by Yuri Ajin
The dorgans turned slowly. Approaching Bane, Aldus poked his shoulder with his finger, so hard and sharply that the elf had to reflexively take a few steps back.
“You dare interfere, you pointy-eared creature?!” Aldus literally growled, looking down at him, slowly assuming the position for Partial Transformation.
“It seems to me you’re the one who got this wrong, you son of a bitch,” Bane replied aggressively, dispersing energy through his astral body, while his men surrounded the dorgans. He couldn’t use the Bracelet on them due to the contract they had made. “I shouldn’t have taken you with me. You were useless. All you did was distract me and now you think you can go home with the trophy?”
A fight ensued. Neither side was willing to give up the privilege to kill Kai.
I’m almost finished, Rune’Tan replied to an unasked question.
Since his fight with Lightus, Kai swore to never again allow himself to end up in situations in which he’d be completely helpless. That was why he had devoted two whole days after meeting Nomen to creating a large amount of soul energy, which he then transferred to Rune’Tan who had now accumulated enough strength to gain control over Kai’s body for a moment and show everyone at least a particle of his former power.
Meanwhile, outside of the area in which time stood still, Raiden observed the events unfold. He followed Bane and Aldus to the very end, without the two ever noticing his presence.
These idiots can’t handle even a simple task! What the hell are they arguing about? he wondered, infuriated by the incompetence as a scythe appeared in his hand. If they don’t kill anyone in ten seconds, I will. Bane’s artifact shouldn’t block techniques.
In the meantime, the situation had escalated to such an extent that the elves and dorgans were ready to start a fight. And they would’ve had they not felt a monstrous wave of power overwhelm them.
Once he had control over Kai’s body, Rune’Tan released a Sphere of Space that removed the effect of Bane’s Bracelet. The artifact, as well as the Ring on his finger, disappeared. The items reappeared in Kai’s possession, and the marks of Bane’s grandfather were forcibly erased from both of them.
But Rune’Tan didn’t stop there. Through the twin Ring, he contacted the second one.
Bane’s grandfather, a Holy Lord of the eighth level, who was meditating a thousand miles away, first felt a wave of wild spirit pain from the forcibly erased marks, and then a small crack appeared on his Shell. He fell to one side and twitched in agony, letting out a silent scream, when his right hand was shredded to pieces. The second Ring was taken by Rune’Tan through the bound space, which caused a void to form around the elder’s hand.
Rune’Tan deactivated the artifact, took away all other dangerous artifacts from Bane, and returned Kai’s body back to its owner.
A ghostly skeletal hand appeared in front of him, carrying death with it. The sand beneath it began to blacken and turn to dust, and the air was filled with the smell of rot.
Kai managed to form the ice armor and activate the Impenetrable Repelling Field Technique in the last second. He was already in the process of merging with the Spirits, so his defense would be at its peak. But even so, Raiden’s attack overcame both layers of his defense and sank its ghastly teeth into Kai’s flesh.
“Aaaaaaa!!!” Kai shouted as he fell to his knees. His chest was ablaze. The scars left by the demon’s claws started to ache.
Kai just barely managed to take a breath when Raiden appeared in front of him, the blade of his scythe reflecting the rays of the desert sun, blinding him.
Closing his eyes, Kai braced himself for impact.
But it never came.
There was a ringing of steel. An’na threw Raiden back. At the same time, a little to the right, Malvur grabbed Aldus who also rushed to Kai. The rest of the dorgans and elves paired up against Shacks and Ailenx. In the background, the flute continued to play as Guts continued the fight with Velator. As for his group, they temporarily retreated. One of them had died, and the rest, including Elize, were badly injured. They lay in wait, trying to recover and seeking the perfect moment to strike and aid their leader.
Kai, overcome with pain that began to intensify, touched Guts, continuing to pour energy into him. Their lives were in his hands now. If he didn’t defeat Velator, they were done for.
