Chapter 649 Impasse (Part 4)

The attacks of the elementals had now become a flurry of colors, wrestling with one another over the privilege of setting the tones of newly formed nebulae. Flashes of pure white tainted by red hot hues, soon to be replaced by shades of green and blue before having a chance to relax into softer tones of orange and yellow, all glowing within the depths of a gargantuan cluster of smoke, dust and vapor. 

A spectacle that a few of the most advanced and laid back civilizations across the multiverse could have mistaken for accompaniment to intoxicated dancing and partying, if not for the deafening roar each light was accompanied by.

Witness to the destructive nature of this show of colors was Roley, who, for the last several minutes, had been the target of each of the attacks that had produced them. Hidden within layers of elemental essence of primordial nature, he felt the tremors of each attack in his bones, shaking his spirit and mind. Many powerful enough to chip at his powers, which gradually retreated towards the surface of his skin.

Fifteen long minutes of constant attacks had reduced the natural barrier that surrounded his body, to a thin layer which lingered just over his skin. Still as powerful as ever, yet less durable. Its color had gone from an elegant mixture of different hues to a dull brown, for too little space had remained for the essences to maintain their individual beauty, causing them to merge into one.

Just a few hundreds of miles from the onslaught, the archives stood unperturbed, stable and glorious, carrying the lives of countless lives, including that of the champion of Destiny. A young woman of divine stature and peerless beauty, who stared at the spectacle of lights with unmasked satisfaction. 

"It is not too late to change your mind. Reveal your secrets to me, and I will make them stop. Better yet, I will release them, and let them leave with you." She said with a benevolent tone. A tone that stood in stark contrast with her feelings of dislike and indignation and pride. She had succeeded in securing an advantage, and she was eager to exploit it. Especially against someone who had dared refuse her will, and challenge her hegemony.

Her words were carried by the faintest wisp of sound essence, which, upon reaching the cluster of destructive powers that surrounded Roley's body, found safe passage to his ears, almost as if welcomed to by the frenzied elementals.

A satisfied grin had appeared on the woman's face, as she perked her pale and small ears in wait for words of apology, awe directed at her strength, and an answer-But, alas, what she heard next left her disappointed.

"Haha!" Roley chuckled out of sight, still besieged by the interminable attacks of his own followers. His spirit was still strong, and unbroken. "I knew that not all systems were equal, but none of the ones I've heard about were as pathetic as yours!" He then added.

The brows of the young woman flared up, as her healthy red lips parted in surprise.

"I thought the systems were made to make their wielder stronger! Is catching some people to enslave all your system can do? Do you have strength left to show?!" Roley insisted, hell bent on picking the most tense cord within the woman's psyche with his words. "I do not regret bringing my army here anymore. I can see that without them, our confrontation would have been far more disappointing! Haha!" 

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The woman barked out angrily as her bare feet planted solidly onto the white marble. Her hands, clenched into tiny fists which slammed heavily onto her thighs, flushed clear of blood.

"Hey, I am looking out for you!" Roley responded as more and more attacks further thinned the barrier that was protecting him. His breath now heavy, and his fingers and toes trembling whenever an attack of the high tier or higher would land on him. His voice, on the other hand, remained clear and mocking. "I doubt you would defeat me, were you to ascend now, let alone another aspect of existence. You are not a fighter, just give up."

Just give up. You are not a fighter. What can you do with your little power?

Those were the words. The words the woman had heard many times before from her siblings, wielders of systems that had granted them pure martial prowess and immense strength. Creatures that had looked down on her, and spared her not out of love, but out of pity. If I were to let her live, what could she hope to do to avenge herself? Find more mortals and petty cultivators to throw at me? They all thought. Her power was pitiful in comparison to their own. Part of a species whose members were known to be only second in power to creatures of existential power, and almost as hard to kill, she wasn't the bottom of the barrel, she was a mascotte.

Words that had produced an endless depth of hatred, but that rang true more than ever when spoken by the strongest entity she had ever met. The aspect of Sacrifice. A man who could have snapped her out of existence, but had chosen to keep her instead. She was always treated like a pet, judged by the common color of her fur, now adopted for the spark of usefulness the god above had seen in her.

But then, hope had found its way to her. A young man, wielder of a system, like her and many others she had met before-But also different. Different from all her brothers and sisters who, as powerful as they were, were stuck in the same pit as she was. Not him though. He would ascend soon.

It was then that she started planning. To put herself into peril, taking matters into her own hand to ensure that every piece was in the right place. To make sure that when the time came for her to pry this piece of information out of her, he would not be able to refuse. And yet, he had.

Her hopes were broken with a mute snap. Her hair, long and of the color of gold fluttered in the air as her puny cultivation leaked from her pearly skin. On her face any semblance of divinity had disappeared, replaced by a hatred that could startle most men. She had felt something break inside her, releasing her from any limitation she had placed onto her behavior.

Her thin arms stretched outwards, palms raised to a missing sky. "I was mistaken." she muttered in sudden realization. "I should have known that was not the type of pain you would respond to." As soon as she finished speaking, the small temple, which was now floating right in front of her barely covered breasts, rotated in place, only stopping when upside down. In response to the woman's actions, the elemental attacks suddenly stopped. 

The cloud of smoke and dust, still present around Roley, could not stop his senses, nor his superhuman sight, so he was quickly able to regain his bearings.

It only took moments for him to notice that the elementals that had been attacking him for the past several minutes, were now floating quietly, staring at him with eerie faceless expressions. "What is it now?" Roley muttered quietly just before a small elemental of water hurled itself towards him, his body a block of ice the size of a large dog. 

