Chapter 269: An Unexpected Turn

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" Even without being told of the effects, Pier could clearly feel that there was a difference made to his power.

"Here let me show you." Zeke said, creating [System Windows] for Pier.

[Alert: You have been placed in the effects of Ring.]

[Alert: All attribute points are reduced by 30%]

[Alert: All skill effectivity is reduced by 30%]

[Alert: Leaving the Ring will result in your automatic death.]

[Alert: The skill has been enabled twice. All effects are doubled.]

"Basically you've been lured into a trap because you've overestimated both yourself and your skills." Zeke furthered, rousing up Pier even more.

"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO A GOD!" He said firing another round of [Chaos Flames] but, this time around, Morpheus stepped in - countering with the same attack with the same amount of force.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Pier fired another set of spells.

"Dude can you just shut your trap?" Zeke said, countering them simply by swinging his halberd.

"Oh and I forgot to mention but, the same amount decreased on you is increased on us. Now stay still and let us kill you."

Zeke expected him to scream again. After all, the situation was hopeless and the gamer has yet to show any respect nor acknowledgement to his enemy. All throughout the fight, Zeke acted like he was superior to Pier.

Yet instead, what Zeke heard was a low and mild tone. Something which was even a bit unsettling because of how calm it was.

"ONE."

"What's that?" Zeke asked but, Pier simply continued counting.

"TWO."

"Hey does he have some kind of bomb or something? Why is he counting down?" Jake frantically asked.

"Pipe down will you. Even if he explodes, I can cover for you guys so just stay calm." Vask said, waiting for Zeke's orders.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU DISRESPECTED AND HUMILIATED ME HUMAN?"

"I don't know. It's not like the numbers are relevant." Zeke said in a flat tone.

"THE NUMBERS DO NOT MATTER?" Pier's voice was beginning to rise again, calming Zeke down because he was then sure that there was no meaning behind his enemy's tone of voice.

"I mean, who'd keep the tally if you're dead right? I certainly won't and, since you went and acted on your own, I don't think the other gods would acknowledge you again."

Huge waves of [Chaos Energy] came out of Pier who was evolving even further. Everyone thought that it was already his final form but, the creature was still increasing in power at that point.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR INSOLENCE BOY! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS WITH YOUR LIFE!"

These were empty words as Zeke punched the creature in the cheek. Tilting it to the side from the force of the attack. The gamer then sliced off a portion of Pier's wings. Making the creature scream in agonizing pain as his [Chaos] began recovering it.

"Just shut up and go to hell." Zeke said, with all other attacks following up.

Fireballs were casted by Zane and Merlin; exploding on impact right away. There was enough damage made to push through his sturdy scales. Water cannons came next, followed by lightning that struck from the skies.

"Give this to everyone, as soon as he releases some [Chaos] capture it." Zeke said throwing all of the completed [Empty Chaos Crystals] to his allies.

"Do you mean those smoke-like things that come off his healing wounds?" Jake asked.

"Yup exactly that." Was Allesiah's short reply as the group finally resumed their assault.

.

There was nothing that Pier could do at that point. Zeke and his allies were just too powerful and, their combined forces together with the effects of [Ring] only made things worse. All of Pier's moves in that state were too wide in range and all of his minions couldn't even enter the area to help him.

Every blow that landed on his body, every strike of the projectiles, every spell that made contact – all of these caused damage to Pier. The smoke continued rising from his body and everyone did as instructed; getting their [Crystals] filled with the [Chaos Energy] being released.

With thirty minutes passing by, the group was able to take out a considerable amount of [Chaos] from Pier, in fact it was already at fifty percent while Pier himself decreased in his overall size. Signifying that the attacks were doing their work and so were the [Crystals] that have been filled.

"ENOUGH! ENOUGH!" Pier shouted, not even realizing the kind of situation he was in; simply barking out orders.

Nobody listened to him of course. He was not in the position to command nor was anyone willing to listen to his pleas. Everyone had the one common goal of destroying him and ending things once and for all.

Oblivion sucked up his wings. Vask erased some of his body parts. A rain of arrows and spears fell upon him. Blasts of mana were produced. Explosions of a grand size also added to the mix. Punches, stabs, and other forms of strikes were also dished out.

