64 Chapter 64 - The Power of a God.

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Adam C. POV]

I could feel the howls of the wolves growing stronger with each passing second, as well as I could feel them moving in the shadows making their way toward me.

I had no idea what I would face.

But whatever it was that was coming my way, it was time to take this seriously.

"Judge all things in this universe. Zanryuzuki," I muttered, reaching for the hilt of my blade. The blade glinted in the moonlight as I slowly drew it out, letting the hiss of metal that echoed across the empty forest.

The blade was covered in a beautiful, ethereal aura that seemed to ripple and swirl around the blade, making the air around it seem blurry and distorted.

This aura changed colors, shifting from turquoise to pink to lilac, but always remaining mostly transparent, creating a mesmerizing display of light that seemed to capture the surrounding area in its spell.

Ready to fight, the howls became louder, and as I scanned the area, I could see the glowing eyes of my hunters, staring at me in the darkness, watching me, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Then, a huge wolf emerged from the shadows, growling menacingly and bearing its teeth, before leaping at me with great speed. However, before it could reach me, I took a step back and calmly brought my sword down at the beast.

My blade sliced through the wolf's body, sending a spray of hot blood across the ground. The wolf let out a deafening howl and collapsed onto the forest floor, its eyes staring lifelessly into the void, his flesh sizzling as if it was being burned by the power of my blade.

The smell of burnt fur filled the air for a moment, as the wolf gave out his last breath, writhing in pain before his shape dissipated into light.

I stared at the wolf in mild disbelief as its body dissipated into light, revealing that it was not an ordinary wolf, but a being of pure magical energy.

...

Mana constructs... great.

This might take a while.

Depending on how powerful this Goddess is, and how big her reserves are, she might just opt to tire me out.

It was a hunting strategy, after all, to tire your prey to a point where it couldn't fight back or escape.

However, I didn't intend to let her do that.

Time to test some of my newest techniques.

"Cosmic Cleanse," I muttered, unleashing an arc of energy with a hum that glowed with a blinding light before engulfing the entire area. Engulfing the foliage around and reducing it to cinders. disintegrating everything as the wave of energy rippled out.

However, by the time my attack had dissipated, the entire forest was back to normal, having regenerated like nothing had happened, leaving not even a single branch burnt or destroyed.

I should've seen it coming.

More mana constructs...

Fucking great.

As I sighed at this discovery, a sharp pain shot through my leg without a warning, catching me by surprise. Looking down, I saw an arrow sticking out of my thigh, and blood was already oozing from the wound.

I didn't feel the attack coming...

At all...

This is becoming problematic.

And... as much as it pains me to admit it, more fun.

I grinned, feeling more thrilled than I would care to admit.

She could've killed me.

If she had aimed at my head, that arrow would've hit me and killed me, but instead, she made her first shot a warning shot... no, she made her first shot a message, one that said... you can't escape this.

Meaning the next shot... would be in a... lethal location.

I grinned, taking a step back just in time to dodge another arrow that whizzed past my head.

I whistled.

I might not be able to feel her attacks, and sure that puts me in a clear disadvantage, however, we all know I suck at sensing energy anyways, so... not that much of a difference.

"Not bad, mortal," Artemis hissed in the shadows, her voice echoing from the trees all around me, sounding more like a hundred different voices that worked in tandem, "But if you think dodging one arrow will save you, you are wrong. You died the moment that first shot hit you."

"I did?" I replied, when all of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my leg, the same one that had been hit by the arrow.

I looked down in confusion, only to witness something that left me without words taking place before my very eyes. The skin on my leg, the one Artemis had hit, was beginning to change in color and texture, turning from human flesh to sleek, shimmering fur, which was as soft as velvet to the touch.

Muscles rippled and bulged under my skin, and the bones of my leg began to shift, lengthening and reshaping to accommodate the new form.

I watched in horror as my toes stretched out, elongating into delicate hooves, which gleamed in the light with an otherworldly iridescence.

I...

I had a deer leg now?

"Ok, this is fucked up," I muttered, a little too loudly.

"It's only a matter of time before the transformation takes hold of your body, and once it does... your flesh will feed my pets," Artemis continued, in a low, venomous tone.

Ignoring her for a moment, I moved my... new leg around a bit.

Left.

Right.

Up.

Down.

It was responding, it was odd, but it was doing what I wanted it to do.

It also felt like my power was circulating without many problems there.

Hmm...

I can work with this.

Best case scenario, killing her would break this... curse? spell? whatever she did.

Second best case, I would only need to cut it out, I mean, I can always get a prosthetic leg.

Worst case scenario, I become a deer...

I wonder how that would work...

Would I have to use Zanryuzuki with my mouth?... tail?

You know what, let's focus on this shit before she turns me into the R-Rated version of Bambi.

"Is that all?" I said, trying to taunt the Goddess out of her hiding place. "I find it amusing you had the balls to fight me with your avatar, but now that you are using your real body, you are nowhere to be seen, it's... adorable."

I had learned a thing or two during my fight with her, and that was that... she had quite an ego, and when dealing with people like that, the best way was to play around their fragile sense  of self.

"Pathetic," she spat, as she came out into view, her expression cold and determined. "But if you wish to die sooner than later, I will oblige."

Really... that was all it took? One jab at her ego?

I had a lot of shots loaded and ready for her, and the first one did the trick?

....

Don't question it.

I closed my eyes, steadied my breath, and focused on the energy coursing through me, before taking a step forward. When I opened them again, I was in a different place; a few steps away from her.

Wasting no time, I brought my blade down on her neck, but to my surprise, she blocked the attack with her bare hand.

Huh...

"Is that your best?" she said, clearly mocking my words. "As little as I expected from you, I expected more than this."

"Well that hurt emotionally," I replied to her, chuckling. "But don't worry, this is far from my best."

Having said that, the energy from my blade connected with her hand, spread out and revealed what looked like to be a summoning circle that surrounded her, trapping her in a kido barrier.

"What is this?" she asked, not bothering to even try and break out of the barrier.

"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!" I muttered, focusing all of my energy on one singular point. "Hado #90. Kurohitsugi!"

Letting my power ripple in waves around me, I generated a powerful torrent of black energy that swirled around me for a moment, before I aimed it toward my target, watching as it enveloped her in a powerful vortex of gravity.

Coalescing around her into a box of black energy, covered in several spear-like protrusions that extended outwards from its surface trapping her inside before breaking into pieces, revealing a bleeding Goddess, dropping to her knees.

"How about that one?" I asked, trying to hide the fact I was a... bit exhausted, seeing I had put a... lot of my power into that attack.

"You will pay for that..." Artemis hissed, her eyes now glowing red.

I was tired.

Hurt.

And had a deer leg… which I wasn't sure whether or not to categorize as a wound or… something else.

But above all, I was thrilled.

How odd, isn't it?