Noah's true meaning could force his centers of power to grow. It could accumulate the potential to trigger transformations. It could even evolve the matter touched by its influence.
However, Noah had never used his entire ambition in his attacks. His slashes and spells carried the many features in his existence, but they didn't fuse them into a harmonious array.
'I need to use my ambition to attack,' Noah concluded as flames came out of his mouth to heal his body.
Snore and Night fought against the crocodile. The snake nigh-immortality could keep it busy even if cracks opened on its ethereal figure, and the Pterodactyl was almost untouchable. The rank 8 magical beast struggled to escape their offensive and couldn't find the chance to attack its previous opponent.
Noah remained in the sky. His mind slowed down after the flames fixed his condition, but he didn't require the full potential of his thoughts anymore. He had to create something meant to destroy. The Demonic Deduction technique was the ideal tool for that task.
'I have fused my destruction and creation in single attacks already,' Noah thought while looking at his swords, 'But they had never become pure expressions of my ambition. They were nothing more than features fueled by my law.'
Bloodthirsty thoughts filled his mind as the scarlet halo radiated by the Demonic Deduction technique illuminated his dark mental sea. The answer to his problem was already there. Noah had simply failed to notice it until now.
'I couldn't have found it sooner,' Noah concluded in his mind. 'I had to taste countless defeats and hone my arts to their limits to obtain this solution.' NovelWell.com
His draconic form vanished. A layer of dark matter created a fiendish armor to protect his skin from the Demonic Form's corrosive properties.
Noah closed his eyes as his consciousness expanded and focused on the crocodile. He had to pierce its skull, but his attacks lacked power. So, he decided to concentrate the power of his ambition in his next slash.
His cultivation level fell as his ambition withdrew from his centers of power and gathered on his blades. Their might remained the same, but the area around them darkened.
Strange energy enveloped Noah's weapons. It was subtle and didn't radiate its influence in the area. However, both Fergie, the Foolery, and the weaker crocodiles stopped fighting to turn in his direction.
Something was attracting those existences. Their very instincts told them that Noah owned an incredible ability. Part of them even wanted to bathe in that aura.
'I finally found the answer,' Noah thought while reopening his eyes. 'I have been wrong since the beginning. There is no destruction or creation. There is only power and the ability to gather more of it.'
Noah began to walk toward the rank 8 crocodile. His feet landed on dark spots in the air as he neared his opponent.
The beast understood that something had changed in its opponent, but it didn't dare to reject that frontal challenge. Even Snore and Night retreated when they sensed Noah's intentions.
'I don't need complexity,' Noah thought. 'I don't need to amass numerous techniques to fill the gaps with the higher ranks. My ambition already has the power to do that. I only had to find this ability inside me.'
The crocodile jumped once Noah entered its range. It performed a long leap and opened its huge mouth to bit on its opponent. Yet, Noah disappeared before it could stab its teeth in his skin.
Noah reappeared on the ground behind the creature. The crocodile had already seen his teleports, so it didn't let that event surprise it. As soon as the beast touched the terrain, it turned to jump toward him again.
The crocodile interrupted its charge mid-way. The creature had suddenly noticed that something was off. The lower part of its mouth wasn't on its body anymore. The beast had left it in its landing spot.
A wave of surprise filled the crocodile. Noah's attack didn't radiate any threatening aura, but it had managed to sever part of its body. His cultivation level had also fallen, so he didn't rely on any boost to achieve that.
The rank 8 beast wouldn't ask Noah for explanations. It soon charged toward him again, paying extra attention to his blades. The crocodile couldn't believe that a rank 7 existence could hurt it again if it were careful.
Noah casually swung his blades, but the crocodile dodged them. It ducked under that horizontal slash and twisted its mouth to point its teeth on his waist.
"This attack hit you," Noah said. "Or rather, it didn't, but my ambition can evolve a miss into a clean hit."
While his words reached the crocodile, the upper part of the creature's mouth fell. The beast ended up hitting Noah's waist with its maimed head, and the attack managed to fling him away anyway.
Blood accumulated in Noah's mouth, but he didn't even bother to spit it. He was in a peculiar mindset, and he didn't dare to interrupt it to mind his condition.
'The answer is always so simple,' Noah sighed in his mind while the crocodile launched a mad charge toward him.
The rank 8 creature was livid, and its survival instincts had also kicked in. It wouldn't bother about its injuries anymore. It only wanted to kill its opponent.
Noah raised his blades above his head. His body was a mess due to the drawbacks of the cursed sword, but he let it shatter. He had to complete one last attack before focusing on his condition.
The crocodile jumped once it entered Noah's range. It lowered its head in an attempt to headbutt Noah's chest, but its assault lost power mid-air.
The creature revealed a surprised expression. Once again, it found itself unable to understand what was happening. Still, a small cut suddenly appeared on its maimed mouth.
The cut expanded and enlarged until it crossed its entire head. That phenomenon didn't only involve its scaled skin. Its skull and brain also suffered the same damages.
The crocodile found its head severed into two parts before crashing on the ground. Its body slid on the terrain and reached Noah's feet.
Noah didn't attack. He limited himself to fix his cold eyes on his opponent. His mental waves seeped inside its body and observed as its resilience slowly gave in to its injuries.
The beast struggled. It continued to crawl closer to Noah's feet even after he had divided its brain into two parts. Its resilience was astonishing, but it slowly vanished, leaving the crocodile alive for only a few short moments.
While its vision went dark, the crocodile raised its eyes to stare at Noah. It wanted to surrender, but it couldn't give voice to any sound in that condition.
The crocodile died in front of the attentive eyes of everyone in Noah's group. Their threatening companion had finally succeeded. He had killed a rank 8 creature with his own hands!
"It's time," The cursed sword said before creating a pulling force that absorbed the bloodlust gathered on Noah's mental walls.
"Wait!" Noah suddenly shouted while looking at the sword held by his right hand. "Didn't you tell me that magical beasts made you improve slowly?"
"They do," The cursed sword replied, "But your achievements are only the trigger for my advancement at this time. The bloodlust that you have accumulated for centuries is more than enough for me."