DOTM: Chapter 547/549

Chapter 547: Courage?

"Saving the world?"

As one of the heroes who had already saved the world once, Isendra was very concerned about this situation. Saving the world meant that the world was facing a crisis threatening its very existence, and in her impression, there were only a few threats capable of endangering the entire world.

Among them, the most troublesome were the demons from Hell, especially the Great Evils.

"Is there another danger coming?"

Ethan glanced at Isendra. For those who had exhausted all their strength to defeat Diablo, this news might come as a heavy blow. But there was no point in hiding it. Sooner or later, they would all have to face this problem: Diablo's return.

Although by that time, most of these heroes would probably be gone.

Xul seems to still be alive? Ethan couldn't quite remember. He vaguely recalled seeing information that Xul was killed as well, but he couldn't find the source of that claim, so the accuracy was questionable.

"Remember Aidan?"

The name was not unfamiliar to Isendra. He was the one Diablo had possessed, the "host" of the Diablo they had previously defeated.

This person was originally one of the heroes who had fought against Diablo...

"You mean someone among us has been possessed by Diablo? That's impossible!"

Ethan shook his head. Although the guess was similar, Diablo's resurrection this time was somewhat different from before. This time, he didn't directly possess someone, and there were many external factors.

So he briefly explained what he knew to Isendra.

After defeating Diablo, Aidan embedded the Soulstone that imprisoned Diablo's soul into his forehead, hoping to suppress Diablo's power with his own will.

The result was obvious. A human body, even that of a powerful hero, could not possibly suppress the soul of a Lord of Hell. Aidan eventually became Diablo's host, the Dark Wanderer.

At first, Aidan's will still had the upper hand. Diablo had just been defeated and was weakened. He might also have intentionally hidden himself, lulling Aidan into letting down his guard.

Since Adria was able to sense Diablo's power hidden within Aidan, the latter possibility was very high.

In short, after noticing Aidan's condition, Adria deliberately approached him and conceived his child. This child was born carrying Diablo's bloodline and was the most suitable "sacrifice" for Diablo's resurrection. That child was Leah, who caused countless people frustration in the third generation.

After hearing the explanation, even without the details of what came later, Isendra understood the key point.

"That child named Leah has Diablo's power... will she be the key to his resurrection?"

Ethan nodded. Leah was undoubtedly a critical element in the plan to resurrect Diablo this time.

Helping Leah avoid being exploited, and eliminating Adria who was scheming in the shadows, could very likely prevent Diablo's resurrection.

Of course, Diablo might resurrect again someday through some other means, but things he didn't know about and couldn't control were not his concern.

Besides, even without Diablo, this world faced many other crises, and the demons in Hell were far from just those brothers.

"Deckard Cain, perhaps in New Tristram?"

That was a rebuilt city. Ethan didn't know its exact location. Since neither of them was in a hurry, they didn't use teleportation, but instead traveled slowly, enjoying the not-so-short journey.

This gave Isendra the chance to ask more questions about magic, steadily improving her level. At the same time, she shared magical knowledge from the Vizjerei Sanctuary with Ethan, although she felt this knowledge might not be of much help to him anymore.

"No, this knowledge is very useful to me."

The Vizjerei Sanctuary had stored a vast amount of elemental magic knowledge and arcane arts. These things could enrich Ethan's ideas and, to some extent, deepen his understanding of elemental energies. Much of this knowledge could not be discovered through individual effort alone; it was valuable experience accumulated by countless generations of mages.

Ethan hadn't been training for a short time, but it wasn't particularly long either. Combined with his constant traveling, his strength had risen quickly, and he rarely had time to focus on details. The knowledge Isendra provided happened to fill this gap.

In this way, Ethan and Isendra were teaching each other, just like he once exchanged knowledge with Tony. Both sides benefited.

Because of this, Ethan was no longer in a hurry to reach New Tristram. He and Isendra would often stop along the way, sometimes so absorbed in discussion that they simply set up camp, talking for a whole day and night without issue.

Neither of them was a "normal person." Isendra needed only a short rest to recover, and sometimes meditation could replace sleep altogether.