There was no room fort the god to counter. He was simply the poor creature on the receiving end. Even as he tried casting spells, Allesiah simply negated them all.

[40% Remaining]

[38% Remaining]

[27% Remaining]

The percentage of [Chaos] remaining was shown on Zeke's [Window]. And while they pressed on, Pier finally decided to cast his ultimate defensive skill again. The same barrier coated his whole body while he added another layer of defensive skills on his wings which he used to wrap his body.

"Keep on going! Heal after you strike!" Zeke commanded with everyone screaming in agreement.

Little did they know that their opponent actually had one last card up his sleeve. One which he was reluctant to use but had no other choice at that moment. That is, awakening the Monarch sleeping within him.

A burst of mana came out from Pier, as if refreshing his [Chaos Energy] entirely. Zeke and the others continued fighting even in such a dangerous looking angle. But the waves of [Chaos] which also did some damage finally forced them to back away for a few seconds.

"This mortal frame and all its chaos, shall be offered to your reawakening!" The waves continued coming out and Vask could not help but be on edge for some reason. It was slow and steady but, as these waves continued pouring out, it finally resembled something. A heartbeat.

"NO! STOP!" Everything clicked on Vask's head at that moment. Pier was not simply putting up his last defense; he was taking out his trump card.

"WE NEED TO KILL HIM NOW!" Vask yelled and, seeing the monarch in such a frantic state only made Zeke resume with the attacks.

Everyone prepared their strongest spells. It didn't even take them ten seconds to complete these and, at Zeke's command, they all fired at the same time. The barrier made by Pier shattered and so did his wings but, this was all that they saw before everything simply turned into a gigantic orb of darkness floating in midair.

It was the combination of all the skills they fired. An object which would've probably given them lethal damage if not for the two [Rings] finally deactivating. Entailing that their enemy was killed while they focused on backing away.

The skill was only growing larger and larger. Even swallowing up the waters from the ocean that began spiraling up to it and, all the clouds in the sky that it sucked down.

"What happened?" Zeke immediately asked to the Monarch who still looked very much afraid.

"He was just about to come out."

"Who?"

"The strongest of us all. The Grand Monarch and First Seat, Vardus Nevermore. He was the one who plotted the destruction of Gaia and succeeded in doing such. He is also the same reason for the existence of the creature whose curse and weapon you are donning."

"What power does he have then?"

"He is the lord of time. Even I can only do so much when faced against someone of his caliber."

Zeke had limited information on Gaia. All he had was the data given through the [Integrated Memory Piece]. He didn't know of this Monarch and only knew of his abilities at that moment. But seeing Vask in that state was all that the gamer needed in order to understand.

Yet. The heavens seemed to be against them at that moment as the smile on Zeke's face faded. While everyone was already cheering in triumph, there was something that he noticed.

"Well, it looks like we haven't avoided him yet."

"What do you mean? That last attack should've killed – " Vask turned his gaze to where Zeke was looking and, soon enough, even he was back on edge.

A strange thing happened which made them continue raising their guard. The orb which was formed because of the unstable mixture of their skills was still floating in place. It had no signs of shrinking nor diminishing in power. In fact, it was only growing stronger with each passing second.

Then, a subtle sound came out of it; increasing in volume with each passing second. It was the same heartbeat. Thumping loudly and ominously.

[Alert: The strongest Monarch is being revived.]

[Alert: The other combatants are not strong enough to face him.]

[Alert: Death cannot be avoided at this point.]

"All of you attack!"

Zeke's command was met by another barrage of spells that aimed at taking down the sphere. Unfortunately, a barrier kept them from hitting it. Chaos was then released by the sphere as a thick mist and, only misfortune came after.

Everyone moved as quickly as they could. All their senses were razor sharp. Yet they were all experiencing a hair-raising amount of tension and then, their hearts thumped in a strange way.

"What…" Just like everyone else, Amare looked at her chest because, she felt something cold on it. And, in terrorizing shock her mind finally caught up to reality.

The elites. The dwellers of Mythos. Vask the Monarch. Even the gamer Zeke Elwood.

All of them were stabbed through the heart.