Chapter 1490: 1490. Escape

The shockwaves released by the rank 8 existences were too intense for the experts in the seventh rank. Even Noah couldn't withstand them. His insides shook and shattered every time those tremors spread through the area.

The palace crumbled under the intense pressure released by the rank 8 experts. Divine Demon and Madame Canson tried to hold back to preserve their underlings, but Wilfred and Luke didn't care. They launched attacks that carried their full power, creating a moving calamity in a place filled with rank 7 existences.

Noah and Miss Nine couldn't continue their battle in those conditions. They could barely keep their bodies together, but they didn't dare to make the first move.

The other experts ran away as fast as they could, but Noah and Miss Nine remained still. The expert from the Crystal City preferred to die rather than let him go, and Noah needed more time to deploy the Shadow Domain around him.

"Why don't you leave?" Noah asked as blood flowed out of his mouth.

"Why don't you die?" Miss Nine asked as her arm shattered.

In a matter of seconds, only Miss Nine, Noah, and Fergie remained in the hall. The structure was even falling apart due to the shockwaves that spread through the sky. Everything was about to crumble, and their bodies weren't an exception.

"I know that you want to use that strange dimensional technique," Miss Nine said. "I'll make sure that you die before meeting the requirements for its activation."

Noah could only reveal a cold smile. The fact that Miss Nine had already guessed his plan shocked him, but it was better to remain silent in that situation. The less she knew, the longer Noah could use the Shadow Domain as his trump card.

"I won't spend the last seconds of my life staring at an enemy," Noah said as growls fused with his human voice.

His bloodlust surged even if the cursed sword remained inside the separate space. That feeling was part of Noah's consciousness now. His destruction intensified, and roots came out of his palm again.

Noah stored the white sword before pointing his palm toward Miss Nine. A shockwave suddenly arrived and destroyed the roots shooting toward the expert, but a faint black gas remained between him and the expert.

Flames came out of Noah's mouth at that point. They burned anything in their range before crumbling when another shockwave fell on the hall.

A purple radiance came out of Miss Nine's chest and protected her already broken body. The faint trace of a rank 8 aura came out of the expert and allowed her to endure the shockwaves.

Noah had an incredible body, but Miss Nine had the purple crystal. The two were almost on par when it came to their resilience. Miss Nine could resist as long as him.

'Damned fanatic,' Noah cursed in his mind as he stored the Demonic Sword.

Snore and Night had also returned inside his body. Noah's companions couldn't endure the shockwaves as well as him. He couldn't rely on them in that situation.

Noah took a step forward, and a torrent of blood flowed out of his mouth when another shockwave arrived. That didn't manage to stop his advance. It only slowed him down.

Noah took a few more steps before another shockwave ran past him. His consciousness began to waver, but he never stopped providing special darkness to the Shadow Domain.

Miss Nine could resist as long as Noah, but she couldn't move. She could only see her opponent drawing close and throwing a punch directed at her face.

Noah's fist slammed on an invisible wall, and his right hand opened when he saw that his physical strength wasn't enough to take down that defense.

The roots came out of his palm and pierced the invisible wall, allowing him to stretch his hand toward Miss Nine. Still, another shockwave arrived, and Noah found himself grabbing Miss Nine's robe instead of her head.

Noah didn't let that setback stop him. Roots came out of his palm and spread corrosive smoke, but a shockwave turned them into ashes before they could reach Miss Nine.

A snort came out of Noah's bleeding mouth. Spells and companions were too unreliable in that condition. He had to use his physical strength to be consistent in his offensive.

Noah ripped Miss Nine's robe open and stabbed his fingers in her chest. Her skin opposed no resistance at all, but a shockwave forced him to stop moving.

"I will take this," Noah said as his fingers grabbed the purple crystal and pulled.

The crystal didn't want to leave Miss Nine's chest no matter how much strength Noah applied. It felt like a core part of her existence, something that Noah couldn't rip out with his sheer power.

"Madame Canson has personally awarded me this," Miss Nine said as she exploded into a loud laugh. "What makes you think that you can steal it?"

When Miss Nine used the word "steal", something unlocked inside Noah's mind. His curiosity intensified, and a deep desire to seize the crystal filled him.

The Demonic Deduction technique activated on its own and fed on the bloodlust accumulated in the mental sea. The black hole also spun faster, and Noah's eyes became as bright as stars.

Something strange happened in Noah's vision. A series of strands became visible. They connected every matter in the world, and most of them led far away.

Noah didn't know what was happening, but the crystal slowly began to slide away from Miss Nine's chest. The cultivator's eyes widened. She couldn't believe that Noah was actually managing to seize that item.

Once the crystal was entirely out of Miss Nine's chest, Noah stored it inside the separate space and dived his hand deeper into her body. He soon reached her heart, which exploded when his fingers touched it.

Noah didn't stop there. He raised his hand until it reached the base of Miss Nine's neck. The expert didn't move nor try to defend. The loss of the crystal had made her incredibly weak. Noah could kill her on the spot.

Still, a series of shockwaves fell on the hall at that point. The force carried by those vibrations shattered the floor and flung Miss Nine away. Noah and Fergie fell toward the garden, and the duo found themselves unable to stop their descent.

Creating platforms of "Breath" in that chaotic environment was almost impossible. Fergie was also unconscious, so he couldn't even try to save his life.

'Snore!' Noah shouted inside his mind, and the Blood Companion began to form under his feet.

A shockwave quickly destroyed Snore, but Noah used the creature's dark matter to jump through the sky. He had to return to the area where the Shadow Domain had expanded to escape, but he had to make a stop first.

Noah shot toward Fergie, and the expert disappeared when Noah touched him. The separate space could contain living beings, so he wasn't a problem.

Snore reappeared under Noah and allowed him to leap upward. He had enlarged the Shadow Domain enough to contain him before the fall, but the shockwave had stopped him from entering it.

Noah used his Blood Companion to continue his climb, and he stopped once he reached his last spot.

"He is escaping!" Miss Nine shouted, and Madame Canson turned to look at Noah's jumping figure.

Madame Canson's aura shot toward him, and Noah didn't hesitate to activate the Shadow Domain. His figure disappeared, but part of the expert's aura had touched him and had forced its way through that dimension.

Noah felt a massive force pushing him away. His shoulder broke, but he didn't have time to mind his condition. The attack had made the Shadow Domain unstable, making Noah fly in a peculiar dimension that bordered the technique.

Noah didn't know what was happening, but he couldn't stop. He didn't have any strength left, and his mind could never expand since he continued to cross dimensions during his flight.

The attack had thrown him deep into the magical beasts' domain. It had made Noah almost teleport in an area that he had never explored.