Meanwhile, in the real world.
While Clarissa is holding Anne down in the soul battlefield, I’ve got to hurry.
While fighting Anne with fire might be a foolish endeavor, it might not be the case for Clarissa. The lamia was an existence from the Age of the Gods and a former Level 5. She told Viers she had her ways of fighting Anne during the planning phase. Viers didn't watch the battle inside the temporary soul space he created so he could prepare his next trump card.
The rapid drain of his Victa reserves indicated Clarissa was having an earth-shaking battle. He would need to watch that recording in the future. In two seconds, fifty percent of his whole Victa reserves dried up.
Another two seconds later, light returned to Anne’s eyes. Her soul had returned to her body.
Only four seconds? Time might work differently in soul spaces but isn't this too soon?
“Sorry Viers, I couldn't hold her. She used the Arte Phoenix Ascending Rainbow Sky! That’s a Level 5 Arte from the Age of the Gods.” Clarissa informed him.
Figures. But it’s not as useless as it seems.
Viers had ascertained it with his super eyes. Anne was running out of Victa!
Even the greatest of Pathseekers were vulnerable when they had no more Victa.
Anne was sweating profusely and her breaths were racing. She looked so tired she might as well keel over. The fight with Clarissa had taken a lot out of her.
My golden chance! Let’s finish this!
The preparation for Viers’ trump card was underway. Victa was allocated and the Arte was constructed.
Let’s go! Soul-
Anne burst into flames and rose to the sky. From the pillar of fire, Viers saw she was no longer human but a bonafide phoenix! Not a projection or phantom of a technique, but a real transformation. The mythical bird and its beauty was a form of art. Viers would have appreciated it if she wasn't trying to screw him up and prevent him from getting first place in the most important trial of his life.
“I call bullshit! You’re out of Victa. How can you pull that off?”
“You're right,” the phoenix spoke with Anne’s voice while flapping her flaming wings. “I’m using my foundation as fuel for my Arte… This is not without consequences, but I can't let you win.”
A majestic phoenix sat on a flaming lotus with ninety-nine petals in the sky. The divine item -Phoenix Feather Fan- was floating above her head. She was spreading her wings and surrounded by a rainbow halo.
Viers saw the breathtaking spectacle from the first row.
“This is for Troy and the people you’ve killed. Phoenix Tome of Purifying Flames Secret Art: Heavenly Flames of Redemption!”
Rays and flames rained down from the heavens.
“AAAAAAHHHH!!!”
Viers evaded the fires but how could he evade light? Viers’ felt that his body was being burned from inside out. His Numb Pain Arte was useless.
“The bigger the sin a person has, the more painful it becomes,” Phoenix Anne said.
And Viers’ sins were colossal.
Despite his state, Viers shot out Vengeful Spirit Arte at the stationary Anne in the sky, forty to fifty meters above him. It was one of the few Artes Viers had that was capable of reaching that height. A translucent barrier blocked the soul Arte before it reached Anne.
It was ineffective. She was too far and the Arte was not strong enough.
“To struggle even in that state. You are really exceptional… After this defeat, I hope you change and become a better person.”
Viers was on the verge of losing and he knew it.
But did he accept his defeat?
Maybe I’ll lose one day. But not today, and not to the likes of you.
“This isn't even my final form!”
Viers took out several items from his inventory and equipped them. In his left hand, a sword of light; on his right, a black sword of souls and ice.
Viers absorbed the souls inside the sword into himself.
A single black wing appeared from his back. Only one right wing, there was no left wing. His hair changed colors from gold to silver as they became longer. His green eyes showed unwavering defiance against the Heavens.
Viers had become a One-Winged Angel!
Lastly, Viers summoned his black spark. The spark quality changed depending on how many shards one had. At zero shards, it was but a speck of black light. Now, with three and a half million spark shards, Viers’ spark was like a black sun.
“T-this is?”
For the first time, Anne sounded worried.
The spark had no effect on his overall battle strength but it was just too damn cool.
In his super state, Viers flew to the phoenix sun, two swords of white and black in hand.
A very specific orchestral music was playing epicly into his ears.
Only Level 5 Pathseekers could fly, but there were ways of achieving similar feats for weaker people. Anne could do it, even the Level 2 Airmaster could. When Viers learned that Anne could fly, he knew he too must find a way to at least reach her in the sky. It would definitely play a crucial role during their showdown.
