Elden Ring, but with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow

Chapter 489 The Beast Wielding 'Death'!

The moment the Five-Finger Sword shattered the restraints, the air in the entire Beast Temple froze completely.

'Destined Death' seeped from the cracks in the gemstone on the back of Maricus's claws, coiling around his body like a venomous snake awakening.

The black and red death power initially resembled a wisp of flame, then suddenly burst forth, transforming into a jet-black yet sacred 'blaze'.

Amidst the rising black and red flames, a massive golden hilt replaced the original five-fingered sword, which Maricus gripped firmly.

Clenching his teeth, Maricus pulled out his sword with all his might, as if using every last bit of strength in his body.

Thus, the enormous sword that had been sealed within his body gradually appeared before Bai Shi's eyes.

It was a sharp greatsword made entirely of obsidian, with numerous nicks and chips of varying sizes on its blade.

Despite its dilapidated state, no one on this border would scoff at the broken pieces on the blade.

Every nick and scratch on this sword is a testament to Maric's illustrious achievements.

As the massive sword was completely pulled out, Maricus let out a roar.

The vessel for Predestined Death, Maricus's Black Sword, has reappeared, and 'Predestined Death' has been fully unleashed.

"boom--!"

A black and red flame burst through the temple's dome, tearing the clouds hovering above Fam Azra into a spiral vortex.

The sky began to distort under this power, and even the floating city trembled.

A dark red aura permeated the entire sky, dragging the entire Sky City into the realm of death.

The ground around Maricus suddenly cracked, and ancient stone slabs, which had stood for thousands of years, crumbled and rolled up like withered leaves.

Countless auras of death cracked the ground, the fissures spreading outwards, unleashing a violent and unrestrained black and red light.

The red light rising from those cracks brought no warmth whatsoever, only a chilling death that made even the soul tremble.

—That is the inevitable death of all creatures at the boundary, which can devour all life and is sufficient to give any life the concept of 'death'.

The moment Celine Sands witnessed the complete release of Destiny's Death, her pupils contracted sharply, and the dragon scales on her wings instantly bristled from the chill.

As an ancient dragon who should have been immortal, she instinctively took a half step back at this moment, feeling panicked by the power of her destined death.

This is the fear that all living beings will inevitably feel upon seeing this power.

That is one of the most primal emotions of all life—awe of death.

She clearly sensed that even the ancient dragons' immortal scales, which were strong enough to resist the relentless erosion of time, were no longer special in the face of that power, and would only crumble and weather like the most ordinary rocks.

In Celine Thornx's pupils, a terrifying beast, unlike anything she had ever seen in her life, was reflected:

Maricus's body was engulfed in black and red flames, and the beast priest's gray robes peeled off like withered leaves, turning into ashes that scattered across the sky the moment they touched the flames.

The beast priest's grey robes were burned away without a trace, and gradually replaced by jet-black beast armor adorned with gold on black iron, which appeared on Maricus's body.

The sharp teeth in its gaping maw gleamed coldly, yet its massive body possessed a sleek form suited for aggression.

The black iron armor seemed like darkness that wanted to devour all light, but the still dazzling gold proved that the glory of the past still remained on it.

The priest's robes were burned to ashes by his destined death, stripping him of the priestly attire that symbolized civilization, proving that the beast had once again broken free from its restraints.

This means that Maricus has completely stripped away the other layer of identity as a 'beast priest' that covers his true identity.

At this moment, what appeared before Bai Shi and Celine Sangs was—the strongest shadow beast in the world of the borderlands.

Maricus raised his eyes and looked through the firelight of his destined death at the incomparably powerful White Consciousness before him.

Dressed in black armor, Maricus roared to the sky, completely dispelling all the gloom that had been hanging over his heart.

His pale white mane billowed in the wind, and enveloped in the aura of his doomed death, he seemed like a demon god descending to earth.

Let go of all doubts and all worries.

All he needs to do is tear his enemies apart as always.

Let the taste of blood and death completely overwhelm everything in my heart.

—The beast of death, 'Black Sword' Maricus, returns to the battlefield.
-
Maricus's arched spine crackled like popping beans, and his pale mane danced wildly like a battle flag in the heat, fully prepared for battle.

He drew his sword, pawed at the ground with three claws, and charged toward Bai Shi, the huge black sword leaving a trail of shimmering red light in the air.

Because of the theft of the Fated Death, Maricus no longer wanted to wield his black sword.

However, facing a powerful opponent capable of becoming king, this was not something Maricus could hesitate about.

