Divine Path System
chapter-1618

"Hortus, huh." Immortal looked around, hands on his waist and nodded to himself with a satisfied smile. "I have to say, this is a good loot for killing a nobody like you."

Varian's eyes turned cold and he had a chilling smile on his face. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, forming a spiral above Immortal. The ground began to hum and the gravel started rising into the air. Air warmed up a little before it scorched up to unbearable levels.

Every beast in Hortus prostrated on the ground and looked up at the sky in fear and reverence, crying out their surrender and chanting the song of war.

Aura in Hortus revolved around Varian, pulling itself away from Immortal and pushing him near a state of aura vaccuum.

While all this happened, Immortal didn't flinch much less act. Crossing his arms, he watched everything with interest. In particular, he never stopped staring into Varian's eyes.

Those eyes…those defiant eyes…he wanted to pull them out and crush them once again. But it wasn't really the eyes that posed the problem. It's the confidence in that gaze, the flame of hope that Varian's soul bore, the defiance which coursed through every fibre of his being.

Immortal didn't want to acknowledge it but every second he watched those eyes, the feeling of inferiority surged inside him, screaming over and over again that he wasn't the best choice for this endeavor. Varian almost reached him in a shorter time, on a worse foundation, in a harsher trajectory.

His own logic told him that he should give up. But that's precisely why he hated it.

Immortal's very existence was for this holy mission, this great endeavor. Every cell of his body, every strand of his soul and every bit of his energy were all programmed for this very task.

If Varian was indeed better, Immortal as a being would lose any meaning to his existence. So, his instinct firmly rejected his logic and the result was a fierce internal dilemma that Immortal wished to resolve by breaking Varian's spirit.

'Look, this living creature is weak. He could be broken by disappointments. So, even though he had faster progress, I'm still the better pick.' To confidenly tell himself those lines, Immortal waited. And he waited with unparalleled confidence.

Since Varian pulling him into Hortus was allowed, this world should not have any divine ranking treasures. That's the second rule set by Aphosis and under the matchful eyes of his mother, there's no way that Varian could've broken it.

With 90% of a divine ranker's strength, Immortal was confident of dealing with anything non-divine.

"Do not disappoint me, Varian." He said with a polite smile, barely able to suppress the anticipation rising inside.

"Disappiont? I am the one disappointed here. Maybe no has told you and that's why you turned out like this, but let me be clear, you are a big disappointment. You aren't even the third most memorable enemy for me and I'm talking about my experience of barely three years. You know, I faced an enemy not too long ago." Varian raised his hand and a beam of brilliant light fell from the sky, bathing him in the purest of vitality and aura.

The dried up aura reserves were filled and the hidden injuries were cleaned up. "He was responsible for a lot of misery in my race and life. But after killing him and learning more about him later, I've come to respect that man a little.

I'd still kill him if I could redo everything. The deaths he caused were already far too many to pardon his life."

Varian, back at his peak, emerged out of the glow, standing straight and defiant.

For no reason, Immortal felt a sense of discomfort and frowned. "Regardless, he cared for others. He loved his wife, he would die for his daughter. But that a lot of men. Well, he carefully equally for his people. In fact, he went mad when they were driven to extinction.

That guy was a mere rank 2. He struggled all his life to get there and kept struggling even after that." A sword materialized in Varian's hand, a stone glowed on his heart and a ring shone on his finger. The light of white and black emerged from him, covering him in a mystic light. Varian's strength went from recently improved 63% to 65%, a feat that took Immortal more than twelve years.

"But you, a pampered brat who had two idiots for parents and a birth that would put you on top of everyone by simply existing…you don't know hardship, you can't compete with me in any metric, you are just a jealous bastard who can't accept reality.

Even now, you want to see me break down and validate yourself. But both of us know, even if you win this duel, my name will forever haunt your soul.

Stop pretending to be confident or self-assured. You are an insecure little pup."

"…" Immortal froze for a moment before veins popped on his forehead and he gnashed his teeth to the point they started bleeding.

It felt like he was stripped naked on the street and paraded for the crowd to see. There was no one to hear those insulting, revealing remarks and yet, he could not wait to destroy every plant and animal in this world just so he could wipe out everything which witnessed his shame.

"Varian, I tortured you to the point you couldn't even whimper. Now, I won't stop even if you beg me. It might take years or even decades, but you brought this onto yourself."

The omnious words of Immortal were followed by a lotus formed from gloomy red and a bright green that swifly emerged around him.

"Brought this onto yourself?" Varian laughed and his eyes burned with anger. "Right back at you! Oob, do it!"

Hortus shook and the full power of Heaven's Will landed on Immortal. "I-Is that all you got?" Immortal withstood the pressure with some effort and sneered in contempt.

Varian swung his sword and cut him into two.