Chapter 244 Destroyer
'The pseudo darkness domain is much stronger than before, but that doesn't make sense.' Nial thought in visible confusion.
He had yet to create his primary Ancient Origin ring and advance to the Prym rank. Thus, there was not supposed to be a big change in his combat prowess.
The Ancient Origin ring might already have a minuscule effect while it was still a framework, but it was not even a tenth of the completed version.
This was the reason for his confusion, while both Tessa and Bilarn got up from the ground.
Their expressions were difficult to read, but one could tell that their opinion of Nial had changed quite a bit.
'Even if we have grown a little bit rusty from not fighting for quite a while, he shouldn't have been able to defeat us…' Bilarn didn't want to accept this loss. It was quite frustrating that they had lost against someone of a race that was closer to extinction than the Elves had ever been.
One could also say that the human race on Jundra had awoken not too long ago. Humans were only a few centuries old and were around since the first dungeon portal appeared, and they had been forced to focus on fighting desperately against the beasts from dungeons in order to survive.
That was what Nial had told them, but Bilarn began to doubt the blind Original's words.
'Is the human race really in a problematic state? It shouldn't be if there are more Originals such as Nial…'
While Bilarn felt humiliated that Nial defeated him, Tessa's expression changed completely.
She looked at Nial with far more interest than before. However, this was obvious as she had been labeled as a prodigy because of her control of mana.
Yet, she couldn't sense the pseudo domain at all. At first, this was only obvious because the dark miasma fogged her senses, including her sight and mana perception.
The dark miasma was made out of mana, and thus possessed mana as well. Meanwhile, its influence was not to be taken lightly either.
If one was too late in closing their pores and sensory organs, the dark miasma would easily infiltrate their body.
That was what had happened to Tessa, which was why she didn't realize the danger of the situation she had been in.
Meanwhile, Bilarn's focus had been to support Tessa, which was why he had blasted in their direction. Only after he dashed towards her did he realize that something was odd.
However, from that point onward, the battle had already concluded as Nial had unleashed the pseudo darkness domain.
Both Elves should have easily sensed Nial's dark energy, especially the pseudo darkness domain. After all, Elves were quite sensitive to destructive energies.
Yet, considering that they hadn't perceived it until it was too late, both Elves were a little bit confused and intrigued. Bilarn was also a little bit angry at himself for not planning his attacks well and embarrassing himself by getting defeated.
"Are they embarrassed that we defeated them?" Mathias suddenly asked, while keeping his eyes on the two Elves.
His entire mana had been drained by stalling Bilarn but it was definitely worth it.
In every single story, Mathias had heard about Elves in his past life, they had never been weak.
That was one of the many reasons why Mathias was proud of what he and Nial had achieved right now.
And it was even better to see that the Elves were heartbroken. At least, Mathias thought that they looked devastated, only for Nial to break it for him.
"Bilarn might be a bit embarrassed, but Tessa doesn't really look devastated. They didn't hold back while fighting but they have lots of mana left in their mana cores.
Meanwhile, the two of us can hardly continue to fight. Their only mistake was not to notice the black ground and walls. Though that was mostly because of your efforts.
Didn't you intentionally create nearly black Earthen walls?" Nial smiled at his friend as he asked his question.
Visualizing him, Nial could tell that Mathias was smiling craftily.
"Me? Nooooo, I'm not that smart. How could you believe that I was that smart and genius-like to think about such a Godly trick?" Mathias suddenly said, his expression changing from elation to arrogance.
'What is with him? Does he need a beating or so?' Nial immediately thought upon hearing Mathias' weird answer.
"Save your hypocrisy for later, kiddo."
Their master's voice rang out from behind and upon turning around, Mathias' expressions turned grim.
After all, Miranda had emerged behind them, looking at him with an expression that induced terror in the heart of her poor little disciple.
Nial just smiled before he heard Bilarn's voice from in front of him.
"I hope this question is not too rude or prying into your privacy, but how can you be loved by nature and mana if you are clearly a Destroyer??"
Upon hearing this question, Tessa jumped up from the ground and nodded her head in interest.
"I want to know that as well! Valvian said that you are a unique case, but he didn't explain more about it. Can you please tell us?" She asked, looking like a little puppy asking for treats.
Mathias was stupefied at the happenings in front of them. Bilarn's question didn't matter, but the way Tessa reacted couldn't be further away from the elegance and aloof behavior Elves were supposed to have.
