Bul-Kathos descended upon the summit of Mount Pande in his most violent stance, transforming the entire peak into a playground of fire and magma.
The earth began to manifest nature's own fury at his arrival; shattered stones flew into the air before drifting down feather-light.
The tree that had been nourished by Nimue's blood turned to ash in an instant!
The power released by the Ancient One was shattered into fragments beneath Bul-Kathos's descent. The sensation of her power being forcibly dispersed sent a massive shock through her body.
It was the Dark Dimension itself recoiling in fear of Bul-Kathos.
The power Bul-Kathos released this time was unlike the brief skirmish he had shared with Vorusk on the Sacred Mountain. In his madness, Bul-Kathos was now unleashing his full, unbridled strength.
What should the aura of a Barbarian be?
Sonya represented a haughty, unstoppable pursuit!
Vorusk embodied a rampant, heroic disdain!
Raekor was the resolute sacrifice amidst grief.
Olak was the responsibility born towards death.
Cassius was the ceaseless vengeance.
Every Barbarian was unique...
And Bul-Kathos? He was the fury of bewildered reminiscence!
Beneath the vague concepts lay an amalgamation of courage, sacrifice, hope, and a screaming outcry against injustice!
It was also the ultimate interpretation of sacrifice!
Even though he concentrated all his destructive power within a small radius, that terrifying aura swept across the entire world in a single instant.
Death sat within her palace, watching thoughtfully, her skeletal hand rubbing her wrist.
Eternity, whose body encompasses all things, trembled. A pained expression emerged on a face that usually bore eternal dissatisfaction, and he reached out to clutch at his heart.
Every powerhouse who had reached a certain tier could feel that madness, a sensation that threatened imminent destruction. Meanwhile, a bizarre transformation was occurring atop Mount Pande!
The moment Andariel's song rang out, Bul-Kathos leaped into the air, already unleashing a Leap Attack.
Before Nimue's body could fully reform from that disgusting mass of flesh, Bul-Kathos's feet had already landed beside her.
"ANDARIEL!"
Even in his somewhat chaotic state, Bul-Kathos shouted the name of the Demon Lord with precision. He raised his right foot high, poised to stomp down and unleash an earth-shattering earthquake amplified by the Might of the Earth set!
Nimue herself was an existence filled with sin, and her body had become a vessel for a Demon Lord.
Even if the person possessed by a Demon Lord were a kind soul, the moment the Demon Lord resurrected, everything else would cease to exist.
Even Leah, the child of a hero and a truly good person, lost her life the moment Diablo awakened.
Bul-Kathos, who had beheaded Diablo with sorrow and regret, would naturally stomp down with this foot with unwavering resolve!
The disaster brought by Andariel might not have caused the highest death toll, but the torment that made living worse than death had long made this Demon Lord infamous!
"Doctor~"
Nimue had barely restored the appearance of her head. She held no regrets regarding her impending death.
The woman she was now was merely a sorrowful soul who had waited a thousand years for her beloved. Even her final words were a call to that "heartless man" who had once promised to see her again.
A woman who, just to survive until the moment her beloved returned, had thrown herself into the mystic arts without hesitation.
She had constructed that nearly immortal body by spreading calamity and plague.
No one knew what kind of charming, kind-hearted girl she had been before becoming the Blood Queen. No one cared how she had walked into madness through her obsessive love.
Even the man she loved only arrived in time to witness her end.
For the first time, Nimue's voice was full of attachment. Her body was still slowly regenerating, but she no longer had the time to care about that.
She looked at the massive, ferocious form of Bul-Kathos with lifeless eyes, then slowly, with a sickly sweet and gentle tone, called out once more: "Doctor."
She seemed immersed in all the beauty locked within her soul.
Like a young girl flipping through a diary, slowly recalling wonderful times spent with her lover, savoring a kiss that smelled of honey.
Perhaps in Nimue's world, she was feeling the "Doctor's" body warmth, or missing the sound of two hearts beating alternatively in that chest.
