Sword of Salvation-Chapter 110: - Battle; Pawn and Bishop

Mariel gazed at the thousands of chains surging toward him without moving. With his spatial barrier, he had no reason to worry about them. Even though the black miasma could erode his barrier, the erosion was too slow to pose a real threat. Mariel let the chains bombard him.

Of course, he could have ended the battle and eliminated Rahvada quickly. He had already stunned him once—he could do it again. However, Mariel was determined to test himself against Rahvada. He would allow the man to enter his unification mode and fight at full power.

He would not use his power-nullification ability unless his life was at risk. Rahvada was a better opponent than Doctor Lergen—his offensive power was far greater.

No matter how strong someone was, they would always be at a disadvantage against an opponent who could render their abilities ineffective. Rahvada could easily slaughter hundreds of thousands of soldiers on his own. Lergen could not do that. However, if the two fought, Rahvada would not be able to defeat Lergen. His hell chains would be useless against the doctor.

Ignoring the relentless barrage of chains, Mariel released his twin wind blades and stretched both hands forward.

With his index and middle fingers extended straight, he unleashed two Extending Blades. It was his fastest and most powerful attack. If Extending Blade failed to cut through the chains, he would immediately conclude that they were indeed unbreakable.

Both Extending Blades failed to sever the chains they struck.

Mariel was not surprised. He reinforced his wind armor to its maximum level and charged forward. At the same time, he retrieved his twin wind blades and unleashed a massive-scale wind wave.

Unlike Extending Blade and his wind swords, a wind wave was not pure wind. It was air suddenly moving with immense force. It had no form—only a massive pushing pressure. Not even Lergen would be able to absorb it, let alone the chains.

The wind wave repelled the chains, opening a path for Mariel to break through.

However, Rahvada was shielded by chains arranged in a solid wall. Mariel could not penetrate them. But he did not stop. He threw his twin wind blades to either side of the chain cluster. The moment they passed Rahvada’s sides, Mariel instantly swapped places with one of them.

He appeared to Rahvada’s left. But the black-eyed man showed no surprise. Instinctively, he manipulated the chains to block and repel Mariel. However, he had not swapped places without a plan. As he did so, his lungs had already filled with air. A high-intensity gust of wind erupted from his mouth.

As the miasma-coated chains crashed against Mariel’s barrier, Rahvada was hurled from his position. But the man did not panic. He pressed his palms together, channeling prana into his lungs, throat, and mouth. The moment his mouth opened, a massive volume of water burst forth.

Mariel swapped places with Rahvada again. Then, it was his turn to press his palms together. Doing so made controlling prana much easier. He launched himself into the air, maneuvered mid-flight, and dove down with both hands extended.

In an instant, an immensely powerful air pressure crashed downward. It was not only strong, but its area of effect was vast. With Mariel as the center, the affected area spanned a 200-meter radius. Even Lukhiel, a fellow high-level wind user, would not be able to withstand it completely.

No ordinary human could survive such overwhelming force. Even the strongest fighters would sustain injuries. Their bones might shatter, and their internal organs risked hemorrhaging or even bursting. The wind pressure, which carved holes between one to six meters deep, was lethal.

However, when Mariel landed in the circular crater, he found the red, miasma-coated chains had formed a flawless, impenetrable dome. They had perfectly withstood his devastating wind pressure. Although they had been pushed downward, Rahvada remained completely protected.

"Can a holy weapon cut through those chains?"

The moment Mariel voiced that question, an energy explosion erupted within Rahvada’s chain dome. It was not a single explosion. One blast was followed by another, even larger one. He did not need to think twice to guess what had happened. It was 100% certain—Rahvada had entered Spirit Unification Mode.

When the chains vanished, Rahvada’s appearance had changed drastically. His eyes now glowed crimson, his hair had grown to his back and turned dark gray, and his arms and legs were wrapped in small, red chains. Thick miasma radiated from his body, forming an armor-like aura around him.

