When Viers was in a deathmatch with Alan, there was another battle ongoing on a much grander scale. The valiant guardians of light were fighting the forces of evil. The group led by Holy Inquisitor Malcolm was almost massacred but the timely reinforcement had turned the tide to the Estellian Church’s favor.

Six Level 5s were on the battlefield, three on each side. Their battle was space-shattering, literally. With the unsealing of the Demon King’s left eye, the very fabric of space was slowly losing integrity. The battles between the Level 5 Pathseekers were accelerating the space’s collapse. Because of that, the Level 5s could no longer create a closed space when they battled, displaying the world’s peak power to the rest of the combatants.

Spatial cracks were everywhere, interdimensional monsters barged into the battlefield like crashing a party. From Rank 0 to Rank 4, from the size of a dog to a house, making everything more chaotic.

Inside that cauldron of life and death, a mere Level 3 like Izabella was like a leaf caught by a tornado. The battle had been going long enough for it to be clear that the Blood Church’s side was losing. The Silver Legions were killing monsters and demons left and right. Many cultists were caught and subdued. Those that kept struggling, were put down like a rabid dog. The Silver Legion only gave the cultist one chance to surrender.

“Aaahhh!”

Izabella’s barrier was broken and she got struck by the backlash. Her signature pointy hat was already torn to pieces some time ago. Items after items that she created for this day were used and spent. She knew the reason she lasted this long was more attributed to luck than ability.

But it seemed her luck had run out. A speck of splash effect from a Level 4’s Arte brushed against her barrier and it was all it took for her to cough blood, her Victa pathways were damaged. Not that it mattered much. Her Victa was almost dry. She wouldn't last much longer anyway.

A legionary that she had been fighting in the last three minutes pointed his sword at the downed Izabella’s neck.

“Surren-”

A streak of red lightning blasted the silver-armored warrior to a pack of space monsters that looked like piranhas with six pairs of eyes and three mouths of razor-sharp teeth. He got shredded almost immediately.

“Sis...” Izabella said weakly after seeing Ursula that appeared to save her.

The pair of sisters that weren't connected by blood observed each other. They both had hideous wounds, clothes torn almost to the point of immodesty. The battlefield was too intense. The fact they were not dead yet should be a reason for celebration. The Level 4 approached her sister after erecting a barrier of lightning.

“The battle is lost,” Ursula cradled the blood-stained Izabella with one arm. The only arm she had left. “You must flee. I’ll hold them off.”

“Together,” Izabella coughed. “We go together,” squeezing Ursula's hand with what strength she had left.

“They won't let a Blood Exarch like me go. Alone, you might have a chance,” gently, Ursula swiped the hair on Izabella's forehead with blood-stained fingers. “They’ll lock me up in their prided prison forever. This is goodbye Little Iz.”

Ursula gave a gentle kiss on Izabella's forehead before making the barrier explode outward. It knocked back all the hostiles in their vicinity, giving her the opening to shove Izabella into the spatial rift.

Izabella screamed from the spatial crack while seeing Ursula's peaceful expression. Tears streamed down her face. The last vision she saw before it all went dark was the smiling Ursula being surrounded by Silver Legionaries.

She would never abandon her sister but Ursula made the choice for her. Losing a family member once again drowned Izabella in a sea of grief.

She didn't know where the spatial crack would carry her. She might still die here -because of a space anomaly or a monster ate her as a snack- but there was a chance she would come out in the Prime Material Plane. Out of the Tomb, out of the Biome, into the surroundings of Marakkus city. But she couldn't just run away like this. She would only get caught by the time she went outside. The Estellian Church definitely would hunt for every escapee they could find.

Unwilling to let her sister’s sacrifice in vain, she gathered the last remnants of her Victa to cast an Arte.

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Izabella's last hope was using an Arte that only a precious few knew she was able to cast.

Arte - Shapeshift.

***

Viers put 5 years' worth of life into that one attack using Hyper Arte mode. A technique he created when he was overflowing with vitality after eating the flesh of a demi-god bull. After Freya, he wasn't so keen on using his lifespan for empowering his Arte anymore. Only for special occasions.

