The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse Chapter 1425: First Appearance Of The Paragon

Although Blood Sword’s debut did not echo quite as loudly as that of the Renegade Hunter, the act of openly defying the Warrior Tower guaranteed his inclusion at the very top of their wanted list.

Hardly two hours passed after his proclamation before several Immortal Lords from the Warrior Tower descended upon Planet Yahmir, their expressions twisted with malice.

Their orders were clear: capture or neutralize Blood Sword, regardless of whether such a conflict might spark an all-out war between the criminal underworld and the Warrior Tower.

While Planet Yahmir was insignificant enough for a single Immortal Lord to reduce to dust, it remained standing due to an unspoken truce held between the dark underworld and the forces of righteousness.

Unlike the Demons, who stand as manifest enemies of the righteous, the criminal underworld occupies a gray moral landscape. This makes them occasional allies, yet frequently, they are the most dangerous of foes.

Thus, their operations were generally overlooked. However, when one of their own issues a direct challenge to a major Sect, it cannot be ignored—particularly when that individual is capable of slaughtering cultivators in realms far beyond his own.

The primary catalyst for their arrival was the confession Blood Sword broadcasted to the entire universe, admitting he was the one who leaked the list of spies the Warrior Tower had embedded within the underworld, an act that had directly led to numerous deaths.

It was the final drop that caused the cup to spill over.

Now, they thirsted for his blood.

Yet, to their disappointment, he had already vanished by the time they reached the scene.

They tracked him to his hotel suite, but were greeted only by a taunting message scrawled across the wall, designed to infuriate any Supreme who laid eyes upon it.

It read: "Tell your Supreme to scrub his neck and await my blade. Until then, he might as well take lessons in intimacy from a stallion, given his pathetic performance in the sheets."

The sheer arrogance triggered a surge of killing intent within the Immortal Lords; as they released their aura in a fit of rage, the entire building was pulverized into nothingness.

They departed, signaling the onset of a manhunt destined to span thousands of years, as long as the man named Blood Sword continued to draw breath.

Meanwhile, shortly after his departure, Blood Sword touched down on Planet Djin. He bypassed the use of a spaceship, as Blue—utilizing a Supreme-tier technique—enabled them to blink through spatial rifts to locate this new world.

According to him, this planet served as the domain for an acquaintance, a god who also held a seat on the Criminal Underworld God Council.

He had brought him along to establish a solid alibi, for within the next hour, a monumental event was destined to unfold.

Upon reaching Planet Djin, he did not bother with any disguise, allowing his identity to be discovered almost instantly, which caused the news to spread like wildfire.

The Warrior Tower seized upon this intelligence and immediately deployed strike teams to his coordinates, completely oblivious to the fact that Klaus had paved a elaborate trap for his grand unveiling.

While they were in transit, the entire universe ground to a sudden halt as a symbol manifested upon every available screen.

It depicted a skull and crossbones encircled by nine radiant stars.

The moment the supreme overlords across the cosmos beheld this icon, panic ensued.

After all, that specific sigil—or as many whispered it to be, the mark of the Paragon of the Nine Stars—belonged to one individual alone.

Moments after the logo materialized, a masked figure emerged to address the public.

"Salutations, inhabitants of this universe. It is I, your friendly neighborhood spider—just a jest," he chuckled. "I am the Paragon. Indeed, the very same Paragon that every one of you has been conditioned to loathe. I have returned after an absence spanning millions of years."

He paused just long enough to lock the attention of every listener. "I cannot claim to miss any of you, but I certainly do miss the Heavens Court. As you are all aware, our history is quite… complicated."

He continued, "During the primordial epoch, I single-handedly crushed the Doom Universe, preventing their invasion of our realm. Subsequently, I waged war against the gods, sacrificing many companions and loved ones in the heat of battle."

"These deeds secured my status as a defender of this universe. Yet, in my third incarnation, as the Asura race reached its pinnacle, shielding the world from one disaster after another, the Heavens Court intervened and stripped everything I cherished away from me."

"I never anticipated such treachery, especially given that we had never committed any wrong, beyond perhaps eliminating those who harbored designs against this beautiful universe."

"Then, the situation plummeted further. Every life I led was a descent into hell, and for countless eras, I have endured losses beyond your comprehension. I have been stripped of everything dear to me, yet one truth remains: in every life, I have served only one purpose—to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"The Heavens Court fed you a steady diet of lies regarding my nature, and you all swallowed them whole. But ponder this: the true antagonist is not me, but the Heavens Court itself."

Had he not been masked, they would have seen a sharp grin forming on his lips. What he was about to reveal was exactly what Efad had shared during their final rendezvous.

Klaus had originally hoped to make his debut by executing Lord Varkos. Though that remained on his agenda, he had now introduced a variable the Heavens Court would never see coming—not in a thousand lifetimes.

His ninth incarnation had successfully fulfilled a piece of their grand design, and he intended to use it to perform his final act.

"For ages, many powerhouses have wondered if a stage existed beyond the Celestial realm. In time, its reality was confirmed. Later, a few claimed to have touched that threshold, branding themselves as Pseudo-Primordials."

"It was never definitively proven, leaving us all to mere conjecture. But what if I told you there indeed exists a realm surpassing the Celestial, and it is known as the Primordial?"

"In fact, there is currently one Primordial dwelling in this universe, and remarkably, he sits as the grand master of the Heavens Court." The entire universe fell into a suffocating silence, so deep that not even a bird dared to chirp.

"I realize this is difficult to digest, but in your hearts, you know I speak the truth. You are all aware that something is fundamentally broken in this universe, and now, I am here to expose that the Heavens Court has been the culprit all along."

"People, this universe has been held captive by a single entity who seeks to dominate it for his own amusement. In my home tongue, one might say he treats this universe like his own plaything."

"But consider this: upon his arrival, he never expected to encounter the one soul capable of checking his ambition. You’ve guessed it correctly—he fears me. For countless years, the Heavens Court has ensured I never ascended to the level where I could finally purge this universe of his presence."

"I speak now with authority, calling upon the Nine Paragon Stars as my witness: I shall finally cleanse this universe of the decay that has festered for these past eras."

"So, I have returned, and we are going to have a truly wonderful time."