Chapter 244: Siva Seeks Chronos

Approx. 8min reading time

Stumbling back, the Colossi obviously received that damage and yet Akhenaton wasn’t finished.

While the Colossi was tumbling on his third step, Akhenaton swiftly twirled his spear to build swing momentum and upon the Colossi’s fifth backward step, Akhenaton already held the end part of his spear and swung it sideward, to the head, without any kind of mercy.

“Aaaahhh!!!”

The Colossi saw the merciless attack and used its corrupted and ugly left arm to block the swiping sweep of the spear’s blade.

BANG!

It stumbled sideward again but at least Colossi is safe as it tried to regain balance. But Akhenaton whirled clockwise, unleashing another horizontal slicing attack, not intending to give the Colossi time to get a breather.

The Colossi’s body was bulkier and a lot bigger, Akhenaton capitalized on his higher agility and thus delivered one devastating attack after another.

WHAAAAAMMMMM!!!

Powerful after-winds screamed angrily as the golden spear’s sharp blade teared through the air medium as if tearing space apart…

From the Colossi’s right side came a full-bodied savage swing, mightier than the one it blocked on the left side.

CHUG!!!

That swing hit the Colossi square to the right arm!

BAM! ..……BA~BAM!!

“Graaaaa….!!!”

Two loud sounds rung followed by the cry of pain from the Colossi.

It was hard to believe that it was a fight against two giants… everything happened so fast yet it had only been a few seconds.

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The second sound is of when the Colossi’s right arm that held the large heavy sword fell off to the ground; while the first was when the blade hit its body and embedded itself diagonally half-way through the forest floor before the attack sent the Colossi flying off its feet on its left side.

“UWAAAAAAAAAAAAA…!!!”

A mighty angry cry of rage and agony rung in the air as the Colossi tumbled once, twice, before it stood on its feet and used its left arm to stop itself from skidding.

Its glaring red eyes snapped up as it looked up, its burning gaze focused at Akhenaton but instead of minding its lost right arm, it gave another loud roar and blocked a descending slash of the spear’s end-blade with its left arm.

BANG!!!

Another ear-deafening sound could be heard as the Colossi’s feet were planted in place to where it stood.

The sound wave became visible air currents that formed a semi-sphere that spread wide at least 4km around their battlefield.

The sound of the impact was more metallic than it was flesh and blade. Like two metal bars a meter long and 10cm thick had collided with each other.

Although the Colossi had blocked it, the blade still embedded itself on his arm before stopping.

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With a furious outward swing of the corrupted left arm, Akhenaton was pushed back.

The Colossi roared and used its left arm to rush forward, abandoning defense and wanting to grab Akhenaton’s face and crush its head with the small opening it made.

But it was also at that moment that a ray of light could be seen firing off just 100m away from the Colossi’s left cheek.

Just as it was about to reach Akhenaton’s face, the Colossi’s head turned to its left.

An almost (considering the Colossi’s size) silent flash of light rung…

BOOOOOOM!!!

…and what followed after was a force almost as powerful as right hook.

The Colossi’s head turned away in that moment and its grabbing arm missed Akhenaton by a large-sized scale of a hair.

Akhenaton used that moment to float backwards, gaining a 5km distance and regaining equilibrium, and then twirled the spear on its back to make a left-front stance.

This fight…. is far from over.

It was the end of round one.

*****

A [reaper puppet] carrying the Grand Ender floated there, that one momentary flash of light followed by an almost muffled explosion earlier had successfully hit the Colossi’s head.

The Grand Ender is just an S-Ranked weapon and at best, it could only leave a scratching dent on Tier-1 warship hull armors.

….what more to an existence that used to be of an Immortal God Knight?

Yet—

As soon as the Reaper Puppet fired off that blast, it was then attacked by a sword-light, a mighty and powerful stabbing light that came from the woman that air-dashed with frightening speed just 15m away.

But instead of dodging or blocking, it only moved sideways, protecting the man holding a staff with a shining electrified orb at the head-end just 10m away from it.

