Clash of Heroes or Clash of Stability?
As Adam soared through the sky, he could see the soldiers he spared running in the same direction he was heading.
("They didn't make it very far.") [Adam]
Is all he thought before passing them by in an instant.
("I should go faster.") [Adam]
By activating Implode several times over within a shorter span of time, Adam increased his speed and momentum at the cost of three times the mana. Fortunately, Adam had an almost bottomless reserve of that resource.
("Is that it?") [Adam]
From a distance, all he could see was a land of white and gold. It stretched across the landscape, as if it were its own natural environment. However, it was made clear to Adam that it was man made once he came closer.
("This is… the Temple?") [Adam]
Contrary to its name, the Temple didn't look like a temple. It was a kingdom. A kingdom spanning as far as the eye could see.
"Well then, how are you going to deal with this place?" [Krino]
("The scale of the Temple is much larger than I imagined.") [Adam]
"Have you considered destroying the foundation of their land and causing an earthquake to swallow them whole?" [Astos]
A vicious proposal that Adam decided not to go with.
("What if I take down the leader? Like, their president? Or king? Or whatever they call it in this world?") [Adam]
"Not a bad idea. What if they have political strife so that someone else will just take the leader position right after you kill him?" [Krino]
"Exactly. That's why you should rip them out by the roots and erase this place from the map." [Astos]
Strangely, the God of Chaos' ideas were beginning to sound a little reasonable.
("Astos, I'm trying to only get rid of the bad people. What if there are innocent civilians here? I want to be a righteous hero, not a hypocritical one. I will not go against my ideals for the sake of solutions.") [Adam]
"Ah, is that why you spared those soldiers earlier? So that hatred may grow in their hearts when they arrive at their home just to see you slaughtering their people? Rid them by the roots, Adam. You know it's the best solution." [Astos]
("Just because it's the best solution doesn't mean it's the only solution.") [Adam]
"Enough arguing guys, we've got company." [Krino]
Adam could see several figures ascending into the sky, approaching at alarming speeds. Some had wings, others rode monsters, some stood on flying objects, and a few managed to stay afloat by themselves.
"Halt!" [???]
The group stopped before Adam, each one holding a hostile expression.
("They're all humans…") [Adam]
Though he somewhat expected it, it was a shame that only humans could be heroes.
("It must be because of the leader of the Temple.") [Adam]
Amongst the flying heroes, one with golden wings levitated forward.
"You must be that rogue hero. Astos, if I'm correct." [Golden Winged Hero]
"You could say that." [Adam]
The hero smirked.
"Have you come to apologize to the Temple for your actions?" [Golden Winged Hero]
Adam returned a friendly smile.
"No, I've come to destroy this place." [Adam]
"What?" [Golden Winged Hero]
After a moment of silence, the group of heroes burst out laughing.
"What a joke!" [Monster Taming Hero]
"He can't be serious!" [Object Manipulating Hero]
"Astos, you must be insane! By yourself? Hah!" [Golden Winged Hero]
Unfazed by their mockery, Adam opened a hand.
"Krino." [Adam]
"Understood." [Krino]
With a bolt of lightning, Adam's trusty longsword appeared in hand.
"Adam, do not forget they can bring themselves back from death's grasp. Use a magic seal or absorption magic to steal or trap their divine energy to prevent it." [Astos]
("I'll think about it.") [Adam]
"He's attacking!" [Golden Winged Hero]
Switching gears from mocking Adam, each of the heroes armed themselves.
"They're preparing themselves. Will you not do anything?" [Krino]
("I said I'm thinking about it.") [Adam]
Creating a magic circle on hand, he placed a seal on his hand and sword.
"A seal that infects anything you touch? Interesting choice. I didn't think you'd be able to combine what I've taught you into your own spell." [Astos]
("I'll cut through them in one go.") [Adam]
As Adam advanced, one of the heroes intercepted him with a large rectangular shield.
"I'll focus on defense! Go for his flank!" [Shield Hero]
Is what he said before Adam's sword cut through his shield.
"Wha-?!' [Shield Hero]
Without giving the hero a chance to react, Adam lopped his head off and sent his body spiraling down.
"Ovestis has been killed!" [Golden Winged Hero]
"Charge all at once!" [Monster Taming Hero]
Eleven heroes encroached upon Adam's position, he chose to fight head on.
"|Mountain Splitter|!" [Axe Hero]
"|Peerless Pierce|!" [Spear Hero]
"|Valley's Burden|!" [Hammer Hero]
The first three that Adam approached released their skills without hesitation.
"Multiple opponents. Remove them as quickly as possible." [Astos]
Having chosen to be Adam's enemy, there was no longer room for mercy. Adam first deflected the Axe Hero's |Skill| to the right, resulting in the bisection of the Hammer Hero and throwing him off balance. Following that, Adam stepped aside from the Hammer Hero's falling weapon and caught the Spear Hero's attack mid-thrust.
"Huh?!" [Spear Hero]
Adam then pulled the hero towards him, piercing the hero's heart with his sword and then throwing the spear through the Axe Hero's head before recovery.
"Three heroes in an instant?!" [Golden Winged Hero]
"I'll hold him down!" [Monster Taming Hero]
Steering his aerial beast, it lunged at Adam. It snapped at Adam with its bird-like head and tried to pounce with its lion-like body. At the same time, the hero who mounted such a creature flung arrows at Adam. Needless to say, a few adjustments to the sword's angle was enough to deflect the projectiles.
