Reaper of the Martial World

Book 4: Chapter 67: Farce

In the skies above earth, a planet shaking and star destroying battle was taking place. The attacks were so ferocious that matter formed and collapsed with every strike.

Patriarch Ragnor stood leisurely, watching the scene with a smirk on his face. No matter how intelligent Dyon was, he could never have predicted this outcome.

Within his thoughts, he assumed that the only way Matriarch Niveus could break free was because the Clyte either called upon their ancestors, or Patriarch Ragnor was much stronger than he was letting on… Never would he think of the possibility of Patriarch Cavositas being capable of fighting both his mother and father in law alone! Patriarch Ragnor didn’t even need to fight!

The battle of celestials had split into two phases. The first was the husband and wife pair fighting against a man they had clearly underestimated severely. The second were their remaining allies, including Patia-Neva, clashing against the Ragnor alliance.

Kawa Acacia couldn’t believe what was right in front of her eyes. She was a supreme beast, among the most talented of her kind. Sure, she was still relatively young, not even a thousand years old yet, and yes, she had given up her more talented beast form in order to marry and be with her husband, and yes, this universe wholly lacked the resources necessary for her to make use of her still outstanding remaining talent… But wasn’t this too exaggerated?!

Everyone knew and understood that full blooded beasts had to choose one of three paths as Zaire explained to Dyon. There was the beast path. The human path. And a path remaining for only those talented enough – taking both prior paths simultaneously. However, what Zaire didn’t mention was that even supreme beasts weren’t usually talented enough to take this combined path choice. And yet that was the path Zaire had chosen!

When Kawa came to this universe, she had already firmly stepped into the beast path. Choosing such a path didn’t mean you couldn’t enter your human state, it only meant that everything there was about you was beast. However, keeping along that path was a living nightmare for Kawa once she fell in love with King Acacia… Why? Because choosing the beast path meant that you could only ever have children with compatible beasts.

Unfortunately, this was the exact reason Kawa, despite being hundreds of years old and a supreme beast talent, was still not a dao formation expert. In order to share a child with the man she loved, she dangerously risked cultivation deviation to forcefully switch paths. This resulted in a drastic loss in talent as well as immediate cultivation, but she had never once regretted it.

However, right now… She was sorely lacking in power…

Kawa blitzed Patriarch who gracefully wielded bright red halberd. It must have weighed as much as a small moon, and yet it was swung with such an effortless might that the destruction left in its wake was shocking.

King Acacia played a supporting role, using his soul bond with his wife to direct her to in battle. He could easily see through Patriarch Cavositas’ intentions, but somehow, they still couldn’t manage to get the underhand. Luckily, Kawa was fighting tenaciously, and had managed to remain injury free despite the situation.

Much like Dyon, King Acacia had dual manifestations. One was the Tree of Life and Death and the second was his mist manifestation – one he shared with his younger brother, Ajaar Acacia.

King Acacia’s Tree of Life and Death though could not be compared to Dyon’s… It was on an entire other level.

It completely lost its obsidian bark, replaced by a clear and crystalline body that sharpened its offensive capabilities. In combination with King Acacia’s mist, it completely disappeared from sight, allowing King Acacia to launch attacks covertly while directly his wife.

Their tag teaming capabilities were on such a high level that it wasn’t a mere addition when they fought together… It was an amplification!

Kawa’s swords play had long since reached a formless state. Unlike conventional wisdom, it was her tails she used as her weapon, allowing them to whip about as her fist raged forward.

The halberd was heavy, but Kawa always make such to deflect it with at least three tails, optimizing her ability to block and attack all at once. But… The expression of leisure on Patriarch Cavositas’ face, the fact that she sensed no killing intent, and even worse, the fact that Patrarch Ragnor had yet to make a move left her with a feeling of unease.

King Acacia understood this point more than anyone. After all, he could clearly see their intentions. ‘If only I had more time…’

Having only been cleansed just a day prior, how could have King Acacia recovered his cultivation completely? He had managed to once again step into the second celestial stage, and he had thought that was more than enough if he had access to his true empath abilities, but somehow, Patriarch Cavositas had the battle prowess of a dao formation expert!

