Against The True Gods

Caine's senses spread out like a tidal wave, engulfing the capital, searching for any anomaly.

'Interesting.'

The crowd immediately dispersed, screams echoing as the countless buildings of the capital crumbled and the earth itself fractured.

Rivers of lava rose from the cracks, filling the air with suffocating heat and blinding smoke.

The skies darkened, clouds gathering to rain down horrifying lightning as soul-rending echoes of thunder filled the ears of all present.

Torrential rain began to pour as harsh winds swept through the capital.

Caine took a step forward, vanishing to reappear high in the skies alongside the other Holy Knights. All their gazes remained locked on the horizon.

"Divine Beast Tide."

There, on the horizon, upon an empty wasteland, countless entities shrouded in incredibly thick qi rushed toward the capital.

Fleets of avian beasts filled the skies as the earth rumbled under the rushing tide of beasts tearing through the land. They surged forward toward the capital like a force of nature.

Dragons and phoenixes soared through the skies, tigers and turtles littered the ground, and the roars of qilins and leviathans reverberated through the air.

Each entity, at the very least, stood at the peak of the Ascendant Realm, their very Wills pulsating with kernels of killing intent.

Together, these Wills blended and blared out through the world like a deafening call for slaughter.

The ten Holy Knights calmly observed this.

"Have beasts been an enemy of the church for long, or is this new?" Caine asked calmly.

Chauvin, the Holy Knight of Indestructible Earth, a man covered in vines from head to toe, answered without hesitation. "The beasts are the envoys of the ancient gods. Once upon a time, when we were mere slaves, before the awakening of the greatest god and the rise of the first pope, they ruled the world."

"Since their fall, they have been trying to reclaim their throne in vain."

Caine nodded in understanding. "Alright, let's deploy. I'll stay back and act as support for everyone. If needed, I'll jump in. Good?"

"Good," everyone said in unison before shooting off into the distance, leaving Caine alone.

The nine Holy Knights dove into the heat of battle, closely followed by their Knight armies.

Caine's hands moved rapidly, weaving through the air, casting formation after formation and spell after spell in quick succession.

As he worked, his mind spun with thoughts.

'Beasts are the common enemy here and seem to be a force the world endlessly clashes with, but I've never heard of this in the real world…' Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire

'Such a recurring war cannot have been isolated, nor could the existence of the church itself…'

'So this is either before the Timeless Alliance arrived in our world or…has happened in a place within our world that no one knows of.'

'Toseh…' Caine's thoughts quickened. 'He was part of their scheme to originally kill me during my coming-of-age ceremony, and he's beast nobility…'

'Which then led me to this fractured reality, most likely under Francis' influence.'

'Should I assume the beasts we face here have become subordinates to the force trying to kill me and Zao, or should I assume they're cooperating?'

His thoughts spun once more.

'But then again, could I link these beasts to the war Zao and the others fought years ago?'

'They appeared to be losing, but none of that shows in the current world…so we won somehow…'

WHOOOSH!

Caine suddenly vanished from his position, reappearing a few meters behind as a blade tore through his original spot.

Looking at the attacker, he chuckled. "Oh my, who would've thought an esteemed elder such as yourself would be so shameless, hm?"

Elder Larisse slowly turned to face him. "I am not an Elder. My name is Elder."

Caine was stunned for a few moments before bursting into laughter. Elder shook her head, already used to such scenes.

As Caine laughed, she moved once more.

The blade in her hand ignited with burning qi as she swung, her muscles bulking and filling out the frame of her armor as she did so.

Caine's hand, though, was faster. Slapping her blade away, he opened her defense, his palm then moving like a streaking meteor to crash into her chest.

Elder choked on her own blood as she stumbled backward in the air. Her qi suddenly faded from her body as death qi began to erode her flesh.

BANG!

A rising kick from Caine connected with her jaw, sending her flying toward the stars above.

"ENOUGH!"

Her True Will suddenly erupted from her body, a domain of darkness surging from her that engulfed both her and Caine.

Looking around, Caine couldn't help but be surprised. Somehow, Elder had managed to spontaneously create a pocket world and twist this world in the image of her True Will.

For all intents and purposes, within this world, she was now a god.

'…Interesting. So Ascendants can create pocket worlds so easily? I'll have to study my manual soon.'

Most of the time, cultivators weren't allowed to know the details of future realms due to complications that could arise either from qi deviation or heart severance.

But Caine, after his Trial of Fate, had no such limitations. And thanks to the manual gifted to him by Fate itself, he'd have absolutely all the details he could ask for about the realms, from the Blood Realm all the way up to Godhood.

All he had to do was spend the time.

"Now, what is the point of all this?" Caine slowly uttered, his fingers holding the tip of a blade that stood mere inches away from his throat.

Suddenly, the fabric of space around him began to tremble as the world itself seemed to tighten and compress around Caine, applying countless tons of force to him.

"Well, I suppose you won't talk."

With a press of his fingers, the blade shattered and immediately, Elder's figure faded back into the endless darkness of the world.

WHOOOOSH!

His wings manifested, flaring out as dark lightning began to coil around his body and his hair turned into a mane of burning obsidian flames.

A spear appeared in his hand, its long blade cracked yet held by spider-like threads of golden qi silk. White runes snaked along the spear's golden pole, and as Caine lightly spun and swung it through the air, the ambient fabric of qi bent and twisted.

"This won't be long," Elder slowly uttered, her voice coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Silence reigned for a moment before they vanished.

BANG!