Six months were enough to create something that suited him.
As Viers got closer to the source, the intensity of Anne’s attack rose.
Viers would turn to ashes before his swords could touch Anne, and it was before factoring in Anne’s shield.
Viers’ answer to the flames and heat was Aravin’s divine weapon that he wielded in his left hand!
The divine weapon didn't like Viers. It rejected Viers’ effort of wielding it. Just touching the handle of the sword burned Viers’ hand.
But Viers had a wealth of experience from the thousands of Fables inside his head. He knew how to deal with the cheeky blazing sword.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
He could either become a man incapable of feeling pain like the Tales of Arise’s Alphen did.
…Or by wearing oven gloves.
Dragonweave Gloves!
The red gloves made from the body parts of a dragon that Viers picked up in Dia’s Biome had excellent heat resistance!
Viers made the sword of light, that he named Solarion, absorb Anne’s light and flames. This was possible because Anne's and the sword’s powers were similar in their origin. Viers couldn't make use of the sword’s true potential because he didn't have the matching affinity, but what he needed right now was a shield and the sword served just fine.
Even with Solarion paving the way, it only reduced a portion of Anne’s offense.
Like Icarus flying towards the sun, the one-winged silhouette burned!
The glorious spectacle was witnessed by two people from afar, Green Scorpion Fajrin and Fithel the elf.
Finally, Viers’ blade reached Anne's barrier, the final obstruction to Viers’ victory.
“KKKHHHHHH!!”
“HAAAAAAAAA!!”
Anne strengthened the barrier as much as she could, while Viers tried to pierce it.
Viers was in a very dangerous state. Taking in two million souls was no joke, far above his current safe limit. This was no simple storing of the soul like he always did to his enemies but an active strengthening. The burden on his body was tremendous.
Will clashed against will. Viers’ body and soul were being broken from the outside and the inside.
Viers’ eyes were no longer working after they had melted in his eye sockets, but he felt he had passed through a membrane.
After entering the blazing sphere of pure radiance where the phoenix was emitting the flames of absolution, the pain Viers felt from his sins was downright crushing.
Like a vision before one’s death, Viers recalled his conviction when he had decided to walk the path of cultivation. Every xianxia story he’d read showed that cultivation was about ‘defying the heavens‘. It was not easy or for the faint of heart.
Earlier, Anne said: This is for Troy and the people you’ve killed.
“This is for myself!”
Viers shouted at the top of his lungs. He used the soul-enchanted sword Anguish as a catalyst as he coursed his Arte to-
He suddenly felt his Victa was frozen in time.
“NO! This must not be! Cease this at once!”
Aletro!
The white one, he intervened!
On the border between life and death where a single moment could make all the difference, he broke his neutrality!
Viers’ fury swelled up like an ocean. He cursed that unfair jury to the deepest pits of Hell.
“Let him go, you unprincipled piece of shit! Go, my Champion! Choose your own destiny!”
Viers was freed from the shackles the next instance.
There was only one person who could match white Aletro but this was not the time to ponder.
Viers used the greatest of his soul Artes, the soul finisher he received from Clarissa during Stage 3: Soul Snake’s Disintegration Decree!
But he shouted something else.
“AVADA KEDAVRA!!!”
Anima Symphony – Finale!
HORIZON – 363.99%!
Paina’s assist came with perfect timing. Anne was so close that Viers didn't need to aim. Not that he could really aim in his current state.
Green lightning hit Anne with heaven-shaking might. There was a loud crack like thunder that reached as deep as one’s soul, and beyond. Viers had used all the souls that made up his wing as fuel for the strike, erasing them in the process. Anguish, the sword that Viers used as a wand to channel the unforgivable curse, was shattered beyond any hope of repair, unable to withstand the load from the Arte.
Viers’ own soul was also hurt by the Arte, like a recoil from a gun firing, but even then the damage was severe. Normal people would have their soul crippled but Viers endured, thanks to him practicing the Myriad Souls in One Arte to the Grand Soul stage.
The Arte was out of Viers’ league. He was only able to display a hundredth portion of the real one.
But it was enough.
It had to be.
By all Gods, let it be enough.
Viers lost consciousness microseconds after invoking the Arte, just in time to hear the last part of One-Winged Angel.
