Chapter 65: Ch 65 : Xar’gath, the legion born

Sunny was about to descend, his divine body eager to enter Veridia, but the cold, logical voice of Thea made him stop. "Master," she began, her tone a perfect blend of a loyal secretary "according to the data from your last few visits to Veridia, and comparing it with the strength and intelligence of the life forms, I have calculated that with your current faith reserves..." Thea paused, and in that brief silence, Sunny felt a dramatic tension swell in his heart. He was ready for a direct confrontation, but he needed a clear calculation of his power. "...You would only be able to stay there for 100 seconds," Thea finally spat out the last words, her voice devoid of emotion, a stark contrast to the gravity of the situation. "That’s still good," Sunny said, a hint of defiance in his voice. "I can take care of him before that." He was about to descend, but Thea’s voice stopped him once more. "Master, currently there is a 90% chance of this demon perishing from your demigods," she stated, her words a calm, confident analysis of the situation. "And the 197 talents are all due to his innate SS-Grade talent of Talent-Carrier. This talent allows him to use the talents of every being whose head he carries on his back. Though the weight of every head increases exponentially" Sunny decided to trust Thea’s judgment. He knew that fighting a demigod was not fitting for a God, and Thea’s data-driven analysis was rarely wrong. But he remained vigilant, ready to descend at a moment’s notice should a mishap occur. For now, the fight belonged to the Demigods, and in the fights of gods, mortals always suffer. Thorn, though his body was stabilized, was still under the constant, crushing pressure of the demon’s presence. Nova, noticing this, immediately teleported Thorn, Anaske, and the human demigod to a distant, secure location. With the lifeforms out of the battle ground. she returned, her eyes blazing with determination. Time slowed to a crawl around Xar’gath, and in a flash, Nova was on him, her fist aimed directly at his face. "Oh, time magic? That’s quite rare. I would take your head along with that talent of yours," the demon said, his voice a mocking growl that was somehow both bone-chillingly cold and full of manic glee. He stopped Nova’s blow with a single hand and punched back with the other. Nova immediately opened a portal where the demon was going to attack her, causing his hand to go through it instead of hitting her. Nova smirked and instantly closed the portal, severing the hand of the demon. "Haha, even spatial magic too. You are truly a feast in my eyes," the demon said this but still stepped back to create distance, a flicker of genuine interest in his eyes. His lost hand immediately regenerated back. "I am Xar’gath, a Legion-Born," the demonic voice echoed, a name that struck a chord of cosmic horror in Sunny’s mind. Sunny was astonished by the title "Legion-Born." These were not just powerful demons; they were beings created by the Demonic Realm itself. They were not gods, but they possessed the strength of a top-tier demigod from birth. The demon’s very presence polluted the otherwise pristine air of Veridia. His most striking and grotesque feature was the collection of pallid, screaming heads fused to his back. These weren’t mere trophies; they seemed to be eternally suffering entities, their silent screams adding a layer of psychological horror to his already terrifying visage. Large, curved horns jutted from his own masked head, the skull-like visage obscuring his true face and housing glowing red eyes that pierced the serene quiet of Veridia. His body was a grotesque display of brute force, muscles unnaturally swollen and bruised with a purplish tint straining against tattered rags. Oversized hands with brutal claws hung low, and hooved feet left deep impressions in the soft soil of Veridia. "I am under the order of the Demon Lord, Deimos, to test your strength," Xar’gath said, his voice laced with a condescending tone. "Your God should also join the fight, as you all are clearly not my match." "I alone am enough," Nova said calmly, her eyes fixed on the grotesque figure. A clone of Umbra, already present in Veridia, connected with Nova, providing her with two powerful buffs: one for strength and another for magic. The remaining demigods didn’t stay idle. Though they had only a single talent to work with for now (since the 500-year mark for a new talent was not yet reached), they all began to attack. As they collectively assaulted the demon, Xar’gath began to feel a sliver of pressure for the first time. Just then, a screaming head of a creature flew out of Xar’gath’s back. Every demigod jumped back, trying to guess what was going on. The head flew directly towards them and exploded midair, a detonation of pure demonic energy that damaged many of them. A single explosion was enough to take down a few, and Xar’gath still had 195 heads on his back. The battle raged back and forth, a flurry of attacks and defenses. Xar’gath was now panting, with many of the heads on his back lost. Nova, even with her Absolute Defense, was disheveled. Blood gushed from every corner of her body. It was a clear testament to Xar’gath’s power, as all the other demigods were either blown to smithereens or badly wounded. Only Nova and the demigod of the humans were left standing. Yet, Xar’gath still had 30 heads remaining on his back. "Ahh, I really like it when I lose these heads. They are too burdensome to carry around," Xar’gath said, his panting face returning to normal, his voice once again full of a terrifying glee. It felt like he was toying with them, but only Sunny knew the truth. Sunny opened the description of Xar’gath and saw that only 31 talents were now listed. And all of them were S-Grade or higher, unlike the talents of the heads he had lost. "I would return to the demon realm for now, as your strength is clearly too weak," Xar’gath said, and with a final, condescending glance, he dissolved into nothingness. Sunny heaved a sigh of relief and immediately used a billion faith points to return the bodies of all the demigods to normal. Many were still in shock from the explosions that had blown them apart. Others, however, were filled with a burning, righteous fury, resolute on taking revenge against the demon that had just came to bully them.