Chaos Heir

Chapter 1355: Down

On the surface, the clash should have been entirely one-sided, especially on purely physical terms.

The mana had replicated one of the Great Old One’s siblings, creating a beast that was bigger than what Khan had defeated in Coravis. The creature wasn’t quite planet-size, but its stretched body could probably come close to connecting the surface with the atmosphere’s highest point.

Meanwhile, Khan was only a tiny man. For all intents and purposes, he was less than an ant compared to that gargantuan creature. The latter’s scales alone were many times his size, suggesting a sheer impossibility of a fair and proper physical clash.

The shockwave the gargantuan snake generated when its head sprang forward highlighted that immense, apparent gap. The creature’s mere movement was akin to a natural catastrophe. Its simplest physical functions could alter a quadrant’s topography, making weaker forms of life inconsequential.

However, the mana trivialized features like size and physical superiority, especially in battles among evolved beings. Khan was also much more than that, leading to a catastrophic, surreal, and astonishing sight.

The ant stopped the gargantuan monster, and the world paid the price for their clash. A vast canyon opened right under the impact, seemingly attempting to split the very planet in half, and things didn’t end there.

The shockwave generated by the massive body’s motion flew forward, displacing air and azure soil. Something invisible but impossibly heavy crushed the ground, lifting it to create an immense sea of spiked tiles that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The shockwave did hit Liiza, but an invisible barrier over her body gained white shades while trembling to disperse the impact’s violence. Her figure didn’t move at all, unaffected by that artificial disaster, while her cold, glowing eyes remained on her husband.

That single, initial clash gave Khan an idea of the gargantuan mana beast’s prowess. The planet couldn’t replicate the Great Old One’s might but could build something close to it, summoning a monster purely devoted to physical excellence.

Yet, Khan had faced the real deal, so he felt that difference. Despite only fighting the weakest of the bunch, Khan knew a true ancient horror would have been far stronger, so he couldn’t let that insulting imitation exist. His pride didn’t allow it.

That was sort of a first for Khan. He had never felt any real sense of belonging to any species due to his Tainted status.

The closest Khan had come to experiencing something similar had been with the Scalqa while being stranded on Baoway. However, that had mostly come from Zu-Gru’s sacrifice. It would have been disrespectful to become anything less than a proud leader after that event.

Leading the mixed force and becoming a proper Thilku Lord had also tried to make Khan experience that, but his current pride was different. It was an instinctive feeling stemming from immutable characteristics.

In many ways, that pride was utterly irrational and delusional since Khan was no snake, but that hardly changed anything. Due to the universe’s twisted sense of humor, Khan had become the de facto leader of that species of ancient horrors, and the appearance of his daughter brought hope of repopulating it.

Leadership came with heavy duties. Khan was familiar with those, but the new, instinctive spectrum of that aspect added more weight to his mind and actions. He had to show the world what a true ancient horror could do. Khan had to teach the mana some respect.

The massive, azure reptilian head filled Khan’s vision. He could barely look past the scale in front of him due to how big it was.

Yet, the violent impact had destabilized the gargantuan mana beast, while Khan had remained virtually unaffected. He had actually barely felt the clash, which made him angrier about that poor imitation, prompting an immediate attack to follow up on the offensive.

Khan’s right knee remained on the azure scale while his left leg spun, stretching itself until it pointed at the sky. More mana flowed into his cells, which greedily devoured it to push his physical strength to his limits before his heel finally descended.

The heel’s descent carried no technique or martial art. It didn’t feature any advanced execution of Khan’s vast skill set. The mana had tried to replicate pure strength, so he would show it what that field truly entailed.

The descending kick acted as an executioner’s axe, slamming on the still destabilized snake, unleashing a force even its massive body couldn’t hope to endure.

A deafening roar shattered the sky when Khan’s heel landed on the vast scale. The giant reptilian head simply couldn’t remain in the sky, shooting downward to crash into the canyon, followed by part of the gargantuan body.

The crash created another canyon, partially destroying the previous, leaving a cross-shaped groove on the ground. Azure dust rose everywhere, lifting bright clouds that obscured the view of the ground zero.

Part of the serpent’s body was still in the sky, but it suddenly moved, prompting its upper parts to rise out of the new canyon. The huge reptilian head now featured a tall, deep crack on its tip as it rushed through the azure cloud, wanting to resume the battle, but something hit its top, halting its motion.

"Did I give you permission to stand up?" Khan asked, standing with one leg on the center of the reptilian’s head, mana already flowing toward his cells. "Get down where you belong."

The cells in Khan’s stretched legs performed a precise motion, unleashing a descending force without requiring any gesture. Something heavy and unstoppable hit the snake again, sending its head back into the canyon.

The snake grew angrier and hungrier as its body dug through the ground, unable to vanquish the force pushing it down. The creature stirred the entirety of itself, its body snapping like a whip to send its head upward, but something stopped it again before it could even try to rise.

"Is this what you thought of us?" Khan asked, finding himself on top of the snake’s head again, where a new crack had appeared. "It seems I have to adjust your understanding so you’ll never summon such an unbecoming imitation ever again."