After multilayered power-ups, ten times the power of a standard Level 2 able to unleash was apparently enough to crack open the Unreality Field of a Level 3 Pathseeker. If that didn't work, Viers would start using his soul magicks but it was not to be and he was happy with the outcome.

Or perhaps Vortex Nova is just too strong, heh. So what if you have A.T. Field? My Kung Fu is stronger than yours!

The Arte was a technique worthy to be called an ultimate move. Viers had taken the inspiration from a certain ramen-loving fox boy. While that person used wind and chakra, Viers used water and Victa. The result was more than satisfactory and frighteningly similar.

The difficulty of the technique was also the same. Viers couldn't do the technique without Farley assisting him.

For now.

Since the beginning, The majority of Artes that Viers used was something that he created on his own, perfectly tailored to himself. All the Arte he created was all very high quality. The three girls, even the former Level 5 Clarissa, were amazed by Viers’ Arte-making ability. Normally, it shouldn't be possible.

Creating an Arte was a time-consuming process of trial and error. The Victa wasted in case of failure was also great. That was why most people either buy a finished Arte from the Magisterium or consume a monster core to gain an Arte.

But Viers didn't.

There were two reasons for this. The first was rooted in the fact he was an otherworlder. In Viers’ mind, there were loads and loads of fiction he enjoyed as a person from the 21st century.

He got all the inspiration he needed for creating an Arte. After all, Viers believed all superpowers in existence had already been created in some way or another. And the knowledge of them was safely stored inside his head. Ready to be unearthed for his benefit.

But seeing a painting does not mean one can paint with the same skill.

To create the various techniques he envisioned in their Arte form, Viers needed to construct them from the ground up.

That was where his soul search came into the equation.

The Pathseekers he killed had their own Artes. Viers performed open surgery on their souls, studied their Artes formulas for his own. If Viers wanted to create an Arte that was able to store and release power, Viers combined the formula from Donor A that was able to store power and from Donor B to release power. Like an artist, Viers sculpted an Arte to creation upon this world.

A ghastly artist that used dead men’s souls as materials to build his great works.

Naturally, Viers had limits. Vortex Nova was the peak of his capability at the moment and he didn't think he would be able to create a better Arte any time soon. No matter, because simply creating an Arte didn't mean he had mastered them. There was so much that Viers could do to perfect his arsenal of Artes.

Vortex Nova was his answer for tough and high-defense enemies. He always felt his water-based attacks were ineffective against that kind of opponent. It frustrated him.

No longer.

At any rate, he had killed Alan. Viers had won against a true Level 3 foe. Viers didn't come out unscathed and was hurting badly. The knife on his stomach was already removed. He bandaged the wounds and drank a healing potion, his healing factor was also working in full gear.

Not as bad as that time with Freya though. Is he stronger than her? Viers took a moment to contemplate. No. No he was not.

Viers was too tired to walk that line of thought further. Much like himself, Paina and Farley were exhausted. They went into slumber after Viers recognized and thanked them for their role in his victory.

Next, as only proper in the wake of a victory, Viers looted what was left of Alan’s corpse.

There was nothing much of earthly wealth on his person. He didn't have a storage item and his intact equipment was of no use to Viers.

Except one.

The moon pendant that once was Viers, was now his once again. Viers hit Alan’s solar plexus instead of the chest because he was afraid to destroy the precious Victa-boosting item.

Welcome back, my precioussss… hmn?

When Viers put the pendant on his neck, he felt something different.

The Victa generation is higher than before! From 10% to 30%! Alan must have upgraded the pendant somehow. Whoooa… Thanks buddy. If I had known, I might have given you more of my precious items for you to steal. Such a shame. Heheheh.

His chuckling created a sharp pain in his stomach. Viers’ mind returned to seriousness. After taking the Prince of Thieves’ soul as part of the loot, Viers recovered the Thousand Treasure Casket and sheathed Guren Muramasa. He pulled an exploding bead from the jewel box that he got from the vault and tossed it to Alan’s head, destroying it completely. Viers just wanted to be sure. Even Irkun got his share of death-confirmation measures. After his clean-up was done, his gaze turned towards the exit.

The Marakkus city arc is at its end. Before I leave the city, there’s one last debt to settle.