His brows rose in shock, while his arms stretched in the direction of the incoming elemental. He wanted to stop its charge, but not out of fear, but worry, for the elemental was not sending an attack in Roley's direction, but throwing itself at him-Weak, feeble, and unable to harm anyone but itself. And that was the goal.

Like a small meteor, the block of ice dove into Roley's welcoming embrace, but as it seemed that tragedy had been prevented, the elemental exploded countless ice shards and droplets of water. Roley could only stare in shock as small crystals as bright as diamonds brushed past him, too weak to leave as much as a mark on his skin. Among them, a fist sized treasure of water essence struck his chest with a feeble thud. 

The elemental had died in a suicide attempt never meant to hurt his body, but his mind.

Before Roley could even process what had happened, a mountain-sized boulder came crashing against his back, throwing him several miles into space. As he recovered his balance moments later, he turned around just in time to see the large boulder shatter into innumerable fragments. Broken by what was left of the protective shield that encased Roley's body, now only clumps of inanimate minerals were left of it.

"Stop!" Roley yelled as more and more elementals dove to their death, leaving the world of the living in what, to them, felt like a blaze of glory. He had overestimated his opponent's mental capacity. He had thought that a bit of teasing would keep the wielder of the system from noticing Der's disappearance, but instead, it had brought her past her breaking point. She was scorching the earth, as if obtaining the information she had wanted more than anything else in life, had become an exercise in futility. Far less important than inflicting as much pain to him as she could.

"Come on Der, do it!" Roley growled through gritted teeth as his powers burst forth.

In the following minutes, one by one the elementals followed the woman's will. Some were saved by Roley's quick thinking, teleported away with the use of his spatial treasure, or cushioned by his powers when possible, but most found themselves succeeding in their attempts, leaving behind wisps of elements and, occasionally, imperfect treasures of essence.

His efforts continued until faced with what the could only describe as an incoming calamity. A serpentine dragon of pure, soft gold, long enough to wrap itself around small planets two times over was headed his way. 

Roley immediately recognized this creature. An elemental of perfect metal essence that, before coming to his service, had inhabited the lower strata of a foreign planet for millions of years. It was one of his most loyal followers, as well as the leader of all metal elementals, but now, it was showing off his powers, dashing in his direction with hate-filled eyes and jaws wide open, bearing rows of mountain sized teeth and claws that could rip worlds apart.

Roley's body instinctively reacted to the elemental's approach by releasing a layer of the primordial essences of fire and darkness. Its concept, that of hell fire. A mixture between the two essences capable of melting and swallowing virtually everything in existence. The hottest flame any creature of fire could ever hope to conjure. 

Yet, meeting the creature with such a devastating attack was not in his plans. After all, this golden dragon was not only a follower, but a friend. 

With a great deal of concentration, he quickly retracted the hungry flames, replacing them with the softest form of wood essence he could conjure. Ideally, he would have used the treasure of spatial essence to halt the dragon's charge, but it was far too large. A momentary lapse in concentration could have ripped the dragon to shards, sending each piece to a different corner of the universe.

Thousands of enormous roots grew out of Roley's body hair, extending outwards before entwining into a bed of flexible vines. Not one capable of stopping the dragon's crazed charge, but strong enough to slow it down.

The dragon kept charging, growing more and more enraged the closer to his former Lord he came, but then, just before the impact, a powerful tremor brought his motion to a stop. An earthquake that forced the trillions of kowtowing creatures off balance, but that reached the senses of Roley and the other elementals in the form of a blast of elemental essence, deep within the large cathedral.

The woman, thrown off balance just like loyal followers, turned towards the entrance of the cathedral with sheer horror. The small tower that had been floating over her palm had now started to disintegrate, floating into space in the form of a small cloud of white sand. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" She screamed as her bloodshot eyes darted towards Roley's figure.

The connection to one of her items had been lost, forever.

Roley's worried expression changed drastically, turning into an expression of relief, but only for a moment. Resolution took over right away, as he opened his mouth and yelled to the top of his lungs "DO IT NOW!"

In response to his words, a wave of power emerged from within the large cathedral, paired with a simple command. Slow yet unstoppable, the wave brushed over the woman's followers, erasing her grasp over their minds, then moved further, past the elementals and the cultivators of the Immortal Armada.

"Don't you even dare!" the woman bellowed as her now flushed arms outstretched to her sides. Her lips leaking beads of coagulated blood that stuck to her skin, while her bloodshot eyes landed firmly onto the bell.

The bell trembled, then moved. From still, the clapper swayed to the left, almost striking the bell's lip, then swung back with even more speed. Its chime would soon come, erasing the progress made through Der's power and bringing everyone back into her control. But, alas, the familiar sound never came.

The clapper had stopped mere inches from striking the bell's lip, before gently moving back to its initial position.

The woman looked at the bell in confusion. Only then did she notice that Roley had appeared next to her, once again. This time, however, he was not looking at her. His attention was dedicated to the surroundings cultivators, mortals and beasts, who had just awakened from days, years and centuries of mindless control. His demeanor was calm and his lips moved, as if to try to bring calm to their panicked hearts. And yet, the woman could hear no sound.

With unsteady feet she stepped back, thinking of how to make a retreat, only to find the smooth skin of her back smack against a transparent wall. Her arms moved forward, then to the sides. She punched upwards, then her knees to examine the surface she stood on. A shiver ran down her spine as she finally realized. She was completely trapped.

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