Sheathing his sword, the swordsman in white turned to face Mike and his companions. His gaze settled on Mike, and Ares chuckled. “An interesting young man.”
Mike was speechless, overwhelmed by awe.
Ares had just casually slain the Seventh Demon God, as if discarding a piece of trash.
“Tell me,” Ares said, his voice curious, “how did the Eighth Demon God die?”
Clearly, Ares had planned to wait until everyone had evacuated the Eighth Abyss before finishing off both Demon Gods with a single strike.
But Thor had brought unexpected news: the Eighth Demon God was already dead.
There was no need for Ares to hold back now.
Maxen recounted the events, describing how Thor had single-handedly killed the Eighth Demon God. Even Cedric was impressed.
“Thor, you’re that strong?”
Even Cedric, accustomed to power, was surprised by Thor’s feat.
“Indeed, quite impressive,” Ares said, nodding slowly. “Perhaps 10% of my strength at my peak.”
Mike: “…”
Ares was actually boasting about himself.
Mike had received a similar assessment when he had challenged Ares’s phantom.
Shameless!
And to make matters worse, Cedric, upon hearing Ares’s assessment, chimed in, “Thor, you truly are strong.”
Enough!
This “mutual swordsmanship admiration society” was getting out of hand.
With the Seventh Demon God slain, the crisis in the Seventh Abyss was resolved.
Ares turned to Maxen. “Earlier, you mentioned that Thor has mastered a skill called ‘Thunderclap Fate’?”
Maxen had witnessed Mike using that skill to gather souls in the Eighth Abyss.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Maxen confirmed.
Mike was curious. Why was Ares suddenly interested in this?
“Have you learned it?” Ares asked Maxen.
Mike: ???
Did Maxen also have a talent similar to the Eye of Truth?!
“I wouldn’t dream of stealing someone’s skill,” Maxen said, scratching his head sheepishly. “We have to respect intellectual property rights.”
Ares shook his head. “It’s fine. He has the audacity to call me ‘Second Bro.’ Learning one of his skills is hardly a loss.”
Maxen looked at Mike, seeking his approval. After receiving a nod, he closed his eyes, recalling the skill.
“Yep, got it.”
Mike suddenly realized that Maxen wasn’t relying on his SS-rank talent to learn new skills. It was his monstrous combat talent!
“Good. Show me.”
Maxen, grinning, reached for a nearby sword.
“Use your flail,” Ares said coldly.
Maxen, his face contorted in mock despair, hefted his blood-red flail.
Mike pulled out the Shadow Sigil. In his current state, using Thunderclap Fate to gather souls would be inefficient.
Since Maxen was about to demonstrate the skill, this was the perfect opportunity.
The Shadow Sigil hovered in mid-air as Maxen, his expression serious, swung his flail.
“Thunderclap Fate!”
The souls of over a thousand fallen humans were drawn out, sealed within the Shadow Sigil.
The entire process was smooth and effortless, taking less than five seconds!
It had taken Mike several minutes to seal the soul of a single Nine-Star Lord. Maxen, however, had done it in an instant.
He was on fire today!
Maxen lowered his flail, and Mike turned to Cedric, waiting for his praise.
Come on, say something!
You’re usually so good at compliments!
After nearly thirty seconds of silence, Cedric finally opened his mouth.
“Yawn…”
That’s it?
He was bored?
Mike: “…”
He finally understood.
Professor Cedric was a hypocrite.
Everyone below him was a mediocre swordsman.
Everyone above him was a swordsmanship genius.
Only Ares’s swordsmanship surpassed Cedric’s.
In other words, Cedric was Ares’s biggest fanboy.
“That’s an interesting skill,” Ares said, taking a step forward. “Thor, do you have any good
equipment?”
Equipment?!
Mike immediately realized that Ares was offering to seal the souls within his equipment!
“Nightmare’s Breeze?”
It was one of his few SSS-rank equipment.
“Not that one.”
“It’s Morpheus’s equipment, after all.”
“Force of Nature?”
“No, keep your own SSS-rank equipment. It’s more suitable for your own seals.”
Both suggestions were rejected.
Mike thought for a moment. He didn’t have many other options.
“Thunderclap Hammer?”
The Thunderclap Hammer had been passed down from Human King Nathan to Ares, and now
it was in Thor’s possession.
“That’s a good choice.”
Ares took another step forward, and a gentle breeze swept through the Abyss.
The clear sky darkened, and a fierce wind howled, kicking up dust and debris.
The Seventh Demon God’s phantom appeared!
“He’s back from the dead!”
Mike wasn’t scared. He was almost amused.
If Ares could kill the Seventh Demon God once, he could do it again.
The Seventh Demon God’s phantom moved.
He was… fighting Ares?!
Mike suddenly realized what was happening.
“Holy shit?!”
Ares was sealing the Seventh Demon God’s soul!
There were two scenarios when using Thunderclap Fate.
First, the soul cooperated willingly, minimizing the strain on the user.
Like when Mike had sealed Dracula. Despite his Nine-Star Lord strength, he had been easily
sealed.
Second, the soul resisted.
In that case, they had to be beaten into submission!
This scenario tested the user’s strength.
If the user was weak, the soul could turn the tables, using the opportunity to backfire!
With Mike’s current strength, he could only seal souls like Joseph’s.
But with Ares… things were getting interesting!
The Seventh Demon God’s soul, upon appearing, immediately tried to break free.
Ares, his hand resting casually on his sword hilt, looked up, a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Oh?”
His message was clear:
Do you really want to die again?
The Seventh Demon God’s soul, unwilling to back down, responded with the pride of a Demon
God.
A god had to maintain his dignity!
The soul unleashed a torrent of black wind, but it was easily sealed within the Thunderclap
Hammer.
Seventh Demon God’s soul: No, I don’t want to die again.
He was utterly defeated.
His soul was now trapped within the Thunderclap Hammer.
Mike was awestruck.
The Thunderclap Hammer returned to his hand, its weight significantly increased.
For now, Mike couldn’t see the updated stats of the Thunderclap Hammer.
Without the Eye of Truth, a lot of things were a pain in the neck. But it would be a full 24 hours before the Eye of Truth was back online.