The surroundings were cold. All the gods felt their hearts racing. They realized that this was a battle where they weren't going to survive. Even if they put up a fight, there was no escape from this.
Still, they were filled with determination to not die for nothing. Even if they died, they wanted to die proudly. They weren't going to escape again.
The old man looked at the other gods next to him.
"This might be our last battle together. Even though I didn't expect our last battle to be this... But I feel proud that in this one last battle, we are together..."
The old man raised his hand, calling forth a Trident that was his own unique weapon.
The other gods also brought out their own unique weapon. In the meantime, Ezekiel didn't attack them. It was as if he was giving them time to get ready for the battle.
The old man was the first to move. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. He appeared right behind Ezekiel, thrusting his trident. The entire space around him was getting destroyed in the attack, but he didn't care.
At the same time, the other Gods also moved. All five of them attacked at the same time, using their Godly Weapons filled with divinity.
"If this is all you can do, then I am heavily disappointed," Ezekiel's calm voice fell in everyone's ears as their attacks were stopped merely inches away from Ezekiel's body.
It was as if there was a mysterious aura barrier around him. Their weapons couldn't even pass through the aura barrier, let alone harm him.
"As I said, I will make this quick as my thanks to someone."
A powerful burst of dark energy came out from Ezekiel's body, sending all the Rebel Gods flying.
The burst of energy wave alone was enough to send the gods flying. It made the gods realise just how big a difference was between Ezekiel and them! It was even worse than they expected.
Ezekiel hadn't even moved yet they were hurt.
A terrifying pressure descended on all the gods, making them unable to even stand up. It was as if a heavy mountain was pressing down on their bodies.
Ezekiel turned toward the old man, who tried to force his body up, only to fail. He remained on his knees, even as his muscles bulged.
He couldn't even move an inch as he slowly stepped toward the old man in the distance.
"I thought you would be able to put up some fight... Once again, empty arrogance with nothing to show for," Ezekiel commented as he raised his sword. "I will send you to your eternal resting place!"
Ezekiel swung his sword, bringing it slashing down. In the other place, the old man closed his eyes. The other gods also closed their eyes, not willing to see this scene.
Seconds passed. The old man held his eyes closed, but he didn't feel any pain. He was still alive. Confused, he slowly opened his eyes, only to see Ezekiel's face.
Ezekiel had a confusion on his face. However, what was strange was that some dark shackles had come out of the ground.
The dark shackles had wrapped around Ezekiel's hands, stopping his attack before his sword could touch the old man.
The old man frowned. Was someone helping him? Who did these chains belong to? Why was Ezekiel looking confused as well?
While the old man was lost in thoughts, he heard the sound of calm footsteps. He looked towards the source of the footsteps. The other gods also opened their eyes, looking in the direction of the footsteps.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ezekiel asked, looking in the direction of the footsteps.
His eyes rested on Gabriel, whose dark robe was fluttering with the wind with each step he took.
Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck, as if he had a myriad of his thoughts in his mind.
"I thought a lot about this... for a moment, I even made up my mind to abandon them for my ultimate goals. However, I couldn't go through with it..."
"I forgot one important thing along the way... I had forgotten the promise that I made to myself." As Gabriel spoke, more and more dark shackles came out of the ground, wrapping around the body of Ezekiel.
"The promise that I will never let anyone take something that belongs to me... The promise that I won't lose anyone again," he stated. "I can't let it happen, even if it's you..."
Ezekiel stopped before the head of the Lion Monarch whose eyes were still open.
He went down on one knee, closing the eyes of the Lion Monarch. "I am sorry for being late..."
From his storage ring, he brought a jar of wine that he received from the Lion Monarch previously and placed it on the ground next to him.
"Do you realize what you're doing?" Ezekiel asked. His expressions turned darker. "You want to stand against me for... them?!"
"Please let them live... I don't want to fight you if possible." Gabriel stood up, turning towards Ezekiel.
Back in the empty space, he had sealed his senses, not wanting to hear what was happening. He had almost convinced himself as well. However, he couldn't control the turmoil in his head. It felt as if he was going crazy.
He was going to fight Caen and Janus! If he couldn't even stand against Ezekiel to save his people, then did he really have the right to stand against Caen and Janus? Was he really going to abandon those gods after promising them a new life?
Eventually, he opened his eyes, feeling a sudden change in him. His thoughts were filled with darkness and death. However, deep in there, he had the fear of loss... The fear of the same past repeating again and again!
Eventually, his eyes turned cold as he decided that he couldn't let it happen. Even if it was Ezekiel, he had to intervene.
Ezekiel's eysa rested on Gabriel, who was standing before him. Dark chains wrapped around his body, keeping him in place.
"You think these chains can stop me?" Ezekiel asked. If he wanted, he could break these chains in the blink of an eye.
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