The clear glass crown on his head glowed as his injuries healed gradually. By an instant, he had avoided death but the stunning effects still had him locked down.
However it wouldn’t be able to sustain his body for too long but for Ken, this was enough time to do what he wanted.
He looked at Illeya and opened his mouth to chant some words, “Pointed star, six collapsing wells, a manifestation of greater karma.”
A piercingly malevolent aura descended on the lobby once more as the boy used his aberrant hold to attack Illeya. This time the attack took the form of black slashes instead of black balls.
Ken had done something to increase his power but it wasn’t without consequence, he spat a bit of blood to the ground but his gaze was determined.
These black slashes did not have the size of the previous attack and were smaller, comparable to the size of that of an ant but were still perceivable to the eye of the mortal realm cultivators.
The slashes themselves vibrated heavily, contorting the air around them as a dense smell of rot permeated through the air of the Anouk Train Station.
The station that had been reserved for the introduction of these new students was being ravaged severely, even if the battle took place in an area not exceeding 30 meters all around.
The crown on Ken’s head shined even more as now both a clear beam and dark “curtain” washed over the 10 slashes that grasped the air.
With both the auras being split for 5 slashes each, a new effect occurred with them as they sucked into each other to form a larger, denser “butterfly” of an attack.
The checkered “butterfly” shifted between being see-through and indiscernible. This allowed the attack to leverage some form of transformation effect and become hidden in its natural capability to be unseen.
A mighty sound emerged before it fell silent before following by a chilling note of a needle dropping, and then the “Butterfly” vanished.
“Illeya!” Nataly shouted out in worry as she diverted some of her Karmic Aura to try to shield the girl in time, as she did so the lines connected to her side dimmed.
Illeya looked at Belle mere moments before the “butterfly” of death collided with her form. Her eyes seemed to hold several emotions but fear was not one of them. Her eyes seemed to hold an unnatural amount of belief and faith.
As if death was not in front of her eyes and she didn’t already have half her tail in the grave, she just smiled at him.
Belle when thinking of his first friend, had his expression turn cold as he looked at Ken. Though that thought may or may not have been just his wishful thinking on his part and he was just jumping to conclusions to fit a fantasy.
He wasn’t going to allow someone to die on him while he just watched.
Belle lifted his hand and on it, the ring on his finger released a dull glow as a tattoo of indiscernible depth and complexity ran down from it onto his right hand.
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On his left hand too, a shadow of the same ring appeared as Belle clasped both of his hands together.
Numerous lines and threads hung from the sky and Belle closed his eyes somewhat, not fully but enough to not be driven to the resulting madness of seeing a construct that exceeded his current reality.
Only he was able to see these lines.
‘Heh, the last time I tried to activate this, I nearly went mad from mental damage. However, it isn’t that I can use it at all, but it requires some finesse,’ Belle clenched his teeth as he glared at Ken.
He was confused, he didn’t know why Ken would attack the three girls so ruthlessly for no reason.
Weren’t they all a part of the same nation and raised the same?
Meanwhile, this went down many others who had seen the look of Ken in their direction fled the scene to another area incredibly quickly and left it to Belle to fight for himself and Illeya.
The marks on his arms grew and he spoke slowly, “In accordance with the attacker's emotions and ideology, the “rule” reduce can be deduced..”
The speed of his speech exceeded that of the lethal “butterfly”. It is merely several centimeters from the girl's chest.
Belle frowned as if sensing something, centering his vision on a singular line that was connected to Ken and extended to a part of the “sky” or space that was around them. The line led to a hidden area.
It blocked his senses and he could no longer see what was behind or he would suffer damage to his Nine Nodes, specifically the Knowledge Node which lay in a part of his brain.
His notice exceeded this and found something else, he smiled.
The ring on his finger stopped shining and the marks on his arms disappeared. He placed his hands in his pockets and the attack from Ken, which was heading straight for Illeya’s heart collided with the girl a moment later.
“Sis!” The three girls shouted in worry before they made a sound of joy a moment later.
On the other hand, Ken revealed a confused expression.
The attack, which should have collided with Illeya with a fatal force, merely bounced on her clothes and then faded into sparks of light.
With an audible sound of destruction, the attack broke apart effortlessly. Illeya had a massive smile on her face and gave Belle a hug of appreciation.
His attack failed. Why?
The instructor's eyes gleamed. What was that attack?
Nataly, who was behind Ken swiftly went for the kill while he was distracted but was blocked by someone unexpected.
A two-meter-long stick was lodged into the ground and atop the stick, was an elf with a familiar stature. He crouched on the stick with a cool expression on his face, unbothered by the shocked gazes all around him.
“Welf?” Nataly said in surprise but the man looked elsewhere.
At the same spot that Belle was looking at moments prior. Welf collected spit in his mouth and shot it out in that direction. It disappeared with a slight steam left in its wake and the next moment, the wall was cracked like a grey glass pane.
The glass pane-like cracks on the wall twisted and swirled like a whirlpool and out of that whirlpool stepped out a man with a beard and a vocal presence.
“I have been noticed?” The man spoke and everyone felt like bowing due to the sheer pressure he emitted, a moment later the pressure evaporated as he spoke to a few individuals in particular, a smile on his face. “Excellent. It seems the talents in these last decade shall not be a disappointment.”
Welf bowed his head respectfully, “Good evening. Core Disciple Welf greets Temperance Elder Tang.”
“Master!”
“Godfather?!”
Ken and Nataly said at the same time in quick succession with Welf. Their response was but a beat slower than his despite it being shorter.
Belle’s eyes popped open when he saw what Welf, Ken, and Nataly said about the man that just appeared.
“Ah. Speaking here is not convenient,” He rubbed his chin and looked at one of the Instructors, “I’ll be taking them away.”
“As you wish,” The instructor was who watching everything earlier said formally.
As his words dropped, everyone who played a part in the fight earlier disappeared.
Belle felt his mind scramble as he was quickly being transported through a world of darkness, there was no light to be seen but the next moment, he appeared within a room.
His eyes were instantly filled with pain and he gritted his teeth as he closed them. A thought came to him.
‘Great. More trouble.’