‘It must be the blood sacrifice technique. Dammit!’

Suddenly, a voice entered King Acacia’s mind, ‘What do you want to do about this? They’re clearly stalling for time but waiting also benefits us.’

Kawa’s tails once again reflected the massive halberd, breathing in deeply as she sent out a palm strike coated with dense ice intent.

‘They may very well not make it at all…’ King Acacia responded.

A silence reigned between them as the battle raged on with solar bodies as their backdrop.

‘Then we need to tell them to run.’

These words weren’t actually sent between them. But, as husband and wife, after years of being together, and with the connection of their souls, they understood the gravity of the situation. No matter how wishful their thinking… They already understood that they couldn’t win this battle…

As parents, there was no hesitancy in their thoughts. If they couldn’t survive, they would make sure their children did.

The clash of celestials continued as Kawa and Edrym sought a way to break away. The problem, though, was Patriarch Ragnor. It was clear that he was taking a back seat not just out of conceit, but to also act as a barrier to their escape. With the husband and wife’s pair level of battle experience, they could tell that even with his leisurely appearance, he was on full alert.

‘Just what are they biding time for?…’ King Acacia wracked his brain, but he couldn’t afford to divert too much of his attention from Kawa. He hadn’t recovered enough to battle someone as powerful as Patriarch Cavositas head on, so he had to make sure he put his wife in the best position to do so. All of his senses were fully trained on the two opponents before them.

That said, it didn’t stop him from realizing that none of this made any sense. If they had any semblance of patience, they wouldn’t have started this war so early. Why before the tournament even ended? Why at the time they did? Nothing made sense.

‘Unless…’ King Acacia’s mind suddenly remembered an odd occurrence with Dyon. His son-in-law had rushed out of the stadium, mid fight. When he had come back, he hadn’t been able to come directly to him and Kawa, but, he had allowed King Acacia to sense the fact that he had brought someone back with him.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence. Dyon knew that direct contact with his mother and father in law would have been too tricky, but he knew that King Acacia’s senses were back and sharp enough to put the pieces together himself.

And although King Acacia eventually came to the wrong conclusion, it was a conclusion that was close enough to the truth that acting on it gave the same benefits!

‘That person Dyon saved, they must want to take her back while we’re occupied. She’s definitely highly important to something they want to accomplish!’

Immediately after reaching that conclusion, King Acacia mind diverted for a split second, checking the on the second fight that was raging. And, exactly as he had feared, someone was missing!

‘Matriarch Niveus is gone!’ King Acacia grit his teeth. The situation couldn’t have been any worse. He was willing to bet that all this time, Patriarch Ragnor had sealed off the area entirely to not allow communication. With Kawa and him occupied, the likelihood of stopping Matriarch Niveus multiplied to near impossible levels!

King Acacia’s eyes flashed as his focused trained on his wife’s battle again, ‘It’s a faint!’

The halberd cleaved downwards, causing Kawa to flicker four of her tails toward it again. But… This time, she met nothing but air.

Ripples of space and crackling cold shot off with a target to meet, just as Kawa processed her husband’s words.

The halberd changed directly by sheer brute force, dodging the tails. A vicious glint lit in Patriarch Cavositas’ eyes as a dark destruction aura dripped from the end of the red halberd, cleaving space toward Kawa.

A sharp sense of danger invaded Queen Acacia’s beastly senses. King Acacia’s instant of mental deviation had resulted in a major mistake. In normal combat, as experienced as Kawa was, she would never lose her balance by putting the full brunt of her power in a strike. But, because of her full confidence in her husband, she didn’t battle with any apprehension.

Luckily though, because of their soul connection, she had felt his mind become distracted just in time to realize a mistake had been made, so she was in full retreat almost as immediately as she missed.

Space groaned as gravity bent around the fall halberd, but Kawa was able to calculate that it was just miss her by a hair as long as she kept her backward momentum.

However… That was when an explosion that shook a planet that dwarfed most stars in size sent shock waves through the vacuum of space – erupting shards of rocks and hot air that catapulted in the abyss of endless darkness.

