Chapter 22 part 1: Battle against a God(1)

When the four members of the White Order looked around after the spell was cast, they were left dumbstruck.

About half of the kingdom's lands turned ash black in colour. Looking ahead, they saw Zero wiping his coat of the dust that landed on him. His face looked extremely unpleasant.  

"How could you!?"

Iris shouted as her mana violently pressured down on Zero. She sensed a lot of life forces disappear when the spell ended. That could only mean one thing. 

All of the citizens died. 

The latter replied indifferently.

"For my goal."

"...Goal...?"

Iris muttered in disbelief.

"Crazy bastard." 

Clark felt like cutting off Zero's head but had to remain vigilant. Their enemy was able to cast god rank magic and not tire himself. It was a wrong deduction that he made when he thought Zero was at least equivalent to a seventh star mage. He was at least 8 or even 9-star…

That could only mean that his power far exceeds them individually. If they wanted to win then they'd have to work together. 

"I can tell that you won't quietly let me go." Zero spoke as he looked at the four of them.

Every single one of them had different expressions on their faces. Iris' was the most severe. Her face looked like she was itching to kill Zero. That was understandable as she is a person who believed that all evil should be eradiated and the weak must be protected.

Typical justice hero.

They were the type he hated the most.

'I still can't forget that fight with that unknown swordsman.'

During one of his 'collections' for new experimental guinea pigs in a remote village, Zero and Albedo met up with a strange swordsman who shouted Sol's name. Although the stuff he shouted was cringe worthy, his strength was not  to be underestimated.

He literally pushed back Albedo, one of Zero's strongest subordinates. Since Zero was a being filled with malice, the sword the man used was even more effective against him. Zero even lost an arm during their battle. 

In the end they had to retreat. That was because they couldn't cause a ruckus near the Magic Empire. Rumour has it that four very powerful individuals were in that empire. 

It was better for them to leave quietly then cause any further trouble. But now that it's over, Zero vowed to kill that man if he meets him again. 

He cannot act rashly with his power in this world. Since they are not accustomated to this world, their energy recovers far slower than in their world.

Zero decided that he had no choice. If he wanted to escape and go find the star core's host then he must use his full power.

"If you will not let me go even after seeing my power then I have no choice."

Zero's body released a thick ominous aura. He took off his coat and threw it casually while keeping his eyes on his opponents. 

!!

Before Zero could take off his gloves, a sharp blade was thrust near his face. A man covered in white mana instantly appeared before him.

Clank…!

He manifested a sword using his aura and blocked the spear.

"Kuh…!"

'Such power!'

Clark clenched his teeth as he felt the sheer strength behind his opponent's blade. 

Zero still had an indifferent expression on his face.

"As expected of barbarian mortals. You don't even have the decency to wait for your opponent."

Zero twisted his body and tried to kick Clark's leg.

"You're wide open!"

A shout came from behind followed by a vibrating sound.

"Ugh!"

Viria used a spell that imitates a human's heartbeat but a thousand times stronger. Zero's ears rung as the deafening screeches assaulted his brain.

Even if he had the body of a demigod, he was still vulnerable to such attacks.

The shockwave surrounded Zero in the shape of a sphere. 

The sounds were so loud that Zero felt that his ears would burst if he didn't do anything.

The other two who were on their way to help were floating high above them. They were the ones who would stop Zero if he attempted to escape. 

They must not let him get away.

'My suit will get damaged if I release my seal.'

As someone obsessed with cleanliness and neatness, he hated the fact that his suit was on the verge of being ripped apart.

Viria was smirking as she held the spell and controlled its power. 

'Just have to amplify it a little–'

Before Viria could even finish her thought, a fist came for her face. 

'Huh? How the hell?'

Iris saw Laura inside the sphere that Zero was in a few moments ago.

'Dammit. He can use space magic.'

Space magic is a rare talent in this world. There have only been three people in the entire history of the kingdom that were born with that attribute. 

One fact stands… 

'Spatial users are truly troublesome.'

They have control over the second strongest element in this world. Depending on the user, the spells they could cast can be dangerous. 

Zero switched himself with Laura. The latter's armour was torn apart inside the high rank spell's radius. 

The fist of Zero was approaching.

Viria couldn't think of any way to stop him. As a mage, her close combat abilities are lacking. As long as she stays behind her comrades then she'll be invincible.

BOOM—!

An even larger fist stopped Zero's fist. It was cladded in a white aura.

