Against the request of the rest of his group, Kannal takes on Yasha, the Peak Saint Black Dragon, who effectively had his sister killed. Despite only being at the middle stages of the ninth rank as both a warrior and a mage, the 22-year-old showed that his year-long stay in the ruins had been anything but a waste. In terms of skill and comprehension, Yasha was wholly outclassed. Unfortunately, the difference between a ninth-rank mortal and a peak saint was enormous, causing their battle to be evenly matched.
Still, eventually, Kannal did manage to find a way to defeat his opponent, but before he could finally avenge his sister, Ignus made his move.
Because Ignus was the first to break the rules of the duel to intervene, it gave the rest of the acolytes of the Pavilion an excuse to do the same. It was then that Ignus and the other dragons realised that Kannal wasn't the only freak among the group. In fact, he was the weakest.
In terms of comprehension, Kannal was the strongest among his group, but because he wanted to reach the limits of comprehension as a mortal, he was the only one among them who had yet to become a saint. And after five years, even the weakest among them had comprehended a whole complete mystery. As it stood, aside from Kannal, each of the other Pavilion Acolytes had strength surpassing that of the average prime saint.
Within a minute, half the dragon's forces had been eradicated, and the rest were facing total extinction when Linley arrived on the scene, easily forcing both sides to step back in a domineering fashion.
Kannal and the others weren't the only ones who'd improved dramatically over the last few years. The only reason Linley was yet to become a saint was also the reason he had decided to remain on the fifth floor – to win the bet with Ignus and bring the Dragons of the Dragon's Pit under his Baruch Clan once and for all, and to do that, he had to prove that he had comprehended a profound mystery to the level of a peak saint before becoming a saint – a feat he had long since accomplished. And although he hadn't reached the limits of comprehension as a mortal, he wasn't far off. When combined with his Dragon transformation, it was near impossible to find a match, even among prime saints.
After stopping the battle, he reminded Ignus of their bet and asked if Ignus was willing to lead the Dragon Pitt to submit to his Baruch Clan.
After witnessing Linley's power, Ignus had absolutely no thoughts of going back on his words, and after losing so many of his subordinates, he was almost glad to find a powerful thigh to hold onto and willingly agreed, but when he heard Linley's following words, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
As the new leader of the Dragons, Linley ordered Yasha to finish the battle with Kannal.
Ignus tried to argue, but Linley reminded him that it was them who agreed to the terms of the duel. Ignus continued arguing, but Linley asked him, "Since when was the pride of a dragon so fragile?" As members of his Baruch Clan, they could lose to an opponent, but they can never lose the face of the Baruch Clan.
In the end, what was left of the Dragons watched silently as Kannal finally avenged his sister and killed Yasha.
After that, Kannal and the other Acolytes thanked Linley. They understood from the moment he appeared that if he wanted to prevent Kannal from getting his revenge, they wouldn't be able to do anything, even if Linley was on his own, which he wasn't.
Whether it was Bebe, Olivier, Yunaia, or Oscar, each of them radiated a presence that, shockingly, made each of them fearful, something that none of them could believe.
Aside from Linley and Kannal, everyone else was at the middle stages of the saint realm, and as members of the Pavilion, they were so used to being all but invincible in the same realm, especially when it came to those of their generation, with Linley and Bebe being the only exceptions. But how could they know that not only were Yunaia and Olivier both soul mutates, but also, because of Ace and Amira, both were also capable of wielding Concepts?
Before both groups separated, Siltor, the Golden Dragon and father of the Azure Dragon killed by Ace came forward and asked where Ace was.
Faye glanced at the dragon and told him to give up.
After these last eight years in the Necropolis of the Gods, and driven by thoughts of revenge, Siltor had broken through to become a prime saint, making him no weaker than Ignus. Still, from the last fight against Joel and the other Acolytes, he realised that he wasn't the only one getting stronger. It wasn't for long, but he had clashed against Faye, and in that brief exchange, he found himself placed firmly on the back foot. He also understood that Ace was a genius even more perverted than Faye and the others and that, chances were, he had reached an even higher level, but neither he nor his wife could give up avenging their now-deceased child.
