Chapter 662 - Book 6, Chapter 54 (1/2)

Danger swallowed Cloudhawk’s senses. His form shimmered, then blinked from existence. Half a breath later all matter in the space he’d occupied – even air molecules – evaporated into nothing!

The sudden annihilation of that pocket of reality was so fast, the vacuum force caused an immediate explosion. A blinding expulsion of light and power followed, flattening trees a hundred meters in all directions. Every living thing in Oakstead felt it. Luckily Cloudhawk was quick enough to flee, otherwise even his empowered body would have been totally destroyed.

What a terrifying attack! How the hell had the Cloud God done it?

An indignant rage burned behind Cloudhawk’s eyes as he watched a figure rise into the air. The Cloud God’s perfect body was marred by the blow from Ruin, but there was no blood. In fact it seemed the god was not at all affected.

The gods were a race protected by mystical and fantastic armor. Light swirled around the Cloud God like a blanket. It was like electricity being pushed through a complex circuit, a masterwork product in full view. Cloudhawk stared in shock as the damage he’d caused was restored before his eyes.

This creature would be more difficult to deal with than he thought!

The Shepherd God’s voice intruded on their conflict. “He is the new Demon King. Are you certain you want to raise your hand against him?”

Cloudhawk didn’t know what she was doing, bringing this up right now. But her warning seemed to have some effect, for when she spoke the god’s figure disappeared from view.

No, not disappeared! It was only a shadow!

Cloudhawk had never seen anything move so quickly before. The Cloud God moved at dozens of times the speed of sound in an instant. In a tenth of a second it was in front of the Shepherd God, with a blazing sword of light in its grip.

But the Shepherd God’s reaction was also swift. She raised her flute, deflecting the attack.

Boom! The two met in an explosion of speed and power. The Shepherd God was flung off her feet.

Cloudhawk saw through the dust that Autumn’s body was covered in wounds and dripping blood. Although she possessed incredible mental ability, her body was frail and human. How could she stand against a god?

The Cloud God continued its assault, coming down upon her with its blinding sword. It moved at twenty times the speed of sound and the blade of light stretched for two hundred meters. It carved a path through the air as though trying to cleave the entire world in two.

A blade of lightning appeared in its path! The Cloud God’s attack was knocked aside! Cloudhawk had teleported into the path of danger at this critical moment to save the beleaguered mistress of Meadow. Man and God were flung away from one another.

Supremes were far more difficult to stand against than Cloudhawk had anticipated. Not only did it possess the strength of Arcturus, but was also a master of psychic attacks. What’s worse, as a higher-order god the being’s body was no less impenetrable than Skye Polaris’ had been. Disregarding psychic power, just the god’s speed and strength were beyond mortal comprehension.

A god’s body was like an extremely sophisticated machine. Every cell was a nuclear engine. When the Cloud God moved it did not speed up, but instantly and immediately broke through the sound barrier. It was orders of magnitude faster than Cloudhawk, and the only way he could keep up was through teleportation. Combined with a sturdy body even Ruin couldn’t obliterate, this god was a terrible foe!

Then there was its specialty, psychic attacks. It was a special power, unique and unobstructed by time or space. Such strikes moved at the speed of thought and were all but impossible to dodge!

Cloudhawk’s spatial abilities, which had been the bane of many a foe, were useless now. Whether he was in this reality or in between, his mind was here. So long as he was present and seen by the Cloud God, he was subject to attack.

Psychic attack were nonmaterial. As such, no physical barriers stopped them. That did not mean that its power could do no damage to physical things, however. The power it produced could interfere with reality on a fundamental level. The explosive power leveled at Cloudhawk had been from the Cloud God’s own mind.

The one advantage Cloudhawk possessed was the Mask of a Thousand Faces. It was a relic which – so long as one had the mental resources to activate it – deflected any mental attacks aimed at its bearer. The Cloud God’s attacks could not be dodged, but would have to overcome this psychic shield before they could cause Cloudhawk any harm.

Cloudhawk was no ordinary human. If one looked solely at mental ability he was no less formidable than the god he faced!

Equipped as he was and with enough mental power to maintain his protection, Cloudhawk appeared to have the Cloud God’s threat in check. However, this mode of thinking was all wrong. The Supreme God had lived through the Great War. What situation had it not experienced? What eventuality had it not planned for?

The Mask of a Thousand Faces was not insurmountable!

“Successor to the Demon King? Accept your inevitable destruction!”

The Cloud God did not launch into an attack. Instead a light grew from the space between its brows, spreading across its perfect body. The crystalline silhouette blazed bright as a sun. Using its own body as a relic, the Cloud God unleashed a torrential wave of psychic force.

Countless tendrils reached for Cloudhawk, reaching from an invisible abyss.