The Seraphic System

The Seraphic System

Chapter: 45

Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance. I'll keep posting regardless. If you have any suggestions you would like to see added, I will try to incorporate what I can :)

(A Divine Form?)

The world around me flashed in a golden light and suddenly found myself back to the location I had been when I had touched the True Longinus. 

Or at least I thought so, since I was now in a massive crater. 

The True Longinus Spear was next to Cao Cao once more. Whose body was close by but not in the same location it had been in when I had last seen it. It also looked a lot duller than before. Its bright lustre had vanished. 

I winced as I felt a sharp pain flooding my body. I looked at my arms expecting to see some wounds, but fortunately they have been mysteriously healed. 

The wounds that had been healing were fully closed. The strange celestial Aura was still around me, with two massive pearly white wings stretched out behind me. 

Ares was standing opposite to me and was looking at me in bewilderment and a small amount of fear. His burning eyes narrowed. The cocky smirk wiped off his face. 

Percy and Medusa were nowhere to be seen. Which wasn't surprising. Since the battlefield was now a massive crater. Akin to the crater Naruto had fought Pein in.

Most worryingly was I couldn't spot Avael. 

That experience had flown past me. The strange memories of watching Christ be put on a cross and suddenly being surrounded by Angels calling for me was… surreal. 

Had that seriously just happened? I wasn't dead and Ares was still here, I think I had been teleported somewhere while this had all played out. Also why was there a massive crater around us now? Had I done that? 

My body was floating in the air, a few metres off the ground. My aura casting a bluish-white glow and my wings causing a shadow to outstretch across the crater. 

A system notification popped up. 

For evolving you have earnt:

40 STR

20 DEX

80 MAG

An insane amount of power entered my limbs. My muscles rippled painfully and my magic exploded out of me. The strange aura became denser and small orbs of light cascading off me. 

I gritted my teeth. The pain of receiving such a sudden boost in power being excruciating 

First inherited Skill unlocked.

[Judgement] (LVL: 1000/1000) {Godly}

Judgement forces the target to relive every sin they've ever committed but from the perspective of their victims. With a single point of the user's finger.

My eyes widened, a jolt running through my body. My hair stood on their ends as I processed the description of the fully maxed out skill. 

I had no idea how I'd acquired something so powerful, and the thought alone sent a shiver of fear and wonder down my spine. Even if I am assuming it was the shard, how and why did I gain powers from it?

As for the skill It looked simple in its function but the actual power was terrifying. Also, why was it max ranked?! I had never seen something fully capped at the max rank. 

I hadn't even known the name of the max rank, even if I had theories that it was something related to divinity.

I felt something else increase, the light around me becoming downright malleable. My hand massaged my forehead as I felt a burst of Information flow to the front of my mind. 

Another notification popped up.

Shard has influenced [Light Embodiment] and [Holy Power Manipulation]

[Light Embodiment] (LVL: 50/100) {Adept}

[Through the evolution of Light manipulation you have gained the skill Light embodiment, a much more powerful version of light manipulation. Allowing the user to not only manipulate, but incorporate and embody the element of light.]

[Passive Effect: Reduces light usage cost by 80% increases light attacks by 130% Negates all regular physical damage by 100%]

[Holy Power Manipulation] (LVL: 100/200) {Master}

[Holy Power Manipulation is a sacred and divine ability that allows its wielder to channel and control the forces of pure righteousness and divine energy. Those blessed with this power possess a deep connection to the divine, enabling them to shape and direct holy energies for various purposes.

With Holy Power Manipulation, the user can generate and radiate a powerful aura of pure light and divine energy. This radiant aura can inspire courage and hope in allies, while striking fear and weakness into the hearts of darkness and evil. The intensity of this holy aura can be adjusted, ranging from a gentle glow to a blinding brilliance that sears the eyes of malevolent entities.]

[Passive effect: Reduces holy power cost by 40%]

There was an almost solidified aura of light around me. I reached out a hand in curiousity and clenched it around the light. Instead of trying to resist the change in its shape like a solid, it bent to my will.  

The Shard I had gotten from the spear was seemingly acting as some sort of inheritance, like a much more powerful version of the one Namara had bestowed me with.