To answer the woman’s attack, a pair of Reaper Puppets; one holding a grey silver-metallic heavy sword blocked that attack; the other holding the familiar blue-bladed sword of Kladis, rushed in to meet her head on.

TANG!

The heavy sword reaper fell back and the sword it held sword was forced back, but cancelled 50% of the stabbing attack of the swordswoman.

And yet, as its attack continued on, the third Reaper Puppet carrying Kladis’ blue-bladed sword unleashed a full-bodied swing to block the charge.

WHOOSH!

This swing was carried out without the limitations of flesh and bones and so the force of its swirling momentum carried a power of great proportions, cancelling the penetrating strike of that stabbing assault.

BANG!

With the sound of metal against metal clanging in the aftermath vanishing in the next second, the figure that carried that sword-light earlier regained her balance after being knocked back.

But then she raised her head to see…. that Siva’s exquisitely designed wooden gun’s barrel was already aimed at her face.

«Ignore Distance»

It was a passive function or skill available to the «Hand of Midas» which gives the immediate 1km from the gun’s firing point an attacking effect that doesn’t affect the force and damage output of the bullets.

Although the gun can only fire three bullets every second, if it hits, the damage was still enough to burn a single man.

BANG!

The three bullets flew and immediately reached the woman within a tenth of a blink, but it didn’t kill her since she leaned her head to her right side and allowed all three bullets to hit the corrupted left side of her face.

Three bullets, three dull and metallic sounds followed through.

“What the…” Siva’s eyes were wide in surprise.

Sparks flew as the bullets were unable to destroy that black corrupted skin and instead became fiery orange specks of lights that vanished into the air.

“Ho? It’s not only corrosive but it also serves as a portable shield on the same strength as Black Tech. This Dark Element is quite amusing…”

Again, right after Siva had murmured these words, he instantly found it rather odd.

“Dark Element?!”

“How did I know about that?!”

“Dang it… what is happening to me?!”

He couldn’t quite put a finger on what changes happened to him all of a sudden, but when he sees certain things, random memories would suddenly rise on his mind and prompt an explanation as to how this and that was possible.

It was like… someone had downloaded an entire encyclopedia of information in his mind!

And yet, as much of a help as this is, this small fact frightens him greatly.

It felt like… he wasn’t the one in control of his own memories and mind anymore. Like there was another person hiding inside his mind and was watching everything he does, laughing at his stupidity and his innocence, jeering at his every mistakes and mocking at his ignorant immaturity.

But even more so, what frightened him the most is the fact that… even as he and this woman was in a combat so close to these giants, aside from the feeling of amusement…

….he was frighteningly, freakishly, horrifyingly, morbidly, and terrifyingly calm!

As if everything that’s happening right now is but a fleeting amusement to the current him.

“Why am I so calm?”

Siva couldn’t help wonder.

“Why is everything… even Mefisto earlier… feels like a passing scene…?”

As Siva pondered at these thoughts, he watched the seconds flow by, moment by moment. The sound of a ticking second arm of a clock slowed its descent on every second; the flowing wind and the booming sounds slowly inching to a stop.

Right now, time… is but a slow process for Siva.

And when he noticed this, Rex Kingsley… began to feel a familiar feeling.

“Something… somewhere…” Siva whispered.

No.

He was murmuring, muttering, and his eyes began to unfocus from the fight while his mind prompted for him to look somewhere.

Though he was in the middle of a fight, his mind suddenly flashed and a trace of memory flickered in the very front of his train of thoughts.

His gaze looked towards the east —no, towards the southeastern horizon… on his right side…

Rex, in Siva’s body, wasn’t aware of what was there or why he suddenly felt something familiar was in that direction. But he knew, he had a very prickling-inkling feeling… that something important to him was there, in that direction.

Something was left by him in that direction, some time ago, to remind him of something he wished to forget in case he ever had the chance to.

As his gaze drew on that direction, he was absorbed in the lingering impression of that sudden glimpse of an unfamiliar memory.

*****

There was a room, a bed, a table, a lampshade, and a window and outside that window is a beach.

