Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 662 - Totem King Kassares Falls!

Boom!

Endless black mist surged from the rupture in the giant bronze gargoyle's back. Totem King Kassares's energy of calamity drained away as the glowing runes and totems were swept away.

The destruction wrought by Thorn Sonic Death Armament targeted a being's essence. That wound was far more than a hole through the Totem King’s chest. At least a quarter of his origin had been destroyed!

The third stage of Blood Rainbow Piercing Kill also targeted one’s body, mind, and origin. Thus, after Blood Vulture Dominator Fist's strike, fully half his power was gone!

At the moment, Totem King Kassares's aura was so feeble that it could not even match Blood Vulture Dominator Fist, who had just unleashed Blood Rainbow Piercing Kill. Furthermore, Blood Vulture Dominator Fist had been drained by the origin of calamity for millennia and had just used three powerful moves. Yet, the aura he revealed was now stronger than the Totem King's.

Offense and defense had switched places.

Totem King Kassares swung his scepter.

"Begone!!! Golden Rings!!!"

Three vast, visible rings of golden light expanded. They carried a heavy metallic impact, repelling any threatening entity nearby. Cassius, whose iron fist was lodged in the gargoyle's body, was of course the first target.

However, he was not dismayed. Instead, a hideous chilling smile crossed his face. The Thorn Sonic Death Armament gauntlet flared with swelling light and scythe-blades extended from his five fingertips!

Just then, the triple giant golden rings slammed into the Golem with three successive bangs! The concussive impacts blasted the massive Golem's body away!

Buzzz...

The golden rings swept across the world in an instant. Mountains were shattered, exploding into a rain of stones. The Golem was no exception. Spider-web cracks had appeared across its exquisite silver armor.

Threads of blood even oozed from the cracks. Clearly, it had internal wounds. As expected of a top-ten Ultimate Dark Form, Totem King Kassares's wrathful strike was far beyond that of an ultimate totem. If it were an ordinary Holy Fist who had been struck by these three rings, his sea of Qi would likely have exploded on the spot. His spirit and Will would be utterly erased as well.

Fortunately, Cassius possessed a Golem body and excelled in strength and defense, so he only suffered injuries.

Swoosh, boom!

The colossal Golem slammed into a mountain before steadying itself. But a second later, a tremulous howl of pain rang out from the Totem King's distant position.

A grim smile crept across the Golem's face.

You want to knock me back? Not for free!

The Golem slowly raised its huge arm, fingers splayed like an eagle's talons. A great chunk of the bronze gargoyle's body was slowly disintegrating on the glowing gauntlet. The fist clad in Thorn Sonic Death Armament had been like a razor-barbed spike. Cassius had leveraged the rings' repulsion to tear at the Totem King's own body. The damage might not have been a lot, but the pain was certain!

It was an agony carved into its heart and marrow!

By the origin of calamity, Totem King Kassares fell silent. A quarter of the bronze gargoyle's massive upper body had collapsed. His already weakened energy dipped sharply once more. Most crucially, that fierce Will wavered violently under successive wounds.

Just as Cassius had said before, to live was to feel pain, and enough pain would breed fear!

At the moment, the Totem King truly felt a thread of fear. It was directed at Cassius, or more precisely, at that uncanny energy in his hand. Kassares dreaded that energy as much as he had feared Blood Vulture Dominator Fist's mutual-destruction move!

"An insoluble sharpness that is the natural nemesis of all calamity! It resembles Southern Dipper energy, yet has never appeared before... If he joins forces with Blood Vulture, my odds are under thirty percent! No, now it's not even thirty. My source is too gravely damaged. Only twenty percent left! The only solution left is to stall them and let the battle's uproar draw other Ultimate Dark Forms to aid! I need enough Ultimate Dark Forms to draw their attention in order to..."

Kassares's Will trembled.

Just as he thought of this, he realized someone had sensed his intent and moved first. An aged figure had sat cross-legged in the distance by a volcano. One hand pointed to the sky, one to the earth, and a vast aura swept madly forth.

The Totem King and Blood Vulture Dominator Fist’s energies had permeated the land for millennia. It had even warped the physical laws, shifting it with their emotions and Wills. Totem King Kassares could make countless black mountains become giants to besiege and block Cassius.

Blood Vulture Dominator Fist's aura had also soaked the realm, though at a disadvantage. He could not do what the Totem King did. However, shrouding the area in an invisible dome and keeping the aftermath from spreading was no hard task!

If the Totem King had methods, how could Blood Vulture Dominator Fist lack them?

Vumm...

A powerful ripple swept out, bearing the Will of the Dominator Fist. Red ripples spread through the air as an enormous illusory dome like an upturned bowl covered the land.

A gaunt elder suddenly stood, shoulders trembling violently.

"Hahaha! No one can disturb us now, Totem King Kassares! I... have waited far too long for this day! I will personally hack you alive!!! Ki-ki-ki!"

Endless scarlet flames blazed behind him, lighting his bony frame like a skeletal demon. Two red beams burst from his eyes.

"Blood Vulture, you!!!"

The Totem King's bronze eyes widened before it could finish. Behind it, another huge figure strode forward, shaking the earth with heavy steps. The outline of its armor was harsh and cold like a grotesque giant statue come to life. Black flames writhed upon the statue as if thousands of fiends whispered and reveled, celebrating another life to be devoured!

"Hehehe, eat it, eat it, eat it!"

"Ohohoho, big fish, big fish! A plump big fish!"

"Huhuhu, gagaga, I want it hot right now!"

"Bloody, fresh and twitching... Most exciting!"

