The circumstances and atmosphere in the museum weren't that pleasing. Murai felt the statues around him from the perspective of a prisoner, and it reminded him of himself more than he liked. He almost hated it, but he wasn't too vocal about it, even though he was sure he seemed that way.
This constant loop of Cursed Living wasn't what he desired. That was something that had long seeped into his soul. Almost like a law.
Here, along with the Soul Read, he noticed the emotions that spread from those beings turned to a stone. Some were emotional as if screaming. Others were open in a weird aura that he couldn't even get close to. Most were dull and numb, almost as if they were sleeping or it was this stone prison that let them be in a perpetual state of slumber.
Some were heavy and strong, and few were even completely detached from reality and he couldn't even notice an aura of their soul. They may be like Ceila or their Path, or Will was stronger than his Soul Read could fathom.
Tall, small, weird, and oddly shaped beings were almost around every corner, and many had appearances he had never seen before. Some monsters, or beasts looked too weird and grotesque. Apart them the beasts, there were instances of humanoid figures of all kinds. Devils were always looking like humans, but with horns, and often different complexities. Their skin may be dark, ashen, or even white or very dark. Their horns were their most prominent feature, while the number of them, and their size corresponded with their rank and power. 2 was the norm. 4 indicated a powerful devil. 6 was already a token of a progenitor-rank devil.
As for demons, they were complicated beings of many races that had all kinds of bloodlines mixed in them. Some beasts were called demons, and some demons were called beasts. It was often hard to describe them. It wasn't making a whole lot of sense, since a lot of it came from the bloodlines, and evolutions, didn't help with them either. Chaos went along with their living. Sometimes, there was no Order in some things whatsoever.
There were promenades of evolved beasts on one side of a long hallway. Some of them were humongous and seeped out of unique powers. Like flaring vines made of flames, ice, and chains made of silvery water. Those may be what Levandis caught from the ventures onto the Greater Sky, or they were opponents and foes that wanted her Hell Haven.
Murai couldn't guess the meaning of this place, but it sure seemed to be built different. No. Perhaps he didn't give a single feather about why he was here or who they were. He was here for himself, and he nudged his head upwards from his body so he could observe the hallway for the enemy. He didn't care about Lorry and his words but what if he was right and the enemy was already around him?
The laughing Guide was a menace to common sense, and Murai wasn't too happy or angry about him. Indifferent was a fitting word.
He saw what he didn't want and got much more than he would've ever wanted to see. This place was definitely a location where Levandis put some interest, and it was in a safe place inside her domain. And right in her grasp.
Apart from the prisoners, there were many more interesting things, and some he actually liked: treasures of all kinds, symbolism from the Greater Sky, and many depictions from this world as well. Sculptures of living beings made of intricate materials were often mixed among the prisoners and were of incredible value. They weren't living, while paintings were no prisoners as well. Only statues were.
Some of the paintings were extremely old Venerate Grade treasures and had Laws and touches of World Essences. Like the Everflower, he saw in this life, or others where he wielded them, or saw them closely or from a far place in many of his New Beginnings. Almost all of these treasures were behind a protection formation, and out of touch to any detection.
But Murai saw them with his eye, and that was enough for him to notice what they were. Their protection was sturdy, but so what? His eyes were enough to seek and note their secrets, even though the paintings looked like regular paintings of many kinds. From war-like themes and fights across the Greater Sky, or even symbols or words, there were even animals and human figures. They were how he remembered them—from a distance and an overreaching sense of power. All of them were beyond Extreme, yet they were put on display like a bunch of toys.
Just why they were here? Was Levandis making some sort of joke, or was she lofty enough to let them be shown? Was she mocking the Challengers by showing them treasures they could never even touch? He almost assured himself that was the most probable answer.
Venerate was a term from a very old language, coming from the Ancients. It depicted outlandish power that allowed one to travel around the universe undisturbed by cosmic-level threats. Those ranged from galactic-sized storms, fleeting asteroids, stars so hot, that they would burn anything in their proximity, and many more. The universe was a dangerous place, and for one to travel further, or far enough to reach some sense of solemnity, it was an arduous journey.
Ancients were different kinds of overlords, and they had power over a vast amount of space and time. They were around prior to the rules of Gods that Murai knew from his relatively recent iterations of his Cursed Living.
The passage of time was unrelenting to him, and much menacing to others than he gave it credit to. The road of power was always shifting the power dynamic around the Greater Sky, and the universe as a whole was unrelenting and ruthless. However, some beings were not prone to this, and some were almost too important to care about that. Some of those... figures caused Murai's fate, he felt.
