Beyond the Apocalypse-Chapter 1032: Eternal Puppeteer

Vlad’s eyes were cold and razor-sharp as he stared at the Emperor of Valhalla. Power raged across his form, rolling off him in invisible waves as his body felt stronger, faster, and more durable than ever before.

The countless battles raging across Valhalla had allowed every True Depravita to fully attune to their newly acquired bloodlines, and now, through fusion, all of that growth had been transferred into him. The True Depravita of Wrath stood at the very threshold of the Paragon Lord Rank.

The air trembled as Vlad took a single step forward.

In that same instant, he vanished.

He reappeared directly before Antorus, space itself folding aside to grant him passage, and as Vlad waved his blade, an ocean of raging energy erupted outward. Wrath, lightning, fire, light, life force, and space collapsed into a single, devastating arc.

"ARGHHHH—!"

Antorus released a scream of pure agony as the slash tore through his reinforced flesh. The blade cleaved through muscle, shattered bone, and detonated upon impact, blasting his massive body across the battlefield like a meteor. He crashed through ruined structures, carving a trench through the capital before slamming into the ground with enough force to shake the city.

The wound was horrific. Even for a being of Antorus’s power, it should have been fatal.

Yet madness still drove him.

With a roar that shook the heavens, the Emperor of Valhalla slammed his axe into the ground and launched himself forward once more, rainbow light roaring around the weapon as he hacked toward Vlad with suicidal ferocity.

Vlad saw the attack coming.

He did not move.

For a fraction of a second, surprise flashed through Antorus’s bloodshot eyes. Then he grinned, convinced this was his moment.

The axe passed straight through Vlad’s body.

There was no resistance. No impact.

The weapon continued onward and crashed into the ground behind him, detonating in a massive explosion that swallowed an entire district.

Antorus froze.

With the Quantum Eye active, Vlad had already shifted himself into an intangible quantum state, existing between moments and dimensions. Madness could amplify strength, but it robbed reason—and Antorus had lost the ability to think clearly.

Vlad did not allow him even an instant to understand his mistake.

He solidified mid-motion and slashed again, his blade carving into the same wound as before. This time, the cut went deeper—cleaving through bone entirely—before Vlad reversed his grip and sent the blade flashing toward Antorus’s neck.

The Emperor of Valhalla roared and forced his body backward, ignoring the devastating damage to his chest. The blade only grazed his throat, but even that was enough to open a deep, bleeding gash.

For the first time, true fear entered Antorus’s eyes.

Death was no longer a distant possibility—it was right before him.

Sanity began to return, clawing its way through the madness as he realized he was being utterly overwhelmed.

Vlad pressed the advantage without mercy.

He vanished and reappeared repeatedly, attacking from every angle. Antorus could only block, retreat, and endure as wound after wound opened across his body. Each strike carried overwhelming power, far surpassing him in speed, precision, and raw force.

Then—

"ZNNNNNN—!"

A terrifying sound echoed across the battlefield.

Antorus’s left arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder and sent spinning through the air before crashing into the ruins below.

"ARGHHHHHHHH!"

A scream of agony tore from his throat as blood sprayed across the shattered streets. The loss of his arm finally shattered the last remnants of madness, restoring his clarity in the worst possible moment.

He looked up.

Vlad was already moving.

Fear exploded in Antorus’s heart as he transformed into a beam of rainbow light, attempting to escape. But before he could gain distance, space twisted violently, and Vlad appeared directly in front of him.

The blade flashed.

Antorus was sent crashing into the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of blood as his body shattered the earth beneath him.

Vlad advanced without hesitation, blade raised, ready to deliver the final blow.

Then—

His eyes widened.

The Quantum Eye activated on instinct, generating a violent vortex of distorted space that swallowed him whole.

In the next instant, a massive serpent of pure shadow and darkness slammed down where Antorus lay, obliterating everything in its path. The impact erased the crater entirely, devouring matter, energy, and even space itself.

Vlad reappeared at a distance, his expression grim.

That attack could have consumed him—even in his Ultimate Form.

There was no doubt about its origin.

"The Alien Lord," Vlad said coldly.

The true enemy had finally entered the battlefield.

