828 Over
Klose transformed, his body bubbling and distorting in ways that were too hard to fathom for most. He expanded, muscles slithering through his body like tiny snakes as they rippled and bulged. His fingers transformed into gleaming, razor-sharp claws, which elongated further as Klose infused origin energy into them.
All while transforming, Klose could be harmed. His body was covered in several layers of tough defenses, but that didn't mean he was invincible. He couldn't move while undergoing a complete transformation. At least, not as he underwent such a transformation. His entire body morphed and changed into parts of Mythical Creature that he'd killed and devoured. His combat prowess skyrocketed.
Klose's Soultrait was unique. It was called Metamorphosis, and it wasn't easy to give it an adequate star rating. Klose said it was a 5-Star Soultrait, but that sounded unbelievable given that his Soultrait allowed him to transform any part of his body into anything he'd seen, touched, and consumed. The benefits of changing into something he had seen were non- existent. In fact, Klose's combat prowess would be lower than what he'd seen as his Soultrait required more information to transform properly.
Touching something and killing a creature allowed Klose to replicate the object or body part perfectly. Consumption was different. Klose could merge and improve everything he'd consumed as long as he consumed something. That was how he transformed into a Mythical Creature, combining the prowess of a Bulldozing Behemoth, a Fury Leviathan, and a Crimsonback Dragon.
Klose fused the strongest aspects of each creature to elevate his combat prowess to another level.
In the meantime, Phylis struggled to stall Eren. Eren was aware of Klose's power and the slight downside of his lowered guard as he underwent a complete transformation, but that didn't mean he could attack him easily. Phylis coated Klose in tens of the strongest barriers he could conjure with Ancient Barrier. He protected his brother from harm, ensuring Klose would be safe and sound.
Eren shattered some barriers, but he didn't manage to reach the final barrier before Klose was done. Once Klose finished transforming, the tables turned. The atmosphere on the battlefield changed.
Phylis removed the last barrier, releasing Klose, who shot toward Eren with breathtaking speed. Klose clawed Eren, who managed to block the initial attacks with his longsword. Precise parries and nimble footwork were enough to avoid getting cut in half. However, it wasn't enough to counterattack.
Eren used the Silver Physique Technique alongside Silver Stride, both techniques he'd created to unleash as much power as possible from his Soultrait. Both Silver Stride and Silver Physique were Soul Techniques. They consumed a massive amount of Soul Energy to elevate Eren's physical strength, perception, and speed to a higher level.
They worked out well enough, especially with Silver Physique being a technique like Foundation Break – just on a much higher rank. Silver Physique drained Eren's lifeforce to increase his physical strength further forcefully. His strength skyrocketed, his muscles bulged, and he could accelerate again, surpassing both Klose and Phylis' speed near-instantly.
He twisted the Longsword Artifact in his hand and cut deep into Klose's arm, nearly severing it in one go. Unfortunately, Klose bent his upper body uncomfortably, protecting his arm. After the attack, Klose snorted, and the wound regenerated rapidly.
Eren frowned but continued moving, he executed dozens of quick slashes, whirling around his younger brothers to inflict both light and severe wounds. Phylis managed to block most attacks, but once Eren amplified his Longsword Artifact with silver energy – which had been purified with Silver Purity, a Soul Technique that amplified the potency of the Silver Energy Soultrait drastically – even Phylis' ordinary barriers couldn't block him anymore.
The situation worsened for Phylis and Klose when Eren added the Longsword Artifact's Enchantment. It had several Enchantments, but the worst was called [Heal Stop]. It drained an enormous amount of energy but had an incredibly powerful effect. Heal Stop could temporarily block anyone from healing the wound inflicted with the Longsword Artifact. Eren didn't want to use the weapon; something deep inside him was telling Eren that he could salvage this situation without killing his brothers.
No matter how bad his brothers were, they were only like this because the Supreme Human Alliance manipulated them. Other than his daughter, Phylis and Klose were the last members of his family. He had nobody else left.
Klose and Phylis noticed the hesitation in Eren's movement and took advantage of that. They saw that Eren's following attacks couldn't be healed for a while, but that didn't matter. They used the Primordial Bloodline technique alongside Primal Limiter, Cloudwalker, and the Soul Techniques they'd customized to overpower Eren.
Phylis' barrier grew stronger. Their resilience increased by a multitude, restraining Eren more than he'd expected. Eren destroyed one ancient barrier, only for dozens to appear before him. Various barrier disks came flying his way. Their velocity was several times faster than before. Eren wasn't surprised, but he couldn't evade the attacks easily…not without unleashing more of his power.
But if he unleashed more of his power, Elyra would suffer. Klose and Phylis grasped why Eren wasn't going all-out and smiled. They pulled closer to the planet and unleashed more power, slashing, striking, and cutting deep into Eren's body.
Phylis and Klose gained the upper hand against their older brother slowly but steadily.
Eren frowned, glancing down at his body. He didn't lose a limb just yet, but his body didn't look great. His brothers were powerful. They'd grown much stronger in the last few decades. It was something Eren would be proud of if he didn't know the reason for their sudden increase in power.
A wave of sadness passed through Eren, and a somber expression covered his face.
He couldn't go on like this. It was impossible.
Eren would not allow his brothers to wreck more chaos across the cosmos. They had committed enough heinous crimes to deserve execution. However, Eren could have never fathomed that he would be his brothers' executioner. He always thought that his brothers would die while struggling to keep up with him. Desperately struggling to grow stronger to take revenge. But that never happened.
His brothers survived. They overcame all ordeals and towered before him, ready to kill him and everyone obstructing their paths.
Eren smiled sadly, "I think that's enough."
