The emperor of the asura race frowned lightly as he immersed himself in his memories. However, he soon realized that there was a problem.
The confrontation between Emperor Thannath and Bai Zemin was very short, to say the least. Because while Thannath was trying to analyze his opponent to see if he could see what made a First Order existence special enough to be able to kill beings two Orders above, Bai Zemin was trying to waste time in order for the Cosmos Gate to close a little more at the same time as he gathered as much Mana as possible to activate the effect attached to his Mystic Earring. Therefore, the emperor of the asura race did not manage to get much information about the skills of his young enemy.
Seconds passed and soon turned into minutes. However, Emperor Thannath still could not find too much information recorded in his memory.
The Higher Existences naturally noticed the strange behavior of the Lower Existence in front of them, so, many of them could not help but frown with disapproval. For them, even though they had all the time in the world, wasting a second talking to a Lower Existence who to top it off had even been abandoned by the Soul Record was something they would usually be unwilling to do and this occasion was just an exception due to the circumstances; however, they were beginning to lose their patience.
Uriel furrowed her eyebrows slightly but still kept that beautiful faint smile on her face as she observed how slowly the face of the man who led the asura race began to fill with beads of sweat.
The pressure that Emperor Thannath was facing was no small thing at all. In front of him were hundreds of thousands of existences that had the ability to slap him to death and disperse his soul so that not even a trace of the man called Thannath remained!
"About skills…. This… A giant trident several thousand meters in length…. There was also a powerful Third Order flame…" Thannath frowned tightly as he thought in detail and slowly narrated as the earlier scene was unearthed from his memories.
Giant trident several thousand meters long? Although it was surprising that a First Order existence would have so much Mana to cast a magic spell of such magnitude, none of the Higher Existences were surprised at all.
The Lower Existence called Bai Zemin should be capable of at least that much or otherwise, everyone present would feel like fools for taking the future of a First Order being in high consideration.
But everyone's expression began to change once the words "Third Order flame" were uttered.
Lucifer exchanged glances with the other faction leaders and each of them saw the flash of surprise in the others' eyes. They knew better than anyone what a Third Order flame could do; it was practically a supreme trump card among the Lower Existences and a natural treasure that all mages would drool over and be willing to kill in order to obtain.
The most surprised were undoubtedly the fire mages among the Higher Existences. After all, they only had at most a Fourth Order flame at the moment.
Considering that fire was undoubtedly one of the most powerful elements in terms of destructiveness, a Third Order flame in the hands of a First Order existence was something that by nature should not fall. After all, this type of flame was so powerful that it would slowly swallow the soul of anyone below its natural power.
"Could it be a Soul Contract?" The Lord of Heaven frowned and asked to the air.
"Soul Contract? Such a thing is naturally impossible." Salazar said hoarsely. "Only Third Order feral beasts that finally managed to awaken high-level intelligence are capable of forming Soul Contracts with other existences. As for a Third Order flame? Unless it's a flame with intelligence like Michael and a handful of Seventh Order beings possess, which I'd rather die than believe, this idea of yours is out of the question."
Medes did not reply to the words of the leader of the Evolution Army and instead looked at Lucifer as if seeking answers.
Lucifer naturally understood what Medes was talking about but after thinking seriously for several seconds he too shook his head and calmly said, "Impossible. Those treasures have either been claimed long ago or lost forever in chaotic cracks to which no one has access."
Medes closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and saying in a voice that only he could hear: "…. It is also supposed to be impossible for a First Order existence to kill Third Order beings and even survive the confrontation against a Fourth Order."
Flames capable of forming contracts that connected their soul with that of another intelligent being were intelligent flames with self-consciousness. However, for a flame to awaken self-consciousness it first needed to reach the same level as a Legend grade natural treasure and to awaken intelligence that same flame would need to reach the Demi-God level.
It was just that the natural treasures of those grades had already been taken or lost in the river of history and even if a godly flame were to appear it was unlikely that it would choose a First Order existence as its companion regardless of how powerful they might appear to be.
Since it was impossible for a Third Order flame to awaken consciousness and intelligence enough to form a Soul Contract with another living being, all the Higher Existences were at a loss as to what was going on.
Even Lilith was 100% dumbfounded and disbelief shone in her eyes. Third Order flame? Since when did Bai Zemin possess something as destructive as that?
Now she finally understood how he had managed to turn a Fourth Order existence into such a miserable state as the asura emperor was! With the Crimson Blood Judgment magic skill being cast by a giant trident plus the power of a Third Order flame then nothing was impossible!
However, Lilith's heart suddenly tightened as she realized that a big problem might be approaching at the thought of a certain possibility.
Indeed.
