Chapter 2013 - 2013. Cage

The pillar transformed the void and proved how solid stage experts carried enough power to change the natural purpose of environments that went past planes and worlds.

The void gained energy, winds, and light as power leaked from the pillar. Noah had given his everything to make the attack fly in a straight line and slam the entirety of its energy on Dinia. Yet, that went beyond his capabilities. He couldn't control the attack completely, so something dispersed in the environment.

The barrier trembled to no end as the void took life.. Shockwaves and winds fell on its surface and added dark shades to its invisible structure. The dragons on the island didn't miss that feature and started to roar their anger now that the effects of Noah's roar had waned. Still, Heaven and Earth promptly filled the environment with light that suppressed their raging feelings.

King Elbas and Sepunia could stop themselves rather quickly, but the dragon continued to fly across the void since the golden inscriptions still restrained its wings. King Elbas felt forced to remove part of them to avoid losing the creature among the blackness.

More pieces of Noah's body exploded, but the fiendish armor hid those injuries. Still, the pillar contained an immense amount of energy that required constant control, so he couldn't retract his blades or lose his concentration.

The attack tested Noah's limits. Only his mind and the Cursed Sword were relatively fine in that situation, but his body, dantian, and black hole struggled to keep up with the output of energy discharged by the unstable mass.

Nevertheless, Noah's potential intensified during the process and pushed his centers of power far beyond their structural limits. His law couldn't remain silent after he touched the very peak of the cultivation journey. It had taken him countless years of training and struggles, but he had eventually gazed at that realm.

His dantian reached the true peak of the eighth rank as energy continued to fall from the unstable mass. It felt ready to move forward and step on the ninth rank, but the ethereal blackness didn't agree. Noah's incomplete world still didn't acknowledge his center of power. His potential had to go even further for the breakthrough to happen.

Noah barely managed to mind those sensations as the attack continued to descend. Everything about him had a single goal now. That was the best attack that he had in store, so he had to make sure that it succeeded in killing Dinia.

The unstable mass disappeared after it discharged its contents. Noah could finally raise his blade and inspect their structure. Their tips had cracked, but his dark matter immediately proceeded to fix them. The Demonic Sword healed in no time, but the Cursed Sword would require a bit more to return to its peak.

A deep sigh tried to escape Noah's mouth, but nothing came out as he coldly stared at the energy still falling through the void. He felt drained, but he wouldn't drop his guard until he confirmed that Dinia was dead.

The powerful energy discharged during the attack hindered the experts' perception. Sepunia and Noah had rank 9 mental spheres, but their mental waves couldn't pierce the raging power contained in the falling pillar.

The three experts could only wait silently as the pillar continued to fall until it eventually disappeared from their sight. They didn't know whether Dinia was alive or dead, but a simple conclusion appeared in their minds when their eyes met. That was the best they could do, so they had to prepare for the worst.

The dragon could finally use its wings, and its mind had even reached a relatively stable state. It could understand that it couldn't go back inside the barrier since Heaven and Earth's light wouldn't give it the chance to do anything, so it approached the battlefield. The creature planned to help the three experts defeat the liquid stage cultivator, but everything seemed to have ended when it reached them.

Noah suddenly appeared next to the dragon and grabbed its head before dragging it toward the white cracks near the island. King Elbas and Sepunia also reached those openings and joined their companion in the inspection of the void under them.

The dragon roared in anger and struggled to escape Noah's grasp, but he and King Elbas' waved their hands at the same time to apply a new layer of restraints. The creature found golden formations covering the entirety of its body and a layer of dark matter isolating it from the void. It couldn't even growl in that situation.

Silence filled the void. The energy and winds caused by the pillar expanded and dispersed in the blackness, but nothing came in the experts' direction. The trio waited for a few seconds, but an idea eventually appeared in their minds. Dinia might have really died during the last exchange.

Sepunia diverted her gaze for an instant, but white light suddenly shone around them. That glow didn't come from the cracks behind them, and it also carried a familiar aura.

Multiple lights materialized in the void and filled the battlefield. They flew in every direction and built a massive array of formations that sealed the area. The three experts immediately tried to cross the cracks, but formations that their attacks couldn't break materialized on their path as soon as they turned.

"Elbas!" Noah called.

"I can only weaken them!" King Elbas shouted after a quick inspection of the formations. "I don't think you can buy me enough time."

"I can't affect them," Sepunia stated after trying to fuse her pinkish energy with those white lines.

"Of course you can't," Dinia's voice suddenly spread in the void.

The glow of the cage slowly converged toward the center of the area and took Dinia's shape. The expert had ditched the inscriptions on his body, but his skin now released a natural radiance that made him hard to inspect.

"You have my compliments," Dinia announced as his voice echoed through the white formations. "You have touched the peak of the cultivation journey, even if it has taken your joint efforts to accomplish that. My perfect self acknowledges your power."

Noah inspected Dinia as his instincts filled his mind with pure terror. He felt drained, and deep injuries worsened his condition. His ambition had improved, and it continued to empower his existence, but the drawbacks would eventually arrive, and facing them inside the void was far from ideal.

Fighting wasn't an option, especially since Noah was out of ideas. He could still unleash Shafu, but the latter would only be able to buy a short time.

The same went for his other companions. They had returned inside him when he flew toward the cracks, but they were struggling to leave the separate space now. They could understand the tragic nature of the situation, so they wanted to put their lives on the line, but Noah wasn't letting them out.

"It's sad that you have forgotten what matters the most at this level," Dinia continued while spreading his glowing arms. "You had the power but not the depth. You have touched the solid stage but only in terms of raw energy. Your attack didn't carry meanings able to hurt me."

"Focus on weakening the formations," Noah ordered before storing his blades. "I didn't want to do this now, but I don't see other options."

King Elbas and Sepunia frowned in confusion, and that feeling intensified when they saw the fiendish armor vanishing. Noah revealed his injured state to his companions, but they immediately noticed how his injuries enlarged instead of closing. A shrill noise even accompanied the event as roots started to expand from his open chest.

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Author's notes: I've thought a lot about my current schedule lately. I can handle publishing so much each day, but that only if I cut away everything else from my life, so I've decided to establish Saturday and Sunday as partial breaks. I will publish 1 chapter for Chaos' Heir and 2 for Demonic Sword those days to fix eventual delays accumulated during the week, rest, or enjoy my life a little. I hope you can understand my position. In short, I'll publish another chapter today, two tomorrow, and go back to three afterward.