Chapter 34: Absolute Suppression

"I will pulverize all of you," Nyx stated coldly.

He extended his right arm into the empty air. Dark purple mana surged from his palm, condensing into a massive, ornate dark scythe featuring an ’S’-shaped orb at its crest. He spun the colossal weapon effortlessly, a dense aura of pure black destruction wrapping around his form like a mantle of death.

He pointed the razor-sharp tip directly at Vorzakh’s throat.

The God of Darkness had returned.

"GRAOOOOR!"

Vorzakh thundered, an ear-splitting howl tearing from its jaw as its three crimson eyes locked squarely onto the reincarnated deity standing where the fragile mortal had just been.

The 8-meter primeval colossus ignited its pitch-black wings, kicking off the shattered plateau with horrific acceleration. Bedrock exploded under its hooves, throwing up a curtain of jagged stone as it closed fifty paces in the fraction of a heartbeat.

Nyx clicked his tongue, a faint curl of disdain touching his lips.

Vorzakh swung its massive scythe horizontally. The crystal edge dragged a crescent wave of spatial-tearing dark energy behind it, capable of cleaving physical reality into absolute oblivion.

To Nyx, the terrifying speed of the titan was reduced to a sluggish crawl.

Without breaking stride, Nyx shifted his center of gravity. He casually backflipped over the sweeping crescent, his dark cloak fanning out as his boots lightly tapped the flat of Vorzakh’s descending blade. Using the monster’s own kinetic momentum as a spring, Nyx vaulted high into the air, landing lightly upon the titan’s outstretched right shoulder.

Vorzakh thrashed violently, roaring in frustration. It whirled its massive frame, bringing its heavy left claw up to crush the intruder against its neck.

Nyx didn’t even blink. He dipped low beneath the sweeping arm, executing a fluid spin on the monster’s collarbone.

SWISH—!

The ’S’-orb scythe hummed as Nyx drove the curved tip directly into Vorzakh’s right jawbone.

CLANG—CRACK!

Black blood exploded from the impact as the crystal-infused bone splintered. Vorzakh thrashed backward, its massive arm flailing to swat Nyx out of the sky like a persistent gnat.

As the colossal claw swept toward him, Nyx casually stepped onto the titan’s knuckles mid-swing, using the backhand momentum to propel himself backward into a seamless mid-air rotation.

SLASH!

In the apex of his arc, Nyx dragged his dark blade vertically down the monster’s spine. A line of deep purple mana erupted along the cut, tearing open a massive, smoking laceration that exposed the dark skeletal frame beneath.

Vorzakh shrieked in agony, staggering three massive steps forward. Before it could recover, Nyx flickered into motion again, landing on the base of the titan’s right wing root.

With a brutal, precise sweep of his scythe, Nyx cleaved through the thick cartilage and bone connection.

SPLAT!

The colossal black wing was cleanly severed, falling to the earth with a heavy, bloody crash.

Vorzakh dropped to one knee, its remaining wing twitching uselessly as dark fluid rained down upon the gravel.

Nyx floated down to the ground ten paces away, his boots making no sound as they touched the soil. He looked down at the bleeding titan with vacant, unblinking eyes, his expression utterly devoid of emotion.

Driven into a wild, survival-driven frenzy, Vorzakh threw its head back. Its split mandibles unhinged completely as a dense sphere of unstable purple energy began to form inside its throat.

The energy core expanded rapidly, growing from a tiny spark into a roaring, five-meter meteor of compressed spatial destruction. The hum of the spinning mana vibrated so violently that the surrounding air hummed like a broken engine, casting a blinding purple glare across the entire shattered hill.

Vorzakh snapped its head forward, launching the massive energy meteor straight at Nyx.

BOOM!

The projectile tore through the terrain, plowing a deep, smoking trench into the bedrock as sharp, glowing cracks expanded along its trajectory.

Vora watched from the cliff edge, her eyes wide, her chest locked tight as she braced for the impact.