Emperor Thannath suddenly remembered something and his eyes lit up as he looked at Uriel and said aloud: "Now I remember something else! The real reason why this First Order existence called Bai Zemin managed to cause so much disaster and force me to fall into a passive situation was not especially due to the giant trident or the Third Order flames, it was due to another skill!"
Lilith narrowed her eyes but just when the murderous intent inside her wanted to grow, she forcibly suppressed it and closed her eyes while sighing in her heart.
Some things couldn't be avoided and if one tried to avoid them the final problem could end up being much bigger…
"Oh?" Uriel raised both eyebrows in surprise.
They all looked at Thannath waiting for his next words as it was hard for them to believe that something more amazing than the appearance of a Third Order flame could be found in the body of a First Order existence.
"This Bai Zemin, just before he launched the giant fire trident, he shouted something like 'Gravity Manipulation x15' or something similar!" Thannath said through gritted teeth. The emperor of the asura race did not notice the drastic change that several of the Higher Existences present underwent as he continued explaining, "Not only did the giant trident's falling speed skyrocket but that brat had even hidden a giant sword within the flames that boosted the weight multiplied 15 times even more than it should have. It was that gravity-related skill that gave me so much trouble!"
After finishing, Thannath looked at Uriel as if to beg her to believe him and that he would never be defeated by a First Order existence regardless of how talented they were. However, he soon realized that the beautiful woman who had taken over his attention was frozen as the wings behind her swayed gently.
"… Gravity Manipulation x15…?" Fire Sorrow whispered amidst the silence. Her violet pupils trembled softly exposing how agitated her heart was at the moment.
Lilith secretly frowned as she watched the reactions of everyone present. She naturally understood that the skill Gravity Manipulation would be incredibly strong in its more advanced stages, however, from Lilith's point of view, it was not too terrifying a skill at present to surprise everyone so much.
In fact, the only reason why the skill Gravity Manipulation was part of the main skills of Bai Zemin was solely for the ability to boost the destructive attacks he could use with his greatsword since Bai Zemin did not need to spend mana to "suppress" enemies; after all, he finished them off rather quickly.
Was there a Seventh Order existence that possessed the skill Gravity Manipulation in advanced stages and its power was extremely high? Lilith could only think of such a possibility since otherwise, the reaction of certain people would make no sense to her.
However, at the end of the day, Lilith was too young, and even if she knew more than Bai Zemin for obvious reasons, she still had a long way to go regarding the secrets of the universe. Therefore, even now, she was underestimating certain skills tremendously.
"You… Do you know what you are saying?" Luciah suddenly took a step forward and her grip on her spear tightened as she glared dagger-like eyes at Thannath. "You dare to lie to us? Are you tired of living?"
No one said anything. Not even Lucifer did anything to stop his sister and instead looked at Thannath with cold eyes as if he had forgotten his earlier promise not to hurt or cause chaos in the Oblon World.
"Th- This…" Thannath looked at Luciah and then at Uriel.
However, Uriel had a slight frown on her face and her golden eyes revealed the complicated emotions fluttering in her soul as to be concerned about him.
The emperor of the asura race swallowed saliva and looked at Luciah. Beads of sweat as a result of nervousness slid down his face as he said in a hoarse voice, "I- I don't dare…. I don't dare lie to you. I'm really trying my best to remember-"
"Silence!" Luciah pointed with her spear and bellowed.
Swoosh!
There was no warning or signal but Emperor Thannath felt his left cheek cut and blood trickled down his face. With his heart dead in fear, he could only stare at Luciah without understanding what was happening.
Lucifer appeared next to Luciah and touched her shoulder gently as if to tell her to leave the rest to him.
Lilith watched in amazement as Luciah, who was always calm and quiet, took a deep breath and stepped back as she looked at the asura emperor with murderous intent.
Lucifer stared at Thannath in silence for several minutes, minutes which were hell for the formerly proud emperor. Then, he slowly said with terrifying calm:
"What you just said is very important. A lot more than you can imagine. Let me ask you just one time… Are you sure you heard Gravity Manipulation and not Gravity Maker or anything similar?"
In the short term, the skill called Gravity Maker might sound more powerful than the skill Gravity Manipulation. However, few among those present understood the colossal difference between the two in the more advanced stages. Therefore, Lucifer had to be sure what was going on since the skill Gravity Manipulation should not have appeared under any circumstances.
Thannath frowned and sweated bullets as he carefully remembered. But regardless of how much he tried, he was sure he didn't misremember.
However, seeing how everyone was looking at him, the asura emperor hesitated.
Should he lie and say that it was indeed Gravity Maker? Or should he continue to insist on the truth?
His life was hanging by a thread again and he did not understand the exact reason why this was happening.
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