This felt much more powerful and comfortable around the light. I felt like I could look at this light for eternity and still not get blinded. My connection with my light has definitely undergone a qualitative change. 

I could feel it.

[Divine Shard] {Progress: 0%}

[The Shard of ?]

Divine Shard has sensed Danger. 

Divine Shard has influenced residue Divine power.

Divine Shard is temporarily unlocking locked features with residue faith power and left over divine power.

Out of sheer excitement, I rushed to check my status and felt my cheeks bulge with air as I nearly laughed at the absurdity of it.

This was my current status.

{Name: Kai}

{Power level: 11,270 (48,650)

{STR: 189 (800)

{DEX: 160 (800)

{VIT: 120 (800)

{MAG: 239 (800)

{CHA: 50

The aura around me thickened as I felt the shard that had entered my body shift. A titanic amount of power entering my body. 

My body floated to the ground, my bare feet touching the cold earth. Despite the ground being icy, I felt a burning hot malice build in my heart after looking at the pensive Ares. 

My thoughts started getting hazy. 

What the hell is going on now?!

I sweeped my gaze around the area, yet I couldn't see Avael. I felt a creeping sense of worry enter my heart.

Had she fought him in my absence? I suddenly saw images of a hurt and weeping Avael flash through my mind. It didn't help that images of my other Angel who had been tortured overlapped with hers in my mind.

I felt my veins burn with anger at even the thought of losing yet another of my angels. No. It would be different this time.

Ascension process unfinished, activating defence. 

Semi-divine form (underpowered) activated. 

Ares was looking at me warily, his eyes wide.

My mind went peaceful, my emotions growing distant as I stared at the arrogant God. 

"Fuck."

A powerful divine aura exploded out of him just in time, a divine aura covering his body and his muscular frame growing bigger. 

The air cracked like thunder as I appeared in front of Ares, no warning, no sound to announce my arrival. The world bent around me with a power that would leave me gobsmacked if my mind didn't feel so weird. 

His eyes widened in sheer panic, his divine aura barely flaring to life in time to shield him as my fist drove into his chest. 

The impact was cataclysmic, his feet gouged trenches into the earth as he was forced back, his armour groaning under the pressure. A shockwave obliterated everything around us. 

Ares snarled, his divine form stabilising as the war domain around him flared to life. 

Shields of shimmering energy formed, encasing him in an unbreakable defence, their purpose to turn aside any assault. 

His hammer swung down in a blinding arc, aiming to crush me under its overwhelming weight.

I didn't flinch. My hand shot out, catching the hammer mid-swing. I looked at it with a detached interest. 

The force rippled through the ground, but I held firm. Ares stared in disbelief as I yanked the hammer free and hurled it aside like a toy. 

His shields shifted, glowing brighter as the War Domain unleashed Unyielding Offense. 

Dozens of ethereal barriers surged forward, weaving and striking like serpents. They were unbreakable, unstoppable at least that's what I assumed they were meant to be.

I moved faster. My body blurred as I stepped through his defences, each shield crumbling under the sheer velocity of my strikes. 

Before Ares could react, I was behind him, a kick driving into the back of his knee and forcing him to stumble. Light chains ripped through reality and forced him to barely retreat, one piercing through his arms which he was forced to cut off.

His roar of fury echoed as he spun, throwing wild punches and conjuring bursts of divine energy to overwhelm me. I sidestepped effortlessly, every blow missing by the width of a hair. 

His hammer reappeared in his grip and he swung with reckless abandon, the air splitting from the force.

I met him head-on, my fist slamming into his hammer as I closed the distance. 

The weapon was flung away. 

His expression twisted from rage to outright disbelief as I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him clean off the ground.

"You're supposed to be a god," I said apathetically, driving my knee into his chest. 

The sound of ribs cracking was unmistakable as Ares flew backward, skidding across the ruined battlefield.

He staggered to his feet, his War Domain surging one last time. The shields reformed around him, denser and brighter than ever, their edges crackling with raw power. 

He charged, his roar shaking the heavens.

He swung a punch, I slapped his punch away and kneed his stomach. Proceeding to punch him hard enough he was sent flying away, only to be yanked back by an abrupt chain of light that burnt his leg. 

