(Execution Livestream Continuation, The Pit, Leo’s POV)
Leo waited to see if there was anybody in the enemy camp that could still stand up against his aura and defy his will.
However, after waiting for a full minute, when not a single enemy managed to remain upright, when not even one Transcendent could force their shaking legs to respond or lift their head against the suffocating pressure crushing their minds and bodies, he became convinced that there was no one left who required special attention.
’Alright, if there’s no one special amongst you then I guess it’s time to start making up for lost time.’
He thought, as he lurched into motion at once.
"[Storm Flash Traverse]."
Using [Storm Flash Traverse], Leo ceased to exist at a single point, and instead became a chain of ruptures, space tearing and re-stitching itself as his body snapped from position to position in violent succession.
"GAHHH"
*GLUG*
The first Transcendent died kneeling, a dagger punching up through the base of his jaw and exploding out the crown of his skull, fragments of bone and grey matter spraying outward as the head was wrenched free, the body slumping forward while blood poured out in thick, pulsing streams that soaked into the dirt.
However, before his head could even hit the ground, Leo was already elsewhere.
*SLASH*
A second soldier’s chest collapsed inward as a blade drove straight through his ribcage and heart, the impact liquefying organs in an instant, ribs shattering outward as crimson mist burst from his mouth and nostrils, as the corpse folded around the weapon before sliding off and crumpling in a twitching heap.
A third never finished lifting his head, as Leo appeared beside him and carved cleanly through the spine at the nape of the neck, the cut so precise that the body remained upright for a heartbeat longer before the nervous system failed, the head rolling away while the torso toppled sideways, limbs jerking uselessly in the mud, while StormFlash carried Leo onward.
*SLASH*
*SPLAT*
*SLASH*
*THUD*
Leo became destruction personified as with every passing second, he killed between 3-4 opponents, racking up an average kill count of 200 per minute, as he severed limbs, pierced eye sockets and snapped spines like brittle twigs.
*PLOP*
*SPLAT*
*CRUSH*
For the trillions watching across the universe, the scene was almost too gruesome to watch with a straight face, as Leo tore hearts free from bodies and crushed them in his grip, before flinging the remains aside as he moved on without pause.
Within minutes, the ground quickly became slick, boots sinking into layers of gore as Leo advanced through the kneeling ranks, carving a widening corridor of ruin through the Third Ring, as every flash of his movement left behind another cluster of mutilated corpses.
"HELP....SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!"
"COMMANDERS! PLEASE LEAVE THE FOURTH RING AND COME SAVE US.... COMMANDERS!"
The Transcendents cried, and yet, even they knew that nobody was going to come to their aid, as Leo slaughtered them where they knelt, transforming what had once been a once unbreakable wall into a collapsing lane of carnage.
*Step* *Step*
*Cheers*
*Charge*
Behind him, the Cult army surged forward instinctively, pouring into the path he created as they finished off the stragglers that he missed and stabbed the ones that were already dead a hundred more times just to make sure that not even their corpses remained recognizable.
"Fuck the Righteous Faction!"
"Long Live The Cult Of Ascension!"
They shouted as they walked, as they followed Leo deeper and deeper into the Third Ring as if taking a casual stroll.
"[Heaven Destroying Spear]."
A sudden shout cut through the chaos from Leo’s left, as Commander Anderson Silva finally stopped holding back, his spear blazing with compressed mana as he drove it forward in a sweeping arc that tore through the air like a screaming blade, the technique unfolding outward in a massive crescent as space buckled under the strain and hundreds of kneeling Transcendents were caught mid-collapse, their bodies torn apart as the spear-light carved through ranks and detonated upon impact.
*KABOOM*
The shockwave rippled outward in layered force, bodies flung aside as armor ruptured and limbs separated, the corridor Leo had carved widening further as Anderson stepped into the opening without hesitation, spear striking again and again as he advanced in sync with Leo’s movement rather than trailing behind it.
Watching Leo and Anderson tear through the Third Ring without slowing, something shifted inside the other Commanders as well, as Mickey became the next to react.
A sharp grin split his face as he cracked his neck and brought his palms together, mana coiling violently between them before he tore his hands apart, reality fracturing at the seams as spatial pressure exploded outward in synchronized bursts.
"[Rift Bloom Barrage]."
Dozens of ruptures bloomed across the battlefield in rapid succession, each one collapsing inward with crushing force as kneeling Transcendents were caught inside distorted space, their bodies folding unnaturally as bones snapped and organs burst under invisible pressure, the ground beneath them sinking and cracking as the detonations overlapped.
Mickey moved with the chaos rather than away from it, weaving forward as his techniques detonated around him, widening the lane of slaughter while maintaining the tempo Leo had set, his attacks timed to strike clusters Leo had already destabilized, ensuring nothing ahead of them remained standing.
To Leo’s right, Darnell Nuna let out a sharp exhale as he finally stepped fully into the advance, his aura surging outward as he lifted his weapon and brought it down in a brutal descending arc, the slash expanding as it traveled and tearing through multiple rows of Transcendents at once, bodies breaking apart as the force plowed forward and smashed into the battlefield ahead.
However, Darnell did not stop at one strike.
He continued pressing forward, unleashing one devastating technique after another as he forced the Third Ring to collapse inward under relentless pressure, his movements heavy and decisive as he carved a straight path that ran parallel to Leo’s, ensuring the army behind them had nothing left to slow its advance.
And then—
The ground trembled violently.
A massive shadow surged forward through the chaos as Dumpy finally closed the distance, his battered body still bleeding from dozens of cuts yet his posture unbroken as he slammed into the vanguard like a living siege engine, twin swords rising and falling in brutal arcs while acid sprayed outward in wide sweeps that melted armor and flesh alike.
"ARGHHH!"
*SLASH*
*CRUSH*
Transcendents caught in his path were crushed under sheer mass and force, their bodies mangled as Dumpy roared and advanced alongside the others, refusing to fall behind now that Leo had returned to the front.
Together, the five of them moved as a single spearhead.
Leo at the center, blurring forward with [Storm Flash Traverse] as heads fell and bodies collapsed in his wake.
Anderson tearing open massive corridors with spear-light.
Mickey clearing the stragglers.
Darnell smashing resistance through overwhelming force.
And Dumpy anchoring the advance through raw devastation.
As behind them, the Cult Army surged forward at breakneck pace, pouring into the widening path of ruin as the Third Ring finally began to collapse in earnest, its once-impenetrable structure unraveling under coordinated annihilation, as the Cult regained the momentum that they had lost and began making up for lost time very quickly.