[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-titan-king-ascension-of-the-giant":3,"chapter-titan-king-ascension-of-the-giant-titan-king-ascension-of-the-giant-chapter-1292":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Titan King: Ascension of the Giant",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},245312,518,"Chapter 1292  The Scythe's Verdict","titan-king-ascension-of-the-giant-chapter-1292",1292,"\u003Cp>Orion paused, his mind racing even as the battlefield roared around him. He had stolen a Gray Crystal belonging to an Arch Lord. Valuable? Yes. But enough for an Abyssal Ruler to personally intervene? Unlikely. That was like a king descending from his throne to chase a pickpocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Abyssal Ruler actually wanted Orion dead, he wouldn't have sent a messenger. He wouldn't have sent a squad. He would have sent a calamity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this was the will of the Ruler, Orion thought, his grip tightening on his scythe, the executioner wouldn't be someone weaker than a Demigod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Eudan, really looked at him. The demon was posturing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He's bluffing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion knew the hierarchy. The gap between him and an Abyssal Ruler was the difference between a candle flame and a supernova. If he had truly offended the Ruler to the point of personal animosity, he would already be dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You really think you can speak for the Abyssal Ruler?\" Orion's voice dropped an octave, the temperature around him plummeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his weapon. The intent to kill flooded the air, thick and suffocating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eudan didn't back down. He smirked, puffing out his chest. \"My ancestor is the great Julius! I am Eudan of House Julius! You think I don't carry the authority of my own bloodline?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arrogance was palpable. To Eudan, the glory of the Abyssal Ruler was his own property, something he could wear like a cloak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Die.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhhk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eudan's smile didn't have time to fade; it just froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A scythe blade erupted from his chest, gleaming with dark ichor. Orion was no longer standing in front of him; he was behind him, whispering directly into the demon's ear like a lover sharing a secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know how the Chaos Demon clans work,\" Orion said softly. \"You are obsessed with purity. True-Demons. If you were truly favored, truly part of the inner circle, your name would reflect the lineage. You'd be a 'Julidean' or a 'Julivus.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion twisted the blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But 'Eudan'? You're a cousin of a cousin of a bastard line. At best.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion wasn't a rookie. He had spent over a decade in the Abyss. He wasn't some \"fresh off the boat\" wanderer stumbling through the dark. His Conquest Legion was filled with high-ranking demons; he knew their politics as well as he knew their anatomy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You bastard... how dare you...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eudan's voice dissolved into a gurgle as the [Doomsday Fire] ignited. His body turned to ash in seconds, drifting away on the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when the smoke cleared, Orion wasn't looking at a corpse. He was looking at a severed demon horn floating in the air. It cracked, releasing a pulse of Demigod energy, and Eudan's form began to knit itself together yet again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So many extra lives, Orion muttered, annoyed. It's like fighting a trust fund kid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It reminded him of fighting the Survivors—enemies with endless resources and backing, peeling back layer after layer of expensive fail-safes. The great demon houses of the Abyss were apparently no different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You lowborn filth!\" Eudan shrieked as he reformed, his composure utterly shattered. \"You ignore me? You ignore House Julius?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was hysterical now. To be disrespected in his own ancestor's domain was a humiliation he couldn't survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You think being an Over-tier makes you invincible? I will make you regret being born!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eudan reached into his robes and crushed a crystallized demon eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere didn't just change; it broke. A heavy, ancient pressure descended on the Donough Blood-Crow Nest. High above, the Arch Lords stopped their duels, their instincts screaming at them to freeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A phantom materialized in front of Eudan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a Demigod phantom. A massive Chaos Demon with burning wings and a greataxe that looked heavy enough to split a mountain. Its eyes were two pits of hellfire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ancestor!\" Eudan cried out, pointing a trembling finger at Orion. \"That is the thief! The one who stole the Lord's trophy! He mocks us! He mocks House Julius! He has killed me three times!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eudan's confidence roared back. An Over-tier fighter was strong, but they had limits. They had stamina bars. They couldn't fight a Demigod, even a phantom, in a war of attrition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hahaha! You're finished, trash! You're—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A Death-Soul?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phantom's voice was like grinding stones. It cut through Eudan's maniacal laughter instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The massive, burning figure ignored his descendant completely, locking its gaze on Orion. Or rather, on the body Orion was inhabiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's just an avatar,\" Orion said, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't flinch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demigod phantom fell silent. It didn't attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Death-Soul race. In the high-dimensional worlds of the Abyss, that name carried weight—more weight, arguably, than even the Chaos Demons. House Julius had only recently claimed the Sixth Layer. The Death-Soul race had held their own Abyssal world since the beginning of recorded history, unconquered and unbroken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were a vengeful, insular people. You didn't just \"take\" a Death-Soul body. If an outsider forcibly possessed one, the entire race would hunt them to the ends of the cosmos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Orion was standing here, alive, inside that body, it implied permission. It implied an alliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phantom hesitated. Attacking a rogue thief was one thing; sparking a blood feud with the Death-Soul race was another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phantom was overthinking it, of course.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion had zero diplomatic ties to the Death-Soul race. This avatar was loot—pure and simple. It was a prize from the Crucible of the Gods, won during a campaign led by Commander Thresh of the Champions Alliance. In the Crucible, to the victor go the spoils. If the Death-Soul champions had won, they would be wearing Orion's gear right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How did you acquire a Death-Soul avatar?