1275 I am making progress
"Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better,
Sometimes, you become nothing but an open target."
Lyriana spoke as she summoned more Ice Spikes, trying to pierce Arcturus's scales.
Whoosh
Arcturus, however, wasn't planning on staying in one place like some brainless monster. He flew into the Sky, to a height where Lyriana's Spikes could not reach him.
Taking away the only advantage the Elven Queen had.
From above, the Dragon Lord's large eyes shined, the Mana around him gathered near his mouth and a grave look appeared on Lyriana's face, "You should get away, that will be quite destructive."
Lyriana informed Nux before Magic Circles appeared under her feet as she prepared to face the destructive attack Arcturus was preparing.
The two cultivators looked into each other's eyes and then,
Nux saw a huge amount of energy gathering near Arcturus's mouth and the moment the Dragon Lord released that energy towards Lyriana, the Elven Queen activated her spell and, BBBOOOOOOMMM
A loud explosion was heard.
The after-effects of the energy clashing with each other were so destructive that Nux's Clone was destroyed in an instant. A huge, 100 km wide crater was formed and this was when Lyriana contained most of the damage.
This was the reason the Progenitors didn't allow the Divines to fight against each other in Yrniel, the battle hadn't even started yet, one side was even holding himself back, but even then, so much destruction could be seen.
If the Divines fought in Yrniel, it wouldn't take long for Yrniel to turn into nothing but a wasteland.
The Divine Stage Cultivators were no different than walking nuclear bombs.
Knowing that everything was cleared up, Nux sent another clone to witness the battle, he looked at the spot where Lyriana was standing. There, he saw an Ice Dome. When everything around the Ice Dome was destroyed, the Dome stood tall, without even a single scratch on its body.
Nux was surprised.
He was actually impressed that Lyriana was able to take an attack of such a level without getting hurt.
However, he had spoken too soon.
Crack
The first crack appeared on the Dome, and as if the rest was already planned, the Dome broke down, and, "Khawwkk!!"
Lyriana coughed out blood, her face was pale. He stared at Arcturus with a grave look on her face. She knew the man was a monster, but to think that she was having a hard time even after using her Law of Self.
"Roaar."
Arcturus, on the other hand, just snorted. It was as if this was an obvious outcome with nothing to be surprised about.
Of course, he didn't come out completely victorious either.
In the end, Arcturus was a Body Cultivator, manipulating Mana at such a large level wasn't possible for someone like him unless he paid a certain price for it.
And that price was his Body.
Since he forcefully used mana to such an extent, it Mana inside his Body that strengthened his body was all used up, so till he recovered his Mana, he would be in a state of extreme weakness.
And Lyriana, who already knew it, didn't miss this chance and appeared next to Arcturus.
"Give up, you know it is your loss."
'Don't act haughty when you are fighting with a handicap.'
Arcturus's reply was quick. He wasn't planning on letting this woman who was weaker than him step on his pride.
Nux has indeed changed his personality, however, the only thing he did was to remove all the animosity he had against him and change it with utmost respect and a will to absolutely follow his every word.
He even altered some of his memories, however, for the most part, Arcturus's personality was still retained.
Lyriana narrowed her eyes, however, knowing that the Dragon wasn't lying, she just turned silent.
"Do you wish to continue?" she questioned.
"I have not yet lost."
Arcturus spoke.
Then in the sky, the battle between the two Divine Cultivators continued, the outcome of the battle, however, was already very clear.
Arcturus was too weak to resist Lyriana. If it was a normal Divine Stage Cultivator, then he might still have had a chance, however, against Lyriana, he couldn't win.
The only reason he could even last this long was because he was a Dragon, a being born with a naturally strong body, if it was anyone else, he would have already collapsed for being in such a weakened state.
Thud
Half an hour later, Arcturus's body fell on the ground, he had lost consciousness and had returned to his humanoid form.
There were bruises all over his body, many of his bones were broken, honestly, if anyone from Yrniel saw his condition, they would be horrified. After all, he was the feared Dragon Lord, one of the Strongest Beings in Yrniel.
On the other hand, Lyriana walked towards Arcturus's body with a calm look on her face. Her pale face had already returned to normal, looking at her, one couldn't even tell that she had fought a battle.
"I guess Law of Self really helps huh," Nux commented as he glanced at Lyriana.
"I wanted to give you a better example," Lyriana replied.
She won, however, she wasn't exactly satisfied. After all, even when her opponent was holding back a major part of his strength, she still couldn't completely overpower him.
Arcturus was much stronger than she expected.
Nux, however, shook his head,
"It is alright, Lady Lyriana.
I understand what you were trying to tell me."
"You do not have to console me." Lyriana chuckled.
"I simply wished to know what my limits were and I now know it.
Honestly, if Arcturus was weaker than this, I would have been disappointed."
"Hmm?"
Nux tilted his head in confusion.
Lyriana then glanced at the man lying on the floor and,
"He was one of the few beings I couldn't compare myself to.
I dared to fight the Strongest demon lords, Human Emperors, Dwarves, and Beastmen, the only ones I ever hesitated against were Alaric and this man.
It would have been disappointing if all my hesitation this whole time was just my lack of confidence in myself and that I could actually stand toe to toe against him."
Nux nodded in understanding.
Lyriana, however, shook her head again,
"Don't nod as if you understand me. A monster like you never needs to go through this.
Even if there is a being you currently cannot defeat, you only need to grow stronger before you can.
That is not the case with me,
I may say that by understanding and strengthening my 'presence', I might get stronger, but in the end, I know I have already reached my limit. I cannot grow stronger to surpass those who are stronger than me anymore.
There is nothing left for me to do than to wait for my death."
As Lyriana said those words, Nux stared at her with a strange look on his face.
For some reason, his past life which he had forgotten after all this time started playing out in his mind.
The helplessness the Elven Queen was talking about.
The feeling of being stuck in a situation and being unable to come out of it no matter how much you tried... It was something he once felt as well.
However,
"Don't worry, Lady Lyriana."
Nux suddenly spoke up.
Then, as he grabbed Lyriana's hand, he pulled the woman close to him and looked right into her eyes, "Trust me, death will be the last thing you will be looking forward to."
Lyriana narrowed her eyes, for some reason, however, she couldn't come up with the strength to move her hand away and create some distance between the two of them.
Nux standing so close to her... for some reason... she didn't hate it...
'Is this pervert's methods working on me?'
A strange thought appeared in Lyriana's mind and in an instant, she woke up from the dazed state she had fallen in.
"What are you planning?" She questioned as she narrowed her eyes.
Nux, however, just chuckled, he then leaned forward, moving his mouth close to the Elven Queen's ears and he whispered in the most gentle voice he could muster, "It is not something you should worried about, my Queen. I promise you will not hate it."
Lyriana felt goosebumps all over her body, not wanting to give in, she quickly disappeared and then appeared 10 meters away from him.
Then, the Artifact to move away from this place appeared in her hand,
"I will be taking my leave, call the Healers to heal him.
And you were right, it is better to take him to that place, it will be safer that way."
"Mhm, I'll let him go and scout. Once I deem it is safe, the two of us shall go there alone.
That would be quite fun, no?"
Nux spoke with a big smile on his face, however, instead of replying, Lyriana simply activated the Artifact and disappeared.
Neither denying or accepting his proposal.
Nux wasn't disappointed though, rather, he still had a smile on his face.
'I am making progress.'
