THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 763 A Chapter Written in Death (1)

Thanatos Nightborne... a primordial beast from the age right after the Wars of Oblivion and the vanishing of history's record-keepers.

A figure that embodied death in every sense.

Legends told of him commanding vast hordes of undead forces, unleashing devastation and destruction, as his rule stretched over immense stretches of the universe...

Thanatos struck fear with his personal might... yet his real threat stemmed from those legions, made up of mighty entities he had slain with his own hands.

At this moment, that beast had come back—with his focus locked on Amon.

The Eleventh-Rank High Demon scarcely had a moment to recover his breath or shift his eyes, since Thanatos zeroed in on him without mercy.

Amon succeeded in parrying Thanatos' attack, though the immense force hurled him backward over a huge span, slamming him hard into the earth.

Regaining his balance, Amon glanced upward at this fresh adversary, then stretched his arms sequentially.

"One punch alone managed to deaden my arms..."

That initial exchange was all Amon needed to comprehend the overwhelming scale of his foe's strength... and to identify who he truly was.

Creatures resembling Thanatos were exceedingly rare.

His skin, pale and gray like ashes.

Eyes merely empty voids, shining with an eerie blue glow.

And lips stitched closed by dark threads, as though an attempt had been made to mute him forever.

"It's clear as day... You're Thanatos, right?" Amon questioned while Thanatos advanced gradually.

"You... possess great strength. That strike was meant to end your life."

Those words emerged from Thanatos' lips in a rough, rasping tone... akin to murmurs emerging from the depths of the underworld.

Thanatos directed a look toward his rival... then toward the surrounding field of combat... and lastly toward his own form.

"How many years have passed? For how long was I absent?"

He tightened his grip into a fist while his energy flared up threateningly.

Amon countered by invoking his Transparent World, readying himself for the fight.

However, Thanatos displayed zero response to this—opting instead to keep scanning his environment.

"The Soul Bearers elude my detection... or rather, they've transformed. And there's that cursed Demon King as well..."

As soon as Agaroth entered his thoughts, raw anger twisted across Thanatos' warped features.

"He didn't merely steal the Death Soul from me... he even had the audacity to bestow it upon some worthless being too. That foul creature...!"

Thanatos hid his face, masking the ugliness fueled by boiling wrath.

Bits and pieces of Agaroth's visage gradually reemerged in his recollections... the Demon King he had clashed with in ancient times.

Even with Thanatos' infinite troops...

Even with the scores of SSS-rank fighters and higher that he had collected himself...

Even while grasping the Death Soul in those days...

All of it proved insufficient.

Agaroth wiped them out completely, cutting them down individually.

It was a savage, world-rending confrontation... but regardless of Thanatos' efforts, he couldn't halt the advance.

The Demon King butchered every last one amid fits of laughter, delighting in the slaughter...

Treating Thanatos like a mere common fighter, instead of death incarnate.

"Unforgivable..."

Thanatos gnashed his teeth while his presence exploded outward from nothing, surprise etching onto Amon's countenance.

"Unforgivable!!"

He bellowed, his vacant eyes piercing the demon in front of him.

"The mere thought of that scum fills me with fury... and here you are, carrying the stench of that same repulsive aura."

"I shall end you right here, minion of that despicable Demon King."

Thanatos lifted his arm... and a surge of shadows barreled over the whole area.

Moments afterward, the ground started to tremble fiercely.

Out from under the dirt, bony claws erupted—remains of the ancient deceased, beings whose eras had concluded eons before.

Still, they ascended once more, heeding his summons.

Within seconds, a horde of undead swarmed the combat zone, as Thanatos lunged directly toward Amon, smashing into him with devastating impact.

Simultaneously...

Frey remained close by, clutching Abraham firmly.

Abraham twisted in torment, deeply disturbing Frey... Thanatos' recent action had stirred the dark mist encircling him into a wild frenzy.

It seemed Abraham was battling an inner force, striving fiercely to hold it back... stopping it from delving further.

Frey's eyes flicked from his father to the raging fight and the skeleton mob charging wildly at Amon.

His thoughts emptied... overwhelmed by the unfolding events.

Gehrman's call pierced the turmoil then, pulling him back to reality.

"This is your moment, Frey! Grab your family and escape now!"

Gehrman gestured for Frey to run—yet Frey had no plans to comply.

"No. I won't flee."

He answered icily as purple Soulfire blazed over his frame, murderous resolve bursting forth from within.

"I have no idea what that beast is that popped up from nowhere... but one fact is certain. He's a foe to the demons."

Clasping the Dark Sister with force, Frey stood up deliberately.

"Heading back to the fray at this point lets me take advantage... and finish off Amon."

Frey refused to back down, refused to waste this opening.

Still, Gehrman stepped in again.

"I'm not fully aware of your situation—but examine what's happening nearby."

Positioned in front of Frey despite his weary state, Gehrman persisted in his efforts to halt him.

"See your father. See your sister. Consider this deeply, Frey Starlight... is now truly the time to dive into a conflict with an unknown end?"

While Gehrman talked, bony shapes started to encroach on Ada, but the relic's shield guarded her, repelling the undead.

Nevertheless, she stayed confined in that ocean of doom.

Regarding Abraham...

He endured unbearable pain.

And it was obvious that Thanatos bore the blame.

"Should you believe Thanatos fights on your side, you're dead wrong. That horror opposes every life form. Should he overcome Amon, he'll pivot to the closest vital presence and seek to assemble a fresh legion... to succeed the one he forfeited long ago."

Gehrman stated this steadily, then redirected Frey's focus to Abraham.

"Your father's current plight stems from him. Thanatos' might revived Abraham's form—and now he's attempting to seize it back, to convert him into a subordinate. Your father fights on... yet success isn't assured if he lingers so near."

Gehrman halted briefly, then pressed on with resolve.

"Hold back, Frey. Our achievements this day suffice amply. We've slain three High Demons, Wesker among them, and we've freed a sworn adversary of the demons. That's plenty to leverage... though not as you envision."

He rested a hand on Frey's shoulder, making his final plea.

"Reflect, Frey. Apply your mind. What's most vital to you amid this chaos?"

For an instant, Frey and Gehrman locked eyes, amid the thunderous blasts from Thanatos and Amon's duel resounding nearby.

Frey grew quiet.

Next, he balled his hand.

"Damn it!"

He swore, lifting Abraham onto his back before vanishing in a quick teleport to Ada's side.

A rapid slash of his blade released a ferocious burst of energy that erased every corpse around them. He slipped inside the shield afterward, drawing Ada near with his spare arm.

Embracing his kin securely, Frey at last heeded Gehrman's counsel.

In the meantime, Amon and Thanatos' confrontation grew fiercer.

Thanatos held superior brute force over Amon... but without the Death Soul, he'd forfeited his deadliest striking tool. This fact alone enabled the Eleventh-Rank Demon to just maintain his stance.

Regardless, the combat area plunged into total disorder.

Out of thin air...

Mad blue fires poured from above, consuming Thanatos, while enormous dragon-like wing shadows blanketed the whole field.

Nito showed up in his beastly shape, hurrying to aid Amon.

Amon battled with maximum effort now... but he continued avoiding his secret, reality-shattering power, which troubled Gehrman greatly.

Gehrman had anticipated Amon would have no choice but to deploy it versus Thanatos.

But he hadn't.

"What exactly are you concealing, Eleventh-Rank Demon...?"

Gehrman whispered, pulling back right as Fulghor plummeted from the heavens at breakneck pace.

"Gehrman—we must depart at once. This fight is beyond us now."

Gehrman agreed promptly, without a second thought.