2026-07-31 22:01:14The Seraph was not strong enough to stop the monster completely, but the dark chains slowed the giant arms down for just one crucial second.
Bruce used that second perfectly. He ran straight up the falling right arm. His bare feet found traction on the rusty iron and the glowing red spikes. He sprinted up the massive arm like it was a ramp, defying gravity.
"Get off me!" Hestia screamed. She tried to shake her arm, but Bruce was too fast.
He reached the shoulder of the giant monster. He leaped off the metal joint, launching himself high into the air, directly toward the center of the gate. He was flying straight toward Hestia’s giant, ugly face.
Bruce reached his left hand out. The Brand of the Void on his shoulder flared with its maximum power. The deep purple light illuminated the rainy night. He was ready to pull the corrupted magic right out of her brain. He was ready to end the Matriarch once and for all.
"I am going to eat you alive, Hestia," Bruce whispered as he flew through the air.
He was only five feet away from touching her face.
But suddenly, the entire plaza behind him exploded with blinding, pure golden light.
AWOOOOOOOOO!
A terrifying, deafening howl echoed through the rain. It did not sound like a normal wolf. It sounded like a massive church bell ringing in the middle of a storm.
Bruce, suspended in mid-air, glanced quickly over his shoulder.
Pouring out of the alleyways and the main streets leading into the plaza were the Golden Bloodhounds. There were dozens of them. Massive wolves made entirely of solid, blinding holy light. They leaped into the plaza, their glowing jaws snapping, melting the rain before it could even touch them.
And riding behind them was an army.
Hundreds of elite Inquisitors of the Light marched into the square. They wore pristine white and gold armor. They carried massive shields and long, flaming swords. They moved in perfect, terrifying unison, turning the dark, rainy night into brilliant, burning noon.
At the front of the army rode High Inquisitor Bontus.
The High Inquisitor looked like a demon of vengeance. He was riding a brand new horse of solidified sunlight. His face was completely wrapped in thick, bloody white bandages, covering the eyes that Victoria’s flash had burned away. But he did not need his eyes to see. The holy magic guided him. He held his massive flaming broadsword high in the air.
"THERE HE IS!" Bontus roared. His voice cut through the sound of the rain and Hestia’s monstrous groans. "THE VOID-SPAWN IS AT THE GATE!"
Bruce realized with a sickening drop in his stomach that the Inquisitors had not stayed in the Lower Slums. They had followed the trail of dead guards and rusted weapons directly to the Northern Gate.
Bruce was still flying through the air toward Hestia’s face. He was completely exposed.
"CAST THE NET!" Bontus commanded blindly, pointing his sword toward the gate.
Fifty Inquisitor Priests at the front of the army raised their hands.
They did not fire arrows. They cast a massive, high-tier holy spell. A giant net made of pure, burning hard-light materialized in the air. The net shot forward with the speed of a lightning bolt.
Before Bruce could touch Hestia’s face, the holy net slammed into his back.
"AGGGGH!" Bruce screamed in agony.
The holy light burned through his wet shirt instantly, searing into his skin. The magical net wrapped tightly around his body, binding his arms and legs together. The Void-Forged Body could not fight the pure, divine magic.
Bruce lost all his momentum. He fell out of the sky.
He crashed hard into the wet cobblestones at the base of the massive gate. The holy net burned him constantly, sizzling against his wet skin. Every time he tried to move, the light burned deeper.
"Master!" the Ashen Seraph yelled, trying to emerge from the shadow to help him.
But the moment the Seraph's black smoke touched the holy net, it was violently burned away. The Seraph hissed in pain and was forced to retreat deep into Bruce’s shadow, completely trapped.
Bruce lay on the ground, groaning in pain. He tried to activate Devour, but his cracked core was overwhelmed by the intense holy magic of fifty priests combining their power. The blue medicine was burning away rapidly.
He was caught.
Bruce slowly turned his head, pressing his burned cheek against the cold, wet stones.
He looked up.
Above him, the giant, mutated monster of Lady Hestia looked down with her glowing red eyes. She smiled a hideous, jagged smile, raising her giant iron foot to stomp on him.
He looked back.
Behind him, High Inquisitor Bontus and hundreds of burning golden knights were marching forward, their holy swords ready to cut him to pieces.
Bruce Thompson was completely trapped on the ground. He was caught exactly in the middle between the ultimate monster of blood and iron, and the ruthless, burning army of the holy light.