After Kannal and the others left, Linley turned to Siltor and his wife. He knew that although they didn't hate him as much as they hated Ace, as the person who absorbed the blood of their only child, they still despised him. Still, he felt he had to say something. He didn't try to convince them not to challenge Ace, but he reminded them that Ace had reached a level of power they didn't stand a chance of defeating him, and although he wouldn't stop them, he wouldn't protect them either.
After slaying Yasha, Kannal and the other Acolytes spent another few months traversing the fifth floor of the Necropolis before finally running into Ace, Amira, and Leona.
It had been over eight years since the two groups had last seen each other, so the emotions both groups felt could be understood. Still, the first thing Joel and the others felt was shock. They could sense that Leona had reached the peak saint level, and as an Apex-level Divine Beast, her aura being so terrifying was understandable. Still, what they were all really focused on was the aura radiated by both Ace and Amira. Both were still mortals. Amira, like Kannal, was in the middle stages of the ninth rank, and Ace was at the peak of the eighth rank, but the aura they emitted was suffocating. They couldn't even guess how powerful the trio had become.
Still, more than anything else, both groups were ecstatic to see the other safe and sound. It was then that Joel explained that after he reached the saint realm and had the power to protect themselves, Killian and Alissa had left them to go searching for them (Ace and his group). Hearing that, Ace and Amira couldn't help but frown slightly as they hadn't even heard whispers about Killian's presence. Still, with the size of the fifth floor, it didn't come as that much of a surprise, but just to make sure, they all agreed to head up to the final floor.
On the way there, they met Linley and his group. Usually, as rivals, Ace and Linley would've clashed on sight, but the killing intent of Siltor and his wife immediately caught his attention. Both Dragons didn't say a word before they charged in, attempting to kill Ace where he stood.
Ace could see the crazed look in their eyes, and sensing their turbulent emotions with his observation, he understood that their hatred for him had long since gone past the point of no return. So, he didn't say a word to them; he merely waved his hand. As he did, the sound of his voice entered the two dragon's voice. "I hope you can find peace in your next life." At the same time, a heaven-shaking explosion resounded through the fifth floor, shocking all of those who hadn't seen Ace take action recently, including his classmates.
When the dust cleared, the corpses of both dragons had been totally incinerated.
After a short chat, Ace and Linley's group headed up to the eighth floor. Both groups headed up separately, turning it into a competition to see who could hunt down Felicia and the rest of their enemies first.
With their current power level, neither Ace nor Linley found the threat of a Demi-God as fearful as they used to. Still, since they were heading up to the final of the saint floors, Ace decided that instead of splitting up and heading up via the different doorways, Ace's group would all go up via one door. But that had less to do with the natives of the Necropolis and everything to do with the experts of the New Yulan Empire. Although he was confident in his own abilities, he refused to take his chances with the rest of their group.
As soon as Ace, who was the first to arrive on the eighth floor, entered, he was immediately surrounded by hundreds of Abyssal Demons, the vast majority of whom were at the peak saint stage, but there were also a few prime saint-level demons among them. Still, Ace was able to slaughter each of them before Amira, who came up next, arrived.
Just as Kannal, who came up last, finally arrived, Ace's body suddenly vanished at a speed that caught his classmates by surprise. When he next appeared, he was standing over the body of a peak saint from the New Yulan Empire, his neck in his hands.
When Amira and the others arrived on the scene, they felt Ace's killing intent as he glared into the eyes of the terrified saint. It was then that they learned that not only had Felicia successfully broken through to the Demi-God level, but she had also defeated Wukong, Lazerim, and Kimika. Still, with their combined strength, they were able to escape with their lives – albeit only barely.