\" the phantom rumbled, suspicion clouding its voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion just laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion had to hand it to Commander Thresh. The man's influence was terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To arrange a duel with the Death-Soul race? That required a level of clout and raw power that Orion was only just beginning to comprehend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is my territory,\" Orion stated, his voice booming across the fractured landscape. \"Out of respect for Lord Julius, I will allow you to leave. But only you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed his scythe at the legions below. \"The armies that invaded my land? They don't leave. They die here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a cold, calculated ultimatum. If these two weren't tied to the House Julius bloodline, Orion wouldn't have wasted breath on words—he would have just added their corpses to the pile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The response was a peal of manic laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn you! Who do you think you are?\" Eudan shrieked, his face twisting. \"You think wearing a Death-Soul avatar makes you royalty? Even the Death-Soul race bows their heads in the Sixth Layer! This is House Julius domain!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demigod phantom roared in agreement, its form erupting into a comet of scorching heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Die!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phantom charged. It was a mass of Demon Fire—the eternal flame that burned in the deepest pits of the Abyss, unquenchable and ravenous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Suicide,\" Orion muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn't being arrogant. He had possessed the power to clash with demigod phantoms for a long time now. After years of honing the Deathly Soul-Reaper avatar and unlocking the secrets of his war scythe relic, a mere projection was no longer a threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only things Orion feared were a demigod in their true form or an Abyssal Ruler. This? This was target practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion didn't retreat. He stepped forward, entering a deep lunge. The war scythe hummed, laws of the Void and Doomsday Fire dancing along the blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRACK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a sound Eudan would take to his grave—which, as it turned out, was only seconds away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demigod ancestor, the pride of his house, didn't just lose. He was obliterated. Orion's strike shattered the phantom's will instantly, scattering the Demon Fire like spilled soup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flames splashed onto the ground, burning aimlessly without a will to guide them. Orion stood amidst the inferno, untouched, walking slowly toward Eudan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I bet you didn't see that coming,\" Orion said, his voice terrifyingly calm. \"Even your ancestor couldn't save you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eudan scrambled backward, his heels skidding on the stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No... No! Stay back! Stay the hell away from me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the scream of a creature that had never known true consequence, now facing absolute finality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn't slow Orion down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a blur of motion, Orion vanished and reappeared. Eudan's eyes went wide, reflecting his own demise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Chaos Demon head spun into the air. A fountain of black blood sprayed against the gray sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eudan was just an Arch Lord. He had burned through his artifacts. He was out of lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion wasn't taking chances. He channeled the Doomsday Fire through the scythe, engulfing the headless corpse and the tumbling skull. The flames roared, consuming flesh, bone, and—crucially—the soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion watched until there was nothing left but drifting smoke. He scanned the area with his spiritual sense, hunting for any hidden phylacteries or escape arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing. Eudan was gone. Erased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now,\" Orion exhaled, the adrenaline fading into a cold knot of anxiety. \"We wait to see how the Abyssal Ruler reacts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew he had crossed a line. But he also knew that to hesitate was to die. If the Abyssal Ruler came for him, he'd fight. But right now, he had a job to finish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up at the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The invading Demon armies belonged to Iron-Forged Ridge, minions of the demigod Lord Reklos. Their presence was an act of war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion needed to send a message. He wasn't just going to defeat them; he was going to construct a monument of bone and terror. A warning to the rest of the Abyss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kill them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aerial battle was already a slaughter. The Scourge Wardens—Eparus, Holrivus, and Thronlis—were a meat grinder, their coordination flawless. With the abyssal dragon Xalathar harrying the flanks, the six enemy Arch Lords were breaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"End it,\" Orion whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he reappeared in the high atmosphere, his scythe became a blur. Two Arch Lords were cut down before they could even register his presence. Doomsday Fire turned them to ash mid-fall. They didn't even have time to activate their defensive avatars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion moved again. The relic weapon sheared through magical defenses like wet paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It began to rain. Not water, but a thick, crimson drizzle of demon blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remaining two Arch Lords broke rank, screaming orders to retreat. They turned to flee, their wings beating frantically against the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the sky around them darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eparus, Holrivus, and Thronlis slammed their weapons together, triggering a spatial lockdown unique to the Scourge Wardens. A cage of Calamity energy snapped shut around the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion descended on the trapped demons. His scythe cleaved vertically, splitting one of the fleeing lords from crown to crotch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screams that followed echoed through the silent void. It was the music of total defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is enough!\" a booming voice interrupted. \"The blood price has been paid! We will withdraw from the Donough Blood-Crow Nest. You will not be troubled by us again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thin, shimmering projection rose from the body of the final surviving Arch Lord. It was Reklos, the demigod lord of Iron-Forged Ridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orion stopped, hovering in the air, bathed in the blood of Reklos's generals. He looked the phantom in the eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not enough,\" Orion said flatly.\u003C\u002Fp>",1905,"2026-05-29T15:49:48.378Z","2026-06-01T04:29:39.741Z",1,"novelbin.me","3cfe5880c310dce32e6c7a65f009f834db5e91344ef971bc9679e7e9ff3437a7","titan-king-ascension-of-the-giant-chapter-1293","titan-king-ascension-of-the-giant-chapter-1291",1606,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftitan-king-ascension-of-the-giant-cover.jpg"]