And this time, there was nowhere left to run.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 52
Hestia looked up at Bruce. Her face was covered in blood and wet dirt. Her eyes, which used to look at him with such cold, cruel arrogance, were now filled with absolute, pure terror. She opened her mouth, but she was too weak to speak. She just whimpered, raising a trembling, bleeding hand to protect her face. She expected Bruce to summon his dark sword and cut her head off. Bruce looked down at the Matriarch of the Iron-Heart Clan. He looked at the woman who had locked his mother in a cage, who had branded his shoulder, and who had ordered him to be treated like garbage for nineteen years. He could easily kill her right now. It would take one second. But Bruce did not raise his hand. He realized that killing her here, in the rubble, was too easy. She was already defeated. Her gate was destroyed. Her secret battery farm was exposed to the church. Her elite army was dead. Hestia was going to have to explain this massive failure to the rest of the noble clans and the angry Inquisi
Chapter 51
The Blade of Lost Tears materialized in his grip. But it was not a normal sword of dark smoke anymore. Fueled by the Seraph’s full localized power and the explosive Ashen Fire, the sword grew. It expanded massively, shooting up into the rainy sky. It became a towering pillar of black and white flames, sixty feet long and ten feet wide. It looked like a column of absolute destruction. Bruce grabbed the hilt of the massive, sixty-foot pillar of fire with both hands. He did not feel the weight. The magic moved with his will. He ignored the army of Inquisitors behind him. He ignored the holy spears and fireballs flying at his back. He focused entirely on the giant monster and the massive eighty-foot gate blocking his path to freedom. "I am the Devourer," Bruce’s voice boomed. It sounded like an earthquake. Bruce swung the massive, sixty-foot sword of Ashen Fire directly at the Northern Gate. He swung it in a perfect, horizontal arc. The giant pillar of black and white fire hit Hest
Chapter 50
"Very little, Master," the Seraph replied. "Only enough for one final attack. But I cannot come out of your shadow. The holy net will burn me instantly.""You don't need to come out," Bruce commanded. "I am the Devourer. I am the bridge. I want you to push all of your remaining power directly into my body. Every single drop. I will channel your true, localized power through my own flesh."The Seraph was completely shocked by the order. "Master, you cannot do that!" the Seraph warned quickly. "My power is Forbidden. It is too dense, too chaotic! Your Void-Forged Body is strong, but you are still a mortal boy! If I push my full power through your cracked core, it will break your bones! It will tear your muscles apart! You might explode!""I don't care!" Bruce shouted out loud. His sudden shout made Bontus and Hestia stop arguing. They both looked down at the boy in the glowing net. "I don't care if it breaks my bones!" Bruce yelled, his voice echoing over the rain. He opened his eyes
Chapter 49
Bruce Thompson lay flat on the wet, cold cobblestones. The holy net of pure, burning hard-light was wrapped tightly around his body. The magic acted like glowing ropes of fire, pinning his arms to his sides and his legs together. Every time he took a breath, the net burned deeper into his wet clothes and his skin. He could smell the sickening scent of his own burning flesh. He was completely trapped. Above him, the giant, mutated monster that used to be Lady Hestia looked down. She was fused into the massive, eighty-foot Northern Gate. Her giant iron face twisted into an ugly, jagged smile. Her eyes burned with red, stolen blood-magic. She raised her massive foot, which was made of heavy iron beams and sharp spikes. She hovered it directly over Bruce’s head, ready to stomp him into a bloody paste. "I have you now!" Hestia’s monstrous voice roared. The sound shook the heavy rain in the air. "You are nothing but a trapped rat, Bruce! A little, dirty rat caught in a trap!"But befor
Chapter 48
The Seraph was not strong enough to stop the monster completely, but the dark chains slowed the giant arms down for just one crucial second. Bruce used that second perfectly. He ran straight up the falling right arm. His bare feet found traction on the rusty iron and the glowing red spikes. He sprinted up the massive arm like it was a ramp, defying gravity. "Get off me!" Hestia screamed. She tried to shake her arm, but Bruce was too fast. He reached the shoulder of the giant monster. He leaped off the metal joint, launching himself high into the air, directly toward the center of the gate. He was flying straight toward Hestia’s giant, ugly face. Bruce reached his left hand out. The Brand of the Void on his shoulder flared with its maximum power. The deep purple light illuminated the rainy night. He was ready to pull the corrupted magic right out of her brain. He was ready to end the Matriarch once and for all. "I am going to eat you alive, Hestia," Bruce whispered as he flew thro
Chapter 47
Without even slowing his sprint, Bruce reached his left hand up and caught the glowing red fire-arrow directly out of the air. He did not even look at it. He simply absorbed the fire magic into his palm, turning the iron arrowhead to rust, and kept running. The guards on the ground were completely decimated. They could not fight back. They could not even defend themselves. Every time they swung a weapon, Bruce was already behind them. Every time they tried to use magic, Bruce ate it, growing stronger, faster, and more deadly. It was not a battle. It was a harvest. In less than sixty seconds, the remaining twenty Iron-Guards on the ground were completely erased. There were no bodies. There was no blood. There were only piles of gray ash quickly washing away in the freezing rain. Bruce slid to a stop. His bare feet dug deep grooves into the wet stone. He was breathing deeply, but he was not tired. The stolen magic rushed through his veins, repairing his torn muscles instantly. The
You may also like
VINCENT MILES: AND THE FIST OF FIRE
Kurt Dp.18.2K viewsImmortal Universe
Shin Novel 19.8K viewsThe Greatest Martial Arts Cultivator
KidOO100.4K viewsI AM DESTINY'S MISTAKE
Dere_Isaac18.2K viewsThe Return of the wilderness God
Shuaib Balikis 296 viewsthe Exile Dragon king
Favour 🌬️✨121 viewsReborn as the Empire's Blind Prince
Divinebeing07397 viewsTHE GUARDIAN OF MIDGARD
Trinity I.A18 views