2199 2199. Beyond

"Ah! The hydra," The middle-aged woman exclaimed. "You claim to be the best inscription master in the world, but your ego afflicts your creations and makes them predictable."

"Only an ignorant brute would judge a book by its cover," King Elbas sighed. "You can't even realize that you are standing before the most special creature in the world."

"Arrogance," The middle-aged woman shook her head. "I'm not surprised."

King Elbas knew that the time for words was over. He snapped his fingers, and the hydra pointed its nine heads toward the final workshop. Its mouths opened, and rumbling pillars of golden light shot out of them.

The attack was beyond massive, but it carried a surprising kindness that allowed the fabric of space to remain in one piece. Still, its power was undeniable. Each pillar stood at the peak of the ninth rank, and their energy radiated very different auras.

The privileged cultivator imitated King Elbas. She snapped her fingers, and part of her army darted in front of the pillars. Those strange, multicolored beings transformed as they took the shape of barriers and similar structures, and the impact eventually happened.

The fabric of space shook as explosions rumbled on the battlefield. A few ripples trembled until they turned into small cracks, but the overall area remained stable.

King Elbas' eyes shone as they darted left and right. He studied every minor consequence of the impact until he gained a complete idea of the clash's aftermath, and he didn't like what he found.

During the impact, the hydra's attacks had dispersed everywhere on the battlefield, but the same didn't happen to the multicolored beings. They had placed a barrier that had fended off King Elbas' offensive perfectly without losing a single brim of energy.

Moreover, strands of light left the final workshop and fused with the multicolored beings that had faced the pillars. The process didn't only improve those disposable assets. It also perfected their ability to counter King Elbas' power.

"Your final energy is indeed scary," The middle-aged woman admitted. "Even Divine Architect didn't hold back her praises. It's incredible how someone as young as you managed to achieve such power and knowledge."

"She is praising him," The Foolery gasped. "Don't praise him! He'll only get more unbearable."

"A feel a but coming," King Elbas uttered.

"There is no but," The privileged cultivator stated. "You are strong. All of you are. I'm simply saying that your power won't be enough to defeat me."

"Who is arrogant now?" King Elbas chuckled.

"My existence doesn't have a single trace of arrogance," The middle-aged woman exclaimed. "I'm only stating the obvious. Your achievements are commendable. You have made the sky suffer in ways that even Heaven and Earth couldn't predict. Yet, you have forced the true experts of the world to take a stand now."

<br/>"You have seen how your companions have ended," King Elbas snorted. "Your fate won't be any different."

"You are too young to comprehend the difference between us," The middle-aged woman smiled. "Sure, some privileged cultivators have spent eras loitering around. Heaven and Earth have also annexed many of them. Still, the core of the sky's army only has experts who have never stopped training. Someone like you should understand what that implies."

"I don't!" The Foolery responded.

"She wasn't talking to you!" King Elbas shouted before wearing his arrogant expression. "The difference between us is in the time spent training."

"Correct," The privileged cultivator declared. "You have done an incredible job riding the world's fairness and mixing it with your talent to achieve breakthroughs quickly. You have my compliments."

"This woman is annoying," The Foolery squealed.

"We are on the same page for once," King Elbas voiced.

"Page? What page?" The Foolery asked, but King Elbas had already ignored it to inspect the final workshop once more.

"Do you have any memories of her?" King Elbas whispered.

"Her name should be Albatia," Sepunia replied. "I'm afraid I know anything else about her. She had shown herself only a few times, and she had never interacted with the cities."

Sepunia's explanation confirmed Albatia's statement. She had spent all her time inside the sky training and preparing for Heaven and Earth's final breakthrough. Her conversations with Divine Architect had also benefited her knowledge in ways that King Elbas couldn't predict.

King Elbas didn't need to question Sepunia. He had hoped that she could add insights into Albatia's power, but that wasn't the case. As for her strength, King Elbas only had to glance at the final workshop to understand that she was a mighty opponent.

"Elbas, are you giving in already?" Supreme Thief asked without moving his cold gaze from the final workshop.

"No, I was only thinking," King Elbas plainly revealed. "She has a point, but she fails to see what she has lost during these eras of training."

"Yes, tell her!" The Foolery shouted. "Wait, what did she lose?"

"Those living among the light often forget the terrors of darkness," Sepunia sighed as she glanced at the sky in the distance and tried to recall what it was like to live there.

"Only fools forget fear," Albatia scoffed.

"Fear is only one of the aspects that give us power," King Elbas explained. "We are here. We have reached the same destination, but our path was far harsher. You have accumulated grains of power among Heaven and Earth's peace, but each of our steps was a boulder added to our might."

King Elbas pointed his hand at Albatia, and a spear materialized on his palm. His robe also changed and transformed into elegant clothes that covered his hands and feet. The crown on his head shone brightly, and its scorching aura burnt the fabric of space.

Sepunia felt no danger coming from those inscribed items. The world suffered in their presence, but she could touch them freely without suffering any consequence.

"Are you implying that your shorter lives have more value due to the harsher environment in which they thrived?" Albatia asked.

"I'm implying that you are nothing more than another boulder, so act like one," King Elbas exclaimed. "Be quiet, and let me add this achievement to my world."

"And here I thought you were the only reasonable existence in your organization," Albatia sighed. "Your arrogance makes you the greatest of the idiots."

"You should retreat," King Elbas whispered. "I'm going to go crazy for a bit."

"I should also do my best to help then," Sepunia giggled.

"Don't die," King Elbas ordered. "You are an ongoing experiment. It would be a pity if you couldn't reach completion."

Sepunia opened her mouth before closing it again and revealing a smile. She wanted to tease him for those faintly kind words, but she preferred to let them echo in her mind for now.

"I hope you are as strong as you claim," King Elbas declared as he took slow steps toward the final world. "I don't want to hear Supreme Thief complaints if I end up killing you."

"Has my time finally come?" The Foolery asked in excitement.

"You will die if you follow me," King Elbas sneered, knowing that the Foolery wouldn't hear his warning.

"I have already stopped one of your strongest attacks," Albatia sighed. "What can you even achieve by using different ite-?"

Albatia's words couldn't resound through the battlefield since a surge of power suddenly shot out of King Elbas. Violent wings came out of his figure and generated tornados and currents carrying enough power to destroy the fabric of space.

King Elbas' aura fused with the power released by his inscribed items, but Albatia didn't flinch. She could easily handle any attack at the peak of the ninth rank. Nothing King Elbas had could worry her. Yet, her expression froze when her opponent seemed to go beyond the limits of the cultivation journey.