Chapter 1075 1075. Strategy

That wasn't an easy decision for the Pterodactyl. Giving up on a divine body wasn't something that any intelligent creature would do. However, freedom was too appealing for a being that had spent a long time in captivity and didn't see any hope of escaping without external help.

Noah didn't know about those drawbacks, but he had his share of worries too. Magical beasts' seas of consciousness were imperfect, but he was still dealing with a divine being.

He didn't know how advanced its mental sphere was nor how powerful it would be. There was a chance that he could suppress it due to his many assets and innate advantages over the Pterodactyl's kind, but some risks existed nonetheless.

"You are a peculiar human," The Pterodactyl said without adding anything else. The creature and Noah had reached a silent understanding during their negotiations. They knew that they would both try to trick their opponent.

"I'm not a human," Noah answered. He didn't need to say anything else. He had completed his part when he had accepted to take that risk.

The divine beast and Noah exchanged stares even if the creature didn't have eyes. Their minds were enough to tell them that they were keeping their full attention on each other.

"You have a deal, peculiar creature," The Pterodactyl broke the silence and the lines that made its strange body began to waver after it spoke.

Nevertheless, Noah promptly backed off and returned toward the superior parts of the Gorge before announcing his intentions. "I'll come back soon. Our agreement still stands."

The Pterodactyl's roars resounded in the Gorge as Noah left to make the necessary preparations for that procedure. As for the creature's eagerness, he couldn't care less.

Noah dug a cave in one of the soft walls of the Gorge and quickly activated the Divine Deduction technique. He had to prepare every kind of protection before approaching the cage again.

A plan soon formed in his mind, and strategies followed. Noah began to build a series of prison-like structures and large barriers with his dark matter.

The Will-consuming runes' theories and innate greed were enough to create lasting restrictions, but Noah wanted more. He needed multiple layers of protection so that his mental sphere didn't suffer if the creature managed to break free.

Noah would never let the Pterodactyl fuse directly with his darkness. He wanted to suppress it inside his mental sphere and restrict it inside a body made of dark matter.

The procedure would be similar to what Snore had experienced, with the only difference that he had to force a divine mind inside a heroic body.

'I need weapons,' Noah thought, and saber-shaped runes accumulated inside his mind.

He had to use his darkness to create them, so the internal pressure inside his mind increased. Yet, he would use them to suppress the Pterodactyl's will, so he didn't hold back on the production.

The only problem was whether his mind could contain the imminent battle. Still, he could only rely on his mental energy's remarkable properties as a form of protection.

Waves surged from the mental sea. Shining brown water covered the walls of his sea of consciousness, leaving only one spot open.

Noah repeated the process multiple times and even waited for his mental sea to reform before resuming that procedure.

His mind became a brown sphere that only had one small part devoid of water. The Kesier runes, his saber-shaped runes, and Snore's ethereal figure were there, waiting for their opponent to arrive.

Noah's ghostly figure swam through the brown water as he prepared the battlefield. Lumps of dark matter assembled to create a tunnel and various traps meant to restrict the beast's will. He even made a net to reinforce the entire structure.

It took him two weeks to prepare everything, double-check the defenses, and cultivate until he returned to his peak. If he had time, he would spend a few years with the Seventh Kesier rune to maximize his mind's condition.

Yet, a war was raging outside, and he didn't know how much the alliance would manage to conquer. He felt lucky enough that no one had come inside the Gorge during that period. That was his only opportunity to get the divine beast.

Noah's mind felt heavy when he descended toward the valley again. There was so much higher energy inside it that he could barely suppress his headache.

The Pterodactyl lifted its head at his return. It wanted to complain, but it felt too eager to bother about that wait.

That creature was a divine beast. Two weeks weren't even enough for a nap. Months would go by wherever it lost focus.

'What do you need?' Noah asked as he landed on the cage. He needed that information to make the last adjustment.

'Any darkness,' The Pterodactyl replied. 'I need to take control of it and fuse my mind.'

Noah hesitated for a few seconds before a small whiff of dark matter came out of his forefinger. The creature would be far weaker if Noah made it fuse with his darkness. However, that would worsen its potential as a puppet.

Noah was willing to increase the risk of that procedure to obtain an asset that could improve his power properly.

The drop of dark matter fell downward, leaving a black trail connected to Noah's hand. It crossed the metal bars, but it didn't reach the center of the cave. It hovered right under Noah's foot.

The Pterodactyl showed no fear, and it started the procedure immediately. The lines that made its body began to tremble and the darkness inside them wavered as its consciousness slid outward.

The creature's head touched the part of dark matter that crossed the metal bars, and Noah felt a foreign presence trying to take control of its energy.

The presence was intense, and its power breathtaking. It created shocks that spread until Noah's hand only to disperse through his body.

Some dark matter came out of Noah's mind. The beast's imperfect mind was stronger than he had expected, so he had to release some pressure. His mental sphere wouldn't be able to contain it otherwise.

Noah lowered the defenses of the dark matter inside the cage at that point. The Pterodactyl invaded his higher energy once nothing blocked its way, and its body crumbled when it completed the process.

The rank 7 body was no more. The divine creature had officially reached the non-return point.

Noah lost control of the dark matter inside the cage, but nothing spread outside the bars. Their material targeted the Pterodactyl, so even its consciousness suffered from their restrictions.

Noah could still turn back. Cutting his connection with the dark matter would leave the Pterodactyl in that wretched state. The dark matter might even explode once it became unable to contain its imperfect mind. Noah was in the position to kill a divine beast!

Nevertheless, his goal wasn't pure destruction. He wanted a new weapon, a unique asset that would increase his power.

Noah lifted his hand to connect the trail of dark matter to his mind. The higher energy fused with the tunnel inside his sphere, and the mechanisms prepared in the previous weeks activated.

A pulling force began to attract the Pterodactyl's invaded dark matter toward his mind. The creature screamed in pain as it clashed with the cage, but Noah pulled without minding the beast's safety.

It took more than one hour, but, eventually, a small part of the dark matter invaded by the Pterodactyl crossed the cage and entered the strand of higher energy.