2352.Boulders

Noah almost couldn't believe the scene unfolding in his eyes. Chunks of the sky were falling from every corner of the white layer. The cage around the higher plane had finally crumbled, but something strange eventually became evident.

None of the boulders fell into the void. Those white chunks left the sky only to converge toward the center of the higher plane and limit the overall space left in the world.

Noah also noticed something else during that process. The spaces among the various boulders didn't open a path toward the universe. He could still see Heaven and Earth's whiteness behind that rain. The sky was still standing.

The main team gathered at the center of the higher plane, but the boulders soon forced those who didn't join the fight against Heaven and Earth to move too.

Emperor, Queen, and Vesuvia teleported next to the main team. It was unclear where their opponents were since the rain hid them, but no one had the time to worry about them.

A giant teleport also appeared in the area, and a golden array of inscriptions came out of it. Pellio and the other experts involved with that structure reached the main team, and a series of questioning gazes fell on Noah.

Noah couldn't give answers since he was as confused as his companions. It was clear that Heaven and Earth were up to something, but the scenery didn't offer any valuable clue.

Nevertheless, the team wasn't too worried. The boulders were massive and could cover the entire higher plane, but they didn't carry any real power. They had energy flowing inside them, but their structural stability had already crumbled. A few simple attacks would shatter them.

"Let's clear the area before things get worse," Noah promptly ordered, and a few experts followed his sprint.

King Elbas, Divine Demon, Emperor, Sword Saint, and Supreme Thief chased after Noah before splitting to reach different areas of the rain. Their heavy influence even expanded past their bodies while they prepared their offensive, but the boulders didn't wait for them to attack.

A humming noise came out of the sky behind the boulders and triggered a reaction in the entire white rain. The energy inside the various rocks became unstable, and a series of rays shot out of them to create a joint offensive.

The boulders stopped being separate entities and harmonized under the effects of the white rays. They even tightened their blockage to close any potential path toward the rest of the higher plane.

The energy summoned by the boulders was violent but stable. The entire array seemed on the verge of exploding, but its power flowed smoothly and started fueling a joint ability.

Noah lifted his arms, but his destruction suddenly warned him about the repercussions that his attack would cause. He could dig a hole through that white array, but the event would only make the accumulated energy explode.

Experts like Noah could endure the explosion, but the area didn't have only the main team anymore. The array of inscriptions had become a target, and the allies defending it probably wouldn't survive that offensive.

Pellio, Cursed Reality, Great Builder, and the other experts involved with the inscriptions had kept that structure alive during the final battle, but they weren't on the sidelines anymore. The targeted area had also shrunk due to the advance of the boulder.

The inscriptions would have to face Heaven and Earth's power directly now, and they didn't have the structural resilience to do so. Besides, Pellio and the others were almost exhausted. Noah felt almost sure that his attack would kill most of his companions.

"Your attacks have been excellent," Heaven and Earth's voice resounded from behind the array of boulders while Noah was immersed in his thoughts. "Your worlds highlighted so many flaws. We'll use what we learnt to concoct energy befitting of our being."

Noah and King Elbas exchanged a glance, and they also turned to inspect the reactions of the other inscription masters. All of them understood Heaven and Earth's plan in those seconds. The matter was so obvious that even some of the idiots realized what was happening.

The main team and Noah's organization as a whole were full of rebels. Those experts opposed Heaven and Earth, but they had to resist their tempting offers to reach that point.

Those laws and worlds had highlighted some flaws in Heaven and Earth's existence, and Noah's team had also managed to prove them. The experts' offensive had succeeded even against the crystal energy, which showed how the rulers had yet to achieve a stable form.

That was common knowledge by then. Heaven and Earth had admitted that their crystal energy wasn't ready even during the battle. Yet, the current offensive carried the deeper intentions that had guided their actions until now.

"These are the leftovers," Noah commented.

"We accumulated too many inferior and weak worlds throughout the eras," Heaven and Earth replied as an ethereal version of their avatar materialized before Noah. "We didn't want to create more non-laws or multiple versions of ourselves, so we used you to cut away those meanings for us."

A lesser expert would blame himself for the event, but Noah could see through Heaven and Earth. He knew that the rulers would have found a way to solve the issue even without his team. Still, his problems didn't end at that shallow taunt.

The array of boulders contained all the meanings that Heaven and Earth wanted to cut away from their existence. Yet, they still shared a connection with them. That attack wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

A joint blow capable of using the power expressed by countless worlds would fill anyone with fear. Moreover, Heaven and Earth had made sure to stuff those boulders with crystal energy. The offensive promised to be the strongest attack the higher plane had ever witnessed, and the entirety of Noah's organization was its target.

Truth be told, Noah had long since steeled his resolve. He was ready to launch his attack and condemn the entirety of his organization to survive. He wouldn't even hesitate to do so, but he had a valuable alternative.

The dark world materialized at Noah's side and expanded to engulf the area encircled by the offensive. Screeching noises resounded inside it as small creatures shot through the dark matter and attached themselves to the array of boulders.

Noah retracted the dark world and allowed his companions to inspect the scene. An immense pack of black worms had landed on the boulders and had started to dig through their surface to eat their fabric.

"June!" Noah shouted, and June knew what he meant.

Clouds quickly covered the worms while they devoured the boulders. Thunders resounded through the black gas, and giant lightning bolts soon shot out of them.

Each lightning bolt was a peak rank 9 attack, and some even threatened to surpass that limit. The inscriptions and weaker experts would crumble against them, but June made sure to attract all of them.

Those involved with the Cursed Labyrinth recognized the worms even if their life inside Noah's dark world had partially altered their bodies. Those creatures could eat Heaven and Earth's materials and imitate their lightning bolts.

Noah had never found the chance to use the worms while the sky was smooth and impenetrable. However, the array of boulders didn't carry the same structural stability, so the pack could take care of it and its threatening energy without causing any worldwide explosion.

As for June, the similarities with Heaven and Earth's attack allowed her to absorb the lightning bolts without suffering any damage. Actually, the worms' offensive allowed her to fix some of the injuries that filled her body.