Jasfer Fang. A warrior from the wolf beast tribe who possesses immense physical strength and agility. 

"Hoh?"

The clouds which were peacefully hovering in the sky all scattered away from the force of their punches. 

Zero tilted his head as he looked at his mangled up fist which broke during the impact. His dark mana was slowly fixing it.

"It appears I have to be careful while fighting you."

Zero quickly gained distance. 

In a line while hovering next to each other, at least six members of the White Order were before Zero.

All of them were the continent's strongest. 

"Buhahaha! Your fist broke from a measly punch!? I thought you were a god!"

Jasfer laughed with his hand on his stomach. 

"Keep your guard up, you idiot."

A young woman with white hair and long elf ears reprimanded her teammate. 

She was Eredhel Regulus. A thin blade was on her waist which shone with a blue light. Judging by the amount of mana being sent into the blade, she was ready to strike Zero down if he approaches her.

'This is much harder than I thought.'

Zero was in a dilemma. He confidently left their world in order to seek their goal which was the Star Core. As this world holds many mysteries, it was advised by the elder of their race that each of their members must travel in pairs. 

'I should've asked Sync to accompany me. I am at a disadvantage against that wolf demihuman.'

Possessing a body stronger than the strongest metal and raw power that he could use to lift mountains, Sync would be the perfect match for Iris, Clark and Jasfer as they are all enemies with skills focused on physical strength. 

Zero is more powerful in magical abilities. 

While Zero was calculating his next action, the members of the Order all surrounded him. There was literally no escape.

Laura was already back to full health before he knew it.

Zero sighed and stretched his fingers when his hand recovered. He used weaving magic to fix his broken cells and produced new ones. His body was crafted to be perfect but since it hadn't been that long since the experiment that was done on him, he had less power than expected.

Iris made eye contact with all her comrades.

All of them nodded.

All of us go in at once!

With a rumble that shook the sky, all of them burst forward to attack Zero.

Their enemy spread his hands into the air and smiled.

"God rank magic-[Skyfall]."

All of them stopped when they saw large shadows instantly appear out of nowhere.

'Huh?'

Iris gazed blankly at the sky. 

There were at least hundreds of meteors that fell down through the giant magic circles.

Before she could even think to stop them, a kick landed on her face.

"Kuh!"

Zero attacked her in the midst of their confusion.

"ORA!!!"

Jasfer's large fist flew at Zero's face with terrifying speeds.

His fist was near Zero's eye….

"!!!"

But he hit the wrong person. The person who received his blow was his partner, Eredhel.

"Argh!"

She flew into a mountain after receiving his blow. The landscape itself was destroyed by her landing.

'Oh, shit!'

 Before he could look for Zero a blow landed on his throat. Zero landed two more strikes before punching Jasfer's face.

He choked and held his throat.

Zero's body was releasing a purple energy.

Star energy. 

Known to be the origin of mana.

Although he had little left, it was worth it if he can find the star core. The most important thing at the moment was surviving so he used his trump card.

Zero summoned two blades surrounded in dark aura and burst toward Clark. The latter took his blow head on with his own aura.

Wooooong!!

Clank…!

Clank…!

Clang….!

A series of slashes rained down on each other.  

Black aura versus White aura. 

Clark was a spear wielder but he had experience in fighting swordsmen. That said, Zero wasn't exactly an experienced swordsman. He only used textbook blows which Clark could predict to some extent.

But the power behind those blows were the real problem. 

"Gah!"

Iris joined in Clark in attacking Zero.

It was useless. It was like the bastard received a massive power up when he released that strange purple energy.

Viria was hesitating to shoot a spell. With the approaching meteors which were slowly getting closer, they had no idea what to do. 

Even if they managed to destroy the meteors, they still had to worry about the debris that would fall from the wreckage. 

The kingdom was still beneath them so they had to think of something fast.

While Clark and Iris were battling against Zero, a voice came from Viria's back.

"Hey."

"Huh? You're alright?"

Eredhel didn't even have a bruise on her face. It was only that her clothes were a little dirty.

"You think a blow from him could hurt me?"

Viria looked at the mountain which was greatly damaged. It seemed Eredhel hit the ground a little too hard since there was a crater as well.

"Do you want to synchronize our mana? I think I have an idea."

"Synchronize?"

Eredhel held out her hand.

"Let's cast the continent's first Upper High rank spell so we can destroy those meteors."