At his full speed, Varian experienced the world differently.
It was like lightning and thunder. He was too fast to hear anything. There was a complete silence in the landscape, as if someone turned the volume off.
The wind flowing on his skin seemed to burn at a temperature rivalling lava.
The vast landscape in his vision was narrowed to the region just in front.
"Fuuu~"
His outstretched hand grabbed the soul ring and invaded it with his soul power. A pure white light flooded the ring before a push back was felt. 'Huh?'
Varian's eyes narrowed dangerously.
The soul wasn't conscious yet. But it had begun to protect itself subconsciously.
Sssa!
Like two waves colliding, the soul powers clashed against each other.
Even though it's merely subconscious, the defendant had far more power, allowing it to effortlessly block the intrusion.
Moreover, the divine aura nearby was being drawn into the ring, a bit slower than before but continously nonetheless. Following each absorption, the soul inside the ring grew a tad stronger.
"Fuck!"
A chill shot down Varian's spine as he realized where this was heading.
Even without Xeola, there's no stopping the old bastard. Morever, instead of confronting Varian now, he must've decided to fully focus on the opportunity and hit peak of rank 9.
'Or maybe divine rank…he too has it.'
The touch of divinity, just like the seed which Isadora used to fake her power.
Considering the worst case scenario, Varian evaluated his options.
Escape was not possible.
Once the formations restraining Fortune Spirit kicked into action, the synthetic world would be sealed until completion of the ceremony.
'We should've escaped and risked facing the dukes.'
The chances of striking peace with those menacing pillars of the kingdom were low but not non-existent.
With this guy though?
"Kill…Vari..an…Hahah…wa..it…soon…"
The hissing whispers of the aged voice, simmering with anger and resentment, travelled through the clashing soul powers and reached Varian.
"I….you….hell…death…li..fe…"
The soul wasn't even conscious yet it was filled with vengeful ravings. Only the deepest convictions of a soul would be uttered in such state. Things that a being absolutely believed with its heart and soul.
Most souls wouldn't even have such conviction.
But this one—
"K..i..ll…"
"How about you shut up?"
The power of slivers seeped out of his fingertips. A black and white thread enveloped the ring, restricting the intake divine aura.
If it's typical aura, he should've been able to completely isolate the ring and keep it in a barren sub-space.
But this was divine aura, no matter how weak. Without the strength of a divine ranker, it's rather difficult to compete with divine aura.
Still, with his intervention, Varian prolonged the time needed by the old soul by at least three times.
"Stop!"
Sarah's alarmed scream reached him only Xeola's sword reached his skin. Varian slid to the side like he's skating and the tip of the blade ran along his arm.
The skin split open smoothly, revealing the flesh inside before it too opened up, showing the white arm bone.
An attack that was barely avoided yet the damage was tremendous.
"Coward!"
Xeola's five earrings humed once again and in a blink, deprived him of his physical senses.
Relying on his space-time perception, Varian moved.
Clang! Clang! Metal clashed against metal and muscle struck muscle.
Within just three strikes, Varian lost an arm and a puond of flesh on his back. This was while Xeola remained under the affects of Sarah's and Enigma's powers.
The battle wasn't going well.
"You won't be able to stop him. Give up and surrender your life." Xeola's washed in Varian's hot blood, pointed at him.
In the distance, Sarah slowly rose to her feet, pressing against the large wound on her abdomen to prevent the bleeding.
A pale Enigma looked at him with a weary gaze, blood dripping from her nose and lips from overexertion.
"As I thought…winning a peak rank 8 is still hard." Varian lowered his head and muttered under his gaze.
Noticing his distraction, Xeola moved like a ray of light. Her sword aimed for his nape, ready to cut him into two. Even if it wouldn't immediately kill him, incapacitating him would be enough.
'I can draw out those two by holding him hostage.' Xeola's lips curled into a victorious smile and her eyes brimmed with confidence.
It was then that the black and white thread blocking the ring suddenly expanded, forming a cubical boundary enveloping the two.
'W-What?'
A transcendantal force acted in the space, changing the very laws that governed the region. Xeola's surging aura was instantly cut to half.
Admittedly, such a manipulation was difficult even for such a transcendantal force. It managed to keep Xeola suppressed for not even a moment as the princess' aura surged back.
60%.
70%.
80%
Shuaa!
Varian's sword lodged into her chest.
"Huek!"
The searing pain from the power of death invading her body caused the princess to convulse and whimper.
Her aura had fully recovered by now and she channeled it to throw off the intruding power and weapon.
Even though she was hit with a significant injury, she'd be able to recover in a few minutes and continue her onslaught.
That's why Varian went above and beyond.
Even as her right hand reached his chest, he focused only on attacking.
Bang! Kacha! Kraack!
With the sword remaining in her chest, her ribcage was hit with a flurry of fists that showed no mercy.
Her bones snapped like twigs and the organs exploded due to the shockwaves that transmitted in despite her body's best attempt to block them off.
The few punches to break her neck were blocked by her left hand while her right hand assumed the shape of a claw and dug into his chest, cutting through his flesh.
Varian's body shuddered for a moment but he kept up his attacks. Like a mad dog intent on killing the prey, he gave it his all.
His ferocity scared the bloodied princess and she pushed her hand in.
Lub-Dub! Dab!
She gripped his pulsing heart in her hand and tightened her hold. A hostile aura engulfed the heart and in a blink, reached every corner of his body through the blood.
A pain akin to lava flowing in one's body filled the man's senses.
"Huh." Varian halted, his face dangerously pale and looked down at her hand grabbing his heart. With a cheeky smile, he said.
"Heart touching."