The Totem King turned, staring in terror at the vast silhouette cloaked in darkness. He seemed to hear whisper upon whisper in Cassius's Will. It was his truest self in the subconscious. There was a disregard for life he could not perceive!

"I want to... kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill!"

Countless whispers fused into a single cruel voice as if men and women, young and old were all shouting "kill!"

"Roar!!!"

Beset from all sides, the Totem King roared. It was not to intimidate the enemy but rather to steel himself! Now only a fight to the death remained. Facing a brutal old foe and a perverse young one, surviving to fall into their hands would be worse! This elder and youth meant to swallow him alive!

"Never thought I'd see this day. I imagined Blood Vulture would burn himself out before me. Unexpectedly, the first to burn out was me! I can only use that move..."

"Power of Bronze, Power of Silver, Power of Gold... Using the three totem powers as ink to draw the final totem, that is... To abandon the flesh of the Ultimate Dark Form and fully become a totem!"

"Ultimate Totem: Totem King, Kassares!!!"

Roooar!!!!!

The bronze gargoyle threw its head skyward in a howl. Its arms spread as if to embrace the heavens. Beside its body, the shattered bronze shield melted, scattered silver armor shards coalesced, and the leaves on the golden scepter fell.

The viscous bronze, silver, and gold forces swirled like a whirlpool, wrapping around the Totem King and forming a strange resonant frequency. At the same time, the scattered ultimate totems turned into streaks of light, sweeping into the vortex to become pure energy.

When the vortex blazed at its peak, it burst.

Bang!

A gigantic gargoyle with tricolor scales and savage wings stabbing into the sky descended. Its strong arms hung majestically at its sides. Three rings were burned into the left side of its chest torso, radiating bronze, silver, and gold light.

The Totem King's thoughts flashed by. A body composed of the three totem powers truly surpasses normal Ultimate Dark Forms! I feel incomparably sturdy, with endless energy at my disposal. Sadly, even as the Totem King, I can only sustain this totemization for a bit. Once past the limit, I'll become a cold totem statue without thought or feeling. This was the method I meant to use to withstand Blood Vulture's mutual-destruction move. Unexpectedly, I had to use mine before he could use his. While my mind remains clear, I can easily press the two of them and make them pay dearly. Until my intent fades and I fully totemize...

The next second, it faced the two rushing in. Its massive golden wings beat once, and the gargoyle's bulk accelerated into a thunderous punch!

The fist struck a massive Blood Vulture whose crimson beak tore through the air. Sparks burst upon its red tip.

Roar! Screee!

When the terrible clash ended, Blood Vulture Dominator Fist was blasted away. Even his Will of the Dominator Fist had been briefly suppressed by the Totem King's explosive punch.

Kassares was in a do-or-die state. The Totem King whirled, locking onto the charging Golem Cassius.

"And you!!!"

He was even angrier than facing Blood Vulture Dominator Fist. Kassares was going to reclaim his face for the hint of fear he had shown. The best way to do that would be to crush the foe before him.

Bang, bang.

Space itself exploded in a chain. The Totem King's silver claws tore all before them as it slashed at the Golem's head!

Boom!!!!

The Golem's iron fist, sheathed in a gleaming gauntlet, smashed into the lunging claws.

Crack.

Cassius's arm twisted as hairline fractures appeared on his armor and blood spurted out. The huge Golem staggered back. His knees drove into the earth as terrible ripples of force radiated out.

"Hahaha, you... huh!!!?" The Totem King's Will was exultant until it felt something odd in its claw. Though the gargoyle's claw had been insanely reinforced by the three totem powers and totemization, half its palm had been blasted away in that moment of impact!

What kind of energy was this?! The Totem King wouldn't have known, but even Xiadu's true body coming back from the Gate of Heaven had been severed by Cassius's Thorn Sonic Death Armament!

That was the weapon's nature of endless destruction. But just as the Totem King reeled, something stranger happened. With a few breaths, a warm torrent of energy surged through the injured Golem's arm and the fractures healed at speed. He charged the Totem King anew as his wounds mended mid-sprint!

"Blood Vulture! Join me! Combine our force to kill him!" The massive Golem bellowed deeply as he thundered forward.

A blood-red streak shot up from the earth, pierced the clouds in a blink, then howled back down like a meteor!

"This old man is coming!!!!"

Boom!

The meteor slammed into the Totem King, triggering a violent explosion. Blood Vulture Dominator Fist unleashed his full power. His eyes and hair turned scarlet, growing and whipping like withered weeds in the wind.

Afterimages flew around with every punch and kick. The stray force alone could destroy a mountain!

And the target of that force? Entirely on the Totem King. The tricolored rings on its chest blazed as the Totem King countered wildly. Endless energy gathered and burst forth.

"Blood Vulture King!!!" Blood Vulture Dominator Fist blasted out a condensed version of his mutual-destruction move. Yet its power was still terrifying. One punch made the totemized Totem King stagger and expose an opening.

Cassius flickered and vanished. Hundreds of winding afterimages linked together as he took full advantage of that opening. Golem shadows ringed the Totem King.

In an instant, domineering fists wrapped in mysterious glow slammed into it from countless angles! Death came down completely with those blows!

Bang!!!

Four pillars of light burst from the Totem King's body. The Golem clamped him in a deathly embrace, with two large steel palms gripping his head.

Beneath the metal mask radiating dreadful red light, a deep voice resounded like an instrument in a grand cathedral.

"There is no eternally undefeated legend. Even myths have their curtain call..."

"Totem King, Kassares has fallen!!!"