As for Ethan, sleep hardly mattered. He could recover well simply by sitting quietly for a while.

During this journey, Isendra stopped hiding her true thoughts and often used her magic to help those in need. For example, if a small village's fields lacked water, she would summon water for irrigation.

Ethan noticed that Isendra's spell was overdrafting the future, leaving the area in long-term water shortage afterward. This was why the Vizjerei Sanctuary strictly forbade mages from doing such things. They believed such actions were meaningless or even worsened disasters.

But Ethan didn't think Isendra's approach was wrong. If they couldn't survive today, why worry about tomorrow? The old mages of the Sanctuary were just detached, never knowing the pain of the people since they never went hungry or thirsty.

Ethan didn't just stand by either. After Isendra "overdrew" future resources, he used his magic to make up for the losses.

With his vast magic power, he could afford to be willful. He only needed to create a moderate rainfall to improve the area's situation for some time. There might still be slight droughts afterward, but with Isendra's spell followed by his rainfall, the villagers would certainly be able to endure.

At the same time, his actions helped cover some traces. Although rain conjured from his magic couldn't fully transform into real, storable water, even a small portion was enough. The Vizjerei assassins would find it hard to detect any issues and would not come after Isendra.

"Thank you for covering for me."

"No need. It won't stay hidden for long anyway."

As long as Isendra continued like this, she would eventually be targeted by assassins. Ethan had already warned her to be wary of the old mage Froze.

To increase her chances, Isendra learned from Ethan how to "store" magic power in advance. This allowed her to quickly recover after casting a large spell, or use stored magic instead of her own when needed, ensuring her combat power stayed intact.

When assassins thought she was weakened and tried to "take advantage," they would instead find her in peak condition. They would probably curse Froze's ancestors in their minds.

By the time they reached New Tristram, Isendra had already integrated some of the new knowledge into her magic system. Although her total magic power had not skyrocketed overnight (there was an increase, but it took time to fill the larger reservoir), her strength had improved so quickly that her entire aura and spirit had changed. This greatly surprised Deckard Cain when he saw her again.

"What happened? Your strength has improved so quickly."

Sometimes rapid growth wasn't necessarily a good thing. It could mean a loss of control, or that one was being parasitized by a powerful entity, risking loss of self at any moment. Whatever the case, with a powerful mage like Isendra, such a situation was worth attention.

Especially with Aidan as an example, the old man worried she might have been possessed by Diablo.

Unless...

Cain thought of the destroyed Worldstone. Could Isendra have awakened her Nephalem bloodline, which explained her sudden advancement? That would be a better possibility.

"Recently, I met a very powerful mage who gave me guidance. That allowed me to understand many new things."

"So that's it."

Cain nodded and no longer pressed the matter, though he was curious about why Isendra had suddenly come to New Tristram. She had never sought him out before, despite not living in seclusion like other Vizjerei mages. Her sudden appearance could not simply be for reminiscing.

After hearing Cain's question, Isendra turned to look at Ethan beside her. Cain also realized that this young man was the key.

At that moment, Ethan was watching a little girl fetching water nearby. She looked about ten years old, dressed in clean coarse clothes, and kept glancing at him and Isendra with wide, curious eyes.

Just as he was about to explain their purpose to Cain, Ethan suddenly sensed someone peeking at him. He immediately raised his head and met the gaze of the observer.

Their eyes met briefly in the "void" before separating. Ethan curled his lip. "Tsk, Courage?" Then he turned back toward the empty space.

"I think you deserve that title more."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 548: Outer God

Isendra reacted quickly. Not only had she drawn her staff, but both the staff and her hands were already glowing with magical energy, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

However, Ethan reached out and stopped Isendra, signaling her to stay calm.

Just as Ethan made this gesture, a phantom appeared in the previously empty space. It seemed to be wearing a hood that concealed its face, which appeared as a completely black "face" no matter how you looked at it.

The full-body heavy armor, shimmering with a holy silver-white light, and the peculiar white wings fluttering behind him made it clear who this was, even though Ethan had never seen him before.

Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice.

"Imperius is worthy of the name of Valor! He is mobilizing the angelic host to guard against your sudden attack on Heaven."