Meanwhile, Bane also fell to his knees. With nothing but despair in his wide eyes, he stared down at his hands. The Bracelet was gone. So was the Ring. He lost the family relics. He failed to get his revenge. He lost again.
His body trembled with fear as he realized what he had done. But soon that despair and fear gave way to pure rage.
Rising to his feet, he swung his sword, putting all his anger and madness into it. He poured so much energy and Forces into his blade like he had never done before. The raw power of his emotions allowed him to become a little stronger. To make a tiny step on his path of cultivation. Albeit, in the wrong direction.
His sword shook with force, causing violent gusts of wind. He was preparing to lower his blade and release his strongest attack when he felt a sharp pain in his hands. A moment later, they fell on the ground, dying the sand red, still gripping the sword’s hilt.
Staggering back, he stared at his bleeding wrists in a mix of surprise and shock.
“You scum,” said a cold voice from behind. “I made a huge mistake playing with you in the mountains back then. I should’ve killed you right away...”
Bane felt someone grip his hair and pull his head back, followed by the sensation of cold steel pressing against his skin. With one clean and sharp cut, Shacks separated Bane’s head from his body and threw it aside, ending the story of Bane Livarius, the descendant of one of the seven great elven families.
With that taken care of, Shacks joined An’na and Mavlur in their fight against the elves and dorgans who came with Bane. They didn’t need Ailenx’s help, so he used the opportunity to go to Ranmaru and help him regain consciousness.
Elize and two other Exorcists rushed forward (Jiang Suin disappeared somewhere after Shacks had wounded him), simultaneously attacking Guts with their strongest techniques and using all the combat artifacts they had on them. However, both they and their attacks disappeared in a tear in space.
A moment later, the void collapsed, scattering people in all directions. A beam of bright light shot into the heavens, dispersing the sandstorm, summoned by the Black Pyramid that came to the call of its mark.
A roar made the air tremble and sand scatter around in all directions.
Kai abruptly opened his eyes. The pain was gone. His head was buzzing from the demon’s roar, whose shock wave for some reason didn’t kill anyone who stood on the black sand, although it should have.
Rising to his feet, Kai looked around. Turning his head to the left, he saw An’na, who stood motionless with a look of horror on her face. The next moment, she forcibly started moving toward the pyramid. Her lips formed just one word.
“Help...”
Without hesitation, Kai rushed toward her, determined to save her from being sucked into the crack that formed on the surface of the Pyramid.
When she was two feet away from it, her body was lifted off the ground and one of her legs was even sucked into the crack.
“Hold on!” Kai shouted as he grabbed her hand, trying to use Forces of Space to pull her out. To avoid getting sucked in too, he froze his feet to the sand with the Cold Void.
Grunting as he poured all his strength into his hands, he finally pulled An’na out with one powerful jerk. She flew off behind him and landed in the sand. Kai was about to exhale in relief when a familiar flash occurred on the other side of the Pyramid, giving rise to a monstrous explosion. The ground shook and the ice around his ankles shattered.
At the same time, a vacuum formed during the explosion collapse, making a reverse shock wave. Kai was knocked down, thrown straight toward the very crack he had just saved his friend from. He was sucked in almost to the waist when he felt
An’na grab him by the shoulder.
The two of them would’ve been dragged away had Shacks not arrived in time.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He grinned, slowly pulling his friends out.
Malvur wasn’t far behind. Unceremoniously, he picked up An’na and put her away, and then grabbed Kai by the other hand. Together, Shacks and he pulled him out almost immediately, but...
A scarlet stripe flashed before their eyes, cutting off both of Kai’s hands. No sooner had the two realized what happened than their friend was sucked into the Pyramid.
Shacks’ eyes widened and his face grew darker than the sandstorm that raged above them. He glanced to the right, materializing his bow and arrows as he walked.
Jiang Suin observed him with a satisfied smile on his haggard face. In one hand he held a sword, while he gripped his bleeding stomach with the other.
“Bastard!” Shacks roared, releasing the bowstring.
