Bai Zemin didn't dare to stay taking too long a break so after taking a few seconds to affirm his ideals and go over his plans for the confrontation he believed was coming, he stood up.
"It really hurts. It hurts and it stings like fucking hell." He groaned as sweat ran down his agonizing face.
His precious Rank 2 armor, a full body armor, was in such bad condition that Bai Zemin was no longer quite sure if he could continue calling it as such.
The sword slash during his previous battle against Jennan had opened a large gash from his shoulder area to his chest and to make matters worse during his battle against Glineira the condition of the armor only got worse.
Bai Zemin had received more than a few stabs from Glineira's spear to make his plan more likely to succeed since the more small openings he showed for the purpose of attacking, the more believable it would be that he could not think properly. The holes he received after being stabbed by Glineira had left gashes as thick as three fingers put together and his chest was riddled with burns.
He looked down and not only saw a large gash that had difficulty closing but also noticed more than 10 stab wounds exposing scorched flesh on the inside.
"Even with my Health being as high as it is my injuries aren't healing as fast as they should." Bai Zemin lifted his sword off the ground, but instead of forcing himself to lift it all the way, he allowed the weight to rest on the earth.
"What's happening?" he frowned in concern.
Honestly, even though he still had the other half of the potion that the giant eagle had dropped after Bai Zemin finished it off, he was actually reluctant to use it unless he really had no other choice. A potion capable of instantly recovering the wounds of a living being was not something that could be treated lightly and Bai Zemin wanted to be able to take the remaining potion with him to Earth to in the future hand it over as a sample to a team of mages or scientists and thereby see if there was a possibility of at least creating a similar result using different natural plants and other natural ingredients.
But if his wounds did not begin to heal more quickly, then he might be forced to drink some of the potion. After all, even though most of the work was done, things were not yet fully finished; there was still one more challenge to overcome, and perhaps, the most difficult one.
Just as he was wondering why his wounds were not healing properly, he remembered something Lilith had told him in the past.
"I see… The other party's mana is delaying the healing of my wounds and that's why my Health stat is being lagged." Bai Zemin's eyes lit up before a bitter smile grew on his face.
The current him couldn't do anything in the aspect of mana. Even if he was a genius as Lilith claimed, Bai Zemin had only been in direct contact with mana for a little over sixty days; it was absolutely impossible for him to comprehend something that was new to him in such a short time.
In the end, Bai Zemin sighed and dropped a few drops of the potion on his tongue before allowing the liquid to slide down his throat.
The effect showed itself immediately just as the name of the potion suggested as Bai Zemin soon felt the movement and birth of new stem cells accelerate to a point where even he began to doubt whether this was his own body or not.
"I'd better get moving before I get into serious trouble." Bai Zemin muttered and took one last look behind him to see the destruction his battle against the now dead Glineira had wrought.
Even with Bai Zemin's range of vision, there were no buildings remaining. In fact, Bai Zemin could not even see debris around him except for the southern wall that collapsed at the end of the battle.
All he could see no matter where he looked was dirt and dust along with a large number of craters whose sizes could only be described as terrifying. Each of these craters looked like they would have been identified as creations of meteorites that hit the earth in the past if this were planet Earth two months ago; that's how big they were.
Bai Zemin did not know how much of the city he had destroyed with his attacks, but if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that this was the path he sought and wished to walk; the path of total destruction.
"How ironic." He spoke to himself and ignored the pain and sting of his wounds slowly healing after the enemy mana disappeared. Bai Zemin dragged his great sword on the ground behind him as he walked south and muttered, "I, who walks the path of destruction and annihilation, actually wish to build a kingdom of peace where all war disappears for the sake of my beloved ones."
"I guess what I read in the past in different stories is not so crazy after all …. For something new to exist, the old must first be destroyed."
His voice floated in the air for a long time as the wind blew in what were now mostly ruins.
Over 4,000,000 lives were lost in far less than a day and part of a city whose size was comparable to that of a small country on Earth collapsed in the process. Such an event was truly noteworthy; a feat worth of being remembered.
If such a thing were to happen among the Higher Existences, the entire universe would tremble for several thousand years!
* * *
Imperial castle, throne room.
The size of the Cosmos Gate had been reduced to 3/5 of what it originally was after two of the minor keys left their positions.
At this time, the only Third Order existence present within the hall, and thus the only minor key in place was the one holding 1/5 of the gate open. On the other hand, the powerful Emperor Thannath of the Fourth Order was holding 2/5 of the Cosmos Gate with his own personal power.
However, even though Emperor Thannath was a powerful Fourth Order existence who had ruled the Oblon world for several centuries, even for him it was not a simple task to maintain a space portal leading to a world that was countless light years away.
