Golden radiance flared around Dustin, making him look like a blazing sun hanging over the swamp.
Faced with Gore’s crimson cage, Venom’s vortex of hexspitters, and Grinder’s hail of bone needles, he didn’t back down. Instead, he stepped forward with a smirk.
“You really think these cheap tricks are going to work on me?”
Before the words fell, Dustin spread his arms wide open. In that instant, countless threads of golden light burst from his body, spreading outward in all directions like an enormous radiant web.
As Gore’s cage began to close in, the golden threads whipped through the air and coiled around it. The seemingly indestructible blood tendrils shredded like brittle strands under the golden light.
Seeing that, his face twisted in shock. He tried to retract them, but the golden threads seemed almost alive as they raced along the tendrils toward his arm.
“Damn it!”
Gore’s face turned pale. He desperately channeled his internal energy to sever the blood tendrils, but it was already too late.
The golden threads had already spread across his arm in a flash. Wherever they passed, they stripped away the blood-red flesh and left nothing but bare white bone.
He let out a shrill scream as his arm disintegrated into ash before his eyes.
On the other side, Venom’s vortex of hexspitters wasn’t spared either. Threads of golden light sliced into the storm like blades. The moment the bugs touched them, they were incinerated and reduced to ash in an instant.
Venom was horrified. She had never encountered such overwhelming power before. Desperately, she sent the rest of her swarm charging forward in a final counterattack, but it was useless.
The golden threads tore through them like wildfire through dry grass, wiping out every last one before rushing straight toward her.
Venom’s blood ran cold. She whipped around and made a break for it.
Dustin scoffed and flicked his finger. A golden beam shot through the air, striking her square in the back.
Venom’s body went rigid and slowly toppled forward. Under the searing glow, she gradually dissolved into nothing.
On the other hand, Grinder’s bone needles failed to reach their target. The moment they reached within three feet of Dustin, they hit an invisible golden barrier and crumbled into dust.
After witnessing his companions die one after another, Grinder’s eyes were filled with raw terror. He abandoned any thought of fighting and dove for the ground, desperate to burrow his way to safety.
“Going somewhere?”
Dustin spoke softly, but his voice carried a weight that left no room for resistance.
As he pointed with two fingers, a thick column of golden beam shot out from the ground, trapping Grinder just as he was about to slip underground.
He thrashed wildly against the pillar of light, but it held him like a vice. The force holding him was overwhelming, making his struggles useless.
“Who the hell are you? How can anyone wield such monstrous power?” Grinder roared, the bone fragments covering his face rattling with fear.
Dustin snorted. “Every last one of you cultists dies today.”
He raised his hand, fingers slowly curling inward, and the golden pillar imprisoning Grinder began to compress.
Grinder let out a piercing, agonized scream as the pressure closed in. Inch by inch, his body was crushed under the force.
The moment Dustin closed his fist completely, Grinder was crushed out of existence, leaving not even a trace behind.
The three grandmasters of the Skull Covenant were said to be unmatched. But against Dustin, they never stood a chance.
Once they were dealt with, he looked at the altar up ahead. The structure was built entirely from piled bones and soaked in the stench of blood, decay, and something unmistakably evil.
Faint runes still glimmered across its surface, casting an eerie glow.
Dustin narrowed his eyes. In a blink, he vanished from the ground and reappeared atop the altar. His hands moved in a blur, forming a rapid series of seals as he chanted under his breath.
A torrent of golden runes burst from within him, raining down on the altar like a meteor shower. A thunderous boom followed, and the impact rocked the entire structure.
The altar began to tremble violently as bones cracked and tumbled loose. The strange runes etched across its surface flickered, then slowly dissolved in the golden light. Within moments, the entire altar crumbled into a pile of rubble.
Dustin scanned the area and made sure no enemies had escaped. He kicked off the ground and launched into the sky, streaking away into the distance.
Moments later, Sloan slowly clawed his way up from the rubble. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he let out a long breath of relief.
“I can’t believe they found us. Good thing I hid in time. Otherwise, I’d be dead,” he muttered.
“This won’t do. I must report this to the grand elder immediately. A terrestrial immortal has discovered our operations. We must stop all operations at once, or we’ll bring disaster upon ourselves.”
He quickly formed a one-handed seal and began chanting. The ground beneath him softened like quicksand, pulling him under. In moments, he vanished using an earth-shifting technique to escape.
Unbeknownst to him, a white figure hovered silently in the clouds above, watching his every move.
