Two Great Beings hovered in mid-air. A ferocious Great Devil brought along a fog of crimson fog that slowly surrounded himself, everything that the crimson fog had contact with slowly became corrupted. Everything that had been corrupted didn't simply decay but rather began to exude a mentally burdensome curse. Facing such an evil force was Alyur, the Great Dragon of Moonlight, as the night sky illuminated the world, everything seemed to be inconsequential for her. The insignificant fog that the Great Devil brought alongside him didn't affect her at all.
“Do you really wish to die this day?” Alyur’s Dragon form overshadowed the blob of crimson fog before her. “I’ve used up the majority of my power so you think you can take me down?”
“Kekekeke! I’m not that stupid.” The Great Devil stretched his arms to the side as if he was welcoming a friend. “But I can delay you long enough for everything to finish. You can’t save the Hatchling, the odds are stacked against your favor.”
Alyur no longer spoke but instead, replied with her own attack. A great orb of pure destruction manifested to lay complete havoc on anything it touches. Condensing mana on top of each other it began to compress. Mana then covered the orb of compressed power and continued on to condense once more, layering on top of each other.
[Annihilation Nova]
The Great Devil snickered. It raised his hand, creating numerous magical circles all around Alyur’s attack. Each magical circle had a red tinge that accompanied his fog.
[Chains of Purgatory]
Metal chains sprouted out from within these magical circles. Having a tinge of rust on them, they encircled Alyur’s attack, slowly siphoning away all sorts of power held within the orb of mass destruction. As the pushing force within [Annihilation Nova] slowly faded away, it shattered into fragments. Though it did come at the cost of the Great Devil taking the burden of dispelling such an attack.
It had been a tie. Or at least, that was how it had seemed. Compared to Alyur’s complexion, the Great Devil obviously had used so much more of its power. At this rate, the Great Devil could only do so a handful more times before it would be unable to fight further.
“Lay waste to Aganth.” Alyur’s voice echoed throughout the city. The horde she had summoned never stopped pushing through. As the barrier had broken apart, these countless beasts finally made their way into Aganth, unable to be wiped away.
Weston and the other Ascendant Realm experts were now burdened with protecting whatever was left of Aganth. They didn’t dare interfere with the battle of the two Great Beings. It was out of their hands now. As for the Hatchling, Weston no longer cared, taking action towards it now was meaningless. All he could do was protect what little was left. He gathered those who remained and began to bunker down. There was nothing he else he could do.
A man who was deemed as the strongest couldn't do a single thing in the end.
Sadin crawled out of the gigantic hole he was under. Sammuel’s attack had forced him twenty meters underground. His empowered self had everything replenished, even reaching his current peak state. Due to [Phoenix Rebirth], he was severely held back. There were many moves that he couldn't use without paying a considerably large price.
[Status: Phoenix Rebirth | Lose Combat Power: ??? | Sadin: 164,436]
[Status: Devil’s Delight | Gain Combat Power: +??? | Sadin: 253,684]
Unexpectedly, the crimson fog that the Great Devil had brought alongside him had empowered Sadin back to his previous state.
“Temporary but enough.” Sadin’s [Status: Phoenix Rebirth] had been completely canceled out by [Status: Devil’s Delight]. Although it had a time limit, it was more than enough of a buff to let him show off just how powerful he was. Without those restriction stopping him, he could finally unleash his strength.
Jynnette similarly felt the terrifying empowerment from the Great Devil. Yet she finally felt the burden of such a terrifying battlefield. “Revelation Stage combatants showing Ascendant Realm power… Just what is happening?”
“I nearly forgot…” Verim lightly laughed to himself. “The standards in the wastelands were low.”
“Those Ascendant Realm ‘experts’ you’ve seen are nothing but fakes.” Verim faced Sadin. Still, there were more important matters at hand. “Where’s the Hatchling-”
[Switch Ego: Clinque Carron | Ego: Neo Rabbit | Ego: Lighting Eagle]
All of a sudden, Sammuel had suddenly appeared before them. His speed was still as terrifying as ever yet compared to from before, both Verim and Sadin could actually react to him. Sammuel didn’t waste any time, he tried to bring one of them down before facing the other two. =
He didn’t underestimate any of the three people before him. He fully understood just how strong each person was. With such an overwhelmingly powerful group, Sammuel had no other choice but to target the weakest link.
As Verim and Sadin blocked Sammuel’s attacks, Verim immediately saw that the attacks directed towards them were simply empowering attacks for the true attack. “Jynnette, dodge! He’s after you!”
Jynnette reacted appropriately, despite being a genius hailed in Aganth, she was barely keeping up right now. Her twin daggers were held up directly in front of her. Sammuel had finally arrived at Jynnette’s position, using the majority of his strength.