Even though he knew his next move would harm many, it was necessary. Eren had to eliminate his brothers once and for all. Their increase in force over the last few decades could not be achieved through ordinary means. That was what his senses told him every time Phylis and Klose cut and scratched him.
"How many lives did you have to take to claim this power?" Eren asked sternly, but he didn't expect to receive an answer. The brothers didn't answer. Instead, they accelerated once again, rippling the fabric of space around them as they charged at him. The brothers attacked Eren again.
Eren groaned and released the limiters he'd set upon himself. Since he was in a backwater galaxy, Eren had ensured he wouldn't unleash too much energy. He didn't want to harm innocent people, after all. Unfortunately, he was not powerful enough to eliminate his brothers with his restrained powers.
Anger and fury filled Eren's form as he unleashed his power. His presence expanded rapidly, furiously claiming authority over every inch in the surrounding hundreds of kilometers. But that was not all since Eren's presence continued expanding as Klose and Phylis followed suit.
They unleashed their presence, ready to overwhelm Eren and kill him after spending hundreds of years growing strong enough to deal with him. At last, it was time to kill their older brother. Revenge was within their reach!
Phylis and Klose went berserk. They roared at the top of their lungs and unleashed their aura by merging their Soultraits into their presence. The surroundings changed drastically as a response. Thousands of greenish semi-translucent barriers manifested around Phylis and Klose, but more was waiting for them.
Various abominations and body parts of slain and consumed creatures manifested within Klose's presence. They transformed and shapeshifted into mid-sized creatures that looked dead and alive.
Eren would have been impressed with their domains if they had managed to create a proper domain in the first place. Their domains weren't precisely what Eren would call a proper domain.
'They ascended to Divine Lifeforms too fast, neglecting their foundation,' Eren shook his head, unleashing the brute force of his domain. Everything was coated in dazzling silver energy. Rivers of silver power spread through the open space, sweeping through everything in the open space.
They flooded the ancient barriers and drowned Klose's abominations, oppressing their domains until nothing was left.
Even after he crushed Klose and Phylis' domains, Eren's domain continued expanding. It spread in all directions, putting significant pressure on the fabric of reality, which twisted uncontrollably. It was torn, revealing fissures in the space around Eren.
He clicked his tongue, reached for the fissures, and willed the silver rivers to weave and tie the fissures, closing them.
"What a fragile galaxy," Eren grumbled quietly, perceiving the return of his curse power.
Slyver returned to him.
'You took quite a while. Didn't you tell me that the Vylraen Seal and the likes would never seal you?' Eren asked the Silver Dragon, who responded with a terrifying roar.
The Curse was enraged. Eren didn't know how it felt to be cut off from a part of his existence. What it felt like to be exiled to another realm where time didn't seem to exist. Only a few minutes passed, but for Slyver, it felt like hundreds of years passed. He tried opposing the Vylraen Seal but quickly noticed it had been stronger than the previous seal.
Eren's curse force was removed entirely before the Silver Dragon Curse was severed. That didn't leave Slyver much of a choice. He had to endure the exile in the middle of nowhere. Even he, a mythical creature, one of the monarchs among mighty creatures, didn't know where he landed. It was terrifying…even for someone like him.
Overflowing with rage, the Silver Dragon Curse manifested. A Halo formed around Eren. It grew bigger and expanded rapidly, transforming into a majestic Silver Dragon surrounded by streams and rivers of silver energy. The halo of Slyver could only be manifested properly within the Silver Domain. However, that was more than enough.
Slyver roared at the top of his lungs and unleashed his breath upon Phylis and Klose.
The brothers tried evading the attack, but they were burned alive. Their screams reverberated through the surroundings. They were loud enough to ring through Eren's ears. A feeling of sadness overcame them, sensing his sibling growing weaker. Their lifeforce was burned as Slyver continued releasing its dragon breath upon them.
For a quarter of a second, he thought about stopping Slyver, but at the same instance, he noticed that he made a grave mistake. Eren thought about sparing his brothers, granting them a minuscule opening. It was merely a quarter of a second, but Slyver obeyed Eren's will. The blazing flames ceased, and the brothers charged at Eren.
They were much faster than before and appeared before Eren.
Klose and Phylis looked at each other, a somber expression on their faces. As they appeared before Eren, they embraced him tightly. Eren stiffened. He didn't sense any bloodlust from his brothers at this point.
Was that a dream? Their last farewell?
In a way, their embrace was Klose and Phylis's last farewell. Unfortunately, it was different from what Eren had hoped for. He hesitated merely for a quarter of a second. He still loved his brothers, after all.
But that quarter of a second was enough for Klose and Phylis.
Their Souls began to burn, their lifeforce evaporated, and their bodies were eaten alive as they used the last trump card hidden in their sleeves.
They used the Taboo Technique, Hero's Sacrifice, and exploded.
A massive explosion, more than a hundred times more intense than the city-destroying explosion, reverberated through the open space. It spread in all directions and destroyed everything in its path. A terrifying scream, and a dragon's roar – filled with unimaginable pain – reverberated through the space. The scream and the roar fused, but were quickly overwhelmed by the cacophony of sounds as everything in their environment was destroyed.
Nothing was left unscathed in the wake of the Divine Lifeform's explosion. The space in the surrounding hundreds of kilometers rippled violently as it was torn apart.
The Silver Domain disintegrated instantly as the explosion's shockwave wreaked havoc.
It reached Elyra and destroyed everything it touched. Despite fighting far from Elyra, the shockwave and heat pulse unleashed by the sacrifice of two Divine Lifeforms swallowed the land mass of several countries.
Everything was destroyed.
The death rate…was too high…