"Is that a griffin?" [Krino]
It let out a splitting screech, reminding Adam of his fight with Tearsman.
("I'll shut it up.") [Adam]
Winding up his arm, Adam shoved his fist down the beast's throat.
"Big mistake!" [Monster Taming Hero]
The beast clamped down on Adam's arm, allowing the Monster Taming Hero to draw an arrow at Adam.
"|Power Shot|!" [Monster Taming Hero]
As Adam was forced to face the hero's skills, another appeared behind him whilst swinging a sword.
"|Rotational Slash|!" [Sword Hero]
Pressed into a difficult position, Adam placed his sword behind to block the slash.
hero
"You idiot! Now, perish!" [Monster Taming Hero]
The hero loosed an arrow, in which Adam evaded by tilting his head. The arrow passed straight by, piercing the Sword Hero right behind Adam.
"You-?!" [Sword Hero]
As the Sword Hero fell, the Monster Taming Hero attempted to notch another arrow. Unfortunately for him, Adam had other plans.
"Pressure Cannon." [Adam]
Releasing his ability in the beast, it exploded.
"Ah- AHHH!!!" [Monster Taming Hero]
Without his aerial beast, the hero fell to certain death.
("Six more to go.") [Adam]
Adam turned to find another hero closing in on him, unarmed.
"|Strength Unfettered|!" [Unarmed Hero]
Upon closer inspection, the Unarmed Hero was equipped with spiked gauntlets. He threw out a punch with all his might, only for Adam to catch it with one hand.
"Compression." [Adam]
Using his ability's side-effect of holding onto objects, he compressed the hero's fist and pulled it away to counteract the momentum behind it. Thus, rendering the strike harmless. However, the hero's attack didn't end there. Using his free hand, the hero grabbed onto Adam's arm and put him into a flying armbar with the sacrifice of a twisted wrist from a captured hand.
"What the-?!" [Adam]
Though the weight of a whole two hundred pound muscular male on one arm wasn't that bothersome, it was surprisingly difficult to get him off.
"Now!" [Unarmed Hero]
Seeing as this may possibly be their last and only chance to take down Adam, the remaining five heroes on standby attacked.
"|Thousand Gale|!" [Golden Winged Hero]
"|Whimsical Wrath|!" [Magic Staff Hero]
"|Thousand Fold Cut|!" [Arsenal Hero]
"|Flame Tempest|!" [Fan Hero]
"|Ensnaring Despair|!" [Flail Hero]
Surrounded and assaulted by several heroes, Adam remained calm.
"One wind based, one lightning based, one mixed with both flame and wind, and finally two physical based skills. What will you do?" [Astos]
It was a simple solution.
("I've got something.") [Adam]
With a cruel plan in mind, Adam gripped the unarmed hero's shirt tightly.
"Wait, you can't possibly be-?!" [Unarmed Hero]
With a quick spin and accurate judgement, Adam perfectly blocked all incoming skills at the cost of the Unarmed Hero's gruesome death. He was ripped apart, burned, and shredded into bits and pieces without another word.
"You guys really need to work on not killing your allies." [Adam]
"You heartless monster…!" [Golden Winged Hero]
With the Unarmed Hero reduced to smithereens, Adam was free to do as he pleased. He passed his gaze over the anxious heroes, calculating which one would be best to strike first.
"I choose you." [Adam]
Using his ability, he pulled the Arsenal Hero towards him.
"Wa-Wait!" [Arsenal Hero]
For the strategic reason that the Arsenal Hero has a variety of weapons in the form of a box on his back, Adam decided to take it for himself. Of course, the hero attempted to fight back, yet was unable to do so in time as he had trouble picking out a suitable weapon for this unexpected development.
"This is mine now." [Adam]
Or so Adam said as he drove his sword through the hero's chest. Within that moment, Adam grabbed the box and allowed the hero to fall alone.
"Let's see what's inside." [Adam]
Peering into the box, Adam realized that he could only recognize less than three weapons.
("Screw it, let's just throw them all.") [Adam]
Using his ability as if it were telekinesis once again, he launched the arsenal at the remaining heroes.
"Defend yourselves!" [Golden Winged Hero]
They struggled to defend against the surprisingly large amount of armaments coming their way, allowing Adam to cut three heroes down in one smooth motion.
"You-! How did you-?!" [Golden Winged Hero]
The only hero that managed to survive until the end was ironically the first to come forward. Perhaps it was because he slowly moved to the back during the slaughter.
"You killed them…! You killed all of them…!" [Golden Winged Hero]
"Not yet." [Adam]
Sensing danger, the hero immediately turned to flee. With a mighty flap of his wings, the hero noticed he hadn't moved an inch.
"Huh?" [Golden Winged Hero]
"Where are you going?" [Adam]
Levitating right behind him, the hero found that Adam's hands were gripping his wings.
"P-Please… Spare me?" [Golden Winged Hero]
"Let me think about it." [Adam]
After pausing for a moment, Adam smiled.
"You know what? I'll let you go." [Adam]
"...R-really?" [Golden Winged Hero]
Without a second thought, Adam ripped off the hero's wings.
"Y-You liar!" [Golden Winged Hero]
"I'll let you go to your demise." [Adam]
As Adam watched the hero plummet, his smile faded.
("...What is wrong with me?") [Adam]