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[B4 END] Chapter 492 – Devil (2)
🕑 Added 2025-10-22 06:01:00 +0000 UTCDeimos rolled to the side just in time to avoid getting flattened like a bug beneath the giant talon, thick plates of stone flipping as the earth split under the crow’s bulk. A second talon descended almost immediately after, though he luckily managed to avoid it too, the shockwave sending him flying away.
Opening its beak wide, the bird drew even more ambient mana. Its body couldn’t grow any larger, so it swelled into a sphere instead, before exploding. A murder of regular-sized crows emerged from within, flying furiously toward Deimos.
Pushing himself to his remaining foot, he used his domain to force his bones back in place, wincing through the pain as he braced himself for the incoming flock. Firing countless projectiles, he destroyed as many of the artificial creatures as he could, the rest dodging the blasts as they prepared for a second attack.
A few lodged themselves into the ground, their figures bursting open to reveal a series of cylindrical shafts. The constructs grew into full-sized scythes as the silk flowed around them, rolling into humanoid shapes that promptly lifted their weapons off the ground.
The cloaked phantoms danced around Deimos, their shrill cries grating at his ears as the crows above shadowed their movements, surrounding him. His domain shrunk further as the savage tune intensified, his very willpower turning brittle and shattering like cheap glass.
Not caring about the domain, Deimos focused on the countless constructs about to rip his soul to shreds. He knew he couldn’t possibly stop or dodge each of them separately – especially since they appeared far sturdier than they had during his earlier battle with Percy.
Left with no other choice, he clapped his hands together, emptying more than half of his reserves, a powerful shockwave expanding outwards like thunder to rip the phantoms apart.
His troubles had only just begun, however.
The shards flew toward the last of the cloaked figures – who Deimos could only assume was their master. The Red-born lifted his one good arm, the storm converging into his hand.
The pieces attached themselves to one another, held in place by frost and enchanted silk, a new construct slowly taking shape. It was a massive weapon, its shaft thicker than a tree’s trunk, stretching out for over a hundred metres.
Unable to hold it in his hand, the Red-born wrapped his elbow around it, a series of long blades sprouting along its length. He’d probably intended them to curve into neat crescents, but their actual shape ended up jagged. Each resembled a rough shard of ice more than a scythe’s blade, though there was no doubt as to their sharpness, making the whole structure look like an oversized cleaver.
An outside observer might have burst out laughing at the comical sight of the regular-sized human trying to wield what could only be described as the ugliest pole on Remior.
Deimos swallowed hard, knowing better.
Without warning, the Red-born swung his deceptively practical weapon, the construct appearing entirely weightless as it completed its arc in half a heartbeat.
Deimos barely managed to hop high enough to avoid getting cleanly bisected, though a grey crescent still sliced through his knees before expanding outwards, the grey motes parting as a new layer of frost rippled across the battlefield.
Not a drop of blood leaked from his stumps, chips of brittle flesh flaking off one after the other. Deimos wasn’t given the chance to so much as study his debilitating injury, the Red-born already swinging his monstrous weapon again, this time vertically.
Unlike before, Deimos managed to avoid getting hit, watching with horror as the cleaver sliced the ground open into a deep ravine, revealing countless tunnels covered in colourful crystals. Like withering flowers, the vibrant minerals soon lost their hues, a gloomy layer of grey sealing the caverns as waterfalls of hissing mist poured down the bottomless chasm.
Realizing that his opponent was about to attack a third time, Deimos unleashed every drop of mana he had left, parrying the blow at the last instant. Surviving the execution by the skin of his teeth, he was sent sliding backwards, digging a deep trench in the process.
The collision had thankfully damaged the cleaver too, though its wielder didn’t appear very concerned. Tossing the broken weapon aside, the cloaked figure formed another in his hand – just a regular scythe this time.
Walking toward Deimos, the Red-born dragged its tip along the ground, the grating noise causing Deimos’s hair to stand on end. The pale orbs within the hood still shone brightly, their frigid gaze never peeling off Deimos’s frame for even a second as he finally realized that he was going to die here.
As strange as it seemed, this was the one outcome that he hadn’t really considered over the past few years. He understood that Percy was growing at a ridiculous pace, of course, and that the gods were probably deeply invested in his development. Even so, none of that had mattered to him that much.
