THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 798 Condemnation (2)

Gehrman stood up from his chair as his arm started to shine with a brilliant sky-blue glow.

By controlling his aura, he hoisted Nito using it and motioned for Snow to trail behind.

Snow followed closely after him, questioning,

"What do you intend to do with him?"

Gehrman responded without glancing back, striding onward.

"There's no need to worry. It seems you and I are thinking along the same lines."

With firm strides, the pair left for the zone behind the command headquarters—a desolate, forbidden area off-limits to everyone else.

Gehrman and Snow stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing into the shadowy woods before them.

Just moments later, a gigantic, recognizable fighter appeared from afar.

A huge beast crawling on all fours—it was Fulghor.

Yet what drew Snow's eyes wasn't the mighty Shadow Sect fighter himself.

Rather, it was the companions he had escorted.

"Several powerful auras…" Snow whispered, detecting the might of these arrivals .. who were definitely not human.

Every one of them held SSS-rank power.

In particular, the figure leading them .. his aura alone matched Nito's in intensity.

Next to Snow, Gehrman set Nito's form down at his feet, bracing for what came next.

"As you mentioned before, Lord of Light—Nito is greatly desired by the Pantheon," Gehrman stated evenly.

"I planned all along to turn that to our benefit."

While Gehrman talked, Fulghor and his group reached them.

Four figures flanked the Shadow Sect warrior.

Each boasted a superhuman build—brimming with strength, their muscles flawlessly sculpted.

All were members of the Pantheon.

"I had originally meant for them to battle at our side .. to unleash their vengeance on Nito amid the chaos of war," Gehrman went on, grinning.

"But your decision to drag him back alive improves things greatly."

The Pantheon fighters advanced nearer.

"With this," Gehrman murmured softly,

"we can secure their full allegiance without question."

Snow looked at Gehrman in astonishment, then turned his eyes to the Pantheon group.

Most notable was their chief.

He appeared youthful .. with a massive build, soaring over two meters in height.

Chiseled features.

A thick mane of gray hair atop his head.

Eyes gleaming with golden light, radiating vast power.

"Gehrman," Fulghor announced, pointing to them,

"these are the Dragon Kings of the Pantheon—under the Emperor's command."

Their leader moved ahead to confront Gehrman.

However, his stare stayed locked on Nito's kneeling form by the blue-eyed man's feet.

Fury almost exploded from his gaze as he glared at Nito .. before the Pantheon leader compelled himself to meet Gehrman's eyes.

"Forgive my rudeness .. and my delay in introducing myself," the young man declared in a profound, gravelly tone that suited his look perfectly.

"My name is Kalameet .. Emperor of the Pantheon."

While Kalameet presented himself, Gehrman grinned and offered his hand.

"I already know who you are, Dragon Emperor," Gehrman answered steadily.

"You bear a striking resemblance to your father—it's like seeing a compact edition of him."

"My name is Gehrman," he added,

"the current leader of the Shadow Sect."

Kalameet eyed Gehrman's extended hand, pausing for a few seconds to assess the man opposite him.

Kalameet, eldest son of Midir—the present second among the Seven Supreme Powers.

Younger than Gehrman by far, yet he knew him well.

The Dragon Kings behind him shared that recognition.

Legends of Saint Gehrman had reached them, tales of his fearsome prowess in active combat—prior to his total retreat from the front lines.

Kalameet didn't keep Gehrman in suspense long. He reached out and shook his hand.

"So the rumors were true after all… Gehrman, and the Shadow Sect. It seems Nameless's sect has not perished yet."

Their hands gripped, then released together.

"The Shadow Sect will not fall so easily," Gehrman declared coolly.

"The warriors my lord Nameless assembled are anything but feeble."

Kalameet nodded deliberately.

"I have no doubt about that."

Bit by bit, Kalameet tightened his fist. Gehrman grasped his meaning immediately.

"Let us not waste time on meaningless talk," Gehrman stated.

"I can see that you've reached your limit, honored guests."

He shoved Nito ahead with a kick, tumbling him down at Kalameet's feet.

"I promised you the head of the Ninth Seat .. and here he is. Crippled, broken… yet still alive."

As Nito crumpled before him, Kalameet wavered briefly while a ferocious killing intent erupted from his frame.

The Dragon Kings behind him mirrored that reaction.

Their loathing for Nito pierced the very heavens.

Kalameet gradually lowered himself to one knee, resting his palm upon Nito's ravaged chest.

"You can't even fathom… how many years we've anticipated this moment."

Through his arm, Kalameet infused a strand of his aura into Nito's form, reviving him sufficiently to gradually awaken.

"A vendetta that endured for far too long. A reckoning delayed across endless ages," Kalameet murmured with icy detachment.

"This betrayer caused the deaths of innumerable kin from our race. He handed us over to the demons—forsaking his own blood and kin… for what?"

While Kalameet uttered these words, Nito's eyelids fluttered open at last.

"For a feeble strength that failed to overcome his inherent flaws from the start."

In that instant, Kalameet's eyes locked with Nito's, igniting terror in the traitor who desperately attempted to shift.

Yet a torrent of burning agony ripped across his frame, revealing that his insides lay in utter ruin.

"You appear completely wretched, old companion," Kalameet sneered, hoisting Nito up by his neck.

"I desired a true duel with you—to pulverize you personally," he added, his features twisted in revulsion.

"However, it looks like another has already done the deed, saving me the trouble of your tainted blood on my hands."

Nito quivered, fighting to form words.

"Kalameet… you, above everyone—you ought to comprehend… the reason behind my betrayal…" he rasped out.

Kalameet's face grew even stormier.

From behind, the Dragon Kings exploded in rage, beseeching their Emperor to grant them Nito's demise.

With merely an uplifted hand, Kalameet quelled their outburst.

Long ago, Nito had stood as Kalameet's most trusted ally… his fiercest competitor and peer.

Nearly simultaneously, both ascended to Pantheon Emperor status, even though Kalameet was much younger.

United, they pursued the elusive trail of Dragon God Midir—the mightiest existence.

They honed their skills without cease, bound by identical drive and purpose.

Yet over time, Nito veered from the righteous course.

Desperation engulfed him, transforming the pursuit of Midir into a mere illusion.

Not just Midir… Nito fell behind Kalameet's surging progress as well.

He cursed his own shortcomings… and in his thirst for might, perpetrated the inexcusable act.

Gazing upon his once-cherished comrade, Kalameet balled his hand into a fist, seething with wrath and loathing.

"No, Nito," the Dragon Emperor declared frostily, done with this exchange.

"You didn't betray me."

"You betrayed only yourself."

Channeling a burst of aura, Kalameet rendered Nito senseless, then flung him toward a Dragon King, signaling restraint from execution.

"My father battles on the Uncharted Continent with the bulk of the Dragon Kings right now," Kalameet stated, pivoting to face Gehrman.

"Fulfilling his role falls to me during his absence."

"You honored your pledge, Saint Gehrman—and so you did," Kalameet went on gravely.

"Thus, I shall honor mine in turn."

Right there, in full view of Gehrman and the stunned Snow, Kalameet proclaimed:

"We shall stand with humanity in the impending war—and battle at their side!"

Gehrman's lips curved into a grin at those words.

They'd secured yet another formidable partner… one poised to shift the scales in the looming strife.

A strife destined to determine Earth's ultimate destiny.

Days remaining until the Shattering : 62 days.