BANG! BANG! BANG!
Explosions rang through the main tomb of Ayakashi as Elena and the massive demonic spirit fought fiercely.
Bursts of light flashed across the space as Elena moved through the spirit's body. They were earth-shaking and soul-rattling, but the infrastructure of the tomb didn't budge.
Xiu!
Elena shot back and pressed her sword forward, commanding the massive world tree behind her.
Rumble!
The earth shook, thousands of roots shooting into the air and slamming into the ground below, sending furious shockwaves of Life Mana into the shadow-like entity.
'It's not working. Attacking like this is a pointless waste of mana if I can't cause any damage.'
Her eyes sharpened.
'If I don't find a way to strike it soon, I need to find a way to run.'
She'd grown much since the past. She wanted to stop this threat before it could hurt anyone, but she wasn't willing to sacrifice her life to do so.
Swoosh!
She shot to the side, avoiding a wave of terrifying mana that arced toward her. Gritting her teeth, she slashed out and sent a beam of pure white mana into the attack.
Boom!
The two forces collided, and Elena borrowed the force to retreat further.
'Luckily, this thing still has to use mana to attack, so even if I can't hurt it, it can't hurt me either as long as I'm careful.'
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The spirit's attacks became fiercer. Not only did its mana improve in quality, the laws that supported it became far more complex, affecting reality at a deeper level.
'The demonic spirit's mana…what is it?' Elena wondered.
It was eerie like death, but contained more properties of darkness. It clearly represented a yin-attributed Law, but without knowing which one it was, Elena couldn't form a proper plan of action.
After all, she wasn't like Damien, whose mana capacity was nearly infinite. If she wanted to heal herself, she needed to expend a considerable amount of effort. Currently, she was facing an unknown and extremely strong opponent, which didn't leave her space to waste energy.
When she found the perfect time and method to kill this entity, she would strike with everything and slay it.
'To do that…'
She weaved through the darkness around her, entering the shadow's body once more.
Immediately, she was struck by its cruel and cold Laws.
Her perception went black. No matter how far she stretched her awareness, she couldn't see even a single centimeter in front of her.
Even her sense of touch was dulled, the sword shining with mana in her hand the only thing grounding her to reality.
'I am Elena Pierce.' She reminded herself constantly.
Her ego felt like it was slipping into oblivion. Her mind was submerged in a deep lake of nothingness, the whispering voices of death enchanting her to join them in their splendor.
"Whispering voices of…death?"
Voom!
Light shined through Elena's body and soul.
'That's it. This thing is using Death Laws!'
BOOM!
She wantonly released her mana into the surroundings, filling the air with vitality.
Though the mana still had no effect on the entity, it illuminated a path in the darkness, guiding Elena back to safety.
Whoosh!
She shot out of the spirit's body and was immediately confronted by an attack.
With her new knowledge of the Laws contained within, she expertly wielded her own Life Laws in a split second to disperse it.
ROOOOOOOH!
The sound that emanated from the clash was strange on its own, but the two attacks actually wrapped around each other like stars on a merging path, creating a beautiful picture of yin and yang.
Elena's eyes widened as she made space, her gaze focused on the middle point of those two forces.
What she saw was the interaction between life and death, a representation of Samsara.
'This isn't what I want.'
Her eyes widened at the thought that originated from deep in her subconscious.
"Right, that's not what I want," she reiterated, completely aware this time.
What she chased was not peace. What she chased was not life that acted as one half of a whole along with death.
She was chasing the source of Life itself.
Elena Pierce, an individual recognized by the Void and granted a connection with forces far above her station…
If she only wanted this much, she would have never been granted such an honor.
VOOM!
The essence of Life raged around her body.
"Life that Transcended Death" swirled into the air.
In the end, ethereal beings, just like all others, relied on mana.
Therefore, thoroughly crushing its mana would reveal an opening to strike.
"My goal has never been to chase a beautiful life. Ever since I gained the opportunity to enter this world…I have been moving with the intent to suppress any and all things."
Her declaration was to the universe itself.
Life that balanced death? The universe could keep that!
Elena Pierce was not a person who conformed to anyone's will, even if it was the Heavens themselves!
She pushed her mana and slammed her foot in the air as if it was solid, shooting into the air like a comet.
She put her sword away. It was just a tool, no longer strong enough to support her.
Her hands clapped together and her fingers twisted around each other, forming a symbol like an eye trapped in a pyramidal cage. As she slightly closed her eyes…
…her hands slowly pressed forward.
HONG!
The ring of an ancient bell resounded through the air.
The atmosphere was dyed white. No, a beam of white light shot into the skies of the Holy Light Realm like a beacon was lit atop the Tomb of Ayakashi. The beam pierced reality itself, shining through Luxurion in the outside world and immediately causing a stir.
The pure white light was brighter than brightness, purer than purity. Its existence was sacred in the world for the few seconds it blessed the eyes of those lucky enough to witness it before it died down.
However, just a few seconds was enough to create massive waves in many hearts. That sacrosanct beam represented something far greater than its appearance, after all.
Of the experts in the first banquet hall, Luciel's thoughts perfectly summed up those of his compatriots.
'This is truly…an era of geniuses.'
The Holy Light Realm was proving to be of far greater significance than anyone expected.
'It seems we'll have to make some changes.'
Luciel immediately left the area and called a meeting with his fellows in the Heavenly Clan.
Meanwhile, in the very center of the Tomb of Ayakashi, Elena's attack manifested.
A powerfully glowing heavenly ankh no smaller than the demonic spirit's titanic body shot toward it with impossible speed.
Black splotches almost like ink splashed into the air, coating the ankh.
Sizzzzzz!
The ink gutturally sizzled as the ankh's mana burned through it and sent it to oblivion.
The concept of Transcending Death thoroughly suppressed the demonic spirit's Laws, making its attacks completely ineffective.
And as the attack finally collided with the spirit's body, Elena went through a qualitative change.
The understanding of her ultimate goal was accompanied by the comprehension of another elusive concept.
Legends.
Because in that moment, Elena defined her own Legend. Even before Damien, she took a step towards forming her own Divinity.
At this moment, Elena had stepped into the extreme peak of 4th class.
