Chapter 242: Detonating All Noble Phantasms in the King's Treasure
The chains extended infinitely, covering not only the ground but also the sky.
Thus, it seemed not only the heavens were being locked, but the earth as well—as if the sky and land were being stitched together.
The reason chains appeared in the sky was that Shiva had moved upward.
Initially, while moving on the ground, the chains had deceitfully emerged from beneath the earth. Moving horizontally made it easy for the chains to cover a vast area quickly.
After all, not only did the spear-like tips of the chains pursue him, but the endlessly lengthening links also closed in to bind him.
So, once ground movement became impractical, Shiva ascended directly into the sky.
His movement through the air wasn't pure flight but rather leaping as if stepping on air.
If he flew outright, the release of divine power would be too conspicuous, making the pursuit tighter.
By stepping on solidified air—momentarily releasing divine power to create footholds—he could then retract the energy to enhance his body and leap through brute force.
Would suppressing the outflow of divine power stop the chains from pursuing?
Not quite.
Though their speed might slow, without divine power to aid his movement, his own speed would decrease, and he'd still be caught.
Under these circumstances, being bound was inevitable.
Thus, Shiva gripped his sword, gathering strength for a world-cleaving slash, and struck fiercely at the chains.
"What!"
He was stunned—the chains were indestructible.
Not only that, but it seemed as if the surge of divine power had provoked it instead, causing it to instantly coil up the sword like a snake.
By the time Shiva realized what was happening, the chain had already tightly wrapped around his arm.
The moment it coiled around his arm, his expression changed drastically. He could sense the peculiar nature of the chain—it was as if it was draining his strength.
Without the slightest hesitation, his hand gripping the trident swung down decisively, severing an arm in one clean motion.
Simultaneously, the chains seemed to recognize the severed arm as their target, instantly binding it tightly.
However, the restrained severed arm behaved bizarrely, as if possessing independent consciousness, frantically struggling to break free and forcing the chains to exert their full power to contain it.
Shiva, on the other hand, paid it no mind.
In truth, this was a solution Shiva had conceived the moment he severed his own arm.
By doing so, he made the chains judge the arm as the target to be bound and imprisoned.
It appeared the plan had succeeded, as the sky full of chains did not assault him.
"Excellent. Since I cannot freely release divine power, this concludes my warm-up," the God of Destruction remarked, cracking his neck.
The previous extravagant releases of divine weapon power, which seemed like formidable attacks, were merely superficial displays—his true prowess lay in his innate destructive violence.
His remaining three arms discarded the divine weapons, cracking their knuckles with unsettling sounds.
He flexed his body, his muscles becoming more pronounced, and an aura that made the atmosphere tremble emanated from his entire being.
Then, with a ferocious expression and a gaze full of destructive desire, he threw a fierce punch forward.
"Boom—!"
The majority of the weapons hurtling toward him were sent flying by the sheer physical shockwave generated by his bare fist.
After that punch, he did not immediately throw another. The subsequent barrage of weapons failed to strike him, their trajectories mysteriously distorted as if space itself had been temporarily warped by his punch, causing the incoming weapons to deflect like light refracting.
Boom—!
Boom—!
Boom—!
"Yes!"
In the Greek pantheon's seats of the arena, Ares couldn't help but punch the air with a clenched fist.
No matter how many divine weapons there were, they were useless against such absolute destructive violence.
See that, Valkyrie Brunhilde? Is this your trump card?
As if sensing his gaze, Valkyrie Brunhilde glanced over.
Just a glance—her attitude as indifferent as if she were looking at a stone on the roadside.
This reaction made Ares grit his teeth, his face contorting with rage.
"Si-sister, wh-what do we do?"
Göll panicked.
"What do we do? What can we do but watch?"
Brunhilde retorted irritably.
On the battlefield, the King of Heroes Gilgamesh remained perfectly calm and composed, showing no signs of agitation. His confident demeanor suggested he had more than just this display of power—there were surely more tricks up his sleeve.
Hmm?
Suddenly, the barrage briefly ceased. In the next instant, more golden ripples emerged behind Gilgamesh.
It seemed he intended to unleash all his divine weapons in one go.
In a flash, countless golden lights shot forth, but instead of heading directly toward Shiva, they arced high into the sky in a strangely parabolic trajectory before descending.
Then—
"Huh? None of them hit?"
"Did Shiva do something?"
"It doesn't seem that way."
"Did the King of Heroes miss on purpose?"
The visitors from parallel worlds voiced their thoughts one after another.
As he had spoken, the weapons of various shapes that fell did not strike Shiva but instead pierced the earth in a circle centered around him.
Then, as the King of Heroes slightly curled the corners of his lips, the Destroyer seemed to sense something. Just as he was about to react, a dazzling light engulfed him, the earth, the mountains, and the heavens.
Some of the gods who were still present on the scene were also swallowed by the blinding radiance.
These gods, of course, immediately realized what was happening.
The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, had detonated all his divine treasures at once.