[Switch Ego: Axian Retcher | Ego: Gut Drinker | Ego: Chained Masque]
Three [Ego] that solely focused on their piercing power. Sammuel had a disgusting amount of [Ego] at his disposal to the point that he could just keep going. Each [Ego] had its own mana reserves and limits, even with three terrifying monsters, Sammuel actually had a slight advantage. Still, none of his [Ego] should have been able to even fight back in such a dangerous scenario.
If not for [Supreme Blessing of Attachment] Sammuel would already be brought down before he could even understand what had happened. This was Sammuel’s core fighting ability. Without it, defeat was a certainty. Such power coming from the Hatchling meant that when Marie grew up, she would only become stronger. A Supreme Dragon was stronger than anything that Sammuel could even fathom.
If Great Beings were already something he could barely understand, what about a realm that was even higher than that?
[Mana Tool: Spear]
There wasn’t even any technique he needed for this attack, his base Combat Power was more than enough to completely demolish Jynnette’s defenses. Her twin daggers broke into countless blade fragments, she was unable to even defend herself from one of Sammuel’s strikes. She was a genuis of Aganth yet that was as far as she could reach. She was still human in the end.
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Jynnette's body flew through the air, letting her body get dragged across the streets. She was essentially incapacitated from such an attack. Strips of her skin were ruptured away as the pavement mercilessly ground her down. Her body continued on until slamming by a nearby building. The cracks beneath her feet began to fill up in her blood.
Verim and Sammuel tried their best to help Jynnette out but it was useless. Sammuel had already thought ahead.
[Annihilation Nova]
It was severely weaker than Alyur's [Annihilation Nova] yet it was still something terrifying. Sammuel could no longer use [Ego] that focused on piercing. He switched over to another set.
[Switch Ego: Embrodrial Stoat | Ego: Feral Sarne | Ego: Opaque Spider]
Sammuel switched to some creatures that had a decently high amount of mana. Despite not being as terrifying as Alyur’s attack, it was still something both Verim and Sadin needed to handle if they wanted to reach Sammuel. This split moment was enough for Sadin to reach Jynnette.
“Teacher.” Sammuel had a translucent blue spear in his hand, completely made out of his mana. Due to the terrifying mana pool he had of three different beasts, it was essentially limitless, letting him create an extremely dense weapon.
Jynnette coughed out blood as she desperately tried to cover her chest bleeding out from Sammuel’s last attack. “Do it already.”
“You think I would at this point, right?” Sammuel shook his head. “It turns out I’m not as heartless as I’d want to be.” He walked over to Jynnette and hovered his hand over her body. He used his immense mana pool to remedy Jynnette's major injuries. Although she wasn't in lethal danger right now her body was still greatly exhausted.
“If I ever see you again, I hope it’ll be under better circumstances than this.” Sammuel grabbed Jynnette’s waist with both hands and threw her. Her body flew through the air with no end in sight. She disappeared into the distance.
Alyur twisted her head to see Sammuel finally make his move. As Jynnette was flying through the air, she merely tapped the air, propelling Jynnette further away without harming her. “That’s one condition down. Mortal, you better not disappoint me.”
“Again?” Verim appeared right beside Sammuel, once again piercing his heart effortlessly. “Just what kind of body do you have?”
[Switch Ego: Enraged Basilisk | Ego: Entombed Turtle | Ego: Fractal Stune]
Sammuel’s body had turned even more gruesome than before. As he reverted back to his great;y injured [Ego], the consequences of his battles revealed itself. His piled up injuries kept piling on each other yet he wasn’t going to back down at all.
[Annihilation Nova]
“Of course, you’d do that.” Verim gritted his teeth. This was an absurdly difficult battle. No matter how many times he struck Sammuel down, he would just magically heal right up without any consequences.
“Feels like I’m fighting against an immortal monster.”
Such a battle was one of the most annoying fights Verim had ever gone through.
Sadin casually walked through Sammuel’s [Annihilation Nova]. “Time’s up.”
[Combat Power: 368,436]
Sammuel turned his head to see that Sadin was making full use of his [Perfect Affinity]. As the battle continued on, it would only favor Sadin more and more. He was growing exponentially as the battle continued on. From using his [Skills] and mastering them he proceeded to get stronger and stronger.
It was another type of unfair bias. If Verim had played around with Sadin then it would’ve ended up in Sadin’s favor yet he didn’t let him win the clash. It had been hours since the battle had started, which was more than enough time for Sadin to reach such a monstrous level.
“Sylph, Naia. Where’s the Hatchling?” With such an overwhelmingly powerful body, Sadin no longer feared Sammuel’s attacks. Sylph flew through the air before pointing in a certain direction, it was the exact spot where Fian had created the rift in space. Naia didn’t even bother, instead, warily looked at Sammuel.
