41 Stopping-Time(chapter 41)

Author's Note: Well, I am back fully, which means daily updates are back on the table (until the end of May when I have to undergo another surgery, but by then more than 100 chapters should have been published). So sit back and enjoy, even read this during Ramadan since I can't, for the life of me, write any lemon scenes. I am just not up for it, nor can I, nor will I try (so yeah, all halal).

PS: check out my other novel marvel: the weaver

PS: i have also been ping reaching some reverend insanity(chapter 430) and i, oh boy(who knows, you might see oliver doing some fucked up shit)

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Adana teleported back several steps, her movements swift and fluid, her eyes ablaze with dark determination. As she raised her hands, a dark torrent of shadow surged forth, swirling towards Oliver with ominous intent. Oliver, his senses honed by battle, leaped over the oncoming darkness with impressive strength. With a resounding impact, he struck the ground with the eldritch blade, its ominous energy sinking deep into the earth.

The ground trembled beneath them, a supernatural force pulsing outwards from the blade. The localized earthquake that followed left even the eldritch abomination disoriented and knocked off balance. Seizing the opportunity, Oliver brought down the blade towards the abomination, who raised her hands in a defensive stance, attempting to conjure a protective spell.

With a swift and decisive motion, Oliver sliced through the abomination's hands, both severed cleanly. Unlike before, this time the abomination couldn't regenerate, her blood absorbed by the marrow devourer. Yet, she was far from defeated, unleashing an unholy scream that echoed through the battleground.

"AAAHHHH!"

The premature destruction of Oliver's nullification guardian sent him hurtling backward several feet, the force of the blast knocking the air from his lungs. The surrounding structures and nature itself seemed to buckle under the weight of the eldritch goddess's fury. Dark pulses of energy lashed out, pressing against Oliver with suffocating force. It was as if the very atmosphere was charged with malevolence, his internal organs suffering under the relentless assault.

Struggling against the pressure, Oliver endured, though each moment felt like an eternity. The pressure seemed to intensify, the heat of his blood rising within him. With great effort, Oliver activated the second option on the Hermit Shell, summoning a shimmering shield of protection. Rarely used due to its cost in durability, the shield now crackled under the strain of Adana's relentless assault.

As Adana continued to channel her anger into waves of dark energy, Oliver's shield held, albeit with visible cracks forming. Frowning with determination, Oliver knew he had no choice but to act decisively. The enhanced symbiote wasn't enough, his shields were failing, and getting close to Adana meant certain destruction.

"Fuck it," he muttered under his breath, the strain evident in his voice.

With a swift motion, Oliver retreated into the Shell Home, disappearing momentarily before reemerging with the Chrono Nexus Relic in hand. Activating the time stop option, he felt a drain on his mana as everything around him froze in time. The waves of pure evil energy hung motionless in the air, the debris suspended mid-flight, and Adana herself frozen solid in her malevolent fury.

Without hesitation, Oliver moved with swift precision, bringing down his blade upon Adana. The strike was true, severing her head from her body in a decisive blow. But he didn't stop there. With a flurry of slashes, he dismembered her limbs, piercing her heart with finality. Yet, even in this state, the eldritch abomination remained alive, a faint movement in her eyes betraying her continued existence.

Time resumed its flow, and Oliver stood amidst the aftermath, panting heavily. It hadn't even been a minute since he activated the time stop, a testament to the eldritch abomination's resilience. She was an immortal goddess of pure evil, fueled by the very essence of darkness. As long as evil persisted, she would endure, her power unyielding and insidious.

"Hhhhhh, you think you could kill me, hunter? I am Adana, the immortal goddess. You might have destroyed this physical representation of mine, but you-" Oliver interrupted her with a decisive strike from the Marrow Devourer, preventing her from fully regenerating. "If she can't die… then so be it," he thought to himself as he continued to slice her up, ensuring she remained lifeless. "She probably transferred her consciousness somewhere else," he groaned as he dismissed the symbiote and removed the helmet of the Sovereign Armor, revealing his bloodied face.

Falling to one knee, Oliver used his sword as support, his body battered and bruised. Internally bleeding and nearly out for the count, he couldn't help but smile as he gazed upon Adana's lifeless corpse. "Hopefully, her blood can grant me the ability to regenerate," he thought as he retreated into his shell home. Gathering the goddess's blood and flesh, along with the blood of the creatures he had slain, Oliver prepared for what came next.

Suddenly, an orange portal appeared, and two familiar figures stepped out. The first was Blade, the Daywalker, his presence exuding a different aura. The other was an elder gentleman, the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. Surrounded by piles of corpses and standing amidst the devastation, Oliver remained motionless. The two men were momentarily stunned, a shadowy figure of a dragon seeming to loom behind Oliver. When he turned his head toward them, they tensed up, a tense silence enveloping the scene.

[ Moments before Adana went berserk ]

Within the New York Sanctum, Doctor Strange and Blade sat facing each other. "You cannot do this alone, Blade. Adana has bested you three times effortlessly," Strange cautioned. Blade, determined despite the odds, insisted, "I have to try. After what happened to Tulip and Rotha, I can't let Adana get away with it."

"Do you at least have a plan?" Strange inquired. Blade paused, contemplating before conceding, "Looks like I'll have to seek out my worst enemy-" Their conversation was abruptly interrupted as Strange conjured a portal. "What's wrong?" Blade asked, but Strange simply uttered a single word, "Adana." With that, they entered the portal.

Observing the devastation caused by Oliver, Blade and the Sorcerer Supreme were momentarily dumbstruck. "This is a massacre," Strange remarked, to which Blade added, "Even by my standards." As they watched Oliver strip the corpses of vampires, the sight of him with the helmet of the Sovereign Armor removed and blood trailing down his armor gave him the appearance of a war deity.

Sensing their presence, Oliver turned to face them, his gaze unwavering. Blade was the first to speak. "You did all of this?" Oliver paused, surveying the scene before blandly responding, "Can't take all the credit. Adana took care of some of them." As he continued his task of extracting fangs and claws, Strange inquired about their acquaintance.

Blade then asked the question on both their minds, "Where is Adana?" Oliver pondered for a moment before answering, "Dead. Well, not completely. She said something about coming back or something," he added casually. This revelation surprised the two men, prompting Blade to exclaim, "Wait a minute, you killed an eldritch horror, an immortal eldritch goddess who was a master sorcerer? You?" Oliver frowned at the incredulous tone before finally addressing Strange.