(AN: OMNISCIENT POV)
Eshwar rolled to the side, following his instincts, and avoided the blow that would have killed him for sure, yet not a single change was seen in his dead expression.
BAM-!
Atman's punch connected to the stair and shook the room slightly as the mana concentrated on his first dispersed upon contact with the room. Eshwar glanced at Atman's fist as he rolled to the side and noticed mana being sucked into the ground, more precisely into the material from which the room they were currently trapped in was made.
Calculating his next course of actions instinctively, Eshwar continued to roll until he was only a few steps away from the wall. Since the room was smaller than the normal crown room, Eshwar had planned to use the terrain to his advantage, but whatever he wanted to do, he had to do it before they realised his plan.
As soon as Eshwar glanced in front of him, he found Atman zooming at him. By the next instance, before Eshwar even blinked, Atman had arrived in front of him and kicked at his head. Even though a blow that could easily kill him was fast approaching right in front of him, Eshwar didn't even flinch as he ducked lower to avoid the kick, and he did.
BOOM-!
Atman's mana, which was concentrated in his kick, formed an arc that shot out from his leg and dispersed upon contact with the wall, making the room tremble violently because, even though the attack wasn't physical, the mana was dense enough to hold in the power of a cannon ball.
25 seconds remained.
Without wasting any moments, Atman swung down his leg, which was still in mid-air due to the missed kick. Eshwar pressed his arms down and lunged himself forward, towards Atman's crotch, with the intention to burst them.
Shuddering due to the instinctive warning he received, Atman halted his attack and jumped, covering his crotch with both hands, forgetting about the fact that Eshwar was currently weaker than the Rank-F players in the world.
Only after his retreat did Atman realise that fact, gritting his teeth in displeasure and shame, Atman's glare intensified as he realised the reason he was forced to retreat.
'His intent....' As Atman thought, it was Eshwar's intent that forced him to take a step back. Eshwar's intention to burst Atman's genitals was so clear that it oozed through his actions, forcing his opponent to believe that nothing except retreat was an option.
Eshwar's intention was so clear that Atman and the others were having a hard time believing that Eshwar was currently weakened.
"20 seconds. Humzmmmm...uzhummm~~" Eshwar reminded them and began to hum his ominous-sounding melody again as he swayed, dancing to his own ominous rhythm as he stood back up, ignoring the broken bones protruding from his forearms. Due to him applying a strong force to his already broken arms when he pushed himself at Atman, the bones bent at an unnatural angle and protruded from his forearms, as a few shattered pieces of bones pierced his muscles internally.
"Humzmmm~" The hum that sounded like a requiem began to resound in the heads of those present as Eshwar danced with unsteady steps like a drunkard.
Hmmmmumhmmm~~
The time slowed down in their sights as they gazed at Eshwar's each and every unsteady step as he danced, swaying back and forth as the cracking sounds of his bones resounded subtly in their ears.
"HummmmmMMMM!!!" And abruptly, a high-pitched, intentional hum resounded throughout the room and jolted them awake from their stupor, as their minds were filled with the thoughts of their deaths.
When Atman refocused on Eshwar, he noticed Eshwar's broken arms touching his ankles and wrists in a rhythmical manner as he danced to his ominous melody.
"10 seconds." Eshwar reminded them again as he continued to hum. Atman clenched his fists and gritted his teeth before glancing at Ortharious, who was gazing at Eshwar's ominous dance with cold sweat piled up over his forehead.
"Your majesty, he is nothing but a weak pest. I suggest we amuse ourselves as he attempts to kill you, futilely." Atman said it in a confident tone with a smirk on his face. Such profound confidence oozed out of him that it made the others, who were counting seconds till their deaths, weaver as they, the royals, too, smirked as they gazed at the pitiful state Eshwar was currently in.
Except for Isha and Godred, whose faces were pale due to fear, the royals and the others that came together with Eshwar had different varieties of expressions on their faces.
Grace, Neal, Reynolds, and Hannah were pitying Eshwar, while Charlie gritted his teeth because he felt extremely sorry, guilty, and weak, considering the current predicament, as he was blaming himself for not warning Eshwar and others about his father's astute and uncouth character and for not warning them about the existence of such a room, which even he didn't know until now.
