Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill Chapter 744: Sudden Turn Of Tide

"GAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The frantic roar of agony shook the entire place. Everyone immediately turned around, and their expressions froze in horror.

Emperor Ezekiel stood several hundred meters away, but something was terribly wrong. A long black pointed mass had stabbed straight through his back and emerged from the front of his chest.

It looked like a mixture of flesh and some strange hardened substance. Black veins twisted across its surface while a disgusting dark liquid dripped from its sharp end.

Ezekiel's eyes had already turned bloodshot as his hands trembled violently around his greatsword. His powerful body began twisting in an unnatural manner while dark veins rapidly spread from the wound across his chest and neck. His muscles bulged and contracted on their own as if something was crawling beneath his skin.

Everyone's gaze immediately shifted toward the source of the black mass, and their expressions changed once again. It had come from Alaster's corpse.

The supposedly dead body was lying inside the shattered ground behind Ezekiel, but its flesh had begun moving. Black threads spread from the corpse and gathered into the pointed mass that had pierced Ezekiel from behind.

The entire scene was so sudden that nobody had been prepared for it. Ezekiel had been staring at the drama between Ethan and the mysterious black-robed man, and for that short moment, he had lowered his guard.

That small opening had been enough for whatever remained inside Alaster to strike him.

However, was it really that simple? Ethan's expression immediately became serious. Emperor Ezekiel was a Transcendent Rank Knight who had fought countless battles throughout his life.

How could someone of his level fall for such an obvious trick merely because his attention had shifted for a few moments?

This was completely different from Ethan's earlier sneak attack against Alaster. At that time, Alaster had been tied down by the Emperors and attacked from every direction.

His aura had been disturbed, his body was injured, and Ethan had used Shadow Guise to hide himself before striking at the perfect moment. Ezekiel's situation was different.

Something capable of piercing his defenses without warning could not be dismissed as a simple sneak attack.

A terrible feeling suddenly washed over Ethan.

Every instinct in his body screamed danger.

His spiritual senses seemed to go wild while a cold chill ran from his back to the top of his head. Ethan immediately turned toward the black-robed man, but the man was already laughing.

"Hehehehe... He is here... Ahahaha..." The cloaked man laughed wildly before suddenly shaking his head. "No, I don't need to act."

Ethan's expression became increasingly ugly. The black-robed man noticed the hatred and confusion appearing in his eyes, and the smile beneath his hood grew wider.

"That look of confusion is quite to my liking."

He slowly raised one hand and pointed toward Ethan.

"It's wrong to die without knowing, so I will give you a hint."

The man's voice became strangely calm.

"Abyssal Cult."

Ethan's face immediately distorted.

For a brief moment, the ruined battlefield disappeared from his thoughts. A long-lost anger that had remained buried deep inside his heart suddenly exploded.

Abyssal Cult.

How could he forget?

Those fucking pieces of trash who used humans as fuel for their nefarious means.

The same bastards who had almost turned Ruthiana into a graveyard. The memories Ethan had pushed into the back of his mind suddenly returned one after another. He remembered the cruelty he had witnessed and the disgusting methods those people had used without caring how many innocent lives were destroyed. It was an organization Ethan had once vowed to crush when he gained enough strength.

Ethan's hands slowly tightened into fists.

"So it's you bastards..."

His voice came out low while killing intent slowly gathered inside his eyes.

The cloaked man seemed amused by his reaction.

"Ethan... So many years have passed, yet you remain the same... Interfering in our plans."

Ethan's expression darkened further.

"Fuck you, old man... Don't you know people who speak more get into trouble?"

The black-robed man paused briefly before giving a small nod.

"Yes, I know it very well, and I don't have a habit of spewing nonsense before killing."

His voice suddenly became colder.

"It's just that you all are done for because he is here."

The cloaked man slowly lifted one hand and pointed toward the struggling Emperor Ezekiel.

"Look."

Ethan immediately turned his head.

The black mass piercing Ezekiel's body suddenly pulsed.

THUMP!

Ezekiel's entire body jerked violently.

"ARGHHHH!"

His painful roar tore through the battlefield once again as the dark veins covering his body spread even faster. His skin began turning pale while patches of black slowly appeared across his arms and face. The muscles beneath his armor swelled violently, forcing several pieces of metal apart.

His fingers tightened around his greatsword until blood flowed from his palms, but his body was clearly beginning to slip out of his control.

"Ezekiel!"

Emperor Aldric immediately rushed toward him, but Queen Ophelia suddenly stretched out her hand.

"Wait!"

Her face had become frighteningly pale as she stared at Ezekiel.

Something was wrong.

The remains of Alaster behind him began trembling harder. The corpse that should have been completely dead slowly collapsed into a thick black liquid. The liquid crawled along the pointed mass and entered Ezekiel's body through the wound. With every drop that disappeared inside him, Ezekiel's aura became more unstable.

BOOM!

A wave of dark energy suddenly erupted from his body.

The nearby ground cracked apart while everyone standing close to him was forced backward. Emperor Ezekiel lowered his head as his breathing became rough and uneven. His shoulders repeatedly rose and fell while strange cracking sounds came from inside his body.

Ethan stared at him with a grim expression.

The feeling of danger inside his heart only became stronger.

The cloaked man slowly spread his arms as if welcoming what was about to happen.

His crooked laughter once again echoed through the ruined battlefield.

"Hehehe..."

"Now you understand."

His hidden eyes remained fixed on Ezekiel.

"He is here."