Chapter 179: Fear Of Death.

『"The fear of death is the beginning of wisdom."』

Raj’s fist connected with the Martyr’s face with an impact loud enough to be heard three blocks away.

Malachi’s body lifted off the ground and hurtled backward, tearing through several trees before crashing into an already damaged building.

For several seconds, there was silence. Then Malachi’s laughter echoed from inside the ruined structure.

"NOW we’re talking!" He emerged from the wreckage, his jaw clearly broken even as it began healing. His grin was somehow even wider. "That HURT."

He rolled his shoulders, and the broken jaw reset with a sound that made Amara wince.

"Alright, bitch. You wanna play? Let’s play."

What followed was less a fight and more a catastrophe.

Raj expanded. Seven feet. Eight. Nine... His body kept growing, muscle and mass piling onto his already enormous frame as he pushed Juggernaut Shell to its limit.

There was no stopping him at this point.

No, that wasn’t quite right. Raj could be stopped. They just couldn’t afford to stop him yet. For now, his rampage was the only thing giving Ethan and Sophia enough room to create an opening for Amara.

As Raj’s fist hammered down around him to no avail, Malachi continued weaving between the enormous blows.

At eighteen feet tall, Raj’s movements were powerful but increasingly predictable. Malachi ducked beneath another swing, then leapt over the next.

He landed directly on Raj’s forearm, and before Raj could react, Malachi kicked him squarely in the face.

A forcefield suddenly flashed into existence between the kick and Raj’s head.

The impact still snapped Raj’s head violently to the side, but the barrier reduced the force enough for him to react immediately.

His enormous hand closed around his leg, and Malachi’s eyes widened. Then Raj swung him downward.

BOOM!

Malachi’s body was driven into the ground. He wasn’t given a chance to recover. Raj lifted him and slammed him down again. And again.

BOOM!

The earth shattered beneath each impact, craters forming one after another as Raj repeatedly spiked Malachi into the earth.

Finally, Raj hurled him away.

Malachi’s body bounced across the battlefield, skipping and rolling through the earth like a ragdoll. Each impact tore through the landscape, sending chunks of dirt and stone flying in every direction.

Without hesitation, Amara and Sophia sprinted after him.

Sophia glanced toward the towering figure of Raj. "So we’re just gonna let the big guy rage?"

Amara kept her eyes on Malachi. "I guess." Then she tightened her grip on Angel’s Bane. "But here’s our opening."

Ahead of them, Malachi finally dug his hands into the ground and forced himself to stop.

He had barely managed to halt his momentum when several enormous trees came crashing down from above.

Malachi looked up as the trunks glowed with golden energy.

"Fuck—"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The trees slammed into him all at once, obliterating the earth beneath him and sending a massive cloud of dust into the air.

Sophia hovered above the battlefield, hands extended. "Got him!"

A shockwave suddenly erupted from the dust cloud, blasting away the trees in every direction.

Sophia’s eyes widened.

And through the clearing dust came Malachi.

At the same moment, Raj approached from the left, his enormous fist cocked back. Amara came from the right, Angel’s Bane already drawn back for a Reality Slash.

Malachi’s eyes darted between them.

Left.

Right.

His gaze settled on Amara and her sword. The blade was the greater threat.

As Amara swung, Malachi caught Angel’s Bane between both hands, stopping the blade inches from his face.

At the same instant, the tattoos covering Malachi’s body began to move.

The ink detached from his skin as living scripts slithered through the air, wrapping around Raj’s incoming fist and stopping it dead.

Raj’s enormous fist strained against the bindings. Sophia stared from above. "Did anyone know he could do that?"

The scripts suddenly shot upward, lashing toward her. Sophia dodged the first tendril, then the second. However, a third wrapped around her ankle.

"Shit!"

The script yanked her downward, and Ethan immediately reacted.

A gigantic pair of blue scissors materialized in the air and snapped shut around the tendril.

SNAP!

The script was severed, freeing Sophia from its bind.

At the same time, Amara continued pushing against Malachi’s grip, her blade trembling between his hands.

Then something changed. Amara’s eyes widened as True Fire raced up Angel’s Bane and onto Malachi’s palms where he gripped it. A grin spread across her face as he immediately released his hold on the blade.

Malachi looked down at his hands, staring at the white flames that continued to burn.

"Fucking bitch!" The scripts wrapped around Raj’s fist suddenly tightened, then violently flung the giant away.

As Raj stumbled backward, Malachi spun, and his heel came around toward Amara. Fortunately, Ethan’s shield appeared just in time.

The kick struck it with a thunderous impact, but despite the barrier holding, Amara was launched backward, tumbling through the air before landing hard on the ground.

Malachi looked down at his hands, at the white flames still burning. He shook them violently. "How the fuck do I put this shit out?"

The flames didn’t disappear, and his expression twisted. "It won’t fucking turn off!"

He took a massive leap backward. "Why does it fucking hurt?!" He stared at the flames in disbelief. "Fire’s not supposed to hurt!"

His eyes suddenly settled on Ethan. More specifically, on the enormous blue scissors Ethan had created that now hovered beside him.

With that, Malachi’s expression changed. He crouched, then launched himself toward Ethan.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Huh—?"

He set his confusion aside, thrusting his hand forward, and the scissors shot forward at Malachi like a harpoon.

Malachi’s eyes narrowed as he twisted in midair. The enormous construct sailed past him, but Malachi caught one of the handles with his foot.

Using its own momentum, he swung the scissors around and deliberately severed both of his own hands with it before kicking the construct toward Ethan.

Ethan’s eyes widened as he tilted slightly to the left. The blades whistled past him and buried themselves in the ground behind him, the scissors now engulfed in white flames.

Ethan dismissed the construct before the flames could spread. Several meters away, Malachi landed and looked down at where his arms used to be.

He waited, but nothing happened. No flesh crawled across the wounds. No tattoos shifted. No regeneration.

His expression darkened. "...Shit."

Malachi was no longer smiling. He looked down at his missing hands, then toward the battlefield.

Raj was recovering. Amara was getting back onto her feet. Sophia was already airborne again, and Ethan stood nearby.

Malachi’s eyes narrowed. He could keep fighting. His adaptation was probably slowed down by that bitch’s sword. But what if it was more than that?

His tattoos and regeneration had stopped responding. And whatever that fire was, it was hurting him. Badly.

What if resurrection wasn’t possible if she was the one to do him in? What if she was the one person who could actually kill him for good?

Malachi stared toward the horizon, back at his opponents, and his jaw tightened. For once, the decision wasn’t about whether he could win. It was about whether his pride was worth dying for.

He took a slow breath as his eyes hardened. "...Fucking hell."