Zu'e, Marcia, Okisada, and Alexandru had strange, expectant, and disappointed looks on their faces. Expectant because if Eshwar succeeded in what he said he would do, then the empire would come under their control, disappointed because Eshwar was in such a wreaked state that seemed beyond healing, as his state also destroyed their hopes of him even being able to do anything since it seemed like it was going to be one hellish experience for him to even move from the spot he was dancing ominously.
"Your one minute is up." Eshwar spoke in a cold, hoarse tone that made it impossible for those who heard it not to shudder in fear.
"HUMZZMMMM~" Eshwar's high-pitched, hoarse hum resounded throughout the room as he casually walked towards Ortharious in a peculiar gait.
"You don't believe I'll let you through now, did-" Atman blocked Eshwar's way with his right hand, while the smirk on his face widened until it seemingly reached ear to ear.
CRACK-!!
"AAARRRGGGGH!!!" Atman's anguish-filled scream resounded throughout the room as he held his unnaturally twisted right arm as he screamed, which forced those present to gaze at the scene with their eyes widened.
Was what had happened just now hard to follow? No. Was it an attack that was too strong for Atman to avoid? Absolutely not. Then what really happened? No one, except for the one who experienced it and the one who made it that way, knew what had just happened.
As soon as Eshwar was in front of Atman's right arm that blocked his way, Eshwar simply placed his wrists on Atman's arm, pressed them on it, and twisted them with a force that a normal, mana-less person would be able to exert fully.
As soon as Eshwar's shackled wrists came into contact with Atman's arm, he felt as if all the strength in his arm had left, and before his mind derived an understanding of the situation he was in, a strong, excruciating pain assaulted him, and when he glanced at his arm, which was the source of the pain, he noticed that his arm was twisted in an unnatural angle.
The shackles that tethered each and every natural energy using ability were used in such a manner that none, not even their creator, could imagine using them in the way Eshwar had just used them.
Eshwar had placed his shackled wrists on Atman's right arm and forcibly cut off the connection between his arm and his mana core, temporarily bringing Atman's arm to the state his entire being was currently in, a normal, mana-less human's state, which made it easier for Eshwar to twist it entirely, though he had exerted all of his strength that he could as a mana-less, normal human being.
As Atman continued to scream in anguish, Eshwar had already lunged himself towards Ortharious, who was dazed by what he had just witnessed, and without wasting a single thought, Eshwar placed his shackled wrists on Ortharious' neck, leaned forward, and bit Ortharious' Adam's apple without a hint of hesitation in his actions.
CRACK-!
SPIT-!
THUCK-!
"Grogle...g...." After spitting Ortharious' Adam's apple aside, Eshwar gazed at the gurgling, dying man with a cold expression on his face as the horror-filled expression on Ortharious' face became temporarily permanent.
Everybody, including Isha, shuddered in fear when a cold grin crept up on Eshwar's blood-dyed face as Ortharious' blood dripped from his mouth. Godred, who seemed to have aged by decades in the last few minutes, rushed towards the throne where Eshwar stood and knelt on one knee with his head down.
"Glory to the great one!" Godred exclaimed, his voice dyed in fear and awe.
Eshwar simply turned around, ignoring Godred as his gaze flitted on the fear-dyed faces before he walked towards Atman with a noble, imperial gait and stopped a few steps away from him.
"I accept you." Eshwar said in a cold, lifeless tone, to which, in response, Atman stopped his anguish-filled cry.
"Tch!" Atman clicked his tongue in displeasure as his right arm healed completely, and with a snap of his fingers, the shackles binding Eshwar, Isha, Grace, Neal, Reynolds, Hannah, and Charlie shattered into a million pieces.
And following the gesture, Eshwar's body also healed completely but was still dyed in blood. Isha was dumbfounded by what was happening, which was the same with everybody in the room, but since to "him" only Isha was important, he only cared about her.
Atman turned to face Isha and winked at her with a smile before opening his mouth to answer her unvoiced question. "I have created an entire planet; creating a body isn't that big of a deal for me." Atman said before his existence exploded into miniature golden particles with ominous black energy in the middle and disappeared into Eshwar's blood-dyed body.
Eshwar closed his eyes as he looked up, relishing the feeling of becoming a complete existence, and by the time I glanced back at Isha, "Eshwar" had become "I."
With a bright smile, I gazed at Isha lovingly and
"I'm back."
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