Tyrael's words were ethereal, giving a sense of unreality. Even so, the content of his words still shocked the few people present.

Cain knew Tyrael and had met him many times. Isendra had also interacted frequently with this Archangel during the battle against Diablo.

They all knew how astonishing Tyrael's strength was, and for such a being to say that Imperius, the Archangel renowned for his martial prowess, was cautiously guarding against Ethan, this young man, was truly too shocking, almost impossible to believe.

Ethan looked Tyrael up and down, observing his ethereal and illusory body, and knew that the Archangel of Justice was not in good shape.

"I still admire your courage. Since you know Imperius is cautiously guarding against my attack on Heaven, why do you, who don't even have a body, appear before me?"

After the great battle with Baal and the destruction of the corrupted Worldstone, Tyrael was also caught in the terrifying explosion, his body directly shattered into pieces.

According to the original plot, he would spend twenty years in the Realm of Chaos to reconstruct his body, then return to Heaven, officially ushering in the prelude to the third act's plot, Heaven's Justice (Angels).

Yet now he had appeared here ahead of time. This was a change caused by Ethan, and the other party was clearly here for him.

Tyrael currently had no true body at all. Although angels in this world were miraculous life forms akin to energy conglomerates, they would absolutely not appear like Tyrael did now, like an illusory image.

The greatsword in his hand was the only object with a sense of reality. The Archangel of Justice slightly raised the weapon and adopted a defensive stance, looking ready to act at any moment.

However, he took note of Cain and the young Leah and ultimately did not strike. Unless his hood shifted slightly, a normal person wouldn't be able to tell if his gaze had moved. He simply stood where he was and asked Ethan his purpose.

"Outlander, state your purpose."

"Actually, I'm here to save this world. Do you believe that?"

He could clearly sense the greatsword in Tyrael's hand tremble slightly. Regardless, the Archangel of Justice was startled by Ethan's answer.

"Save the world?"

Tyrael slightly lowered the greatsword in his hand. He was very curious how Ethan planned to save the world, and what part of this world needed saving anyway.

Ethan didn't beat around the bush, nor did he play any "guess what" games. He stretched out his hand and pointed at Leah, who was quietly moving away from him because Cain had secretly signaled her, since Cain trusted Archangel Tyrael implicitly, and in this situation, he was quite wary of Ethan. This wouldn't change just because Ethan had come with Isendra.

Although Isendra was a hero who had defeated Diablo and saved the world, it didn't mean heroes couldn't fall, especially since this was a powerful being from another world. Tempting a hero to fall didn't seem difficult to understand.

"Because of this young girl?"

Tyrael felt that the person opposite him was mocking him. He raised the greatsword in his hand again. Although his power was in its weakest state ever, he would absolutely not evade the battle he should face just because he was weak.

Ethan didn't know Tyrael very well. He only remembered that Tyrael often sided with humanity. From a human perspective, Tyrael was the best angel.

In fact, more and more angels in Heaven were dissatisfied with Tyrael. Imperius was definitely not the only angel who disliked him. He was just the one who showed it most intensely.

At the same time, Tyrael was the most stubborn angel among all of them. It was difficult for him to change his mind once he had decided on something, which could be seen from the fact that he would rather abandon his angelic status than not stand by humanity.

Therefore, Ethan's identity as an outsider from another world meant it was difficult for him to gain Tyrael's trust. No matter what he said, even if it was the truth, it would be discounted in Tyrael's mind.

In this situation, this awkward battle was simply unavoidable. However, what surprised Ethan was that another angel was preparing to intervene.

"It seems I really misunderstood him just now."

Ethan and Tyrael looked up almost simultaneously. To onlookers, these two were merely looking at the ordinary ceiling, but their gazes had long since penetrated the barriers between these connected worlds, looking toward the Archangel of Valor who had arrayed his forces in Heaven.

As the commander of the angelic host, the Archangel of Valor, who possessed the greatest strategic mind and countless proud achievements, Imperius naturally wouldn't be scared away by a mere glance.

After sensing Ethan's situation, being able to accurately locate himself in Heaven meant the other party could see through Heaven's location, he immediately made the necessary arrangements, arraying his forces and waiting for Ethan to arrive, preparing to give this newcomer who appeared out of nowhere a harsh lesson.

