Chapter 569 Their Respective Opponents

"Haaah?!"

The veiled woman couldn't help but gape in utter astonishment when suddenly, her Glacial Domain had started to have a competition.

As expected, Hikari was successful at stealing the woman's domain. However, the limitation of that skill put the duration of the Glacial Domain to only about five minutes.

In a battle against Transcendents of equal might, five minutes would be considered too short. As long as one couldn't land a fatal hit or someone hadn't reached near exhaustion of Source Energy yet then the battle wouldn't end.

Nonetheless, five minutes to push the woman into utter despair was all I needed.

[You entered a Glacial Domain (copied)]

[Every effect from the other Glacial Domain has been cleared]

Right. Since it's the exact same skill, the two Domains ended up canceling each other.

Due to that, the advantage that our enemies possessed disappeared in a flash. The opposing Transcendents who thought they could finally mount their counterattack after so many losses were aghast. Some straight-up ran into an attack that obliterated them instantly.

Poor fellows. They should've been better off running away to try to survive in the Chaotic Space.

"Great job, Hikari. I know I can count on you." After praising the girl with a pat on her head and a stolen kiss on her cheeks, leaving her flustered yet very happy, I flew even higher to come face to face with the veiled woman.

And while doing so, my eyes and Energy Senses surveyed the whole battlefield.

Nysia in Sanguine Aegis had started launching more furious attacks on the Thorny Queen. Furthermore, apart from fully utilizing her Transcendent Pathway, her skills from the other assimilated Pathways were in full use.

From the Physique Pathway, her Pillar Guardians might not be as strong as mine but their use in a battle against a stronger foe could be a clutch. Then there's her Jewel Skills that not only complimented her Defense Manipulation but also fully enhances her Metagen.

Although gigantification was out of the question, they became sturdy enough to not be pierced by the random thorns and other such attacks coming from the old woman.

Last but not the least, her Elemental Pathway whose primary element is Earth.

And while I hadn't seen her use it a lot, she managed to create an 11-node Elemental Spell which she named, Iron Golem.

Gathering the dust, debris and any metallic shards that could be found on the surface of this world, she created a layer of protective armor for her Sanguine Aegis.

Yep. It's not an actual golem contrary to its name but simply an extra protection.

Her Metagen was still at the standards of a Mortal World, after all. Against the one made from a Transcendent World, it's truly lacking in its effectiveness and enhanced output.

In a way, she's improvising right in the middle of the battle.

I wanted to watch her fight more but I had no time.

Next, Fleur was still at an advantage against her opponent. Furthermore, using the Transformation Skill from her Spirit Pathway, she turned into something like a Water Goddess by combining her Spirit Ocean and her Water Elemental Cores.

Then, as a supplement, the ability born from her Psyche Pathway, Advanced Water Control further lifted her to be akin to a genuine Goddess of Water.

She became almost invulnerable to Physical Attacks and even if the fires of her opponent could be akin to hellfire, she could put them out at ease.

Obviously, as a full-fledged Rank 3 Transcendent, defeating him needed more effort on her part. With the woman not taking any kind of buff from me, she's definitely challenging herself to test her limits without my support.

Well, from the five clones I sent to aid the others, I kept one clone out to watch over Fleur's battle just to make sure that she was not going to be hit by a fatal attack. I could swap with that clone and put her under protection in a split second.

Irja and Sofiel had just started facing off against that perverted guy. And sure enough, even if they're not Yuko the fool showed a vulgar expression in front of them which instantly drew their ire.

Irja as a Vibrant Spirit had been glowing in different colors since the start, blinding some of the weaker Transcendents. However, against their opponent, it was considered nothing but just an enticing display.

Sofiel, on the other hand, was beheld as a beautiful golden-haired who went down from heaven to serve him.

Yeah. That guy was too vulgar for the two.

Nonetheless, they both told me to let them deal with him. With their strength also approaching his current attainment, I also trust that they wouldn't be beaten by him. Besides, the Totem Pole alone was enough to offset the fool's UPL advantage.

From what I observed, he's from a Psyche-type Transcendent World. His prime ability wasn't his speed or strength, but something close to the manipulation of light.

Sofiel's Light Elemental-based attacks were curving around him and even the vibrant rays from the Irja's Lesser Elementals were having a hard time locking him in place.

If I had to guess, he's also assimilating the Elemental-type properties as his Transcendent Pathway.

But considering he's below that one-hitted tailed barbarian, there's probably a trick that they could exploit.

And upon observing the guy for a good few seconds, I relayed it to the two women.

"Irja, Sofiel. He has an abundance of Source Energy that's being directed to an invisible shield around him. Target him in non-fatal areas like his arms or his feet, that's the weak point of that shield. Just that, I had no idea if he could redirect his Source Energy quickly."

"I understand, Daisuke. Watch me."

"Darling, you're always a lifesaver~"

And with that, following the hints that I did, the two suddenly split up, confusing the man.

For sure, they already communicated with each other about how to take him down.

Then switching my gaze to my other Companions, I quickly found them facing a Rank 3 Transcendent each.

With one of the ten dead and four already locked in their respective battle, my Companions divided the remaining five Transcendents while the Dragon Couple took on the Rank 1 and 2 Transcendents by themselves.

The trio of Elise, Leianne, and Lunaria faced off against a beastfolk-like Transcendent whose head was something close to a deer, minus the antler. He's standing tall while wearing a long tailcoat, looking very slim. He reminded me of those anthropomorphic animals from various works of art on earth.

Yumiko and Jayna worked in tandem against a Rank 3 Transcendent woman whose limbs were as red as molten magma. While she's not a native of this world, her abilities would surely be enhanced because of the environment.

The Hero's Party of Yuko faced two identical-looking Transcendents. They appeared young and old at the same time. Furthermore, their pair of eyes were different from each other, one pure black and one pure white.

Because they seemed to work efficiently together, the two didn't separate Yuko and the other four. Due to that, it became a 5 against 2 in favor of my girls.

Well, with Yuko and Zerina, as my previous life's companions, working together, there's no way they would be defeated. Noelle, Caila, and Reinys were also not pushovers. Nonetheless, because those twins could probably complement each other's abilities, they also couldn't be lax against them.

And for the last group, Avelin and Erin were faced against a muscle freak Transcendent. Although far different from the barbarians in their world, the man's obsession over his outer appearance and the way his physical prowess was overwhelming even Avelin, he's clearly not so simple.

I asked the two if they were going to be fine but as expected, I got scolded by Erin, "Monster, don't worry about us and capture that one quickly. We're also stronger now!"

"Uhm. She's right, Daisuke. Watch me pulverize him with Inca!"

Ah. As always, Avelin, despite her continued innocence, could unflinchingly say those terrifying words.

Seeing their overflowing confidence backed by their own abilities, I set my worries aside and returned my focus to the veiled woman.

Narrowing my eyes as I closed our distance, I asked, "Say, why are you angry when you know that we're practically on a battlefield? Don't you think that's so naïve of you? We came here risking our lives, so, of course, killing is to be expected."

"Silence! I don't want to hear that from you! You're making a huge mistake opposing us. Whichever organization you come from, Lord Quetzal will crush them as soon as he becomes a Divinity!"

Oh. That's easy. What a loose-tongued woman she is. But thanks to her, that information alone was enough to confirm who we would be facing and what was his goal.

Although a little anticlimactic, that's how it was for everyone. To continue progressing in their Pathways.

But obviously, as someone who already stepped into that territory, becoming a Divinity isn't the end of the road. It's just another stage of the evolution of every Source Energy being.