2256 2256. Gas

"Why did you wait for us?" Steven asked as his dark energy condensed inside his figure to close and put patches on all the injuries caused by his recent actions.

"It seemed that a decent fight was about to arrive," Decumia announced. "Why would I ever prevent it?"

"Do you have no loyalty toward your leaders?" Steven wondered.

"We all have different paths," Decumia laughed. "Even the assets living through Heaven and Earth's light must strive for their personal journeys to achieve power. I'm just one of them."

"Having fun among so many deaths," Steven sighed. "You sure have a despicable character."

"I can name a few experts on your side with my same inclinations," Decumia chuckled while glancing at Noah and Alexander still going crazy on the battlefield.

"They aren't disregarding the deaths on their side," Steven explained. "They would help if they could, but that would hinder the path to victory. As my companion said, they have a different role."

"I can understand yours," Decumia exclaimed before pointing her curious gaze toward the Foolery, "But the pig remains an interesting variable."

"Even Heaven and Earth's experts tremble before my might," The Foolery squealed as it wore its usual proud stance.

Steven had no intention to fall prey to the Foolery's idiocy again. He would use it to his advantage if the situation required it, but it seemed that Decumia didn't want to waste time anymore. She was waiting only to improve her imminent fight.

Steven glanced at the Foolery before bringing his focus back on his opponent. The situation didn't drastically change. The two of them remained on the losing end of that battle.

Decumia was simply strong, too strong for two liquid stage beings. Defeating her would require more than tactics, but Steven had to try anyway. Even if he couldn't beat Decumia, his efforts would still make things easier for his stronger companions.

"How many times can you use that speed from before?" Steven whispered while inspecting his opponent.

"I can't fly that fast without my smoke," The Foolery sighed in disappointment.

"Please, be serious," Steven requested. "We must work together against her. I need your power."

"I can eat what she throws at me," The Foolery suggested.

"I need you to do a bit more than that," Steven stated. "I'll burn my world again to contain her power. You'll have to kill her during that window."

"Why would you burn your world?" The Foolery asked. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"We must go past our limits against her," Steven declared. "That's the only method I have."

"But that's bad," The Foolery complained.

"I don't have a better plan," Steven uttered.

"I do!" The Foolery announced.

"Do you?" Steven asked without hiding his surprise.

"Of course!" The Foolery squealed. "Follow me!"

Steven didn't have the chance to talk anymore since the Foolery abruptly shot forward. Steven followed the pig and unleashed his usual dark aura, but Decumia's power didn't experience any suppression as she waited for her opponents to reach her.

<br/>"You have really gotten slower," Decumia said in an amused tone as the Foolery approached her.

The Foolery tried to headbutt Decumia, but she easily side-stepped the attack before tapping on the creature's left side. That simple touch unleashed a purple shockwave that flung the pig away.

Steven tried to exploit that opportunity. His dark aura condensed in the shape of a giant arrow that he threw at Decumia while she was busy dealing with the Foolery.

Yet, Decumia didn't bother to dodge the attack. She let the arrow fall on her figure and enter her world to apply its effects. Her level dropped, but she remained at the very peak of the ninth rank.

"What are you trying to achieve with this little power?" Decumia asked. "You both need to surpass your limits to force me to fight seriously."

Steven revealed a cold expression at that statement. He knew that Decumia was right, but that approach also featured problems. The Foolery was the main issue since it was impossible to reason with it.

The Foolery had to crash into the sky to stop the momentum accumulated after the attack. The landing was violent, but it recovered quickly and set off again. Its side featured a big bruise, but it seemed fine otherwise.

"Let me taste your purple!" The Foolery cried as it shot toward Decumia, but she saw no danger in that incoming attack.

Steven snorted while he inspected his companion's offensive. He couldn't tell the Foolery what to do, but he could do his best to support it. It didn't matter if his efforts ended up being pointless.

Steven set his world aflame again to get his hands on his darker aura. Cracks opened on his figure as his old injuries and new ones fused to affect his condition, but his actions finally forced Decumia to pay attention to him.

The dark aura expanded quickly and trapped Decumia in a cubical area that suppressed her power. Steven was going all-out. His attack targeted Decumia's very foundation to affect her ability to react to the incoming offensive.

That suppression failed to give the Foolery a chance to hurt Decumia. The latter performed the same evasive maneuver as before and lightly tapped on the pig side to fling it away.

Steven launched another massive arrow during that exchange, but Decumia disregarded it. Her world welcomed the offensive and let it apply its effects, which turned out to be relatively meager compared to her overall power.

"I've had enough!" The Foolery shouted after crashing into another spot of the sky. "I will show you my secret technique!"

"Oh, I'm waiting," Decumia teased.

Steven didn't know how serious the Foolery was, but he unleashed even more of his power to limit Decumia's movements. He needed to create a chance to hurt her, even if he had to sacrifice his life during the process.

Decumia showed an amused smile toward Steven before moving her attention to the incoming Foolery. Steven knew that his efforts weren't doing much, but he didn't let that reaction affect his power.

"It's coming!" The Foolery shouted during its flight. "If the smoke isn't around me, I'll just discharge it!"

"Discharge it?" Decumia repeated before spreading her arms. "Come then."

The Foolery voiced a low squeal as its aura intensified. Its hunger spread in its surroundings and forced its body to accelerate. Its world was making it stronger to hunt down its prey.

"Good, good," Decumia commented as the Foolery accelerated. The pig was nowhere fast enough to hurt Decumia, but she liked seeing the battle growing more interesting.

Nevertheless, the Foolery suddenly released a loud fart that unleashed a wave of blue gas from its butt. An awful smell filled the void as its figure accelerated even more and almost teleported in front of Decumia.

Decumia's mind almost froze while watching the event, and Steven also experienced similar effects. The fart didn't do anything. It only filled a chunk of the void with smelly blue gas, but the Foolery became incredibly faster anyway.

The Foolery slammed on Decumia and flung her away. The impact even forced Decumia to release part of her purple energy, and the pig didn't hesitate to devour it. Of course, it proudly lifted its head once the meal was over.