Countless Wings was a perfect counter to Noah's abilities.
The Ghostly Claws and the Demonic Form managed to repel the explosive power of the fiery butterflies, but Countless Wings kept on moving, and her arrows prevented Noah from chasing after her in a straight line. Also, as she kept Noah away, her wings would leave a trail of fire that created even more butterflies.
Noah found himself unable to reach her even when he used the Merging spell, which left him in a hopeless pursuit that only depleted his energy. It seemed that he didn't have any chance to gain the upper hand against Countless Wings.
'I didn't want to use this just yet,' Noah thought as he focused on activating another spell.
It all started as a black dot coming out of his palm. That little sphere floated above Noah's head and generated a gravitational pull when it was in position. The trajectory of the butterflies suddenly shifted and converged toward the sphere that shattered them until they were nothing more than primary energy. That primary energy then fused with Noah's spell, enlarging its shape and increasing its suction force.
Countless Wings was an experienced warrior who had witnessed a large variety of spells. The sphere summoned by Noah was an ability that the heroic assets of that world had already noted down, even if they weren't aware of all its specifics. Yet, Countless Wings had already encountered similar attacks and knew that all of them could only absorb a limited amount of energy.
It was a necessary feature dictated by the fairness of Heaven and Earth. An ability able to absorb energy indefinitely simply couldn't exist.
So, she decided to move even faster, increasing the number of flames that she left behind and creating more butterflies to overload that defensive spell.
Noah felt strange when he saw the reaction of his opponent. On one side, he felt happy that Countless Wings had chosen that approach. Yet, part of him was worried at the sight of the black sphere madly absorbing the energy released by the shattered butterflies.
The truth was that the Black Hole spell had gained unusual properties after Noah replaced the "Breath" of Heaven and Earth with his darkness. It had become a never-ending vortex able to devour any energy that came near it, and the usual limit applied to that kind of spells seemed to have vanished in its case.
When he tested it inside the separate dimension, the Black Hole spell had continued to absorb energy even after it had become too powerful for his mind to handle. Noah had been forced to detonate it back then and listen to a long series of complaints from Thirty-seven, which labeled it as an unstable spell.
Modifying and fusing two different diagrams had given birth to something impressive that could act on its own when Noah's darkness fueled it. The cause behind its unusual behavior probably was Noah's greed since it was a core part of the fused spell.
That feeling apparently resonated with his "Breath" and destabilized the structure of the spell, turning it into an all-devouring sphere that radiated his distinctive destruction.
Noah had understood that his mind had to improve before he could use it in battle at ease, but he always could detonate it before it escaped his control. So, his decision to use it in that fight wasn't exactly reckless. It just made him feel worried about potential drawbacks.
With the Black Hole spell taking care of the swarm of fiery butterflies, Noah could finally charge toward Countless Wings head-on. His Demonic Sword was enough to take care of the arrows, so he sprinted in a straight line, ready to bring the battle where his abilities excelled.
Countless Wings was initially confident that the black sphere above Noah would reach its limits soon. Still, it only became bigger as she kept on accelerating to maintain the distance with her opponent.
The main issue wasn't the width of the sphere. Its gravitational pull became stronger as it absorbed more energy, and it reached the point where even the arrows started to deviate from their original trajectory.
Also, the spell redirected part of its energy to Noah's body, which made him feel stronger than he had ever been!
Countless Wings could only begin to consider the idea of resorting to some of her items when she saw that her opponent was starting to gain ground.
At that point though, loud cries filled the battlefield, and the attention of the heroic cultivators went on the city, where they saw the human troops of the Empire retreating in a hurry.
The human army of the three forces had managed to overwhelm the enemy troops and take control of the city while the heroic cultivators were busy fighting the battles on their level. With the town occupied, the Empire didn't have access to the trigger of the blue pillar and couldn't defend that territory.
The heroic assets of the Empire heaved helpless sighs and revealed annoyed looks, but they announced their retreat nonetheless. As a nation with a long experience in wars, the Shandal Empire knew that it was pointless to exhaust its strongest cultivators over a city that they had lost after only two battles.
It was better to retreat to a place where they could benefit from their position as defenders once again. Letting the three forces overwhelm them with their superior numbers without even relying on some defensive measures was merely suicidal.
A wave of cheers filled the army that quickly divided itself according to the origin of its cultivators. The three forces had finally managed to defeat the Empire in battle, but they were still opponents united only to take down a common enemy.
Noah felt disappointed to see his opponent retreat so soon. Being interrupted when he had finally started to gain the advantage in his fight annoyed him, but he couldn't just chase after her when she had regrouped with the other rank 5 cultivators.
His attention went on the black sphere floating above his head, which had already become more than four meters wide. Its uneven edges leaked the destruction of his individuality and kept on creating primary energy to absorb.
'I wonder how much it can grow,' Noah thought for an instant before suppressing that idea and starting to suppress his ability.
The problem with letting it grow without limit was that Noah's mind would have to endure the pressure generated by his connection with the spell. A power in the liquid stage of the fifth rank was probably the best that his mental sphere could handle right now and that only because the connection didn't express the full might of the ability.
However, someone interrupted him before he could shut down the spell entirely.
"I saw those spells!" Thaddeus said as he stepped forward to face the group from the Hive. "They are the same abilities used by the cultivator that has destroyed the Balvan family."