Ever since his advancement to Violet, he thought that he still had decades – if not centuries – before the Red-born caught up to him. By then, the situation would certainly be settled – one way or another. Deimos hadn’t been that worried about the gods’ retaliation either. After all, he hadn’t broken any rules.
He was under no obligation to disclose his new grade to anyone, and it wasn’t his fault that his superiors wanted to throw Blues at Percy by the dozens to foster his growth, without so much as informing them of the boy’s importance.
If there had been a few things that had kept him awake at night, they had nothing to do with his survival. He’d stressed over whether Percy would foolishly return to the Guild and fall into his trap, whether Orin would spill the beans on the Aurora Dew and give him the means to attain divinity, and whether Hermes would finally acknowledge his talent after he personally defeated Remior’s reigning prodigy.
As for his safety?
Until this moment, Deimos had never even bothered to question it.
Yet, watching the very face of death approach, his eyes widened with horror as he finally came to terms with what he’d done.
He’d driven Percy out of the Alchemists’ Guild and his family’s mansion… dragged his name through the mud… sent countless bounty hunters after his head… captured his grandfather and locked him up in a cell… stripped his mentor’s status and humiliated him publicly… threatened his loved ones… mocked him… and even killed his beloved crow in front of his eyes, all the while laughing and joking about it!
Beads of sweat froze on Deimos’s forehead as his executioner stopped just a step away, looming over him like the grim reaper. Not a hint of mercy could be found in his cold gaze – and why would it?
Deimos had slapped the devil’s cheek time after time, spat into his eyes and then had the gall to invite him over for tea! And now… said devil was here to extract his payment!
Swinging his scythe, the Red-born allowed the crescent blade to phase through the ground, stabbing through Deimos’s chest from behind. A curved edge tore through his flesh and soul both, lifting him a few centimetres off the ground as an indescribable chill spread out from the wound.
There was no pain – just numbness – darkness seeping through the corners of his vision. He scarcely registered his core falling apart, its pieces hungrily devoured by the blade. A layer of grey frost encased it, reshaping the construct into a tall stalagmite.
***
Tearing the shaft off the impaled corpse, they left Deimos’s lifeless body on display. A warning, to anyone foolish enough to provoke somebody they shouldn’t…
A deep rumble shook the earth, as the Status finally broke its silence.
[Congratulations! Your spells have merged: Secret Art: Soul Symphony – Masterful + Secret Art: Soul-crushing Needle – Masterful + Spectral Art: Phantomwoven Cloak – Masterful + Wild Art: Carnival of the Savage Gods – Masterful + Wild Art: Symbel of the Savage Gods – Masterful -> …]
[…Ultimate Art: Symphony of a Dead Winter – Extreme!]
Falling to their knees, they couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, though they were unfortunately way too tired to make sense of the message right now. Besides, the Status wasn’t even done.
[Error! Unable to identify user! Calibrating Phoebe’s Decree…]
At the same time, the tremor intensified, countless shapes seemingly moving underground. Much of the noise appeared to emanate from the bottomless ravine a few dozen metres away, cracking sounds permeating the area – almost as if an entire army of monsters was crawling over the crystalline walls, rapidly climbing to the surface.
Wholly uninterested in their predicament, Phoebe’s Decree continued.
[Calibration complete.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired a new aspect: Percival!]
[Congratulations! You have acquired a new aspect: Mictlantecuhtli!]
They felt something worm its way to their chest, ripping itself from the tattered robe. A dark object landed on the frozen ground with a crisp ting. It was a bird. Whether it was its size or colour, it looked no different from a mundane crow. However, its grey body was clearly still made of ice – a Green and a Yellow core pulsing inside its tiny frame.
More notifications flashed.
[Congratulations! Your mutations have merged…]
[Congratulations! Your domain has…]
They couldn’t focus on the text long enough to read, collapsing onto the ground as the last dregs of power left their muscles. Their eyelids drooped as the marching sounds drew nearer. They knew they had to get the hell out of here before it was too late, but they couldn’t even stand.
The last thing they registered before their eyes fell shut was the sight of countless figures surrounding them. A forest of antennas, carapaces, mandibles and membranous wings of all shapes and sizes enveloped their bodies, dragging them away…
[END OF BOOK 4: LEGEND OF THE THIRD HERO]
[END OF THE WINTER SAGA]
Comments
Kev
Oh boy mister that was your best chapter so far omg what a masterfull writing, thank you for that so epic
ItWasIDIO!!
