Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 801: The Moment the God Flinched

Ethan’s chest heaved, his breath ragged—but his eyes, suddenly, were calm.

Amid the chaos of battle, a single detail snapped into focus.

Aside from Malakar, the local guards... weren’t high-tier.

And in that instant, a wild, desperate thought surged up—mad, but maybe the only shot he had:

—If he could wipe out the small fry fast enough, absorb the energy released at their deaths...

—Maybe he could force a Tier breakthrough.

—And then, just maybe, he’d have a fighting chance against Malakar.

The idea came fast—and vanished faster.

Ethan let out a dry, bitter laugh.

In front of a Tier 28 monster?

What, was he supposed to "grind levels" mid-fight?

But then—

His pupils contracted.

There was a chance.

As long as he wasn’t the one doing the killing.

As long as someone else could do it for him.

As long as he could still absorb the energy...

His gaze dropped, almost instinctively, to a point deep within himself.

—Auri.

That gentle, world-shaking force of nature—the power of the Fairy God—lay dormant inside him, quiet but immense.

"...Right."

He raised a hand without hesitation—and released her.

Light bloomed across his chest. A tiny figure burst forth, like a star flaring to life.

The moment she appeared—

Fairy God’s power detonated in the air.

Verdant light spread like spring grass, soft and unstoppable, drifting down like stardust onto the dozen or so guards nearby.

There was no attack.

No stance, no aggression.

Just contact.

And the guards’ bodies crumpled like paper in an invisible fist—shattering with a soft, final crack.

Ethan felt it immediately: waves of energy rushing into him, drawn in like a tide.

His Tier was rising.

Slowly—but unmistakably.

And in that moment, he knew.

It would work.

His blood surged, hot and electric.

He raised his hand and summoned a massive Energy Disc, its silver-white edge gleaming with lethal promise.

He hurled it.

The blade carved across the battlefield, slicing through more guards like wheat.

Auri didn’t hesitate. Power churned around her, wild and green-gold, as she streaked into the fray like a comet.

High above, Malakar paused.

Not in fear.

In confusion.

The weak, when faced with the strong, should run.

But these people...

They weren’t running.

They were fighting back?

A low, molten chuckle rumbled from his chest.

"Well now... it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such stupid, entertaining little insects."

"You dare posture before a god? You’ve got some nerve."

His gaze locked onto Ethan, voice dripping with condescension—like a man picking out a new pet.

"I’ll give you a chance."

"From this moment on, become my slave—and I might let you live."

But Ethan didn’t even look up.

He hovered midair, surrounded by a storm of incoming energy.

Auri’s natural force poured into him, steady and relentless.

His Tier was climbing—imperceptibly to the eye, but irreversibly.

He gave Malakar nothing.

In that moment, Ethan was a statue.

Or a star, compressing under its own gravity, waiting to explode.

Beside him, Kaelira’s heart clenched.

What the hell was Ethan doing?

Why wasn’t he dodging?

But now wasn’t the time to ask.

She forced her focus back to Malakar, not daring to let her guard slip for even a second.

Malakar’s eyes narrowed.

Something was wrong.

A twitch at the corner of his eye—and then his aura detonated outward.

He raised a hand. Power surged, twisted, solidified—

And in his grip, a new energy spear formed, razor-sharp and humming with death.

He didn’t hesitate.

He hurled it.

"Kaelira!"

Ethan hadn’t even finished shouting before she moved.

She flashed forward, intercepting the strike.

Her pink-violet energy surged like a storm, coalescing into a massive bow drawn tight in her hands—

The string snapped taut. The arrow loosed.

VMMM!!!

BOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!

Pink-violet and gold-white energy collided in the sky, exploding in a blinding storm of light.

Kaelira was blasted backward, her body flung through the air like a ragdoll.

Blood streaked from the corner of her mouth. Her breath hitched, ragged and uneven.

But she didn’t hesitate.

She gritted her teeth, tightened her grip on the bow, and began drawing for a second shot.

Malakar sneered.

"Pathetic little insect..."

"Your struggle is meaningless."

He raised a single finger.

At its tip, energy gathered into a blinding point of light—small, but dense enough to annihilate Kaelira in an instant if unleashed.

But—

In the space of a single breath—

Ethan appeared in front of him.

Not teleportation.

Faster.

His fist was wrapped in layers of raw power, the air around it warping, the strike burning blue-white like a falling star.

BOOM.

His punch collided head-on with the light at Malakar’s fingertip.

And shattered it.

For the first time, Malakar’s eyes widened in shock.

The force of Ethan’s blow drove him back—actual steps, stumbling through the air.

And then—

Kaelira’s arrow arrived.

That streak of pink-violet light skimmed past Malakar’s face, close enough to singe, forcing him to pull back the energy he’d been about to unleash and throw up a full defense.

BOOM—

Another direct hit.

Malakar’s massive frame reeled again, shoved backward midair. Behind him, the sky rippled and collapsed in concentric waves, like a drumhead struck by a hammer. He barely managed to steady himself—but even he could feel it now.

Something was wrong.

If anyone had been watching closely, they’d have seen it: faint, eerie lines beginning to crawl across the surface of his so-called divine body.

Not cracks.

Not exactly.

More like... something foreign. A force that didn’t belong to this world, threading beneath his skin, moving slowly but deliberately—like it was trying to unmake him from the inside out.

His outline shimmered in the light, warping at the edges, as if his form might unravel at any moment.

Ethan saw it immediately.

And instead of pressing the attack, he reached out and grabbed Kaelira’s arm, stopping her cold.

"Fall back."

Just two words. Flat. Final.

Kaelira blinked, startled. She turned instinctively—and met Ethan’s eyes.

They were calm. Too calm. Cold, almost.

She wanted to ask, "Why now?" But the question died in her throat.

Against an enemy like this, even a second’s hesitation could be fatal.

If Ethan said retreat, she wouldn’t argue—not after that punch had forced Malakar back.

They moved together, slipping away in tandem, putting distance between themselves and the godlike figure across the sky.

Malakar let out a low, guttural grunt.

He felt it too.

His current form—Divine Avatar fused with fluid body—wasn’t fully stabilized. Not yet.

If he kept clashing head-on like this, he might be torn apart by his own power before he ever got the chance to win.

So, gritting his teeth, he stopped advancing.

Instead, he threw his arms wide—and began to draw in energy like a madman.

The air screamed.

Torrents of visible energy surged toward him from every direction, space itself warping and groaning under the strain. It was like a black hole had opened in the sky, and everything was being sucked into it—into him.

...