Chapter 79: Destruction and Secrets 2
Amon stood motionless amid the carnage, the Winter Frost Blade humming eagerly in his grasp.
The Butcher’s mask concealed his features, but beneath it, his eyes glowed with cold indifference.
The night air, once filled with the faint echoes of retreating guests, now carried the metallic tang of blood and the crisp bite of impending frost.
The figure bursting from the palace was Elias Miraclad himself.
The family head’s SSS-rank aura exploded outward like a storm, cracking the ground and sending shockwaves that shattered nearby windows.
His silver hair whipped wildly as he descended, eyes blazing with fury and disbelief.
Behind him, several elite guards and elders materialized, their combined presence shaking the mountain estate.
"How dare you intrude upon the Miraclad ancestral grounds?!" Elias roared, his voice amplified by powerful sound techniques. "Identify yourself, assassin, before I tear you apart!"
Amon remained silent.
He took one casual step forward and activated Close Yet So Far.
Space folded.
In the blink of an eye, he crossed a distance that should have taken seconds, appearing directly before Elias as though the laws of physics had bent to his whim.
The family head’s eyes widened in shock, his enhanced reflexes barely registering the movement.
Amon’s fist, empowered by his Mystical Divine Physique, drove forward.
There were no flashy techniques, only raw, overwhelming force.
BOOM!
Elias crossed his arms in a desperate block, summoning a shimmering mana barrier.
The impact sent him flying backward like a cannonball, crashing through three stone pillars before skidding to a halt.
Cracks spiderwebbed across his forearms, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Impossible..." Elias gasped, disbelief coloring his tone. "You... you’re no ordinary assassin. What rank are you?!"
The elders and guards charged in unison, unleashing a barrage of skills.
Fireballs, shadow lances, and earth spikes rained toward Amon.
He did not even raise his blade.
With a thought, Close Yet So Far twisted the distances.
Attacks that should have struck him veered harmlessly into empty space or collided with their own casters.
Two elders screamed as their spells backfired, freezing solid under the residual chill leaking from the Winter Frost Blade.
Amon flicked his wrist.
A single sword light erupted.
The next instant, three guards froze mid-leap, their bodies turning into intricate ice sculptures before shattering into harmless fragments that dissolved into the wind.
"Elias," Amon finally spoke, his voice distorted slightly by the mask but still carrying that unmistakable calm tone. "You should have left my family alone."
Elias’s eyes narrowed as recognition dawned upon him.
He pushed himself up, wiping blood from his lips.
"Amon...? That voice... You pathetic failure? How is this possible?"
Elias’s eyes widened with terror.
They trembled as they stared at the masked figure.
Upon closer inspection, he recognized the familiar clothes Amon had worn during the banquet.
Amon raised his hand to his face and placed a palm over his mask.
Gradually, he lowered it, removing the mask and revealing a calm, unbothered face.
His black hair caught the moonlight, cascading casually beside his face.
Staring at the man who was his father, Amon let out a faint breath before lifting his gaze toward him.
Elias’s pupils shrank drastically.
"You... you were an unawakened trash! This power... it can’t be!"
He exclaimed, finding it difficult to believe.
After all, just ten years ago, Amon had been unawakened.
There had been no signs of abnormality around him despite the family tracking his whereabouts a few months ago.
How could it be that Amon now possessed strength rivaling his own and even surpassing it?
Elias continued staring at the strikingly handsome face, hoping it was all a dream, perhaps an illusion.
Unfortunately, none of that happened.
Instead, Amon took a light step forward.
With that step, Amon became a specter of death.
The Winter Frost Blade sang as he blurred through the crowd.
Each swing claimed a life.
One elder’s ultimate defensive skill shattered like glass as the ice attribute seeped into his mana core, halting his techniques entirely before the blade cleaved him in two.
Another tried to teleport away. However, Close Yet So Far made distance meaningless.
Amon appeared behind him mid-teleport and drove the blade through his spine.
Screams filled the night.
Blood painted the ancient stone pathways.
The once-pristine ancestral palace grounds turned into a frozen slaughterhouse.
Elias watched in growing horror as his elite forces fell one after another.
He channeled his full power, summoning the Miraclad family’s signature technique, Eternal Bloodline Dominion.
Instantly, golden runes erupted around him, boosting his strength and summoning phantom warriors from the family’s ancestral spirits.
"You ungrateful whelp!" Elias bellowed, charging with renewed fury. His fists carried the weight of centuries of accumulated power. "I’ll extract the secret of your strength from your corpse and use it to elevate our family beyond this dying world!"
Amon met him head-on.
Their clash created a crater in the courtyard.
Shockwaves leveled nearby buildings.
Elias’s eyes burned with ambition.
He believed he could still win, still claim whatever mysterious power Amon had obtained.
But the gap was insurmountable.
Amon’s Mystical Divine Physique was three times stronger than before the upgrades.
Every punch carried mountain-crushing force.
The Winter Frost Blade danced, leaving trails of conceptual ice that slowed Elias’s movements.
"You speak of the coming calamity, so it seems I was right. You know something about..." Amon said coldly between exchanges, his voice cutting through the chaos. "The ancient eras before the dungeons. Tell me what you know, old man."
Elias’s movements slowed ever so slightly before he continued attacking.
However, Amon instantly caught the momentary pause due to his heightened perception.
If his guess was correct, Elias was aware of the coming destruction and knew far more than he let on.
Amon’s hair fluttered wildly as the Winter Frost Blade danced through the air, releasing all sorts of terrifying attacks.
He constantly employed his sword arts, but due to his enhanced physique, all of them had blended into a single unique style of movement.
Amon moved like a god of slaughter, slicing through the phantom spirits.
The old man tried to block the attack, but Amon’s strength was simply too overwhelming, sending him staggering several meters backward.
Amon’s blade rested at the edge of his neck.
With the slightest movement, he could kill his predecessor’s father.
Yet he paused, wanting to obtain the information he had come for.
"Tell me the information I need to know and I will spare you."
Hearing his words, the old man glanced up and stared into Amon’s cold, emotionless eyes.
He was not a fool.
At a mere glance, he could discern the thoughts Amon harbored within.
"I know you’d kill me either way. I’m certain of that."
His voice was a mixture of regret and sadness, though relief lingered beneath it.
Chuckling darkly, he continued.
"Even if you kill me, you’d never escape the coming calamity. No one can. Everyone you know and love will die. This is the cycle of life and no one can survive it!"
Hearing his words, Amon paused ever so slightly.
However, his eyes remained calm.
Staring at Elias, he spoke in an even, meaningful tone.
"I know you have a way to survive. Someone like you wouldn’t want to die because of a calamity. Tell me... what’s it?"
