Faded2Fate

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Before Aella made her move, Visiogon fired off another breath attack at her, forcing her into the air. As she was about to retaliate, she sensed something amis, causing her to raise her head rapidly and see a massive ball of fire coming straight at her.

Narrowing her eyes at the fire, Aella countered with her wind.

|<You have stolen the [Essence of Fire]>|

Unfortunately, she didn’t have the chance to examine what the system said as a pillar of rock and stone came at her from below while a lightning bolt came crashing toward her from above!

Clicking her tongue, she evaded the lightning narrowly, it charring some of the tips of her hair before launching several sharp gusts of wind toward the rock pillar, sending not only her wind and debris of rocks toward Luminastra and her draconic partner but their fire attack as well.

At the same time, Aella relocated herself outside of the vision of her opponents while she was deep in thought.

‘That wasn’t Lightning magic. That was a genuine lightning bolt. So, the ability is anything it can imagine? I wonder what its limits are! The ability to manipulate natural laws and the ability to turn anything you imagine into a reality! I truly wonder what other Demon Lords will have. I WANT TO KNOW SO BADLY!’

She also pondered the system message briefly. It was the first time her [Dominion of Elements] had activated. She didn’t use it in her prior bout with Seraphina and the other kids due to not knowing how powerful it’d be, but seeing it now, it was clear that she worried for nothing.

From that massive fireball, she only managed to retain less than 5% of its initial power, and she wasn’t sure how she’d retain more just yet. That aside, she felt a minuscule amount of warmth in her abdomen but didn’t have the leisure to check it out right now.

Giggling to herself like a child, she reappeared in Luminastra’s blind spot with one of her many blades, only for Visiogon to strike her with an impossible speed, sending her flying an entire kilometer away only for her other swords to appear in another attempt to assassinate Luminastra but those too, were swiftly dealt with by Visiogon.

“What a problem. How do I deal with you?” She hummed aloud, already charging back in.

During her approach, the very world seemed to go against her as bolts of lightning struck at her, and even the individual raindrops tried to pierce through her aura to no avail.

Again and again, she attacked, but every time she attacked, Visiogon seemed to appear at several spots in space at once or contort its body into unperceivable poses. Yet, Aella came to realize something odd rather quickly.

‘Why is it only attacking me in retaliation and defense? Is that it?’

Curiously, Aella restrained her aura, and she calmed her approach. She did not run, yet her speed refused to slow down. Once again, the Dragon of Imagination appeared in her sights, scowling at her. Its attacks remained consistent.

Her swords briefly formed back into a halo as she approached before focusing their firepower on Visiogon instead of Luminastra. There, Visiogon didn’t contort in some weird way or appear in several locations.

Instead, he had to fend off the swords with his claws like any other dragon. The moment this happened, Aella’s smile returned.

“I~ Figured~ It~ Out~!” She chuckled, appearing before Visiogon before slamming into his underside with all her force, sending him to the skies. Before he could retaliate, winds blew down on him, causing him to struggle while flying. Aella shot at him like a torpedo, digging into his tough scales.

“Burn!” She commanded as her blue flames manifested on the Dragon.

Leaping back, she turned her attention to Luminastra, who prepared to fight despite having nothing on hand.

“Visiogon, The Mirage Monarch. That is such a cool name. But their Imagination ability. It only works if your opponent is trying to kill you, their partner. No, that should be a little wrong. It just can’t utilize its full power if it’s not targeting you. I wonder why that is? Is it a flat restriction? A Mana conservation issue? There’s just so much I don’t understand. Even for me, it might take me a couple of days to digest all this information.” Aella mused as she sauntered toward Luminastra.

“You figured that all out after clashing for just 20 minutes? I was right about you; you really are an anomaly.” Luminastra cursed.

Aella nodded, “You’re not wrong. After all, we’re the same.”

Although her advance was slow, akin to a snail’s, it wasn’t because Aella was taunting her opponent. Not this time, at least. She sensed a similar yet foreign energy since she kicked the two of them out of the building.

It was somewhat similar to that malicious Mana she had felt during her other encounters with the cultists, but at the same time, it felt entirely different. Instead of malicious, the energy felt like it came from another place entirely. Not just another world but perhaps another reality.

While quite fitting considering her current opponent and their ability over the imagination, this paradoxical sensation put her on guard. She couldn’t tell if it felt strong or weak, if it was near or far.

It was just. There?

“What is it… That you fight for… Echo? Is it for the thrill?” Luminastra questioned.

As she asked this, Aella felt Visiogon’s presence vanish, which made it quite clear she was stalling for time.

‘Even instant resurrection is on the table? That’s fun, I suppose.’

“Why do I fight?” Aella hummed, pausing briefly to consider it before continuing. “I fight for revenge. I fight in the name of revenge so those who are innocent do not have to become sinners.”

Her answer seemed to dumbfound Luminastra because she felt Visiogon return and begin lurking around, awaiting the order to attack but never receiving it.

“Do you think you’re Jesus or something?”

Tilting her head, Aella shrugged.

“Never thought about it that way. I don’t really think so, though. I’d consider myself more of a Reaper who punishes sinners as a way of my own repentance. Speaking of punishments, I believe it’s time you die. If we ever meet after this, I hope we can be friends. You seem fun.”

Extending her arms outward, her halo of swords began spinning and dancing around her.

“Heh, unfortunately, dying here isn’t an option. For either of us, I’d imagine!”

Aella’s eyes widened as a glyph of some kind appeared on the ground beneath her.

“Essence Script: Rupture!”

As the icon began illuminating, Aella once again allowed her aura to flare up right before it exploded in her face.

|<Notice: Something foreign has entered into your system! Identifying…>|

|<Error: Foreign existence is not in the system’s database. Changing method of identification.>|

|<Error: Foreign existence isn’t similar to anything currently existing in the system’s database.>|

|<Notice: The Foreign existence has been neutralized due to the existence of a transcendent existence that resides in your body!>|

As the explosion went off, Luminastra and her partner started gaining distance. That should have killed Aella… So why! Why did Luminastra not gain any experience points for it?

“So that’s what the foreign energy was… Essence Script? Is that what you called it?” Aella’s voice resounded, approaching Luminastra from all directions.

The dust and smoke began to shift as the winds pushed through, turning them into wings of debris that rested just above Aella’s tails. Blood trickled down her face, which she licked up, her face filled with ecstasy.

Her entire body shivered uncontrollably as her heartbeat reached ungodly speeds.

“Luminastra Vespera… I take back what I said. We aren’t the same. You’re better than me. Far better than me! I think… I’m falling in love! I’m almost considering letting you leave this place alive!”

|<Notice: The skill [Wrath] is faltering.>|

Aella took one step forward, causing all but one of her swords to vanish.

“Void Ancestor’s First Roar: Sorrow”

…

Faded2Fate

AH! A CHAPTER AFTER LIKE 5 WEEKS! Ngl, I had this and 5 other chapters done for the longest time, but I really couldn't get the other 4 to a point that I was happy with. I thought I should probably upload the chapter I was decently happy with, though, before I ended up deleting and rewriting it for whatever. Anyway, I'll try and get chapter 65 out before the end of this year :P

At this rate, I'm only half joking about that.