THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 763: A - Written in Death (1)

Thanatos Nightborne... a primordial beast from the time after the Wars of Oblivion and the vanishing of history's record-keepers.

A figure that embodied death in its purest form.

Legends told of him commanding vast hordes of undead forces, sowing destruction and devastation, claiming rule over immense stretches of the universe...

Thanatos struck fear with his personal might... yet his real threat stemmed from those legions, made up of mighty entities he had slain with his own hands.

Now, this horror had come back—his focus locked on Amon.

The Eleventh-Rank High Demon scarcely had a moment to recover or look away, with Thanatos aiming straight for him.

Amon parried the attack from Thanatos, though the immense force hurled him far away, slamming him hard into the earth.

Regaining his footing, Amon glanced up at the fresh foe, then stretched his limbs sequentially.

"One punch alone numbed my arms..."

That initial exchange let Amon sense the overwhelming scale of his enemy's strength... and recognize who he faced.

Beings like Thanatos were exceedingly rare.

That pale gray hide.

Orbs that were empty voids, shining with an eerie blue glow.

And lips stitched closed by dark stitching, as though an attempt had been made to muzzle him.

"No doubt... You're Thanatos, right?" Amon questioned as Thanatos advanced steadily.

"You... possess great strength. I meant to end you with that strike."

The voice from Thanatos grated out roughly... resembling murmurs emerging from the depths of the underworld.

Thanatos eyed his rival... scanned the chaos of the field... and then examined his own form.

"How many years have passed? How long was I absent?"

He tightened his grip as his presence flared with menace.

Amon countered by invoking his Transparent World, bracing for the fight.

But Thanatos ignored it completely—kept surveying the area instead.

"I detect no Soul Bearers... or rather, they've transformed. And that cursed Demon King..."

As Agaroth entered his thoughts, raw anger twisted Thanatos' warped features.

"He didn't merely steal the Death Soul from me... he had the audacity to bestow it upon some lowly being too. That foul monster...!"

Thanatos hid his face, masking the rage that warped it.

Bits of Agaroth's visage gradually returned to his mind... the Demon King from battles long past.

Even with Thanatos' infinite troops...

Even with the scores of SSS-rank fighters and higher he'd assembled himself...

Even bearing the Death Soul back then...

It proved insufficient.

Agaroth wiped them out entirely, cutting them down individually.

It was a savage, world-rending confrontation... but no matter Thanatos' efforts, he couldn't halt the advance.

The Demon King massacred them amid laughter, delighting in the slaughter...

As though Thanatos amounted to just a common fighter, not death incarnate.

"Unforgivable..."

Thanatos gnashed his teeth while his energy burst forth wildly from calm, surprise crossing Amon's visage.

"Unforgivable!!"

He bellowed, his vacant gaze piercing the demon ahead.

"Merely recalling that scum fills me with fury... and here you stand, carrying the same tainted aura."

"I'll end you right here, lackey of that despicable Demon King."

Thanatos lifted his limb... unleashing a surge of shadow that swept the whole area.

Moments afterward, the ground trembled fiercely.

From under the dirt, bony claws erupted—remains of the ancient deceased, beasts from epochs ago.

Still, they emerged once more, heeding his summons.

Within seconds, a horde of undead swarmed the field, as Thanatos lunged directly at Amon, smashing into him with devastating impact.

Simultaneously...

Frey lingered close, clutching Abraham firmly.

Abraham twisted in torment, deeply disturbing Frey... Thanatos' final action had stirred the dark mist encircling him into frenzy.

It seemed Abraham battled an inner force, striving to hold it back... stopping it from delving further.

Frey's eyes shifted from his father, to the raging combat, to the skeleton swarm charging wildly at Amon.

His thoughts froze... overwhelmed by the unfolding events.

Then Gehrman’s call pierced the turmoil, jolting him back.

"This is your moment, Frey! Grab your family and escape now!"

Gehrman urged Frey to withdraw—but Frey had no plans to comply.

"No. I'm staying."

He answered icily as purple Soulfire blazed over him, murderous intent surging outward.

"I have no clue what that beast is that popped up from nowhere... but I know this much. He's against the demons."

Clasping the Dark Sister firmly, Frey stood up gradually.

"Heading back to the fight now lets me seize this... and finish Amon."

Frey refused to back down, refused to waste this opening.

Yet Gehrman stepped in again.

"I can't fully grasp your situation—but examine what's nearby closely."

Positioned in front of Frey with his weary frame, Gehrman persisted in his efforts to halt him.

"See your father. See your sister. Consider it well, Frey Starlight... is this truly the time to dive into a conflict you can't foresee the end of?"

While Gehrman talked, bony shapes neared Ada, though the relic's shield repelled them, driving the undead away.

Nevertheless, she stayed confined in that ocean of doom.

Regarding Abraham...

He endured unbearable pain.

And it was obvious that Thanatos triggered it.

"If you see Thanatos as a friend, you're dead wrong. That horror opposes every life form. Once he overcomes Amon, he'll target the closest vital thing and seek to raise a fresh legion... to substitute the one he forfeited before."

Gehrman stated steadily, then directed Frey's focus to Abraham again.

"Your father's current torment stems from him. Thanatos' might revived Abraham's form—and now he's attempting to seize it, to make him one of his minions. Your father resists... but staying near offers no assurance he'll hold out."

Gehrman halted, then pressed on resolutely.

"Don't charge forward, Frey. Today's feats surpass expectations. We took down three High Demons, Wesker among them, and unleashed a true foe to the demons. That's plenty to leverage... but not as you're imagining."

He rested a palm on Frey's shoulder, making a final plea.

"Reflect, Frey. Think clearly. What's your top priority here?"

For an instant, Frey and Gehrman locked eyes, amid the thunderous booms of Thanatos and Amon's duel resounding everywhere.

Frey went quiet.

Then he balled his hand.

"Damn it!"

He swore, slinging Abraham onto his back before flashing to Ada's side via brief teleport.

With a quick blade stroke, Frey loosed a fierce aura burst that shattered every corpse nearby. He slipped inside the shield, drawing Ada near with his spare arm.

Embracing his kin securely, Frey at last heeded Gehrman.

In the meantime, the showdown between Amon and Thanatos grew fiercer.

Thanatos held superior brute force over Amon... but without the Death Soul, he'd forfeited his deadliest assault tool. That fact alone enabled the Eleventh-Rank Demon to just maintain his stance.

All the same, the field plunged into total mayhem.

Out of thin air...

Mad blue fires poured down, consuming Thanatos, while enormous dragon-like wing shadows blanketed the whole scene.

Nito showed up in his beastly shape, diving in to aid Amon.

Amon battled at peak capacity... yet he withheld his secret, reality-shattering power, which troubled Gehrman greatly.

Gehrman had anticipated Amon unleashing it versus Thanatos.

But he didn't.

"What secret are you concealing, Eleventh-Rank Demon...?"

Gehrman whispered, pulling back right as Fulghor plummeted from above at breakneck pace.

"Gehrman—we must depart at once. This fight's beyond us now."

Gehrman agreed promptly, without a second thought.