Volume 2 — Chapter 24
The Collapse of the Divine Army
The battlefield trembled under the rising storm of Void energy.
At the center of it all stood Icarus Grimm.
His wings of reality stretched wide behind him, jagged fractures of existence rippling along their edges like cracks in glass. Darkness flowed outward from his body in slow spirals, gathering around the Abyssal Devourer in his hand.
The weapon pulsed like a living heart.
Every pulse sent waves of void energy rolling across the ruined plains.
High above the battlefield, the armies of Heaven and Hell hovered in uneasy silence.
Millions of warriors filled the sky.
Gods wrapped in divine light.
Devils burning with demonic flames.
Commanders from powerful factions who had joined the war for their own purposes.
Just minutes ago they had believed victory was certain.
The Void ruler had died.
The Creator's Descendant had fulfilled its purpose.
The war was over.
But now—
The man who should have been dead stood before them once again.
Alive.
Stronger.
And far more terrifying.
The leader of the gods narrowed his eyes.
"That power…"
Another god beside him spoke quietly.
"He revived."
A devil commander let out a low laugh.
"…No."
"That isn't revival."
His gaze fixed on Icarus below.
"That's evolution."
Below them, Icarus slowly lifted his head.
His gaze moved across the sky filled with enemies.
Thousands of powerful auras burned above him like stars.
But his expression remained calm.
Cold.
Uninterested.
Behind him, Seraphine sat on the shattered ground, recovering from her wounds. Her breathing had steadied, though her body still ached from the brutal battle she had just endured.
She watched Icarus silently.
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"…Now they're in trouble."
One of the devils suddenly raised his weapon.
"We attack together!"
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
The hesitation broke.
Instantly—
Thousands of warriors surged forward.
The sky erupted into motion.
Divine lightning crashed downward.
Demonic flames spiraled through the air.
Massive weapons formed from celestial energy began descending toward Icarus like falling meteors.
An entire army attacking at once.
The battlefield shook violently under the pressure.
Yet—
Icarus did not move.
Not immediately.
Instead, his eyes slowly began to glow.
The strange eyes he had gained through his contract with Nihyron awakened fully.
The world around him changed.
Every movement slowed.
Every attack became visible.
He could see the paths of the incoming attacks.
The weak points in the formations above.
The hesitation hidden inside certain commanders.
The fear spreading quietly through the army.
He saw everything.
Nexus spoke calmly in his mind.
[Combat prediction calculations active.]
[Optimal countermeasure determined.]
Icarus finally moved.
His wings of reality spread slightly.
The air cracked.
Then—
He vanished.
The first god never saw him coming.
One moment he was charging forward with a spear of divine light.
The next—
Icarus appeared directly in front of him.
The god's eyes widened.
Too late.
The Abyssal Devourer moved.
SHRRRK!
The blade passed through the god's body effortlessly.
But it did more than cut.
It devoured.
Dark cracks spread across the god's form as his divine energy was violently absorbed by the weapon.
The god collapsed instantly.
Dead.
The weapon pulsed again.
Stronger.
Icarus disappeared once more.
Across the battlefield chaos erupted.
"Where did he go?!"
"He's behind us!"
A devil commander turned just in time to see a black arc of energy slicing through the air.
BOOM!
The explosion sent dozens of soldiers crashing to the ground.
Icarus moved through the battlefield like a shadow.
Each swing of the Abyssal Devourer tore through enemies.
Gods.
Devils.
Elite warriors.
None of them could keep up with his speed.
Each death fed the weapon.
Each absorbed energy pulse made the blade stronger.
Soon the battlefield began to change.
Fear spread through the army.
One of the gods shouted desperately.
"Form defensive lines!"
But it was already too late.
The formation had collapsed.
Entire groups of warriors began retreating instinctively.
Above the battlefield the leader of the gods clenched his fists.
"This cannot continue."
A massive aura exploded around him as he descended toward the battlefield.
Several powerful devils followed him.
If the army couldn't stop Icarus—
They would.
The air trembled as six of the strongest beings on the battlefield landed before Icarus.
Three gods.
Three devils.
Each one radiating overwhelming power.
The ground beneath their feet cracked under the pressure.
For the first time since returning—
Icarus stopped moving.
He looked at them calmly.
One of the devils smirked.
"…Finally."
"Now this feels like a real fight."
A god stepped forward.
"You should have stayed dead."
Icarus tilted his head slightly.
"…You talk too much."
The god's expression darkened.
"Kill him."
All six attacked at once.
The battlefield exploded into chaos again.
Golden lightning and demonic fire collided with violent waves of void energy.
The shockwaves alone flattened entire sections of the ruined plains.
Seraphine watched from behind, leaning slightly against a broken stone pillar.
Her eyes followed Icarus's movements carefully.
Despite the six opponents surrounding him—
He wasn't struggling.
He was dominating.
Each attack aimed at him was intercepted by the autonomous wings of reality.
The moment a strike approached—
The wings moved automatically.
Blocking.
Deflecting.
Shattering incoming attacks before they could even reach him.
Meanwhile the Abyssal Devourer continued cutting through space itself.
One devil lunged forward with a massive flaming blade.
Icarus stepped aside calmly.
The abyssal blade moved once.
SHRRRK!
The devil's weapon shattered.
The second swing followed instantly.
The devil's body split apart.
Another god attacked from behind.
But the wings reacted instantly.
Reality itself bent.
The attack missed entirely.
Icarus turned.
One thrust.
Another god fell.
Within seconds the battlefield had changed again.
Only three enemies remained standing.
And their confidence was gone.
The leader of the gods clenched his fists.
"…Retreat."
The command echoed across the battlefield.
For the first time since the war began—
The divine army began withdrawing.
Gods.
Devils.
Soldiers.
Millions of warriors retreating from the battlefield.
Seraphine raised an eyebrow slightly.
"…They're running."
Icarus watched the retreating army calmly.
He did not chase them.
Not yet.
Instead, he slowly lowered the Abyssal Devourer.
The weapon pulsed with terrifying energy now.
Far stronger than before.
The battlefield fell quiet once again.
Seraphine stood slowly and walked toward him.
"You let them go."
Icarus looked toward the distant horizon where the army had disappeared.
"…This war isn't over."
Seraphine crossed her arms.
"Obviously."
She glanced at the weapon.
"That thing got stronger."
Icarus nodded slightly.
"…It grows with every kill."
Seraphine smirked.
"Convenient."
The wind moved slowly across the ruined battlefield.
The war had changed.
Heaven and Hell had lost their advantage.
And now—
They knew something terrifying.
Icarus Grimm could not be killed so easily.
But far away, hidden beyond distant mountains—
Another pair of eyes had been watching the entire battle.
A silent figure stood in the shadows.
Its presence was ancient.
Unfathomably powerful.
And when Icarus revived—
It had taken notice.
The figure slowly turned away.
"…So the game has begun."
It vanished into the darkness.
Watching.
Waiting.
Planning.