Chapter 1052: A World's Fate [Part 1]
This wasn't the first time Obelith had fought powerful Wizards and Witches.
In fact, he had killed hundreds of them in the Lands of Saraqael and beyond. Although they were powerful, they had one fatal weakness.
The moment they lost their wands, all of them were done for.
Obelith had watched them beg for forgiveness, asking him to spare their lives. He had relished their fear and desperation, though it did nothing but further fuel his zeal to kill them.
For this reason, whenever he fought against Wizards and Witches, he made it a habit to target their wands, making them unable to use magic.
It had always been a sure-fire method of annihilating Wizards and Witches, so he was confident that this troublesome old man would follow the same fate as his predecessors—powerless, now that the Gargoyle Emperor had taken his wand away from him.
To his surprise, the outcome that he had foreseen didn't play out.
Instead of begging for his life to be spared, the old man chuckled. The Gargoyle Emperor couldn't tell why at first, but it made sense after the Wizard started pummeling him senseless, making everyone who witnessed this scene wonder if there was something wrong with their eyes.
Probably only two people knew that this would be the outcome of Obelith snatching Professor Rinehart's wand away in order to weaken him.
But everyone's expectations were far from the truth.
Professor Rinehart had a nickname among those who truly knew what he was capable of and that was none other than…
Doom's Hand Rinehart.
Because the moment he lost his wand, anyone who faced him was doomed to die by his hand!
The land shook as Obelith crashed to the ground, creating a crater that was hundreds of meters wide.
A moment later, Rinehart descended from the sky and smashed his foot on the Gargoyle Emperor's chest, resulting in the latter screaming in pain as his impact expanded the crater threefold.
"Are you really a Wizard?!" Obelith roared in anger and frustration. "Or are you a Nephilim spawn?!"
Cracks had already appeared on his chest, and even though he was using the Will of the World to help regenerate his injuries, they were healing extremely slowly.
"My great, great, great Grandfather was a Nephilim," Professor Rinehart replied. "Bad blood runs in the family, you know?"
Professor Rinehart chuckled as he smashed his foot on the Gargoyle's head, pinning him deeper into the ground, expanding the size of the crater once more.
The Gargoyles, who were filled with battle intent earlier, now felt anxious seeing Obelith, the strongest among them, getting beaten.
If he couldn't beat Professor Rinehart, then none of them could possibly stand against the latter, whose upper robes had already exploded, exposing a masculine body that made even the Giantess, Xanda, blush.
"Damn!" Godfrey couldn't help but laugh, seeing that the Headmaster, whom he thought was a senile old man, had a body that wouldn't lose to Ethan's. "The old ginger is still spicy!"
Those who were fighting alongside Godfrey nodded in agreement.
In fact, Professor Rinehart's physique looked even better than Ethan's, making the Witches, who had accompanied them in battle, wonder how old he really was.
With their Emperor being beaten black and blue by the Old Wizard, the morale of the Gargoyles plummeted, greatly reducing their fighting prowess.
The Allied Army didn't waste this opportunity and struck while the iron was still hot.
Ethan, Sebastian, Ethan's Other Half, Cedric, Professor Barret, Edmond, and Wallace bulldozed their way toward the other Teleportation Gates, obliterating anything that stood in their way.
The Golden Gargoyles were greatly shaken by this sudden turn of events, but they no longer had any other alternative but to fight to the death.
However, no matter how desperately they fought, it was impossible to stop the momentum of the Allied Forces.
With the Giantess, Xanda, leading the charge, another Teleportation Gate was soon destroyed by her Wooden Club that glowed with runic symbols.
Lady Arawina also tapped her walking stick on the ground, summoning a fifty-meter-tall tree, whose roots and branches lashed out at the Gargoyles like whips.
"I'll be fine here, Illumina," Chloe said. "You should help Ethan at the front lines."
"There's no need to do that," Illumina replied. "As long as the Gargoyle Emperor is defeated, this battle is as good as won."
Princess Wilhelmina, who was also acting as Chloe's protector as per Ethan's request, nodded in agreement.
The three girls then glanced in the direction of the pitiful Gargoyle Emperor, who was being pummeled repeatedly by Professor Rinehart's fists.
The Headmaster's Resonance, the Giant Tortoise, stood behind the Professor, emitting low growls as if trying to tell the Professor, "Rinehart, Old Pal, hold back your rizz! The eyes of the Witches have already turned to hearts, you know? Also, that Gargoyle is almost a goner. Hold back a bit, okay?"
As if understanding what the Resonance was saying, Obelith's eyes turned blood-red as he decided to bring the old man with him to the afterlife by choosing to self-destruct!
Professor Rinehart wasn't fazed by the Gargoyle Emperor's action.
The old man even chuckled before piercing the Gargoyle's chest with his bare hand and grabbing its Origin Core, which fueled Obelith's life force.
Without any hesitation, he pulled it out, effectively stopping his opponent's attempt to self-destruct.
"Damn you!" Obelith said through gritted teeth as he felt his strength leaving his body. "To be defeated by a puny mortal… I can't accept this outcome."
But no matter how unwilling he was, the fact that he couldn't beat the puny mortal was something that couldn't be overturned by mere words.
As the light faded from the Gargoyle Emperor's eyes, the world of Arkanthos shook because it had lost its Guardian and Spiritual Pillar.
High above the sky, a glowing red light slowly descended from the heavens.
It was so bright that it was impossible to ignore.
The red light was moving toward Professor Rinehart, who had defeated the ruler of the world.
Since that was the case, this meant that he had gained the recognition of the world and was fit to become its new Master.
However, Professor Rinehart wasn't interested in the least to hold such an authority.
The moment the glowing red crystal hovered in front of him, the old man slapped it away and sent it flying. His action made Lady Xanda, Godfrey, and Lady Arawina, and those who understood what it represented almost cough out blood. They understood the opportunity Rinehart had just casually slapped away.
That was the authority of a world!
And the old man treated it as if it was something bothersome!
Godfrey was very tempted to shout, "if you don't want it, then just give it to me!"
He was not the only one who wanted to shout such a thing, but they all held back and only watched as the Red Crystal soared across the heavens, flying away, far from their grasps.