Apocalypse: Infinite Breaker Online-Chapter 66: A Pact, Unexpected Rewards

Waving his hand, Axir took out his second defense weapon.

Sunfall Bastion Aegisplate.

It was a rectangular wall-shield with a heavy inscriptive design and carvings of gold and bronze with molten red patterns.

This was the simplest weapon among the twelve he had.

[Sunfall Bastion Aegisplate]

Defense: 200 + (200% Constitution + 100% Arcane)

Cost: 1% Mana per hit blocked.

<Flame Core: Sunfall Aegisblaze>

—> Whenever hit, generate 1 Sunfall Ember. Each Sunfall Ember increases the omni-defense of the shield by 10% of the last hit’s damage.

—> Increase the size of the shield by 100% per +1% increase in cost.

That was it. However, despite this Flame Core having only these two simple effects, it was insanely strong.

Defense increased based on 10% of damage? It would literally make this shield unbreakable the more hits it took. To prevent it from getting destroyed easily and make it even tougher, it just needed to get buffed and synergize with some good defense cards.

The size effect was quite good as well. It would double in size at the cost of 1% Mana per hit, and it was a compound increase.

It was already 1.5 meters tall and 0.7 meters wide in its normal size.

So, at double its size, it could easily protect multiple people. And its size doubled again if the cost became 3% per hit, becoming 6 meters tall and 2.8 meters wide!

Of course, its weakness was enemies with multiple hits at once, which would consume Mana insanely fast, so the player responsible for defense must have all three buff slots filled with Mana recovery-related buffs if possible.

"Take this shield with you and join Lexi and the others. It will be easier with this shield. Drink Mana potions to last longer." Axir paused for a second before continuing. "And here are your instructions. After two hours and twenty-one minutes from now, I will enter the game. At that time, I’ll go straight to Selena, and your job is to split the group into a puzzle area, which will give you a treasure chest if you complete the puzzle. I’ll give more details and the location of this puzzle area, but when you split, bring Jason to where I am. I’ll send you my location once you arrive in that area."

Aoi blinked. "Well, I’ll do as you say. But what are you planning?"

"I’m just starting the downfall of Jason." Axir grinned. "I can’t wait to put him and Yuta into my personal hell first, and this is the first step of it. You’ll see what I mean when you bring him." Axir smiled. "You can go now. I have another business to attend to."

In the next moment, he vanished. In a couple of seconds, he arrived thousands of meters above the sky.

"Devil Maine," Axir spoke aloud. "Show yourself."

Dark mist with purple sparks manifested, soon transforming into the Master of the 11th Despair Pillar—Devil Maine.

"Do you know what I want to do? Can you read my mind?" Axir asked straightforwardly.

Devil Maine blinked. "Unfortunately, I cannot. But what I can read is the darkness of one’s heart. And I see it has increased. It seems you have decided something."

’I knew it.’ Axir’s eyes glinted.

"I have indeed made a decision." Axir smiled devilishly. "Make me the master of the 10th Despair Pillar."

"I’ll accept the legacy Deck—Demonic Wheel of Uneven Scales. I am joining this with the goal to sit on the 1st Despair Pillar and become the strongest. To rule this world where the minority rules over the majority."

"Hahaha, wonderful!" Devil Maine laughed. "I was not wrong about you!"

Gesturing with his hand and bowing gentlemanly, he opened an infernal portal in front of Axir.

"Please, come to the devil realm and allow us to bestow you with the 10th Despair Pillar Master’s legacy."

"Sounds like an adventure." Axir grinned. "Let’s go."

Just as Axir moved forward, the surroundings froze.

Devil Maine also froze as absolute darkness permeated everything.

A single vertical eye split open on the horizon before Axir, large and heavenly, yet embodying the end of everything.

From there, a figure manifested and arrived before Axir.

Ash-laden skin, pale as cremation grounds, marked with sacred lines that seemed to shift between white and blue.

Matted locks of dark hair coiled atop his head like serpents, with the crescent moon nestled within them, glowing faintly. A third eye sat closed upon his forehead, radiating ominous pressure even in its dormant state.

He held a trishul—a three-pronged trident that hummed with the vibration of creation and destruction. Below its upper prongs, a small damaru, the two-headed hourglass-shaped hand drum, was tied to the handle with sacred thread. The drum pulsed with the rhythm of time itself.

Around his neck coiled a serpent, its eyes gleaming with ancient wisdom. Ash smeared across his chest and arms marked him as the ascetic lord who dwells beyond material existence. Yet despite the simplicity, his presence was overwhelming—neither purely benevolent nor malevolent, but absolute.

