Chapter 439 - 439: Absolute power

"It's been a long while since I have relied on a magic weapon in battle... In fact, it's been a while since I have used the abilities I learned and perfected in my younger days... I guess this is a good opportunity for me to make use of them again..." Derik said with a smile on his face.

Turning his attention to Blata, he spread his hands open, signaling his for to throw the first blow.

"It won't be fun if it ends before you get the chance to showcase your strength..." Derik whispered but the words echoed repeatedly in Blata's ears!

BLASPHEMY!

"You dare look down on the strength of the beyond? You are courting death!" Blata roared as his body let out a bright glow and countless golden chains shot out from multiple magic arrays set up around Derik, binding him even before he could raise a finger.

"You fail to understand one thing... The only thing absolute in this life is death!" Derik's eyes widened as his death aura began to leak, slowly rotting away the golden chain.

"I won't let you!" Blata roared as he gripped the void and pulled down viciously.

Star power: Star fall!

Suddenly the sky turned blue and countless star-shaped glowing white rocks began shooting down from above.

"Cute" Derik who was still bounded by the golden chains watched the countless human-sized twinkling stars and smiled.

He could recall his battle with the beyond and when this technique was used on him. He had to defend against countless planet-sized stars. Compared to that, these human-sized stars were like child's play to him.

"I will play with you, little one! Death magic: Shriek of the dead!" Derik laughed as the chains around him shattered and a massive angel of death avatar began forming around him.

It was a larger version of the angel of death with four black wings, a black hooded robe dr.a.p.ed over his head, and a massive death scythe in its hands.

Gazing at it from afar, the legs of the civilians began trembling and many wanted to flee but their legs refused to carry them. They gazed at the seven new gods in awe and fear and many were confused on what to do next.

"Shatter apart!" Derik spoke calmly but his dead avatar let out a loud shriek which sounded like a thousand souls crying for help all at once.

Swoosh!

Brandishing its death scythe against the countless stars, a powerful pulse of death aura was sent across the skies and almost instantly, all the stars were wiped away like they never existed.

"Impossible!" Blata's calm demeanor was gone now.

Swoosh!

Almost instantly, the death avatar vanished Derik vanished as well. Placing his hand on Blata's shoulder he yawned again pissing Blata off even more.

"Get back!" Blata was spooked by Derik's disappearing act and quickly released a shockwave of his invisible force, hoping to blast Derik away.

"Interesting!" Derik grinned as he was slowly pushed back while struggling with the invisible force. 

"Shatter!" Derik's eyes let out a bright glow as he shattered the invisible force.

Pa!

Blata attempted to flee but before he could move, Derik was already in front of him. Holding him tightly by the throat.

"You can only summon magic on par with a peak grade gold realm master... But have no control over it... You are just like a child given a sheathed sword, playing with it without knowing that the main blade is yet to be revealed... You can not draw out the full power granted to you because your foundation is lacking... You all are the same... Weak!" Derik said while looking down on the archbishop with an eye filled with contempt.

His grip on the archbishop's throat tightened and loosened occasionally as he considered if it would be wise to just kill him off immediately. He considered using the archbishop as a plaything to help reduce the faith these people have in the beyond, but these kinds of things are not what Derik enjoys doing. 

"Don't you dare look down on me! Scorching sun!" the archbishop said after so much effort.

Wooosh!

The sun got brighter and the temperature kept rising at an alarming rate. At first, Derik chose to ignore it but then it felt so hot that he couldn't help but think that the sun was placed directly behind him.

"Hmmm?" Derik was a bit stunned when he saw a huge sun descending from the skies, threatening to crush him. He turned his attention to Blata and a vicious smile appeared on his face he asked the question.

"Do you want to die?" 

"Hehehehehehehehe! Let's die together!" Archbishop Blata laughed wildly causing Derik to reevaluate the man in front of him.

He came to a conclusion that Blata was actually too young and impulsive to be an archbishop. It's quite possible that he was made an archbishop under the orders of the beyond and sent as a scapegoat. They were most likely using him to gauge their strength before they can make a move.

"Just another pawn" Derik sighed as he lost interest in the battle.

Raising his left hand, he stole a glance at the falling sun and a vicious smile bloomed on his face.

"Only one person's light can match my darkness and it's not yours! Vanish! Blackout!" Saying this, darkness suddenly enveloped the sun, before reducing it to dust.

Cyrus couldn't help but smile at Derik's earlier comment. He too was stunned by the domineering power Derik showcased here.

"Maybe I have been dead for so long, I have forgotten the kind of people we used to be" Cyrus said as images of their past battles together flashed across his mind. Never for once did they consider their enemy's realm.

Death magic had almost no limitations, drawing power from all sources and no rules applied to it, unlike other elements.

"The purpose of all life is death!" Cyrus muttered Derik's words and he was beginning to believe it.

He was beginning to believe in the absolute power of death!