Third Hero indeed Death has come and he has traded his horse for a crow
Meir Banon
Tftc
Adhoah Cinnidhlaoch-McCoinnich
I had alot of guesses in mind for a theoretical tier above masterful. EXTREME was not one of them lol 😆 jokes aside, amazing arc and conclusion to it here, I stopped reading for awhile to build a back log but I saw you post the end of this book and binged something like 50 chapters to catch up lol. Tftc! Love it
MinE
More like an illusion that the Gods care for the rule of law.
Private Writer
Wasps are not Ants, why the comparison is almost un-ant like!
Andrew P
Deimos has a shocking degree of respect for the rule of law
Michael
Rinoz and Anthony are here to save the day! Epic conclusion
PathOfPen
I'm just moving them in the timeline to when they were originally supposed to come out so that they appear in the correct order in the collection
Tynga Kpandang
Repost?
Aeon
I wonder how this will have implications on Percy's future divinity... like part of his soul is now the part of Micky's that came from a diferent planet. Is that going to effect Percy's ability to exist on diferent planets as a god?
Irakli Jishkariani
I thought beyond masterful was paragon domain 😀, hmm is it beyond extreme? If it is ten times rarer then titans, it must be that hard, beyond normal possibility. Hmmm I thought masterful was peak
Michael Herold
And dead 💀 😮💨
PathOfPen
Various guesses floating around :) The first chapters of Book 5 are dealing with the aftermath so a lot will be explained
small_brain_boy
Awesome! Fuck that guy! Can't wait for the next chapter. Such a cool story!
Darion
Amazing thanks for the early release!
Private Writer
Great job with the ending and the last few chapters Path. So, this is what I have understood from so far. Micky technically died and his soul and gains returned to Percy. Symbel which could only be used based on thin blood and consumption, got assimilated and based on the ice limbs that Percy grew to fight, he got the Sculpture, wind dancer and Soul predator mutations too, I think, powered by the beast mana core. Because Micky's soul consisted of not just Percy's, OG Micky and the unborn crow and the two wisps twisted Percy's own soul on reassimilation, I assume the consequences would be severe. But due to copious consumption of the wiseman's murmur, the memories of Micky the Crow, Micky the Hue huean and Percy didn't get mixed up and, Percy actually retained his mind and personality and received the full memeories of al three, but maybe he developed a mindscape with the help of the murmurs to house Micky's mind and his soul is stored in the gray crow sculpture that got ejected from Percy in the end. I wonder if it is a preservation sculpture like Spirit forged Effigy, but containing Mickys soul, and cores... So, a new section is opened on Percy's status called Aspect, one being Percival and the other Micky. Maybe Percy can access the corea of Micky when he uses the Aspect that is Micky. And from what I understand, the Carnival and soul mana part of the dance allowed Mickys cores to possess the cloak and became part of Percy and allowed Micky and Percy to merge and fight at the level of violet core and the domain unlocked was almost at the level of a violet core. And due to further mutation of Percy's body due to inclusion of ice, beast mana cores Percy's body adapted absorbing his two mutations too and giving birth to a overpowered Ice physique. That's my summary understanding. Feel free to agree or disagree on if I understood it correctly. Also the ultimate art is the combination of all three other arts.
Joyeus
Now that they fused to the point Phoebe’s Decree couldn’t tell them apart they probably going to need a divine level mind magic user to help them differentiate who’s memories belong to who.
Joyeus
I mean their minds were so muddled that even phoebes decree couldn’t even distinguish between them so it’s probably going to take time for them to figure out who is Percy and who is Mickey.
Joyeus
It wasn’t her that was capture it was one of her eggs that has been kept alive but the white, most likely to turn it into a second queen that he has most likely mutilated so it can’t fight back. Either way the Queen will want it back so it will most likely make a deal with Percy to either save it or put it out of its misery and kill the man responsible.
Joyeus
Time to meet the Queen… in four days. I love this series and can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Aureus
I wonder if this makes him a paragon. If not what more does he have to do?
PathOfPen
I admit, that part was inspired entirely by Magi. I still get chills when I watch videos of Sinbad using his Extreme magic :D
Alex I
Have to admit, you pulled it off without making it ridiculous. Well written and props to your skill as an author.
