Chapter 889: This Man Is Simply a Demon!

The pure gold spine of the blade seemed to bespeak an incomparably noble divine throne, while its silver-white edge gleamed with a cold light that seemed freezing to the very bone.

The crossguard resembled a roaring golden deity, coated in cerulean lightning and divine fire that dyed the entire sword the color of the open sky.

At first glance of this blade, the only thought that came to mind... was that of a monarch ruling high above the heavens, the father of the gods; Isabella felt as if she were witnessing the unparalleled authority and supreme glory the weapon represented.

This was the Blade of Olympus, akin to the unextinguishable divine flame of Mount Olympus itself, embodying the absolute authority of the Olympian gods, yet now... it rested in Kratos's hands.

For... its original master had long since fallen, and its new lord was none other than this God of War, Kratos, who had brought Ragnarok upon Olympus!

Inexplicably, the sense of crisis within the Valkyrie Isabella's heart grew sharper and more intense.

This fierce premonition of danger prompted her to gather an even greater surge of divine power; her physical form expanded at a staggering velocity, until within a mere breath, she transformed into a colossal titan, her head brushing the heavens!

The earth itself seemed unable to bear this immense weight, trembling, groaning, cracking, and slowly sinking downward.

Her divine sword, like a mountain of ten thousand blades, was slowly hoisted aloft, cleaving even the vault of heaven to expose patches of pitch-black void.

It left the chilling impression that, should she desire it, a single downward stroke of this sword would instantly shatter and annihilate the entire world!

Their might had long surpassed the limits of what this world could endure, contained within their bodies only by virtue of a formidable capacity for control; perhaps... it truly would be no great matter for them to destroy this realm.

Upon the divine sword, a raging divine fire ignited, such that even in distant nations, that flash of orange-gold flame could be seen rising like the fury of the gods, burning the very sky!

Devoid of any ostentatious flourish, perhaps vindicating the adage that "great skill appears unadorned," the blade slashed down in a solitary, straight strike, yet it made one feel that this incomparably simple blow was the supreme rule of heaven and earth, the absolute summit of martial discipline in this realm!

If an artist capable of capturing the divine craftsmanship of nature were present to sketch this scene, even a mere sheet of blank paper would carry the majestic aura of heaven and earth!

Such was the nature of primordial deities: their every word and action manifested the rules; they were, perhaps, the very laws of this world!

With this one stroke, everything would end.

She would use this blow to teach these mortals that only the gods are eternal.

Yet in the next instant, this invincible strike, unexpectedly...

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!

The surging divine power billowed through midair like a rushing tsunami, yet it spared the earth below from even a fraction of harm; Isabella's gaze fell upon the figure beneath her blade, only to witness that the infinitesimally small form before her had merely raised a sword and perfectly... defended against this world-destroying assault!

Under the collision of their vast divine energies, a displacement of air was instantly triggered, exploding tens of thousands of feet in the sky!

The heaven and earth both bore witness, and even the Pantheon trembled violently!

The Valkyrie Isabella stared blankly at the result of her strike; in all her long career of warfare, she had never encountered anything so utterly appalling.

"He actually... blocked it!?"

Immediately afterward, Kratos soared high into the air like a dark golden arrow, carrying a matchless divine might, and before Isabella could guard against it, he slashed out several terrifying wounds all along her arm to her shoulder!

Divine blood splattered upon the earth, and this time, Isabella's body showed absolutely no signs of recovery!

At this moment, Isabella finally felt fear; this sword brought a threat of mortality even to an eternal, primordial deity!

"What kind of sword is this!?" Isabella watched in horror as the divine blade inflicted monumental damage upon her body, and she realized he was charging straight toward the space between her brows.

Her newly gigantic form, far from dealing the desired damage to her opponent, had turned her into a massive, living target!

With a fierce roar, the blade thrust downward.

Isabella reverted to her original form almost desperately in an instant! With a snap of her wings, she manifested elsewhere in the next heartbeat, as if by teleportation.

Flash-stepping! Vibrating space with the most minuscule of movements to traverse to another location in an instant—this was not magic, but a potent combat technique.

Yet she had never imagined that a day would come when she would use it to flee.

A drop of cold sweat fell along with her movement.

"Terrifying... this mortal..."

"No, it is this divine sword that is terrifying! This mortal must only be borrowing the blade's power... it must be so!" Her experience from countless wars allowed Isabella to calm down rapidly; having deduced her opponent's advantage, she felt she was not without a chance of victory, for... she still possessed an incredibly rich well of combat experience.

Her highly seasoned eye immediately discerned that this divine sword did not represent Kratos's inherent power, and that by wielding this force, his own divine energy was depleting at an extreme rate.

