613 Beginning of the end
A gentle breeze blew across the area as a brief silence followed after Cassius' earlier display, the gaze of both enemies and allies was pinned on Cassius as they waited to see what he would do next.
"I can see one scoundrel," Cassius said as his gaze settled on Castiel. "Where is the other one?" he asked.
While his words left every other person confused, Synder was the only one who displayed shock. It felt like his secrets were never a secret to start with. Synder had lots of questions in his mind but he put all that aside and met Cassius' gaze.
"You know, the darkness is always aware of the light, but not the other way around," Cassius chuckled on seeing the shocked expression of the God of War.
Upon hearing this a star-shaped body of light formed beside Synder, forcing everyone to cover their eyes due to the intensity of its rays. Normal citizens below who dared to look directly at this light were blinded at the spot. Only Cassius and Synder remained unfazed by the bright light.
The light soon faded, revealing the imposing figure of the God of Light, Solareal. Beside him, Synder stood with a frown etched on his face as he pondered deeply on the implications of the recent developments. The fact that Cassius chose to attack them directly even though he knew he would be going against two Gods meant he was confident he would win. Such confidence from an individual like Cassius is not baseless, leaving Synder wondering what tricks Cassius may have hidden under his sleeves.
"Do not underestimate him, he is more dangerous than you think," Castiel said to Synder, further making the God of war and destruction reevaluate his opinion of Cassius, especially since Valerius had been the one to go against him in the past.
Synder and Solareal shared a glance before moving forward as their body phased out of reality, moving into the astral plane. Seeing this, Cassius casually took hold of his reaper scythe before phasing out of reality as he moved into the astral plane to meet the two Gods.
They had no plans of fighting in the mortal plane as none of them had plans of having their forces and city caught up in the battle. Once the Gods were gone Emperor Cinder shifted his gaze to meet that of the masked man and the area turned tense. Meanwhile, Blake locked eyes with Castiel, however, Castiel wasn't the only one interested in him. Aurelius Frostborne, Cedric Blackthorn, and Luciano all had their malicious gaze pinned on him.
At that moment a fiery domain erupted from Emperor Cinder, expanding rapidly but the masked man had no intentions of remaining idle. Dark ripples began surging from his body, sending silent waves at the fiery domain. As the two forces clashed, the surrounding space twisted before warping both of them away.
As soon as Emperor Cinder and the masked man were gone, four people flew towards Blake. Aurelius Frostborne was the first to act as he split into three. His water clones circled Blake cutting off his possible paths of retreat before they all charged in together.
"You will pay for her death!" the voices of all three Aurelius Frostborne were filled with rage that echoed from all directions as they raised ice-encased hands, stabbing forward with madness and fury dancing in their eyes.
Although he had advanced to the angel realm, he was still no match for an experienced Battle Angel like Aurelius, talk more of dodging a three-pronged attack from him.
However, even against the pressure of these three clones which would make one feel helpless, Blake remained unbothered. At that moment, Emperor Tidewalker also split into three water clones and moved in to intercept the attack. DING! DING! DING!
Loud clashing sounds erupted from three directions as Tidewalker's clones blocked the ice attacks with their tridents.
While this was taking place, gigantic vines erupted from the ground beneath, sprawling around each other as they raced to the skies, only stopping when they could kiss the clouds. The flower bud and the clouds parted while the rays of the sun seemed to focus on the flower alone.
The towering sunflower released numerous dazzling colors as it charged up and in the next moment, a scorching beam erupted from the sunflower racing towards Blake from above, threatening to consume not just him but everyone around him as well.
At the same time, the figure of the second sea lord, Maridus, appeared above Blake, gazing at the scorching solar beam with a smirk on his face. His hands moved gracefully, carrying a frosty wind with them as he threw them forward. Instantly an ice barrier formed a massive ice wall took form, meeting the solar beam directly.
Upon impact, shockwaves erupted across the battlefield as the barrier trembled with visible web-shaped cracks spreading across it. Floating directly underneath it, the second sea lord seemed unmoved as he watched with narrowed eyes as some rays of light escaped through the cracks.
After a few seconds, the trembling stopped and the ice wall shattered into numerous little pieces, revealing the second sea lord, whose gaze was pinned on the councilor standing atop the sunflower, and a charming smile bloomed on his face.
Maridus stood tall and regal, exuding an aura of calmness that mirrored the depths of the ocean.
His presence was striking yet serene—a figure draped in flowing robes that rippled like gentle waves in a perpetual, soothing motion.
Maridus' eyes, a deep and serene shade of sea green, held an enigmatic wisdom that reflected the ancient secrets hidden within the depths of the ocean.
His demeanor was composed and tranquil, radiating a sense of inner peace that calms even the mightiest tempests. On his body, Maridus wore multiple jewelry ranging from rings to earrings filled with inscriptions that radiated magical power.
"I will be your opponent." He said with a smile, revealing his razor-shaped teeth.
As if kicking the ground, his body was propelled forward like a missile, shooting up to meet the councilor. Meanwhile, Blake who was still sandwiched between Emperor Tidewalker, and Aurelius Frostborne quickly warped out, fearing he may be caught in the chaos of their battle.
Turning his attention to Castiel and Luciano he couldn't help but remember his discussion with his friends in the pocket dimension after he told them his story. Brian had revealed everything that happened with Castiel. From getting his hands on the fire inheritance to distancing himself.
Immediately Blake heard this, he understood what was going on. The only Fire God present was Synder and since he was working with the former All-Father, it was clear they had been grooming him to become the new host. Taking into account what Castiel said to Synder before the battle started, it was clear the All-Father had already taken over his body.
The feeling of guilt sipped into Blake since he knew he was the one originally meant to be the host of the All-Father. The actions of Cassisu and Dorain were the reason the responsibility was shifted to Castiel, however, there was nothing he could do about it even if he wanted to help because Synder had always kept a close eye on Castiel. He soon turned his attention to Luciano and a feeling of rage began to emanate from his heart. After realizing that Luciano took part in Castiel's conversion, he realized that Luciano had always been part of his grooming process. His friendship with him had always been fake, all their memories and relationship with him was built on lies and pretense. He was one of the reasons Castiel turned out like this.
Blake was furious!
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m