Albeit, knowing about the vast past was a rather peculiar thing since the notion of the past always moved forward, becoming a token for the present time, before it became the past. It was the future that was always hard, and insane to guess.
Murai spent not even 10 seconds caring about these treasures put on display as if they were trophies. For this place to show them wide open, it was as if they were tokens of loftiness and Levandis's pride. He didn't care about that. He couldn't help but curse at them in open disgust, and also many realizations.
Unfortunately, looking and cursing was all he could do, since they were all obscured by a power above the Extreme. He recognized them by a look, while each Venerate Grade treasure had a glass behind them, with the protection formation and other defenses. Not a speck of aura went out of them, making them look ordinary, at best. No amount of Will could see through then, and perhaps nobody could even touch the truths behind them unless those formations went away. Murai was the same, but he wasn't blind.
A physical look upon them was all that he needed and his memories served as an interesting outlook. He didn't talk about them though, because their value was much higher than something he should care about right now.
Out of everything he saw before, they were the most valuable, right beside that gate before meeting Lorry. The sculptures of many beasts were beyond those paintings, which, in fact, some of them were pages from old and ancient manuals or other interesting things. In his opinion, they were invaluable, and he didn't know what they were about unless he broke the formation.
Such was the case of the invaluable assets of the past, which went beyond the senses of mortality or immortality. Some of them must be millions of years old, Murai knew that for a fact. Even older even? How many Chaos Cycles that was?
Murai scoffed at such a thought, knowing that their premise came out of his past experiences and led to all kinds of memories. He was very old in the sense of soul, but calling him all-knowing was less than sensible.
He may have a lot of living experiences behind him, but most of them were so different from one another, he was often forgetting about them. That changed many times, and sometimes, not at all. Some lives required some unique takes while living on many planets made him experience many things.
One would wonder how many things he had mastered, but it wasn't a lot. Considering him universally insane was almost poetic, which went hand in hand with his Cured Living.
It was almost always dependent on the world and body. A New Beginning after the End always created new circumstances. It would often diminish the past experiences and make him angry and helpless. He couldn't do much more than move on and giving some memories a nudge was often a key to a better life.
This sort of living made him prone to the course and shifts of many histories, times long in the past, and many Paths.
Ancients in particular were a topic that only Gods knew about since their past was based on the premise of powers beyond common sense. They were of similar status to Gods and were rulers of many worlds in a similar manner to them. They were no hegemons of time or mana, and their limits were similar to how some Gods wanted to become Creators. It was the next stage, and the Ancients wanted to be beings that moved through the dimensions and turned the universe up to their wishes. That was at least the grand hope and desire of those beyond the mortals, but still far away from the very peak.
As for their direct past, few mortal-level beings knew much about them. Pieces of Venerate knowledge, scrolls, tomes, or any kind of treasure were of utmost value and could be found in some ruins and old and forgotten lands. Most of those treasures would move the strongest of the Extremes, and become invaluable depending on their power, or effects. Such things indicated the power of old history and power that was different, yet could shape the reality.
Anything of that kind of premise should be powerful and it was.
Murai was momentarily stunned after shifting through his memories and walked away from them without any issues. He was oblivious to Lisa and her curious look behind him. She floated around, glaring at them, him, the statues, or those treasures. She had a much better look at them, because of her floating body, but who knew what she was thinking?
Murai wasn't one to forget the importance of the past, yet he remembered what he could. That was to not know everything. He needed some rules about it, and thankfully, his soul was long accustomed to the flow of uncountable memories. Some were lost and neglected. Some were pristine and clear, hiding in the depths of his awareness.
They were all in him, hiding, or were openly available at all times.
Sighting, Murai didn't see any enemy, so he turned around to face Lorry and Lisa. “This is getting annoying, so how about some talk? Why were there some hallways with formation locks at some portion of this place? I've been walking for almost an hour!” he complained and seemed kind of laughable to the 2 floating soul forms who only watched his head protruding from the fog.
“It is important to be faithful to one's destiny. Lorry is sure Murai has all rights to continue and follow that. Right?” Lorry asked in return.
“Don't give me that crap! I would rather know some sense than get out of my patience. So how about letting this be over with already.” Murai glared at him with much interest, knowing that Lorry knew everything about this place. “I know you are keeping something hiding! Are all the damned soul forms this petty?! Hm?”
“Kekekeke. Fine. Fine. Murai seems to be the impatient one. Lorry sees and gets it.” he chuckled and glared in some direction. “There that one is, and that one went ahead or far. It has been quite some minutes already, yet that one is waiting for timing, or is upset and afraid because of an Anatidae? Lorry wonders about that, but if Lorry should order something, then what?”
