Elsa's face turned red after being questioned by Atlas, and she lowered her head in shame.
"Don't say anything else," Dion said to Atlas. "Let's get past this Alex character first, and then we can take her back to denounce him."
He continued to wave his long blade as he spoke. He had already revealed half of his saber technique and used a third of his genuine essence, but Alex seemed to be getting stronger as he fought.
Atlas was in the same boat as Dion. He looked at Alex's relaxed face, and then he gave a sudden shout, and his body soared into the sky. He lifted the longsword and used it to trace a symbol in the air.
After he had sketched the symbol eight times, eight swords appeared in the air. Some stood up vertically, some were horizontal, and some pointed directly at Alex.
Atlas shouted a loud command, and those eight swords rushed toward Alex.
For an instant, the sky and earth changed color. A huge amount of energy filled the space, shaking the entire Tomb. Even Dion, who was standing to the side, cast a sidelong glance at his surroundings.
Then he turned to look at Alex with pity in his eyes and said, "No one else can control swords like Atlas. His skill is ranked among the top five in the divine realm. Your talent has gotten you this far, but you don't know how powerful we can be. You'll be going down this time."
He looked at the strange bird that was still circling in the sky. "That bird is really annoying me," he said, scowling at Bernie. "I'm going to shoot him down from there, pluck him, and eat him for dinner."
Bernie seemed to understand what had been said. It made a shrill noise of disdain, and then it flapped its wings and threw two blades of wind at Dion.
The blades weren't powerful, but they were still intimidating. Annoyed, Dion turned around and slashed at the giant bird.
Bernie screamed. It knew that, with its divine-level strength, it could only dodge the attacks for so long. Maya, who was standing on the back of the enormous bird, came to its aid. She raised her hand, and a stream of purple gas surged from it. Her long sleeves fluttered as the gas collided with the energy coming from the saber. Her attack shattered the blade and saved Bernie's life.
Dion looked at Maya, and then he frowned as he realized that she was a warrior with three golden cores. He was about to go on the attack again when he heard a loud bang behind him.
The eight swords under Atlas's command had collided with Alex's power.
They carried huge momentum and blasted a large hole in the ground where Alex had been standing.
Dion squinted as he looked at Atlas through the dust. He tried to ask if he had succeeded, but then he found that he was gasping for air. His eyes were filled with doubt as he looked back at his companion.
With his substantial power behind him, Atlas had been confident that he would win the fight. But he could sense that his opponent was still strong, whereas Atlas had used nearly half his genuine essence to create his spell.
The two men from the divine realm were puzzled, but Bernie didn't have the slightest doubt in Alex's abilities and could see exactly what was going on from up high. It decided to have a bit of fun and swooped low over the heads of Atlas and Dion.
They heard a couple of coughs, and then Alex's voice rang out. "Your sword technique isn't bad, and it was quite well done. It's just that your speed is a bit slow." Their heads turned in unison toward Alex.
Alex was flapping one hand back and forth in front of his face to expel the cloud of dust. In his other hand, he still held the celestial staff. He climbed out of the hole, step by step. "You've cultivated your skills to perfection," he said, smiling. "It'll be an honor to take them from you."
Alex appeared beside Atlas in a flash. Atlas couldn't understand how Alex was so fast and still seemed to have genuine essence in abundance.
Before Atlas could react, the genuine essence that had gathered in Alex swarmed into him like a surging river and took control.
Another stream of power seized his mind, preventing him from detonating his golden cores, and allowing Alex to take them. After that, Atlas existed no more.
Dion was horrified when he saw Atlas disappear so suddenly.
Alex grinned as he turned to Dion. "Now, it's your turn." He did his disappearing act again and then reformed in front of Dion, throwing a punch as he landed.
Dion didn't even have time to block the punch, let alone swing his sword.
When the punch landed, he felt as if he had crashed into a vast mountain. He was sent flying and lost a large amount of genuine essence in the process. Terrified, he looked at Alex as if he had seen a ghost.
Alex had been fighting with the two of them for a good half hour, and Dion wondered why Alex's essence was still so strong. But he had no time to think about it. He could only grit his teeth and gather what power he still had.
After his golden core had been replenished, Dion's speed increased, and he flew up into the air. His body was bathed in the golden light from his saber. Then the long shadow of a saber appeared behind his back and slowly rose into the air. The handle of the blade was very long. It looked like a javelin as it pulsed with light.
Dion's body had also slowly lengthened and had become one with the blade. Now he rushed toward Alex.
Alex was surprised by Dion's move and acknowledged his skill. "It does look like you have a very deep understanding of the concept of the blade."
Dion replied, "I've been practicing since I was three. I slept and ate with one. The saber is a part of me."
"You've practiced the saber technique for a few years in the small divine realm, and you think you've mastered everything?" Alex asked, his lip curling with contempt. "Well, I'll show you a real saber technique." He focused his mind and slowly raised the celestial staff.
Dion watched Alex raising the staff and said, "That is a stick, not a blade! You are insulting the sacred saber technique!"