Strongest Demigod System-Chapter 107: Becoming The Shadows

Azrael shot forward!

[Battle Sense] has been activated!

Both men reached into their holsters to pull out firearms, but Azrael was faster than them!

The men were also demigods, but they had never gone to Divine Academy, and they only trained their mortal bodies since they didn’t have strong God Aspects or Divine potential.

The stronger of the two was a B Rank in mortal body, and the other one was a C Rank.

Azrael didn’t know any of this, but he knew that retreating wasn’t an option in situations like these.

If Azrael turned around and ran, then the entire mansion would be alerted to his presence, and there was no way he would get out of here alive.

He had to kill these men before getting to Harold, and the only way forward was to fight!

Azrael got to the first man before he could unholster his firearm and slashed his sword forward! The man brought out the gun and tried to use the metal barrel to stop the sword.

The bodyguard’s gun was crafted from some of the strongest metal because it was fitted with ammunition that fired bullets ten times more destructive than regular bullets, so they knew that it would be capable of stopping regular swords.

But the Oathkeeper wasn’t a regular sword!

The sword carved through the barrel like paper and traveled into the man’s grip! It tore the man’s arm right down the middle before continuing into the man’s shoulder!

SLASH!

"ARGHHHH!!"

The bodyguard screamed as his arm was taken clean off by the sword, and Azrael immediately stabbed his sword up into the man’s neck to kill him!

SQUELCH!

Bang! Bang!

Two bullets were fired from behind Azrael, and Azrael immediately activated [Frozen Tundra].

Azrael had never used the ability before, but he knew that the F-ranked God Aspect [Water Shield] was capable of stopping bullets in their tracks when activated!

Since the Frozen Tundra skill was made from the combination of [Water Shield] and [Atomic Freeze], it would be much stronger and faster than its predecessors!

And just like Azrael thought, the Frozen Tundra skill came to life with the force of an Arctic god!

An ice age surged across the hallway in a wave of pure white that covered everything behind Azrael!

The bullets that were fired froze in midair just in front of Azrael’s face, and Azrael followed the bullet trajectory to see that the man who fired the bullet was also frozen in place by the God Aspect’s might.

He was standing with his gun pointed towards Azrael, but his entire body was covered in white ice along with everything around him.

Azrael narrowed his eyes at the man before he walked forward and swung his sword across the man’s neck!

SLASH!

The man’s frozen head fell off his shoulder and smashed against the ground!

Smash!

[The user has killed two Divine Beings]

+2 Strength

+65 units of Divine Essence

[The user has acquired [1] Artificial God Aspect]

Assimilation – E

…

Assimilation: As a fight progresses, the user absorbs the essence of their opponent’s fighting style, instinctively understanding their techniques and rhythm.

…

The system sent the message signifying the absorption of a God aspect. And another notification appeared, announcing that Azrael had absorbed enough Divine Essence to continue the Lithany of Ascension and rank up his core, but Azrael ignored it as he started heading for the door.

Azrael had only gotten one God Aspect from the kills because the second Demigod had an F-Ranked Aspect, and according to the conditions set by Soul Eater, Azrael could only absorb Aspects that were of the same rank or higher than his God Aspect ranking.

Azrael grabbed the door handle, and his eyes narrowed when he felt his natural instinct warning him of danger!

Azrael moved to the side immediately as multiple bullets rained through the door!

The gunshots continued for a while until they stopped for a moment, and Azrael used that opening to shoot forward and into the room!

BOOM!

Azrael broke through the door and activated [Frozen Tundra], freezing everything inside in white ice!

There was a single man standing on the opposite side of the door, and he had been in the middle of reloading his gun when Azrael froze him.

The man was another one of Harold’s bodyguards, and Azrael looked around the room with a frown to see that there was no one else there.

The room was dark, but Azrael’s skill helped him to see perfectly well as he walked in silently.

There were no windows or doors in the room, so there was no way Harold could have escaped through an opening.

That meant there had to be a hidden exit somewhere.

Azrael walked past the frozen man and swung his sword in an arc, taking his head off.

[The user has killed [1] Divine Being]

+1 Strength

+15 units of Divine Essence

Azrael walked towards the desk in the middle of the room.

The room was actually an office with a large shelf filled with books on one side. The desk in the middle had multiple gadgets on it along with a single idol made from wood. It had multiple hands like a Buddha and folded wings. It also had a goat-like head with an emerald shining at its center.

…

[The user has acquired the [Effigy of Baphomet - E]]

Effigy of Baphomet: An artifact sculpted by an ancient race who dedicated their lives to the worship of their god, Baphomet. The Effigy contains the hope and despair of the now mostly extinct race and can grant great power to those who pray upon it.

Effects of the Effigy of Baphomet:

+1 Rank to Luck for 10 minutes

+10 in Strength and Durability for 10 minutes

Bonus Effect of the Effigy of Baphomet:

+20 in all stats for 10 minutes

[Bonus Effects are available only to worshipers of Baphomet]

…

Azrael was surprised that something like this was left out so easily, but he then remembered that Harold was an artifact dealer and knew that this was what he must’ve been working on before he ran away.

’How do I use it?’

Azrael thought this, and the system responded:

[To pray to the Effigy, place it against your heart for two seconds.]

Azrael did as he was told, and he felt a small boost in his attack power as the emerald in the center of the Effigy’s head shone a bright green and surrounded him in a green hue.

Glint!

Something shone from the side, and Azrael turned to the shelf sharply.

One of the books stacked on the shelf had a piece of metal attached to it, and that’s what glinted against the dim light of the room.

Azrael immediately threw the artifact into his Divine Storage and started to move towards the shelf.

The book that glinted was leaning out at a weird angle from the other books, and Azrael reached out and tilted it downwards!

Groan!

The shelf groaned and Azrael took a step back as the flap began to move.

The shelf rotated to reveal a hidden exit, and Azrael only looked around once to make sure he didn’t leave any traces of his presence before he entered the exit and headed down as the door closed behind him.

…

A long stairway lay in front of Azrael, descending into a dark cavern below.

Azrael took silent steps forward while looking around.

The stairway was pitch black, but that wasn’t an issue for him, and Azrael saw that there was a light at the end of the tunnel a few hundred meters down.

Azrael moved to the side to hug the wall where the shadows were thickest, and he felt his form melting into the darkness of the cave. His silent steps became one with the stillness of the air. His breath became short, and his chest unmoving.

His sword swallowed the light around it like a sponge in water, casting his figure in the deepest blackness.

…Azrael became the shadows themselves.

He moved toward the light at the end of the tunnel, and as he neared, he heard voices echoing from around the bend.

"I heard the door move! Don’t you think that is one of the guards?"

"I don’t know, sir. Please just stay put until they give us the signal."

"Signal!? There’s an assassin here to kill me! I don’t care about signals! I want to know that he is dead!"

"Sir, please don’t do anything rash!"

It was Gerald and another guard who were talking, and Azrael listened for a few seconds to know if there was anyone else in the room.

There were no other voices, and Azrael deduced that they were the only two left, so he stepped forward until he was right on the barrier between the shadows and the light beyond.

The room that Gerald was hiding in was actually an artifact storage.

There were close to a hundred artifacts all around the room. Weapon-based artifacts, wearable artifacts, and even artifacts that were in the form of precious metals.

They had all been encased in glass prisons that protected them from outside interaction.

And on the other end of the room, Harold stood with a deep scowl on his face.