Elton and Mark were engaged in a conversation where Mark was happily talking about his future plans when Elton stood up from his seat, his eyes peering out the window. Mark's upbeat expression transformed into a serious one as he stared at Elton with intent. With a nod of his head, Elton affirmed Mark's thoughts that he had yet to voice.
"Well, looks like the guest of honour is here, I should go greet him," Elton spoke with a hint of anticipation.
"And we'll do our part here..." Mark remained seated, weaving the fingers of both of his hands together Mark rested his chin on top, supported by his elbow against the table. If the Kingdom of Rior was truly involved then there was a high chance that spies had already infiltrated the inside of the city.
The array was capable of cutting off all forms of communication with the outside world, so when the spies feel their plan to have deterred from their original expected route, they are likely to make some sort of move to determine the situation. Mark and the others have stationed guards with this in mind, instructing them to apprehend any suspicious individual and or group immediately.
Elton disappeared from sight, without a trace, vanishing into thin air.
********************
In the outskirts of the Port City of Miles that was currently hidden by the Flyrogenesis array.
Niez, a violet-eyed young and petite boy brimming with a deep hatred for the Empire hovered in the air. Thanks to the array, Niez was unable to perceive the existence of the city and was at a loss.
"What the hell?!" Niez cursed, closing his eyes as he replayed the information he was provided within his mind. "The coordinates, and geological terrain all match... So, where is the damn city?" He mumbled in confusion.
Niez opened his eyes which were no longer violet, a noticeable crimson glow painting his pupils. His senses pulsed out across the terrain with Niez as the radius as he scanned for unusual forces in the area. The result was the same as before, no city, and nothing unusual as far as Niez could sense things.
"Did they mess up? Those damn good for nothing!" His furious voice boomed throughout the region. "Do I have no choice but to retreat and try again?" Niez mulled his options over in frustration.
The only other city that would incapacitate the Empire's economy on the level of the Port City, if it were to be destroyed, was the Capital. Niez always had the option of attempting an attack there... If he wanted to meet his demise, that is. Though one of the main pillars of the Empire's economy, the Port City of Miles could not hold even a candle to the Capital's defence capabilities. If he were to prematurely attack the Capital, Niez surmised that he would meet resistance from countless high-ranking divine beings, that may match or surpass Niez's own level. In addition, the headquarters of the Heavenly Guild was located there.
"Looks like I have no choice but to go back!" Niez spat, enraged. "I'm gonna have more than a few words to say to those bastards when I get back!" Giving up his plans, an irritated Niez turned around, deciding to retreat.
"Where are we going?" A voice resounded from behind Niez and he whipped his head back in mild surprise to ascertain the source of the sudden sound.
In the distance, a figure of a young man, with dark blue hair and blood-red eyes, a well-featured face with the right proportions, levitated on Niez's level, a small distance of a few hundred meters separating the two. It was Elton.
"Who are you?" Niez asked with disdain. His plans to destroy the Port City of Miles to financially cripple the Empire had been ruined due to the miscalculations of the idiots that proposed the plan. He was not in the mood for making idle talk with whoever the man who stood before him was.
"Why the sour look?" Elton naturally maintained his indifferent expression as he pressed Niez. "Did I ruin your plan?"
"You... What did you say...?!" Niez's previous disinterest in the man saw a complete 180 and a certain thought surfaced in his mind. 'Those dumbasses might be idiots... but they aren't so incompetent that they would give me the wrong coordinates... Could this guy be involved...?'
Niez continued to gaze at the man in front of him, his expression becoming much milder as he pondered.
"So, is the Kingdom of Rior behind this?" Elton questioned without any reserve, asking Neiz for information about his backers outright.
Niez was taken aback at first, but soon, a devilish smile spread across his face and he mumbled under his breath, "Looks like I might not have to return after all."
"Hmmm? What was that?" Elton interrogated, only catching bits and pieces of the words he spoke. "That smile looks like you've figured something out... So, are you going to answer? Is the Kingdom of Rior supporting you?"
