While Tepo and Varei distracted the beast, Shorey and Quordh weren't idle as well.
Shorey took his ship and immediately scouted several islands. He took away everything he got his hands on, not considering whether it was precious or not.
Meanwhile, Quordh was racing towards the shore, aiming for the statue. The young men had agreed that Quordh should immediately complete the quest as soon as he reached the statue, not daring to be too greedy.
But as Quordh advanced, he gradually was met with a strange situation. The statue in his eyes constantly grew larger, but it looked as if the shore didn't come closer.
Hiding his worry in his heart the handsome man could only continue, hoping for something to change.
Tepo and Varei had no time to care for the others as they escaped the beast's pursuit. Their speeds were roughly the same, shooting through the room atop the seemingly endless ocean.
This situation persisted for a while. Suddenly the beast let out an annoyed hum. It slowed down and turned around, swimming towards Shorey's direction.
Tepo and Varei felt their chests tighten.
"NO! Chase it, Tepo!"
The young man frowned but saw no other way. He turned the ship abruptly and stormed after the beast.
Suddenly though the beast had a twinkle in its eyes. It stopped its advancement abruptly.
Tepo wasn't prepared for a mere beast to pull such a move. His ship was still carried by the momentum, flying forward, when a large tailfin suddenly rose from the water.
"What?!"
Shouting in surprise, Tepo did his best to control his ship to escape the blow.
But Varei's eyes lit up. He felt as if his time had finally come.
With an eager heart the spirit activated his forbidden spell [Soul Battlefield].
An invisible energy immediately engulfed the area, pulling Tepo, Varei, and the beast in.
Their eyes grew vacant as their bodies stopped moving.
Suddenly Tepo found himself in a vast, white void. His connection with Varei allowed him to quickly understand what happened.
[Soul Battlefield]?
Tepo grew solemn as he prepared for the first battle on this special battlefield.
Looking around, Tepo found multiple people. Not far from him he noticed another Tepo, whose body appeared translucent, as well as two Vareis. The young man instinctively understood that their [God's Soul] entered the battlefield as copies of them.
Some distance away stood an enormous creature with confusion in its eyes. This was the beast's soul, which had been forcefully dragged to this battlefield.
"Awesome!"
Varei's excited shout broke the silence.
"ROOAA!"
The beast roared, trying to hide its uneasiness. Beasts were known to be weak in terms of the soul, naturally it didn't feel comfortable in this void.
Tepo felt the pressure the beast's soul was giving of, judging it to be only on par with mid-ranked acolytes.
A confident smirk formed on his face, even as the beast dashed towards Tepo with its enormous body.
Suddenly another roar shook the battlefield. A large creature had appeared out of thin air. Its body was translucent, but this didn't diminish its might and the elegance emitted by its striking red fur.
"My dad!"
Varei exclaimed with obvious pride in his voice.
Tepo could easily accept this situation since he understood the rules of [Soul Battlefield], where one's best weapons were imagination and experience.
Although Varei wasn't able to conjure an image with the full power of his father, it was enough to put considerable pressure on the beast.
Although the creature was confused, it bravely met its opponent. Claws clashed in midair, spreading small shockwaves.
Both opponents opened their maws wide, eager to tear each other's neck apart.
Seeing this scene, Tepo didn't stay idle.
Suddenly another large creature appeared. She had gorgeous turquoise-green scales, wearing a blue mask on her face.
"My senior.", announced Tepo with a grin.
Wave let out a low hum as she shot at the beast.
Faced with two powerful opponents, the beast felt its body trembling. It suddenly pushed Varei's father away and tried to escape.
It dashed into the endless white, its enemies in close pursuit.
But the beast proved its surprising intelligence. After getting used to the environment for a bit, it figured out the rules of the battlefield.
Suddenly a human man appeared. He was tiny compared to the other fighters, but his presence was the strongest with quite some gap between them.
