Along with Empyrean’s astounding progress, Izroth noticed that Selene’s rating increased by two. She also acquired a new skill called Sacred Flames of Purification.
But, since Izroth had Selene accompany Empyrean not long after they formed a contract, he had not gotten the chance to witness what she was capable of firsthand.
‘I should take some time to personally oversee Selene’s development. As long as Empyrean is with her, there is no need to worry about her safety. But, it will be a little troublesome in the future if I completely miss out on the early stages of her growth.’
Empyrean may have been an extension of Izroth; however, in the end, he was not Izroth himself.
Izroth read that if a summon and summoner were apart for too long during the early stages of their development, there was a risk that the bonding type or growth potential could be negatively affected. Of course, the negative effects were greatly alleviated due to Empyrean being Izroth’s Soul Avatar. But, that was only a temporary measure.
Initially, Izroth planned to have Selene accompany him once the raid on the Night Lord’s Crypt was complete. This way Empyrean would be free to take on more challenging tasks. After all, with his current stats and skillset, Izroth felt that it was about time that Empyrean’s main focus shifted from gathering resources.
However, Izroth pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind. Right now, he still had to deal with the two obstacles obstructing his path.
A few moments ago, Empyrean used the movement skill, Sky Shattering Steps, to swiftly arrive before Izroth in time to intercept Haazan’s attack.
He then utilized the skill Absorption & Conversion to absorb not only the crimson tentacles but the entire treasured weapon itself. And, after doing so, both Empyrean’s total magic and mana stats increased!
“I will deal with the one who just attacked me. You take care of the other—you have two minutes.” Izroth stated calmly.
“As you wish,” Empyrean responded as he left the ground with a single flap of his silver wings.
The next moment, the wind in the atmosphere started to pick up as a strong wave of magic energy flooded onto the battlefield.
“Like I’ll let you! Return it to me!” Haazan yelled out angrily.
Haazan used his mana to form a serrated sword as it materialized in his right hand. The treasure given to him amplified Haazan’s original technique, but it was not as though he was powerless without it.
Haazan shifted his stance and prepared to rush Empyrean before he had the chance to cast his spell. However, Haazan felt a light breeze flow at his back, causing him to instinctively turn with his sword raised.
Ding!
Haazan’s sword collided with a sharp blade as he successfully stopped the strike before it could reach him.
Seeing the person behind the attack caused Haazan’s facial expression to darken.
“Is it not my life that you are after? Then, shall I give you a chance to claim it? Though whether or not you have the ability to do so remains to be seen.” Izroth said in a carefree manner with his Sword of the Storm pressed against Haazan’s serrated blade.
Izroth noticed Haazan’s actions and immediately moved into action. As for Selene, she was casually flying in the sky above the battlefield.
“If you are in such a hurry to die, I am more than willing to grant your wish!” Haazan’s said as his gaze turned cold.
Meanwhile, Neksiazon came to terms with the fact that his original plans had gone out the window.
Neksiazon was a cautious individual. During this type of situation when a foe of unknown strength showed up, he would usually withdraw and wait for another opportunity to present itself. However, his orders were clear. Either Neksiazon killed that human and completed his mission or pay the consequences for his failure with his life! Ultimately, there was only one path he could take. No matter what happened, he could not allow Izroth to leave this place alive—even if he had to cause a ruckus in a human kingdom!
“Obsidian Frost Coat.”
All of a sudden, Neksiazon’s body was encased in a block of obsidian ice at least 2.5 meters tall. The following moment, the block cracked open, revealing something akin to a golem made of out Neksiazon’s obsidian ice.
This was the result of Neksiazon’s Obsidian Frost Coat. It was a reinforced version of his obsidian ice that he used to create an impenetrable suit. It also doubled his offensive power, improving the overall effects of his obsidian ice.
Neksiazon took a step towards Izroth in the obsidian ice golem. As he moved, the ground and grass beneath the golem’s feet were frozen solid in obsidian ice.
If one observed closely, one would see that the grass frozen by obsidian ice began to rot as though it had suddenly gone weeks or even months without anything to sustain itself. This was the true power of Neksiazon’s Obsidian Frost. Whatever it froze would begin to gradually decay until it died!
