1447 Fortune Spirit
Varian's group proceeded to find the Fortune Spirit.
It wasn't that he thought himself to be strong enough to defeat the other candidates. He just realized he didn't have as much time he thought he did.
Every single candidate was hostile.
If Samantha accomplished whatever she set out to do, as long as she's sane, she'd eliminate the variable who threatened her.
The less said about Robert, the better.
But it's Xeola who was the most dangerous.
'I don't know if the old guy is fine but…'
That soul was weak enough that he could subjugate it in Requiem. But only because the old man exerted himself fighting against the Orion captain.
His original aura belonged to that of a peak rank 9. Whether he interacted with Prince Merov or Varian, the old guy had been speaking from a state of extreme weakness.
If luck favored him, Varian could hope to escape the attacks of peak rank 8s.
But a rank 9?
"We'll have to hurry."
To protect Sonya, Sarah decided to follow from behind while keeping their traces as hidden as possible.
The little princess once again proposed to drop out of the ritual and got rejected. For one, it's her 'team'. Two, and more importantly, the archdukes allowed peak rank 8s inside, knowing full well what's gonna transpire.
With all its dangers, Crade, ironically, was their safest place.
The humid air near the beach a few minutes ago changed to scorching breeze on a desert before going cold like the snow on the ground.
The compass took enough sacrifices and didn't stop to get any 'recharge'.
And since they were already exposed, Varian teleported himself and Enigma toward the Fortune Spirit.
In just eighteen minutes, Varian and Enigma reached the site of conflict.
Powerful shockwaves struck them as they stepped to the beginning of a vast, barren, cracked red plain.
There was a brilliant explosion of blue and yellow in far distance, each explosion bigger and louder than the last.
The familiar smell of Palarian blood stung his nose but there was also another smell. The smell of a pure soulform, one that his 'Ignis' path reacted fiercly upon spotting.
With the link of Synergy, Varian signalled for Sarah and Sonya to take cover some distance away before stepping forward with Enigma.
Due to the viscous aura flowing due to the fight and an unnatural power that's akin to that of a Heaven's Will than a person, the state of the fighters was not visible.
Even with Varian's keen sight, the two appeared as humanoids glowing in blue and white.
What's visible, however, was that the white humaoid, the alleged Fortune Spirit, was on the losing end.
Step!
Varian's first step was normal.
Step!
With the second step, the edges of his silhouttee blurred as if they were wiped out by the fierce wind and his figure disappeared.
Boom!
Cradle's tough land split open, like someone had dug a canal and a burning force in a glaring gold struck between the blue and white.
"Haa! You son of a bitch!"
The blue light scattered away, like ice breaking away after being hit by a hammer.
Prince Robert's bloodied figure greeted Varian with a pleasing smile.
"I wanted to let you live a little longer. Looks like you really want to die."
That explained why Robert hadn't caught up with their team so far.
Ignoring the threat, Varian subconsciously exhaled in relief that it wasn't Xeola.
"I am busy. So, you can fuck off."
Prince Robert wiped the blood with the back of his hand and gestured to somewhere.
'Huh?'
Four high rank 8s rose out of nowhere and locked onto him.
'Teammates.'
Varian furrowed his brows and assumed a defensive stance.
Robert licked the blood at the corner of his lips as he looked at Varian with a regretful expression.
"Tear his limbs out and keep him awake. That bitch, his wife? Ravage her in front of him and give him a show. But keep her alive. Someone wants her."
The Prince commanded before turning his attention back to the Fortune Spirit.
The spirit resembled a 14-year old girl. Standing at 5'4'' in a dreamy white skin that was not in the category of mortals gave her the looks of a ghost. Green, brown and blue clothes were draped over her petite body, the design of the clothes closely resembling the plants, land and water regions here.
Fortune Spirit was looking at Prince Robert with teary eyes full of resentment.
"Why?" Her voice was still amateur and naive. "Why are you hurting me? I want to go back to my home…please stop."