Only a portion of what resided within Kratos was divine energy, while the rest was mortal strength; though this divine portion was potent, it was chaotic and mingled, utterly incapable of comparing with the pure divine energy in her own body; as long as she relied on her formidable combat skills and experience as a goddess, this battle would be well within her grasp, and she might even... take the opportunity to seize this incomparably powerful divine sword!

At this thought, the Valkyrie Isabella could not help but grow gradually excited; it seemed she could not remember how long it had been... since she last encountered a battle that could rouse such fervor in her!

"To force this goddess to such a degree of seriousness... whether you are a god or a human, you are worthy of my remembrance!" A blazing light flashed in her eyes; combat—this was the long-lost sensation of true battle!

But just then... she saw the bald man opposite her actually sheath the divine sword?!

To put it away at this critical juncture?! And then once more... draw that pair of chained blades!?

What on earth was he thinking!?

"Could it be that his consumption has become unsustainable...!?"

"No... he clearly still retains a modicum of divine energy..." Isabella hovered in the sky, her eyes entirely filled with bewilderment.

In the split second that thought flashed through her mind, her sword had already slashed down; no matter what her opponent intended, her eyes held only victory! She would prove to the entire cosmos and all these mortals that she, the Valkyrie Isabella, was absolutely not to be defeated by some random deity from who-knows-where.

For in this realm, the deity representing war could only be her!

This battle...

"Shall be won!"

The great sword in her hand instantly traced out an array of profoundly cryptic arcs in the sky! The trajectory of each strike seemed to contain supreme truths, until at this moment, it resembled an incomparably noble... flower of divine blades blooming across the cerulean sky!

"Clang!"

A resounding clash echoed; within those unfathomably cryptic trajectories, Kratos did not dodge or evade, his golden fleece bracer blocking directly ahead with flawless precision to parry her assault!

Furthermore, Isabella felt the immense force upon her blade deflected in a peculiar fashion by that small bracer, while the great sword in her own hand vibrated so fiercely it nearly numbed the web of her thumb!

Immediately following that, she felt a sudden chill at her waist.

He was actually... matching strength with strength using pure combat technique?!

Isabella reacted in an instant, but the fighting spirit in her eyes only burned more furiously; the combat arts accumulated over countless years could finally be unleashed to her heart's content at this very moment!

This battle might just allow her to enjoy herself to the fullest!

Twisting her waist in a manner that almost completely defied human anatomy, she managed to evade the blow by a hair's breadth, then spun back with a counter-slash aimed directly at her opponent's head!

"Clang!"

Another massive collision rang out; she saw her opponent move as if by mere reflex, leaving her to doubt if it had even passed through his brain—it had already fused into a primordial instinct!

The force within her sword was rebounded with an even greater momentum!

The tremendous power forced her back several paces involuntarily; her heart sank slightly, as her exceedingly rich combat experience told her that if her opponent attacked at this moment, it would be fatal!

Without a second thought, even as she was being pushed back, she unleashed a lightning-fast arc of sword light.

Yet at this moment, she saw her opponent move as though possessed of precognition; almost at the exact instant she swung her sword, his footsteps were already treading a path of side-evasion, so that when her blade cut through, he avoided it with flawless timing!

Everything flowed like water, as if his original stride had been intended thus from the beginning!

"This...!!??"

In the next instant, she faintly heard the crisp rattle of chains; the Blades of Chaos in Kratos's hands had already swung forth!

Almost without thinking, she snapped her wings—flash-step!

It allowed her to escape the predicament in an instant.

But... in the very next heartbeat, she discovered that the chained blades had, from the very beginning... been tearing toward the exact spot where her feet were about to land!

It was as if she had thrown herself directly onto the chain-blades.

"How… is this possible?!" Dragged backward by the chains in an instant, her eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated horror.

And then… it was as if she had plunged straight into hell!

The Blades of Chaos thrust violently, piercing straight through her chest!

"Ah—!" With a wretched, pathetic shriek, a tearing agony ripped through her entire body; in a mere heartbeat, a multitude of massive, gaping wounds opened across her flesh.

The Blade of Chaos pinned her ruthlessly to the ground, but the true terror was the sudden, excruciating laceration she felt right between her shoulder blades!

Amid her agonizing screams, her wings were torn away, ripped from her back one by one by sheer brute force!

Never in her entire life had she known such shock and terror. She struggled frantically, screaming out, her primal instinct for survival driving her to claw her way forward across the floor. Golden blood splattered everywhere, soaking the ground!

This man was nothing less than a demon!