After he had completed all of this, he found that the outsider was confronting Tyrael. Although he was very dissatisfied that Tyrael always sided with humanity, at this time, he would not let Tyrael act as cannon fodder. The proud Archangel of Valor did not need others to help him test the enemy.

Furthermore, Tyrael's current condition was really not good. He probably couldn't even unleash 30 percent of his strength, so going up like this would simply be suicide.

So he decisively issued a challenge signal, a very sincere invitation for Ethan to fight in Heaven, this invitation could roughly be condensed into one word: Face me.

"Want to go see Heaven?"

Before Isendra, and the nearby Deckard Cain and Leah could react, Ethan directly activated group teleportation. Isendra wouldn't resist Ethan's teleportation, and Deckard Cain and Leah had no power to refuse.

Thus, after the magical light of teleportation flashed and disappeared, the few people were already standing before the Diamond Gate.

Imperius, along with his angelic host, was waiting for Ethan in full battle array, but he hadn't expected Ethan to come alone.

Tyrael arrived closely behind him. He didn't return directly to the angelic host's ranks but continued to watch Ethan, guarding against him doing anything to Cain and Leah.

Ethan, however, was looking at the angelic host before him with great interest, especially Imperius, who was leading them.

At the same time, he glanced at Leah, who was curiously looking around beside him.

This scene, which should have happened in the future, had occurred early because of his arrival. However, this time, the enemy Imperius faced was not the resurrected Diablo.

Speaking of Diablo, Imperius hadn't paid much attention to the humans initially, but when he saw Leah, his gaze paused noticeably.

The thick faceplate perfectly concealed everything, making it impossible to determine whether Imperius's current expression was one of confusion or shock. Of course, even without the faceplate, there likely wouldn't have been an expression for anyone to observe.

But one thing was certain. This commander of the angelic host, who had fought Diablo for countless years and considered him his greatest enemy, instantly sensed the bloodline of the Lord of Hell within Leah.

"Diablo?"

"Oh, as expected of Diablo's arch-enemy, you immediately spotted the key point."

Imperius's surprise and doubt also reminded Tyrael. The Archangel of Justice, whose strength was greatly diminished, finally understood the message conveyed by Ethan's earlier words.

So, this outsider really came to help? Then this whole thing was actually a misunderstanding?

Even so, knowing Imperius as Tyrael did, it was likely that this misunderstanding couldn't be resolved easily with just a few words of explanation.

"Hmph, whether it's Diablo's foul bloodline or beings from other worlds, since you have come here, the only outcome awaiting you is death at my hands!"

Imperius lightly raised a hand, and the blazing sun high above suddenly flashed with intense light. Then a beam of light shot straight down in front of Imperius, finally transforming into a long spear that Imperius held in his hand.

At this moment, Cain also understood the details of the situation. Isendra took the opportunity to explain what she knew to Cain, and Tyrael, standing nearby, naturally didn't miss a single piece of information.

When Imperius summoned the Spear of Valor, Solarian, Tyrael stood in front of Ethan and the others.

"It seems this is a misunderstanding. There is no need for this meaningless battle."

However, not only did Imperius ignore Tyrael, but Ethan also paid no mind to Tyrael's attempt to mediate. Imperius was the most difficult angel to deal with in Heaven. He was hostile to all beings other than angels, a true angel supremacist who believed all life outside of angels should be annihilated. This was also his biggest conflict with Tyrael, because Tyrael was too inclined to favor humanity.

How could such a person possibly stop when faced with this situation?

Therefore, at the same time Imperius summoned the Spear of Valor, Ethan already had a black and red greatsword in his hand, and he had also donned the Gold Cloth he hadn't used for a long time.

This time, he chose not the Gemini Gold Cloth, but the Sagittarius Gold Cloth that he had never used before.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 549: Holy Star Shining Pulse

Ethan chose the Sagittarius Gold Cloth not only because it was the only one of the twelve Gold Cloths with wings, but also because Heaven was filled with positive energy. This energy, which leaned toward positive attributes, was very suitable for this Cloth. From its design phase, it was a Cloth imbued with positive energy attributes.

