Chapter 451: The Apocalyptic Scene
The powerful strikes of the five Campiones clashed with the descending pillar of lightning, creating a temporary stalemate.
Then, the person directly beneath the lightning pillar shattered this equilibrium.
His method was simple—he launched a direct attack to disrupt the balance.
The result was like a needle piercing a balloon: an explosion.
And the first to bear the brunt of the explosion was, of course, him, who was directly beneath it, engulfed by the unleashed energy.
"Truly a perfectly timed detonation,"
The black dragon who uttered these words also spread its wings to shield its entire body as much as possible.
At the same time, one of its dragon claws strangely retracted inward, as if trying to burrow into its abdomen.
This was because the dragon claw was clutching a body—the human form of Marquis Voban.
Currently, his transformation into the Black Dragon of the Underworld was not a physical change but a materialization of his soul after it emerged.
Thus, one of the complications of transforming into this black dragon was the need to protect his physical body.
So, the moment he contracted his body, multiple streams of fused, violently clashing energy surged toward him.
The dragon's exterior—its steel-like black wings—was rapidly torn apart, and the scales covering its body were melting under the intense heat.
Its massive form was also being pushed back by the sheer physical force of the shockwave.
"Heavenly Dao clear and bright, Earthly Dao tranquil and peaceful, Human Dao empty and serene!"
Luo Hao once again briefly amplified her power, and the colossal Vajra figure behind her stepped forward, bracing against the oncoming shockwave with immense force.
"Boom—!"
The Titan Spirit was still shaken and forced to retreat.
Therefore, Luo Hao shrank the massive Vajra figure; the larger it was, the greater the surface area exposed to the impact, and the pressure would increase explosively.
Eventually, it shrank to about two meters in size, enveloping her like a human-shaped Vajra shield.
With a raised eyebrow, Luo Hao concentrated all the defensive power of the Vajra shield to her front.
In other words, what was originally a 360-degree human-shaped Vajra shield now became a frontal shield, leaving her back unprotected.
After all, the shockwave came from the front, so there was no need to protect the rear; it was better to focus all power forward.
Although her back was unprotected, the intense heat from the explosion swept over it, making her feel as if she were a monkey roasting in the Supreme Elder's alchemical furnace. In the blink of an eye, she was drenched in fragrant sweat.
"Hmm? This is..."
Pushed an unknown distance away by the massive explosion, Luo Hao looked up at the sky with a startled expression.
Then, she smiled—a brilliantly captivating smile.
That terrifying pillar of lightning wasn't primarily meant to attack them but to counter a strike from the heavens.
As a Campione, she could also sense an overwhelmingly powerful nemesis presence high in the sky, far surpassing any Heretic God she had encountered before.
So, that was—
"The Last King?"
A murmur escaped Alexander's lips.
As the shockwave from the massive explosion hit, he instantly transformed himself into lightning using his Authority of Thunder, minimizing the damage he sustained.
Simultaneously, in his lightning form, he immediately sensed the clash of two terrifying thunder forces.
One was undoubtedly the work of the Apocalypse Knight, while the other should be the Last King he was seeking.
In their confrontation, it appeared the Last King held a slight advantage.
No—
"So that's it!"
The Apocalypse Knight suddenly detonated the lightning pillar approaching the ground, igniting the energy of all Campiones for this very purpose.
It wasn't to annihilate them but to use the shockwave from this massive explosion to propel his own lightning pillar upward.
Thus, the explosive force violently compressed his lightning pillar upward, enhancing its power and pushing back the opponent's pale lightning.
However, after reaching a certain point, a balance was struck.
The continuous compression of force between the two sides eventually reached its limit, leading to the ultimate outcome—
"BOOM—!"
More terrifying than the explosion on the ground, the heavens and earth were bleached by an intensely dazzling light.
If this power had detonated on the surface, the Black Prince had no doubt that Mount Nikko would instantly vaporize, and the surrounding hundreds of kilometers would become a molten lava swamp due to the high temperatures released, resembling a supervolcano on the verge of awakening.
The shockwave from this explosion overwhelmed the lingering shockwave from the ground explosion, subjecting them to a terrifying pressure crashing down upon them.
"This truly is an apocalyptic spectacle."
In the distance, a figure—Touma Amakasu, covered in dust and grime, watched the scene of destruction with a face full of terror.
Mount Nikko had completely vanished, replaced by a massive crater large enough to swallow several Mount Nikkos.
Such destructive power meant that the Hime-Mikos and curse masters on Mount Nikko had undoubtedly been reduced to ashes.
Hmm?
Suddenly hearing a sound, he couldn't help but feel excited—it was a communication from his superior, asking him to set the coordinates.
Without delay, he began chanting incantations and drew a magic circle on the ground beside him.
In the next instant, the magic circle flashed, and several figures appeared.
They had taken refuge in the Netherworld before the great explosion and now returned to the earthly world through his guidance.
"Where is Mount Nikko?"
Kaoru, who had just returned, stared blankly at the scene of destruction.
After a moment of stunned silence, she noticed the bitter smile on her subordinate's face and paled as she realized what had happened.
"I'm sorry."
A helpless apology came from Ena beside her, her face filled with guilt.
On her back was Yuri, whom she had rescued from the mist.
It was also Ena who had devised the plan to escape the explosion by moving to the Netherworld.
As for Hikari, she was being carried by Kaoru.
"He is not the Apocalypse Knight."
"Yuri?"
Thinking she had awakened, but it seemed she was talking in her sleep.
"He is—the De—Demon God King."
Yuri uttered these words with a face twisted in extreme fear, her body trembling uncontrollably.
She appeared to be tormented by nightmares.
Kaoru immediately cast a spell to calm her spirit.
At the same time, she felt uneasy, for Yuri's words could not possibly be baseless.
Hmm?
Their pupils contracted as they saw two colossal figures.
To be precise, it was the brilliant white light shining upon them, casting their shadows as illusions onto the surrounding dust and mist created by the explosion.