Since the situation is already dire, if we don't wield the black sword now, we will only face our destined death.

He is 'Marika's Black Sword', sworn to carry out his duty of protecting those destined to die until the very end!

Without any charging up of power, the massive body encased in black armor appeared beside Bai Shi with lightning speed, as if teleporting, simply by lightly touching the ground with its claws.

With his five fingers gripping the hilt, the greatsword, accompanied by a black and red afterimage, slashed diagonally downwards. The speed of the attack was so great that even Bai Shi couldn't help but take notice.

"Qiang——!"

The 'Dragon Slayer' greatsword hastily parried, and the two enormous swords collided, sparks flying everywhere like a rainstorm.

Bai Shi's arm muscles tensed instantly, and the stone slab beneath his feet collapsed with a crash.

Maricus raised his black sword high, using the momentum from the impact, and then slashed down repeatedly, each strike layered with even more ferocious power and speed.

The attacks came in layers, like a relentless pack of wolves, pouncing and biting at Bai Shi's body again and again.

Bai Shi's 'Dragon Slayer' greatsword constantly changed its moves, parrying each heavy blow and defending against the attack without leaving any openings.

Under this fierce offensive, Bai Shi was briefly suppressed by Maricus, as if the situation on the battlefield had been reversed.

After clearly sensing the changes in Maricus, Bai Shi's smile became even more cheerful.

At the same time, he put aside all his contempt and began to take the battle very seriously.

Previously, Maricus was like a caged beast bound by chains, each strike carrying a heavy, sluggish feeling, and he even lost himself.

At that moment, he transformed into a black lightning bolt that tore through space.

The release of the Predestined Death did not increase Maricus's power.

It merely brought special power derived from the laws, but Maricus's physical body remained at its original strength.

The reason why the battlefield has undergone such a dramatic change is entirely because Maricus has completely broken free of his inner constraints and devoted himself wholeheartedly to this battle.

Grasping his own weapon, he threw himself into the battle without a care in the world, and his martial arts, powerful enough to shatter the forces of the Night-Colored Queen, were unleashed.

Realizing this, Bai Shi became even more excited.

This kind of exhilarating battle is exactly what he craves.

He couldn't even be bothered to think about fighting an enemy he couldn't muster the will to fight.

As he wildly wielded the black sword, Maricus felt an unparalleled sense of exhilaration. He completely unleashed his inner self, acting purely on instinct.

With a single swing of the black sword, Maricus's confusion—hidden, betrayed, and abandoned—was completely severed.

Once he grasped the blade of death again, Maricus was transformed back into the beast of death.

Using the force of Bai Shi's repulsion, Maricus nimbly flipped backward and soared into the air, his black sword drawing an arc of light that cut through the air.

The sword light, destined for death, tore through the distance between them and slammed into Bai Shi's Dragon-Slaying Sword.

Just when Bai Shi thought this was just another ordinary test, a sudden change occurred.

The sword light that was destined to kill was blocked by the 'Dragon Slayer' greatsword, but it suddenly erupted, releasing a large area of ​​tiny, dense sword energy.

After the outburst, the power of destined death instantly permeated Bai Shi's body, easily striking his flesh.

Struck by this power, Bai Shi's body was instantly covered in the black and red flames of his destined death.

They clung to the flesh like living creatures, trying to devour the life force of the white consciousness.

Even the blade of the 'Dragon Slayer' was bound by the curse of doom, and the remaining power of the prince was gradually eroded.

Perhaps the word "erosion" is inappropriate; it should be described as an attempt to purify Baylor's undying rage.

Death is sacred, regardless of any life.

The anger that did not dissipate with Baylor's death should not exist in the judgment of a preordained death.

While continuing to deal with Maricus's offensive, Bai Shi spared some of his attention to silently feel the inevitable death burning on his body.

Although Fated Death appears to be a flame similar to Black Flame, it is different from Black Flame; it is a Holy attribute attack.

Bai Shi's extremely high fire attribute reduction was ineffective against this power, which brutally eroded his body.

However, the Fated Death that was eroding Bai Shi's body at this moment only had a weak power, after all, it was only caused by a feint attack and did not contain much power.

Therefore, it only burned the robes, and was then blocked by Bai Shi's power, leaving almost no injury.

Bai Shi didn't pay too much attention to it. He used his own solar power to shatter the burning of his destined death and continued to fight with Maricus.

Although he appeared to be suppressed, he hadn't actually used his full strength yet; he was simply fully experiencing the power of Maricus.

