Born With A Divine System

CHAPTER 43: GODSPEED

The doors of a room swung open, as a lone figure stepped through. The room was a symphony of dread, its very air thick with the weight of chaos. Along towering walls, rows of blood-red marbles gleamed, cold and pale, each one etched with ancient, symbols that glowed with a faint light of flickering existence. These symbols, carved in some archaic tongue, bound the souls of the cult, their lives immortalized in each lifeless orb. The walls, suffocating in their density, whispered of countless lives claimed by the leader. At the room's heart, a simple office desk was stationed, it was here, the cult leader sat in brooding silence.

"So much to do and so little time." He vented in frustration.

"Because of Diablo's damn invasion, I now have to rush all my plans."

It was then that something caught his eye, as tens of orbs suddenly dulled to a grey color at once.

"They were all members of the Mason City branch." He thought aloud.

Deciding to pay attention to the scene on ground.

Beneath a mountain of rubble, Angelo lay, barely clinging to the threads of consciousness. His face, bloodied and his flesh seared, bore the marks of his downfall. In one cruel instant, all he had built, all he had schemed for; his men, his empire, his power, had been obliterated. The gifts bestowed upon him by the Cult's leader, now reduced to ash.

"Keeping her alive was a mistake," he rasped, his voice ragged.

The world around him felt distant, a haze of smoke and chaos. His mind, shattered by the blast, struggled to make sense of the carnage. Part of this disorientation came from the toll exacted by his cursed skill, *External Perception*, another twisted skill from the Cult head's arsenal. The ability to warp time itself, slowing it to a crawl within a two hundred meter radius, had been his greatest weapon. Although, the price was great as each use gnawed away a decade of his lifespan.

He used it as his lifeline, a way to seize victory in any battle. But now, due to its toll, he was left hollow, dazed, and scarcely aware of the passing moments.

"I'll let those two deal with her." He murmured, the words barely audible. "While I... recover."

And so, Angelo lay beneath the ruins of his empire.

Somewhere within the shattered landscape, Zeke and Raymond lay amidst the wreckage, their bodies bruised by the inferno that had engulfed them. But they were not ordinary men. Cultivators of their caliber could endure much worse.. Rising to his feet first, Zeke helped his subordinate to his feet. But as they got a look at the new state if things, the carnage that stretched before them was unimaginable; a hellscape of destruction.

"How... is this possible?" Raymond muttered, his voice trembling with disbelief.

"It was her. That damned cripple."

Zeke's words were laced with venom as his fists tightened. Rage and fury coursed through him like wildfire, consuming every fibre of his being.

"Raymond." He growled, eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

"I'm gonna find her, and then I'm gonna grind her bones to dust."A shadow fell over Zeke's face, his expression dark and unforgiving.

"How do you know she's alive boss?" Raymond asked, uncertainty in his voice.

Zeke's glare hardened, his entire presence brimming with violent energy.

"If she isn't." He hissed.

"I'll drag her back from hell so I can kill her again!" He exclaimed bloodlusted.

His energy exploded in a tangible wave, blasting away all the rubble into the air. The ground beneath them quaked as his fiery red energy swirled around him like a tempest. With a single motion, he raised his left hand, and his energy condensed into a scarlet Qi blade.