594 Wash 1

Blinding light washed over the stadium, layered with a pressure that caused the Ragnors and their allies to freeze.

It was impossible for those of lower cultivation to measure the power of those above them, but that didn't mean those people could tell the obvious differences… And something was telling them that this person was much stronger than the Loki they so feared.

In an instant, the rampaging red crystals began to shriek in agony. It was only at that point that a horrible realizing hit many who witnessed this… The essence of the red crystals trapped their families and friends within!

Tears of rage poured, filling the battlefield with a wretched atmosphere that was only made worse by the booming thunder clouds and heavily falling rain. Even to now, the effects of King Acacia cooling the atmosphere had not rescinded…

Although Nora was hit with a wave of guilt, there was nothing she could do. Stopping now would give the red crystals time to adjust and adapt, and, even if she did stop, there was no guarantee that their family and friends could be saved. Even with all of her and her husband's knowledge, they had no ways among themselves to solve this situation in any other way.

By this point, Patia-Neva had calmed, sighing a breath of relief that he wouldn't have to fight this battle alone. However, when he saw the little white fox that lay on Nora's shoulder, a wave of pain couldn't help but overwhelm him.

How could he not recognize Kawa? For her to be in her beast form, and only have a single tail at that, Patia-Neva could only imagine the hardships she had suffered. Deep inside, he still loved Kawa and although he would never again act on those feelings, he couldn't help but hurt seeing her in this state.

Patia-Neva sighed before sending a look of appreciation toward Nora and morphing his wall of ice into a zone of quarantine.

The massive wall curved in on itself, pushing the weakening red crystals toward the Ragnors before curling.

The Ragnors panicked, unwilling to be trapped with their own creations. They ran and stumbled, doing everything in their power to escape Patia-Neva's reaches.

In the end, the only escaped because Patia-Neva allowed it. After all, as a celestial, how could he not deal with a few thousand essence gatherers and saints?

With their source of power being cut off, the red crystals had indeed forgotten who their masters were, springing toward the fleeing Ragnors to try and survive, shrieking in pain all the while. However, that was when Patia-Neva's actions showed their true benefit.

The ends of the wall completed a circle, slamming into each other's ends and crushing the red crystal zombie-like creatures that tried to escape.

Because of their weakened state, even slightly touching the purity path ice that Patia-Neva formed made them shrink back in anger, unwilling to deal with the searing pain.

The walls continued to shrink, closing in, closer and closer, until a radius of a kilometer became 500 meters… then 400… then 300…

Cries and pleas of mercy almost seemed human, losing their blood thirsty edge, but Nora and Patia-Neva could only continue, burying their feelings of pity deep within.

King Belmont stood silently, watching all of this unfold. Maybe saying that he had the most emotional investment in the situation would be going too far, but this was his kingdom. He felt a level of culpability for everything that had happened… In fact, he blamed himself for everything.

He was incompetent, and overly confident. And in the end, he had allowed the enemy who made likely made the worst and the worst possible, come from his very self.

How long had he known the nature of his own son? And yet, he ignored it, seeing his talent as something irreplaceable and naively believing that as his father, he could change everything.

But now, it was likely that a true genius was dead. He couldn't even bring himself to mention Dyon to his master and martial father… The guilt he felt was weighing much too heavily.

All this time, King Belmont wanted to believe that everyone's attentions were focused on finding the lost Epistemic Tower, but, it turned out that their goal all along was the Belmont Holy Land, to unleash a secret that the Belmonts were meant to have held onto with their very lives.

How could King Belmont not know by now that Elder Daiyu and Patriarch Ragnor had taken Dyon to the depth of the Belmont Holy Land? How could he not know that the only way to open those lands were with the fire and ice flames that were exclusive to his family? How could he not know that without his son's involvement, none of this would have happened so easily for the enemy?!

And now he had to watch the people he was supposedly meant to protect wither away and cry out in agony…

Everyone in their alliance had sacrificed so much. His master and her husband had not seen their child since their birth. Patia-Neva lost his entire clan seeking the power to help. Kawa and Edrym hadn't hesitated to go on mission after mission, even after Kawa was saved, knowing fully well with every mission they accepted, it would be another length of time away from their daughter…

All he had to do was protect this planet! That was it! He didn't make any sacrifices. He got to see his family whenever he wanted. He got to raise his children and he was treated like a king every day. Even Big Red had lost people precious to him. And what had King Belmont done?

Absolutely nothing.

And in the end, it wasn't even him who fixed it all either…