"You... Tell me what you know and I might just refrain from destroying you," Niez ignored Elton's questions and demanded answers to his own.
"I'm the one who asked first, but I guess it's fine," Elton ignored the finer details. "So, what would you like to know?"
Niez's expression normalised and he responded to Elton, "What happened to the Port City of Miles and what do you know about it?" He queried.
"I hid it away," Elton answered nonchalantly. "Hid it away?" Niez tilted his head in confusion. "Well, whatever... If you hid it, then you can reveal it too, right?"
"That is correct," Elton affirmed.
"Great," Niez's expression contorted into one of pure hatred as he glared at Elton with narrowed eyes burning with a silent and contained rage, his voice sharp, "I'm gonna need you to show me where it is."
"That's not happening," Elton shot down Neiz's request which sounded more like a demand instantly, not giving it the least bit of thought.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Niez warned Elton with a piercing glare. "I'll ask one last time, answer me with something useful."
"Something useful, huh?" Elton murmured. "How about you make me," Elton smiled softly in a mocking manner.
Neiz's eyes grew in rage and his voice boomed as he charged at Elton, "This is what you asked for, don't blame me after!" He moved at high speeds and retracted his arm, once at a close enough rage he propelled his fist at Elton.
To his surprise, the strike was casually blocked by the palm of Elton's hands, his body emanating at first a dim white glow that soon grew to devour the area.
"What?!" Niez reflexively backed away, increasing the distance between the both of them as the light slowly faded, returning Neiz his vision. He quickly looked forward to confirming Elton's position, to avoid and counter any attacks that may be executed by Elton in Neiz's blinded state. Elton in question stood in the same position, not having moved despite Niez and his assaults, his form different from before.
"You don't want your opponent to be weak, right? I'll take on this form, provide me with some entertainment, okay?" Elton's bold voice heavily echoed through the area, disappearing into the distance and never echoing back. The white glow had become slightly brighter as Elton's form continued to change. His dark blue hair turned pure white, growing longer and extending down to his waist, the pupil of his eyes turned a beautifully alluring silver, his nails took on a milky white colour, and his overall complexion paled considerably. Elton folded his arms, allowing two pairs of bulky translucent white arms twice the length of his regular arms to form on his back above and below his normal pair of arms, completing Elton's transformation.
"Form 1002, Anti-god Demonic White Asura!" Elton's words shook the space and a storm of white aura burst forth from his body before calming down and fading away.
"Entertaiment... huh...?" Neiz said through gritted teeth. "Acting like I'm your plaything. Y'know what? I'm gonna destroy you, that should help my situation a little since you don't look like you wanna tell me what I wanna know," Neiz decided as his anger reached an all-time high because of Elton's confidence.
"I'll listen..." Elton paused, "Defeat me and I'll do what you say," he looked at Neiz, awaiting his reaction.
"Fine!" Neiz agreed, accepting Elton's offer with exasperation. "I'll play along with you. Better keep your end of the deal!"
"Oh, I will, don't worry," Elton reassured. "Just so you know, you messed with the wrong guy, don't come crying later!" With a cry, Neiz stretched his arms before him, releasing a large beam of yellow energy that was thrice his height and twice as wide, in Elton's direction. Elton slightly raised his top right translucent arms, the arm bulged as Elton clenched it into a tight fist and he swung it at the incoming beam, blowing it out of existence with brute strength.
"Tch... Looks like you weren't just acting," Neiz clicked his tongue with slight frustration. "But... If this is all you have, then I'll still come out on top," he added.
"Who said I tried just now?" Elton questioned Neiz with an expressionless face, wondering what gave him the idea that that was his limit. "That was just a casual swing with barely any power put into it," Elton corrected Neiz's misconception. "How about you actually try, at this point I'm starting to think that this form was overkill."
