2258 2258. Trade

'What happened?' Steven thought as he tried his best to stabilize his messy mind.

Strands of mental waves left Steven's maimed world and sent information back to his core. He slowly understood what had happened, and his condition only brought sadness.

Decumia had destroyed Steven's torso. His limbs had turned into dark shards that had dispersed into the void, while his head had remained mostly intact. Still, it floated aimlessly through the battlefield now since Steven found himself unable to muster his power.

'I see,' Steven commented. 'I lost.'

The realization wasn't too surprising. Steven had always known that Decumia was too strong for him. He couldn't hurt her even after setting his own world aflame to release more power.

That sheer difference of power wasn't something Steven could fill with mere determination. Even his anger toward Heaven and Earth couldn't achieve that much. It was simply impossible for an expert at his level to defeat Decumia.

'What now?' Steven wondered as he struggled to keep his thoughts steady.

Recovering was possible. Steven could join the structures turned ethereal by Pellio and spend time healing. His injuries were deep, but his journey wasn't over. It was unclear whether he had the potential to surpass the ninth rank, but he definitely had the chance to reach its peak.

Nevertheless, retreating now would inevitably lead to a single conclusion. Steven wouldn't have the time to recover completely before the end of the final battle. He could preserve his life and his cultivation journey, but the price to pay was his presence in the last struggle against Heaven and Earth.

Difference existences would have taken their time to ponder over the issue. After all, retreating among the inscriptions wouldn't make them completely useless. They could still help coordinate eventual defenses or provide information.

However, Steven wasn't a common existence. He was part of Noah's core team. He had already accomplished decent feats on the battlefield, but his status asked more from him.

No doubts appeared in Steven's mind. He had been ready to die before. The arrival of the Foolery had delayed that choice, but the situation didn't change even after those reinforcements.

Decumia was an opponent that had to die to pave the path toward victory, and Steven could help there. To use the Foolery's words, that was his role on the battlefield.

The Foolery remained confused. It wanted to eat Decumia, but its head was stuck in her grasp. Moreover, the energy that she released affected its mind and enhanced aspects of its character that didn't perfectly align with Noah's group.

The Foolery was more than a simple magical beast, but its instincts remained strong. Also, its idiocy was a core part of its personality. It could ignore it at will, but Decumia could exploit it anyway.

The winged pig's eyes turned purple as Decumia continued to pour her energy inside its body. She even allowed the Foolery to eat pieces of her whenever it risked breaking out of her control. She wanted to subdue it thoroughly, but her power suddenly left the area.

<br/>Decumia didn't know what had happened. She didn't feel any change in her surroundings, but her influence had vanished. That effect didn't only affect the power inside the Foolery. Even her body lost the purple energy that ran through it.

Usually, a technique able to affect the power of a privileged cultivator in the solid stage wasn't something that could go unnoticed. Decumia was even special in that category. In theory, the sole act of suppressing her power would require a massive ability.

Yet, Decumia didn't feel anything. Also, she didn't only see her influence losing power. Her very energy had disappeared. Her world was refilling her figure quickly, but that didn't change how amazing the event had been.

"What?!" The Foolery gasped now that it could think properly. "What happened?"

"I guess he wasn't so boring in the end," Decumia sighed as she glanced at a spot on her right.

The darkness of the void seemed to condense, but Decumia knew that her eyes were lying to her. She couldn't actually see what was happening, but she could understand the nature of that event by studying what she couldn't sense.

A dense power that Decumia's mental waves couldn't touch was condensing at her side. That black power quickly took a humanoid shape, and a dark version of Steven eventually materialized.

"What have you done to yourself?" Decumia chuckled. "Do you think that achieving a temporary superior stage will be enough to defeat me?"

"Pig, I need you to promise something," Steven announced as his solid stage cultivation level exploded outward and filled the area with his dark energy. "When the moment arrives, don't hesitate."

"Wow!" The Foolery squealed. "I told you that-."

"Pig, I'm serious," Steven interrupted. "Be ready."

"What?" The Foolery repeated while tilting its head to its left. "I don't understand what you mean, but sure. I'm always ready."

Steven glanced at the confused pig before heaving a sigh. He would have normally chosen someone else, but the situation didn't allow him to be picky. Also, the Foolery strangely suited his plans, so he had to stick with it.

"Nice energy!" Decumia exclaimed as she inspected her hands and tried to summon her purple energy. "It seems that you can finally affect me properly. Still, shouldn't this go against your world? You are suppressing power that I obtained on my own even before joining Heaven and Earth."

"You are an asset of the sky," Steven declared. "I exist, so I can suppress you."

"Something so vague wouldn't have the power to suppress me," Decumia stated. "I would understand if you were at my level, but you are still far weaker than me. Reaching the solid stage didn't change that."

"Is that so?" Steven asked before pointing his hand forward.

An arrow shot out of Steven's hand, and Decumia summoned her aura to shield herself from the incoming attack. However, her energy suddenly disappeared, and the same went for the weapon.

Decumia prepared herself to explode with power and overcome the suppression of the dark aura, but the arrow suddenly reappeared inside her chest. The weapon actually created a hole that pierced her from side to side and left a mark on her world.

"Ooh," Decumia voiced before grabbing the arrow and shattering it seemingly through raw strength.

Steven didn't stop there. He teleported in front of Decumia before stabbing his hand in the hole. A shockwave followed the gesture, and Decumia soon found herself flying away with an even larger injury.

"I'm starting to get it," Decumia exclaimed as a laugh escaped her mouth.

Steven materialized in front of Decumia again to place a hand on her forehead. A dark wave of energy left his palm and seeped inside her world to cause as much damage as possible.

The attack caused an explosion that pushed Decumia on the sky. She slammed on the white layer without trying to stop her descent. Cracks opened on her figure, but her body instantly healed now that she could gain access to her purple energy.

"I get it now," Decumia laughed. "You have purified your existence to make it perform a single task. Am I so important to you?"

"You are a hindrance on the path to victory," Steven declared. "Removing you is necessary. Trading my existence for that is more than worth it."

"That only if you can defeat me," Decumia replied as multiple purple tendrils came out of her back. "Bring it on."