Chapter 886: Sea of Faith

The cold, resolute, and disdainful voice that issued from the Deathly Soul-Reaper was Orion’s denial, a refutation of the very concept behind the body of faith hidden in the Dragon God Phantom.

When dealing with a body of faith, a denial of its core belief, a collapse of its will, was a far more direct path to victory than slowly chipping away at its power.

Unfortunately, Orion’s attempt at psychological warfare was useless. The conviction of the faith-body hidden within was far more stubborn than he had imagined.

"You, a mongrel from the abyss, are you even worthy of speaking to me of the Light?"

Ouch. That one hurt. And Orion’s Deathly Soul-Reaper avatar had no real comeback. The abyss itself was synonymous with evil, sin, and cruelty, and his avatar was a prime example of its power.

"The race of sin must be purged! It must be set aflame!"

Seeing that the Lunar Power was ineffective against the Deathly Soul-Reaper , the Dragon God Phantom raised its greatsword and spat a glob of luminous dragon flame onto it. The blade ignited, wreathed in a white, holy fire. The fuel being burned, shockingly, was the Lunar Power itself.

A sense of crisis washed over Orion. The Deathly Soul-Reaper was locked on; he felt that even teleportation wouldn’t be enough to evade this attack.

"Kill!"

If he couldn’t dodge, then the only option was a life-or-death struggle. In that critical moment, the giant’s savagery hardwired into his bloodline and his spirit roared to the surface. The Deathly Soul-Reaper swung its scythe and charged forward, meeting the attack head-on.

The next second, fire met flesh, and scythe met sword. Savagery and holy fire, light and evil, clashed in a symphony of glorious violence.

Azure Mirage, Outer Temple.

Being surrounded and attacked by four arch lords was proving to be a difficult battle for Leonidas’s Beastfolk avatar. Just as Orion decided he couldn’t watch his bro get beaten down any longer and prepared to jump in, Leonidas’s actions once again left him stunned.

"One, two, three, four... as long as I’m still breathing, even if a god stood before me, I’d cut you all down!"

Just as Orion was thinking his bro’s edgelord syndrome was flaring up again, the Beastfolk avatar let out a furious roar and began to repeatedly slam its fists into the ground. This kind of violent outburst usually meant one of two things: a new power was awakening, or something was about to burst out of its body.

Mooooo!

It was the sound of an elephant, but not quite. It was more ancient, more primal, more savage.

This was a Behemoth.

On the corridor, Leonidas’s Beastfolk avatar underwent a second transformation. This time, its very form changed dramatically. A cloud of red-black blood mist enveloped the avatar, and in the blink of an eye, a colossal creature nearly one hundred feet tall strode out of the fog.

It had a massive gut, long fur, sharp claws, and tusks that pointed to the heavens. Its entire being radiated a wild, brutish power.

A Behemoth. A true Behemoth. It possessed an incredibly powerful body and the terrifying divine power that was its birthright. This kind of monster was the apex predator of beastfolk warriors. They were born with extreme physical attack and defense, and an absurd resistance to magic.

"I’ll tear you worthless crawlers to pieces!"

BOOM!

The Behemoth stomped its foot and charged, aiming straight for the Sea Fiend. It was a savage, direct, all-or-nothing ram.

The Temple Guardian raised its greatsword. The Solarfin gathered a ball of energy in its mouth. The Abyssal Stalker manipulated the seawater. A sword beam, an energy ball, and a wall of toxic ice appeared in front of the Behemoth.

But Leonidas ignored them all, his charge unbroken, his will fixed on a single goal: to smash the Sea Fiend to bits.

CRACKLE!

BOOM!

This was the savage charge of a Behemoth, ignoring all attacks and all defenses. The attacks from the front were shattered upon impact. The attacks from the sides struck its powerful body and were simply shrugged off.

The Sea Fiend, its target, was hit head-on. Its bones shattered, and most of its body caved in. With a final, massive explosion, the Sea Fiend was sent flying through the air.

"My chance!"

The Sea Fiend was airborne. Orion knew the Behemoth had only severely wounded it, not killed it. And his whole purpose for hiding was to play the opportunistic assassin. Kick ’em while they’re down.

"Bro, keep them busy!"

Orion transmitted to Leonidas as he shot through the water.

Up on the corridor, Leonidas’s eyes lit up.

"Behemoth Whirlwind!" the Behemoth roared. With no time to ask Orion for details, its massive body began to spin rapidly. A powerful suction force emanated from its form, pulling on the Temple Guardian, the Solarfin, and the Abyssal Stalker, preventing them from going to the Sea Fiend’s aid.

In the distance, Orion burst from the water. The Lunarfin body dissolved, and he held his trident, Flame of Will, which crackled with electricity before igniting. Before the Sea Fiend could even hit the ground, Orion activated Instant Impact and Titan Form, appeared behind it, and thrust his trident forward without hesitation.

SQUELCH!

The sound of the trident piercing flesh was followed by a violent, crackling sizzle, and then the

whoosh

of flame igniting blood and bone.

"Aaaargh!"

The Sea Fiend’s miserable, desperate roar echoed from within the flames. Orion’s eyes were like ice. He was completely focused, not daring to relax for a second. The Sea Fiend’s physical body was destroyed, but its body of faith had yet to appear.

"You goddamn filth!" a new voice shrieked. "I’ll tear you apart!"

A body of faith that looked like a cross between a fish and a soft-shelled turtle, protected by a shimmering shield of faith, strode out of the flames. It ignored the fire, its eyes filled with rage and locked onto Orion, who had already sensed the danger and backed away.

"Faith’s Advent! Let the oceans surge! All rules and all power shall be suppressed!"

The Sea Fiend’s body of faith assumed a heaven-embracing posture, and a vast amount of faith energy poured out of it. The entire area around the temple was instantly enveloped. This was a sea of faith, an inherent ability created when a body of faith unleashed its energy. Within this sea, the body of faith was, for all intents and purposes, omnipotent.

It stared at Orion, and in the next instant, it appeared behind him, its claws slashing toward his heart.

But Orion was prepared. Battle Will Surge activated, and a spherical wave of power erupted around him, pushing back the surrounding faith energy. At the same time, crimson rays of light shot from his Boots of the War-Tyrant, striking the Sea Fiend’s body of faith at close range.

"I said... all things shall be suppressed!"

The sea of faith surged violently. The crimson light was suppressed, then dissolved bit by bit. Even Orion’s Battle Will Surge was being compressed.

In this situation, it wasn’t that Orion didn’t want to escape; it was that escaping was nearly impossible. The entire area was dominated by the sea of faith. Using Instant Impact was like trying to sprint while carrying a mountain. He’d probably be crushed by the terrifying pressure before he could even break out of the faith-field.