But after that, feeling a lot more confident in her strength, she made a deal with the Abyssal Demons, promising not to slaughter them if they worked for her, meaning that each of the entry points had teams of hundreds of Abyssal Blade Demons guarding them, and along with them was a peak saint from the Empire. But the thing that really angered Ace was that apparently, several months ago, Killian and Alyssa had entered the eighth floor in search of Ace, only to be captured.
Apparently, Felicia was holding them prisoner to lure both Ace and Wukong's group to kill them all in one go. Hearing that, there wasn't a single person among them who wasn't enraged.
After getting Felicia's location, Ace killed the peak saint before leading his whole group through the eighth floor, not bothering to hide their presence. Anything that dared to get in their way was massacred.
The closer Ace got to the centre of the eighth floor, the more powerful their opponents became. It got to the point where they were surrounded by thousands of peak saint Abyssal Blade Demons and hundreds of Prime Saints. Still, Ace and the rest of his classmates moved forward with unstoppable momentum.
Eventually, Ace and the others arrived at their destination, only to find a giant battle already taking place. On one side were tens of thousands of Abyssal Blade Demons as well as a few dozen humans, several of whom he recognised from the amalgamation of the O'Brien Empire, Radiant Church, Cult of Darkness and the other forces that had submitted to them. On the other was Wukong's group. What caught Ace's group's attention was Wukong, more specifically, the crazed look in his eyes and the fearful bloodlust he exuded; what was even stranger was that, despite appearing to have entered a crazed state, the Battle IQ he was displaying was incredible, to say the least. To the point where Ace could only blush in embarrassment, or he would have had his attention not have been captured by something else.
In the centre of the Yulan Empire's Camp were two young adults. Both of them had glazed looks in their eyes as though their minds had been taken to breaking point, as had their bodies, which were littered with fresh cuts and bruises – proof of the torture they had endured till this point.
Because of the purity of the dimension here on the eighth floor, using one's soul was all but impossible for saint-level beings. Unfortunately, Felicia was no longer a saint. The moment Ace and his group arrived on the scene, she smiled evilly, looking forward to finally killing the scourge of her nation. Still, her eyes couldn't help but widen in shock when she saw Ace virtually teleport through the battlefield, appearing directly in front of Killian and Alissa.
Though the speed he displayed was shocking, especially as he was clearly just an eighth-rank expert, she didn't bother stopping him. As far as she was concerned, after becoming a deity, there was no one on the lower floors capable of opposing her and today, she would rid the world of the Pavilion's younger generation.
Still, just because Felicia had already sensed him, it didn't mean that anyone else had. It wasn't until his body appeared in front of Killian and Alissa that everyone else realised he was there. At that moment, Fain, Desri, and several other prime saint-level experts shot towards him. Still, Ace didn't bat an eyelid.
Though he didn't react at the time, the moment her Godrealm swept over him, he clearly felt it. But Killian's and Alissa's safety was more important to him than her presence. But now, with so many experts rushing towards him with intent to kill, Ace's glaive glided into his hands, and he made his move.
Though he only struck out once, the heads of each of his attackers fell to the floor. Whilst everyone was in awe of his incredible display of overwhelming power and skill, Ace's attention was focused on the bodies of Desri and Fain.
Whilst the others fell to the floor, having breathed their last breath, Fain and Desri's bodies miraculously healed almost instantaneously. Ace immediately understood both of them must've managed to find a pearl of life.
Without a second thought, Ace's body flickered, and his glaive swept through both of their bodies, but this time, their bodies were incinerated, only leaving two glimmering pearls in their place. Not paying attention to anything or anyone else, Ace fused a pearl with the bodies of Killian and Alissa, allowing both to heal from their wounds.
It was at that point that Felicia finally made her move, attempting to use her Godrealm to suppress Ace and the others, when Wukong, in his "crazed" state, somehow ignored the suppression of her domain and attacked her with his staff. Still, Felicia quickly sent him flying, but before she could finish the job, Ace made his move.
