A thin transparent veil of light appeared before Mane's towering figure to intercept the Triple Element Breath Attack. The powerful energy of the White Fox struggled for a while, trying its best to break the veil apart and reach its intended target, but it was to no avail. The thin veil looked weak, but its tenacity was not to be underestimated. The two battled for a couple of seconds, before the Triple Element Breath Attack was absorbed into the veil under the dumbfounded expressions of the Slender Cat and the White Fox.
Mane grinned fiendishly as the Triple Element Breath Attack was rapidly reproduced in the veil and returned to its owner with the same blinding speed with which it arrived.
"He can actually use that?" the Human Spiritualist was slightly surprised by the events that were unfolding before her very eyes. As a Spiritualist she understood better than the two battle beasts what had happened, and the difficulty of the skill Mane had exploited. There were many Leases, and each had a different level of strength. There were Low Level Leases, Mid-Level Leases, and High Level Leases. And one's level dictated just what kind of Leases were made available to him or her. Above these levels were King Leases and Emperor Leases which were of a different class all on their own.
But it still wasn't that simple. To be able to use a Lease, one had to have affinity with the Lease and understand its workings thoroughly. Having an abundance of Chaos was never enough. Otherwise, one could just fire of Leases without any care in the world. Besides, King and Emperor Level Leases were like Glows. Even Spiritual Emperors and Empresses couldn't possess more than four Emperor Level Leases and ten King Level Leases. They were powerful and highly demanding and could easily overcome the mind and destroy it if one's Spirit wasn't strong enough. Only Spiritual Gods had the capability to hold more than the said amount of King and Emperor Level Leases within their strong minds.
King Level Leases were rare and even she, a Spiritual Queen, had only two King Leases – not like she could handle more than that. And that is why Mane took her by surprise with his technique. It was because she could feel that Reflexionem was a King Level Lease! It was a King Level Lease, and that meant that she couldn't hear it even if she listened actively for it. And that was because she had no knowledge of the Lease. That's how they worked. Otherwise it would have been easy to come by King and Emperor Level Leases. One would just have to steal them off one's opponent. Mane was using a lot of Chaos, mainly because it was abundant in this space, but the Human Spiritualist could tell that his level was still lower than hers. He was a High Level Scholar yet he could use King Level Leases! If not for the fact that Mane had surprised her over and over again, her shock would have caused her to lose control over the Lease she was preparing, and she would have had to start all over again.
"Supremes are really different," she mumbled with a small sigh, marveling at the superior talent of those given such high levels of talent. Of course she had no way of knowing that it was because of Basileus that Mane was able to use such Leases when he actually had little understanding of them.
"But even our Supreme isn't as freakish as this boy," she furrowed her brows as she gazed upon Mane's titanic form. "It seems I made the right choice," she added and returned all her concentration to the Lease she was preparing.
The eyes of the White Battle Fox were filled with terror as she watched the attack she understood better than anyone, returning to her in a treacherous manner that she couldn't understand. Her tail puffed up as a red light gathered at its tip. This was her other ability – Ray Gun. A screeching sound was heard as a small red light was hastily gathered at the tip of her tail before being fired at the Triple Element Breath Attack.
*Boom*
The Ray Gun was a powerful tool, but it couldn't be compared to the Triple Element Breath Attack when it came to destruction. After all, one took quite a while to prepare, whereas the other could be prepared and executed in less than a second. The blast from the Ray Gun slightly changed the trajectory of the Triple Element Breath Attack and took a bit of sting out of the thing's power, but it couldn't do any more than that.
But the White Fox wasn't one to give up. She knew the blast radius of the Triple Element Breath Attack. Even if she was to escape now, with her speed she will still be within range. The blast was so powerful that it could even get to the Slender Cat who was trying his hardest to open up the distance between the two of them as rapidly as he could. So she kept firing blasts from her Ray Gun at the powerful elemental ball headed her way, hoping to deviate its path and direct it into the barrier above. This was because she was too close to the edge of the platform. Even if she ducked and avoided the attack, the barrier was right behind her and the explosion would get to her, causing quite the amount of damage to her.
