Chapter 1943: Shiva’s Dance of Destruction

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The Tenfold Realm trembled as Shiva unleashed his ultimate dance, a performance meant to bring both an end and a new beginning to all creation. This was one of the reasons he was so deeply respected and feared, despite his wild and disrespectful nature.

Every movement of his legs, arms, and head shook the Tenfold Realm. Cracks spread rapidly across their surface. Anyone watching would have expected Maria to laugh and revel in the spectacle as entire worlds crumbled.

But the opposite was true. Maria had no desire to destroy these worlds. She knew that doing so would only feed the monster waiting at the top of the tower.

In fact, as she watched the furious Shiva attack her while dancing, she quickly realized this had to be their plan.

"I’ve heard there are the True Immortals and the Jade Emperor they serve, yet none of them are here? They’ve only sent small fry! Hey Shiva, are you sure that old bastard is working with you all?!"

"DIEEEEE!"

Shiva was not listening. He unleashed dozens of palm strikes that shook Maria’s entire body, pulverizing fragments of her flesh and soul until she exploded.

BOOOM!

"...!"

Shiva did not fall for the same trick twice. He knew that if she died so easily, it was likely a fake.

And just as he expected.

"YOU!"

He swung his fists behind him and spotted three more Marias appearing at his back. Their six swords thrust toward his body.

Shiva swiftly punched them away, causing all three to explode into countless fragments.

Those fragments, however, realigned into giant swords of cosmic shadows and dream flames that sliced through his entire body.

"Stop playing tricks. Show me your true form!"

Shiva battled the swords relentlessly, destroying them again and again while the Tenfold Realm continued to tremble. Giant pillars of chaotic flames erupted everywhere.

"My true form? Are you sure?"

"Ngh?!"

Shiva stared into an endless abyss. Madness consumed his mind as he coughed blood and gazed into the depths of that darkness. There, a giantess who seemed to stretch the size of an entire planet manifested before him.

She was so massive that she simply pointed her thumb at him and tried to crush him like an insect.

"W-Wha...! WHAT?!"

Shiva coughed more blood as he witnessed her true form. Her titanic body immediately began pressing him down into the ground.

BOOOM!

The Heavenly Cloud Continent beneath them shook violently. Countless dragons fled from nearby villages as Shiva roared. Using every ounce of his strength, he started punching the titanic thumb upward.

"NNNGGHHHH! KALI! KALIIII! GIVE ME STRENGTH, MY BELOVED!"

Tears of blood streamed down his face as he remembered his dear wife, the one he loved more than anything despite their constant fights. Shiva roared with monstrous fury.

His aura surged wildly.

The more damage he endured, the stronger he became. He activated a unique technique tied to his own divinity as the God of Destruction.

"{Eightfold Techniques of Tandavanaya}!!!"

His eyes turned completely red while his third eye became pitch black, radiating ominous, abyssal energy from his beating heart.

Shiva’s purple body shifted to a deep red as he began burning his own lifespan. The entire continent around him started melting and exploding. Countless volcanoes erupted across the land.

"{Right Will: Ashen Resolve Stance}!"

White energy surged through his body as he suddenly began withstanding Maria’s immense power with far greater ease.

"...?!"

She was shocked.

This damn guy was already reaching X+ Rank levels of power.

No, perhaps he was trying to surpass that wall right now by burning his own lifeforce.

"{Right Sound: Mantra Break Pulse}!"

RUMBLE!

An explosion of pure sound erupted from his body. Maria’s thumb flickered and was pushed back.

Large cracks formed as miasmic blood splattered everywhere while Shiva continued punching her without pause.

"DON’T...!"

Maria began to be forced backward.

"UNDERESTIMATE...!"

More and more.

"THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION, SHIVAAAAAA!!!"

RUMBLE!

"What’s this?! Are you serious— Ouch!"

Maria’s thumb exploded into pieces as Shiva emerged, running across her arm toward her gigantic face.

His heart pounded faster and faster. His weapons manifested, golden tools overflowing with divine power.

"{Right Gesture: Trident Spiral Strike}!"

Facing dozens of giant tentacles and hands, Shiva roared. All his golden tridents spun violently, piercing through her flesh.

"Shit, this guy is something else!"

Maria recognized Shiva as a true monster.

He tore through her flesh and bones, reaching her face and aiming straight for her brain.

"I WILL CRUSH YOUR BRAINS INTO MUSH!!!"

His body exploded with chaotic flames, transforming into a multi-headed dragon-like monstrosity. He channeled the power of the Ancient Evil Dragon he had once defeated alongside Indra.

"{Vritra’s Thunderstorm Chaos}!"

Maria watched as dozens of giant dragon jaws rushed down and began biting into her entire body. They injected chaotic thunder, attempting to destroy her from the inside out.

"Now that you’ve shown your true form... I WILL MAKE SURE TO KILL—"

"{Palm Of Eternal Void: Seven Strikes Of Damnation}"

"...?!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"GAAHAA?!"

Shiva vomited blood as his entire body twisted and broke apart. His bones pierced his own flesh, and his figure was instantly disfigured by seven consecutive strikes from Maria’s titanic palms.

The technique she had just used was created on the spot. She had stolen the formulas and methods of the Bodhisattva and incorporated them into her Ghostly Fist Arts.

Shiva, however, was incredibly tough.

"RAAAAHHH!"

Blood energy surged from his body, not from any vampiric source, but forged as he burned through his own life and refined it into pure regenerative power. His body healed instantly.

"Amazing. Just how much lifespan can you burn, God of Destruction?"

"DIEEEEE!"

Shiva exploded with fury once more. He grew even stronger after taking all that damage. His aura shaped into titanic blazing palms that struck Maria’s entire body.

Yet Maria remained calm, her expression filled with deep sorrow. She began harnessing more of the Sutras and Mantras of the Bodhisattva, weaving their techniques into her already vast power.

The result was astonishing.

A black, ghostly lotus appeared behind her back and another beneath her body, formed entirely from her black void tears.

At the same time, a corrupted black halo surged behind her. Her aura swelled with immense power. The sorrow and pain she felt were refined into raw strength through the Arts of the Bodhisattvas, which transformed the act of self-immolation into a path to boundless power.

When such power merged with an Outer God whose entire existence revolved around absorbing everyone’s suffering to grow stronger...

While some like Kannon only possessed a small amount of such energy, Maria held thousands of times that amount. She converted it all into raw power.

Hence, even though she had yet to evolve, Maria did not merely attain enlightenment through the stolen arts of the Bodhisattva. She was surpassing her X+ Rank.

"What sort of power is this?!"

Shiva’s hands broke and shattered as he tried to pierce Maria’s immensely strong barrier of eternal sorrowful enlightenment.

By achieving a higher state of mind, Maria existed in constant harmony within her suffering. She drowned in it and grew stronger with every moment.

"How can an Outer God ascend into a Bodhisattva?!"

"This makes no sense!"

"Lord Shiva’s hands are breaking apart as he tries to break through her barrier!"

"No...! How could this be! How could this be happening to us!"

As the many deities lamented while being beaten down by everyone, Brahma groaned. He kicked away those fighting him with all his power and rushed to Shiva’s aid.

"Vishnu, release all the Asuras and Devil Kings from Purgatory!!!" he commanded.

"Fine!" Vishnu, covered in wounds and barely hanging on by a thread while battling countless foes, quickly opened a blazing gate.

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