Chapter 260   - One Person (6)

Sah-ahhhhhhhhhhh......!

A white cold energy was sweeping through the deepest part of the Dragon Demon castle. It was the hallway that was connected to the Abyss. It was akin to water bursting forth from a breached dam. The white cold energy was terrifying. It froze the hallway as it pushed forward.

If there was anyone alive, death was a certainty. However, there was only corpses remaining in the corridor.

No, someone was still alive.

“It is safe now.”

After another wave of cold energy swept through the corridor, it died down. Suddenly, someone appeared in this space. She was a Dragon Demon female with long silver hair. It was Arrieta.

She looked haggard as she swayed on her feet. A hand suddenly appeared in the empty air, and the hand steadied Arrieta.

“Are you alright?”

Laura revealed herself as she asked the question. The two of them had used Dimensional Distortion to avoid the wave of cold energy.

Arrieta replied as she relied on Laura’s hand to hold herself up.

“I want to say I am fine, but... Unfortunately, I’m not in a position where I can bluff. Ooh-ook.”

Arrieta groaned as she sank to the floor.

There was a thin layer of ice all over her body, and one of her arms was frozen solid. It was the price of the battle she had fought earlier.

Laura was also in rough shape. However, she had fared better than Arrieta. She used her magic to warm up Arrieta’s body.

Arrieta looked much better as she spoke.

“Queen of Frozen Land. She was nasty woman.”

There was a pillar placed below the Abyss.

Queen of the Frozen Land.

She was a crazy transcendent being that wanted to make the world into a frozen paradise.

Laura and Arrieta had escaped from Reshoo, and they had infiltrated the Abyss. They had broken the seal. The battle had been fierce but short. In the end, they were able to eliminate the Queen of the Frozen Land using the Extreme Extinction.

Arrieta spoke.

“I am fine, Laura. You should go ahead of me.”

“But.......”

“I cannot help you in this state. I don’t want to be a burden. In the time it took us to finish the fight, the fight outside might have ended.... However, if the fight is still ongoing, he’ll need your help.”

“Will you be ok? You no longer have your Dragon Demon weapon....”

“...ha ha. I received it from Azell in the first place. Moreover, I’m not fighting this fight just for him.”

Arrieta answered in a weak voice.

In order to use the Extreme Extinction, she had to sacrifice the Crying Phoenix.

There were two reasons why she had sacrificed the Crying Phoenix instead of the Vitan’s Chalice. First, she determined that the Vitan’s Chalice might be needed in the future. Secondly, she determined that the Vitan’s Chalice would be needed after the Queen of the Frozen Land had been defeated with the Extreme Extinction.

Her judgement was correct.

If they had sacrificed the Vitan’s Chalice, they would have died by the wave of cold energy emitted by the Queen of the Frozen land. She had let out waves of cold energy in her death throes.

“.......”

The two women silently looked at each other for a brief moment.

Laura nodded her head slightly. She used Dimensional Distortion to head towards the surface.

When Atein realized what was going on, he was taken aback.

“They were able to enter into the Abyss without my notice?”

The Abyss was the most important location for Atein. This was why he hadn’t been lazy in monitoring the Abyss.

However, his detection spells had not gone off. Laura and Arrieta had wiped out the guards as they infiltrated the Abyss. Atein hadn’t known they were there until the seal to the Queen of the Frozen Land was broken.

Atein was flustered, but he soon had the answer.

“It was Kayalia!”

“Yes.”

As he gave the answer, Azell attacked Atein.

Too-hahk!

Atein’s spells had collapsed, so he had to block with his Darkness Engraver as he retreated.

Azell planned on immediately pushing towards Atein, but he swayed on his feet. He had overburdened his body with his earlier attack, so his body wasn’t responding to his will.

“Shit!”

“She still had this much power.... She completely owned me with that move.”

Atein quickly recovered his defensive magic as he mumbled to himself.