Perhaps she was back in that afternoon, that romantic first meeting in the woods.
A blue police box, and the man she loved?
"Die. May your soul still have a chance to atone!"
Bul-Kathos's massive body kept his right leg raised high, ready to fall heavily like a war axe.
He had no pity for this old maiden trapped in her sweet past; sin itself could not be tolerated.
As his slightly slurred voice rang out, his right leg crashed down like a collapsing mountain cliff.
Andariel had catalyzed Nimue's journey toward death, so Bul-Kathos would simply grant it to her directly!
Just as Bul-Kathos's right foot was about to land on Nimue's head, monsters resembling gargoyles with wings suddenly materialized!
These grotesque things instantly attracted Bul-Kathos's attention. It was a power of time that had never been mastered.
The Ancient One, who wielded the Time Stone, felt a chill rise from the depths of her heart. She looked at these monsters with eyes full of inexplicable horror.
Bul-Kathos could sense the threat these monsters posed. As he attacked, the creatures became agitated.
Normally, when time is damaged or altered, these things wouldn't appear.
But this time, it involved Nimue and "The Doctor"!
The Doctor had locked Nimue's endpoint. Although tributaries might arise during the process of such a timeline, the result was not permitted to change.
So they appeared to inspect the problem, ready to eliminate any factor that might cause an error!
Whenever time is wounded, these guys act like white blood cells, cleaning the wound.
And once Nimue's death became the "past," this node, as an erroneous branch, would inevitably disappear!
The Reapers! (Space-Time Death Gods)
That was the name of these monsters!
They symbolized not the authority of Death, but the scavengers of Time's mighty force.
The moment the anomaly occurred at this point in time, they had already begun to watch.
They waited only for the "error" to appear, so they could solve the problem and erase everything.
Bul-Kathos's foot hovered above Nimue's head. The appearance of the Reapers brought him immense pressure.
The existence of "The Doctor" was a threat in itself. Only he could dictate the beginning and end of time.
A Child of Time?
Or some higher-dimensional existence?
Who cares?
"DIE!"
Bul-Kathos's paused right foot continued its descent.
Barbarians do not accept coercion to their face!
And Demon Lords are not worth compromising for!
Victory or defeat did not matter; it was enough for him to strive to do what he saw as right.
Enemies must eventually be faced; they will not disappear just because of a momentary compromise.
(Author's Note)
My brain is trembling...
The entities from Doctor Who needed careful consideration. Ultimately, I chose the Reapers (Space-Time Death Gods) to appear at this moment.
First of all, they aren't "unbeatable" in a certain sense. In the original series, the Ninth Doctor attempted to use the TARDIS to repair the timeline to deal with them, unlike the helplessness faced against the Weeping Angels.
I considered having the Silence, the Daleks, or the Cybermen appear at this point. However, the Silence lack sufficient individual strength, Daleks have a combat power level that is a bit too high for the tech-side, and primitive Cybermen seem a bit too fragile (one was killed by the Doctor pointing a sonic screwdriver at it).
So, the "Reapers," acting as time scavengers, were the most suitable choice. Their fame is passable, their frontal combat ability is sufficient, and the reason for their appearance is justified.
My original dream was to write a story or script on the level of an episode of Doctor Who, but right now, my brain is trembling...
The author used to work as a journalist and a teacher. I only dare to say I have a slight understanding of screenwriting—I'm not a top student in the major, but I consider myself above average.
However, I believe I am better at modern poetry, essays, and short stories...
So, I'm used to a writing style involving lots of foreshadowing, twists, detailed dialogue, lyricism, and subjective thoughts. This doesn't always fit the reading habits of web novels.
I'm changing it, I'm changing it! (Author scurries away holding his head). Interested readers can scan my old books to feel my growth.
If readers go through it too fast, they often have to go back to find plot points—this is why. So I dare say that, apart from necessary explanations, I haven't padded the word count with anything irrelevant to the plot.
Well then, thank you everyone for your continued support!
(End of Chapter)
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