997 ...is dead!
Sia's vision blurred as tears pooled in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks like a broken dam.
Varian just fainted after being put in healing pod while Boo injected with the best healing medicines they had.
"V…Var…" Sia choked as her fingers brushed against the glass stopping her from touching Varian.
He was completely burnt. He looked more like a skeleton with a bit of flesh on than a living person. It's terrible.
She couldn't even imagine how much pain he had gone through in those long, cruel minutes.
"Sorry…" Sia lowered her head and cried. "I was late…else, you wouldn't have to suffer this much. So…rry."
Boo wondered if it should give Sia an anesthetic.
Clearly, her left arm bone was broken while the injuries on her abdomen were bleeding profusely. One of the attacks was dangerously close to her heart and made one wonder how recklessly she rushed through the formations.
As Sia's cries continued over Varian's state, Sarah sat quietly on the other side of the healing pod. She stared at his burnt face silently as it slowly regenerated back to semblance.
A few minutes passed and Sia's sobs still went on. Finally, Sarah sighed and said. "He'll be fine, Sia. He's been through worse."
"I can't keep watching him like this." Sia buried her face between her knees and muttered. "I-It hurts."
"It does." The lid opened and Varian got back onto his feet. He appeared fully healed as well as fully naked. As he touched his ribs, he winced. "Fuck. It does hurt. A lot."
Sia looked at him with grievance but didn't want to start an argument in the current situation.
"Boo." Varian waved his hand and the ghost ship headed back to Pluto.
The fog was gone. The human army, led by a few level 9s, was now attacking the Abyssal and Undead army of Pluto.
Surprisingly, the Archdukes and their surviving team of five level 9s were looking for the ghost ship instead of participating in the war.
In just a few minutes, a lot has changed!
But the most striking change was the epic battle at the center of Pluto.
Evander and the Undead leader clashed, stirring up storms and creating earthquakes with each punch and kick.
In just a few seconds, they circled around Pluto and returned to the starting point of their conflict.
It was a mind blowing battle of two giants. But upon a closer inspection, Evander was heavily injured and pushed back relentlessly. The only thing holding him up was his stubbornness to yield.
Varian's eyes narrowed at the scene and he teleported to the exit door. "The Undead Leader is stronger than expected. I have to go."
"Wait!" Sia called from behind. "Drink the damn potion! At least, it'd be an assurance."
Sarah stared at Varian with a scorching gaze, urging him silently.
Varian sighed and shook his head. "The only immediate benefit from the potion is its huge energy. It'll push my paths beyond peak level 9. But I still haven't figured a way to tackle my Sovereign state problem. So, if I take it now, I'll become a Sovereign in maybe three paths and lose the rest."
"What's more…" His voice grew solemn and an air of depression filled the air. "In case the Abyss Emperor comes, I might need it. It's the best potion you ever made, it might help me step into Celestial Rank once I'm ready."
Saying so, Varian jumped out of the ghost ship and appeared in front of the Archdukes and the five level 9s.
"Coward!"
"Kill!"
Ignoring their provocations, Varian swung his sword once and teleported to the Undead leader.
Sarah and Sia appeared in front of the Archdukes and looked at them with indifference.
"Bitches! You'll pay for his dee—arghh"
A thin red line spread across the bodies of the abyssals and all their legs were severed in a blink, spilling the thick blood into space.
Varian's attack wasn't to their vitals which they instinctively had high defense towards but legs, to be precise, the part below the knees.
So, the sword slash effectively struck and handicapped them all.
Sarah and Sia didn't miss the timing and unleashed their attacks. Taking these level 9s would be easy now, but they'd still need a couple of minutes to end them.
In those few minutes…
BOOM!
Earth split and the smoke clouds cleared with the swing of a simple sword.
The Undead leader clutched his bleeding arm while glaring at Varian, failing to hide the awe and surprise in his eyes.
…Just how? How did the boy grow so fast?
Varian gave him no respite and kept slashing his sword with the intent to kill.
Evander retreated into the ghost ship and fainted while his youngest apprentice began to drive the enemy he couldn't defeat all around Pluto while destroying the formations wherever he could.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The formations blew up into a cloud of smoke and gravel.
"Stop! You coward! Attack me! Not the formations!" The Undead Leader fiercely chased after Varian.
They were roughly equal in strength, but Varian had an upper hand. What's worse? He's way more versatile and effortlessly attacked other sites while maintaining an offensive against him.
Varian only doubled over.
The unfortunate abyssal and undead army that were in his sight received extra care and were slaughtered.
With the help of the level 9s leading them as well as their own morale, human army tore through the abyssals and undead.
"Time to end this."
Varian appeared at the center of the concentric circles and swung his sword at the four coffins.
"You pest! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" The Undead Leader quickly blocked off the sword slash. But the space around him rippled and a part of the attack teleported behind him.
"What the hell is that?!"
There was no answer. Only the sound of two coffins blasting into pieces.
The Undead leader lost it.
With a voice that edged on desperation and rage, he slammed his fist into the ground. "STOP!"
A formation covering whole Pluto lit up and expelled every human being, included Varian.
A transclucent barrier enveloped Pluto.
Varian regarded with a serious expression and ordered the army to retreat. "Regroup after two hours. The barrier is a tough nut to crack, but should be doable in two hours."
The undead and the abyssals sighed in relief as they collapsed on the ashen grounds of Pluto—the ash formed from the dead bodies of the billion humans.
But staring at Varian as he retreated, they had an urge to curse and cry. This wasn't ending, it's just begun!
More than half the formations around them were utterly broken and half of the remaining were partially destroyed.
With Varian and his girls cutting down so many level 9s, humans actually had more level 9s now!
Facing against a bunch of more level 9s, the abyssal and undead army was bound to lose.
They knew it too. That's why they prayed and hoped for something to tide them through the misery of certain death.
Perhaps the call was answered because just a few minutes after retreat, an exclamation rang in the ghost ship.
"S-Sovereign Albert is dead!'