Ares wobbled back. 

"W-what the fuck." 

For the first time, there was fear in his eyes.

I leaned in close, my voice calm but razor-sharp. "You're outmatched."

I drove him into the ground with a final strike, his divine form flickering and breaking apart under the pressure. I could see his body trying to heal, some sort of divine healing. 

He was kicked away and my hand raised, power gathered. 

Before I could take a breath, a jarring alert flared in my mind.

Ascension process complete. 

Divine form running out of power. Please unlock more of the shard to maintain divine abilities.

The light around me dimmed, my strength rapidly draining. 

Semi-Divine Form (Underpowered) [Passive] [UNCHARGED]

A semi-divine transformation that can only be sustained for fifty seconds once fully charged. Activation requires the metre to be fully charged with holy power.

[Holy Power Stored: 0/10,000]

My knees threatened to buckle as the overwhelming power slipped from my grasp. 

So this was what powered me? That certainly didn't feel like fifty seconds, that had been more like twenty to thirty.

You were using residue power, it ran out and the form couldn't be sustained any longer than that. 

I cursed. I kneeled, my mind coming back as the events of what had just transpired played through my mind.

That power… I wanted it back. How do I get it back?

I tried to activate the new form. I couldn't even feel as excited as I would normally be. My mind was focused on Avael and the others. Along with my own survival. 

Power Stored is insufficient for activation. 

I suddenly felt that I was losing control of my body. In no time, I found myself falling to the ground. 

Fuck. I didn't have time to think about this. 

My body weakened, the normal presence of my strength absent in my muscles. I was completely spent.

My body was burning with pain and with a glance I realised my body was literally burnt. It must have been hosting that insane power. 

My eyes absently flickered to the site of shards of golden energy falling from around us, I was assuming that was the barrier that had been set around me when Ares had arrived. 

Which was why Gabriel hadn't arrived. 

I had just destroyed it. 

I was still reeling from all the discoveries, but for now I had to focus even if my mind felt fuzzy from those memories. I hadn't just witnessed them, they had also been inserted into my mind.

Ares slowly took a step forward, getting up and wiping blood from his mouth. His eyes looked at me nervously. An item appeared in his hand and a black purple power covered him briefly, his slowly healing wounds accelerated in their healing process. 

He cracked his neck, the damage I had done mostly healed. I could see he was still hurt despite this though. 

"…"

What was that?!

"I had to admit, you had me worried there for a moment kid." Ares spoke only to pause. "It's a good thing I have friends in low places, or I may have been healing for a good few days." 

"Or whatever Angel you are that seems to take the form of a child. Hell, I even thought you were the King Of Heaven himself for a moment." He chuckled, only to sputter into a coughing fit. 

I opted to remain silent as Ares talked.  

"I do have to wonder what that was, that insane amount of power perhaps a failed attempt and resonating with the True Longinus? Though you now possess a strange aura coating your body so perhaps semi-failed? I suppose it didn't matter in the end." Ares mused. "I can see now it was only temporary, hell. Your body could barely even stay together by the looks of it."

His hand was held out and the weapon that had been flung so far away flew back. He spun the newly transformed spear in his hand, as if his weapon had been chosen to mock my supposed failed attempt. 

Judging by the wicked smile on his face I was guessing that's what he was going for.

"Where is Avael?" I questioned weakly. 

System, is there anyway to get that power back? 

I'm sorry Kai, that was temporary and an effect of the ascension process. You should be overjoyed that you even got access to the underpowered Divine form. 

What?

I didn't receive an answer. 

{Name: Kai}

{Power level: 11,270}

{STR: 189 

{DEX: 160 

{VIT: 120 

{MAG: 239 

{CHA: 50

He raised an eyebrow as he slowly but surely approached me. 

I don't think he noticed that the barrier had broken.

"Hm? Are you perhaps referring to that Angel? Well, she fought valiantly. At the end of the day I am The God Of War." He laughed, as if telling some funny joke.

Despite his casual demeanour I could see him warily keeping his space, the only reason he hadn't killed me was because he was worried about that power coming back to me. 

My chest tightened and my mind raced. I had ordered Avael to protect the others and to get them to safety if the fight had escalated, but then again it's Avael.