Lorry stated the surprising truth that he knew more than he was showing.
It was as Murai expected. “What was that for?” he asked and got a bad feeling about this place.
Suddenly, a premonition of danger shook his spirit, and he looked around to feel and see something, yet saw or felt nothing. Left and right, he turned his attention to his Mana Detection but it was hard to discern a lot of meaning over the mana since there were many statues around. Who knew where was the enemy?
Lorry did? No. He didn't. He was making shit up, yet there was some truth in his presence. Mindarch talked, ordering the Guardian to not be a coward.
A shrieking sound echoed through the hallway, and in the next moment, a whistling sound shot toward Murai. It went unexpectedly fast, while the air and fog were cut. Something moved, traveling from the ceiling, right toward him along the ground. A powerful force slammed against his body, causing blunt and penetrative power to go through his muscles and feathers.
It was powerful. Way too much to his liking.
Murai felt some piercing pain too, but no bloody wound appeared from this sudden clash. He stumbled away a dozen meters and even slammed against the ground before he quickly went alert again. He wasn't hurt. Not too much. His muscles and bones didn't like it, but his feathers took it much better.
Looking at the place in the direction of this strike, there was nothing he noticed, apart from the dancing fog. It was as if a ghost attacked him.
It was at this moment, that Lorry laughed and introduced the Guardian. He at least knew what was the Mindarch's choice.
“Let Lorry present Murai a Crowhell Bat. A demonic beast of level 30 with Bloodline from the Sunless Divine Beasts. Diluted, but deadly, Lorry believes.”
Crowhell? Never heard of it. Mura complained in his heart and reconsidered what sort of bat this could even be. It was invisible to the naked eye, and even with the sense of Mana Detection, he didn't manage to catch a thing.
What about Soul Read? He thought when he figured that regular sight, or even mana was useless. His Soul Read should be better. Feeling the statues put some stress on his soul, but with his Robust Spirit, it was possible to feel a large portion of them. The Soul Read went against quite high-level creatures, and if Lorry knew of it, he wouldn't laugh but be respectful instead.
For the lack of care or fun, Mindarch gave him an enemy that was worth his Power Level, which was a basic limit of his current power. The enemy should be tough, albeit numbers weren't always proportional to one's power level.
His core strength was absolutely better than his level, which was apparent a long time ago. After all, he already defeated foes that were almost 3 times above his level, while his defeat of Acaman Golem was more than sensensual. Back then, he still struggled to finish the job in 20 minutes, but killing and defeating were completely different things. Acaman Golem didn't make it quick and easy for him. That was for sure.
Here? He was against some clever and annoying beast, so calling it balanced was more than fitting. It may be difficult since this bat seemed rather stranger than his past foes.
Murai felt nothing with his Soul Read, which can mean a few things: the bloodline of this Crowhell Bat was rather good or his Soul Read couldn't work on it. The range could also be an issue, but this palace had walls and wasn't as large as an open forest.
Crowhell Bat was undetectable in one's senses and eyesight, yet the sound and movement still made it hearable. That was a weakness that he could use to his advantage. This hallway was quiet, so that was at least something.
However, the Crowhell Bat was a noiseless flying beast of nocturnal living. It was an enemy that was by no means at a disadvantage against him and calling it a perfect counter against Murai was correct.
Power of his Soul Read was unable to perceive the enemy, which added more questions than answers. One was that the enemy was too far away. Soul Read had a limited range, making the perception of others less clear. Murai was yet to be convinced about Soul Read's full potential since he didn't see and act with it against many living beings. Here, around the statues, he finally got the gist of what it could gift, but it was like reading the unreadable mash of letters. It wasn't usable, while emotions were often a byproduct of desires. They weren't helpful all the time, and reading and feeling undead was like reading half-finished sentences, full of gibberish.
Soul Read may also not be helping with anything. A nasty and mindless soul of a beast was almost worthless, and he noted nothing much from all of those undead from before. Soul Read had the advantage against proper and intelligent souls, and one had to be clear about his own soul too. One could still see the presence of the unintelligent beasts, but they were present alone. Emotions and souls were different, then knowing and noticing one's existence.
Also, the interventions of the statutes made it hard to concentrate. Soul Read needed physical sight of the soul, or was that correct? That was something Murai had yet to test, but before someone, he should Soul Read if he was close. The emotional state was often all to that alone, while not many things besides the general feeling of the soul went further. Soul Read will need further evolution to get stronger effects, and that was far away.
Murai frowned, thinking that even his soul and Will had clear limits, but it wasn't his fault. It was this world. This mess!
