2304.Mocking

King Elbas sighed as he patted his clothes to remove the white dust that had accumulated after the last exchange. He and Divine Architect had gone through a series of casual attacks that involved inscribed items again, and she had come out on top, even if only slightly.

Everything was going according to King Elbas' predictions. He was extremely arrogant, but that never affected his judgment. Divine Architect probably was one of the few experts who could claim to be his match, and he was okay with that. He would actually feel disappointed otherwise.

Nevertheless, the evolution of the battlefield was adding pressure to that casual and laid-back behavior. King Elbas knew that something had to change soon, and Divine Architect also realized that. The two were simply holding back to see who would be the first to give in.

"Are you scared?" Divine Architect announced when the silence became too dull to bear. "Did I overestimate you?"

"Why would I be scared?" King Elbas snorted.

"All the other major battles are reaching their breaking point," Divine Architect commented as her crystal eyes released a white flash. "Heaven and Earth are also about to come down. I thought you'd try your best to kill me before that. Did you start doubting yourself?"

"Your arrogance limits your imagination," King Elbas sighed. "You think that I got scared because I'm still playing around. You can't even imagine the possibility that I only need one attack to defeat you."

"Bluffing doesn't suit you," Divine Architect coldly replied. "You aren't bad, but you'd need to deconstruct all my work only to create the chance to hurt me."

"To kill you," King Elbas corrected.

"That's impossible," Divine Architect stated. "You would have already made your move if you had any confidence. Instead, you are hesitating. Even your inferior mind can't close itself to the truth. Isn't that why you tainted my castle with your influence during the past exchanges?"

"I knew you noticed that," King Elbas casually acknowledged. "I was wondering why you didn't do anything about it. Is my influence too hard to stop?"

"Don't overestimate yourself," Divine Architect declared. "Studying is a core aspect of all inscription masters. You chose to face me for a reason. The least I can do is find out why."

"Don't search for a complicated answer," King Elbas mocked. "I came here because I'm better than you."

"Go ahead then," Divine Architect challenged. "I let you infect my castle. You can destroy it by snapping your fingers."

"Why would I do that?" King Elbas asked.

"To seize some imaginary advantage," Divine Architect explained. "I'm in control of the battlefield now, but that will change if you destroy this castle. At least, that's what you think."

"I never wanted to destroy this castle," King Elbas snorted. "I was only searching for your stash of materials. I never thought you would use separate dimensions to hide it."

"I bet you will somehow connect this behavior to a weakness," Divine Architect guessed. "I'm hiding my stash because I fear someone might reach it, am I right?"

"I wouldn't insult you like that," King Elbas reassured. "Well, I would have done it, but you ruined the joke. It lost style after coming out of your mouth."

"You are so childish," Divine Architect sighed. "Your stay within that lousy organization tampered with your potential deeply. You are only a shadow of what you could have become."

"That lousy organization is giving yours a hard time," King Elbas chuckled. "Maybe you should give some credit to those idiots."

"We both know that all of this will become pointless once Heaven and Earth arrive," Divine Architect explained. "Go ahead. Defeat the other leaders. That won't change the outcome."

"You are one of the leaders," King Elbas pointed out.

"I can't be defeated," Divine Architect declared.

"Let me guess," King Elbas voiced, but the battlefield suddenly captured his attention and made him interrupt his line.

Divine Demon's insane burst of power, Sword Saint's crazy battle, and other significant events happened almost at the same time. The battlefield was changing again, and King Elbas knew what would happen next.

"How can you hope to win against me when your companions distract you so much?" Divine Architect mocked.

"I agree," King Elbas stated. "I've developed bad habits after looking out for those idiots for so long."

"You can go if you want," Divine Architect uttered. "Our fight is pointless anyway. I'll preserve your energy and mind to study them once everything is over."

"Are you praising me now?" King Elbas laughed.

"If you consider that a praise," Divine Architect sighed. "Sure, you'll be the best guinea pig in my collection."

"Funny how our minds work," King Elbas commented. "We really are perfect expressions of our field. You lack flexibility but do not worry. I'll put your energy and collection to better use."

"Your mind can't even comprehend the limits of my power," Divine Architect stated. "How would you even improve on that?"

"A true master never reveals his secrets," King Elbas scolded. "I'm sorry. You'll die without getting answers."

"This is getting boring," Divine Architect uttered. "You voice threats without staying true to them."

"We both know that you are doing the same," King Elbas joked. "Admit it. You still can't accept that I surpassed you."

"You didn't," Divine Architect corrected. "Your current power comes from Heaven and Earth. You would have died without stealing their understanding."

"But I didn't die," King Elbas pointed out.

"A meager achievement that anyone can imitate," Divine Architect replied.

"Why didn't you then?" King Elbas wondered. "I am arrogant, but I also know when something is truly amazing. My final energy is a masterpiece that even you envy."

"I do desire your energy," Divine Architect admitted, "Just like I desire any precious material hidden in the universe. You are no different from a rare chunk of metal in my eyes."

"I'm glad we agree on that," King Elbas stated. "Though I don't care about you. I only need your stash to improve myself. Your existence can't give me anything."

"An inscription master doesn't need a superior existence to stand at the peak," Divine Architect declared.

"As I said before," King Elbas laughed. "You lack flexibility."

King Elbas snapped his fingers, and a series of spears came out of his body to fly toward Divine Architect. The latter didn't bother to move since tiles separated themselves from the balcony to appear in the weapons' trajectory.

However, golden light appeared at the center of the tiles and forced them to explode. The detonations weren't violent, but the event cleared the path for the spears, which accelerated to take Divine Architect by surprise.

Divine Architect found herself unable to react. The spears landed on her body and tried to dig through her skin, but they failed to leave any injury. Even her robe remained intact while the weapons continued to express their momentum.

King Elbas snapped his fingers again, and the spears took fire. Golden flares shot out of those weapons and added power to their thrust, but they remained unable to pierce Divine Architect's robe.

The spears eventually lost their power and turned into golden dust that dispersed on the balcony. The attack had been pointless, but Divine Architect appeared pissed nonetheless.

"See," King Elbas exclaimed. "You noticed my influence, and you also found the three different types of infections that I sent through the castle. Still, you didn't see the fourth, fifth, and sixth."

"I don't look out for ants," Divine Architect claimed. "You didn't create something that can ignore my senses. My defenses didn't react because your items were too weak."

"That sounds like a victory to me," King Elbas pointed out.

"A useless victory," Divine Architect sighed, "Like the entirety of this battle."

"Please," King Elbas mocked. "It must burn. This is the second time I came out on top. Maybe you aren't as unbeatable as you think."