I didn't know if Ares was doing this to put me off my game or perhaps out of spite. Throwing your enemy off with words was a classic battle tactic but why would Ares use it now? By all means in his eyes I was a defeated opponent. 

I hadn't been gone for long, I knew that much at least. Perhaps Avael escaped with the others? 

My fists clenched. Nails digging into my skin. 

Damn it, maybe I should have summoned her siblings to accompany her. I had been hesitant. 

Avael had shown herself a quick thinker and above the others in skill. Which was why I had chosen to only summon her, summoning the others would draw a bigger target. 

"Was she important to you?" Ares asked.

He knew she was. My face twisted. 

I was going to kill this arrogant God. 

"What? No snarky comments now huh?" He chuckled.

He was close to me.

There was only one other thing I could use now. 

"Hey, Ares, how many Sins would you say you've committed in your long miserable lifetime?" I asked, my lips twisted into a sadistic smile.

He paused, his approach slowing. He was now only a dozen metres from me.

"What?" He asked.

"I suppose asking a dumb monkey brained fool like you to tally up your sins would be too much to ask. Let me try something else, have you ever heard of karma?" I maliciously questioned.

I was going to enjoy this. I knew that speaking so much was idiotic and it was unlike me but i really wanted to savour this moment.

"What are you talking about brat, has the effects of my beating finally shown itself?" He growled.

His body fazed and warped presumably due to the Helms influence. A dark aura exploded out as the Helm reacted to Ares' rage. It didn't affect me though since my mind was immune to all mental attacks. 

"Karma is based on a person's actions. Good deeds generate good karma which brings good luck and bad deeds bring bad karma which will come around bad luck." I explained gleefully. My anger reached a boiling point as I spoke.

I wanted him to remember this, I wanted this to scare him. I wouldn't be able to kill him on this day but I would let this pathetic God wallow in an experience he would never forget.

My angelic instincts were oddly quiet. 

Ares raised his spear, his face red in rage.

"I think it's time I finally shut you up." He raged.

"What goes around comes around and you are overdue on tax." I roared.

I pointed my finger weakly.

"Judgement." I shouted, my voice echoing and a large amount of my angelic mana being drained. 

Ares dropped his spear. His eyes turned black and unfocused. Tears soon fell down his face as he fell to his knees. In the next few seconds he screamed in agony. 

The Helm slipped off his head, Ares thrashing around and ending up kneeling on the ground.

I didn't waste this opportunity, using my remaining strength to crawl towards him. My hand making contact with the Helm and instantly being stored within my inventory.

Ares burning eyes appeared only a few seconds after, the blackness of the strange divine technique I had inherited receding. He didn't even seem to notice his Helm was gone. His breathing strained and his eyes wide. 

The god's body shook and his head snapped up to me.

"What was that?" He shouted, the undeniable hint of fear in his voice. 

"Karma." I sneered. Pointing towards him again. 

"No!" He roared. Desperation and anger in his voice. Which was understandable, he had just experienced the lifetimes of Sins from his victims perspective. As a Greek God that must have been horrifying. 

Divine energy exploded out from him. 

"I won't let you make me experience that again, how-HOW DARE YOU!" Ares' voice echoed.

His divine form was still active, I was fucked. 

Ares' body sparkled. His divine form causing the space around him to fluctuate. The air shimmering and bending. His spear was in his hand once more with an aura of golden red surrounding it now. 

I prepared to enter my sub-dimension. I was a split second from exiting. Only to sense a familiar power incoming like a nuke. The shine of holy light flashing before Ares' body vanished and suddenly a massive explosion erupted further away.

Gabriel was suddenly in front of me, a flash of light being the only indication of movement from her. Gabriel's soft concerned eyes took in my tired visage. I noted her eyes linger on the strange aura surrounding me.

My Angel wings had receded back into my back now so she luckily hadn't seen my change. 

"I shouldn't have let you out of my sight, please forgive me." She mumbled, stroking my hair gently before a glowing light enveloped me. 

She quickly wrapped me in a hug. I felt myself nearly pass out in her arms, I was spent. I felt the burns on my body vanish as she healed me. 

