Chapter 74. The Path of No Return? No, I Will Definitely Return!

I Will Eventually Embark on the Path of No Return Called a Hero - 74. The Path of No Return? No, I Will Definitely Return!

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"Boom----"

Radiance like the sun pierced through Tartarus.

"Damn it!" Kronus, half of his body scorched, rolled awkwardly on the ground, his eyes fixated on the figure slowly emerging from the sea of flames.

"Don't run away, former King of the Gods, we have plenty of time," Cyd lifted the reformed Ares-form [Reforged Pandora]. The sea of flames swirled around the blade, forming a hundred-meter-long flaming greatsword in the blink of an eye.

"I, a mortal, have endured time in this Tartarus far longer than you can imagine," Kronus clenched his fists, "and I'm prepared to wait forever. Do you, with your immortal body, have the resolve to fight me for eternity?"

"Huh? I'll finish you off quickly and then get out," Cyd stepped forward, and the hundred-meter-long flaming greatsword swung towards Kronus with the force of a thunderbolt.

"Really? What kind of god am I?" Kronus snapped his fingers lightly. Black light radiated from him, enveloping the world. Everything lost its color; the aggressive flames froze in place, and everything became still. The wind, the temperature, everything disappeared from the world.

Kronus calmly walked around the frozen flaming greatsword and approached Cyd.

"I am the god of time," Kronus raised his hand and slowly reached towards Cyd's eyes.

Humans have many involuntary reactions, such as closing their eyes when something approaches to protect this vulnerable part. However, in this world where time had stopped, Cyd stared blankly ahead, as if he couldn't see the approaching finger.

"Time is the eternal law of this world!" Kronus shouted, "I, who control time, should be the ruler of this world! No one can defy me!"

But why… can you see me!

At some point, Cyd's eyes met his. Though impossible, a creepy feeling made Kronus punch Cyd's head in panic.

"Don't look at me with those eyes!"

Cyd tilted his head, and [Reforged Pandora] in his left hand swiftly changed to the Hades form. A sharp scythe sliced Kronus in half from bottom to top.

"I told you, I am immortal!"

Kronus's voice roared as his body quickly healed after being split in two.

"Even your scythe cannot kill me, for I am the embodiment of deathlessness!"

"Then I'll beat you to death!" Cyd transformed [Reforged Pandora] into the Hephaestus form and smashed Kronus's upper body into pieces with a hammer.

"I said it's useless!" The scattered flesh quickly gathered back onto the remaining chunks, and Kronus, now furious, stood before Cyd once more.

"Then I'll smash you to dust!" Cyd exhaled deeply. Thunderbolts descended from the sky, engraving themselves onto [Reforged Pandora]. He tossed the staff in his hand, pointing it at Kronus's head. "Don't dodge!"

[Reforged Pandora] - Zeus form.

"That form... Zeus!!!" Kronus roared as he charged at Cyd.

"Boom----"

Blinding lightning engulfed Kronus, piercing through the mountains behind him. The terrifying recoil forced Cyd back a few steps.

"That's powerful," Cyd tossed the staff in his hand.

"You shouldn't use Zeus's power in front of me."

Blood spurted out, and Cyd's eyes narrowed. The staff fell to the ground as his left arm disintegrated under the immense power.

"I don't just stop time; I can speed it up, slow it down, and leap through it. I am the embodiment of time," Kronus said coldly, watching Cyd, now covered in blood. "If I destroy that thing, you won't be able to use the gods' powers anymore."

"Is that so?" Cyd raised an eyebrow. The fallen staff floated beside Cyd's left side, and the jade bracelet still glowed on his left wrist as if an invisible hand was holding it. "This blessing cannot be destroyed by you."

White bones grew from Cyd's severed arm, passing through the bracelet. Blood vessels and muscles quickly covered the bones, followed by white skin. A completely new left arm appeared in Kronus's view.

"It's not over yet, not until I utterly destroy you!"

"No! I can't end here!" For the first time, Kronus wanted to flee.

He was truly immortal. Killing him was impossible, even Zeus couldn't do it. Though he had lost to Zeus, he had never felt fear. But facing Cyd, he felt the urge to escape for the first time.