This was perfect for assassinations. Even if the targets escaped, as long as they did not have a way to deal with Neksiazon’s Obsidian Frost, their death was practically guaranteed.
However, Neksiazon’s Obsidian Frost Coat sped up the slow decaying process of his Obsidian Frost several times over, making the impact of his skill reveal itself near instantly.
Now that Izroth and Haazan were locked in a fight, Neksiazon wanted to take advantage of the situation to kill two birds with one stone!
“Wind Approach: Spears of Tempest.” Empyrean’s voice sounded as a mighty spear formed from the wind element materialized in front of him.
The spear was four meters in length. And, thanks to the presence of the wind element, it was as though the spear itself was a mighty storm ready to unleash untold destruction upon all that it came into contact with.
Empyrean pointed his hand forward. The next moment, the spear shot out like an arrow leaving its string.
…BOOOM! Swoosh!
The tempest spear sliced through the air. It was a direct collision course for Neksiazon!
“So fast…?!” Neksiazon internalized as he hastily crossed the obsidian ice golem’s arms.
As he did so, a thick shield made from the enhanced obsidian ice emerged from the golem’s arms.
After sensing Empyrean’s magic and mana levels when he first arrived, Neksiazon already deduced that he was some type of magic caster. However, since the magic energy gathering around Empyrean was so potent, Neksiazon figured by using that level of magic, it would take him some time to cast. But, who would have thought that it would not even take him more than a couple of seconds?!
BANG! CRRRRCK!
The tempest spear slammed into Neksiazon’s obsidian ice shield, causing numerous cracks to form on its surface.
Neksiazon held his ground as the tempest spear managed to drill a little more than halfway through the thick shield before coming to a halt and dispersing into thin air.
After seeing the damage inflicted to his obsidian ice shield, Neksiaon inwardly frowned.
“He was able to penetrate halfway through my shield with a single attack? What absurd magic power…! I guess I’ll just have to take him out first-” Neksiazon thought to himself; however, his thoughts were quickly derailed as his eyes widened in shock inside the golem.
“Impossible…!” Neksiazon exclaimed as he witnessed the sight before him.
One… Six… Eleven… Twenty! In the blink of an eye, twenty more tempest spears formed around Empyrean!
If Neksiazon was capable of doing so, his face would have already turned pale and lost its color. Not a single one of the twenty tempest spears looked any weaker than the first spear he took head-on. His obsidian ice shield was nearly destroyed after one spear—how could he possibly face twenty of them?!
“Wait! I was sent by the Venerable Envoy of the Netherworld! Attacking me is the same as going against the Netherworld itself! Do you truly wish to become enemies with the Netherworld just to defend the life of one human brat?!” Neksiazon bellowed.
But, despite his words, the second spear shot out.
Empyrean’s ignored Neksiazon’s threat without halting his actions. There was not the slightest bit of hesitation. Of course, this was to be expected considering Empyrean was Izroth’s Soul Avatar. Their lives were directly linked to one another’s. But, how could Neksiazon have known this?
Crrrrck!
This time Neksiazon’s shield could not hold up under the pressure of the tempest spear and shattered upon impact.
Then, almost instantly after the second spear, a third one followed.
“Don’t be a fool!” Neksiazon roared as he held his arms out, firing off several shards of obsidian ice in Empyrean’s direction.
The shards carried a sharp aura of death behind them; however, they were blown away by the tempest spears.
Neksiazon’s Obsidian Frost was powerful against living beings and substances. However, something like wind magic was a terrible match-up! It did not have any life to rot away, which cut away at the very essence of his Obsidian Frost!
Before he knew it, Neksiazon was overwhelmed by the bombardment of tempest spears. And, as soon as he thought it was over, another set of spears appeared and the cycle repeated itself!
Eventually, Neksiazon was unable to respond to the tempest spears and could not survive under the endless barrage of Empyrean’s spirit magic.
With Empyrean’s massive mana reserves, fast cast time, and high magic damage, there was nothing Neksiazon could do to retaliate. In the end, it was a completely one-sided fight as he was reduced to ashes under the onslaught of tempest spears.
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Obsidian Death Neksiazon.〉
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have completed the quest «Hunted By A Creature of the Netherworld(2)».〉