In that moment, Kawa’s eyes widened in shock. An entire half of the planet was bathed in flames… Flames that were quickly spreading and threatening to burn the whole planet to the ground!

Even Patriarch Ragnor’s calm face twitched slightly at this sight. He knew fully well that there were only three people left on the planet capable of this feat. One was Elder Daiyu, but he was within the Belmont Holy Land currently, it didn’t make sense for him to do this. The other two were Connery Sapientia and the last was Matriarch Niveus… But, why would any of those two do such a thing?

‘The treaty…’ Patriarch Ragnor immediately noticed that it was the mortal side of the world that was the most effected. But, his face then regained its usual nonchalance. ‘It’s served it’s purpose. After today, there wouldn’t have been a use for it anyway. However…’

Patriarch Ragnor smirked. He had immediately deduced what would have to happen.

Kawa’s shock and worry affected her speed, causing the halberd to just barely graze her. She grit her teeth, feeling the skin of her belly slice apart as the blade crossed her horizontally.

Dense destruction intent corroded her skin on contact, forcing its way toward her inner organs and attempting to rampage.

Blood seeped from Kawa’s kimono as a fierce ice purity will blasted from her, pushing Patriarch Cavositas away as she leaped backward to King Acacia’s side. Her will circulated, stamping out the destruction will and sealing her wound. And yet, despite dealing with the immediate danger to her life, the worry in her heart only grew.

She had no idea what was going on or how this had happened. But, even if Dyon managed to save Ri and Madeleine himself, she knew it was impossible to expect him to save everyone. How could Kawa not understand how important the elves were to her husband? It was her kingdom too! She was their queen!

‘Edrym, you stop it. I’ll hold them off.’ Kawa spoke to her husband quickly. She was well aware that with King Acacia’s mist manifestation, his affinity for water type wills was great. He was more than enough to cool the atmosphere and stop the chain reaction that was taking place.

But, they both knew there was another reason he had to be the one to go… Kawa was the only one that could stop Patriarch Cavositas and Ragnor directly…

“Go!” She roared.

King Acacia grit his teeth before shooting off toward the Earth. In order to not affect what was going on below, they had flown far above. Had they not, the residual impact of their battle would have been no different than had they been on the surface. However, that decision was proving to be a problem now.

Patriarch Ragnor chuckled as he appeared beside Patriarch Cavositas. Unbeknownst to Kawa and Edrym, the only reason why Patrairch Cavositas hadn’t said a single thing was because all of his senses were cut off. He had essentially been turned into a machine for battle in that instant. The reason why was simple. Making use of power that wasn’t your own was of a huge detriment to the body – Cavositas hadn’t gotten a power upgrade for free. His inner organs were sheering apart, his muscles were hanging onto their tendons by a string, and the pain he would feel had his mind been conscious would have been too much for anyone to deal with. Including Dyon.

Even worse, the blood sacrifice technique came with it a major impact to the soul. The original technique was meant to be used as a power source for the inanimate. After all, it had only been developed by Sargeras as a means to time lock the Timeless Library – something the Ragnor weren’t aware of. As such, he didn’t care about it being tainted with the numerous wills of those who had been killed. However… That was completely different when the power was applied to a human or animal…

All at once, the wills of the hundreds to thousands you had killed for your benefit were tearing away at your soul. If Patriarch Cavositas didn’t cut away his very self when using such a power, if he didn’t essentially become an empty capsule without emotion or feeling, he would lose himself.

Clearly, though, Patriarch Cavositas didn’t care. In fact, he didn’t even chase King Acacia, his eyes were trained on Kawa, scanning her every movement.

“I bet you’re wondering why this one is so powerful,” Patriarch Ragnor patted his ‘friend’s’ shoulder, smiling amiably toward the still bloodied Kawa.

Kawa’s brow furrowed, she couldn’t understand why he was making idle chitchat right now. But, something was telling her that if she tried to go and help her husband, Ragnor would instantly attack.