The ground exploded a bit away and Ares came shooting up into the sky. 

Gabriel's concerned face became cold, her eyes empty and lips thinned. She stood in front of me protectively. 

-{Gabriel}-

Gabriel contained her anger from ballooning into hatred with practised ease. The amount of times she had nearly fallen back when her Father had died had allowed her to keep her emotions from growing too far. 

There was a certain threshold that your negative emotions had to fall into for you to fall. Since God had known that expecting Angels to be completely pure with the darkness that lingered in the world would be an impossibility.

Her eyes scanned the figure she had quickly realised to be the Greek God Of War coldly. 

She had finally reached Kai. The thought that he had been struggling in a fight with a God while she had been searching for him hurt her heart. She had felt him instantly as what she presumed was a barrier made out of divine energy dropped. 

It was common for Gods to use Divine Barriers to keep people from interfering. It was a part of the common divine arts. 

Her eyes lingered on the strange aura surrounding his body, it felt familiar. It was Kai's original singature but there was something else that made her feel nostalgic and weirdly protective. She couldn't focus on that for now though.

"Leave and I won't have to hurt you." She offered coldly.

She already knew he wouldn't accept, the God was too prideful and lustful judging by the way his gaze leered at her. But she still had to offer, if for the sake of her own consciousness. 

Gabriel didn't enjoy hurting people. It was against her caring nature as an Angel. It was unfortunate that she had been so good at it during the war.

Ares sneered. 

"Give me that little monster and I'll let this slight go unanswered." He retorted. 

Gabriel summoned a halberd, its sharp gleaming edge tinted with a golden metal. Her body tensed and her mind began to look for signs of weakness from Ares. In Gabriel's mind. If Ares seeked to hurt Kai, then he needed to be put down. 

"Why do you want Kai?" She questioned defensively.

Ares' weapon morphed and turned into a large hammer. 

Ares bellowed, his voice echoing with fury. "That little rat dared to use his freakish power on me!" His fists clenched tightly at his sides, trembling with rage. 

"That little monster needs to be put down like the little shit he is. I'm going to kill him for what he put me through!" His eyes blazed, the veins in his neck bulging as he spat out the words.

Her eyes briefly flickered to Kai's face, which was equally as cold as her. A hint of rage in his eyes that made her feel surprised. She felt her anger at Ares grow.

'Just what has this God done?' 

It hurt her heart to see such a cold expression on one of her own faces. Her eyes tightened and time slowed down to a crawl around her. She resolved to banish this sinful God's presence from this world. 

'Heavenly Domain Skill: Speed Of The Divine Messenger.'

Gabriel activated one of her Heavenly Domain Skills right off the bat. 

These abilities were tied directly to an Angel's Heavenly Domain, a gift only the Arch-Angels and Seraphs of Heaven received from their Father. A Heavenly Domain was similar to a God's Domain, though slightly less powerful.

Heavenly Domain skills were normally held in reserve for the strain they caused on the body. It was the ultimate set of skills for any Arch-Seraph or Seraph. Above the normal set of Angelic Skills. It allowed them to fight above their weight class. 

A flash of light and she was in front of the arrogant War God. The Halberd she wielded striking out in an instant. Heavenly steel met celestial bronze steel as Ares barely kept up with her speed. A splash of sparks erupted from the collision. 

A thin cut appeared on Ares throat, ichor leaking from the wound that had nearly been fatal. 

That alone seemingly nearly made him decide to flee. After all, There was a reason Gods rarely fought in their divine form often, if they were killed in their divine form they would permanently fade. 

Gabriel spun her Halberd and Ares was forced to block two swings, her speed being that of a blur to Ares. Three more rapid swings and a long cut was engraved on his armour. 

He scowled furiously, trying to swing back only to be forced back into defence as Gabriel dodged and more precise strikes were thrown back at him. A deep cut appeared on an opening Ares armour didn't cover. 

Ares jumped back, attempting to gain some space with the ground exploding underneath him from the force. Only for Gabriel to easily keep up with him. As the previous messenger of God her build was mostly in speed. 

So while Ares possessed mightier strength it didn't help him as she danced around him with the help of her divine skill on top of that. 