"Bitch." Prince Robert spat in disgust. "Drop the act. You are nothing but a measly parasite. Accept your fate and die obediently. Or after that bitch, you'll be nex—"
Kacha!
Robert's face flung to the side all of a sudden and a loud sound rang.
"Cough, Aah, cough, cough, ahahahah."
Blood, drool and teeth fell from his broken jaw that could no longer be closed. Like a broken pipe, it all flowed down onto his shirt.
Varian blew his fist, as if he's dusting it off, and turned to the Robert's four subordinates who were fast approaching him.
The attack wasn't technically a physical punch but kinda was. Varian mixed the powers of space-time to 'carry' the punch across a few miles in space and seconds in time.
Robert wasn't prepared for such an attack and was caught off guard. If he was on guard against Varian, he could've easily blocked it. But even now, he had no idea what the heck happened.
"Don't die. Or I'll really regret not showing you hell."
Leaving those words to the absolutely dumbfounded Robert and confused Fortune Spirit, Varian shot forward.
"We'll see, you little shit!" Robert punched his jaw back into position and cracked his neck.
The aggresive prince and the sad spirit resumed their fight, giving their everything to win the other person and forgetting the world.
The sounds of their battle rang like a beautiful symphony.
When they took a break after a few minutes of intense bout, they could hear the sounds of fighting from afar where Varian was confronting the four powerhouses.
'I shouldn't have been so rash…'
Looking back, Prince Robert regretted his decision for a brief moment.
The Fortune Spirit was supposed to be only a peak rank 7 creature. Sometimes, even high rank 7.
It had an interseting property. The closer it got to the Fortune Anvil at the center of this world, the stronger it would get.
Due to the restrictions in place, the spirit would be alseep for most of the time. When it starts to wake up, the princes would be sent it to do what must be done.
Robert didn't feel any joy in fighting a weak rank 7 creature.
'I sacrificed my lifespan and almost definitely going to die in a few centuries…all for this little fight?'
Killing Varian was his primary motive. But the reason he was granted this power by Martial Saint Kong was to have the power to crush the competitors and take over the Fortune Spirit.
It didn't feel right to have such a big sacrifice to end with a pathetic fight.
So, the Prince did something so outrageous that it could go down in the annals of history if it ever got out.
He personally cleared some seals and allowed the Fortune Spirit to get closer to the center, bringing its power to the peak of rank 8.
It was a stupid decision but it didn't come out of nowhere.
Robert had lived his entire life being praised as a genius. His identity was built around that very word. If he's no longer a genius, he's no longer Robert.
That's why the defeat by 'Telor Xon Navak' hit Prince Robert as hard as it did. He couldn't accept losing to someone like that.
He had to be a genius. He must be.
And what better way to prove your genius than by fighting a special spirit borne from the Fortune Anvil itself?
'If I can defeat it at while in the same rank, then no one can doubt my qualifications anymore!'
It's also the reason he ordered his subordinates to not intervene. Thankfully, the battle wasn't intervened by Varian's appearance.
'Once I finish her, I will show him hell. I want to see him on his knees, in tears, kissing my feet.'
A surge of anticipation grew in the Prince's mind and his fists grew faster, strong and more lethal.
Not too far away from them, the first blows meant for assessment ended and the real battle began.
Four natal treasures were activated simultaneously. The quadraplets, as they seemed, could lock down the life force in a person's body.
While each natal treasure could only lockdown the lifeforce by half, they could be stacked.
The four siblings thus reduced Varian's lifeforce to a mere 6.25% of his original.
Even though he could struggle and bring out some more lifeforce to use, he wouldn't exceed 10%.
The four young men, all with the same face, smiled at the same time.
It was a scene straight out of a horror picture, one that would send shivers down even an adult's spine.
But in response to their gazes of assured victory and more importantly, their chilling, eerie smiles…
Varian smiled back.
