Chapter 247
The whole area had turned into a miniature sea and water magic was coalescing around Axel from all around.
With Axel's powerlevels skyrocketing, the First was no longer so relaxed.
Seeing that thing would get troublesome if Axel was allowed to continue, he was forced to take action.
"I've tried to convince you." Seemingly having had enough, he raised his hand again. "But, if it violence you choose, then it is violence you shall have."
Dazzling white light engulfed the area as the same destructive magic was unleashed at Axel.
But this time, Axel was ready to match it.
The water responded to his call, transforming at his command in order to block the powerful incoming force.
A shield manifested in front of Axel, made out of compressed water, and its properties altered to point of making it more durable than metal and extremely absorbent.
The attack that had destroyed the statue hit the shield, causing a huge explosion.
The first few layers were directly destroyed, but the rest held.
'Damn!'
Axel was blown away, the rest of his shield disappearing very fast.
The more the water, the more powerful his bloodline.
Magic from all the water bodies flowed towards Axel and the shields properties changed, turning more durable, until the first's energy beam finally dissipated.
"You've got… to be kidding me."
But even though Axel has survive, the shock he recieved was something difficult to recover from.
That magic… there was something weird about it. It took far, far more power to stop that than he had expected. Even being in close proximity of it gave Axel a bad feeling.
"So, you were able to defend that?" Asked the first, letting out a sigh. "It just makes me proud and frustrated at the same time. You should have just agreed to join me."
"Well, let me ask YOU, why would you choose the Entity?" Axel decided to ask. "Why are YOU on the Entity's side in the first place? Don't tell me you don't know that it will only lead you to destruction. And don't tell me you can't resist it."
Axel was genuinely curious about this. He knew that the First was definitely completely lucid, just like Sctius. He could clearly see the difference between these two and the other Kraken overseers, who were clearly brainwashed.
And the reason behind it is, both CAN resist the Entity, one with his Mental power and one with his Soul power.
Scitius was doing it just because he wanted to show off to the Kingdom that had rejected him. But, Axel couldn't understand the First's motivation.
But the first shook his head. "Well, there are two reasons. But to know them, you'd have to survive first," he said, refusing to elaborate.
[Soul Sword]
A sword made out of a translucent substance appeared in his hand, which was radiating the same dangerous energy that destroyed the Statue. The blade looked ethereal, as if anything would simply pass through it.
The old man slowly started to float towards Axel, but in the second he was already in front of him, swinging his sword.
Having the Trident blades wrapped around his arms in order to use them as short-swords, Axel parried the attack with one blade, ready to follow up with the next one. But, as soon as the blade touched the Trident, Axel noticed two things.
First, despite his old age, the old man was still fit as a fiddle, as evidenced by the sheer amount of power behind that swing. Aslot and Atasis were only strong because of the skill [Water Body] which basically gives them as much strength as the amount of water they can handle.
But the First didn't have that skill. And yet, the power behind that blow actually made Axel turn on the [Water Body] on instinct, feeling the ominous energy.
And while he was blown away by the force, the second thing was the loud exclamation of the Trident.
"It hurts!"
The Trident's blade which had made contact with the ethereal weapon was twitching in protest.
"What the hell?!" Axel was baffled. The Royal Trident is a century old relic, with literally no scratch on it so far. How the heck was the first able to damage it?
"He has gotten a LOT more annoying than before!" Exclaimed the Royal Trident. "It should not be possible."
"Surprised?" Asked the First, swing his sword, causing ripples in space. "This… this is one of the reasons I am on the other side. Because I pursue destruction. Of course, you wouldn't know what that means."
Actually, Axel understood what he meant. For Soul is not trained like the body or mind. To pursue Soul magic, there is a path or a concept that you have to pursue. And that concept defines who you are.
'Fuck… so the destructive power that's enough to even hurt the Royal Trident…'
Axel got it now. The reason the First achieved this level of damage dealing is because he is pursuing destruction as his soul concept. Destroying the three worlds will only make him stronger.
It was also now that Axel confirmed that the person he was fighting was a certified psychopath, certified destructophile.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Not giving Axel the time to adjust, the First charged at Axel again, slashing his sword again and again.
Each time Axel parried, the blades of the Trident would vibrate in protest. Not wanting to get his newly obtained relic destroyed, Axel upped his mental concentration. A layer of water formed on the Trident's blade, trying to protect it.
The water was getting disintegrated instantly, but more would replace them, absorbing the damage from the soul sword.
The First's sword wielding skills were phenomenal.
But, having honed himself against the likes of Aslot and now having the water body and three blades of Trident combined with the close quarters combat skills that he already had, Axel was able create a stalemate despite the disadvantage he had due to the First's [Soul Blade].
"Don't think it'll be that easy." But the First wasn't going to let this continue. Suddenly, the [Soul Sword] passed right through Axel's blade, taking him by surprise. Axel dodged on instinct, but he was still nicked by a fraction of the blade.
And that… that wasn't enough to cut through his armor, missing his [Water Body] by hair's breadth. '
He felt the energy upclose on his skin and saw simply disintegrating anything touched.
