"Die—all of you, just die! Every one of you bastards who call yourselves justice—today, you die!"
Laurent accelerated to the edge of reason. Absolute Evil gnawed at him; earlier he'd managed to hold it down, but that restraint had broken. After swallowing an angel and adapting to its divinity, his fear of their holy power had shrunk.
Absolute Evil consumed everything—fear and hatred were its favorite food.
He sensed a faint tremor of fear from Michael.
"AAAAAH—!"
The angel beneath Michael, being torn apart and eaten alive, reached a trembling hand toward him for salvation. It was useless.
Golden radiance dimmed across the angel's body. Laurent ripped his wings off with bare hands; blood-strands crawled like insects, eating the flesh away.
Michael watched, brows knitted. Finally he raised his right hand and shouted, "Release Divine Authority! Today I will slay you for good!"
Golden light gathered in his hand and became a single radiant blade.
"Luobishi Divine Sword!"
Earth and sky trembled. The light lit up the world for thousands of meters.
Holding the sword horizontally, Michael's golden eyes bored into Laurent.
"The sword that cleaves all evil—any evil struck by this blade is utterly annihilated. Its true name is Luobishi Divine Sword!"
Laurent stared at that sacred brilliance. For a split second he felt a pull to touch it. His hand reached out—and dissolved into countless strands of blood.
"What…?"
"Human Laurent, now you shall atone for all your sins!"
BOOM!
A pillar of golden light stabbed the heavens and the earth, towering immovable, dominating everything.
Michael planted the sword and looked down coldly. "Accept your death. Repent eternally in endless suffering!"
Realizing the danger, Laurent poured in everything he had. "Barrier!"
The divine blade shattered it instantly.
"It's useless. The Luobishi exists only to exterminate evil. Your existence is utterly suppressed by it!"
Golden radiance poured down. Any blood he summoned vanished, irretrievable. The divinity he'd eaten only slowed the sword slightly—from cutting tofu to cutting wood.
At the critical moment Laurent thrust his left hand up and forced the colossal pillar off balance.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath him. The golden pillar pressed down like a mountain; Laurent couldn't move.
He was an ant under that weight. His legs shook; his skin burned away. Still, his knees didn't give.
BOOM!
The earth again threatened collapse. Blood spilled from his mouth. His body trembled, barely holding against the pressure.
"Impossible… One who bears Absolute Evil should have been obliterated instantly!"
Michael stared, incredulous. "No… this can't be… How could someone like you earn recognition from the Divine Sword!?"
Laurent couldn't hear him. Pain—pure burning agony—consumed him. Every cell felt like it was tearing apart.
His legs buckled; his grip loosened. Absolute Evil began to erode. If this continued, he'd be ordinary again—helpless.
BOOM!
He bent further under the weight. From the corner of his eye he saw the ring at his chest.
Laurent, you can do this! Keep fighting! A mere mortal standing shoulder-to-shoulder with gods!
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Power surged. He opened a tiny gap, then sacrificed his left arm and left leg, pushing off with the right and bursting out of the pillar toward Michael.
"You bastard! Who the hell are you to decide her fate!"
BOOM!
A black shockwave tore the sky, blotting the light like ink. The tumult died instantly.
Laurent collapsed before Michael. Blood poured from his severed limbs, sweat and blood mingling. Michael's chest had been pierced through.
Michael's eyes widened. With his last breath he spat something like a curse: "Human Laurent, abandon… these thoughts… or your life… will be spent in repentance… and endless pain…"
"My life is mine—not yours to decide."
Laurent's voice was cold. He clenched his fist and crushed Michael's heart.
Squish—
The golden pillar crumbled to dust and scattered silently.
Laurent hovered in the emptied sky, alone. Blood tendrils coiled from his back and wrapped Michael's corpse, swallowing it whole.
He glanced at his missing left arm and leg—regeneration hadn't taken. Whatever the sword severed wouldn't recover… or so it seemed.
He felt no worry. Soon, a gentle golden glow surrounded him and his lost limbs slowly regrew.
"These limbs made by that damn angel actually feel pretty good."
He flexed them and descended.
The once-pristine forest lay turned to wasteland. At the crater's center stood a single gleaming golden sword.
Laurent reached for it. Just before his right hand touched the blade, a sharp instinct warned him away—don't touch. He pulled back.
He tried his left hand. No warning this time.
It seemed only someone with divinity could wield it.
He grasped the sword. Its weight was perfect—surprisingly comfortable. Though he'd never been left-handed before, using the blade in his left felt natural.
What did that angel call it?
Luobishi Divine Sword?
"Luobishi…?" Laurent muttered, mocking the name. He toyed with the Chinese pun. "Heh—sounds like luo bi si. 'You'll definitely die.'"