The woman materialized directly in front of Ezekiel. Her hand morphed into a menacing claw, plunging into Ezekiel's chest.
A torrent of blood spurted forth as Ezekiel gasped in agony, his struggle to break free intensifying. Suddenly, an unexpected surge of energy coursed through Ezekiel's body.
It was as though a mysterious force attempted to heal him, just as it had done in the past. However, simultaneously, a counteracting energy seemed to thwart the healing.
Each effort to restore him appeared to exacerbate his condition. Even the immortality he had obtained at the cost of his own life seemed futile.
"I warned you, I cannot allow any further delay," the woman whispered into Ezekiel's ear before retracting her clawed hand.
Everything unfolded so swiftly that by the time Gabriel could respond, the ordeal had concluded. Gabriel could only bear witness to Ezekiel's pale body and the blood-stained wound in his chest.
The woman cast a fleeting glance back at Gabriel, who stood immobilized, "You look upset. But you should know that it was inevitable. He was dead before I even arrived here.
"I'll kill you!" Gabriel came to his senses, his heavy bloodlust covering all his surroundings. Even the woman was slightly intrigued how a young man could have such heavy bloodlust.
She watched Gabriel attack her like a maniac, his every move fueled by an inexplicable rage. The Woman didn't react in such a manner. It was unclear why she didn't attack Gabriel in return or why she even paid such attention to him, but she was easily able to ignore his attacks.
It was as if this world was her playground. No matter how fierce an attack landed on her, it was ineffective. She was truly immortal, as mysterious as described by Ezekiel.
Even gods couldn't kill her. It was an ability that went beyond heaven. That's the only reason why the lifespan of this species was limited to only two hundred years.
While gods weren't truly immortal, they had a lifespan of thousands of years at least. On the other hand, an Elzerian could only live two hundred years, no matter how strong they were. It was a way for nature to balance itself.
"No matter how many times you attack me, it won't change anything. It's not as if Ezekiel didn't tell you about us," the woman stated.
Although she wasn't informed about it, she knew that Gabriel knew about them. She knew everything as she managed to read his thoughts the moment she met him. However, that wasn't the reason she paid so much attention to him.
Even an attack that could easily destroy a world was ineffective against the woman.
Far in the distance, Janus watched the scene with a frown. He was out of this world when Earth was attacked, but he managed to sense that his nephew was in danger and arrived here.
As soon as he arrived, he saw that the earth was under attack and Ezekiel was talking to a stranger and unfamiliar woman.
Even Janus couldn't see through that woman, but he was able to feel that she wasn't ordinary. He didn't know if she was an ally of Ezekiel or an enemy. Janus was prepared for any case.
Not long after, he saw Gabriel attack the Woman and Ezekiel flying toward him. That made it clear that the woman wasn't his ally.
What happened next was even more shocking. Ezekiel was known to be an immortal who couldn't be killed, but with a single attack from the woman, he was hurt beyond measure. His wounds weren't healing either.
Even more extraordinary was that the Woman remained unaffected by constant attacks of Gabriel that were almost on the same level as his attacks.
Back on earth, the attacks had stopped. All the dark robed beings stopped their attack as soon as Ezekiel was attacked by the woman. All of them were looking at the sky, watching Ezekiel being caught in mysterious shackles that became stronger the more Ezekiel bled.
It was as if the entire earth had come to a halt, only to witness the conflict between two godly beings. The sky had darkened, crackling with the energy of their fierce aura.
****
Aliac and Karyk remained inside the barrier in Elzeria. Karyk tried to break the barrier, only for his energy to be devoured. Not only did the barrier not break, but it became stronger.
"Is there no way to pass through the barrier and enter the other side?" Karyk asked.
Aliac had kept this place a secret. He had been guarding the upper realm all this time, afraid of this place. There was no way he didn't know more about this place. And to know more about this place, it was clear that he had passed through the barrier.
Instead of wasting much time trying to find a way through, he asked the Lord of Upper Realm directly.
"There is one way to pass through the barrier. And that is to control this new element itself," Aliac answered.
"Are you able to control it?" Karyk asked, slightly surprised. It was an element that he hadn't even seen before. It went against his understanding. It countered his Divine Energy. To understand and control this was easier said than done.
Only people of this world that had lived in this place and evolved in this place should've been able to understand this. So how could Aliac achieve that?
"Me? You give me too much credit. There's no way I can control it," Aliac sighed in disappointment. "But I know someone who can."
He brought a unique small bell from his pocket that was made from crystal clear glass. He brought an iron needle as well. He hit the bell lightly with the iron needle. A barely audible chime was created that an ordinary mortal couldn't even hear at all.
However, strangely enough, following the chime, Karyk heard some movement outside the barrier. Someone was coming in their direction.
"Your friends?" Karyk asked, surprised that Aliac had people here that worked with him. Was this truly a hostile place?
Unfortunately, he received his answer when he saw the shocked face of Aliac.
Aliac grabbed his wrist, running back to hide behind a nearby tree, telling Karyk to not make any noise.