The three arrows should’ve turned Jiang Suin in a puddle of gore if an inexplicable translucent wall hadn’t suddenly appeared in front of him, deflecting the oncoming projectiles. The power that exuded the energy of Jiang Dao himself escaped from his disciple’s soul, born from the strange seed that Jiang Suin had been cultivating within himself under the guise of a special technique for the past eight months. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to see the results of his hard work, having passed out the moment the wall appeared.
As soon as the arrows were deflected, Jiang Suin’s body suddenly glowed and disappeared without a trace.
A few seconds later, a large shadow covered Shacks and Malvur. A giant eagle landed nearby, lifting a whirlwind of sand with its mighty wings, carrying on its back Alienx and the now conscious Ranmaru.
“Let’s go, quickly!” Guts shouted and glanced at the Pyramid as if trying to see something on the other side. He swallowed hard.
The moment he saw the Pyramid and heard the demon, he rushed to the Sandworm. Not wanting to lose another pet, he immediately dismissed it, which made the demon turn its attention to the second strongest among those present — Velator. The latter used his best artifact to defend himself, but the demon forcefully shattered the barrier in a matter of seconds. Realizing that there was no way out, Velator decided to take the demon with him. He rushed forward and sacrificed himself to use his strongest technique, dying in an explosion of pure energy.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t even scratch the demon. He did, however, push it away. The demon flew far enough to be outside the area of the black sand, which caused it to be bound by powerful chains.
“I don’t know how long it’ll stay like that, so we should get the hell out of here,” Guts said, not taking his eyes off the Pyramid.
Shacks and Malvur helped An’na climb onto the Eagle before doing so themselves.
“Where is Kai?” Ranmaru asked, not being able to spot him anywhere.
“He... He’s in the Pyramid...” Shacks replied. Without turning around, he pointed at the crack that had begun to close.
The melody sounded again. The Eagle flapped its wings, and they finally took off.
Guts wasn’t going to waste time discussing what to do with the rest of the team. Their top priority was getting as far as possible from the Black Pyramid. He was certain that they all knew that jumping into the crack after Kai would be the most idiotic and suicidal thing to do. Nobody knew what was hidden behind those obsidian walls. Or if Kai was even still alive.
All they could do was believe in Kai and hope that he’d somehow find his way back.
Chapter 33
INSIDE THE DUNGEON
Opening his eyes, Kai stared at the lifeless gray sky overhead. Having lain still for a good couple of moments, he realized that he could feel his hands again. His energy had recovered as well and his spirit endurance was again at its peak.
How... am I still alive...? he wondered.
Finally standing up, he looked around. He was in a desert. But unlike Ishar, this one was rocky and filled with a thin dark fog, much more powerful than that in the Abyss under Udin. Unbeknownst to him, his body and mind defended him against this mist, dispersing it with the Field of Superiority.
“Old man, where are we?”
“This looks like a pocket dimension... We’re still inside the Pyramid,” Rune’Tan replied.
Closing his eyes, Kai calmed his thoughts and focused on the Forces of Space. He listened closely... and sensed absolutely nothing.
“If there’s a crack on this side as well, then I’m nowhere near it... Just my luck.” He shook his head. “Guess I’ll have to look for it.”
For a day and a half, he wandered through the desert until he finally came across a thin line of Force that stretched far toward the horizon. This pocket dimension turned out to be of such high quality that it was difficult to see its structure even with energy vision. Difficult, but not impossible.
Kai moved slowly, keeping his aura hidden, and followed the line, curious to see where it’d lead him. He paid close attention to his surroundings, on the lookout for any sudden movements and sounds. The last thing he needed now was a surprise attack. Nothing good could be living in a place like this one.
Several hours later, he saw a bright flash on the horizon and headed toward it. After a few miles, he began to feel fluctuations in the energy.
Someone was fighting nearby.
Should I go check it out, or...?