“I’ll do it but I’m hiding in the void!” Sylph crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.
“If you had targeted me instead, you could’ve won.” Sadin was completely helpless against Sammuel initially. But now, he was able to build up his strength enough to reach the point where he alone was enough of a menace.
“I could but Jynnette would’ve died.” Sammuel sighed. “It didn’t sit well with me.”
The roles had reversed, before, Verim was the sole person that Sammuel had to look after yet now, Sadin had taken that role. Sammuel already used his most powerful combinations. He was slowly growing weaker and weaker while his enemies were only getting stronger. Everything was getting stacked against him.
Sadin had a wide grin on his face. “You got so much stronger than before. I can’t help but want to see more. Sylph, join Verim and find the Hatchling. Naia, I’ve seen the look on your face, let’s take this one down.”
“Aye! Aye!” Sylph hummed to herself as she drifted off and joined Verim’s side. With her being a Great Spirit of Wind, she easily surpassed Verim’s peak speed, letting them travel within the blink of an eye.
Naia didn’t speak, merely gathering whatever moisture was left in the air and manifesting it. Feeling that it wasn’t enough, she started gathering the blood pools left nearby to strike Sammuel back. Compared to when Sylph drew blood, Naia was much more efficient in her usage.
Sammuel tried to leave Sadin’s side but Naia created a cage, trapping both of them inside. Despite being water, it was clear that it was made out of liquid that was extremely mystical. Even causing Naia’s avatar to slightly dim out.
[Aqueous Prison]
“Save your attempts. You can only escape the [Aqueous Prison] by depleting my mana or as a corpse.” Naia coldly stated. Her blue eyes were still wary of what Sammuel would do.
“Finally… let’s have a fine conversation.” Sadin punched his palm with his fist, causing a shockwave to echo out within the cage. Numerous whip-like tentacles sprouted from his side and immediately attempted to slice Sammuel’s neck off. "A real conversation between men."
Sammuel barely dodged it as a sliver of blood spewed out from Naia’s attack. Despite being a liquid, the water was sharper than any weapon Sammuel had ever managed to see. This was a dangerous predicament.
"Madman."
~~~
“Follow me, follow me!” Sylph hummed like a child. She zipped through the air, faster than Verim could ever hope to reach. He was already going much faster than he could ever reach yet he was still leagues behind what Sylph could reach. She entered and left the world, making it difficult for Verim to catch up.
Sylph’s eyes shined like diamonds, she ecstatically pointed at a certain establishment. It was slightly run down yet compared to the rest of Aganth, it was doing pretty well.
“It’s in there! Come, come!” She then disappeared from sight once again.
Verim closed one of his eyes and grinned. “You’re right, I can start sensing Fian’s rift. I can finally finish this once and for all. After the Hatchling’s dead, I can finally go back to my silent and hopeful adventurer life.”
As he walked through the debris-filled streets, an odd sensation filled his heart. His walking motion slowly stopped to a halt. Sylph was excitedly flying through the air when she bent her neck to see the newly arrived entity.
“An outsider?” Sylph slowly flew to where she felt such a sensation. “Ah! It’s a beastman outsider! Ooh! I’ve heard rumors but seeing one is always such a treat.”
Hearing Sylph’s words, Verim turned his gaze towards a hooded monster. “You’re… one of the leaders of the Monster Faction. What are you doing here?”
It was the dark hooded monster that had been after the Hatchling this entire time. “I can’t let you kill the Hatchling…” It slowly unveiled its hood as a ferocious jaw appeared, it’s sharp canine eyes opened up, looking through all the falsities that Verim had put up. It was a werewolf.
“It’s my next pet after all…” The werewolf revealed its body, showing off numerous orbs of light hidden under his clothes. It took out two orbs on his upper chest, throwing them out. All of a sudden, two terrifying creatures appeared.
“Revelation Stage monsters? And they’re…” Verim dashed back as soon as possible. Before him was an already torn street. It was as if an invisible mouth gulped down everything in front of him. Verim felt his heart start to race.
Before Verim could even recompose himself, another attack reached him, he hadn’t been touched but he coughed out blood. His eyes started to turn blood red as his skin started to turn violet. He had been poisoned through the air.
“That’s not good.” Sylph waved her hand, dispelling all the poison in the air. She didn’t purify it at all, causing the entire city to feel the weakened version of this creature’s poison. “Hehehe, my bad.”
As Naia had told Sadin, Sylph wasn’t a just being. She only served her desire to watch what is entertaining.
“Fight on, Verim. I’m rooting for you.” Sylph said her piece as she hid away within the void, still terrified of the power that could ruin her. Not that she acted like it.