His growth was splendid, yet he couldn't point this ability in one direction like he can with his Mana Detection, or use it like a tool. The intent of ignoring the surroundings also didn't work when more souls were around. He was yet to gain a perfect understanding of his current potential, which may be an issue for him, Soul Read, or it was because of what this room limited him with.
There were some clear lines of rules around uses, boosts, and gifts of all abilities. He couldn't perceive Ceila, nor much of any Suns if he was honest with himself. That was a while ago, however. He grew and got stronger. There were rewards behind him, yet the limits and leveling made them slow-reaching, and often neglectful. Many abilities needed proper growth to become what one would take for a Path, and something that could define a power.
Soul Read was terrific in its basic shape, and it didn't need proper Shaping, but the proper soul and Will, as well as familiarity across the Soul Pathway. It was a passive ability stemming from the perception of oneself and reality. That meant trouble in terms of usage since discerning the souls around him had its limits like a range or complexity of one's soul.
Mana Detection was already his highest-level ability, and he got to the point of focusing in one direction just recently. That was useless at the moment, even though its range was more than enough to encompass this hallway. It wasn't narrow enough to ignore the sculptures or statues, and it sure was useless in finding the Crowhell Bat. Soul Read was the same.
Murai was angry to feel his unfamiliarity biting back. He had some powers, but limited time to grow them up. And he wasn't particularly fond of the passive effects. He would rather use something one at a time, rather than care about the mentality and the constant effects on his mind.
However, he shouldn't worry about it. His Robust Spirit made him an utter hegemon in terms of the soul powers. It worked through his Cursed Soul, making his living tougher since the reading of the soul was happening at all times. He couldn't stop it and mental ignoring took some toll. Stoping it was a task he put for the near to far future, but he was yet to perceive full control over this ability anyway.
Mana Detection didn't work. Soul Read wasn't either, so what else was there? Murai noted his lacking means, so all he could manage was to try harder and find some answers.
Is it the physicality? He through. it screeched like some sort of demon when it attacked and slammed into me like a fool. It's invisible, so that poses two possibilities for a strategy, or answer. Its skin is prone to the mutation that is causing all matter to bounce off of it. Thus, making it invisible. Second, is a bloodline ability of some sort, as Lorry said. It can be about Space, Light, or some sort of camouflage fusion, or is it specific to its species? Skin condition? Not sure. Maybe there are some other ways of power in this world that can lead to this sort of ability. Evolutions can be that. Murai quickly deducted.
It feels strong since it works against the soul powers and mana. Two weird and powerful ways of power, so call me insane, but ain't this bat a bit crazy? I am sure this beast has plenty of mana in its body, so its invisibility evolved to the point of veiling its aura. Just now, I suppose it hit me with a claw in the hope of severing my belly and neck. It failed, but I felt it like a brick. No. A slam? Not sure how quick, or heavy it was, but it failed. That is what matters, so its strength and sharpness aren't that high. Its offensive power is lacking, that is. It has wings of quite some speed, and it's definitely faster than stronger. That is why it went against the ceiling. It used momentum, so it has some intelligence and means of strategy. Nah. Those are basic instincts of a beast that is invisible and can fly. What an opponent! How about its size? It pushed me for about 11 and a quarter meters and it was sharp and heavy. It is the size of... twice my body? No. Perhaps about half bigger? Well, size isn't everything. For such an opponent to go against me, I feel sorry for it.
Murai made a quick rundown of his situation and wasn't unhappy. His Mana Pool was yet to be full, but it sure was well over halfway there. He was almost right in every guess he thought about, but not everything was optimistic in this hallway.
Crowhell Bat had the ability to overrule the rules of mana because of its bloodline effects, thus making it invisible to the senses of mana and perception alike. That was what he guessed in a different way. It also has a Space affinity mixed in its blood, which meant all kinds of possibilities that Murai had no idea about. Some may be bad, good, or terrible.
It was no wonder, since what else could it be? This sort of Invisibility was already a broken ability since it used it while fighting. That was already much stronger than what a bunch of humans with space, shadow, or void affinities could do. It often disallowed one to attack while invisible. At least in the earlier to middle stages.
Using invisibility in combat at this stage was strange, and it should work well against weaker opponents, rather than the strong ones.
Mindarch picked an interesting foe for sure.
It wasn't like there were some illusions put into this place, which Murai also considered. His soul would seek through them, he believed. So the only choice was a hideous ploy of complex invisibility that seemed to be quite a pain in the ass to fight against.
Every rule and ability has some shortcomings to them. This bat should remain invisible all the time, while its physicality is quick and quiet. Its power... is heavy too. I get it.