'She is not being aloof or elegant right now…just…cute?' Mathias wondered, not sure what to think about it.
However, it was definitely something he didn't like. The cute expression on her face made it look like Tessa was even more beautiful than she already was, after all!
Miranda looked at the Elves in interest. She knew that they weren't able to speak the human tongue before. But that was something Nial and Mathias seemed to have taken care of.
They seemed to be treating her disciples well, but despite that, Miranda was more than a little bit suspicious about the Elven race.
'What are they planning? I don't know what was going on with Nial's darkness domain but it was stronger than what Gianna reported to me. That means he improved quite a lot, which in turn also means that the Elves are extremely powerful to be able to overcome the mental burden Nial's attack caused.
Their strength in terms of inborn combat talent and the number of powerful awakened beings is much higher than the whole combat power mankind can generate, and this Forest of Life allows the Elves to keep improving rapidly.
Soo….why would they want to befriend us? For Information…or is it something more complex?'
Miranda maintained a neutral expression while wild thoughts flashed through her mind. She kept looking at her disciples and the two Elves, who seemed to be quite nice.
However, the first impression might have been a farce.
'I should observe them a little bit longer. It's impossible for them to hide their true face forever…that is if they are hiding something.'
"What exactly is the Destroyer you speak about? I already heard this term a few times inside the Forest of Life, but I never had the opportunity to ask." Nial could gauge what the name meant because it was self-explanatory, but he wanted to know what it signified to the Elves.
Tessa looked at Bilarn when Nial asked them the question, and he just nodded his head without thinking much about it. However, he didn't want to speak anymore with Nial right now. After all, he was still irked to have been defeated by Nial.
"Well, to put it simply 'Destroyer' is a title we give to existences, whose powers are solely for the sake of destruction. For example, your friend and master are not Destroyers, their powers' sole use is not destruction. However, this dark power of yours and the miasma have no other purpose than hurting and negatively affecting others." Tessa explained in a calm manner.
However, her eyes were burning as if she wanted to teach Nial a lesson for having only powers that were related to death and destruction.
Nial couldn't see this, but Mathias swallowed his saliva nervously. 'How fierce…' He just thought, failing to hide that he was a bit intimidated.
"So most human Originals will be labeled as Destroyers by you?" Nial asked, with a few additional questions in his mind. He was quite interested in the new information he was getting to know.
However, this time it was Bilarn, who answered Nial's question. He didn't want to but it would make things much easier if he were to explain it instead of Tessa.
"Well, some might still be labeled a Destroyer, if we were to stretch the description of the title a little bit. However, a real Destroyer can only be labeled one if his presence also exudes destruction. Your presence is not that powerful yet, but Valvian has already perceived that you have the powers of true destruction.
We might already label you a Destroyer, but only when your powers attain the threshold where you can destroy entire landscapes will you be actually labeled a Destroyer. As for the other Originals with destructive powers, theirs are only powerful due to the time they practiced it and the rank they attained.
Meanwhile, your power is already powerful enough to defeat Tessa and me, despite your rank is lower than mine…"
The last sentence Bilarn said hurt his pride, but he had to acknowledge it. Nial's power was simply too powerful. It restricted his movements almost completely, and it would have taken a few more seconds before he would have been able to free himself.
That was a fact, and not something Bilarn could change…unfortunately.
Nial nodded his head, slowly understanding the meaning behind the term 'Destroyer'.
'I don't believe that Damian was merely called a Destroyer, but it's good to know that they can sense something like that already. But does that even make sense? Wouldn't they kill me if they were to know that I'm a 'future' Destroyer?' Nial had his doubts, and they were not without reason.
Thus, he fell deep in thoughts for a short time before he asked a batch of questions.
"In that case, am I not dangerous for the Elven race? Shouldn't you try to kill me instead of accepting me in the Forest of Life, where I could destroy everything? And what is this about nature and mana loving me? I guess that is related to your behavior toward me. I don't actually know what this means….
Just how is that related to me, a Destroyer, or the fact that it's weird for me to be a Destroyer, yet 'loved' by nature and mana?!?"
Nial didn't intend to raise his voice, but he was so confused about the given situation, that he subconsciously spoke loud enough for some high-ranked Originals from further away to hear a few of his words.
Both Tessa and Bilarn looked at each other for a moment and could notice his bewilderment. However, it was not as if they could explain what he wanted to know.
After all, they had no idea why nature and mana would love existence with the future potential to become a true Destroyer!
"How about you let me explain?"