*Boom*
*Boom*
*Boom*
Although the difference between the Ray Gun's firing speed and recharge time was almost zero, the White Fox was only able to fire three shots before the Triple Element Breath Attack finally reached her. Although its trajectory had been changed, it was only slight. And the Triple Element Breath was still on course to smash into her.
The eyes of the White Fox flashed with helplessness. She finally understood just how her unfortunate opponents felt when they had to deal with this attack. However, those very eyes soon grew steely as she resolved herself to duck and avoid the blow so it could crash into the barrier behind her. Right now she could only hope that the blast wouldn't be as bad as she thought. If not, she would soon join those she had killed in this very same manner, and face their wrath for such an unjust death. However when the Breath was upon her, a thin barrier appeared before her.
"Sigillum Deorum!"
*Boom*
The powerful ball composed of fire, wind and metal struck the barrier head on. And the impact shook the platform, causing it to shake and wobble for the first time since the battle had begun. For even the three enormous beings upon the platform hadn't caused it to shake so.
The barrier that intercepted the attack quickly extended into a sealing sphere and contained the explosion of the Triple Element Breath Attack, and then it flew rapidly towards the section of the barrier. It was only containing the explosion, but it couldn't hold it back for long. Soon the spherical seal reached the barrier. And just in time too, for it was melting rapidly thanks to the sheer amount of power contained within the attack it was trying to hold back.
*Boom*
The containment ball gave up before it could reach the barrier, and the powerful bomb that was the Triple Element Breath Attack consumed the space above. However, sphere had done a great job. For it had sent the attack so far up that those below didn't fall into the attack's range, much to their relief.
"Don't send out energy attacks like that anymore! I cannot do that again for a while!" The Human Spiritualist warned. There were several large beads of sweat upon her beautiful face. Her chest heaved up and down in exhaustion as she struggled to maintain her hold over the lengthy Lease that was almost completed. What she cast was also a King Level Lease – one of the two she knew. It was similar to the one she was preparing now, and the only reason why she didn't have to chant so lengthily to activate it was because she had stored it within her staff.
The staff she wielded was a Divine Weapon capable of storing several Low Level Leases, an uncountable number of Mid-Level Leases, and about 20 High Level Leases. However, it could only store one King Lease. That was its limit. As for Emperor Level Leases, even if she knew any, her staff wouldn't be able to contain them. She had chosen to store this particular one because it was a defensive Lease and could save her life when it mattered most, unlike the offensive Lease she was preparing. And she was almost done with that one too. Her chant had ended long ago. It was gathering the forces of Chaos that was taking so long. The fact that she had been intercepted a few times, generating barriers for the careless battle beast duo she was working with, had delayed her. But she had gathered almost enough now.
"Seal of the Gods," Mane mumbled upon witnessing his plans being destroyed yet again. With Basileus he knew so much about Leases that he could hear the King Lease the woman chanted. A very long chant was actually required for the Lease, but Mane recognised that the staff in her hands had shortened the chant to only its core.
"That must mean whatever she is preparing is greater than Ignis Draco. After all, it has taken so long for her to get it ready. What impresses me is that even with Basileus I cannot make out the other Lease's chant"
That was correct. Mane was very curious about the Lease she was preparing because although he had Basileus activated, he couldn't hear the chant for the Lease! It was incredible, for Basileus covered a wide range of Leases and knew almost everything. Yet it couldn't recognise this particular Lease. Mane should have been worried but he was not. And that was because he knew something that those two battle beasts didn't know.
*Roar*
Speaking of the battle beasts, the White Fox was utterly furious with what had happened. She was grateful for the human's assistance, but she was infuriated by the fact that she had to receive assistance to deal with her own attack. And she was eager to make Mane understand just how much he had angered her. And so she rushed at him with reckless abandon.
The Slender Cat wasn't best pleased by the situation either. He had his pride, and didn't want to gang up on Mane but he had to. That was the only way he felt this boy could be taken down. So he too rushed towards Mane swiftly.
"Good. I will face you with all my might then," Mane smiled before activating another Lease.
"Veni, exaudi vocationem meam. Deus Armis!"
"Augendae: Deus Armis!"