"Enough!" He roared in fury. "War Domain: Unyielding Offence." 

A baleful red see-through shield appeared as Gabriel sent dozens of strikes at Ares. The energy shield easily deflecting the speed-based attacks. She flew up and avoided the swing of his hammer.

Ares' hammer shifted into an axe and he followed her up. 

Gabriel's eyes took in the surroundings. Worriedly looking at all the humans in the very far distance rushing away. Her eyes took in Kai who was now further back due to the shockwaves caused from the impact. Which forced him back into a further distance.

In that exchange only a dozen seconds had passed. Gabriel mentally thanked her Father that the area had already been cleared, even if many humans had died in the process. 

She tapped into her Angelic Mana pool and holy light condensed behind her, quickly forming a shining cross. There was power to be found in her Father's cross. 

The cross was like a beacon in the sky. The air around it shimmering and distorting from the sheer power. She made sure not to make it explosive, less she wiped out the entire city by accident. 

She waved her hand, and the light cross shot toward the rapidly approaching Ares.

The holy light cross struck the divine barrier, but all it managed was to push Ares back, halting his momentum without breaking through. Gabriel remained unfazed as ten more holy light crosses formed behind her.

The barrier buckled and twisted under the immense force, diverting Ares' attention. In that brief moment, she appeared behind him, her halberd flashing as she struck the barrier with rapid blows.

The blade of her halberd shimmered with a thin line of holy power, amplifying its impact. The barrier crumbled under the relentless assault, forcing Ares to retreat.

Ares swiped his axe.

"αδίκημα"

A massive energy blade was sent towards her  and she flickered out of the way. 

"War Domain: Wrath of War" Gabriel heard him mutter.

The sky was split apart. 

-{Kai}-

I tore my eyes away from the two Titans of power clashing up in the sky. I couldn't even see them move.  All I could see was the aftermath of their clashes, shockwaves and explosions weaving into each other to create chaos. 

To think I had been at that level of power just a moment ago.

My chakra eyes couldn't even be activated, the air so saturated with power it left me blinded. This was true power, the type of power I wanted. I felt my spirit become stronger as I watched the battle pass every second. 

I had to stop myself from watching the aftermath play out.  

I needed to find Avael and the others, if she was alive in any case, I thought darkly. I hoped Ares was just saying that to get a rise out of me but there was a real possibility he had killed her.

Though, I doubted Ares and Gabriel would allow me to leave so brazenly. Each for different reasons.  So I needed to think of a way to temporarily escape them. 

My magic reserves were massive now even if a large part of it had been spent in the previous battle with Ares. That along with my new mastery of light embodiment made the light around me feel more malleable than it had ever been. 

An idea began to form.

I bet I could use light to make myself faster at this point, but they would obviously see that. Unless I attempted to make it invisible. Then again, they were probably idly keeping an eye on me. Even if they seemed in the midst of an intense battle. 

An illusion…

That was my conclusion. By manipulating the light around me, I could turn transparent and craft a convincing illusion with my newfound mastery of light. 

My Light Embodiment skill had been difficult to level up because it was a higher-tier ability compared to simple light manipulation. In fact, reaching the adept rank likely meant it was on par with whatever came beyond the master rank in light manipulation.

Could I pull it off without being caught? 

I was watching two beings currently far above my level of power fight right now. I couldn't get involved, even if I wanted to use Judgement I would need to be able to point at Ares.

Slowly, I reached out with my light magic. In an instant, a body identical to mine appeared in front of me and I bent the light around me to conceal myself. 

I waited with baited breath. Watching the battle continue on in complete silence. I had used all the mastery and power I could in that moment. The illusion was powerful. Ordinarily in a battle it wouldn't be worth it. 

A considerable amount of angelic mana had been infused into it. 

I backed away, watching the battle continue without any hitch. They must be pretty focused, but I imagine that would be the case when both of them were throwing out such powerful attacks.

In a moment, the sky tore in half as Ares called down some attack and I instantly retreated as quickly as I could. Even as Gabriel erected a massive barrier of holy light to defend against it.

The main thought I had as I reached the boundary of the massive crater and area of destruction. 

I needed to find Percy and hopefully Avael by association or at least find out what happened. 

-END-

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