Chapter 128: Unmatched Battle Prowess!
Even the Wrathful God Fire now worked in reverse, threatening to roast the Red God from the inside out! For the Wrathful God of War, number one Ero Guru of the Higher Planes, there could be no greater humiliation, no greater shame, than losing his Inner Flames to a junior. The same junior who threatened to hijack the Chosen he\'d wasted countless boons to create!
[Inner Alteration]
The Red God closed his eyes, pulling in a deep breath as the Fourth Secret kicked in—cooperating with the Wrathful God\'s quasi-perfect healing factor to suppress the internal combustion and repair his body. A red prism formed around the Wrathful God Fire, isolating it to prevent another flame trick from taking the Red God by surprise.
Heruka\'s eyes opened again, a colossal pair of flaming red horns sprouting from his forehead as he hurtled at Mithras!
[Writhing Shadows of Calamity]
[Occult Revelation: Nihilistic Creed of Anarchy]
With dark-purple energies bursting in his right hand, and a vortex of pitch-black forces in his left, Mithras joined his hands in a prayer sign, casting two Dark Rites simultaneously. Colossal shadows clawed out of the void, fusing into a mass of writhing darkness that swept through the Red God and ground his charge to a halt.
Still, Heruka didn\'t relent, pulling in another breath…and blasting through the Shadows of Calamity with brute force alone! The moment next, Heruka turned into a red flash of light, blitzing Mithras through Quantum Tunneling and ramming his horns in his grandson\'s chest!
Mithras neither dodged nor blocked, countering with a flying knee as parasitic worms of corruptive darkness burrowed out of Heruka\'s organs, eating them from the inside!
Heruka\'s world spun, and his charge collapsed—all momentum crashing to zero as the Red God spun left and right! Mithras\' flying knee smashed into Heruka\'s skull, battering face and bones as legions of occult parasites crossed into Heruka\'s soul, spawning eggs of Nihilistic Demons wherever they went, and causing tides of foul energies to corrupt Heruka\'s body and soul.
The Red God shrugged it all off, smashing into Mithras\' jaw with a spinning back fist! He didn\'t see it coming, his jaw cracking and his blood spurting as he whirled like a spinning top. Heruka appeared above Mithras, ax-kick sinking into his grandson\'s skull as the Third Secret kicked in, increasing the weight of Heruka\'s leg to planetary proportion.
Tough as Mithras might be, a blow of that magnitude would no doubt leave debilitating damages. But a moment before the kick hit home, Mithras broke into light particles, reforming a microsecond later in the very same spot, with his leg now spinning at Heruka\'s throat—lacerating the Red God\'s neck with one swipe!
Once more, Heruka\'s willpower made a show of force, and he shrugged off the pain, hammering Mithras\' ears with a flurry of open-palm strikes. The blink of an eye was all it took for a myriad of blows to blast through Mithras\' eardrums, blood trickling down his lobes as the Red God\'s herculean flaming fists raced towards his chest!
The Sixth Secret, Nirvana, operated as well, creating a solution to Heruka\'s most pressing issue—the occult parasites—and reducing them to ashes with a flash of transcendent energies.
In a last-ditch effort, Mithras crossed his arms before his chest, letting them take the brunt of Heruka\'s double hammer punch, but a moment before they struck, the Red God\'s hands shifted into a knife shape, tearing through Mithras\' arms and sinking in his chest!
[Primordial Strength]
The Red God sliced upward, ripping Mithras\' flesh and bones and sending his blood gushing forth!
Here, it was Mithras\' turn to make a show of psychotic will, using the momentum of Heruka\'s own blow to send his kick crashing in the Red God\'s chest, supercharged by Gigantism and an all-out explosion of Mithras\' energies!
Rolling thunder and deafening blasts rumbled throughout the solar heavens, and Heruka flew back, a gaping hole in his chest as his divine blood gushed from front and back!
Mithras didn\'t let it go to waste, siphoning the Wrathful God\'s blood to the last leaking drop…before blitzing him with berserk fury and sending him cratering with a vicious elbow!
Heruka reeled in confusion, unable to comprehend how Mithras could keep up with him in a martial contest. Even at the same level…this made absolutely no sense!