The shadow serpent continued to churn, crushing the ground into nothingness before dissolving. Moments later, an overwhelming aura manifested, triggering massive earthquakes that tore through the capital and sent the sky into violent upheaval.

Footsteps echoed from within the devastation.

Antorus emerged.

Yet he was no longer the raging monster driven by madness.

His body had returned to its original form. The wounds Vlad had inflicted were gone, erased entirely. His presence was calmer—terrifyingly so.

Though he looked less imposing, Vlad felt it immediately.

The power flowing through Antorus was far greater than before.

"The Alien Power running through his body is stronger now," Vlad realized. "It’s no longer chaotic. It’s been brought into perfect order."

When Vlad met Antorus’s gaze, he did not see rage or fear.

He saw ancient wisdom.

Cold calculation.

Something vast and inhuman stared back at him—something that transcended time itself.

Vlad’s grip tightened around his blade.

The Emperor of Valhalla was no longer in control.

"Xaos King."

The Alien Lord spoke, and his voice alone made the air tremble, as though reality itself recoiled from his existence. Each syllable carried a crushing weight, layered with authority far older than Valhalla.

"You have become a real problem for us," he continued calmly, "for a very, very long time."

An overwhelming darkness surged toward Vlad’s mind, pressing against his will, probing for cracks—seeking to dominate, to erase him. Yet Vlad stood unmoved. His eyes remained sharp, his soul unshaken, his will ironclad.

"Thank you for the compliment," Vlad replied evenly, staring directly into the Alien Lord’s gaze. There was no fear in his voice, no hesitation. "And who are you?"

The Alien Lord’s eyes narrowed slightly. He studied Vlad with interest, then gave a subtle nod, as if acknowledging something rare.

"My kind does not use names," he said. "We exist to erase such concepts. Identity, legacy, meaning—those are tools for lesser beings. Still, if you insist on a designation... you may call me Eternal Puppeteer."

A cold smile curved across Vlad’s face.

"It suits something like you."

The Xaos King took a slow, steady breath. The energy radiating from his body surged, thickening the air, distorting space around him as wrath, life force, and spatial authority intertwined.

"You will be the second Alien Lord I kill."

Eternal Puppeteer laughed softly, the sound echoing unnaturally.

"Do not compare me to Nightmare Universe," he said dismissively. "He was a child—arrogant, impulsive. His death was inevitable. I, on the other hand, am as old as the Dream of Madness itself. My influence runs far deeper than even the Master’s."

As he spoke, his grip tightened around Antorus’s axe. The rainbow light flowing through it darkened, twisting into something warped and corrupted, its nature fundamentally altered.

"Dark Bifrost."

With a single word, Eternal Puppeteer vanished.

He reappeared instantly, moving with speed and momentum far beyond anything Antorus had ever displayed. The axe slashed cleanly through Vlad’s body.

The Quantum Eye saved him.

Vlad shifted into a quantum state, his form becoming intangible—existing between layers of reality. But the reprieve lasted only a heartbeat.

Before the axe even finished its arc, a fist slammed into Vlad’s chest, striking him while he was still phasing, preventing him from fully rematerializing.

Vlad’s eyes widened.

Eternal Puppeteer unleashed a relentless barrage—each attack perfectly timed so that the next strike began before the previous one ended. Vlad was forced to remain in quantum mode, unable to stabilize, unable to counter.

The pressure mounted.

Finally, his limits were reached.

The Quantum Eye disengaged.

"BOOOOM!"

A brutal punch landed squarely on Vlad’s face, blasting him across the battlefield. His body tore through the air before crashing into the ruins below.

Vlad regained control almost instantly, skidding to a halt as debris rained around him. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

He clenched his fists.

Thanks to Fafnir’s fusion, his body was tougher than even a Lord-tier treasure—yet Eternal Puppeteer had still managed to injure him with a single punch.

Cold realization settled in.

"This will be very dangerous."

Vlad took a deep breath, steadying himself as he pushed his focus and power to their absolute limits.

Silence reigned for a moment as the Xaos King and the Alien Lord stared at each other, their auras rising higher and higher, pushing against each other, generating arcs of lightning that spread across the entire continent before finally flashing forward.

Axe and blade collided with a power that sundered reality.