If angels had a combat power bonus in Heaven, Ethan did too.

The Holy Cloth, shimmering with sacred radiance, was worn on his body. Unlike the Gemini helmet, the Sagittarius headpiece was more of a headdress than a helmet, offering no defense. It also would not obstruct his vision or flatten his hair, so Ethan left it on his head.

The massive golden wings folded behind him, and besides allowing the wearer of this Cloth to fly freely, they also served as Sagittarius's armory.

As the only golden bow and arrow among the twelve Gold Cloths whose weapons were not confiscated and centrally managed by Libra, Ethan stored them in the wings, or more precisely, in the area where the wings connected to the backplate. Besides storing the golden bow, this location also served to retract the massive wings when not in use.

Furthermore, the arrows, which were consumables, were all transformed from the golden feathers on the wings. Ethan had not used this Cloth for a long time precisely because he was reluctant to shoot off the feathers from his perfectly good wings.

He did not know where the original Sagittarius Cloth got its seemingly endless golden arrows, but to account for rapid firing and long-term combat needs, he had to design it this way. Therefore, Sagittarius's ammunition was limited. Even if the arrows were fired and not destroyed, they would automatically return to the wings after a certain time, but they were ultimately not inexhaustible and could not be used carelessly.

What is more, some powerful moves would directly destroy the golden arrows, making them completely unrecoverable.

Now he no longer had this worry. Ethan's ability to convert magic into matter was becoming more proficient. Aside from certain special techniques, he could construct arrows using magic for attacks. Their power was no less than that of the arrows transformed from the golden feathers, and they could have more special abilities.

However, this time he did not use his bow and arrow. He swung his greatsword and charged forward, directly confronting Imperius's Spear of Valor.

The Spear of Valor, Solarian, carried intense heat. The blade part was like red-hot iron. Ordinary objects struck by the spear blade would be cut through like cheese.

The red and black greatsword in Ethan's hand suffered no damage. The moment the spear blade and sword blade collided, the powerful magic contained within the sword erupted furiously, turning into surging flames that instantly engulfed the area where the two were fighting.

The impact of the explosion sent both Ethan and Imperius flying back. At this moment, Tyrael still wanted to intervene and dissuade them.

The battle erupted so suddenly. Imperius could transform into a white stream of light and move in an instant. This movement method was very similar to a mage's teleportation. Even if you could see the trajectory of the white light, it was difficult to attack him.

One reason was the extreme speed, and another was that after converting into an energy form, he was somewhat immune to most attack methods.

The two individuals, gods perhaps, understood each other's situation after a simple test.

Imperius still looked the same. His face, covered by heavy armor, made it impossible to see his current expression. For these angels, the armor they wore was actually part of their bodies, just like Tyrael always wore a hood, but it was always pitch black underneath. That was his angelic form.

However, Ethan's appearance still retained his human form, and his face showed the same range of expressions as a human. All the equipment on his body was external.

Therefore, Imperius could judge the opponent's situation through Ethan's expression.

The result was not optimistic. His previous spear thrust had actually used more than half his strength, but the opponent had received it very easily. From the outcome, their strengths were nearly equal, and the opponent likely had not used his full power either.

Although Imperius noticed that the energy Ethan used was very similar to the power used by angels, he still would not stop. Ethan was not an angel, and this was the source of the conflict, and it could not be changed.

"Outsider, your strength is great, but you will still die here today."

Imperius's strength ranked among the top of the angels, and in some ways, he could even be ranked first. Although his only two battles in the story were rather embarrassing, this did not negate his combat power.

Ethan flexed his wrist, and a very subtle discomfort quickly disappeared. Perhaps his self-recovery ability was stronger than Imperius's?

This could not be confirmed. After all, this was Heaven, the opponent's home ground. It was filled with energy beneficial to angels, allowing them to display combat power far beyond their normal strength.

However, this energy was not a disadvantage for Ethan either. The Holy Cloth on his body began to radiate a more noticeable light. The energy gathered on the Cloth, to some extent, could enhance Ethan's strength, speed, defense, and more.