!!!
Alarm bells rang inside Axel's head as he realize what would have happened if he was a little late.
That would have been bad. Because despite the Armor's remarkable defense, the Soul Blade managed to pierce through.
The First continued pressed on, trying to capitalize on his gain.
But Axel was even more careful now, keeping a fair distance from the [Soul Blade] by increasing the length of his blades.
After reading the First's moves, Axel finally had the room to counter.
The water molecules compressed together and started to resonate, creating a miniature version of the giant blade that had drained Axel's mental energy the last time.
Only this time, it was easier as it was on a much, much smaller scale, the Trident's blades were a strong base, saving him the trouble of making one on own, and his water affinity had increased further after that fight.
Strange magic waves started to radiate from the three blades of the Trident, causing Aslot to frown.
Now, it wasn't the Trident that was getting the blade, but the Soul Blade instead.
?
The First narrowed his eyes at his blades, separating for a brief moment. "Have you actually.... bonded to the Mind's Eye?"
Water is not supposed to be any match against his Soul energy that has been developed over decades and is lethal enough to give damage to the Royal Relic itself.
The only reason Axel can do this is by manipulating water at a molecular level, an extremely taxing ability, and that too, to the highest level.
And, he's doing it to three blades at once, while controlling the movements of those blades, AND fight against him with perfect skills.
How is that possible to do without the mind's eye?
That's what made him suspect that Axel was using the Mind's Eye.
But to that, Axel just scoffed. "Trust me, if I ever manage to bond to that Relic, it'd be a LOT more apparent."
Axel's mental power was already at a Level that was difficult to wrap one's head around. If he ever managed to bond with the Mind's Eye, it would be a complete disaster for his enemies.
But then, the First tilted his head, seemingly listening to something. "Oh, "it" says you can do a lot more than that. Now it makes a bit more sense why Scitius is dead. Looks like I can't take it easy anymore."
The First's body lit up with the same energy as his blade.
And then,
BOOM
Axel was already keeping his distance now, but despite everything, he still couldn't completely defend himself against this one. The power was too much.
He did manage to stick his Trident in the way in the last instant, but he was blown away by the resultant blade, the soul blade managing to slice through a small portion of his body.
He had [Water Body] on, so technically, it shouldn't have hurt. But this energy had this destructiveness to it that targeted the very essence of his being, giving him unimaginable pain.
Axel doubled down in pure agony, cursing out loud.
But, he was also someone who had survived [Soul Extinction] and awakened freakish tenacity.
Amber magic revolved around him, fighting back the little bit of First's Soul energy that had managed to go through his defenses.
Axel slowly straightened, looking back at the First with gritted teeth. "That one… was clearly out of syllabus."
Axel didn't the know that the first would be crazy enough to be able to use that destructive energy to power his own body,
It raised his physical combat to a that Axel couldn't quite match through any means right now.
But while Axel was complaining about the First's overpowered attack, the First was even more frustrated Axel how nonchalantly Axel was able to shrug off his [Soul Energy] that should have been enough to kill anyone else.
The First stretched out his body, moving his joints. "You're lucky. If only I was not so old, I'd have killed you with a follow up."
???
He could have done more?!
Axel thanked the Lucky stars that the First was old.
A beam of similar energy was shot at Axel, this time being much more concentrated.
But, Axel was already anticipating this, considering that this was enough to break through his defenses. The space was still being extended, filling up with water. And now, Axel was no longer passive.
A huge crystal barrel formed in front of his shield, and a water jet similar to the one he had used against Zeta was shot out, precisely meeting the First's beam halfway.
This time, the resultant force of the collision was so destructive that the space itself cracked, and the shockwave created a huge crater in a one kilometer radius around them.
"What the—"
Axel's super-pressured super-compressed water jet was still not strong enough as it started to get pushed back by the First's energy beam.
A destructive force started to travel against the stream, dismantling the flow of the water and reaching closer to Axel.
"Can't believe I'm doing this," muttered Axel, the veins of his forehead burst out. As a result three more water hyper jets formed, targeting the first from different directions.
But, his hard work brought results.
The First was caught off-guard, suddenly having to block three of the same jets at once. The space was locked by Axel as well, making it impossible for him to escape in time.
But...
Just when it seemed the first was out of options, a layer of translucent plasma emerged from his body, covering him. When the water jet hit the layer, they seemed to vanish into, unable to go past.
Ripples spread through the layer as the water jet began to continue to bombard the third while he was locked down in the place through Space control.
Just as the barrier seemed like it could no longer hold on, the first shook his head before the tentacles on his body lit up brightly.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Instantly, a massive amount of energy was released in three different directions, blowing away Axel's Water Arc Canons.
The First now stood with the Tentacles and the marking emitting blinding light.
"You... actually forced me to use the Entity's powers."
???
'Excuse me?'
Use the Entity's power?
Now?
Then, what about until now...?
Color drained from Axel's face as the realization hit him.
So, the insane power he has been fighting against so far with all his strength…
Was all just the First's personal power.
He… hasn't even used the Entity's power yet.
...
A.N.:POWERSTONES !!!
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