Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 635: Personification

Morthen stared at Gabriel, Daniel, and Israel with a smile on his face, the other three bearing frowns on their faces, their expressions hardened with caution and restrained hostility. Although they were wary of the soul-bound book, it did not mean they feared it; they would just personally avoid the battle, that was all, as veterans who understood that caution did not equate to weakness, but rather to survival.

Silence stretched between them as their presence continued to build, thick and suffocating, the air itself seeming to grow heavier under the pressure of their combined auras, the next moment, it shattered as Daniel, Gabriel, and Israel moved at the same time, their speed faster than thought itself, they arrived before Morthen with speed that seemed to surpass teleportation itself, as though space had willingly parted to grant them passage.

The moment Daniel arrived, he did not hesitate, his sword appeared in his hand as though it had always been there, his blade cloaked in dense Astra energy, and with a blurring motion that distorted the air, he slashed outward towards Morthen’s neck with lethal precision and unmistaken intent.

Israel was a martial artist, his hands were covered in reinforced gauntlets that gleamed faintly under the sheen of Astra energy, he punched at Morthen’s ribs from the side, the air and space collapsing around his fist as he unleashed a punch with the force of a dying star, the sheer weight behind it causing the surrounding atmosphere to tremble violently.

Gabriel used a spear, he appeared silently like a ghost emerging from the void, his spear also cloaked in Astra energy that pulsed with terrifying density, he thrust forward, the air and space stretching outward with his thrust as though they were trampolines, bending unnaturally as he aimed directly for Morthen’s eyes with deadly accuracy.

Morthen felt the pressure, the three attacks closing in with ridiculous speed and overwhelming force, a grin spread slowly across his face, he did not need his soul-bound book to dodge, after all, he was a Crownstar Life Ranker, a being who stood far above conventional limits.

His body simply blurred into motion, as he flickered out of his position, dodging all three attacks in one seamless stacking motion as though he could predict the future itself, his movements refined to an almost impossible degree.

The land, air, and earth burst apart for over a hundred kilometres as three different attacks tore outward after missing their target, shockwaves rippling with immense weight and destructive force.

Daniel did not slow down for even a fraction of a second, the moment his attack missed, he transitioned fluidly into the next one, Astra energy cloaked his entire body this time, not only his blade, and in a blip, he vanished from existence as he appeared before Morthen again, he unleashed a slash at the man’s heart with lethal force, the strike carrying both precision and overwhelming power.

Morthen smirked faintly, with a mere thought, his soul-bound book began to flip with immense speed, its pages turning in a blur as though guided by an unseen force.

[Fictional Reality: Summoning Type: Excalibur]

Astra energy pulsed violently from his Astra veins as he summoned one of his weapons, the next moment, a radiant golden sword materialized in his hand, and without any form of hesitation or delay, he swung it upwards, meeting Daniel’s sword with ridiculous speed and unshakable strength.

A titanic force tore outwards the moment their blades met, compressed air rings slicing violently through the surroundings, distorting the very fabric of space, but the instant their blades clashed, Israel and Gabriel closed in like assassins as they moved to take advantage of that fleeting opening, the moment they arrived, they attacked with relentless ease and ferocity as they dared not spare Morthen even a single moment to breathe or recover.

Morthen’s senses snapped sharply towards the incoming attacks from both sides, although he had summoned Excalibur, at the end of the day, he was not a swordmaster by nature.

But...

His soul-bound book flipped again as he readied another ability as though he had the perfect solution prepared for every conceivable situation and every possible attack.

[Fictional Reality: Personification Type: Swordmaster]

Astra energy flowed rapidly through his veins to activate the new ability. In that instant, his entire demeanor seemed to shift, his presence becoming sharper, more refined, his grip on Excalibur changed subtly yet profoundly, if before he stood like a normal human who had merely been given a sword, now he stood like a man who had walked the path of the sword for countless years, his posture, balance, and intent all perfectly aligned.

With that, he deflected Daniel’s sword to the side with extreme ease, his hand turning into a blur as he parried Gabriel’s incoming attack towards Israel with seamless precision. Israel, seeing the redirected attack hurtling towards him, had no choice but to abandon his own assault in order to defend himself, but the moment he did, Morthen capitalized on that fleeting hesitation, his sword, Excalibur, turned into a golden blur, and with sickening ease, he tore through Israel’s flesh like a knife through butter, the strike clean, efficient, and devastating.

Before Morthen could follow up with another attack, a foot screamed towards his head from behind, racing towards his temples with explosive speed, Daniel was already on the move again, tireless and unforgiving.

Sensing the incoming attack, Morthen immediately squatted as he dodged with precise timing, Daniel’s foot tore through the air, ripping apart the space where his head should have been. The next moment, Excalibur vanished from Morthen’s hand as he activated another ability with linking swiftness, transitioning seamlessly without pause.

[Fictional Reality: Personification Type: Martial Master]

His body and presence changed once more, shifting from that of a man who had mastered the sword for ages to that of a man who had refined his body into an absolute weapon, every muscle, every movement honed for combat. Still within his squatting motion, he immediately shifted direction, his body now facing Daniel directly with calculated intent.

Without missing a beat, his fist blurred upwards like a descending comet in reverse, streaking towards Daniel’s guts, in that split second, he unleashed over ten thousand fist attacks, each one precise, rapid, and devastating, all directed towards the same vulnerable point.

But Daniel was a seasoned veteran, he was not caught off guard, his reaction time was instantaneous, Astra energy surged through his Astra veins, immediately forming a reinforced Astra barrier at the exact point of contact, the moment Morthen’s barrage of fist attacks collided with the barrier, Daniel’s body was violently thrown backwards like a kite caught in a raging windstorm, he may have successfully blocked the attacks, but his barrier did not cancel the sheer inertia carried within them.

Before Morthen could give chase or press the advantage, Gabriel was already in motion once more, his spear descending from above like a celestial weapon tearing down from the heavens themselves with unstoppable force.

Although still in a lowered stance, Morthen simply shifted to the side as he turned in one fluid and controlled motion, effortlessly dodging the incoming strike. Gabriel’s attack slammed into the earth with catastrophic force, tearing open a titanic sinkhole that stretched for thousands of meters, so deep that it seemed as though the planet’s core itself could be glimpsed from within.

But the moment Morthen completed his dodge, the only thing that filled his vision was Israel’s fist closing in once again with explosive speed, carrying the force of a rocket, Astra energy surging violently around his arm and amplifying his punch to an immense degree. Morthen’s hand rose calmly, he did not counterattack with brute force, instead, he simply used the back of his palm to deflect the incoming strike to the side with effortless ease.

But he did not stop at a mere deflection, while his right hand redirected Israel’s attack, his left hand had already curled into a tight fist, which he drove forward into Israel’s ribcage with the force of a moving train, the impact reverberating through the surrounding space.

Another attack screamed in from the side with catastrophic intent, but Morthen did not even bother to block or counter it directly, he simply vanished from where he stood, leaving that portion of space entirely as though he had never been there to begin with, the moment he disappeared, a world-ending, cataclysmic burst erupted outward with overwhelming intensity as the missed attack obliterated everything in its path, erasing the landscape and stretching across hundreds of kilometres with terrifying ease.