Ethos involuntarily cowered as he felt a stark rise in his liege's aura. It now felt like it was taking the first step towards its true potential–that of the King of the Cosmos, the ruler of all Progenitors and Gods.
The aura encompassed Nick in a green hue that masked almost the entirety of his body. All that shone through was an endless purple light of his eyes, a murderous gaze that even the most noble blood couldn't hope to have the authority to match.
Air cackled as the aura fought against everything: reality, Ethos, Nick himself. His very skin and bones and muscles were fighting against the pressure and were becoming destroyed in the process. However, whatever pain destruction felt from the recoil, its true target felt pain 10,000 times harsher.
Ethos's soul cried as the Avatar of the Apostle to survive against the vanquishing anger of his Emperor. At that moment, he knew that Nick was just like the old ones. He knew that one day, reality itself would cry once more. That the Tower of Eternity would fall.
He had no time to worry about that.
With a speed too fast to even be considered instant, Nick grabbed Ethos's face with his hand, crushing his skull as he growled, "Heal Juliana. I'm going to kill you fast enough to save both of them."
Fear defined Ethos as he cried, "Y-yes my liege!"
Nick wasted no time waiting to see if the Nephilim would actually heal Juliana. Extending his hand, he called the [Fang of Finality] from its hammerspace.
Although he knew he was as good as dead, the C-Rank boss, who was an Avatar of the Apostle of the Remembered, refused to fall. An Apostle was a direct messenger of a Progenitor, a group of beings so powerful they couldn't even be described as entities. A true Progenitor's power defied description.
THEIR MESSENGERS WERE POWERFUL!!! THEY DESERVED RESPECT!
Ethos screamed as he summoned a ball of light, a pure magic of annihilation. Nothing could survive its blast; nothing could cut through it or dispel it or even reflect it! Even the greatest offensive mages couldn't use his magic this effectively-
Nick walked through his attack with nothing more than a cold indifference. His skin was peeling apart, but not from anything Ethos did. The truth was, the power of Nick's aura was more than one of Ethos's strongest attacks.
"Kneel," Nick demanded.
'Kneel? Kneel?! What the hell are you talking about? I am not one of your regular subjects, I will not kneel!!! I AM AN APOSTLE, I DO NOT YIELD!!! YOU HEAR ME!!! I WILL NOT YIELD, I WILL NOT KNEEL!!!'
In the middle of his defiance, Ethos found that he was already kneeling. His body had betrayed him; his instinct superseded his desires.
Nick towered over the Apostle now, their roles reversed. Nick no longer bowed to him or his powers, his endless hordes. There were no more races or armies for the Apostle to hide behind now.
Ethos was insignificant, an ant. Every instant he existed was due to his Emperor's mercy. A lesson he seemed to have forgotten.
A lesson [Fang of Finality] planned to teach.
Just like he hadn't realized he was kneeling, Ethos never knew he had been decapitated. One moment, he was fearing the impending, inevitable silence. The next, everything was dark and silent.
[Defeated C-Rank Boss: Ethos, the Remembered]
[Special Dungeon: First Memoirs of the Fallen completed]
[Computing rewards now]
Nick walked over to Amelia, his aura receding with every step. His skin was burnt and wilting from the aftermath of using such a power. Muscles turned to jelly, and bones into paper. Still, even if every step brought him immeasurable pain, he had a job to do even now.
"I might've gone a little overboard, heh. Sorry. But... don't worry. Amelia... there is a way to save you."
Nick collapsed next to her as he clasped her hand. Soon, he was going to receive rewards from the dungeon. This would probably allow him to get that transcendent level Ethos had talked about when he first entered his Nightmare.
Looking over to Juliana, who was already looking better, he thought back to the time in the cave. When she bound herself to him, they had become intrinsically connected. His level-ups gave her some sort of power as well.
It was a long shot, but it was also far more likely to work than waiting for the dungeon to close and then rushing Amelia to a doctor. She was already holding on for a long time as it was.
'An unimaginable feat of strength,' Nick thought with admiration.
"Amelia, I'm sorry for what I'm about to ask you to do. But... I think it's your best–maybe even only– shot of surviving this. I- I need you to bind yourself to me. To become my second Valkyrie. I-I'll never do anything to hurt you, to force my desires onto you. I promise. It's just... I don't want you to die."
'Okay.' Amelia replied in her mind. Somehow, Nick heard her.
That meant she was already connected to him, already open to the binding. But... was that because she trusted him, or because Fynn's death left her empty, and she no longer cared either way anymore?
Nick decided that that didn't matter at this moment. The only thing that did was her survival.
He gritted his teeth as the binding process began, mentally willing to transfer most of the pain to himself. Somehow, that actually worked and he felt the pain multiply a thousandfold.
It felt as though his mind itself was exploding, as if a billion needles were poking him at the same time. If it meant she survived, that he could be someone worth being proud of, he would take a trillion needles. He would take pain infinitely worse.
[Binding process complete]
[New Valkyrie Acquired: Amelia Estrano]
[Reward Computation Complete]
[5,000 Experience Gained]
[First transcendental level earned]
[Oblivion awakens]