To onlookers, it looked as if golden flames were burning on Ethan's body. These flames were not violent but very gentle. The few people standing nearby felt a warm sensation, as if basking in sunlight.

The only difference was the greatsword in Ethan's hand. The flames on the strangely shaped greatsword were more intense, like a fiercely burning black iron rod.

Ethan attacked again. No one saw how he disappeared. When he reappeared, he was standing where Imperius had been. He fiercely swung his greatsword down. In the area slashed by the blade during the strike, a pillar of fire erupted violently.

The pillar of fire, over two meters in diameter, shot up into the sky. Imperius, who reacted quickly enough to dodge the slash, was grazed by the subsequent pillar of fire. Although the terrifying high temperature did not cause him serious damage, it greatly angered the proud Archangel.

Imperius, still retreating in the air, used that special movement method again. While the pillar of fire was still erupting toward the sky, he appeared behind Ethan. He fiercely thrust the Spear of Valor, intending to pierce Ethan's head.

The Spear of Valor was only halfway through its thrust when a flash of golden light suddenly appeared before him. Ethan's massive wings behind him could not only be used for flying and as an armory, but also as shields and weapons when necessary. Just as they blocked the spear thrust, Ethan, using the wings for cover, twisted his body and slashed toward Imperius's side.

Imperius's combat experience was very rich. The moment his first attack was blocked, he chose to retreat, creating distance between himself and Ethan, causing Ethan's attack to miss.

As he retreated, the Spear of Valor in his hand suddenly emitted an even more intense light, and a beam of light as thick as an arm shot out from the spear tip.

Besides being used for melee combat, the Spear of Valor could also release a high-temperature energy ray with decent lethality. However, this simple attack method had limited effectiveness against powerful enemies.

Ethan was definitely among the top enemies Imperius had encountered. He did not expect such a simple attack to be effective.

As expected, when Ethan on the opposite side turned to face the ray he had fired, he did not even bother to dodge. He simply stood straight and raised his empty left hand.

Puff.

There was no explosion or shockwave. Instead, a strange muffled sound was heard. Ethan's left hand flashed with an even more intense light, directly neutralizing Imperius's ray.

That was not all. The light on Ethan's hand gradually became more dazzling. Imperius realized that the opponent seemed to want to counter with a move.

Perhaps it was a similar disruptive attack, intended to hit him while he was dodging. Should he take it head-on?

Imperius was overthinking. Ethan's move did not give him time to dodge at all.

Or rather, by the time he was debating whether to dodge, it was already too late.

Holy Star Shining Pulse.

The correct translation should be Chiron's Luminous Pulse, but since Ethan made these Cloths, he could name the moves however he wanted.

So he chose this name as the official name for this move.

This move, which gathered a large amount of positive energy, could be explained in one sentence: a very fast, high-quality positive energy bombardment.

It was so fast that by the time the move was unleashed, the target had already been hit. According to the standard of Gold Saints, their moves reached the speed of light, meaning they were almost guaranteed to hit. However, the Cloths Ethan made were difficult to reach this level. Only the Holy Star Shining Pulse, due to its inherent light attribute, infinitely approached this standard.

The thick golden-yellow beam of light directly plowed a trench in the ground. Imperius, who was standing opposite Ethan, was blasted into the distant massive wall by this beam.

When the light dissipated, Imperius, embedded in the wall, lay motionless in the crater. Many wounds appeared on his body, and the surface of his heavy armor even showed scorched marks. This shocked him more than being knocked back.

The energy Ethan used was almost identical in nature to the energy he used. Being blasted away was nothing, but his body being scorched by the energy he was most familiar with was the truly unsettling part.

Because the energies were nearly identical, Ethan was able to immunize himself against Imperius's ray attack when he condensed a more powerful and higher-quality energy. Being more concentrated and higher in quality meant this energy could barely be absorbed, or rather, it had exceeded Imperius's tolerance limit. In this situation, the energy would display its violent side, and causing some damage was not strange at all.

At this moment, Ethan continued his attack. His empty left hand retrieved the golden bow from behind him, and then he placed the greatsword from his right hand onto the bowstring.

(To be continued.)