He had place restrictions on Kayalia’s access to information, so he hadn’t been worried about her. However, Kayalia had transcended his estimation.

She was restricted from gathering information from the Great Darkness, yet she was capable of interfering with his flow of incoming information. Kayalia had hidden this ability, and she had used it at the most crucial moment. She had taken Atein unawares.

‘I see. She used the delay that occurs when information is sent towards me.

Atein realized how he had been duped.

He had unfettered access to the information gathered by the Great Darkness. On the other hand, Aincera couldn’t handle the unfettered access This was why he had put a restriction on how the information could be accessed. He had been worried that unfettered access to the Great Darkness would damage Aincera’s sense of self.

This was why the user was given only the information that was considered to be important. The priority of the information had to be set manually. When the Great Darkness received an information, there was a step before the information could be transmitted to Atein.

Kayalia used this fact to her advantage.

Atein had made it so that they couldn’t see each other’s information. However, he hadn’t blocked her ability to voluntarily send information towards the Great Darkness.

Kayalia used this inconsistency. She had sent a massive amount of fake information, and it had caused massive problems to the filter that sorted the incoming information. She used this state of confusion to sneak false information past the filter.

Reshoo had wondered why her abilities hadn’t matched up with her reputation in their fight. While she was supporting Leticia and Kairen, she had been hiding Laura and Arrieta’s progress as they attacked the Abyss. She had hidden all of this from Atein.

Atein queried him.

“You used all your power to keep me fully occupied in this battle. Was this your role in the plan?”

“I didn’t plan on dragging this out. If it was possible, I would have ended this fight already. It just turned out like this.”

“I see. That’s ...”

Atein let out a despondent laughter at Azell’s answer.

If Atein had the time to check the veracity of the information, this tactic wouldn’t have worked. Atein was a clone user, so he was very good at multitasking.

However, both fighters had to use all their powers to fight each other. Atein didn’t have the luxury of paying attention to anything else. .

“What a stunner. I’ll agree with what you said earlier. You aren’t arrogant.”

“I’m so thankful that you acknowledged that fact. It almost makes me want to shed a tear.”

Azell went on the offensive.

When the Queen of the Frozen Land was unsealed, there were only five pillars left. Moreover, it was the pillar that maintained the Abyss, which was basically the heart of the Great Darkness.

Even if the Great Darkness had gotten stronger through the deaths of the Dragon Demon King worshippers, the Great Darkness couldn’t function properly any more.

Atein’s current state was proof of this fact. He had been freely using the spells stored within the Great Darkness up until now. This function was longer working.

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa!

As the swords clashed against each other, the wind roared around them. The lines of light and darkness crossed each other. Atein and Azell was fighting with their swords at ridiculous speeds.

“Ha-ah!”

At some point, Azell had retreated backwards. Atein immediately used his magic when he saw this. However, Azell was right back in front of Atein. It was as if Azell had never retreated.

‘Brand of Paradise!’

His abnormal movement was pulled off by using the Brand of Paradise. It could manipulate the flow of time. Azell had accelerated time to throw off Atein’s timing. He used the Pure Copper technique to rush Atein.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwahng!

After a beat later, Atein’s spells exploded behind Azell. Atein had sent the spells after he set his target. This was why his spells missed when his timing was thrown off. It couldn’t be helped.

Kwahng!

The explosion rang out as several buildings were demolished. Azell soared into the air as six clones appeared as they swung their lightning swords.

-Thunder Dragon’s Horn!

The bluish white thunderbolt hit Atein.

Atein was also using clones, so he was able to block four out of six attacks. He became a bloody mess when two Thunder Dragon’s Horn hit him. He gritted his teeth.

“Ha-ahhhhht!”

Atein let out a shout to quench his pain. In a flash, it felt as if he was having an out of body experience.

When was the last time he had shown this much passion? He had let out a shout to overcome the pain that was ruling over his body. How long had it been since he did that?

