**Alex POV: Epicenter of the Battle**
The battle was fierce. My imperial guard fought in the background while the main force gathered far from the true epicenter. This was where the real battle would unfold, and then I saw him — Chronos, awakening from his slumber.
"Had a good sleep, you large beast?" I said, my tone tinged with years of stored anger and frustration. Since that day I injured him, he'd vanished from the battlefield, leaving me simmering, wanting to end this directly. But I held back, knowing that back then I had a slim chance of survival. Instead, I trained my armies, strengthened the sentinels, and gathered allies. Now, the time had come to end it. With Chronos gone, I could finally expand my empire and keep the peace.
Chronos didn't say a word, simply fixed his eyes on me, and the tension between us grew. Slowly, I removed the limiters placed on me, the ones that held back the powers I was given — powers my body could barely contain. But just this once, I would unleash them. At the same time, Chronos began minimizing his body mass, perhaps realizing he needed a more compact form to maximize his power.
**BOOM**
Chronos now stood at a height of 6'5". His four arms had merged into two, his skin dark like charcoal, rough-edged like a beast. He was bare-chested with only a toga around his waist, his long horns protruding from his head like a demon incarnate. His purple eyes watched me, devoid of anger or emotion, as though studying me. But I knew it was time to get serious.
**WOOOSH!**
Silver energy spread as I coated my body with my own aura, and Chronos released an ethereal energy that clashed with mine, creating a border on the battlefield. Behind me, my imperial guard stood ready, led by the Marshal with pistol and sword drawn. Chronos's own guards stood behind him, demi-gods and lower gods who had sided with him, some trained by him.
**BOOM! BOOM!**
We propelled toward each other, weapons drawn. Chronos wielded his scythe, and I my greatsword, its blade gleaming in anticipation.
**KA-BOOM**
Like a miniature nuke, the shockwave of our clash caused a massive explosion. Thankfully, I had ordered a 40km exclusion zone for this fight, with only elite squads and imperial guards allowed inside the circle. Both sides now fought for supremacy, but Chronos and I were focused solely on each other.
**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**
Our afterimages blurred across the battlefield. I sped up, while Chronos used his time powers to pause and accelerate his movements. I tilted my head slightly as the tip of his scythe narrowly missed. I thrust my sword forward, forcing him to sidestep, the aftershock carving a line of debris across the battlefield.
Exhaustion seeped into my bones, but I used a magic circle to repair myself, feeling my aura start to crack. I kept going — the first line of energy was fading, but I had a second.
**Clang! Clang! Clang!**
Chronos spun his scythe in a small arc, but I blocked it with my sword. He punched me back, and I ignited my sword in black flames, clearing my mind of all emotions. This seemed to unsettle Chronos, who sensed an emptiness in me.
With a swift movement, I managed to sever Chronos's right arm, leaving a small black flame where it was cut until it faded. I reappeared in front of him at breakneck speed, swinging to cleave his head, but Chronos raised a barrier just in time. I activated a magic circle, allowing my sword to bypass his barrier, forcing Chronos to take a step back.
"What?" Chronos muttered, as the barrier shattered and an artifact around his waist flew toward me, wrapping around my left arm.
"I felt someone's energy embedded in it, so I kept feeding it until its authority transferred to me," I said in a cold voice, recognizing two powers within the artifact, one of which I dared not name.
I could sense a few gods from Olympus watching the fight, while others engaged nearby gods and demi-gods.
I didn't advance with arrogance but with precision, targeting vulnerable parts of his body to immobilize him. Chronos used his scythe to dodge and move, tendrils of shadow binding him, but he broke free with sheer ferocity.
**BOOM**
Chronos landed a strong blow to my face. My mask vibrated but held steady. Before I could react, time froze around me. Chronos landed several rapid hits all over my body, his weapon poised to strike my chest when—
**BOOM**
Before time froze, I had created a small energy ball, absorbing the impact Chronos had been piling on. When it reached a certain threshold, it exploded, freeing me from his time pause. I readied myself; Chronos was full of tricks.