“It’s quite an interesting tale, if you can believe it. Usually, it would be extremely difficult to drain enough powerful cultivations to have this sort of effect – especially considering our King Belmont would never allow such a thing. Also, this friend of mine is still of poor cultivation, and the Cavositas aren’t special at all except for having a small affinity for a weak branch of destruction will. So, why can he fight you?”

Patriarch Ragnor’s unsettling laugh continued as he transmitted his message through celestial energy. After all, speaking in space was impossible.

“You’re all under the impression that Patriarch Cavositas is a celestial with battle prowess capable enough to fight you husband-wife duo. But, the truth is that he isn’t even that.” Patriarch Ragnor laughed as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. “The Cavositas were nothing before I arrived here and brought them up. How could they have a lineage powerful enough to produce a celestial? This man is nothing more than a saint.”

Kawa’s eyes widened in shock. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. A saint?! Capable of fighting on the level of a dao formation expert?! That was impossible!

“Wait, wait,” Patriarch Ragnor’s laughter boomed through the darkness of space, taking the blazing sun in the distance as his backdrop, “It gets better.

“The reason we were able to gather up such powerful experts in the first place, is because of the stupidity of one of your own allies.” Patriarch Ragnor all but wiped tears of joy from his eyes as a sudden realization dawned on Kawa.

“That’s right.” Patriarch Ragnor continued, holding his sides from splitting in his fit. “If it wasn’t for Patia-Neva sitting idly by as the Clyte massacred his family, you would never have to face such a powerful opponent.”

Kawa’s eyes glistened with tears as she remembered the emotions that flooded her when Patia-Neva had confessed his sins to her and Edrym.

This plan ran much deeper than any of them had ever expected…

It was no coincidence that the Clyte were allies with the Ragnors… It was no coincidence that all of the Patia-Neva clan were decimated… It was no coincidence that Patriarch Cavositas was so powerful…

The blood sacrifice of an entire Royal God Clan ran through his veins…

**

Patia-Neva tore through Earth’s atmosphere, not daring to spare the time to look back and check on his wife’s situation.

Down below, Dyon was still beyond consolable. His emotions were constantly boiling at a point where he couldn’t even bring himself to think straight.

With every passing moment, all he could think about was how an entire population of people had been wiped out just for revenge. Innocent men, women and children, snuffed out because someone more powerful decided that their lives were a worthy exchange for their own petty feelings.

He wanted to roar into the skies. He wanted to shatter everything in his path. He just didn’t want to deal with any of this anymore.

Looking out, Dyon saw the world reddening before his very eyes as the temperature continued to rise rapidly and without remorse. However, just as he was about to put aside his own feelings to try and do something, anything, to help the weaker elves, another large boom sounded off in the sky as King Acacia tore through the final layer of the atmosphere.

Dyon watched as his father-in-law spread out his arms, causing a furious wave of cold mist to coat the skies.

The domineering change in temperature was so drastic that the winds kicked up, causing furious dark clouds to collect in the air as thunder rumbled.

The cold spread and spread. Soon, a crisis that could have ended all life was ended on the whim of a celestial. And this stood as the second time that saw the freedom that unparalleled power gave you.

To wipe out life in an instant… To save it all in an instant… That was the power of a celestial…

Rain began to pour downwards, sending a wave of relief over the masses that felt as though they were burning alive just a few moments ago. But, that was when a wave of unease came over Dyon and his allies, riding on the laughter of a man who stood among the clouds, a bloodied figure hanging from his hand as he clenched its neck.

Ri’s heart seized. Tears fell from her eyes, but she couldn’t rip her gaze from the skies.

“I see,” Patriarch Ragnor chuckled in the skies, but there was a clear anger in his voice. “So Matriarch Niveus died… To think I underestimated you to this extent…”

The figure in Patriarch Ragnor’s hand coughed violently, spurting up blood as the grip of her throat tightened.

“Kawa…” King Acacia froze. He had only been gone for a moment. It was impossible for Kawa to lose so quickly! He refused to believe it!

The darkness that covered Patriarch Ragnor cleared up as he laughed it away. “No matter, no matter.

“But, I think it’s time to end this farce of a war.”