It's important to understand that in this state, Bai Shi's strength doesn't come from his physical body, but from his various prayers and magic.

If it were in the state of enlarged size and fighting with physical attributes, Bai Shi would never be suppressed in the slightest.
-
Upon seeing Bai Shi struck by the power of his destined death, Celine Sanxton, who was watching from the sky, immediately felt a pang of anxiety.

As the battle between Bai Shi and Maricus intensified, she could no longer stand in the temple and could only flap her wings and watch from afar in the air.

If it were any other power, Celine Sandks would never worry about Bai Shi; she would absolutely trust her master's power.

However, she had already recognized the power of her destined death and knew that even gods could be harmed by it.

However, Celine Sandks only felt relieved when she saw Bai Shi casually wave his hand and dispel the red light of certain death from his body during a lull in the battle.

At this moment, the rhythm of the battle has completely changed.

Maricus is in better form than ever before, getting stronger with each game.

The beast's ferocity and the swordsman's precision are perfectly combined, along with unparalleled skill and speed, making it one of the best in the borderlands.

Even after suppressing his inner feelings for a long time, Maricus was now completely released, and he seemed to have made a breakthrough.

Each change of direction he made left trails of black sword flames, drawing unpredictable trajectories in the air.

Sometimes it gallops along the ground like a lion or tiger, sometimes it leaps and pounces like a bird of prey, using the surrounding walls and stone pillars to maneuver nimbly.

Every movement was as precise as a killing machine, yet as violent as a wild, unrestrained gale.

After another clash and exchange of giant swords, Bai Shi seized the opportunity and launched a fierce counterattack during the gap in the swing of the Maricus Black Sword.

When Bai Shi's greatsword cleaved towards Maricus's head, he dodged the attack with an almost dance-like backward lean.

As he dove backflip to avoid the attack, his left claw slashed upwards toward Bai Shi's throat, the tip of the claw instantly flaring up with black and red death flames.

Bai Shi narrowly dodged, his claw tip only half an inch from her skin, a strand of black hair burned to ashes by his destined death.

Bai Shi's smile grew wider and wider as he became increasingly satisfied with Marykas's performance.

The 'Dragon Slayer' greatsword suddenly changed its move, switching from a slashing motion to a sweeping motion, aiming at the airborne Maricus who had nowhere to dodge.

Baylor's power surged violently along the blade, converging into a raging crimson-orange lightning flame that burst forth like a torrent.

As a wingless beast, Maricus could not take flight, nor could his destined death grant him that ability.

This attack was so powerful that it should have severed the entire temple, along with Maricus, in two.

But Maricus managed to find an opportunity to dodge at the last minute.

Its massive body displayed unimaginable agility, twisting its body in extremely dangerous ways.

His body, which had already leaped backward, completely reversed, using one claw as a fulcrum to brace himself against the sword that slays dragons.

Even though the Dragon Slayer was an enormous sword of incredible size, it looked like a toothpick against Maricus's body, making the scene extremely bizarre.

Although half of his claws were instantly wiped away by the lightning flames and his gauntlets began to melt, he managed to minimize the damage.

Maricus, having returned from the brink of death, suppressed his pounding heart and realized that this might be the perfect opportunity.

He didn't adjust his posture, but instead swung the black sword at Bai Shi in an upside-down position.

Bai Shi laughed heartily, and a lightning spear instantly materialized in his left hand, with crimson arcs of electricity tearing through the space.

The Ancient Dragon Thunder Spear and the Black Sword collided head-on, and the resulting shockwave sent both of them flying.

Maricus tumbled and rolled in the air before finally crashing to the ground in a sorry state.

Although he lost a great deal of power, he was still injured by the force, and his bones and internal organs were damaged again.

The power of this attack was so astonishing that even Maricus's eyes widened, realizing that Bai Shi had not yet used his true strength.

Bai Shi, meanwhile, stumbled backward and smashed a stone pillar, leaving a deep, bone-revealing sword wound on his chest.

The wound was not bleeding, and ominous blackish-red sparks flickered at its open edges.

This was the first time Bai Shi had suffered a serious blow that could truly be called an injury during the battle.

Bai Shi's powerful body immediately began to attempt to heal itself, but its previously invincible recovery ability was now barely effective, with almost no recovery.

Because death is inevitable... and it should be so.

Looking down at the rising, destined death, Bai Shi smiled gently.

The power of the sun surged from his body, easily shattering his destined death.

He is a deity beyond the borders, and the power of death has no right to restrain him.

(End of this chapter)