Princess stared at the approaching shadow and forcefully swiped her hand downwards. The Divine Fons cracked space around her. Its impact created the rift where countless overgrown vines flooded out.
In an instant, they clashed and merged into a whirlpool of black and green. Its power erupted and dragged space around it, warping everything in the surrounding.
Princess held Medoria tighter than before and stared at Inemas, her eyes revealing a strange gleam. She raised her right hand and drew a formation, but a burst of pain assaulted her. Medoria's fingertips turned into a shadowy blade and stabbed Princess, piecing her abdomen.
Medoria chuckled, her creepy voice lingering in the air. The overgrown vines snapped at her, but she faded into the darkness before they could reach her.
"Teacher, you're despicable."
"Trickery is the art of war, Peritia. I've taught it to you long ago."
"I used to think you're an honourable man."
"I'll be disrespecting you if I don't give you my all."
Princess held her abdomen. The shadowy blood inside her wounds ruptured and fought against the Divine Fons. It seeped into her body, assimilating her into the shadow. Though it wouldn't be a threat to her, it would temporarily decrease her power.
Without Medoria and Specria, Princess had no bargaining chips. She glanced at Inemas before coughing blood. It scattered and merged with the overgrown vines, accelerating the growth rate of the greenery. They expanded and covered the floor, filling the air with a flowery fragrance.
"You also have Plant Domain. Unfortunately, it isn't enough."
Inemas jumped, his force rupturing the floor and blasting the surrounding air into a storm. He manifested in front of Princess and slammed his burning fist at her. Countless formations emerged and spun around him, creating force-fields that halted his advance.
He shattered the stagnation of space and disintegrated force-fields with his punch. His Elemental body flared up into a massive blaze, its heat burning the greenery which covered the floor.
A thunderous explosion erupted at the centre of impact. The force threw Princess against the ground, her body clashed with the wooden floor and split it into web-like rifts. Her delicate carapace fractured and pierced her pale-white skin, drawing the ghostly green blood.
The searing of the heat lingered around her, burning the floor and creating a cloud of smoke. Her azure pupils penetrated it and met Inemas. Though she lost the exchange, she remained calm.
Through the smoke, a swarm of pink petals flooded towards Inemas. They danced around the bookshelves, carving a fine cut with the slightest touch. In an instant, they enveloped Inemas, their sharp edges grinding his defensive formations.
He met the swarm with his punch. A black aura coating it erupted at the impact. Its darkness merged with the petals, absorbing them. The petals exploded into a rain of snowflakes, which whistled their ways out of the confinement. Inemas frowned and conjured a spell.
The burning overgrown vines attacked him from all sides and interrupted the process. The formations he created broke down, leaving an opening for the snowflakes to strike.
Inemas stared at the trap set by Princess, the core at the centre of his body softly glowing. His flaming body changed its colour into the colour of the night, absorbing all light that dared to approach him. His Shadow Domain distorted the surrounding into a twisting perspective.
The snowflakes penetrated his body, leaving countless holes in it. The core in the middle cracked and shattered into fragmented crystals, but Inemas remained motionless. The tiny parts of his body that stuck with the snowflakes gradually consumed it before returning to him.
They merged with his body and healed his wounds. The crystal core melted into the darkness before reforming at his centre of mass. The overgrown vines around him collapsed into their shadow and dissipated after getting exposed by the surrounding light.
He stared at the crater where Princess used to be. The darkness that covered his fist penetrated space and decayed the floor into a sea of black goo. On its surface, ice shards and flowers formed a platform which protected Princess from the impact.
"Teacher, your domain is as despicable as I expected."
"My effort is for the best of the Great Races. Before the utopia is born, it must go through the process of refinement and moulding."
"I wouldn't call the world where the influential controlled everything a utopia. If the Gods fall, you'll take their place, and nothing will change."
"We'll forge the reality where everything is equal. The young and old, the male and female, the Great Races and the Lesser Races, they'll live in peace."
"You're giving them an illusion of freedom."
"It is the lesser evil, Peritia."
Princess stared at Inemas and shifted her gaze to Shifting Mist. Though it was a Divine-class vessel, it couldn't compare its power to Tripeak Mothership, which had the resource of Elementia backing it. If not for the hostage Princess had, Shifting Mist would have already fallen.
"The booms in the sky are like shooting stars, aren't they?" Princess said, her right hand holding a crystal orb. "Teacher, are you still confident in your plan, even though I have it?"
"It is but a fail-safe. We've already diluted the Drop of Eternity. You can't achieve immortality with it anymore."
"I have my reason. Though our enemies are the same, I don't accept your goal. The thing I hate the most is the power to control."
"Ironic."
Inemas flicked his hand and generated a dome of darkness. It crept outwards and dimmed the brightness of the surrounding. Princess took a step forwards, a torrent of Divine Fons gushing from her. It brightly shone and clashed against the darkness, exploding into a multi-coloured flare.
As the glare faded, Princess jumped towards Shifting Mist. It shot another gigantic beam of light. Tripeak Mothership generated an electric storm to refract it, scattering the rays across Elemental Labyrinth. They erupted into a discharge of energy, sundering the landscape.
In the middle of the battlefield, a ray of blazing flame penetrated the gloomy darkness.
