Arthur opened his eyes to see the white robes fluttering in front of him. Even with a mask over his head, Arthur recognized Li easily. It hasn't been a while since the two of them met, but Arthur was happy to see him given the circumstances.
The force generated by their collision pushed on Arthur like a colossal mountain. He gritted his teeth as he used his rune to teleport toward a high rising building.
Li and the Leader exchanged several blows, their force evenly matched. Cobwebs covered the ground as their mana exploded and destroyed the surrounding.
Arthur didn't sit idle to spectate but used his Heal-III rune to restore his broken bones. His current mana 145/279 and healing his arm took away another thirty points. He was lucky to have hunted the day before he went into the fissure, raising his mana significantly.
The battle on the ground reached a stalemate as the empty roads were destroyed. Arthur looked around and saw that the group was again protecting the creature. Rae and Lilo were each taking on a different opponent.
'Four left. I can't take them on in my current state. I need to...'
As his thoughts were trailing, he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Arthur was startled and turned, ready to throw a barrier. However, what he saw made him pause his actions.
"You've grown more paranoid, Newbie." Wearing her mask, Ivy waved her hand toward Arthur. The rest of them were also wearing their masks and robes.
"We know you're hiding your identity," Si said, standing in the middle of the group. "But we thought you might need some help over here."
"Help?" William sneered. "This guy needs some therapy after getting his ass beaten like that. That would leave a stain."
"Shut up, jackass." Hua snapped in an unusual attitude. Before the two could fight, Arthur cut in between them.
"Haha," Arthur laughed heartily. He didn't realize it until now how much he missed their bickering. "I guess it's my job to drag you into messes like these now."
"No," Si shook his head. "I was the one to send you on this mission. You're simply dealing with the aftermath."
"You mean..."
"Yes, there are greater powers at play here. Kera is simply a beginning and a sacrifice." Si didn't explain further and simply waved his hands. "I'm sorry to say this again, but we'll leave 'that' to you." He pointed at the creature in the middle.
It seems that Si couldn't hide the fact that Arthur was the outsider anymore. If anyone could foil the plans of the Enders and the Seven Families, it would be him.
Arthur nodded as he took out a potion from his Legacy Inheritance. He drank all of it as his mana was replenished. Arthur stood up as mana exploded from within his body.
As violent as before, the mana replenishing potion the Legacy provided was more akin to Elixirs than potions. Arthur turned toward Mistletoe's members.
"I'll be counting on you." Arthur nodded gratefully and their bodies exploded with mana. A domain was created and it enveloped all of them. Arthur felt mana strengthening his body in the domain.
"Hehe, you have yet to see it all." Ivy laughed when Arthur looked at her. This buff was her doing, her mana being the versatile entity that it was.
Zas also spread his hands and the mana enveloped them. His domain worked its magic and everyone teleported from their location toward an opponent.
Arthur was teleported toward the sky, right above the group of people. His skill allowed him to float and witness Hua's domain arrive.
The torn apart buildings and abandoned cars started levitating as they surrounded her. She raised her finger and they all stopped moving above her, ready to crush whatever came in their way.
This was the power of the domain, a power granted to Deme-rankers to use mana in the surrounding space as if it was their own body. This was the ultimate amplification of ability toward a larger scale.
A set of chain explosions occurred as William snapped his fingers. The final target was one of the group members surrounding the creature.
"Let the war begin!" William laughed hysterically as every ability appeared on the world. The opponents didn't use their abilities for some reason, making Arthur suspicious of their identity.
"STOP THEM!" The Leader of the group shouted and the war began. As Arthur looked down on the creature, it paused its actions and looked upwards.
They looked at each other, both of them wearing their masks. As if in prearrangement, they moved at the same time. The creature seemed to know that it couldn't ignore Arthur's existence anymore, not with the dangerous mana he wielded.
Arthur dived toward the creature as the creature flew toward him. The Mana of Creation made the surrounding air shake as booms resounding around Arthur's body, his body shining golden.
The creature's body was surrounded by a blossomed black rose of darkness that carried it upward toward Arthur. Like tongues, the petals retracted themselves in preparation to strike Arthur.
Like a sun crashing into the world to be met with darkness, the two powers met in the sky. A pause arrived as the forces ate away at each other.
The power of creation ate away the Enders powers as the latter turned his powers into nothingness. That's the sole function the Enders powers had, to turn things into nothingness. As for the power of Creation, it turned nothing into something.
The process of these two powers interchanging and creating existence and obliterating it made the world around them begin to grow more destabilized. Arthur realized a tad too late that if this went on, the fissure would arrive faster.
Allowing a fissure to form here would turn the city of Kera into a dungeon, something that would endanger his family too. Arthur gritted his teeth as he pulled back his powers, allowing the black rose to strike in his direction unobstructed.
His teleport rune carried him toward space next to the creature. Arthur struck using his Release rune and a bit of Creation Mana to make sure it would be effective.
The creature blocked his attack with its shelled hands, striking back at Arthur. The two exchanged several blows as they raced through the sky, one golden and another black.
Arthur was struck in his chest as he struck the creature in the abdomen. He was struck in the face as he struck the creature in the face. A blow landed on his shoulder while he grabbed the creature's arm to kick it in the face.
The kick struck the mask making a loud crack resounded. The creature's body exploded with dark matter that enveloped Arthur's and the creature's bodies.
'As if I'd let you.' Arthur's body exploded with golden mana he punched. The creature did the same and their fists collided, resulting in a giant shockwave that sent Arthur's body away, crashing to a building.
He started coughing up blood as he saw the creature's black matter explode. Space began to expand just like before.
'I'm too weak.' Arthur gritted his teeth until his gums bled. 'He picked himself up but he realized that his mana was near empty. 'I need power. More.' Arthur demanded as the Art of Creation began to circulate.
However, at that time, his Dragon Mark started shining until it covered the world in a bright purple hue. Lilo appeared by his side as it allowed its head to touch the back of Arthur's hand.
'Use me, Master. Use the power of Dragon Riders.'
Arthur was confused until Lilo's body began dissolving and merging with his. He lost the ability to breathe as an ethereal Lilo merged with his body. His arms grew claws as a pair of wings appeared on Arthur's back.
Arthur breathed in at last when the transformation was completed. He looked at his hands in shock as they have resembled Lilo's claws now.
'No time to admire me, Master!' Lilo's voice appeared in his mind as Arthur's attention was brought back toward the creature in the sky.
The fissure was beginning to form. With a thought, Arthur's wings flapped and he was next to the fissure. He turned ethereal and passed through space until his fist connected with the creature's mask.
A punch after punch landed on the creature's body as each time it tried to counterattack, Arthur would strike it faster than its attack could reach.
With desperation, the creature grabbed Arthur's arm as it began to corrode it. Arthur grunted and sent several kicks toward its body but it refused to let go. The two began to fall toward Avarice Dungeon as the battles around them were in full swing.
The two crashed into the building and straight toward the dungeon. After the dungeon break, the barrier separating the dungeon from the world broke and allowed the two to fall straight into it.
Even then, the creature refused to let go of his arm. Arthur gritted his teeth and grabbed the creature's arm. He circulated his Art and his eyes started to bleed.
The creature gave a shrill cry as its arm was torn apart. The two got separated and each rolled in a different direction across the dungeon's floor.