***
Before he realized it, Viers was in a space of white. He was sitting on a long chair.
“Hmm,” he muttered serenely and looked below the chair.
“What are you doing?” Anne asked from behind.
“I thought I might see a misshapen form of a noseless, hairless man,” Viers stood up and turned towards Anne. “Shame that there’s none. Are we both dead?”
“Perhaps,” she said as calmly as Viers. Anne was in her human form, younger than Viers by a year and shorter by a head. Objectively and subjectively speaking she was cute and beautiful. “I simply wanted to talk before whatever happens next.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Viers was resolute to not be an idiot and blab compromising things about himself like so many villains in the Fables.
“Oh, nothing so serious,” Anne’s body language was relaxed, carefree. She sat on one of the nearby stairs, bending her right knee closer to her body and resting her chin there.
“You once called me a Mary Sue for being too perfect. Let me ask you a question. By definition, are you not similarly a Mary Sue? Suppose I'm this Mary Sue but you’ve managed to defeat me. What's that signify? Let’s make a list. You have a rare soul affinity, you’ve good looks and body, people adore you in a different way, your strength is unreachable without special methods other people don't have… and these are only what I know from passing. Are you a Mary Sue?”
Her tone was without anger or bitterness towards the man who might have killed her. It was as if she was talking about a curious topic during breakfast.
“...Ah, so that’s what you’re wondering. First, lookie here.”
Viers showed a picture of a man with a slightly round belly with his face obscured. There was nothing pleasant about the sight.
“My current face and appearance are fake. My real name is different too. This picture is my real body. See how I still have the characteristics of a fatso despite my best efforts? This is just one of my imperfections. My real face -which I will not show- is also not a perfectly crafted masterpiece by the gods. It is average, slightly leaning to ugliness, in my opinion.”
Similarly, Viers replied with a carefree tone. There was no need for him to lie so he told her the truth.
“But that’s just your appearance. How do you explain the Sue-ness of your abilities then?” Anne sounded genuinely intrigued.
“It is because I have at least three hundred chapters worth of story behind me while you don’t.”
Should be about three hundred, right? I don't know for sure but I think it should be around that number. Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to break down the fourth wall like Mr. Deadpool.
“Ufufufu,” Anne giggled. “I don't know what you’re talking about but you’re so serious I find it funny. Ah, please don't take offense. I’m not looking down on you or anything.”
“None taken. The point is, I’ve bled for my power. It’s been a long road that got me here, Anne.”
“But how could you know I’ve not bled for mine? Perhaps I did too, same as you.”
“I can't know for sure, this is true. But I defeated you to make sure a Mary Sue cannot shroud the sky above my head. If you’ve bled for your power, then I’ll offer you a fitting song for your end along with my good wishes for your next life.”
“Oh?”
“Morally speaking, I don't think you’re a bad person. Killing a kind girl like you is unpleasant. However, a Mary Sue has no place in my story. That is all.”
“I see… Thank you for talking to me. I’m certain a talk with you during an afternoon tea time will be most entertaining but looks like our time is up.”
Anne smiled at Viers with a sad kind of smile.
“Mother said, I was born special, so I must use my powers for the sake of others… I’ve tried to do this as much as I could. In the future, when calamity strikes and the sky falls on our heads, I will be a pair of hands that hold it up-”
She looked far to the distance forlornly before looking at Viers. Anne’s form was starting to disintegrate, slowly turning into thousand specks of lights.
“-helping you.”
“Me?” Viers frowned. He didn't know where Anne was going with this.
“After our fight, I’m certain you’ll become someone with powers that shoulder such a burden. Whether you choose to hold up the sky alone, or with others, it is your choice. I wished I could be there, helping all the people of this beautiful world… But it was not meant to be… Farewell, Tanael. Don't do too many bad things, alright?”
I wish… I could hear your voice once one last time… Mother.
Anne closed her eyes, her smiling face faded as she became light.
Viers stood alone in the white space for a full minute. His head was full of jumbled thoughts.
You really are a Mary Sue. Perfect… to the end.
Viers played out a song, Weight of the World. Viers soaked in the melody with solitude as his company. The song depicted what he was feeling at the moment.
…This is not for you Anne. I just feel like hearing it.
Chapter 200 - Phoenix Fall