The Achievement Junkie - 548 Skaryn's Final Push

“Stop fighting your demise!” Halmut roared, not letting up.

Skaryn shifted his focus to defense. With a momentary pause on assaulting the dragon, the Dark God would be able to best defend and adapt to another new tactic.

But as Skaryn shifted to defense, he sensed another pillar of light gathering over Kustram. And this one was more than three times the size of those from earlier.

“Go ahead,” Halmut taunted. “I know you want to save them and I know you’re capable. So why not?”

A split second was all Skaryn had. The Dark God knew his limits and was sure he could fend off that distant attack. However, defending the island while Halmut was going all-out would leave the Sun God an opportunity to injure Skaryn yet again.

Still, Skayrn didn’t hesitate. He had never been an indecisive man, something his actions proved time and time again.

Shouting at the top of his lungs, an avalanche of dark energy burst out of Skaryn with perilous ferocity. Though Halmut was practically immune to the energy, the sheer amount of it forced Halmut back a few steps. At the same time, a majority of the energy rushed toward the city. Darkness now covered the entire island nation, too thick for spectators or the dueling gods to see through.

The next moment, the gigantic pillar of light fell through the clouds and clashed with the darkness.

That’s when Halmut went wide-eyed and glanced at his panting former companion. “You would go to such lengths… for them?”

Shrugging, Skaryn didn’t bother saying anything.

“Why, Skaryn? Why not submit and join me?!” Halmut shouted in rage. His actions spoke differently, however, as Halmut retrieved his bladed scepter and lunged into Skaryn. It was a combo attack from his personal weapon and his powerful breath attack, both utilizing all five of Halmut’s magic types.

In response, Skaryn took a deep breath and darted forward with both of his greatswords, attempting to cleave through Halmut’s attacks.

The two collided and came to a grinding halt. One tanked a mighty breath attack to the chest and the other was hacked by a heavy greatsword. Neither was unscathed, to the point where Halmut struggled to heal himself on the fly.

“You still–”

“You’re finished!”

The Sun Dragon rushed backward to retreat but Skaryn stored the second greatsword in an attempt to hold tightly to the fleeing dragon.

They found themselves rushing back toward the island, only the spectators had no clue what was going on and Skaryn wasn’t worried about them at the moment. All Skaryn wanted to do was to hold tightly and complete his seal.

“Fool!” Halmut roared, unleashing his breath attack at point-blank.

But Skaryn didn’t flinch. The Dark God kept his eyes on the greatsword which was glowing bright with each passing second.

Recognizing Skaryn’s determination, Halmut understood one thing. That even if Skaryn left himself wide open and was willing to die, Skaryn wouldn’t act recklessly without being certain that Halmut was doomed also.

In a frantic motion, Halmut ceased his breath attack and instead grabbed Skaryn by the shoulder with one arm. Halmut’s other arm remained at his side until a strange item appeared in his hand. It was finely carved and entirely foreign. But Halmut then forced the medallion-like item into Skaryn’s chest.

Suddenly, pure white light exploded out of the amulet to form rings of raw energy, the same color as Jin’s many raw energy attacks. Those rings circulated and surrounded the Dark God.

Skaryn immediately sensed the threat they posed, recognizing the vast amount of energy contained within each of the five rings. He pulled his greatsword from Halmut’s chest and attempted to break free before he was unable to escape. But Skaryn was already contained. All five of the rings began to slowly close around Skaryn, completely unaffected by Skaryn’s powerful attacks.

“What is this?! This isn’t from–”

“It’s a gift, from Gem to you,” stated Halmut, who was staring down at the gaping hole in his chest. “If I hesitated any more then you would’ve sealed my heart, right?”

“What is–”

“That’s your eternal prison, Skaryn. To guarantee my victory and future partnership, Gem gave me that seal. I didn’t want to use it, but it’s better that you get sealed instead of me. A fitting end for you, isn’t it?” Halmut chuckled as he attempted to heal his wound.

“It won’t work…” Skaryn sighed, failing to break free of the shrinking cage again and again.

Halmut’s cocky chuckle shifted to a frown. The Sun God could sense that his body wasn’t responding as well as it should’ve. “You… You were sealing my mana supply? Skaryn… If only you had accepted… Now I must teach you and your followers a lesson.”

While Skaryn was trapped inside the ever-shrinking cage of energy, Halmut momentarily abandoned thoughts of healing himself. Instead, the Sun God lifted both hands high above his head.

Half a dozen pillars of light took shape above Kustram, getting a serious look from Skaryn.

Disregarding Skaryn’s shouts and vicious attempts to break free, Halmut threw down his arms along with the half a dozen pillars of light.

The shroud of heavy darkness held strong but the third pillar created a dent in the defenses. Then, the fourth and fifth turned that dent into cracks, allowing the sixth pillar of light to break the defenses and scatter the darkness altogether.

“That was some barrier… If it were any stronger, I wouldn’t have been able to breach it in time for you to see the demise of your people,” stated Halmut, staring coldly at the island beneath them.