"As someone who managed to stir my ashes and then go on this path, I couldn’t help but visit you for a talk before you head into this."

Shiva, the Destroyer and the Regenerator. The Lord of Beginnings and Ends.

"Shiva..." Axir’s lips trembled. A burst of curiosity bubbled in him at meeting the god that had interested him the most lore-wise when he read about Indian mythos.

Shiva laughed. "Indeed. Your interest in me has influenced your path subconsciously. Hence, here I am."

"Speak. Satiate your curiosity first. Then I shall tell you why I am here."

"Thank you." Axir grinned. "I am just very curious about your existence and its definition. Due to the concept of multiverse and reincarnation cycles in Hindu mythos, the gods are quite multi-layered, and the main ones are... concepts of nature."

Shiva smiled. "We are beings of concepts. Of the chaos and order we represent. Of the lives we represent."

"What do you represent?" Axir asked. "I am going on a devil’s path. I am going to inflict harm and pain on others. Is this not bad in your eyes?"

"Haha," a mirthy chuckle left Shiva’s mouth. "I am just an Adiyogi. I guide the living and soothe the dead. I am beyond good and evil, child."

"I am the end and the beginning." Shiva’s smile slowly faded. "But I also care for the good of one’s heart, for my heart yearns for the compassion of life."

Shiva sighed. "But just like I can’t respond to a crying mother’s plea to save her newborn child, I also can’t personally punish the evil that harms the innocent souls."

"The anger I have may destroy the world altogether for a new beginning as I soothe the souls of the dead, but I cannot do that."

"For I am merely a way of life."

Shiva’s eyes glimmered. "Child, I see the end you wish to bring, and the beginning you desire to create."

"So I am here to put shackles on you."

’What?’ Axir blinked.

"Shackles that if you stray from this path, I will personally burn your soul and hold your ashes eternally." Shiva smiled. A hint of amusement was clearly visible. But it was also clear he wasn’t joking.

However, the choice was up to Axir.

"Well, this went dramatic quite fast, but..." Axir wiped sweat off his forehead.

Taking a deep breath, Axir grinned. "But I like this."

Shiva nodded, his palm facing Axir. "Do not take the darkness you are about to embrace lightly. If you give in and harm those you are not meant to, your path will end. The belief you are trying to forge will shatter."

Axir solemnly nodded.

Shiva’s palm gleamed before Axir saw a mystical snake manifesting on his arm. It slithered toward his palm and then shot into Axir’s body at a speed beyond perception.

[You have accepted a Soul Pact.]

"Here’s a small gift from me for accepting this Soul Pact."

[You have acquired a Divine Epiphany from Lord Rudra, the Bane of Darkness and Bearer of Storms.]

’Rudra? But that’s Shiva’s other form.’ Axir blinked. ’So the Divine Epiphany is related to Bane of Darkness and Bearer of Storms?’

"This snake is Vasuki, my ardent devotee. By becoming my ornament, he gained mastery over fear, death, and ego. I shall create an artifact out of his power and bestow it on you."

[You have acquired a Divine Artifact card—Naga Lord’s Bindings.]

A card entered Axir’s body. And then a bangle appeared on his wrist, a bangle of a carved snake with exotic patterns.

"Anyone and anything bound by this artifact must absolutely obey you."

Axir’s eyes shone. "Wow. Thank you so much."

’A Divine Epiphany and a Divine Artifact? Holy...!’ Axir was overwhelmed.

He wasn’t expecting to get such powerful rewards. But he needed everything he could get on this path.

"Thank you so much, really. I will not stray from my path and will succeed." Axir clenched his fists.

A pure and compassionate smile bloomed on Shiva’s face.

"May you succeed in your endeavors, child. Any evil you vanquish, I shall take their souls and soothe them before sending them into the cycle of reincarnation."

"Bless you."

The darkness vanished.

Time resumed.

"Did something happen?" Devil Maine blinked as he looked around.

Axir blinked. ’By the way, can devils attack me if I enter their realm?’

[No. Non-player entities summoned on Earth cannot harm any players directly.]

’Good. I just have to make sure I am not harmed indirectly.’

"Yeah. I was visited by a god," Axir casually answered Devil Maine and continued walking toward the portal. "Well, nothing’s changing my mind, so let’s go."

’Nothing will change my mind to write the first arc of my book of belief perfectly as I envisioned.’

Thrill and anticipation whirled in Axir’s eyes as he stepped through the portal and saw the vast infernal realm from high above—filled with monsters, demons, and chaotic pillars spread far and wide, each occupying multiple-hundred-kilometer territories with unique biomes.

"All devils have been informed. Let us head toward the 10th Despair Pillar for the ceremony."