Chapter 157: Apocalyptic! IV
A Dharma Manifestation Entity moved.
And yet, Achilles stood still.
The six Ascendant Lunar and Solar Constructs rose around him, unfurling in radiant glory.
A new reality bloomed as the six massive hands of the Manifestation Entity descended—fast, furious, and final, only to be met by the rising figures of three Solareth Constructs and three Myxilith Constructs.
Each Construct took a hand head-on.
Golden pillars of scorching white sunlight blasted against three of the descending palms, while a veil of night—thick and starless—covered the others, as if half the sky itself had been cloaked in shadow.
BOOM!
The collision was cataclysmic. The skies trembled.
Violent winds erupted, spreading in all directions, as the massive Lunar Dreadnought in disguise was thrown backward, tumbling through the clouds.
Even the warships miles away, suspended in the sky, felt the aftershock—tossed and spun like toys in the grip of a terrifying tempest. It was as if the apocalypse itself had arrived.
And this…this was merely the impact between one Dharma Manifestation Entity and six Apex Ethereal Physiology Constructs, forged through incomprehensible assimilation that no one else could hope to understand.
The fact that they could even withstand the initial blow proved how evenly matched both sides were.
But Achilles knew better.
His Solareth Constructs had cracked, their golden hands shattered and broken alongside fissures spreading over their upper bodies. The silver-white robes of Moonshadow draped on the Myxilith Constructs were torn, their figures pushed back and their backs split and torn!
The power of a Dharma Manifestation Entity…it was that heavy.
But—
BZZT!
White flames danced across the bodies of his Constructs. The Nirvanic Sun Moon Phoenix Flame washed over them, wrapping their wounds, healing torn limbs and shredded veils.
In a heartbeat, they were whole again, standing tall like a terrifying line of defense before Achilles. Unyielding! Regal! Defiant!
Their gazes brimmed with ruthless brilliance, loyal only to the one who summoned them.
Judge Zerrion Draal reeled in astonishment and fury.
Behind Achilles, Luna and Nyxaria Moonveil Lunaris trembled, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Meanwhile, a flamkng green Phoenix nodded her head as if this was to be expected of her Little Fatty.
Was this real?
Achilles...was truly holding his own against a Dharma Manifestation Entity?
It seemed impossible.
And yet he ignored the stares and gasps, raising his voice calmly as if nothing around him had changed.
"As I was saying."
HUUM!
He lifted his hand and clenched his fist, making a declaration heard by all.
"For sending Evolutius Beast armies to the Colony City of Neon and labeling its protectors as Heretics, as you've done to other Colony Cities, the Colony City of Neon is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Lunaris Colony Dynasty."
…!
A terrifying declaration was made.
Achilles, known to many as King Primal, was revealing to the world that the very rulers of the Dynasty had orchestrated this apocalyptic event. That the ones in power had allowed beasts to surge toward Neon. That they had branded its defenders as traitors.
And now, across countless screens—projected by aerial vessels and hovering drones—his face and voice echoed through the Colony City of Neon.
A voice not just heard but felt heavily by all.
A voice that declared- Neon is no longer a part of the Lunaris Colony Dynasty!
No longer one of the Thirteen Colonies!
"Ha!"
Zerrion Draal's laughter boomed, shaking the air as six hands rose, each gathering a purple flaming sun in their palms.
"You think your little rebellion can separate Neon from the Lunaris Colony Dynasty?! Neon has and will always belong to Lunaris! You are nothing more than a child with delusions of grandeur, and you think you can declare war and be taken seriously? Your words mean nothing!"
The Judge's voice roared with pride and fury.
But Achilles only met his gaze with coldness.
"Neon is no longer part of the Lunaris Dynasty," he said. "And for endangering it, Neon declares war against its aggressors. And for threatening me, I declare war on the Lunaris Throne."
…!
He had spoken.
Openly.
For all to hear.
Nyxaria had once whispered plans of rebellion. Secret, careful plans.
But here, now, Achilles had made a declaration not in the shadows, but beneath the blazing skies.
War. Public and proud.
The manifestation of Zerrion Draal raged, his voice thunderous.
"You have no authority to declare anything, puny worm! You are nothing. No royal lineage. No esteemed bloodline. Nothing in this world to back your claims."
…!
His tone turned deadly. Final.
He planned to erase everything.
And yet Achilles stood unshaken. Behind him, wings of regal purple and incandescent gold erupted from his back, framing him in wondrous majesty. His clenched fist pulsed with the flaming sea of power buried in the depths of his soul.
He remembered his father.
The Eighth Adrastia Emperor King.
He saw again the dream—the throne surrounded by ten thousand warriors adorned in golden armor, whose mere shadows could flatten empires.
He remembered.
And he let go.
He released every restraint as his voice rang out, clear and with an air of a King.
"And yet I, Achilles Maxwell, have declared regardless- the Colony City of Neon shall now be known as the Kingdom of Neon—under my protection. No ties to the Thirteen Dynasties. No more bondage. And as of this moment...you are an invader. And I will show you what happens to invaders."
…!
The Kingdom of Neon.
The name echoed, resounding like the birth of something glorious.
Achilles clenched his fist tighter.
And in front of him—
The Ethereal Physiology Masters and Meridian Transformation Royal Lunaris Guards began to change.
They trembled violently. Their bodies twisted. Backs split open as scaly draconic wings burst forth.
Their skin hardened. Their limbs stretched. Their eyes burned with serpentine gleam.
They became… Humanoid-Draconic Hybrids.
Like the Empusa with her vampyric minions.
Like the Leucochloridium Worm infecting flesh with power.
In a stunning instant, the Royal Lunaris Guards transformed. Ethereal Physiology Masters brimmed with serpentine brilliance and shimmering solid stars. Those of Meridian Transformation burned with Ethereal Physiology now proceeded to shed their hoverboards and rose—winged and wild—roaring toward Judge Zerrion Draal.
"Mindless Beasts."
HUUM!
Achilles' voice thundered with regal finality.
"I will turn every invader of the Kingdom of Neon into mindless beasts. Even those who soar above us with pride and arrogance… I will drag you down."
…!
The moment he finished, his Solareth and Myxilith Constructs exploded forward like cosmic torpedoes.
Behind them, a swarm of Humanoid-Draconic Hybrids surged—unstoppable!
Judge Zerrion Draal roared, his Manifestation uncoiling, chains snapping like lances, six hands hurling down purple flaming suns!
A battle to topple a Dharma Manifestation Entity had begun.
But behind every strike, behind every clash, one truth remained.
The Colony City of Neon...
Was now the Kingdom of Neon.
Under the protection of the one who had declared it so.
Achilles Maxwell.
King Primal!