**"Time Reaper"**
Chronos unleashed a technique I recognized from Alvos's stories. I countered with one of my own.
"Let this be known, I declare," I said, reality trembling as crimson, silver, and dark energy spread around us. The imperial guards and the titan guards clashed without stopping.
"Dark Age." The landscape around us crumbled. Chronos, trying to stop me, found his soul momentarily bound as the Draconian imperial guards filled the field. High above, I glowed red, and upon landing, I caused a small crater, dashing toward Chronos at Mach 8.
Chronos, enraged, his calm facade shattered, charged with deadly intent. I shifted into a forward charge, black flames, 'Indrath,' surrounding my weapon. Our weapons clashed, spreading fragments of energy across the battlefield, but fortunately, no one was within range.
The clash turned brutal as we both unleashed punches, breaking past each other's shields. Chronos returned a fierce blow to my abdomen, then struck my face, filled with hatred toward me, the boy who had risen from city-state lord to emperor.
"I should've killed him," Chronos thought, remembering the friend who'd once been taken from me, his thought interrupted as I kicked him hard in the chest, widening the gap between us.
"I will end this," Chronos muttered, gripping his scythe. I readied my sword, infused with a technique prepared in advance.
**'Sky Shattering Judgment, Second Form — Dissius'**
Energy surged into my sword. With a war cry, I charged. Chronos covered his scythe with a radiant energy, an attack comparable to something even Athena would unleash.
"Scales, activate now!" I shouted, unleashing my attack. Golden scales appeared, balancing our attacks as they collided with a massive shockwave. With no time to waste, I charged again, my crimson aura taking the shape of a dragon.
**'Dragon Emperor Supreme Flight Destructor!'**
A dragon's roar resounded as it crashed into Chronos, who retaliated with a scythe slash across my abdomen, tearing my armor. In response, I unleashed the '1st Demonic Emperor Technique, Requila,' replicating a technique I'd studied long and hard.
**BOOM**
Chronos was blown away, though not before I sustained a deep wound from his scythe, which struck my abdomen. Pain surged through me as I pulled out the scythe's tip, blood dripping slowly. I took a green pill.
**"All Healing,"** I muttered, and the wound healed, though a scar would remain. Adjusting my shoulder, I prepared for the next clash.
**Crack**
Alex adjusted his shoulder, feeling a dislocation, and readied himself, noticing that Chronos was no longer there.
"I've had enough of this farce!" he heard Chronos's voice, and as he located him, he saw Chronos hovering in the sky, surrounded by a multitude of magical arrays. Within seconds, they fired a barrage of spells aimed at Alex. He countered with a technique he learned in the demon realm.
"Full Counter!" The spells turned around and flew back toward Chronos, whose eyes widened momentarily. But Chronos quickly paused time and appeared right in front of Alex, returning with a powerful backhand.
**Boom! Crack!**
Alex felt his mask shatter, and along with it, he lost access to his vitals monitor and the status of his troops.
"Ahhhh... Enough playing around," Alex muttered, removing his trench coat to reveal his last line of defense. This consisted of an anti-magic plate, though it had taken significant damage from Chronos's attack. His final safeguard was his heart, protected by five layers of the strongest defensive arrays and barriers from both sides of the continent, known for safeguarding ancient castles and cities.
He twirled his coat, which transformed into a demonic sword. This weapon had once been part of the Balance Blade, but Alex's recent reforging had split it into separate pieces for ceremonial use.
"Heavenly Demonic Technique: Sky-Shattering Indrath." Flames enveloped his two swords as Alex launched a flurry of strikes. Each blow seemed to bring down the heavens themselves. Chronos tried to counter, but the anti-magic properties of Alex's attack left him defenseless. Alex's main target wasn't Chronos's head but his limbs; he intended to disable him.