Dragonkinn
Amazing. Though I did do a spit take with coffee when what comesb after masterful is extreme
BuhDussy
Bruh
Sloth
All of the above? Percy seems to be creating his own iconography
Aaron
Thank you!!! So, Percy and Michy fused into one body+his cloak became part of him? and the small crow familiar houses Michy's extra cores since Percy's body can't, although I assume that much like the cloak is now part of him/michy, so to is the crow. Probably for the best, as this means Percy will still need to achieve a way of prolonging his life or forcefully advancing his cores artificially. My prediction on what happens next is that the starry wasps captured them so that Percy can inhabit a worker and communicate with the queen, since the queen was aware of his existence from their previous pseudo encounter. She was probably captured by the White core dude that sent the assassin after Percy, and was probably also experimented on by the guy, and that's the thing he's hiding in his garden.
MinE
I missed all the other comments on this topic.
MinE
I just realized now that Mickey is normal crow sized and colored; it means we’ve finally reached the cover picture.
Baconwargod
Well it doesn’t seem that Micky is dead which I guess is all right. Hope there is a major debuff though. There do needs to be consequences for the familiars I feel
Aranox
that's the great thing about a wholly unique Bloodline-Affintiy combo creating entirely new abilties it makes sense by itself without preestablished rules as we literally see the rules for this power being established
TerjoR
You see, now you messed up. WE NEED MOREEE!
Tomer Yud
I have no idea what's going on.... it feels like Percy just got a really strong power up. im not sure this makes sense...
PathOfPen
Not immediately, but there’s gonna be a Phoebe POV very early in book 5. I’ve already written it
Derze
Well…so many questions. Percy broke Phoebe’s Decree for a second there lmao. I’m still confused with the name grading after Masterful. I thought for sure it would be Divinity related. Looking forward to some explanations starting book 5. PoV of Phoebe please???? I beg you. Thanks .
Jacob
I would buy something like “falling unconscious from incredible trauma isn’t sleep”, myself
Kaladin
Grim reaper arbiter of death. Additionally, keeper of souls. I wonder if his domain, inner world, or future decree will encompass all/some souls that he can give faux life to? Will we get the River Styx, a boat, Hades, or Thanatos?
Karait
Yea I think I underestimated eating a pyramids worth of God dust
Azur Kris
Thank you for the fantastic chapter! Does Percy's Insomnia trait still work or is this an exception because of multiple tiresome factors?
William Hansen
You diggin in me foo…
jeremiah banner
Honestly didn't think I had anything to wake up to wow that was awesome
AL
Bravo!!
Tim
Finally we have reached the cover art. 👏👏
HUAAAANG
Ah, so we lead with the purple wasp queen finally getting her conversation. I hope...
Jermel Purse
I had to write this was just brilliant. I’ve only seen one other author really hit a home run like this. Different series, different tone but Wandering Inn I’ve seen that author do some crazy stuff before
PathOfPen
Since the start :D It's why I included that short kik'lit chapter and the whole memory loss/ocarina plotline xD
Jermel Purse
First, I have to say thank you. Too often authors leave us hanging and any one of those chapters was the wrong point to end on because it left us hanging, leaving us with a conclusion perfect that’s exactly how you do it. Second brilliant, simply brilliant. Wrapping up so many things yet leaving us with questions as well. Of course, finally we understand the cover art. It leads me wondering what this planned out all along from the very beginning or something that developed over time. either way, brilliant simply brilliant.
R. Maxwell Steele
Hard to say. Wasn't very clear at all. They are either combined into one. Or Micky's soul is trapped in the silk cloak? The cloak itself was snatching up attacks with a beak. Has to be intentionally confusing on the authors part. I imagine when the next book starts it will spell everything out.
Irakli Jishkariani
Love the name
PathOfPen
Yeap, Book 4 will end up with a redrawn version of the original cover I launched on RR with
Sheldeen Walker
So the picture of the cover is fully envisioned 🎉🎉
Feindin for readin
Noice
Ayomide Aloba
Wait are there one now
PathOfPen
Yes, the first four books
GreatCabbage
Truly, we have ascended brothers. Never have I been so satisfied with a cliffhanger. All I am has led to this exact moment. Consider my jaw dropped🫵
Spearman
Is the winter saga the combination of the arcs so far
Spearman
The third hero. Great name drop, chills. Want to see the notifications but that was very satisfying
lilcapt
Solid ending 10/10
Luke Sandberg
Huzzah he lives and with a resize so he’s tiny again!
Eric Rasputin
Congrats 👏