Murai was calm, standing and silently observing the ceiling of quite some height. He also pulled his interest on him and noticed some strained parts on his body. Particularly, his legs didn't like the previous hit, while his torse took this well. His neck not so much. He could still move just fine, but what if it hit him for the second time? Third?
Accumulative damage was a thing, and he wasn't as impenetrable as he hoped. In fact, this enemy hit him straight on, while many before didn't. Murai didn't forget to take note of every cranny in the hallway, and he heard and saw nothing. Crowhell Bat was waiting for an opening, he figured.
The hallway wasn't a good place for a fight. Murai was in the middle of a wide open space, and he didn't like to be at a disadvantage when those statues and mana-undulating sculptures were around. He should fix these issues because he was the target, and the bat could strike him like a loaded gun. He won't fare well if it slam at him a couple of more times, and he didn't want to suffer other injuries.
Finding some hideout or cover in this sort of place wasn't hard, but using the statues for that didn't seem to be a good idea.
Well, I don't care about hiding or not. I would rather fight, but I don't know how big it is, nor how effective are its weapon, but it sure is careful like an assassin. As it slid through the ground and hit me, it felt big and quickly went away after it realized it didn't kill me. Wait.. felt? Righ... It may not be that clever after all, and its abilities have limits. For example, the range. Since the bat is invisible, it only attacks with its body, so that is one way to counter it. It is counterproductive for this sort of invisibility, so let's see its next move.
Murai identified his plan and chose not to force up some lax ideas, so he came up with something stupid. He can brawl his way out of trouble with some Proper Mana Blades, or shower the surroundings with some arrows, but that would be costly and stupid. He wasn't a stupid mage, so coming up with a way to protect himself was his priority. Things like letting a couple of Blades hover around his body was his first idea.
Yet, he didn't choose that, fearing his mana may not be enough against this bat.
Mana wasn't an issue. He had enough for now, but one thing was constantly eating his mind. That urgent sense of danger did not disappear, and it was a mixture of this bat and something else. From the moment he left the last portal, he was tensed up like an unreleased bow. It was after he felt the calling of his soul. Killing intent! The notion of the enemy that wanted to kill him, hunt him, and catch him like an animal.
Razmund was here, and he knew it. It should be fitting since his hunt was already happening for some time.
Murai didn't know the details about Razmund, since the Will of the Battleworld didn't provide details of the other side. One needed them, and knowing them was one way to easier victory.
Even Lisa was somewhat clueless about working toward his victory, so what Murai should do was work on his power and work around the Encounter with a careful mind. After all, power ruled over fate, while rules made it smoother if one could breach or break them apart. Getting the fuck out of the Seventh Death Forest would help him for sure, but where he was again? Not in that forest, but in something much worse.
As Murai remained in peaceful silence, he focused his attention on his physical senses and surroundings. His feet rested on the floor, eyes pointed at the surroundings, and his ears tried to pick up any sound. Anything physical had to perceive the rules of mass and movement. Those were physical limits, and no matter how good a flier this bat was, it had to move.
Murai didn't hear a thing, which meant the opponent was away or wasn't flying at all. Crowhell Bat may as well rest somewhere in the ceiling, observing him from higher ground.
Hmmm. This is indeed too bad. I am too open. Fuck it. Murai thought and began to run towards other corridors. It was time to change the surroundings, rather than fight it out or wait like a fool.
In the past hour, he walked around this whole place so he knew its layout and some places that could work to his advantage. He didn't expect this mana would work wonders against such an enemy in a wide hall, and there were some places that may work better. One was a wide open space akin to an arena, where the Bat's range should be higher, so its effects would take longer to reach him. Another was a narrow towering staircase that had no statues or sculptures to obscure his sense. It was also smaller, which should allow him to work better.
Either should work, but that was in theory. In reality, Crowhell Bat can also adjust its strategy if it's clever enough.
Murai ran since the enemy was a pain in the ass. He will decide on his strategy depending on what the bat will do. He moved first, and this meant the enemy could make its move first. To his back, perhaps?
Murai couldn't help but imagine many scenarios as if he was the enemy. It was something he took after the last New Begining and it wasn't a bad habit. Thinking of possibilities and strategies was something he was familiar with, and he wasn't ashamed to say, that he was an outstanding strategist.
But one thing was knowing something, and actually doing things with his body accordingly. That may be problematic for the body of a duck, but perhaps his magical side will provide its benefits.
If I was an invisible fucker, attacking is the primary way to finish any job. Sure-kill would be the best at the enemy's weak points and that is secondary, or priority. I don't know the enemy, so does the enemy know me too? I have no idea. That leads to nowhere, so let's take a proper conflict going, and kill it when it attacks me first.