In fact, were it not for the fact that the Cosmos Gate array was the one that bore the brunt of the burden thanks to the large number of runes that made up the main magic circle, Emperor Thannath's vast reserves of Mana would dry up in a matter of milliseconds.
Time passed and every second felt like an eternity for the only two existences inside the throne room.
Two hours later, Varoe finally felt as if his soul were being sucked out of his body and his pale face reached the breaking point for which with trembling lips, he said with concern:
"Your Majesty, I fear that at this rate I will not be able to continue supporting the Cosmos Gate with my mana. I only have less than 5% and at most, it will only last an hour and even that is unsafe."
If Jennan left but Glineira was still present, Varoe believed he could hold out for several days before his Mana dropped to 0. However, with Jennan's fall and now Glineira's absence, Varoe couldn't take much more of the pressure of taking the place of three minor keys instead of the one place he should be occupying.
That was how great the power consumption of the Cosmos Gate was and that was how great the importance of each of the minor keys was.
"Rest a moment, Varoe. This can handle the pressure of the entire Cosmos Gate by himself for a few minutes." Emperor Thannath said in a powerful and confident voice.
Varoe sighed in relief and did not argue the matter as he knew it was better to rest in order to return with more energy. Therefore, after bowing to the emperor and thanking him for his grace, Varoe stepped back from the minor magic circle he was occupying.
The three minor circles went out when they stopped receiving mana as there was no energy to mobilize the energy within the Soul Stone powder with which the runes had been drawn.
The load on the main key increased tremendously immediately and the size of the Cosmos Gate was reduced to historic lows where a maximum of ten people could pass through.
Minutes passed and Varoe was bursting with praise in his heart for Emperor Thannath. Even though the asura race was a bloody race and every one of them was vicious as well as cruel, they admired the asura powerhouses and as the highest authority, the emperor was naturally revered and worshipped by all.
Just as Varoe wanted to say some sincere words of praise, he saw the emperor's face turn deathly pale. A moment later and just before Varoe asked what was wrong, his own face turned pale at the same time as disbelief shone in his eyes.
"Glineira… She… This… How… How can this be possible…"
Varoe muttered with wide eyes and in an extremely low tone of voice. But the throne room was deathly silent so his words echoed through the walls like thunder in the middle of a summer afternoon.
The only three existences of the asura race that remained on the Oblon world along with Emperor Thannath shared the same common destiny; to be one of the three minor keys that opened the Cosmos Gate. So, when one of the minor keys falls in battle, the other two minor keys and the main key immediately sense it; it was precisely for this fact that when Jennan was killed everyone within the hall sensed it.
Then, Varoe naturally felt great shock when all of Glineira's life energy disappeared without a trace in a matter of seconds.
"Varoe."
A deep voice, brimming with power and prestige, as well as dominance, resounded like thunder inside the hall.
Varoe shuddered involuntarily as he felt a wave of unnatural mana begin to fill the space inside the hall. It reached a point where it was even difficult to breathe!
"Y-Your Majesty…" Varoe muttered with fear-filled eyes as he looked at the emperor standing still in the center of the main circle.
The emperor's magic robe began to fill with bright flames and the feet of the most powerful asura in the Oblon world detached from the floor.
Emperor Thannath's face was serious and dignified as always, not an ounce of emotion could be seen flickering on his face. However, Varoe had known the emperor for over a thousand years, so naturally, the flash of burning anger flickering in his gaze did not manage to slip by unnoticed.
"I want you to take my place as main key for a few minutes, five minutes. Do you think you can do that?" Emperor Thannath stared at Varoe with sharp eyes.
Seeing that look, how would Varoe dare to give a negative answer? Unless he wanted to further anger the emperor and practically beg to be slapped to death, Varoe didn't have the courage to tell him no.
But he didn't dare to promise anything either. Therefore, in the end, he said with an honest expression:
"I will do my best."
Occupying the position of the main key in the center circle was a task that had rarely been performed in the past and all the minor keys fainted not long after the test. Varoe had no confidence that his current him, which was almost empty of Mana, could withstand 5 minutes of consumption of the Cosmos Gate even though it could withstand an hour as a minor key.
Emperor Thannath looked at Varoe for several seconds before his gaze shot south. He didn't say a word as he waved his magic staff gusts of wind surrounded his body, lifting him swiftly towards the ceiling.
Boom!
The ceiling of the castle, a castle with over 20,000 years of history, was shattered as the enraged Emperor Thannath charged at lightning speed in the direction of the Cosmos Gate.
* * * * * * *
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