It was an earring that resembled a crescent moon, emitting a faint, ominous aura.
Looking at the young boy, even Arthur felt a sense of danger. It was nothing like what he felt from Zephyr. Instead, it was something that he had only experienced with very few people, all of whom stood at the peak of this world.
He could also feel that there was something wrong with this aura. It felt slightly unstable. It felt... incomplete.
As the boy approached, the air around him seemed to distort, as if reality itself was being manipulated.
"You must be that Traitor who betrayed your own people, causing the downfall of Heaven?" Arthur asked, smiling. "It's been a long time since I felt like this. I must say, this feeling is exhilarating."
The stronger the enemy was, the more exciting he became. In his eyes, there wasn't much hatred or anger. Instead, there was only the fighting spirit.
Although he wasn't sure what trick Raven used to recover, he didn't feel fear.
In his journey, he had fought against many great beings, all in a quest to reach an even greater height. And the person before him was someone who was said to have experienced the greatest of those heights before falling to the depths of hell.
Although he didn't exist in that era to personally experience it, he had heard a lot of stories related to this person.
Raven was someone who was respected by almost everyone in the Heaven. He stood on an equal footing with Gaia. However, unlike Gaia.who was more involved with the matters of Heaven, he was more carefree.
He rarely remained in the Heaven, always roaming through various worlds, as if he was bored.
No one bothered him either and let him do as he pleased. No one could have expected the future, yet it came true when everything changed.
It was the day Raven returned, causing a massacre in Heaven. No one knew what led him to do this. Even to this day, no one understood him.
In many of his reincarnations, various gods tried to search his soul to see through his first life's memories. Unfortunately, none was able to see anything.
Even with the curse, his soul was too strong for them, one of the reasons even Gaia couldn't kill him permanently.
"I would've loved to face you when you were at your peak. But I'm sure this won't be too disappointing either," Arthur stated. "However, before we begin, I'm curious. Why did you do it?"
"If you answer me, then even if I kill you, I'll let your subordinate escape," he further offered. "And..."
Before he could finish speaking, Raven casually waved his hand, unleashing a wave of ominous dark energy towards Arthur.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Arthur raised his sword just in time to block the attack. The clash between the dark energy and the gleaming blade created a shower of sparks, filling the air with an aura of destruction. The impact was so powerful that it sent Arthur flying backward.
Swiftly regaining his balance mid-air, Arthur skillfully landed on the ground, twenty metres away from his initial position.
"I suppose that is your answer," he stated, his expression turning dark. In that moment, it seemed as if he had transformed into an entirely different person, as his sword began to emit a mysterious light.
As Arthur lifted his gaze to confront Raven, he was taken aback to find that both Raven and Zephyr had disappeared.
"You!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief.
The anger within him intensified. He had been eagerly looking forward to this battle, yet Raven had completely disregarded him, leaving with Zephyr as if he was nothing more than a bothersome insect.
"You should not have provoked me," Arthur muttered, his grip tightening on his sword as his aura flared. "I will see how far you can run!"
He prepared to chase after Raven. However before he could move, he stopped and abruptly turned around, slashing through the air.
A powerful energy erupted from his sword, slicing through the air with incredible force. The sheer power of the attack caused the ground to tremble beneath him, sending shockwaves rippling outwards in all directions. The trees nearby rustled violently as if bowing down to the might of his wrath.
This time, when his sword cut through the dark flames, he did not budge an inch.
"You should not have attempted to deceive me, Arthur!" a voice called out from a distance, filled with anger.
As the figure approached, it became clear that he was none other than Hades, his face adorned with a flaming crown, resembling the god of hell.
"Hades..." Arthur frowned, not intimidated by the fiery presence before him. "I'm not in the mood to entertain you."
"Oh, I'm not here to be entertained either. Though I'm definitely in the mood to crush your skull under my feet!" Hades spoke, glancing at the destruction in the distance which was caused by Arthur's attack.
"You stole my prey."
Hades was convinced that Arthur had fought Raven in this very place. The signs of battle and Raven's absence led him to the conclusion that Arthur had successfully killed Raven.
Already infuriated by the loss of a Sky Fortress due to his brother's lack of foresight, Hades now found his opportunity to eliminate Raven snatched away as well.
Merlin also appeared next to Arthur. "I couldn't stop him any longer."
He looked at the signs of destruction, getting the same misunderstanding. "In any case, it looks like we're done here. We should leave before things get worse."
"Did I say you could leave?" Hades fumed, his voice echoing through the now desolate battlefield.
"Do you really think I'm scared of you?" Arthur, although interested in chasing after Raven, couldn't ignore being looked down on.
In that instant, two powers had turned against each other, all over a misunderstanding. Meanwhile the real cause of it all was already far away.
This time, Raven made up his mind to take Zephyr to safety. And there was only one place he could think of…