"One…" But as the Red God floundered, Mithras appeared at his left, sending him flying upwards with a disrespectful soccer kick, before catching his chin with a frontal overhand! "Two…" Heruka didn\'t have time to make a proper roll that Mithras dropped him from above with a vicious pair of sinking knees!
Another crater formed underneath, repaired by the Mandala as Mithras hoisted Heruka by the neck, lacerating his face with sweeping elbows! The surge of divine blood flooded Mithras\' heart, boosting his attributes as he unloaded battering blows on his venerable grandfather, sending him hugging the mountains with an unforgiving backkick.
"Three…" Mithras whispered, turning his back to the collapsing jeweled mountain that buried Heruka. The Red God flew out of the rubble, blitzing Mithras at a speed that\'d leave Minor Gods in shambles.
But as if he\'d seen it coming from a mile ahead, Mithras met Heru-jiji\'s charge with another backfist, breaking his skull with the weight of 10 Earths before backhanding him across the face, smacking left and right for the sake of symmetry.
\'Perfection…Perfected Sensory Secret, Perfected Reduction Secret, Perfected Gigantism! Every single Divine Secret in his arsenal has reached perfection as well!
Hateful…oh so hateful! If I could summon my Wrathful Incarnation this would be over in an instant! But they…won\'t allow it!\'
Heruka was confused…the last time he\'d taken such a beating, Vritra was still alive. And the time before that, the Astral Paradise\'s glory still dazzled the universe.
This was the third…and undoubtedly the most disgraceful!
A burst of sanguine rage took over the Red God, and he was about to throw caution to the wind, challenging the Fundamental Principles to summon his Wrathful Incarnation when…at Mithras\' back, a white-robed figure took shape, their face shrouded by transcendent energies that allowed no glance at their perfect looks.
Heruka couldn\'t see the white-haired figure\'s eyes, yet could feel their stare piercing through him, able to decide his life and death at will!
Even Mithras didn\'t notice the intrusion. The figure didn\'t linger, vanishing the moment next—yet with that one look, had discouraged Heruka from attempting that suicidal move.
[Worldbreaker]
With a low, grating roar, the Red God threw his mangled head back, activating a divine-class talent that Mithras had only faced in Belphegor so far.
But in Heruka\'s hands, that divine talent reached abnormal proportions, ripping the very fabrics of the world as it sent Mithras flying with pressure alone!
Heruka returned to his feet, ballooning to a 100 meters as he stomped his foot, cracking the foundation of Mithras\' Mandala and barreling through his defenses with irresistible force!
"Mhm…isn\'t that talent proof you have the Beast\'s blood flowing through your veins? Shameful thing. To think that you\'d betray the Beast to become the Weaver\'s lapdog. Heru-jiji, I\'m disappointed.
As far as grandfathers go…you are a generational failure," Mithras said in a leisurely tone, and as Celestia wondered where he was getting that confidence from, Mithras threw his hands in circular motions, channeling Solar Genesis, and spreading its flames…across the whole Mandala!
"What…do you think you\'re doing here?" A sense of foreboding welled up Heruka\'s chest, and he backpedaled, convinced by his instincts that if he didn\'t vanish this very instant, a tragedy was heading his way.
But with his chosen still under Mithras\' thumb. Even if his brain told him to, Heruka...couldn\'t leave!
"Completing…my thesis," Mithras said in a cheerful and nostalgic tone, throwing his head back as his hands weaved like a maestro.
So far, Mithras\' Pyromantic Thesis couldn\'t alter the world, just its lifeforms. But as his fingers danced and his blinding flames unfurled, Mithras broke through the final barrier, learning from his Mandala, Heruka\'s Outer Alteration and Divine Fantasy…to Alter the World Through Flames!
Colossal tongues of fire reshaped the heavens and earth, casting glorious solar temples from which droves of Lion-Headed Serpents emerged, followed by legions of slimthick nagas, ancient wyrms and other reptilian creatures that aligned behind Mithras, feeding him their energies as they sang the praises of the Sun.
The Million Snakes of the Burning Hell arose, ripping through Heruka…and reducing him into ashes!
[Ding! Ding! Ding!]
[Pyromantic Thesis…completed!]
[Achievement….Flame Professor…unlocked!]