Ultimately, having prepared the Mask of the Great Liar, he decided to get closer. This could be his only chance to figure out how to get out of here because neither his transfer artifact nor Rune’Tan’s Sphere of Space could help them leave this place. Whatever this dimension was, it was beyond their understanding.
Whoever was fighting was too busy to pay attention to a speck-like him, so he didn’t shy away from using his movement techniques, shortening the journey by quite a bit. Soon, he reached the edge of a huge canyon, at the bottom of which two people were waging a small-scale war.
Usually, fights of high-stage cultivators were accompanied by colossal destruction. Each attack created such a surge of power that their fights were observed from at least several miles away.
However, nothing of the kind was happening now. There were no explosions, no monstrous shock waves, no mass destruction... Only bright and harmless bursts of energy.
All this indicated that the two were so well-versed in cultivation that each of their attacks was directed exclusively at their opponent. Not a drop of ki or Forces went anywhere else. And even if their opponent dodged, the attack capable of razing an entire city to the ground simply dispersed, and the energy invested in it returned to its owner, who’d immediately use it to evoke a new technique.
Such a process required tremendous amounts of concentration, an incredible level of control of ki and Forces, extremely strong spirit perception, and exceptional skills.
Kai learned all this from Rune’Tan because he couldn’t even see the two cultivators from how fast they were moving. Their moves were so clean that they didn’t even leave afterimages behind, lagging behind their creators. To an outside observer, it might’ve even seemed that no one was fighting here and that the spontaneous bursts of energy formed on their own.
However, the present observers were anything but outsiders.
In addition to the fighters and Kai, there were more people here — humans. Exorcists, Elementalists, and even a couple dozen Holy Lords. A total of about three hundred cultivators stood near the battlefield, each protected from possible stray bursts of energy with a powerful barrier. Unfortunately, the shield couldn’t protect them from the dark fog. Their pale, sickly faces testified that their bodies had long been saturated with the destructive power of Yin, which made them much weaker than they should’ve been. Still, they must’ve found some way to combat this as they seemed to have been living here for quite some time.
In addition to their deteriorated appearance and unusual clothes, the locals stood out with one more thing — on e
ach of their necks there was a small tattoo of five multi-colored eyes, the most prominent of which was the light blue one. The eyes of the cultivators themselves were very similar to it and reminded Kai of Greenrow’s blue eye.
It looks like they’re waiting for something... But what?
Almost a minute later, a short, wrinkled old man stepped forward and shouted something to the crowd, after which he took out a strange item from the folds of his robes. All the other cultivators took out similar artifacts and raised their hands. The objects shone, emanating rays of pure light that hit the ground at their feet. In each of those spots, Spirits of different levels of Forces and elements appeared. Numerous as they were, they had three things in common: Yin had a destructive effect on each of them, they all tried to constrict their bodies to take on a humanoid shape, and they all obediently kneeled as soon as the gazes of the shining blue eyes fell on them. Having been given orders, the specters gathered in a circle.
Five hundred Spirits simultaneously released their powers. A shining sphere appeared in the center of the circle, from which a beam of light shot toward the battlefield. At first, it seemed like it was fired at random, but then the attack found its target — a beautiful girl in a black dress, wielding a long scarlet sword that floated in the air. An initial-level Divine Stage cultivator.
Unable to dodge, she was hit with the spectral attack and chained. Her opponent, a tall man in a dark purple robe, with clawed hands and feet and a pair of purple horns on his head, appeared before her.
“Impossible... That’s... That’s Kyros the Soul Thief, the emperor of Niagala. A peak-level Divine Stage cultivator.”
Both fighters drove the dark fog away from themselves.
“This is the end,” Kyros said, his voice radiating overwhelming power. “Surrender and obey me, or I’ll have to kill you.”
The girl gave him a scornful look.
“You’re pathetic trash with no talent. Without your toy, you wouldn’t be able to touch me, you weakling,” she said mockingly. “How dare you ask me to obey you? The audacity!”