"This ends now. I will enjoy torturing you!" Alex snarled, showing for the first time a crazed smile without his mask. His eyes began to glow red, sending a shudder of fear through Chronos.
"I must stop this madness," Chronos thought, recalling the days he had brought order to the continent. But with each strike, he felt himself weaken. In the final blow, Chronos lost an arm permanently.
"What have I done to deserve this? I brought order to the entire continent!" he shouted.
Alex looked at him with cold indifference. "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. You chose the latter. You made yourself a great hero, but I have to put you down. The world needs to see a tyrant fall—and that's you," Alex said, his former anger replaced by a burning resolve. He ignited his swords, fusing them together. Slowly, he sprinted toward Chronos, who summoned his scythe for one final stand.
**BOOM!**
Explosions overlapped as Alex's aura shielded him, although debris managed to cut through. With a final thrust, he stabbed Chronos in the throat, forcing him to his knees.
"Cough… I never thought I'd die like this," Chronos gasped as the life drained from his eyes.
"There's more out there than meets the eye. I've seen it myself. This continent, this region—it's just the beginning. There are places I've explored that defy description. Take care of the Titans…" Chronos's head lowered, his nose touching Alex's blade.
"Not a word for your son or the gods who helped you over the years. Pathetic," Alex sneered, pulling out the blade and kicking Chronos's body aside. As he felt Chronos's power slipping away, he realized he was absorbing fragments of Chronos's soul and, with it, knowledge of time manipulation.
"Interesting. You shall be part of my legion," Alex mused as he absorbed the soul. Soon, a man with a skeletal face and cloaked body appeared and bowed.
"I am at your service, my lord," the figure said.
"You shall be called Chronos and will serve me until my end, teaching me to wield time magic," Alex commanded. He turned toward the palace, which began to fade as his dominion took hold. He could see the aftermath of the battle: his Imperial Guard had managed victory over the Elite Titan Guards, but at a heavy cost. Out of the 100,000 he had brought, over 70,000 had perished. Those who survived bore injuries that, for the most part, were healing due to their regenerative abilities.
"My lord, the castle is yours," his chief commander of the Imperial Guards reported, covered in blood as the black and red armor glistened in the fires that still burned.
"Tell them Chronos is dead," Alex replied as he moved toward the castle's entrance. Minutes later, he reached the throne room, sensing another presence. When he unleashed his bloodlust, the entity disappeared.
"Ha! After all that trouble reaching the capital… Now, gather every document, and if anyone resists, kill them," he commanded, and shadows erupted as his Emperor's Shadows went to work.
Alex sifted through documents detailing shipments from the Tyrell continent factions, agreements for loans to pay mercenaries, secret shipments from the Tiamat Empire, and attempts to bring in forces from the Nordic Empire, most of which had failed to break through the blockade.
**Weapons Storage Room**
He soon found rows of equipment, enough to arm an army of gods. The quality and detail of the armaments were impressive and costly.
'I'll dismantle these and sell them piece by piece. Maybe I'll even gift them to soldiers who showed valor in battle,' he thought, moving toward what used to be the vault. It was nearly empty, with only a few low-value items left.
"He really didn't know how to use money wisely," Alex muttered aloud. He considered the new faction, approaching the throne. He sat down but felt nothing at first.
**Whoosh! Boom!**
Suddenly, he sensed multiple presences in the sky. Gods. He recognized some as gods of this continent, though none from Olympus.
"You're challenging me?" Alex shouted as he felt Chronos's power resonating within him.
"You're too late to enter this war. I hold these lands by right of conquest!" Alex declared, his voice booming. Some of the gods hesitated, stepping back, while others had simply joined to claim last-minute glory. But they were too late.
"Leave now, or witness another bloodbath," Alex warned. He was drained, but he would not allow his soldiers to die in vain.
**To be continued...**