Felicia, using her Demi-God staff, attempted to compete with Ace in close quarters but quickly found herself suppressed.
It had to be remembered that when one becomes a deity, unless they're a divine beast or born with a special bloodline, their actual physical body doesn't become any stronger, meaning Felicia's body was technically no stronger than it had been when she was still a peak saint, the only significant difference was her ability to now use divine energy, which in turn could be utilised to strengthen her body significantly.
Still, prior to her breakthrough, she had never trained as a warrior, so although she was technically the physically superior of the two to Ace, she may as well be a child with a peerless sword. It was only when she reverted back to her usual style of fighting – as a mage – that she was able to quickly suppress Ace.
But by that time, Amira had finished stabilising the grievous wounds Wukong had sustained from Felicia's last attack.
Amira and Leona both joined Ace to face Felicia. Killian and Alissa, having quickly healed with help from the pearl of life, wanted to help them face the Demi-God, as did Kimika, Lazerim, Joel, and the others, but Ace stopped them and commanded them to worry about the Abyssal Blade Demons and members of the New Yulan Empire and to leave Felicia to them.
Ace didn't have the time to reassure them as Felicia was too big of a threat, but contrary to what everyone – Felicia included – believed would be the case, Ace wasn't the main force of the attack. Instead, it was Leona.
As it stood, Leona could now be considered a prime saint of sorts, but even among prime saints, she could be regarded as a special case in that she had actually comprehended a complete profound mystery – the profound mystery of the essence of fire. Still, for reasons that escaped her, Ace, and Amira, not only was she still unable to continue to comprehend the other profound mysteries of the laws of fire and break through to become a deity, but she was also unable to break through and become a deity. Still, as an apex-level divine beast, she was naturally invincible at the same level.
The power of her body made her only a little inferior to the average Demi-God. With her being the main point of attack for the trio and Ace and Amira supporting her with flawless teamwork, the trio was able to fight Felicia to a standstill.
At the same time, Killian, Alissa and the others all went on a rampage, slaughtering their enemies like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, there were simply too many. Thankfully, before they were overrun, Linley arrived on the scene with his group, effectively easing the pressure those from the Pavilion were under, which in turn allowed Ace to focus on his battle with Felicia with peace of mind.
Eventually, Ace used his ultimate technique – Myriad Point Convergence – to finally kill Felicia. By now, not only had Ace completely comprehended the profound mystery of explosions – bringing him to a grand total of four mysteries, but he had also finished his fusion of the mysteries of explosion and the essence of fire and had also raised his three-way fusion of the essence of fire, explosions, and heat up to what he estimated was around the 40% mark. As a result, when using his Myriad Point Convergence now, it allowed his attack power to reach the realms of a Demi-God.
With Felicia dead, the trio were free to spread out and support their classmates and friends against the millions of enemies that surrounded them, but after watching Felicia, a genuine deity, be defeated, the Abyssal Blade Demons lost any intentions of opposing this group of young monsters.
Other than those from the New Yulan Empire, Ace was too lazy to deal with the others; as such, when they lost their will to fight, he allowed them to go.
After saying thank you to Linley and his group for the assistance and checking to make sure Wukong, Killian, and Alissa were okay, he went through the storage ring of Felicia, where he found ten divine artefacts, but more importantly, there were also three unused Divine Sparks. Including the light element spark he took from Felicia after her death, he now had four divine sparks in his hand.
Neither he nor any of those who entered with him had any interest in merging with a Divine Spark, so he intended to give it to some of the subordinates of his Gol Kingdom who weren't as talented nor as ambitious as they were.
But when Leona laid her eyes on the Divine Sparks, her eyes lit up, and her instincts took over. Without even thinking, she swallowed the Divine Spark of Destruction.
Although she didn't break through and become a deity, she was ecstatic to find that her ability to sense Ace's comprehension had returned. But that was only part of her good news; she also awoke her innate ancestral memories, which told her that she was an Obsidian Lion Queen – well, a mutated one.