Most strikingly, he was not standing on the ground. Rahvada was hovering in the air. But Mariel barely registered that oddity because, at that moment, the miasma around Rahvada took shape—forming a colossal skeletal frame behind him. It was incomplete, extending only from the waist up, but its two hands held transparent red whips. On its skull’s forehead, a single word was inscribed: Death.

Mariel had seen Arthur IV’s unification form. He had seen Selena’s, Celinee’s, and even Doctor Lergen’s. But none of their power could compare to what Rahvada was now radiating. His strength was overwhelming. He was far more dangerous than Mariel had imagined. He even began to doubt whether Rahvada was still in unification mode.

Not wanting the situation to spiral further out of control, Mariel instinctively activated his most reliable spirit ability. However, to his utter shock, his nullification power did not work. Nothing happened to Rahvada. He did not weaken, and the skeletal frame remained intact.

...Could he have already reached Origin Mode?

Considering there had been two energy explosions earlier, that possibility was highly convincing. The man before Mariel felt so powerful that Mariel could vividly picture his own death. Rahvada had become so strong that Mariel had no choice but to prepare to draw the Sword of Salvation from his dimension.

"Hell King Haseth is a god on the same level as Heaven King Tiamat," Rahvada spoke, his voice now deeper. "I’m sure you’ve heard of a spirit named Tiamat, so I won’t waste time explaining. But to be clear, in the age of the gods, Hell King Haseth and Heaven King Tiamat wielded authority that even surpassed God King Zeindra. Tiamat resided at the gates of Edevalha, while Haseth dwelled in the deepest trench of Tartaros. They were the right and left hands of Creation Primordial Philiphalles."

Mariel could not find a single word to say. What Rahvada had just revealed was knowledge that could not be found anywhere. The only thing Mariel knew was that Tiamat was the name of Emperor Gilgamesh’s spirit. And Creation Primordial Philiphalles... could that be the name of his spirit?

"You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you something so crucial and sacred," Rahvada continued without waiting for an answer. "Like Romero, I see potential in you. So before you die, I want to give you a gift—knowledge that every warrior desires. To enter Origin Mode, there are two conditions you must fulfill."

Mariel’s assumption had been correct. Rahvada was truly in Origin Mode.

Without hesitation, Mariel summoned a small dimensional portal at his fingertips. From within the portal, a sword’s hilt emerged. He immediately grasped it and channeled his prana into the blade. Refusing to use the Sword of Salvation would be nothing short of suicide. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"The first condition," Rahvada continued as he stepped forward slowly—his feet never touching the ground. "Your mind must be strong enough not to let your spirit take over. And the second condition, you must have already witnessed your spirit’s past. A strong mind will ensure that your spirit doesn’t take control of your body. If your body is taken over, you will die."

Upon hearing that explanation, the mystery of how Rahvada knew about the era of the gods was finally solved.

"Thanks for the information," Mariel said, releasing a massive amount of prana—at the moment, he could only rely on the sword in his hand. "...But I won’t let you win."

Rahvada smiled. His slow steps quickened. Then, he shot straight toward Mariel, his right palm open as if intending to grasp the young man’s face.

"...I’m the void of the world."

The moment he uttered that spell, the Sword of Salvation in Mariel’s grip shone brightly and vanished into a small magic circle. That circle adhered to Mariel’s palm. At the same time, Rahvada’s hand gripped Mariel’s face. His grasp was so tight that Mariel’s spatial barrier shattered.

However, Mariel only felt pain for a fraction of a second. Immediately after, an unimaginable power surged through his body. His body unleashed a massive explosion of energy—so great that even Rahvada, in origin mode, was sent flying.

Mariel hadn’t lied when he told Celinee that the Sword of Salvation had no special power.

What he had just done was not activating a hidden ability of the sword. What Mariel had activated was a special spell created by Ruthlemia. That spell forcibly used the Sword of Salvation as a link between Mariel and his spirit’s power. The ancient mage had taught him about this spell in detail.