gaze.
For this legacy, everyone died. Everything was gone.
"Yes, the legacy you sought will become your death," Julius said and his figure flashed.
Haedon answered with two golden fists.
The space stagnated for a moment as the two clashed and then a giant explosion blasted them away.
The Demon Sword in Julius' hands was shaking but otherwise, it was fine. But only Julius knew that if he took those punches head-on, he'd have died.
On the other hand, Haedon grimaced from the two deep and long cuts on his arms.
The strengthening from the artifacts completely changed the dynamics. Julius could now easily win.
Haedon's eyes showed confusion and uncertainty for the first time before they steeled into contemplation and resolve.
"No use resisting." Julius sneered and the sword in his hand hummed.
Their figures flashed in space as they appeared and disappeared, the asteroids exploding and the shockwaves from their clashes sweeping everything in their path.
The scarlet light began to glow brighter and brighter while the golden light grew dimmer.
And finally, the scarlet light overwhelmed the golden light.
"It's over." Julius equipped himself with the blood gauntlet of mercury and punched out.
Haedon's ribs snapped and a huge shockwave passed right through the abyssal. The special aura from the gauntlet sneaked into his body and began to mess it up from the inside.
Haedon struggled to suppress the mess inside while trying to avoid any more such attacks.
But Julius was unrelenting.
Owing to his superiority in all realms of strength, Julius kept landing blows on his enemy.
Soon, the Emperor's body was filled with deep gashes and his insides were messed up to the point of collapsing.
The mighty abyssal ruler endured as much as he could. But his heavily injured and weakened body wasn't able to hold on.
"Ga-argh!"
Julius' gauntlet punched right above the heart and Haedon stumbled back as his armor ripped into pieces.
Clutching his heart, Haedon coughed out blood and knelt on a knee on a small asteroid.
"The end, huh." Julius placed a sword on his neck and raised it for the final slash.
Haedon looked up with defiant eyes. "No, it's not the end."
"Oh, it is. After you die, those pests will too. Then your race will completely end." Julius smiled brightly and swung the sword.
"No." Haedon's body began to glow with a flickering golden light.
As his sword reached Haedon, Julius remained completely focused on his enemy's last moment to ensure he didn't escape.
Exactly then, the slate on his forearm pierced into his chest and exploded.