It was then that she understood that although, like Bebe and Oscar, she was also an Apex-level Divine Beast, she was different in that her Divine Ability awoken as a saint instead of as a Deity.
Her Divine Ability was called "Spark Devouring", and as the name suggests, it allows her to devour divine sparks, though only those of the Edict of Destruction, to further her comprehension of said Edict. Still, there were rules and restrictions:
First: By devouring the Divine Sparks of Destructions, Obsidian Lion Queens/Kings not only further their comprehension of said Edict, but they also strengthen their already tyrannical bodies with each spark they devour.
Second: Although she could devour divine sparks of destruction to further her comprehension, said sparks have to come from an opponent she has killed with her own hands, and that individual's divine spark can't be one they merged with, meaning they had to have reached their level via their own comprehension.
Third: Although she can still devour Divine Sparks of Destruction that didn't belong to an enemy she personally killed or those which had been merged with instead of achieved naturally, instead of absorbing their insights, they will only strengthen her body.
Fourth: To awaken this ability, one must not only have become a saint, but they must also devour their first Divine Spark of Destruction. If the first spark devoured was of an opponent she killed with her own hands, and that individual's divine spark was one they received naturally, she would've directly broken through to become a deity, but since it was a second-hand spark, Leona's bloodline and affinity were merely awakened. Still, this also meant that she didn't have to rely solely on devouring sparks of deities; she could also train the old-fashioned way to further her comprehension.
Aside from that, Leona also explained that, unlike other apex-level divine beasts, she wouldn't awaken an offensive divine ability that could be used on her enemies. Ace and the others could sense her disappointment, but they could only look at her in frustration and aggrievement. Whilst she may not awaken a heaven-defying divine ability that could be used on enemies, hers was even more heaven-defying as it meant that one day, as long as she didn't die, she would almost definitely become a paragon of the Edict of Destruction and as long as Ace was able to become a paragon of the laws of fire she would also become a paragon of the laws of fire thanks to their mutated bond. While most could only dream of becoming a paragon of one law, she would more than likely become a paragon of 2 laws, which was way more enticing than having even the most incredible of offensive divine abilities.
After that, Ace and the others spent the next two years training peacefully on the eighth floor. They went between isolated meditation and sparring with each other, and each of their progress was incredible.
Two years later, it was finally time for the initial stay in the necropolis of the gods to come to an end, but the mood among the group was tense. Not only would Lord Beirut be allowing the saints still alive to leave, but he'd also be opening up the upper levels for deity-level experts, meaning that it was more than likely that O'Brien would be entering.
No one had said anything, but they were all well aware that Ace would take that chance to end their feud once and for all.
Eventually, the entrants that survived were finally allowed out. They were delighted to finally escape that hell hole, but when they left, they couldn't help but shudder under the tense aura hanging in the end. It was only when they looked up in the skies and saw the War God and High Priest on one side and Aiden, Arianna, Milianna and a few others from the Pavilion on the other that they remembered Ace's declaration from ten years ago.
None of them said anything, but they didn't hurry to leave. Instead, they chose to stay and watch the show from a safe distance.
Finally, Ace and his group arrived, and under the shocked eyes of the audience, they completely ignored O'Brien, choosing to greet Milianna and Lance.
Seeing the happy family reunion was the straw that finally broke the camel's back. He didn't say a word before launching a full-powered attack on the family of three.
Arianna was about to take action, but Ace beat her to the punch, casually destroying the attack and telling him that he hadn't forgotten about him. Since he was in such a hurry to die, he would happily send him on his way.
Everyone thought Ace had lost his mind as they could all sense he was merely at the peak of the ninth rank. They knew how heaven-defying his talent was, but no one for a second believed that he was capable of defeating a deity as a mortal: no one but his friends and family.