Nyx stood motionless in the path of the oncoming star. As the swirling mass of destruction reached within arm’s reach, he simply raised his left hand, spreading his fingers open.

ZRRRT—!

The five-meter meteor didn’t explode. The moment it made contact with Nyx’s bare palm, an invisible gravitational vortex expanded from his skin. The roaring sphere of spatial destruction groaned, spinning out of control as it condensed, turning smaller and smaller like water vanishing down a drain.

In less than two seconds, the entire mass of compressed energy was swallowed completely into Nyx’s palm, leaving behind only faint wisps of black smoke drifting off his skin.

Nyx lowered his hand. His vacant violet eyes fixed on the titan with absolute, quiet contempt.

Vorzakh’s three crimson eyes dilated in raw, primal horror. The primeval apex predator, stripped of its arrogance, realized it was standing before a force that operated entirely outside the laws of nature.

Disregarding Vora’s screeches, Vorzakh turned its massive body around and scrambled toward the edge of the hill, desperately attempting to hurl its massive frame off the cliff to escape into the fog below.

"Don’t you dare flee, you pathetic beast!" Vora shrieked from the side, but the monster was far beyond listening.

Nyx didn’t move a single step. He merely pointed his left index finger at the retreating colossus.

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

Thick, pitch-black chains laced with glowing purple runes erupted out of thin air behind Vorzakh. The heavy links shot forward like striking vipers, wrapping tightly around the titan’s thick ankles, torso, and remaining wing root.

"GRAAAAAH!"

Vorzakh slammed onto the gravel, its massive body locked down tightly as the chains bit deep into its armor, pinning it helplessly to the earth.

Nyx casually raised his scythe, spinning the ’S’-orb blade in a slow, hypnotic rhythm. The dense aura around the edge collapsed inward, forming a dense, black-hole vortex around the cutting point.

He stepped forward.

SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH—!

Nyx moved through the space like a flickering shadow. Within a fraction of a second, dozens of violent, purple lightning lines crisscrossed Vorzakh’s giant frame.

The sound of flesh tearing, bone snapping, and spatial destruction echoed across the quiet hill in a horrific, satisfying rhythm.

Vorzakh’s roars of pain were cut short as its monstrous form was methodically bisected into dozens of clean, square fragments.

Nyx stopped five paces ahead, coming to a rest with his back turned to the carcass. He slowly turned his head, watching as the severed head of the 8-meter titan rolled to a stop at his boots.

Extending his palm over the colossal head, a black gravitational field expanded from his skin. The massive, horned head crumbled into glowing purple particles, pulled directly into his hand alongside the rest of the butchered remains scattered across the clearing.

Within seconds, the 8-meter primeval titan was wiped completely from existence, leaving only a scorched crater where it once stood.

Silence descended upon the mountain.

The young refugees huddled around Liora’s unconscious body stared at the dark figure with absolute, paralyzing terror, their trembling hands clutched tight against their chests.

A few paces away, Ryu lay face-down in the dirt, completely unresponsive.

Nyx shifted his vacant, unblinking gaze away from the survivors, turning his head slowly toward the cliff edge.

Vora stood near the boulder, her face pale, her lips trembling slightly. Then, her shoulders began to shake, and a sharp, shrill laugh burst from her throat, echoing wildly over the quiet plateau.

"So Velista was right all along..." Vora cackled, her eyes wide with unhinged realization. "The ancient vessel of Nyx really was buried inside that useless mortal... Hahaha!"

She took two steps forward, her high heels clicking sharply against the gravel.

"To think the great God of Darkness would actually awaken in front of my very eyes..."

Vora reached out her right hand. A surge of dense purple mana flared around her palm, solidifying into a long, ornate dark longsword. She gripped the hilt tightly, raising the tip until it pointed straight between Nyx’s eyes.

Her terrified expression vanished, replaced by a dark, manic grin.

"Come then, mighty God of Darkness," Vora taunted, her stance rigid, her sword humming with unstable energy. "Show me what you’ve got!"