It was an endless battle. Cyd was also immortal. He couldn't stop Cyd's time; he could only manipulate his own time to ambush Cyd. But Cyd wielded the power of thirteen gods and had a weapon that could switch forms to counter him. And Kronus couldn't destroy either the bracelet or the weapon.

This was a fight that would never end. However many times he could kill Cyd, Cyd could kill him the same number of times.

One day, maybe his immortality would be exhausted!

"I absolutely cannot! I still have to avenge them!" Kronus clawed at his face, "It's all because of you!"

"Huh?" Cyd tilted his head, "If you give up on revenge, I won't bother you at all. But your eyes are filled with destruction. It's a pity, even though I don't want to be a hero, I want to protect the world they live in."

"Then I'll have to throw you out of time!" A glint of madness flashed in Kronus's eyes as black light swept across the world once again.

"Die!" Cyd threw [Reforged Pandora], now a thunderbolt-covered spear, and hurled it at Kronus.

"It's too late!" The spear pierced Kronus, but he laughed, coughing blood.

The world enveloped in black light began to shatter, not because the time stop was undone, but because time itself had holes and gaps.

If time stop takes away the world's time, then where do these cracks in stillness lead?

"Boom----"

Countless black hands stretched out from the void, grabbing Cyd's limbs and head.

"What the hell is this!" Cyd tried to tear off the hands, but his hand passed through them as if they were mere illusions. Yet, the immense pulling force was undeniably real.

"That is a place where even the concept of time doesn't exist, a true exile prison. Once you are caught, you can never leave," Kronus laughed while clutching his chest. "Wander there until you give up thinking!"

"Damn it!"

The immense force dragged Cyd into the void, and countless black hands swiftly swallowed him like sharks smelling blood.

"Cough, I have to stop," Kronus coughed up blood, "Zeus, you did it. I won't recover for thousands of years."

"It's not over yet!"

A left hand with a bracelet broke through the black hands, reaching out and grabbing Kronus's face.

The spear that had pierced Kronus floated up, switching to a scythe mid-air, and slashed at Kronus.

"Come here!"

The scythe trembled, dragging Kronus rapidly towards Cyd's left hand.

"No, no, no, no!" Kronus frantically tore at his own body, but he was too weak to rip apart his divine form.

"Snap----"

Cyd's left hand gripped Kronus's face, slowly dragging him into the void of time.

In the chaos, the black eyes gleamed like a demon's, reflecting Kronus's despairing face.

This deathmatch seemed eternal.

So... how long has it been?

A year?

Ten years?

A hundred years?

A thousand years?

Or an eternity?

Cyd had no idea, for this was a world outside of time.

But there was one thing he knew very well.

Cyd's legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground. His body was like a toy broken by a mischievous child, riddled with holes. His ribs had been brutally pulled out. Normally, these wounds would have healed, but now there was no sign of recovery. His blood had long stopped flowing, probably because there was nothing left to flow.

Cyd collapsed, his heartbeat growing weaker, but his eyes remained fixed on [Reforged Pandora] before him, or rather, the flesh crushed beneath it.

In the very end, he had almost smashed Kronus into bits with [Reforged Pandora] in its original form, while Kronus had pulled out his ribs before turning into pieces.

"Click---"

[Reforged Pandora] slowly opened, or rather, activated a mode Cyd had never seen before. A massive ring appeared, with two pointers of different lengths in the center, and Kronus's flesh seemed to be drawn into it.

Ah, it's really over this time…

This battle between immortals ended with both losing their immortality.

Cyd laboriously rolled over and raised his left hand towards the sky.

"Offering victory... to the gods..."

"Teacher... I probably... saved the world..."

"Plop----"

Cyd's left hand fell softly to the ground.

"I should be able to... rest for a bit now..."

The immortality that had kept him alive disappeared, along with his heartbeat.

"Everyone, I will definitely fulfill my promise, so..."

"Wait for me a bit."

The bracelet remained firmly on Cyd's left wrist, emitting a stubborn yet gentle glow.

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