O'Brien was about to attack, but the high priest held him back temporarily. O'Brien, who was already beyond angry, was about to attack her when she confirmed that should O'Brien win, no one from the Pavilion would seek out justice when Milianna, who saw the calm but resolute light in her son's eyes, spoke on everyone's behalf agreeing to her terms.
With that said, O'Brien immediately began the fight, unable to hold back any longer.
As soon as the fight began, O'Brien used his Godrealm to suppress his "son" and charged in, aiming to put an end to this farce immediately. But as he neared, Ace shocked them all by releasing his own Godrealm, cancelling out O'Brien's.
When he broke through to the eighth rank, his soul had reached that of a half-step deity, and now, like his master, after breaking through to the peak of the ninth rank as a mage and warrior, his soul had broken through to the Demi-God Realm granting him the ability to use a Godrealm. But that was just the beginning of Ace's surprise.
As Ace was still a mortal, Impose still worked on him, and as his soul was so powerful now, when he used to impose, it increased the might of his body to a level that surpassed that of even prime-saint-level magical beasts and when superimposed with his armament haki…
Ace's body was no different from that of a Demi-God using their Divine Essence to empower their body. O'Brien didn't have time to even blink when Ace appeared in front of him, wielding his glaive with a level of skill that he didn't even know possible.
O'Brien found himself completely dominated. Even when attempting to utilise his mastery over fire, Ace showed him that the difference between them was simply too vast for him to even begin to compare.
This was what Ace planned; he wanted to make O'Brien despair the same way his mother did.
The more he thought back to his mother's state and how she must've felt after everything, the angrier he became, which in turn seemed to empower his strikes. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he struck, Ace was unable to do any damage.
Ace had already long since realised that O'Brien was wearing a Full-God level armour. He didn't know where he got it from, and quite frankly, he didn't care; all he wanted to do was vent all the anger he had to hold onto all these years.
It was a shocking and frightening display for everyone but, most of all, O'Brien. He went from anger and embarrassment to outright fear, thanking the sovereigns Catherine allowed him to wear her greatest treasure.
It was then that Catherine stepped forward. Though she didn't intervene directly, she did ask Ace to call it a tie as although O'Brien could do nothing to him, Thanks to the armour O'Brien wore; Ace could do nothing to him either.
Ace declined, stating that no matter what, O'Brien would definitely die today. It was then that he did something that took every onlooker by surprise. He infused his [Haoshoku Haki] into his glaive, causing the aura it emitted to spike.
Ace then used his [Myriad Point Convergence] once more, but where before the power of his strike was able to barely match that of a Demi-God, this time, he was able to strike with power that was faintly approaching that of a Full-God, and unlike the last time he used [Haoshoku Infusion] which all but destroyed his body from the inside out, this time, although severely drained, he was still in one piece.
O'Brien, on the other hand, was completely lifeless. Ace watched as O'Brien's body dissipated, leaving nothing but a crimson divine spark in its stead.
Though uninjured, Ace was now running on fumes. He was just about to fall to the floor when his mother caught him and helped him up. She told him how proud of him she was and thanked him for being an amazing son with tears in her eyes.
Next, Beirut descended and was just about to open the gate to the upper floors when Ace asked if the entry could be delayed for a few days. His mother asked why, and he stumbled over to Amira's side, dropped to a single knee and proposed to her in front of all their friends and family, to which she obviously said yes.
A few days later, after Ace agreed, a double wedding happened between Ace and Amira and Killian and Alissa. All their families and respective friends came to the joyous occasion.
That night, when Amira and Ace consummated their marriage, their souls finally mated, making them truly bonded. At the same time, in the skies above their home, the phantom projection of Amira's bloodline appeared in all its glory, but this time, her skin darkened until it was pitch black in colour, identical to when Ace used his Armament Haki, above her was the phantom of a giant sun.
The two phantom projections were visible to all those on the continent, and it was an awe-inspiring display to everyone, everyone except Empress Sharanthia, who sighed, understanding what she was seeing.
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