Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 201: it did

He faced the direction of his city and shouted a word of power that made the air vibrate. The space in front of him warped and twisted, images flickered, and then solidified into hundreds of different monsters. The frozen monsters came alive as one, all turned towards Old Man, and rushed him.

The air was filled with growling and the roar of monsters. A churning wave of them lurched at Old Man, who turned to them, his shoulder jerking back in mild surprise.

Purple light hammered into the mass of monsters, and bones snapped like twigs. Crunching sounds filled the air, and blood of different colors splattered.

But the monsters didn’t relent. They continued to throw themselves forward, uncaring that they were turned to bloody mashed meat the next second.

And yet, more and more of them were flicking into place. They crawled over each other, and the bigger monsters ripped others apart just to get to Old Man.

Then the spell that Vorgaelor cast made them fall from the sky, landing atop the shield that Old Man created. The wave covered him, a continuous stream that was replaced by every death.

Throughout all this, Old Man didn’t release his will on the artifact, but Vale had flung himself from the altar to get away from the monsters. However, they only had eyes for Old Man anyway.

Vale dug his will harder and pulled, but it was like trying to push a mountain for all the help it did. The artifact remained in the middle, hovering between them.

Vorgaelor took the opportunity and then leaped into the wall, sinking into it as if it were a pool. His image in the wall straightened, and he looked at Vale and smiled. He was getting what he wanted.

Alarm ran through Vale as Vorgaelor’s image bent down and began to devour the image of the Arcane Wizard, tearing into his flesh and licking his blood.

Vale felt it immediately. Something loosened in the air. The rules that were binding the Rift were breaking.

’.....i must not allow this... but how do I stop a Rift Lord?...’

Just as he was thinking that, something else happened that made him shiver. A coldness descended into the world, and the colors in the area leached away, turning everything gray.

Vale turned towards where the swarm was covering Old Man and saw that all the monsters had stopped fighting. They dropped dead one by one, hitting the ground with dull thuds. More monsters were brought there, and all of them dropped dead, a cycle that quickly repeated itself.

And then, they began to stand again, their eyes bled of life and light. They straightened and began to back away, bowing to Old Man, who was now holding a scythe covered in liquid darkness. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

’.....undead! He’s turned all the monsters into undead! What frightening power... to turn such a number of living monsters into dead and undead so fast.....’

Vale realized he really did not know the scope of what he was fighting.

And that scythe, it was one of the artifacts. Vale was sure of it.

He took the opportunity that presented itself. Even though the will from Old Man was still strong, he tugged harder, then called his tower and activated the Commander’s Law.

His voice rang out in the now-gray world, loud like a bell.

"What is mine is truly mine!"

The Commander’s Law was a weak ability compared to what the Rift Lord and Old Man could do. They could work against it without difficulty, but the fight wasn’t a competition of strength from the beginning.

It was a battle of will, and once the ripple of energy passed out and made what was Vale’s truly his, the connection that Old Man was using with the artifact faltered and cut for an instant.

And that was all Vale needed. The artifact flew through the air and landed in his palm like a little bird. It was right. It felt right.

Old Man turned towards him, and Vale felt his surprise in the way his magic flared behind him, crushing hundreds of monsters at once.

But Vale didn’t turn towards him. Instead, he focused on the wall where Vorgaelor was trying to break the Rift. He was near success as well, only the head of the Arcane Wizard remained.

Vorgaelor paused and turned to Vale when he felt his gaze. He smiled, brimming with power, and then he snapped his fingers.

Everything around Vale dissolved.

Old Man and the undead monsters were gone. The wall was gone, so was the altar. He couldn’t feel any presence around him. Only darkness.

’...an illusion? Such a powerful illusion too... this bastard... Vorgaelor must have gained power from this as well....’

But Vale wasn’t stressed. His eyes were a red moon, and they were trying their best to pierce through the illusion, but it was for naught.

So he raised the lantern by the handle and looked at it solemnly. Then he injected his essence.

His world went blindly white immediately as pain flashed through his body, bending it at an angle.

’....too much! Too powerful!.....’

His level was too low for the artifact, and all his essence was sucked dry in one go. Everything. Even the one from his body. His core trembled, and a crack ran through it.

Vale screamed in pain and anger.

And the artifact answered. Oh, it did.

It blazed with raging red light, and he lifted it, putting intent into words as he shouted, "Let there be light!"

He didn’t know why he said it. Maybe because he wanted the darkness gone, or to attack Vorgaelor. Maybe both. Either way, his intent was loud and clear.

Red light descended like a rushing dawn, and the darkness receded.

He was back in the Rift. When the gray vanished, it was replaced by red. A moon hung in the sky, crimson like Vale’s eyes, and it looked down with the same intensity as him.

Under it, nothing was hidden.

Pillars of red light rained down, blotting out the sky completely. Everything was bathed in its glow.

Old Man raised his scythe, and the ground opened up beneath him. A bloated head as big as a tower crawled out and opened its skeletal mouth for him. Old Man entered just as the pillars of red light rained down.

Everything else that remained of the palace was completely destroyed. A quarter of the city vanished under the onslaught as the explosion swallowed it whole with heat and red fire.

And then, one light fell on the wall with Vorgaelor’s image still inside.