Chapter 701 - To Win Without Winning?
'Oh? And exactly how do you plan to do that?'
The Dragon Lord of the Abyss' Dragon's Mark and Dragon's Scales were useful abilities; however, neither of them was enough to turn the tides of battle.
Even if Dragon's Mark could somehow make it past the torrent of raindrops that would undoubtedly obstruct its path, it still lacked the power to break through the blue flames that shielded Tal'Nis.
As for Dragon's Scales, Izroth believed that it may be able to protect him from one or possibly even two hits, but the moment it was broken, he had no way of counteracting the backlash. After all, potions and lifesteal were not available options in this situation. And, when it came to the use of an HP recovery skill, Izroth's only one, Rapid Regeneration, was currently on cooldown after his dive into the Immortal Hydra's body.
(If you ask this lord nicely, perhaps I can consider offering a hand.)
'I do not have time to play with you right now. If you're not going to be useful, scram.'
(You-!)
Swoosh!
Izroth avoided one of the flying swords. But, just as he thought it was safe, his Soul Sense went off as his Energy Vision Sense picked up an incoming torrent of raindrops!
Zeeeeut!
Just before the torrent reached Izroth, he utilized the final charge of his Primed Instantaneous Movement and teleported to a safe location.
"Your time is slowly ticking away, Izroth. Now, what will you do? Do you plan to continue running until the end?" Tal'Nis stated calmly as she raised her arm above her head and pointed her palm towards the sky.
She then continued, "Is this your current limit? Or... Will you show me something worthy of the person who has received the blessing of two beings from the Divine Realm?"
All of a sudden, the raindrops ceased as the nine swords Tal'Nis summoned shot into the air.
At the same time, the raindrops above that were in a stasis-like state, began to swirl and converge at the middle of the circular formation as a heavy pressure descended on the platform.
'?!'
The pressure was so great that it caused the ground beneath Izroth's feet to shatter!
'This pressure—it's like being at the center of a level four gravity pocket... No, maybe even a level five. Just moving takes a lot of effort.'
(This woman is too ruthless... how regrettable. I suppose I have no choice. I can't have you dying in this place. Human, you should be grateful for this lord's assistance. It is just that—this lord is uncertain whether or not your current physical body can handle it.)
'If you have something in mind, then speak. As for whether or not I can handle it—there is no need for you to concern yourself with that. It is something for me to worry about.'
(Very well. I'll say this now. The effects and changes are only temporary. Once it's over, we will be unable to establish an active link for at least ten days and the backlash will leave you vulnerable for a while. Just don't say that I didn't warn you, human.)
〈System Alert: «Authority» for the «Immortal Persona: Dragon Lord of the Abyss» has temporarily risen from Mid Level to Max Level!〉
〈System Alert: Your «Authority» with the «Immortal Persona: Dragon Lord of the Abyss» is now high enough to access the skill «Dragon's Soul»!〉
The second Izroth received the alerts from the system, he was overcome by an intense wave of heat. Every bone, muscle fiber, and cell within his body felt as if it was abruptly set ablaze by an unknown force. At the same time, stress on his body from Tal'Nis' ability started to subside.
...Ba-dump!
Izroth eyes turned cerulean in color as his pupils transformed into that of a dragon's!
BOOM!
An explosive wave of dense energy was expelled from Izroth's location as a new surge of power flowed within him.
'This sensation...'
Just when it seemed like his body was going to be torn apart from the surge of energy, after reaching the absolute limits of what his physical body could endure, the feeling receded. And, soon, the once intense burning sensation was replaced by a gentle warmth.
'Is this the effect of possessing a Dragon's Soul?'
"So he has some secrets remaining, after all. But, if he can't survive this next attack, it will all be for naught." Tal'Nis internalized as she clenched her hand pointing towards the sky into a fist.
"Nine Cycle Cloudburst: Heaven's Waterfall."
...
As this unfolded, the atmosphere outside the platform grew heavy as everyone could not hide their grave expressions.
"It's over... There's no way we can win against something like that... We should have never challenged this cursed stage..." Colorful Nimbus uttered as he released a helpless sigh and shook his head.
They thought that, at the very least, Tal'Nis had used up a good portion of her hand against them. The reason they chose one on one fights in the first place was to give the last few who stepped onto the platform a higher chance of obtaining victory.
But, in the end, whether they chose to go forth individually or as a party, the end results remained the same. From the very beginning, they never stood a chance against the third stage of this crusade!
Even though no one else in the party wanted to say it aloud, in their minds, they had already silently accepted their defeat.
"Was Guide telling the truth, after all? Is this stage truly impossible for us to clear?" Niflheim thought to himself.
"No... The system is fair—almost to a fault. It would not give us a challenge that is impossible to overcome. Do not think of winning against what you face, those were Guide's words, but... How can one win without winning? Wait- Could he have meant- I see..! The answer was right there all along! How could I overlook something like this?!" Niflheim internalized as he quickly opened his party chat.
He might not be able to send a verbal message to Izroth due to the barrier around the platform, but the party chat function should still work.
"I have to hurry and tell him—the way to win without winning," Niflheim said to himself.
...
Back on the platform...
〈System Alert: 20 seconds remaining!〉
As the waterfall washed over the platform, Izroth moved freely throughout the blue flames of water that stood several meters high.
Izroth activated Dragon's Scales to protect himself. And, due to having a temporary Max Level Authority, the strength of Dragon's Scales reached new heights.
Also, due to Izroth's Breath of the Great Sea passive that allowed him to resist Flow, he did not have to worry about being displaced by Tal'Nis' skill.
'I never thought I would see a sword technique like this in RML. How peculiar...'
If Tal'Nis were to unleash her full power, this sword technique would have likely covered the entire third stage. However, there were likely some restrictions in place because of her existence as a fragment of the original Tal'Nis.
But, judging from the fundamentals of the sword technique itself, Izroth believed that its actual level of complexity and potential was only a few steps below the Way of the Heavenly Sword—such a thing should not be possible in this world!
'This is more than just a skill... How can something almost as powerful as my Way of the Heavenly Sword exist in this world that lacks spiritual essence? It doesn't make any sense.'
There had been several strange occurrences in RML that caused Izroth to question its origins. From the system being able to understand and decipher many of his heavenly laws, to his strange run-in with the members of Heaven's Law in the Chaotic Dogma Realm. Of course, the biggest thing was being able to actually cultivate in-game and have it affect his body in the real world.
Although he had temporarily set it aside as a fortunate situation, that did not mean Izroth lacked any misgivings.
Was it all really the work of a sophisticated artificial intelligence hosted by a quantum computer? To Izroth, it was too outrageous a notion. And, after confronting Tal'Nis, a part of Izroth was certain.
There was no other way to explain everything he had come across up until this point. Even if he could brush most of it off as a coincidence, the existence of something even remotely close to his Way of the Heavenly Sword should have been a theoretical impossibility.
Izroth was unsure how or why, but somehow—this world had a connection to the Seven Realms!