Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain
Chapter 982 - Dead World

            When Ryan returned, he saw many elder gods already on the ground, dead. Isis and Athena were among the group. Ryan bit his lips in anger… Why does he have to feel like he has failed so many people so many times in a row? Athena always tried to stay neutral, but she was an ally. As for Isis, she helped Ryan more than a few times. The region looked like it got hit by hundreds of massive asteroids… and that was the power of Chronus' fists alone.

            Odin and Zeus were hanging in there, but it was evident that they wouldn't last for long. Chronus moved away from them when he noticed Ryan's presence. At that exact time, he also saw numerous Lunar Arrows falling toward him. He easily blocked them with his Temporal Shield. Ryan should have known that such an attack would be useless. His only option was to enhance his projectiles with time magic or use his newest crossbow. It would take a while, though, for him to reach that level.

"You are not going to learn anything just by watching me like that," Chronus said. "My power is different from the skills that require high-level divinity."

            Ryan still couldn't understand much how to apply time magic to his projectiles. That being said, he still could remember how amidst his rage, he used the Temporal Shield… Basically, he just had to condense mana up to a certain level where the notion of space couldn't apply. Thanks to Mana Compression, he probably managed to do that, but that wasn't enough to use Temporal Shield. He also had to make the energy stable completely while maintaining the same level of density around his whole body. It would be easier to envelop a physical body that didn't have so many undulations and details, like an arrow. However, doing all that in an object that was in contact with his body and keeping the energy stable without touching it was the problem.

            If Ryan had a few days to practice it, he probably would learn it… as long as he uses the time speed of Void World. However, his replicas were infusing mana for him, and he couldn't make them do anything else right now. Despite that… Ryan had an idea.

            Using magic, Ryan created a steel arrow, and then he turned it into a magic weapon. Chronus frowned when he saw what Ryan did… that was something no one tried before, not even him. After all, what could have the use of weapons to Chronus? Using his best bow, Ryan nocked the arrow and then prepared to shoot… Ryan felt some danger and decided to block the arrow with everything he got. However, his eyes didn't work. If not even his eyes worked, then certainly his Temporal Shield wouldn't…

            The very moment Ryan shot the arrow, Chronus felt something hitting his left chest. When he looked at that, Chronus felt the pain that only Lucifer and Ymir managed to make him feel… to think that Ryan could mimic the effects of time magic on long-ranged attacks by using Seal alongside Time Skip on his arrows… that really was a different way of using one's skills.

"You really are resourceful," Chronus said and then pulled the arrow out of his chest. "You have satisfied my curiosity. Now it is time to see if can defeat me before I turn you and this whole world into cosmical dust."

            Chronus raised his arms, and then Ryan felt the air leaving his lungs. He knew that feeling… it was the same that he has when he is in outer space without Mana Barrier… Chronus destroyed the world's atmosphere in a single second.

            The humans who survived until now but didn't have the skills or status to endure such an environment began to choke. At the same time, the planet began to absorb too much solar energy, the temperature increasing. In the blink of an eye, pretty much everything was put on fire.

"That is what Zeus saw that made him so frightened of Chronus…" Ryan thought while biting his lips.

            Using Spectral Summoning, Ryan made several copies of that arrow and then prepared to fire it. However, Death Sense warned him of an attack from above… and he saw the moon moving toward him.

"It wouldn't be right if only you could attack, right?" Chronus asked.

            Ryan teleported away from that place, but the moon only gained more speed the farther he was from it. It looked like he was the new Earth, and the moon had to be his satellite, no matter what. However, this time, the moon wanted to be a bit closer…

            In the end, Ryan used the same trick he did on Hephaestus and moved to behind Chronus and grabbed him. That hadn't been the wisest of the moves. To be able to do that, Ryan had to use Temporal Shield, and all his mana was used thanks to it. Chronus only smiled when he did that, and then he used Reset.

            Ryan suddenly saw himself in the same position as before when he first noticed the attack. In the end, the moon hit him, but before he could be smashed against Earth, Ryan used Diamond Crossbow. Once he recovered enough mana, he used Reset as well.

"Hahaha, this is quite amusing, we can play like this as much as you want, Ryan," Chronus said, smiling for the first time. "Still, is that solving anything?"

            It wasn't… and it probably won't solve anything, ever. Ryan got hit again… but this time, he used his newly created arrows and fired them with Telekinesis. It wasn't the same as using a bow or a crossbow, but the effects of the arrows were there. They instantly hit the core of the moon and made it explode. Ryan was taken by the darkness once again…

            Somehow, Ryan opened his eyes, and then he saw a dead world around him. Earth had become unrecognizable, and he couldn't feel any presence around. Ryan tried to get up, but he couldn't feel his legs or arms. When he moved his head, Ryan saw that his limbs had been burned… alongside half of his body.