Beyond the Apocalypse-Chapter 1084: On the edge of success

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

The energies of the True Depravita of Wrath and the White Death erupted at once, their auras expanding violently into the void.

From this moment forward, the battle would become far more dangerous. There was nothing left holding Dream of Madness back.

But they could not hesitate. They could not retreat.

Even if the Alien Lord possessed an immortal body with no true vital organs, the Sovereigns had already inflicted tremendous damage. Its internal structure was shattered, its regeneration slowed, its mind repeatedly assaulted.

They had wounded it.

Now they had to keep pushing forward.

They had to keep destroying its body.

They could not stop—not even for a moment.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Merlin, Brightkin, Orkin, and Ankil released their power as well, their auras flaring to their limits.

Dream of Madness turned toward the Sovereigns, and its bloodlust exploded outward, flooding the surrounding dimension like a storm of killing intent.

The creature wanted to leave this place. It had more than enough power to tear through the dimensional barriers and escape.

But before that—

It would not allow these ants to continue harming it.

It would kill them.

It would devour their souls.

It would heal.

"RRROOOOOAAARRR!"

The Empyrean roared as its corrupted energy surged through its gargantuan frame. Then it lunged forward, the sheer momentum of its movement powerful enough to shatter worlds.

The first to move was the True Depravita of Wrath.

Vlad’s eyes burned with cold focus as he shot straight toward the creature’s head, the Quietus Sword blazing with gray flames.

Dream of Madness immediately raised its guard. Those flames were dangerous—capable of interfering with its thoughts and suppressing its regeneration.

Despite its enormous size, its claws moved with terrifying speed.

They struck from both sides.

When the palms closed, the impact generated shockwaves that shook the entire dimension.

But Vlad phased through the attacks.

The Quantum Eye glowed.

The claws passed through him without causing a single wound.

The next instant, he appeared directly before the Alien Lord’s face.

The Quietus Sword drove into one of its massive eyes.

Gray flames poured inward.

And that was only the beginning.

The Eye of Pride shone.

Behind Vlad, thousands of golden portals opened—layer upon layer, filling the void.

A storm of god weapons erupted from them.

They crashed into the face of Dream of Madness in a relentless barrage, tearing flesh, shattering bone, and blasting away entire sections of its monstrous features.

Before the Empyrean could react to the damage—

The White Death struck.

Two massive spheres of white flame slammed directly into the exposed internal organs within the creature’s open chest.

Entropy spread instantly, disintegrating tissue, nerves, and intestines as if existence itself were being erased.

"ARGHHHH!"

The scream of pain became the signal.

Merlin, Brightkin, Orkin, and Ankil moved immediately.

They spread out along the flanks of the Empyrean.

None of them dared confront Dream of Madness head-on. A direct clash would shatter their bodies instantly.

Their role was clear:

Burn everything they had.

Inflict as much damage as possible.

Support Vlad and the White Death while avoiding direct annihilation.

The battlefield became a storm of motion.

Dream of Madness howled in pain—but the agony did not slow it.

Its right claw shot toward its own head, aiming to crush Vlad.

Its left claw lunged toward the White Death.

Vlad continued pouring Quietus energy into the creature until the massive hand descended upon him.

At the last moment, the Quantum Eye activated.

He phased through the impact, retreating instantly.

Then he surged forward again.

The Quietus Sword pierced deep into the descending claw.

Inside the limb, hundreds of spatial copies manifested, detonating from within.

The claw split open from the inside as gray energy ravaged its structure.

At the same time—

The White Death clenched his right fist.

With a roar, he drove it forward.

A colossal fist of Entropy Flame formed and collided with the incoming claw, halting its advance just long enough for him to evade.

Then he unleashed a torrent of white fire into the creature’s wrist.

Muscle and flesh melted away as entropy devoured everything it touched.

Meanwhile, the remaining Sovereigns moved constantly across the massive body of the Empyrean.

They never stayed in one place.

Tentacles lashed through the void, each strike capable of annihilating them, but they dodged and repositioned without pause, unleashing attacks wherever they found exposed wounds or damaged regions.

It was flawless teamwork.

Each movement supported the others.

Each attack created openings.

Each retreat covered another’s advance.

This coordination was not accidental.

It was born from trust.

From countless battles fought side by side.

From surviving the horrors of Hell together.

But to say the Sovereigns held the advantage would have been a dangerous illusion.

Yes, their attacks were damaging Dream of Madness.

That much was undeniable.

But the margin for error was nonexistent.

One mistake.

One moment of hesitation.

One misjudged movement.

And any one of them would be crushed instantly.

Every second felt like walking along the edge between life and death.

The pressure was overwhelming—enough to break anyone without absolute will and unshakable determination.

And yet, the one under the greatest pressure was also the one with no margin for error at all.

Vlad.

His role was the most dangerous.

He had to target the head and mind of Dream of Madness, using Quietus Force to suppress its cognition and regeneration. By weakening its mental processing and slowing its recovery, he reduced the pressure on everyone else.

But that meant facing the greatest danger.

The creature’s face was a mass of writhing tentacles.

Its claws struck constantly.

Every movement around its head carried lethal force.

A single solid hit would reduce him to dust.

The key to his survival was the Quantum Expanse.

Each time a lethal strike approached, he shifted his existence partially out of phase, allowing the attack to pass through him.

But the ability had limits.

The more frequently he used it, the shorter its active duration became.

And each activation lengthened the cooldown before he could use it again.

Which meant one thing.

The longer the battle lasted—

The closer Vlad moved toward the moment when he would no longer be able to avoid a fatal blow.

"We need to end this fast."

The True Depravita of Wrath’s eyes burned with absolute determination as he grasped the danger that he—and everyone else—was facing. Without fear or hesitation, he began to burn both his life force and soul force. His energy exploded outward, the power behind his sword rising to a shocking degree while the speed and strength with which the divine weapon manifested skyrocketed.

Seeing the resolve of the True Depravita of Wrath, the White Death and the rest of the Sovereigns also put everything on the line. They unleashed their full might, flooding the gargantuan body of Dream of Madness with relentless destruction.

The storm of attacks grew more and more powerful—until they finally felt it.

The eyes of the Sovereigns widened with thrill and fierce hope as they sensed it: the life force of Dream of Madness—the same force that had allowed it to continue fighting despite its external organs being destroyed and its brain pierced—was beginning to weaken.

That realization ignited their spirits.

Hope surged through their hearts, allowing their power to rise once more. Their auras flared to their zenith as they pressed their assault with renewed ferocity.

Merlin, Orkin, Brightkin, and Ankil unleashed a massive beam of condensed plasma that tore through the back of Dream of Madness. At the same time, the White Death drove his fist deep into the abomination’s entrails, releasing an ocean of white flames that erupted from within its body.

The True Depravita of Wrath did not fall behind.

With a thunderous roar, he gathered his wrathful energy around the Quietus Sword. The weapon howled as it condensed overwhelming power, and with a single, devastating strike, he slashed forward with all his strength—managing to sever a large portion of Dream of Madness’s head.

The creature screamed in agony, a sound that made Vlad and the other Sovereigns smile grimly.

But the assault did not stop.

Dream of Madness lashed out in desperation. Vlad narrowly dodged a blast from a writhing tentacle, only to see the massive back of the creature’s claw flash toward him with terrifying speed.

Instantly, the True Depravita of Wrath activated Quantum Expanse.

But at that very moment, the eye on his forehead trembled violently.

Blood began to leak from it.

Vlad had reached his limit.

Before he could react—before he could retreat or defend—the massive back of the creature’s hand crashed into his body like a collapsing world.