Azell rushed forward. He was using the Ultrahigh Speed Pure Copper technique. It was an attack that Atein shouldn’t have been able to dodge, but....

-Infinite Plain!

When Azell stabbed with his sword, the space in front of him extended far into the distance.

‘He got me!’

Azell’s face turned white. He never expected Atein to place a Dimensional Distortion trap using his magic!

On the other side of the far away distance, a streak of darkness was moving away from him. Azell attacked. He tried to stop Atein by attacking the spell.

Pah-ah-ah-ah!

The Dimensional Distortion should have been ripped apart like paper. Why didn’t it cancel?

“Oh no......!”

Azell realized that this was an intricate trap with two layers.

Atein had used the Dimensional Distortion to stop Azell’s charge. Azell had lost his timing and he was flustered. He desperately tried to block the incoming attack.

However, he was deceived once again. When Azell focused his power on his defense, the Dimensional Distortion was withdrawn. Azell had diverted his power for nothing.

Atein’s real aim was waiting for Azell. When Azell returned to normal space, he was surrounded on four sides by constructs of darkness.

-Gatekeeper of Emptiness!

The Dragon Demon weapon called Gatekeeper of Emptiness used Dimensional Distortion to connect two points in space. Cursed Darkness and cold energy appeared out of the construct of darkness. A vacuumous energy was also sent towards him.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

Azell was sent flying before he could even scream.

He was barely able to surround himself with the Unyielding Fortress, but he couldn’t mount a proper defense. He only stopped the attack for a brief moment. His defense shattered as he fell to the ground.

“Ooh-ook......!”

Atein had suddenly been attacked too. He groaned as he fell to the ground. He was barely able to right himself before he crashed into the half destroyed building. He laughed in disbelief.

“You were able to attack in such a situation. You’ve always been a ridiculous person ...”

After the double layered trap took hold of Azell, Atein used all his power to attack Azell. He even brought out a Dragon Demon weapon that he hadn’t revealed before. It was called the Ice Forest. Azell was busy blocking this attack, yet he was able to summon two clones. The two clones had attacked Atein.

The Underworld’s Marksman possessed a critical ability. It was able to pierce through most defensive magic. The bolts had pierced Atein’s stomach and left shoulder. He suffered a serious injury.

“Atein!”

Azell’s angered shout could be heard.

The Dragon Demon magic rushed forward like a tsunami, and the spells meant to hit Azell from afar was swept away. Then a light started to extend into the air.

-Come Dragon Demon weapon! Master of Raging Waves!

After he transitioned the Sky Splitter into its light form, he summoned a new Dragon Demon weapon. It was called the Master of Raging Waves. It could attack in the physical and spiritual realm. It caused the nearby buildings to shake as it ruthlessly collapsed Atein’s spells.

“I guess the tables have turned.”

Atein realized that Azell had also prepared a trap, and he had baited Atein into this spot.

There was a pillar of light stretching into the sky. It was the Sky Splitter. The Sky Splitter looked like a tree made out of light.

Azell didn’t hide the fact that he was manifesting the Sun Lightsaber.

The injury to his body was large, but he had finished the Dual Banding of his ninth Ring of Life. He was able to create a clone that could freely use the Dragon Demon magic generated by the ninth Ring of LIfe.

As he started unleashing the Sun Lightsaber, he blocked his surrounding with the Unyielding Fortress. He used the Master of Raging Waves to stop outside interference as he made his move. On top of that, the countless light marbles from the Box of Hate blocked spells from being used around him.

It was as if a fortress had appeared in the middle of the city.

Azell wasn’t done yet.

The White Flame Phoenix was letting out white hot flames. The Dawn’s Defender manifested as silhouettes of Laura and Kayalia. They flew in the air as the monitored the battlefield. Azell held air superiority. He had complete command over the domain he had created.

Even if Atein was able to enter into this space, he wouldn’t be able to interfere with his magic. Spells and clones had to be created outside Azell’s domain.

