481 Prepare For Battle
Though he had heard it all, and with his soul sense, knew that he was not in an illusion, Seth found it hard to believe what he was hearing. Though Rose had always been cold and berating of him, she was someone Seth had designs on, and though he wouldn't call himself chummy with Rose, at the same time, she was someone he could count on, but now, Seth felt like he was standing before a total stranger.
Perhaps to a point of desperation, Seth looked into Rose's eyes, hoping this was all a joke, but the feeling of danger his instincts were giving him and Alice's warning were clawing at his hopes. With Alice's orders to Tera, reality was smacked on Seth's face, and as he prepared for the incoming violence, he made a try at diplomacy.
"You made me, Alice, but I'll advise you to destroy any thought you have of breaking me," Seth said, a wide smile climbing his face, and a burst of qi coming out of his body. To stop Rose from breaking him, to stand up to her, to be a challenge to her, maybe defeat her—at the moment, these were dreams, as Seth was more than sure that he couldn't accomplish any of them. Just standing here and looking at Rose, there was only one action that Seth's instincts told him to do, and that was to flee. nOve.Lb(1n
Though Seth had come a long way since the last time he saw Rose, travelling to another world and breaking through several levels of cultivation until he went beyond being mortal, and now being a full-fledged immortal, as Seth stood before Rose and had his soul sense go through her, he felt like he was looking into infinity. A never-ending impasse, that was what Rose was to Seth's already powerful soul sense, and though Seth tried persisting, after a minute, he could only grimly take back his soul sense and face Rose's unmoved face.
"Are you done yet? Do you now realize exactly what you are up against?"
"Yeah right, seems like you don't know me," Seth said with a chuckle, and then the next instant, he fell into the black sea beneath him and while that happened, the sea, which had once been calm and still, suddenly got all turbulent, and towering waves of darkness immediately rose from it and moved to collapse upon Rose.
Standing there and being put in a situation that any cultivator on Earth would call a nightmare, Rose remained calm and still. Just as the wave of darkness was about to hit her, a wave of energy rippled out of her, going in all directions. There wasn't any action or fanfare behind Rose's output of energy; the woman remained perfectly still, and there was a powerful wave from her. Though with the physical eyes, it seemed Rose's action did nothing, but to Seth, who was down below, taking shelter in the depth of the sea he had created, his soul sense told him to brace for impact, and the next second, that was all he could do.
It came with a gentle breeze, and the next second, there was an undeniable explosion of force. Like a storm descending from the deepest depths of the ocean, a powerful wind-like force originating from Rose smacked into everything around her, except for Tera, who was still floating some distance behind her.
Like an invisible gigantic hand was at work, the sky, which Seth had turned dark and used to strike fear into the hearts of many in the world and even intimidate Tera, was torn apart, but not before Seth's dark sea was vanquished. The force hit the sea, and then rather than just smacking it away and dispersing it, it pushed it away and eradicated it to nothingness. With a single move from Rose, the entire battlefield, which had been turned into a dark world, was quickly corrected, and the bright yellow rays of the sun were allowed to shine once more.
Down on the ground, after Rose's dispersing of his darkness, Seth, who had been forced to bury his feet into the ground and try to maintain a footing while the ultimate attack he had conjured was being turned to dust, was looking in a horrible state. Though thankfully, unlike last time, Seth still had both his arms and legs intact, the three claw slashes along which were bleeding more than told anyone of his precarious condition. Kneeling on the ground with his fingers planted in the ground, after Rose's outburst had run its course and returned the world to its sunny self while also leaving him defenseless, a porcupine without its spikes, Seth let out a deep breath, and then with that, his arms trembled, and he nearly fell flat on his face, but luckily, he put some strength back into his body.
While Seth was able to stop himself from falling, the same couldn't be said about the blood that came spurting out of his mouth as while the world and everything else were back to normal and in perfect condition, Seth was far from that. Not considering the several cuts and heavy blows that had been inflicted on his body, the three claw-like scratches on Seth's chest were not only painful and gaping but also poisoned with qi. Though the qi which came with the attack did not actively look to penetrate his body and reach the core of his being, a situation which surprised Seth, the qi still did a very good job of keeping him from healing himself.
"Would I have to rip out my flesh again," Seth thought with a grimace. Seth was many things, but a man who enjoyed ripping out his flesh or a masochist was not one of them, and he would persevere through the pain and look to use his qi to overcome the annoying energy in his body did he not notice Alice, who was now standing in the air after destroying his sea, begin to descend. Seth wasn't sure what was happening, but one thing he knew was that Rose was out of his mind, and the least hesitation from him might just land him in chains. From what he could see of the woman's expression, Seth doubted he was being sentenced to peaceful imprisonment.