"Well, since you are asking for it, and since I don't have the time to play around with you, I'll get a little serious," Neiz closed his eyes and exhaled a deep breath to calm his mind, focusing on manifesting his next attack. A bright yellow flame ignited at the tip of each of Neiz's fingers, gradually spreading out and enshrouding his entire body.
"Mmmmm~? Looks interesting," Elton murmured under his breath, a small amused smile growing across his face. [Divine Technique: Divine Pheonix- The Lord Of Yellow Flames] The flame erupted and moulded into the physique of a large Phoenix as it darted toward Elton with a mighty flap of its wings. The Phoenix let out a cry as it opened its large beak, intent on devouring Elton whole.
Elton used his upper right translucent arms to grab onto the phenoxy's upper beak and his lower left translucent arm to stop its lower beak, preventing the phoenix from snapping its mouth shut.
"Still not enough, huh?" Neiz quietly wondered, seeing that a B-rank Divine Technique was easily defended against by Elton. Pushing the jaw farther and farther apart, Elton eventually ripped the Pheonix in half, its body dispersing back to flames that extinguished itself.
"Looks like you'll have to get more than 'a little serious,'" Elton advised with a bored look. "It's starting to get boring for me."
"Well, sorry about that," Neiz apologised with a sarcastic tone. "I was just testing you until now, and it looks like you passed. Congratulations! I'll take you on for real," having decided Elton to be a fairly strong foe, Niez decided to cease holding back and earnestly eliminate the obstacle in front of him.
"Should've done this from the start," Elton answered with a sigh. From the previous two displays of Neiz's power, Elton was unsure if he should retain his current form or transform it into a weaker form, but with Neiz's latest words, he decided to remain as he is. "Show me what you have in store, and here's to hoping that it entertains me," Elton looked forward to Neiz's attacks optimistically, hoping that it would be on the level if not at a higher level than the Anti-god Demonic White Asura form of his.
"Appear before the one who calls your name. Allow myself to paint my imagination with thy ink of creation," Niez calmly chanted, calling upon something. "@#%%@%$!!!!"
"Interesting, a divine name..." Elton speculated aloud. "A Divine Artifact, I see."
Niez held his hand out in front of himself. Black ink spiralled out from the palm of his hand in all directions and a paintbrush took shape above it. The slim paintbrush with soft and long thin bristles was coated in a bright gold colour, and a small black gem was implanted onto the ferrule, reflecting small fragments of light and glimmering in a myriad of colours.
Divine Artifacts are objects that possess a sentient will of their own. They are born with a Divine Name, just like all Divine Beings, with the exception that they are all aware of their Divine Traits from the moment of their birth. A Divine Artifact, however, is a tool. It may possess a will of its own, but the will cannot use its body. For them to use their powers, it is compulsory for them to boast of a master. They own a will and therefore designate their own masters. Once a Divine Artifact acknowledges a being as its master, it discloses its divine name and thus forms a covenant with its new master, allowing the being to call upon its Divine Name at any moment when its powers are required.
"Art: Heavenly Palm of Black Ink," Neiz spoke, swinging his paintbrush before him with a smooth well-done flick of his wrist. Clouds of black-shaded ink swirled around a large opening in the sky and from within the opening, plummeted down at Elton, a large palm that appeared to have jumped out from an ink painting.
"Recreating Buddha's signature attack, huh?" Elton contemplated quietly with minimal amusement. "But the attack power seems to be only 75% of the original?" Elton was not the slightest bit worried, in this form even Buddha's nirvana palm full force would not be able to deal any damage, much less an imitation with three-quarters of the strength of the original.
"Hahaha, of course, my imagination isn't so strong that it can fully recreate that monster's attack," a deranged look dominated his face, his eyes grew hysterical and his voice sounded maniacal, his uncontrolled emotions poured out without restraint. "It should be enough to take care of you...!" His unfaltering confidence was accompanied by a feverish shout, "Know that the empire is next!!"
