Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 451: WE DIE TOGETHER!!

Despair, horror... Admiration, respect... Durik was assaulted by too many feelings to comprehend or process. All he could do was stare and watch as that behemoth ape roared and crashed into the gods that dared attack his home and loved ones.

As the tremors continued, cracks in the ground appeared all around the clan residence. All at once, the entire compound sank into the ground five krin.

“Escape?!” Howled the domineering ape. “NONE OF YOU WILL ESCAPE!!!”

An abundance of earth essence exploded out of the ape. It was so powerful that it felt like a mountain to Durik, who was far from the walls, barely able to stand.

“NOOOWW!!” roared the green dragon, spewing a torrent of toxic green ooze, fully engulfing the monstrous yet stationary ape.

The tiger attacked next. It snarled and dove in, leading with divine flames to protect itself from the toxic sludge and tear through the ape’s ridiculous defenses.

That blue dragon sped into action as well, spitting and throwing every spark of lightning within its being. It then dove in to slash away at the ape’s unprotected neck.

.....

No one knew why the ape stood undefended, but they would never get another chance to attack the rampaging beast freely. So even the high-kings abandoned defense and launched everything they had at the giant ape.

“NOW WE DIE TOGETHER!!!”

Hearing that howl and noticing an explosion of silver essence lockdown the area, the green dragon was weighed down and made a manic dash in retreat. He didn’t even give an order. So badly injured and weighed down from the silver essence, the green dragon could only hope to escape at the cost of the other beasts’ lives.

The tiger and blue dragon reacted only a split second later than their leader. But that split second was enough to fill them with regret.

The tiger’s leg and the dragon’s arm were suddenly locked down and shackled by the gorilla’s grip. Paired with the burdensome silver essence that slowed everyone drastically, there was no hope of escape

“DIIIIIIEE!!!!”

The entire estate abruptly plummeted deep into the ground and the surrounding area was thrown up into the air. The clan estate was gulped down the ground’s gullet as the nearby mountainside was turned into a mountain range, trapping everyone and everything that couldn’t break free of the silver energy.

Durik didn’t know that he was holding his breath, nor did he know his heart had stopped beating until a moment of silence hung in the air.

Only three beasts had managed to speed out of the engulfing mountains, and two of them only escaped due to the help of other beasts who had given up escaping.

COUGH! Cough, cough, COUGH!! THUD!

The enormous green dragon crashed into the rubble on the ground. It made no effort to soften the landing. It wouldn’t have been able to even if it had tried. There were holes in the dragon’s wings from the hundreds of boulders thrown up by the final attack. No longer was there any green ooze on the dragon’s scales, only streams of blood. And more than half of the dragon’s scales were gone with the remaining half mostly shattered.

The other two figures finally moved, showing signs of life. One beast had taken their human form and was clinging to a black halberd like her life depended on it. The other was a red dragon, vomiting so much blood that it was impossible to recognize where the dragon’s scales ended and where the river of blood began.

Limping, Durik ever so gradually approached the green dragon. With no essence or strength left, Durik could only linger by the strongest beast and hope the fight was truly over. “... Master Kartzal...”

“... Is that... you... Durik?” sighed the dragon, hardly able to turn his head. “... It is... Congratulations... Mission... accomplished...”

The moment Durik heard those words, he fell back to his hands and knees.

Durik’s mind twitched and jumped from one thought to another. He reexamined the scene of the battle. But Durik only found a mountain where the destroyed clan should be standing, about to be plundered, and uneven ground where the trophy corpses should be resting before getting looted. Mumbling, Durik broke out in hysterical laughter, “... This... This is victory?! VICTORY??!”

“... Yes,” Kartzal answered after swallowing half a dozen vials to replenish at least a morsel of energy and strength. “This... This was necessary.”

“Was it? ... Was it really?” questioned Durik, still caught up in the hysteria.

“Completely necessary,” sighed Kartzal, now able to move again. “Now, we can actually do it. Now, we can finally create an era of our own... Not one with his shadow lurking over us.”

But Durik shook his head. He said nothing more. He only thought to himself, With twenty-four gods we invaded. With three gods and two kings they defended... Then why are there only four of us left? ... Azar... The Tyrant Ape... Forgive my foolishness. Never again will I, Durik, nor my clan look down on your Tyrant Clan, nor on any powerful ape...

Aching pains spread through everyone’s minds as the reality of the memories was stripped away, forcing them to awaken inside Razor-hide Clan’s totem tower. To everyone’s shock, they were covered in sweat and blood, apart from Eeole and Durik’s soul body. But the blood was only on their torsos and chin, proving it was from vomit.

“I see... I had an idea of what happened, but I’m finally able to get a first-hand view...” Eeole sighed. Despite not being covered in blood and sweat, there was something else on his face that was even more startling. Tears.

Warak was heaving, trying his best to relax and take in what had just happened. “... This... That... That was the Demon Ape?!”

“Yes,” answered Durik, lucky to not have a physical body that would feel such repercussions.

“Azar... Azar, the Tyrant Ape...” Bradok was unfazed by the blood and sweat. His eyes were filled with utmost sorrow and absolute pride. “The Tyrant Clan... The Tyrant Clan! Our ancestor wasn’t a demon, he was a tyrant! A tyrant who killed gods like flies!”

Jarrit was speechless. He looked to Eeole briefly, getting a slight nod of confirmation. Though Jarrit didn’t share his current thoughts with the others, there was no doubt that he also now revered the almighty Tyrant Ape.