Jeklyll lashed out with his tail and sent the Qilin tumbling hundreds of meters through the air.
Eneru then transformed his body to a lightning bolt and shot towards the dark grey clouds in the sky. Soon, these clouds darkened followed by peals of thunder and flashes of lightning.
“Where is that bastard Half-Elf?!” Eneru roared as he summoned a thunderstorm over the capital city of Gladiolus. “Come out and face me! William Von Ainsworth!”
Jekyll looked at the enraged Qilin in disdain. “Have you no shame? Challenging a child? Why don’t you pick someone your own size?”
“Shut up, Taotie! Bring that bastard boy over, and I’ll spare your dog’s life!”
“Spare my life? Hah! Keep your daydreams for when you’re asleep!”
The Taotie flew towards the Qilin with the intention of pulverizing his face. However, Eneru zigzagged in the sky and passed him, flying directly towards the city of Gladiolus.
Eneru opened his jaws and a concentrated ball of lightning appeared. He was planning to use a lightning blast in order to devastate the city and force the Half-Elf out of his hiding place.
Conner stood with his arms crossed over his chest before he raised his hand.
“Now, Prince Ernest!”
The Statue of the Goddess Astrid, that stood in the center of the City, glowed. The sword that was pointed at the sky shimmered as a faint layer of light appeared to cover the city.
Eneru saw it, but didn’t bat an eye and unleashed his most powerful move, which was strong enough to wipe out an entire city.
“Gigavolt Breaker!”
A thunderous explosion ensued as the lightning blast collided with the layer of protection that enveloped the city. Instead of canceling the attack, the barrier absorbed the magic power behind the Qilin’s attack and transferred it to the tip of the sword of the Goddess Statue.
Blood seeped out of the corner of Prince’s Ernest lips as he channeled the overwhelming power that was meant to destroy the City of Gladiolus. He was currently seated on a white throne that controlled all the special functions of the Hellan Kingdom.
His small hands balled into fists as he endured the pain that wracked his entire body.
When the full attack of Eneru had been properly absorbed, the sword on the statue’s hand turned golden.
‘Time for you to have a taste of your own medicine!’ Prince Ernest said internally as more blood flowed out of the corner of his lips.
He then looked at the projection of the Qilin in front of him as he punched his right fist forward.
Immediately, a hundred meter projection of a golden knight appeared over the City of Gladiolus. It then raised the golden sword in its hand and prepared to strike down the arrogant Qilin that had dared to challenge its sovereignty.
Eneru, who had been raving out of anger, shuddered as he felt a powerful force locked his body in place. He struggled in order to break free from the invisible shackles that bound him because he had a feeling that if he didn’t manage to flee now, he wouldn’t be able to do so for the rest of his life.
“Face the retribution of the Divine, and bow to our Goddess’ Will!” Prince Ernest roared. “Heaven’s Fury!”
The Golden Knight slashed its sword with a vengeance towards the Qilin whose body shone like a bright star.
Jekyll had already retreated hundreds of meters away the moment the Golden Knight had appeared. He was a Chimaera Beast and the Divine power that overflowed from the golden statue was enough to tell him that he would lose his life if he got caught in the path of its attack.
Eneru roared at the same time that the blade slashed over his body. A crisp sound reverberated in the air as a bloody claw-tipped arm fell from the sky, followed by a peal of thunder.
Prince Ernest fainted as his body fell back on the white throne. Blood had stained his clothes and tears slid down his face. The attack was too much for a mortal child to handle, and he received serious injuries from forcefully carrying it out.
Brendan immediately ran to his side and shouted for help. He could feel that the Young Prince’s heartbeat was growing weaker. If a cleric didn’t appear in time, Prince Ernest’s life would scatter in the wind.
Jekyll unceremoniously grabbed the bloody arm from the ground and ate it. He chewed it loudly as if he was taking his time to enjoy his meal.
‘Too bad the bastard managed to escape,’ Jekyll thought as he swallowed the food in his mouth. ‘Still, he won’t be able to recover from that anytime soon. Serves him right.’
Conner recovered himself as the intense light dimmed and surveyed the surroundings. This was the first time that he had seen the rumored Divine Strike of Gladiolus, and he was awed by how powerful it was.
Even so, he also felt regret that the Qilin managed to escape. Whenever a Myriad Beast died, a pillar of light would appear on the spot where it lost its life. Since a pillar couldn’t be seen anywhere, it meant that Eneru was barely able to survive the attack that should have ended his life.
—–
Purple blood rained down from the sky, as Eneru flew towards the Azure Fortress. His right arm had been completely chopped off, and blood flowed out of several wounds that could be seen all over his body.
Eneru panted as he flew back towards the Azure Fortress. His current state was completely different from the arrogant Qilin who thought that it could bring down the Hellan Capital before the Elven Army arrived.
He didn’t expect that the City of Gladiolus had this kind of countermeasure to protect itself from powerful beings such as himself. Fortunately, he didn’t know that this counter-attack couldn’t be used repeatedly, because it cast a heavy burden on whoever was seated on the white throne that controlled the defenses of the city.
At most, this attack could only be used once in a person’s lifetime. If the person was lucky enough to survive, a second attempt would without a doubt end his life.
The Qilin couldn’t use his powers to travel at the speed of lightning because the Divine Power had suppressed his power. Aside from that, the attack had a lasting side effect that caused his Beast Rank to regress.
Instead of an imposing Myriad Beast at the Peak of his powers, Eneru had fallen to the rank of a Millennial Beast at its peak stage. However, he could still recover his rank if he recuperated for a decade, something he had to wait to do until he could safely return to the Silvermoon Continent.
In order to preserve his life, he used a forbidden skill and sacrificed his right arm, cutting it permanently from its body. This arm would also need a decade to regrow, and no amount of healing or restoration potions could mend it completely.
“… It’s all your fault,” Eneru said hoarsely “This is all your fault…”
A strand of red thread descended from the sky and penetrated the Qilin’s body. Eneru was too injured, and too occupied with his thoughts to notice the changes that had happened around him. He was only barely able to retain his consciousness as he traveled back to the Azure Fortress, and had no strength to worry about anything else.
If he was only paying attention, he would have heard the chuckle that was being softly carried by the wind.
A chuckle that was filled with amusement and anticipation for the things that were about to come.