Above the chaotic electric storm, a burning hand reached down and grabbed Shifting Mist, its millions of degree heat battled against the layers of mists. Beside it, the other hand held a blazing sword and hacked towards Shifting Mist.
The strike connected and blew Shifting Mist backwards, creating a sonic boom that flattened the forests and cracked the mountains nearby. The shockwave pushed Princess groundwards, her body slamming against the disintegrated floors. She went through them until she reached the ground.
Inemas gawked at the gigantic blazing figure in the sky, his eyes gleaming with hatred.
"God of Light, why are you here?" he said, his voice echoing throughout Elemental Labyrinth.
The Authorities paused their suppression and looked at the horrifying sight that brought them back to the Age of Gods. The God of Light visited the mortal world with his true body.
"Inemas, this doesn't concern you. Heaven has decided to take the Fallen Princess's head, and I'm here to ensure that Fate has its way."
"Leave at once, God of Light. Elementia doesn't welcome you."
"Do you wish to go against the will of Fate? The Fallen Princess is no longer the harbinger of the end, but a mere Arachna that complicates the Threads of Fate."
"Lady Fate has already disappeared long ago. Heaven takes over her and ruins the balance of the world. You have no right to barge into Elemental Labyrinth."
"Why are you protecting the daughter of the Arachna Queen? She should have died in the Field of Desolation."
"I'm willing to side with the Arachna Queen more than slaving for you."
"Fool, the Arachna will bring upon death and destruction to the world. Have you forgotten the Dark Age? Only Heaven is eternal."
The God of Light swung his sword at Tripeak Mothership, his blazing flame surging across the sky. It painted the horizon crimson and razed the remaining structures into molten rocks.
Tripeak Mothership disengaged and flew backwards, its three eyes emitting rays of Divine Fons and collapsing space and time around them. They accelerated time and dissipated the heatwave.
"If you want a fight, prepare for the Divine Tribulation," the God of Light said and raised his hand to the sky.
"When she was merely an Arbiter, the Divine Tribulation can't finish her off," Inemas said, his stance shifting to face the God of Light.
"She would have died if the Arachna Queen didn't interfere."
The dark clouds gathered above the God of Light, forming an outside-down whirlpool that stretched across the world. At the peak of its dizzy height, a soft creaking echoed outwards. Countless strands of Divinity spun and submerged the darkness of the whirlpool.
Slowly, a faint, infinitesimal silhouette of the Originator emerged from the other side of the void. With its eyeless surface, it gazed upon Elemental Labyrinth and declared its false judgement. The world trembled in its presence, and all Fons stagnated under its pressure.
Infinite amounts of lightning pierced the sky and rocked the landscape. Their endless might assaulted everything. Shifting Mist exuded countless layers of mists and fought back in vain. Tripeak Mothership cracked and retreated, its three towers toppling.
Inemas took a step back and exerted himself. The shadow surrounding him erupted into a dome of darkness. It created an eclipse, blinding the sun with the shadow of the moon. The core in his body vibrated, searing as it was overworked.
"God of Light, you're harming the hostages inside Shifting Mist. One of the Elven Royalty is in there!"
"She has escaped and informed us about the Fallen Princess's arrival. Without her as the hostage, everything is irrelevant."
"When this incident spreads, say goodbye to the Faith which you have amassed. I won't forgive you." Inemas coughed as the shadow protected Elemental Labyrinth from crumbling into another Field of Desolation.
"It is a small price to pay for her death. If you allow me to kill her, the other lives are irrelevant."
"You're forcing us to go against the Arachna Queen."
"You're already fighting against them. We'll support you. Heaven can make you a new God."
The Divine Tribulation intensified its power, causing the other Authorities to withdraw their suppression of the overflowing formation and helped Inemas.
"You won't ever let go of the control on the Great Races. I won't accept your offer," Inemas said.
He sighed and placed his hand on his chest. The core in his body violently trembled as it emitted increasingly sinister darkness. The surrounding shadow emerged from the ground and formed into shadowy silhouettes of the long-forgotten members of the Great Races.
As he gestured his hand, a sudden eruption of a blizzard chilled the surrounding. He turned to the crater and saw Princess steadying herself. She glanced at him before turning to the God of Light, her mouth curving into a smile.
"Inside Shifting Mist, there is a maid named Ancil. She is Consimia's best friend and personal maid. Are you going to kill her along with me?" Princess said.
"Her death shall be honoured for generations. It is a small price to pay. Today, I've come to settle our grudge," the God of Light said.
"Peritia, come with us, and I shall protect you. We only need you to be the bargaining chip against the Arachna Queen. I can guarantee your safety," Inemas said.
"Teacher, I'll have to disappoint you again. I'm no genius nor talented. I'm just a little lucky." Princess tapped the orb in her chest. It radiated a colourless light. "In truth, the power I reveal to you is but an imitation of the real things."
Princess closed her eyes and stared at the place where the false Originator should be. She saw countless invisible chains restraining it, as well as a faint figure of someone inside it. Though she didn't know the person was, she felt a sense of familiarity.
As Princess channelled her Divinity, she finally revealed her true Domain.
Thanks for the Meal
Thanks for the chapter!~
I'm confused but I somewhat understand what is going on and I'm okay with that.