Chapter 2096 Empyrean
?Death's Scythe vibrated violently. Eventually, it broke free of Dyon's hands, raising up into the skies and shaking with all its might.
Suddenly, its black fog began to form a vague image. It wasn't a person or a beast. Rather, it was simply a single pupil with irises as red and blood and whites as black as night.
A ghastly scream reverberated across the battlefield.
Swaths of enemies who met this gaze fell one after another, their souls ripped from their bodies and sacrificed to Reaper.
'Those fundamental runes are too weak for you.' Dyon thought fiercely. 'I'll snatch stronger ones for you. When those aren't strong enough, I'll snatch even more. If even those aren't enough, I'll create ones that surpass everything, that sit atop of everything!'
Reaper shook, its outer layer shedding to reveal a coating that was somehow even darker. It was a black that absorbed every bit of light that touched its surface, the kind that was indistinguishable from the dark depths of space.
The vicious red iris eye melded into its black fog, sinking into its body as a barrier was shattered.
Dyon didn't need to guess to know what happened. His Death Scythe, his Reaper, had broken through the Venerable Grade and firmly entered the Empyrean Grade.
It slowly fell from the skies, landing in Dyon's hands with a dignified air. In that moment, Dyon felt that Reaper no longer hinged its existence on just one world.
Dyon looked toward Reaper. "… It seems we can end all of this soon."
A weapon with this level of power had no business appearing on the mortal plane. With such a master behind its back, the result was even more obscene.
By Dyon's estimations, Reaper had likely been very close to entering the Empyrean Realm for a very long time already. However, it had been too limited by the laws of its weak world. In addition, its previous master was a mindless madman and had no ability to give it such a resonating name.
The moment it entered a world with looser restrictions and was given its true name, it erupted with a strength of an entirely new level. It soared beyond its previous limits, entering a realm few weapons had ever touched before.
Of course, the Immortal Plane had its fair share of Empyrean weapons. What truly made Reaper special was the fact it had actually been able to evolve to this state. Such weapons were extraordinary as they had their own sentience.
Madeleine, who had been fighting on the back of her ice phoenix, smiled and shook her head.
'He's only been gone for three months yet he came back so much more powerful.'
Madeleine knew well enough to understand that this definitely wasn't due to the Death Scythe alone. She could sense that the Death Scythe would be nothing more than a sharp stick without Dyon.
"Since my husband is here, there's no need to continue this." Madeleine said lightly.
A crystalline fan appeared in her hand as her imposing aura climbed several levels higher.
The ice phoenix's sonorous call screeched over the battlefield, its long neck standing proudly as it shot out a beam of concentrated ice will.
"What are you proud for?! You're nothing more than a mutt now!"
The Griffon cried out in rage, its beak sharply snapping in the air.
"Die!"
Madeleine's beautiful violet pupils contained not a single ripple. She looked on expressionlessly, her momentum climbing.
The griffon's proud wings spread, a strong burst of rolling earth qi accumulating from its mouth.
The beam of earth qi jetted outward, tearing through the ice beam of Madeleine's ice phoenix and toward its arrogant neck.
However, before it could pierce, Madeleine had already taken action.
"… [A Goddess' Melody… Love's First Sight]…"
Madeleine's adoring gaze landed on a man standing arrogantly in the skies. His clothing was borderline barbaric, maybe in the past, a man with an Emperor's stature would never dare appear in public with his torso bare and his pants rolled up.
Yet, she was completely intoxicated by this very uncultured man. With him, her attack held an unfathomable strength.
The winds seemed to sing, a lovely song playing in the skies.
The dichotomy was striking. On one side, there was a man who wielded pain, disgust and death. And on the other… There was a woman who moved love, beauty and life.
The world followed Madeleine's rhythm.
At first, she felt a hard to resist pressure bearing down on her. But at that moment, the man in the skies sent a light smile toward her.
The difficulty plummeted. The world opened up to her whims, bowing down as it should have from the very beginning.
Madeleine's wrist flicked forward, cutting a wave of silvery gold qi across the skies that split the beam of earth qi directly in half.
Even as Madeleine's attack was being launched, Amphorae promptly reacted. Though she had suddenly fallen from the most powerful of Dyon's wives, this was only because Madeleine and Ri gained what could be considered unfair advantages. Strictly speaking… The potential of a 12-winged Angel was beyond imagining.
A bloody aura shot from her body as her crimson wings reflected under the red sun.
The melody of her golden flute became more savage and oppressive, underlying Madeleine's lovely tune with a sharp edge that wasn't possible before.
The two resonated with one another, multiplying and layering exponentially.
Ripples spread through the air, bombarding the Orc Overlord the red-haired beauty was facing.
Simultaneously, two Overlords fell.
To one side, a mighty griffon of several kilometers long was split in half, its organs and blood raining down from the skies upon the screaming warriors below.
To another, a silver-skinned orc imploded from the inside out, its enraged roar echoing through the skies in indignation as it understood its coming fate.
Just like this, the battle seemed to be over. Less than 40% of the troops remained while their most powerful expert was felled by Madeleine. It had only been a few minutes, yet a war that had been raging for two months ended in a flash with the appearance of just one man.