He was looking at himself…

He was angry…

He was loathing something he did, something he has done unaware…

He was fuming with hate towards himself…

He wished to forget it but he couldn’t…

…no, he wouldn’t.

He had a choice but he didn’t choose to forget…

He… was punishing himself.

And wherever this place is… it was his prison.

This is the place where he punished himself.

WHOOOOOAAAASH!

The sound of the waves hitting the beach could be heard and this sound was echoing repeatedly on his mind.

Also, there was an impression left by the sound of those waves; an impression that left a noticeable prickling sensation of pain that indicated the severity of his sin.

It was… punishing his heart.

WHOOAAAAASH!!!

“Do not forget. If you managed to forget, then… you are free.”

These words were written somewhere but he was not aware, no, he has forgotten where…

*****

As the impression of the sea began to vanish in his mind, Siva snapped back on his feet and came back to reality…

While his gaze is still locked on that southeastern horizon, his mind slowly came back to the normal speed of time, leaving him pondering for these last moments of epiphany, imprinting this fleeting familiar sensation to his heart so he wouldn’t forget.

“Something in me, in a place, hidden far away… a place only I know of… has the secret that I should never know… I shouldn’t remember it… I mustn’t remember the secret of this world…”

With these last specks of impression almost gone in this moment of severe enlightenment, Siva then imprinted the focus of that thought in his heart.

He murmured that one single, unfamiliar word as if it carried every profound secret that he doesn’t remember in it…

“Chronos.”

Siva turned his head back to the woman and the last moments of his extremely heightened senses vanished.

The almost stopped flow of time flowed normally again, and the slow blowing wind and the muffled explosive sounds of the movements of the two giants just less than a kilometer to them, also came crashing back like a surging tide on his skin and mind.

At this moment, Siva chose to focus on this fight.

Pondering over these things should be done later and the most important thing he had to do now is to prevent further destruction to the city.

He had to defeat the giant, he had to defeat this woman… he had to put a stop on this battle… he had to find Baron and keep his safe as soon as possible… at all cost.

WHOOOSH!!!

That ticking hand of time clicked in its normal pace as it flowed normally without stopping.

Siva glanced at the direction of Alexandria and for some reason, he felt… distant from it.

Like…. that which he sought was no longer there.

“I feel like Baron is no longer in Alexandria…” As his thoughts traveled here, Siva gazed at the corrupted-left-side swordswoman.

When he saw her tilt her head to the side and receive the impact of the three bullets, he couldn’t help but marvel and even feel a bit entertained at her boldness.

“Time to end his.”

WHOOSH!!!

Three puppets formed a triangle formation in front of Siva.

“I know it still hurts.” He said to her, at least this part of his thoughts came from experience. “So I will still pile up your problems. I will attack. I will keep on the pressure. If you are still somewhere in there, try your best to resist the curse and find the opening to its defenses. Once you do, bite in and never let go. I can only help you increase your chance on getting out alive from there… you are still the one who can only save yourself.”

Having spoken at this part, Siva pointed his gun at her and fired another set of three bullets. He dismissed the notion bugging at him and telling him to ask the question on how he knew that part.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

These three bullets were only for cover as his left hand moved with precision and quickness around his inventory, summoning the Mjolnir and another sword, and then stored back the big Grand Ender Cannon on his inventory.

FLASH!

The Heavy Sword Reaper grabbed the Mjolnir while Siva threw the Hand of Midas to the first Gunner Reaper.

Siva charged the staff and then gave a command.

“Attack.”

The Whale Whiskers with «The Orb» attached at the tip by temporary welding, gave an electrified reaction as Siva’s right hand delivered a batch of electric stun-grenade energy directly to The Orb to power its usage.

Siva can’t use «magic» that’s why he invented The Orb with a purely NanoTech ability to form four humanoid shapes that can be controlled mentally.

These humanoid shapes serves as the muscles and bones of the reapers, the Black Tech serves as the armor and skin.

He already had three puppets active. One form is already equipped on him as the black cloak, so he can only have one more form he can summon.

“This is the right time to use a fifth form.”