'There's no way. Why? How? What happened?!'
How could they have died from laceration? The Alpha God's cultivation technique allowed them to have a thick and strong skin that could repel gunshots.
Drew could suspend disbelief by accepting the fact that Zoran was skilled at combat, a genius even. He could believe that Zoran beat them in a fair fight. But it was impossible for him to have done this.
They trained their bodies by submerging themselves in boiling hot lava. No natural element could have cut them apart from Adamantium.
Of course, there was still one element that Drew didn't know. That was, of course, the strongest metal in the future, Silverune.
Zoran's control of the Silverune had gotten extremely better. Ever since he acquired the Law of Attraction, a portion of his focus was dedicated to practicing it.
It was a precaution that turned out to be critical in his survival. He was only able to manipulate the Silverune to the degree he wanted just after he entered the tunnel.
He formed the shapeless Silverune into a large needle. With precise and fluid motion, Zoran had stuck the needle at the carotids of the lackeys while he was fighting them.
His positioning was perfect as to hide the needle Silverune from sight. It led to three lackeys dying from bleeding out without anybody knowing what happened.
While in a state of confusion and denial, Drew committed one of the fatal sins of combat: standing still.
It was only then that Drew realized the severity of the situation. He finally saw the true danger in this cave.
It wasn't the dead ends, it wasn't the pitfalls. Even the Miasma could not compare to the sensory of primal fear that Zoran invoked in his soul.
How could such a small, frail, and weak kid be capable of such carnage?
He should have listened to his instincts. There was no way Zoran would spare him from death, especially after what he and the others had done.
Self-preservation kicked in.
"Stop you demon! Don't come any closer!"
Drew stumbled back trying to scurry away from the so-called demon.
But Zoran didn't move. He stayed still, with no intention of chasing.
Despite this, Drew saw Zoran's figure getting bigger and bigger. In his mind, Zoran's figure slowly morphed into an actual demon. It bared its fangs, ready to take a bite out of its prey. Fear took a hold of him.
Drew looked back at his leader for salvation. The prodigy and talented Helio was the only one able to kill Zoran.
"Helio! Helio will kill you! The Alpha God's sun will burn you demon!"
But he didn't know Zoran wasn't his only problem.
Just as he turned back to Zoran with a look of relief and triumph, believing that Helio was going to exterminate the demon, his whole body split into two.
He was immediately dead, with his two halves falling on the floor, innards spilling out. He didn't even know what killed him. He didn't know his supposed savior only brought death.
Helio killed Drew without as much as a blink. The Adamantium ax carved through a 1st stage cultivator like butter.
The blood red ax in Helio's hands bathed in blood and bits of intestines and brain matter. But the gruesome scene could not compare to the crazed look on Helio's face.
"See that, Zoran! I am still stronger than you! Killing them is as easy as breathing for me!"
Zoran shook his head. "You are stronger than me. But I will always win."
Helio stomped his foot on the ground, splashing Drew's blood on his face.
"You pompous prick! You think you are anything special?!"
Helio wielded his ax and hacked Drew's carcass, desecrating the already grisly scene.
"I am Helio, the prodigy of the Primordial Sun Dynasty! I am going to replace the Alpha God!"
Helio did not spare the other lackeys. They were subject to a more horrendous fate after their death. Their faces became unrecognizable, with their bodies turning into a mangled mess.
"They gifted me this Adamantium ax forged from the deepest part of a volcano. This is worth more than your entire life!"
Adamantium was light and durable, capable of being sharpened to the highest degree. It allowed Helio to chop skin like air, bones like paper, and steel like wood.
Blessed with volcano ash, his blood red ax could be considered as a treasure. They truly thought of Helio as a talent.
But Helio was not done. The bodies were not enough. He hacked the ground with furious anger.
He was livid—enraged at the fact that Zoran exhibited strength without having any. He saw the whole thing, and a little voice in his head whispered insecurities that bugged his mind. 'You could not replicate Zoran's strength. You are as worthless as a worm. You are better off dead,' it said to him.
When he was a mere mortal, he was nothing but weak fodder. He was a nobody.
But Zoran, with nothing but his frail body, maneuvered with such strength and skill that he won against four 1st stage cultivators—all at the same time!
He couldn't believe what he saw. It was impossible. Zoran should have stayed as a nobody, just like he was.
"They said I was going to stand at the peak of cultivation, with no one above me! You wouldn't know anything about it!"
Zoran understood all too well; they said that to him too. All the dynasties promised glory and strength to everyone, regardless of race, age, and talent.
Yet Zoran's death was evidence of their fraud. He achieved excellence, yet the Supreme Beings killed him for it.
"I will show you! Killing you would bring me to greater heights!"
Helio wielded his ax and rushed at Zoran. Strength burst forth from his feet, with fire burning at his soles leaving burn marks behind.
The ax cleaved the air as it aimed firmly at Zoran's skull. It was blindingly fast, not even leaving as much of a blur in Zoran's eyes.
Helio's smile widened to the thought of Zoran's blood spurting all over, but that didn't happen.
Zoran moved to the side and avoided a fatal death. The only evidence of his attack was a small injury in Zoran.
Blood gushed from Zoran's forearm. A large gash appeared from his wrist to his elbow. It poured like a fountain, painting Zoran's face red with his own blood.
Zoran knew where Helio would strike, he knew when it would land, and he knew the exact timing to dodge perfectly.
But his body couldn't keep up with his knowledge. He was still shackled with a mortal body with eyes akin to a blind man, a body slower than molasses, and a defense more fragile than glass.
He had to use the Law of Attraction to save his whole arm from being cut off.
Zoran could win with 1st stage cultivators, he could even deal with cultivators in the 2nd stage, but the 3rd stage was a gap of strength even his knowledge couldn't overcome.
Zoran considered this as losing position. But his eyes never lost hope; his mind reeled with possible win conditions.
Helio, on the other hand, became more agitated. Zoran shouldn't have survived that. He couldn't believe that his full-on attack only left a small cut on his arm.
"RAAAAAGGHHHH!" Helio screamed.
Helio let out a frantic volley of attacks. There was no stance, no flow, just pure chaos and desire to kill Zoran.
"Die! Die! Die!"
Zoran dodged the ax, with cuts appearing all over his body. But it would never hit a critical spot.
"You think that a peasant like you can become the apex of cultivation?!"
Helio swung his axe
"NO! The only place you belong is in the pits of Miasma once I kill you!"
Zoran stopped moving. Helio was just like the Alpha God he worshipped. Even their curses were similar.
The Primordial Sun Dynasties gives its inner disciples treasured weapons, cultivation pills, and any artskills. Money was the least of Helio's problems.
Helio hindered Zoran's cultivation for the same reason that the Alpha God killed Zoran: discriminatory exclusivity.
Zoran stopped dodging. He took on the dangerous and fatal bloodred ax with just a hand.
"Die, Zoran!"