PHASE 26 - ONE STEP BEHIND

“I-Impossible!” Hades trembled as he crawled backward, away from me; away from the enemy, he has no chance of beating. “Nobody should be able to use that Weapon Gem!”

I looked at my cyber-armored hands and clenched it. The blood flowing through my veins is being electrified by this armor, giving me the energy that is greater than those of gods. Wielding these metal plates to cover my body feels like being covered by the itself.

This feeling… It’s identical to the warm hug of my lover.

Hades went back on his feet and stabbed his devil’s fork to the ground. “!!!”

Sharp black rods spawned on the soil beneath my feet, and it tried to pierce through my armor. Sadly, the spikes are not durable enough, so it ended up shattered upon impact.

Seeing that a god’s attack can’t scratch me, I took a step forward.

“Don’t come near me!” Hades cried as he channeled another spell. “!!!”

Hades stabbed his fork on the thin air, and a dark crimson tornado drill formed. To repel the attack, all I did is to raise my hand and let my palm absorb the excessive energy that has been cast upon me.

I continue to take my time walking forward. Hades became more and more terrified as he hears the metallic clanking boots draw nearer to him.

“Stop!” Hades shouted. Several zombie hands spawned on the floor and held my feet.

But all those rotten limbs won’t be able to hold me, not when I’m using the . I’m just walking freely as if I’m stepping on long grass.

“Get away from me!” Hades freaked out. “!!!”

A giant stone door appeared behind me. It immediately opened and unleashed a strong vacuum, trying to pull me to the bowels of hell. The gravitational pull is as powerful as a black hole, but my Aether Armor can withstand such a trick.

A monstrous hand appeared from the and it tried to grab me from behind. I already saw it coming, so in the nick of time, I used my spell.

“”

Everything became black, and several silver streaks pierced through the darkness. The silver streaks maintained its existence even when the lights came back.

The gargantuan hand of the Underworld was severely injured by glowing icicle shards that came from the Frozen Soul. Now that the hand contains icy splinters, it’s no longer able to move its fingers. The hand retreated back to the . And then the doors of hell closed thereafter, ceasing to exist.

“Wha-What the hell are you…” Hades muttered as he noticed his divine powers diminishing.

“I TOLD YOU BEFORE, DIDN’T I? I AM AETERNOS.”

I dashed forward, charging my prana to my right fist. When I was already on the range, I unleashed the most powerful punch I could ever give, straight to Hades’ left cheek. His skull helmet shattered first, then his body flew, crashing and breaking through the layers of walls. He was buried in piles of rubble that I failed to see his true face.

But hey, at least he won’t be able to get up again.

Suddenly, time stopped as everything went black and white. The Outsider Yohan Romanov has made his appearance once again.

“Well, well… Look who’s not Aeternos.” He mocked. “It seems that you have accepted yourself.”

“IT’S MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT,” I said with anger.

“Try toning your voice down a little. You're so scary that I wanted to shit my pants.” The Fake Outsider mocked.

“Ahem. Ahem. Voice test. Voice test.” I murmured. My cybernetic-enhanced voice is still there like an autotune, but at least it’s not loud and threatening as before. “All good.”

“Ah, the . I really love it when I see a weapon that is a product of infinite love.” The Fake Outsider creepily muttered to himself like crazy. “That power is cool, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I’ll give it a passing score,” I said as I looked at my metallic hands. “Why is Aeternos’ armor a little different from mine? That old ‘me’ have his armor like he’s a hellspawn.”

“ can change features depending on the heart of the user,” Yohan said. “Maybe it evolved when Alaric Eisenhower became a Cursed Guardian.”

“And when will I become a Cursed Guardian?” I asked.

“Sooner than you think.” Yohan made a creepy grin.

I’m just one step behind the person I avoid that I’ll become. Possessing the armor means that I have accepted my fate. Now, all I have to do is to abandon my morals and ideals to become a Cursed Guardian... to become Aeternos.

I don’t want that to happen.

Obtaining this armor gives me one step closer to attaining my goal of getting the God Core of Chronos. I can’t defeat him without the help of this. I will be Aeternos, but I will not be cursed. I will win against myself.

Electricity wrapped around my platinum armor as I bolted forward, ascending from the underground laboratory.

<>

When I reached the surface, I saw a greater hell than before. Everything is back to being a battlefield, and it seems that the Cursed Guardians have sent more reinforcements. They have evened out the odds of the Black Cross winning this fight.

Flame, ice, lightning, air, and earth projectiles flew around the crimson skies. Swords, spears, daggers, and hatchets clashed to each other, followed by loud grunts, screams, and chants.

I ran through the center of the battlefield not giving a shit about anything the enemies or allies throw at me. I caught tornado drills, raging fireballs, icicle spears, and lightning bolts head-on, but my armor withstood all those attacks without getting a scratch. Now I’m the ultimate tank that could take care of any spell.

Fifty meters more until I reach that tall building. I’ve only been away for twenty minutes, and I hope Freya, Venus, and Macho Steel are fine.

“You’re not going through here!” Ten Cursed Guardians blocked my path. They coated their weapons with various elemental enhancements, thinking that they can stop me.

I materialized Diadem’s crimson katana and teleported forward.

Everything became black and white, and ten silver streaks slashed through my enemies.

“Gah!” All of them cried as they fell down to the floor.

Now, this is cool. I can use as my normal attack. All I just need to do is dash forward. I feel like I’m an overpowered boss in a Final Fantasy game. I can even hear my orchestra battle soundtrack inside my head.

When I reached the foot of the building, I bent my knees and focused all my energy on my buttocks. “!!!” I kicked upward, and then continue to run vertically until I reached the top.

…

But what I saw there next is not a battle.

It’s carnage.

Freya is there lying on the ground, bathing on her own blood. In fact, there’s a lot of dark red fluid gushing out from her stomach that has been stabbed with a black broadsword. Her dead-fish eyes are telling everyone that she’s out of the blood. She’s still breathing, but… She could go anytime soon.

While Venus… She’s not as lucky as Freya. Her lifeless body is already on the floor with a torn chest, her heart missing. There are wooden spikes that skewered her arms and legs, and also one of her eyes. This is one of the gruesome deaths that I ever saw.

There’s a pile of dead bodies just beside the dead goddess of beauty. They were Gate Guardians once, but the overwhelming power of the enemies rendered them helpless.

“Guh! Ack!” That was Macho Steel’s cry as he tried to shout with his squeezed windpipe. He’s being held up in the neck by the God of Time Chronos.

I realized that there are many more enemies here than when I last left. Chronos and Poseidon are still here, but now they are backed up by four more corrupted Gods. It’s clear to me now how they managed to slaughter two goddesses.

Anger swells to my heart and soul. My brain couldn’t stop thinking about ways on how to kill them all. Revenge. I want revenge for my allies. But I'm trying hard to suppress this feeling so that I could not become the man I hated to be.

Now that I’m in front of six Cursed Gods, there’s no backing down.