‘Are you trying to induce a final showdown, Azell?’

Even if Azell had massive amounts of Dragon Demon magic, he couldn’t maintain this scenario for too long. This move would haved put stress on his Energy Pulse in normal times, but Azell was seriously injured right now.

‘It is a temptation that I can’t pass up.’

Atein burst into laughter without even realizing it.

He knew this was a trap, but he couldn’t help it. He had to step into it. If he let Azell alone, he, Azell would be able to complete a move that might exterminate him.

Since all the spells stored within the Great Darkness had collapsed, Atein had to move directly. He had no choice.

Of course, Azell didn’t let Atein do as he pleased.

Azell’s clones appeared. They were surrounded by lightning, and they assaulted Atein. Atein’s clones responded to the attack, and he counterattacked with the Darkness Engraver.

Pah-haht!

As soon Atein defeated the clones with his sword, he kicked off the ground. He accelerated using the Pure Copper technique. The Underworld’s Marksman barely missed him.

“Hoo hoo! It has been awhile since I’ve charge a foe instead of waiting for them to attack me!”

Atein ignored the pain emanating from all over his body.

He had thought his heart has turned cold, but it was beating now. He had always seen everything in front of him as lights that’ll be extinguished in an instant. However, he was suddenly in the now, and he was swept up in a feeling of euphoria.

Pah-cheet!

Azell’s clone was surrounded by flame as it attacked Atein. It was instantly defeated. Another clone came up behind Atein with exquisite timing. However, Atein didn’t even need to turn his head. He crouched as he shot an elbow out backwards. When the elbow hit his target, Atein flip backwards into the air like an acrobat. He split open the head of the clone.

‘Even if the effect of the Brand of Paradise was used to its estimated maximum, it’ll take him 17 seconds to finish the Sun Lightsaber.’

Atein passively gathered the information around him, and he acquired the answer he wanted.

Even if Azell was able to accelerate the time using the Brand of Paradise, Atein held the advantage. The curtain of darkness was covering the sky, so it significantly slowed down the completion of the Sun Lightsaber. The lack of light made it very difficult for Azell to finish his move.

‘Fourteen seconds..’

As he ran forward, Atein’s clones appeared around him in ones and twos. Azell’s clones went on the offensive, but Atein’s clones weathered the storm using their magic. The clones opened up a path that would allow the real Atein to attack Azell.

“Come! Oh, darkness!”

Atein shouted.

Darkness gathered all around him. The Sky Splitter wasn’t the only Dragon Demon weapon that could amplify its power. The Darkness Engraver was the antithesis of the Sky Splitter, yet it could be used similarly to the Sky Splitter.

This battlefield was where the Darkness Engraver’s power was at its zenith.

‘Ten seconds.’

The pillars of darkness had risen into the air on the outskirts of the city. Parts of the darkness broke away from the pillars as it gathered around the Darkness Engraver. Darkness also descended from the sky. It was as if the curtain of darkness was letting out a downpour of darkness. It was sucked into the Darkness Engraver. A normal person would barely be able to see what was in front of their eyes in such darkness. At the same time, a clear outline appeared in the darkness as it pulsed.

-Come Dragon Demon weapon! Dream’s Apostle!

Atein withdrew the Moon of Rest and Anger. He summoned the Dream’s Apostle.

Azell’s clones were no longer functioning properly.

Until a moment ago, Azell’s clones kept appearing several meters away from Atein. Now they had to manifest far away from Atein.

Even if one was a master of using clones, mental energy had to be gathered in one place alongside magical energy to manifest clones. The Dream’s Apostle had the effect of interfering and blocking the mental waves around Atein.

‘Seven seconds.’

No one stood in Atein’s way any more. Atein shouted as he raised the sword made out of concentrated darkness.

“It is my victory, Azell!”

It was a mere difference of five seconds. Atein’s secret technique was complete five seconds faster than the completion of Azell’s Sun Lightsaber.

-Dark Sky Engraver!