1309 Decisive Moment
The fight of Prince Rudolph and Sage Nevar was coming to a depressing conclusion.
Boom!
With a single clap of the prince, the space between him and the Zion cracked apart as if it was a crystal.
The sheer force from the clap rushed through the cracks in space and hit the veteran.
Kacha!
Sage Nevar's vision blurred as he felt a searing pain throughout his body.
How many hits had he taken? How many injuries had it been? Could he survive another ten, no, five minutes?
As he sobered up to his very probable death, a question inevitably rose in his mind.
'They said they'll be here, right?'
His chest, ridden with two fist-sized holes, heaved up and down.
He expanded his senses to search for the two women and Daphne. A barrier was isolating him from even seeing their state.
Why would they have a barrier now?
An omnious thought suddenly rose in his mind as he recalled everything that happened so far.
'What if…it was all a game?'
As if he suddenly gained consciousness and became aware of the world, Sage Nevar's eyes widened.
'Yes, everything was so suspicious! This all might be Pala kingdom's trap! Those three, especially that lying bastard, he's definetely a dog of the alliance! They just wanted to trap me!'
As he kept pitifully dodging the attacks, often failing, Sage Nevar grew more and more certain of his own guess.
'Yes, that must be it! They wanted me dead while faking this operation!' Nevar's eyes glowed with resentment and he stared at the Prince with such hatred that Rudolph flinched for a moment.
'But if you think I'm a puppet you can control, you're mistaken. I'll make you regret this! This fucker will die!'
Giving up any inhibition, Nevar opened up an all-out offense against Rudolph.
The prince, taken aback by the opponent who fought like he's ready to die, faltered for a moment.
Shaaa!
Shaa!
Space split apart.
Kacha!
Boom!
It cracked and then it exploded.
By the time Rudolph came to his senses, he lost his two legs, one lung and a good chunk of his waist.
It was all gone! Swallowed by the space attacks that tried to devour everything.
But for pulling off such a stunt, Nevar paid a huge price.
The old man who could at least survive for a few more minutes could barely hold on now.
"You mad dog!" Prince Rudolph violently lashed out, deciding to end this enemy before any variables could appear.
Meanwhile, Sarah asked Varian.
"We're already waiting for five minutes, didn't the old dog die already?"
Varian watched Rudolph get punched in the face and flip like a spinning top.
Shaking his head, he said. "He's pretty resilient, you won't believe me."
Rudolph grabbed Nevar's hair and pulled hard.
"Arghh!"
The Zion turned bald instantly but without giving up, he teleported and landed another attack.
"Oops," Varian expressed his pity. "Yeah, pretty resilient."
Boom!
Rudolph pushed through the exploding space and once again reached Nevar, who looked like he was about to faint at any moment.
"Okay, make an entrance now!" Varian said. "Oh wait, before you go—"
The fist of the Prince broke through all the spatial distortions, quickly reaching the Zion.
Sage Nevar stared at the fist, purple blood dripping down his bald head.
Shuaa!
The fast fist suddenly slowed down and an external force began to envelop him.
'Huh?'
Nevar couldn't believe it.
But he saw the two women, riddled in injuries from head to toe.
Unlike his beautiful purple blood, they were drenched in that ugly red blood.
Yet, he could sense their pitiful states. They were heavily injured and seemed to be running low on their aura reserves.
'I misunderstood you…' For the first time in decades, Nevar felt like crying.
He shouldn't have doubted them. They had a low chance of winning but they didn't hesitate.
'They are the true children of the empire,' He took advantage of the gap they provided and quickly downed the most expensive potions he had.
"Finally you two are also here," Instead of panicking, Prince Rudolph laughed.
Sarah frowned at his unexpected response.
"To think that woman could hold you back for this long, was her determination that strong or were you that weak?" He crossed his arms and sneered.
Despite missing two legs, which were quickly regenerating but would still take time, he didn't seem bothered by their appearance.
"You knew she was going to lose?" Sarah asked.
"Of course. This is a well planned attack. And this bastard wasn't enough to finish me off. He would wear me out and you'll finish me off. That should be the plan." Rudolph clapped.
Even though it was a normal clap, the space around him began to shatter.
"I didn't act too aggressively lest you two escape," He grinned like a predator and continued without looking at anyone in particular.
"And you, the coward hiding, did you think I was playing right into your plan? I figured out your stupid plan long ago. And I've got a bad news for all of you."
The Prince snapped his fingers and a silver barrier suddenly appeared, enveloping everyone.
"I did regret not escaping at the start. Not because I thought I'd die here. Never. But the price to win would be heavy."
Rudolph then took out a finger-sized glass container wrapped by golden design.
"This is a gift from someone important. I didn't want to use it but—"
"Stop him!"
Sarah's time power acted on the Prince. Isadora attacked his soul directly.
As if he anticipated their reactions, the Prince's natal treasure sprang up and glowed, blocking most of their powers.
Nevar wasn't in a position to help and watched on helplessly.
At the last moment, Varian materialized in front of him. With all the powers acting on him, he was at his fastest and his fingertip reached the container.
But a hand swatted him away.
"Die, you coward!"
Varian was half-expecting this. So, he already had the artifacts out. Using his full power and the power of slivers, he dodged at the last moment.
But the aftermath still blew him away, giving him some serious injuries.
"You're so de—huh?"
Even as Varain was blasted away, a black and white light seeped out of his fingertips, easily breaking through the aura barrier protecting the elixir.
Boom!
