The five Archdeities of the Path of Freedom felt the aura of the Enlightened One rise exponentially the moment he gripped his staff. It was like watching a calm ocean suddenly erupt into a tidal wave. Every instinct screamed at them to retreat, yet there was no going back. They had marched under the banner of the Ancient One, and retreat meant death or worse.

Roaring in unison, they pressed forward, but they were still a heartbeat too late.

The Enlightened One moved first.

With a single effortless motion, he swung his staff to the side. In that instant, the weapon stretched—growing endlessly, its length spanning countless kilometers. It became less a weapon and more a celestial pillar, as though he wielded the axis of heaven itself.

The first to be struck was an Early Archdeity to the left. The impact rang out like thunder as ribs shattered under the force. Yet the motion did not end there. The staff swept on, its momentum unstoppable. One by one, the other Archdeities were caught in its arc, their colossal frames struck as though by a mountain collapsing upon them.

All five were blasted away like broken dolls. Their titanic bodies slammed into a distant ocean, cataclysmic waves rising in their path.

From afar, Cain and Meylin witnessed the scene. Their eyes widened with awe.

The Enlightened One's movement had been almost instantaneous, and his weapon was no less impressive than Cain's Sky Devourer, or Meylin's Hell and Abyss—their Alpha-Omega Overgod treasures gifted by the Demon King.

But Cain and Meylin could see deeper. For all the brilliance of the staff, the true heart of that strike was not the artifact—it was the Enlightened One's physical strength. His cultivation might mark him as a Middle Archdeity, but his body was clearly refined far beyond that realm.

The duo's thoughts, however, were cut short.

The Enlightened One dissolved into a cloud-like radiance, his form flowing across the battlefield at a speed that shook comprehension. By the time the ArchDeities were forcing themselves from the rubble, he was already above them, staff raised high.

The first target was a Middle Archdeity—a monstrous being of volcanic rock and molten fire. His entire form radiated heat, rivers of lava coursing through fissures in his body. Despite his wounds, the ArchDeity reacted swiftly. His maw opened, and a torrent of flame erupted forth, surging toward the Enlightened One with the speed of lightning.

The flames engulfed the monk-like figure.

The volcanic giant smirked, certain of his strike. But the smile froze.

The flames twisted. Instead of consuming the Enlightened One, they revolved into a spiral, collapsing inward like a vortex before being absorbed into his skin. His flesh glowed with a crimson-gold light, his muscles tightening, veins surging with newfound vitality.

The flames were not destructive in nature. They were the flames of renewal, the fire that burned forests so that greater growth could emerge. Flames of prosperity and rebirth—serene, yet unstoppable. And now that essence had been turned against its wielder.

The Enlightened One's aura flared. With a surge of power, he swung his staff downward. The strike connected with the volcanic giant's skull. The sound of bone shattering echoed like a bell of doom. The Middle Archdeity crashed through the ocean surface, driven to the abyssal depths in a storm of broken rock and boiling water.

But the battle gave no pause.

Another Middle Archdeity appeared behind the Enlightened One, this one forged of living metal, his form shining like steel under starlight. In his hand was a massive war hammer, dense enough to crush stars. He brought it down in an arc meant to annihilate worlds.

The Enlightened One turned calmly, eyes glowing with golden light. His staff flicked upward, striking the hammer at a precise point. Instead of clashing, the hammer's momentum was redirected, carried harmlessly aside. The Enlightened One's counter came instantly—the staff extended once more, striking the metal Archdeity square in the sternum.

The crack of shattering bone echoed as the titan reeled back, blood gushing from his mouth as he was hurled through the air.

The remaining two ArchDeities in the distance froze for a heartbeat, eyes wide with dread. Their confidence faltered.

Yet before fear could consume them, the Enlightened One was there again—appearing between them as if the world itself bent to his will. His staff expanded outward, striking left and right in one sweeping motion. Both ArchDeities were caught at once, their chests collapsing under the blow as they were flung aside, coughing blood.

What had begun as a march of destruction ended in broken bodies and humiliation.

Still, they did not yield.

From the ocean depths, the volcanic giant roared, his skull dented but his spirit unbroken. "Final move—NOW!"

At his cry, the other four forced their battered forms to rise. They gathered together, their energies coalescing—fire, metal, wind, water, and earth merging into a single core of overwhelming force.

Cain and Meylin had just reached the battlefield when it happened.

The combined power of the five Archdeities exploded outward, their forms dissolving into streams of essence that fused into a single monstrosity. A dragon emerged—vast beyond measure, its body forged of apocalypse itself. Its roar shook the firmament. Its wings spread wide, blotting out the sun. Its eyes gleamed with annihilation, and its presence seemed to declare that the world itself was about to end.

The Apocalyptic Dragon had only one target: the Enlightened One.

Its power was staggering. The sky split, the ocean boiled, and the earth trembled. Its body was formed of their combined law-forces, an entity of destruction so potent that Cain himself wondered if even he could have survived a direct strike.

Yet the Enlightened One did not waver.

If anything, his serenity only deepened. Under the shadow of annihilation, his calmness reached a transcendent level, his harmony with the universe radiating in golden brilliance. His eyes became suns, radiating a light that banished despair.

He inhaled slowly. The staff vanished behind him, and he pressed his palms together in prayer. The entire battlefield seemed to fall silent, waiting.

The Apocalyptic Dragon descended, jaws wide, less than a breath away.

The Enlightened One extended his right hand.

Two fingers—middle and index—reached forward and touched the beast's forehead.

What followed was beyond comprehension.

The titanic body of the Apocalyptic Dragon convulsed. Its flames, its storm, its destructive essence—all of it flowed like a river into those two fingers. The impossible beast collapsed inward, unraveling as though reality itself rejected it.

In the next instant, the dragon was gone.

Every shred of its apocalyptic energy now resided within the Enlightened One's body.

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