Chapter 559: Springing The Trap!

Buzz!

The entire city square suddenly lit up as a massive white demonic array emerged beneath the shattered streets, its intricate markings spreading across the ground in every direction. The formation covered almost the entire battlefield, surrounding Lazarus, Hagrid and Damian within its boundaries as countless lines of demonic force connected the various formations hidden throughout the city square.

False Domain Array!

Almost immediately, a second formation emerged over the first. Unlike the white brilliance of the False Domain Array, this one was pitch black, its markings spreading across the sky and ground as an oppressive force descended upon the entire area.

Nil Gravity Array!

The moment the second formation stabilized, a third array overlapped the previous two. Green energy surged through the streets, and the ground beneath everyone’s feet began changing.

Murky Swamp Array!

Then a dark red light erupted from beneath the buildings surrounding the square. Gigantic thorny roses rose hundreds of meters into the air, their enormous flowers slowly blooming as thousands upon thousands of pores opened across their petals. A crimson mist immediately poured from them before countless tiny particles were launched into the sky, raining down across the battlefield like crimson snow.

Devil Rose Array!

The combined formations immediately transformed the entire city square into a carefully constructed killing ground.

Finally, Damian pulled his robe open, exposing his chest. A strange formation had been carved directly into his flesh, its intricate markings glowing faintly against his pale skin.

"Array Nullifier Seal." Hagrid muttered, his face turning deadly pale.

The Array Nullifier Seal was an extremely rare formation designed to safeguard its target from the effects of other arrays. As long as the markings remained undamaged, Damian would effectively remain invisible to the formations surrounding him, allowing him to move through their effects without being restrained or drained.

Under normal circumstances, Hagrid would have been crushed by the combined effects of the God Slayer Array, but Lazarus’ protective aura had shielded him from the worst of the initial pressure.

Even so, the Devil Rose Array had already begun responding to the immense energy surrounding him. Dark red vines erupted from the ground and slowly wrapped around Hagrid’s’ body, their thorns digging into the golden barrier surrounding him while crimson energy flowed from the vines into the formation.

Lazarus frowned as he felt the barrier meant to protect Hagrid weaken. His gaze slowly shifted toward the surrounding rooftops.

Heaven Sundering Cannons were being rolled into position, their enormous barrels turning toward him one after another. Devil Ballistas emerged from the spaces between buildings, their mechanisms locking into place as soldiers prepared them for firing. Hundreds of Velmora soldiers then poured from the same openings, infantry forming defensive lines with spears thrust through the gaps between their full body shields while archers positioned themselves behind them.

The entire city had become a military fortress.

Lazarus slowly lowered his gaze toward his hands.

It had been a very long time since he had experienced anything like this. The combined pressure of the arrays was not simply weighing down his body. It felt as though an invisible force had been placed directly upon his soul, restricting the amount of power he could safely exert. He could still move, but attempting to force his body beyond what his soul could tolerate would only cause further damage.

The Devil Rose Array made the situation even worse. It reacted to energy within its designated area, automatically sensing powerful sources of energy and latching onto them. Every attempt Lazarus makes to release more power only gave the vines something else to consume.

Lazarus remained remarkably calm despite the situation.

"I can see why you didn’t flee... You truly plan to kill a God in front of the whole world."

His gaze slowly returned to Damian. There was no panic in his voice, only a strange mixture of amusement and disbelief. "Do you really think that this will be enough to stop a God?"

"Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!"

Damian’s laughter boomed across the realm as he reached up and undid the upper portion of his robe. The garment loosened and fell around his waist, revealing his massive, heavily muscled frame and the dark tattoos covering his pale skin. Purple light pulsed faintly beneath several of the markings as he looked toward Lazarus.

"That’s where I come in... I’ll keep you where you stand until you are eventually worn down by the combined forces of my army..." Damian chuckled.

Lazarus released a disdainful snort. "Even after taking a hit from me, do you delude yourself into believing you stand a chance against a God? Clearly you are not as bright as you seem."

Damian shook his head, a devious grin spreading across his face. Instead of answering, he extended one hand.

A puff of smoke appeared above his palm. When the smoke disappeared, the fox pendant rested between his fingers.

Lazarus’ expression changed instantly.

The arrogance disappeared from his face as he stared at the pendant. He recognized the artifact and, more importantly, understood what Damian intended to do with it.

Damian calmly placed the fox pendant around his neck. The moment it touched his chest, the eyes of the pendant illuminated.

Buzz!

Purple particles began surging into the battlefield from every direction.

They emerged from the soldiers surrounding the city square. They poured from the civilians watching from behind the defensive lines. They even came from beyond the Underworld itself, flowing through unseen connections from beings who worshipped the Fox Deity across distant planets scattered across the universe.

The sheer quantity of energy was overwhelming.

The entire realm began trembling and Lazarus’ eyes widened as he realized what was happening.

Damian’s body began swelling as his muscles expanded beneath his skin. His veins and tattoos illuminated with intense purple light, spreading across his body like glowing cracks. His pitch black eyes suddenly erupted with purple radiance, the light becoming so intense that they resembled miniature suns.

Buzz!

Damian’s presence exploded outward. It surged past the limits of the demigod realm almost instantly and continued climbing. But it stopped just before reaching the God realm.

Damian had not become a God, but he had taken half a step into that realm.

His presence had reached a level that made every demigod present instinctively tremble. His current presence was almost identical to the power Duke Dantalion had possessed.

Lazarus stared at him in disbelief.

"You... You broke the sacred rules of ascension...." Lazarus muttered, his voice carrying more shock than rage.

The sacred rites of the Underworld existed for a reason. A prince was not simply permitted to gain access to the realm pendant until they have been crowned officially. The noble class controlled the pendant until after ascension, and any noble who go against such an act could be stripped of their title and expelled from the political order, effectively becoming outcasts in the underworld.

Only Sol had dared to violate that principle before, and even he had accomplished it through an extreme restructuring of his realm, eliminating the existing noble class and replacing it with humans who would support his ascension.

Damian had done something far more difficult. He had convinced an entire realm’s nobility to willingly support him in commiting this taboo without killing a single person.

Hagrid stared at Damian with horror as the implications finally reached him. "How did a demigod manage to convince an entire realm’s nobility to break the sacred rites of the Underworld?"

Even if Damian was a God he is bound to meet resistance which will lead to bloodshed and in turn expose the affair to the entire underworld. However, somehow Damian was able to achieve this without exposing the matter.

The fact their armies were still prepared to fight for him, proved this as well. It completely made no sense!

Damian simply stood beneath the violet radiance, his newly awakened power surging through his body as the inhabitants of Velmora continued feeding him their faith and strength.

Thud!

The central region of the battlefield shook beneath Damian’s foot as he began walking toward Lazarus. His shoulders rolled once, muscles flexing beneath his tattoos as he approached the restrained God without the slightest hesitation.

"Like I said earlier, I will keep you where you stand, until your strength is whittled away slowly..." Damian’s purple eyes burned brighter as he stopped a few dozen meters away.

His grin widened as the entire city watched through the countless water bubbles suspended across the sky.

"TODAY ALL THE INHABITANTS OF GILDREACH VAULT WILL BEND ITS KNEES TO A NEW PRINCE!"