Elton used a palm thrust of his upper translucent arm to counter the plunging impersonation of Buddha's palm, halting its descent. "Just so you know, I wouldn't consider this attack enough to 'take care' of me, I believe you can see that too?" Elton harboured no emotion in his voice and emptily looked at the flabbergasted Niez who was too dumbfounded to even form proper words.
'No way!!! He stopped it just like that?! That attack is at least a high AA-rank!! Impossible!!' in spite of Niez's refusal to accept the situation, the truth was that Elton had stopped and still continued to stop the palm with pure force. The translucent arm did not budge, able to easily withstand something of this calibre.
Elton's lower left translucent arms stretched out into a small white portal just big enough for the hand to fit through, the space around it distorting, and withdrew a simple long red staff with vivid golden caps on both ends. The arm held the staff vertically out diagonally in front of Elton with one of the ends directed at the ink palm above.
"Grow!" Elton firmly commanded and in response the staff rocketed to the sky, impaling the large palm, its tip disappearing from view. The palm dissolved into regular black ink without a proper form and vanished into thin air. "Shrink!" Elton ordered an opposing command to the previous one and the staff instantly diminished back to its former size.
Elton spun the staff around at rapid speeds and allocated it beside him, generating a large long-lasting shockwave.
"T-That staff...!" Niez blurted out, flabbergasted. "Doesn't that belong to the 'Monkey King,' Sun Wukong?!" Niez jabbed a finger in Elton's direction, more specifically at the staff Elton's translucent hand gripped onto.
"Ryu jingu bang," Elton nodded, affirming Niez's statement. He momentarily raised the staff before his eyes and returned it beside him after a quick glance.
Ryu jingu bang is the common name of the Divine Artifact used by the Monkey King, Son Wukong. Weighing a staggering 7 960 kilograms, it is one of the most feared Divine Artifacts known.
"Why do you have that?!" Niez exclaimed, his mind still in a state of semi-disbelief.
"The Heavenly Guild allowed me to keep it after I took care of the troublemaker..." Elton answered plainly.
"You took care of the 'Monkey King?!'" Niez retorted back with another question, treating Elton's answer as some form of a joke in his mind. "You're telling me you defeated 'The Greatest Sage, Heaven's Equal?!'"
'The Greatest Sage, Heaven's Equal': One of the many titles Sun Wukong is known by, alongside 'The Monkey King', and 'Victorious Fighting Buddha', among many others.
Long ago, when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc across Deva-gati, Elton accepted a commission from the Heavenly Guild to eliminate Sun Wukong at the request of the Divine Beings habituating in that land.
"I guess you could technically say that..." Elton replied vaguely. "I don't know if you can call that me defeating him... He surrendered after we traded a few blows..." Elton paused and then added as an afterthought, "He was sealed by Buddha after that."
"S-Surrenderd?" Niez was unsure as to how to accept this information.
"It was a disappointing fight, really. Since he was wreaking havoc and everything, I thought I could try a stronger form on him, but that just ruined things," Elton shook his head in dismay, recalling the incident reminded Elton of the disappointment he had felt after Sun Wukong's surrender.
Niez was at a loss, he could not believe what he had heard. If Elton was telling the truth, then that would mean Niez would not be able to defeat him without the use of 'that' power. However, 'that' power comes with a great price, it was also the reason why he was in the form of a petite boy who lacked any air of intimidation despite his prowess. Niez could not think of any reason for Elton to be lying to him, not to mention he easily stopped an imitation of Buddha's palm. While it may have been an imitation, it was a high AA-rank attack, meaning whoever stopped it would have to be at a higher level to do so.
Niez gritted his teeth as he grew impatient. 'It doesn't matter what happens to me... as long as the Empire is destroyed,' Niez resolved himself. He had to destroy the Empire, no matter the price, no matter the cost. Even if he had to give himself as payment, he would do it. All to avenge Elena, all to destroy the Imperial family once and for all!