Tepo frowned as he scanned the person. He recognized him as the Lord of the Eternal Shore. The man's pressure not only stemmed from the fact that the beast was stronger than Tepo and Varei but also from the Lord's real power.
Suddenly a strange thought appeared in Tepo's mind.
If that lord is so powerful, why is the beast, who fought against him, so weak? Or is it not the same?
But Tepo quickly put the question to the back of his mind, as the fight broke out some distance away. He frowned, realizing that Wave and Varei's father together could barely hold back the Lord of Endless Shores.
They were weighed down by the fact that Tepo didn't know any of Wave's abilities and could only let her fight with her body.
Varei's father was somewhat better, occasionally letting out a [Roar of the Dragon Spirit] and various claw attacks.
However, the situation wasn't great as the beast had gotten rid of its opponents, its sharp eyes now focusing on Tepo and Varei.
Outside the [Soul Battlefield], Shorey still trembled. He had felt the gaze of death on his back as the beast began chasing after him.
But now an eerie silence fell on the large room. Shorey's breath was shallow as he carefully looked over his shoulder.
He didn't understand the scene which presented itself to him.
Behind the young man a large grey body was floating on the water surface. The large waves lost their support, falling apart, pushing water on a few nearby islands.
In the air a comparatively small blue ship was flying forward, gradually slowing down.
All of this happened because the bodies could only instinctively continue a few actions necessary for survival after the warriors were affected by [Soul Battlefield].
Shorey felt a shiver run down his spine. The young man decided to ignore the battle and raced to another island, ready to gather as much treasure as possible.
Far away from the commotion was Quordh in his own ship. The handsome man had bloodshot eyes, fully focused on reaching the statue. His heart grew anxious as it felt like he didn't make any progress.
What is going on? Am I missing something? Can we only reach the statue after the beast dies? Hopefully not…
While everyone was anxious, the situation suddenly changed again.
As Tepo's ship continued to fly, the beast's body left the range of [Soul Battlefield]. Tepo and Varei were startled. One moment they were about to engage in a bloody battle with the beast. The next moment it suddenly disappeared.
Instantly the spell fell apart.
"AHH!"
Varei let out a scream as a wave of dizziness washed over him. The forbidden spell's side effect was stronger than expected. Even with [God's Soul] he felt his mind grow tired, his soul entering an exhausted state.
"Are you ok?!"
"Ye…"
Tepo observed his partner with worry, noticing how the little dragon spirit struggled to keep its eyes open.
But unfortunately, he couldn't offer much help as a raging roar shook the ship, the beast almost going berserk.
Tepo hastily dodged left and right as massive harpoons made of ice formed on the water surface, shooting towards the ship.
Fully focused, Tepo controlled his ship, feeling as if an army of archers aimed for his back.
After being forced to use [Time Dilation: Target] more than three times to escape the fate of being impaled, Tepo also felt exhaustion creeping in.
With a quick thought the warrior decided to descend, staying close to the water surface.
The beast's blue eyes glinted viciously. Finally, the cowardly prey was in the reach of its maw. Its massive body silently diving into the ocean, it approached its prey at high speeds.
Tepo's instincts screamed danger as he lost sight of the beast. He felt death breathing down his back.
"Quick! Tepo! To the island!"
With Varei's warning, Tepo reacted instantly, changing directions.
He couldn't see the beast as it slowly got closer… and closer…
100 meters, 50, 10…
Suddenly water splashed in all directions. An enormous grey body jumped out of the water like a rocket.
Eyes focused on its prey the beast didn't care for anything else.
Even as Tepo reached the island the beast didn't stop, ready to devour him.
"Ahh! Tepo! Do something!"
"On it!"
Tepo gritted his teeth as he pushed his ship to the limit, even using [Time Dilation: Target] again.
A blue bolt of lightning scorched the island, dirt flying behind it, multiple trees losing their fruits from the wind it produced.
But it was not enough. A gigantic maw like a black hole opened above the ship, its sharp teeth ready to tear apart the sturdy metal.