826 Just leave her to me!
Kyle entered the floating piece of land before him. The moment he did, his senses were overwhelmed by the power of nature and dark energy.
He glanced down, and the first thing that seized his attention was an enormous sea, utterly tranquil and devoid of any movement, stretching endlessly and dominating the landscape like a shimmering blanket of glass.
The second was a city of demons positioned before that sea, occupying the remaining portion of the land.
With Bia, he landed in the center of the bustling city, bathed in dark energy.
The demons, each possessing four wide, dark-colored wings behind their backs and white slit pupils, were taken aback to see a human suddenly appear among them.
Kyle didn't emit any aura, while Bia radiated the peak transcendent rank aura, which made the few supreme rank demons residing in the land who sensed their arrival lick their lips with malicious grins.
They had no idea who this human was, as they had been living in this place for a long time and hadn't paid much attention to the outside world. However, now that he had dared to come and land among them, they would ensure he wouldn't leave this place alive.
The weaker demons in the area fled when they heard their leaders' commands in their heads, asking them to vacate the area.
Yet, before the supreme ranks could even attack Kyle and Bia, time stopped for them.
The entire city froze.
Kyle's senses spread out, and he was surprised to detect two familiar presences. Nevertheless, what astonished him more was that his natural law of time, which he believed had grown significantly stronger in the past month, didn't affect the Sea of Consciousness in the slightest. Perhaps he simply couldn't sense anything because the Sea was still to begin with?
He turned his gaze to the right, toward one of the familiar presences. This person had escaped him a few times before, so he did not expect to see her here.
"Bia, how about you test your strength?"
The phoenix was confused, but she got her answer when he tore through space, and in the next second, they were standing in front of a demon woman clad in expensive dark clothes and jewels in a large chamber.
She was seated atop a dark throne, with a large table filled with countless spiritual dishes before her. Her face was twisted in anger, and she was frozen in the act of hurling a glass of wine at another demon after Kyle stopped time.
Bia eyed her from head to toe. She was eager to eliminate this headache that had evaded her and the others last time and had also caused them harm, but she could only let out a regretful sigh.
-"Samara is at the peak of the supreme rank. I am just about to break through to that rank. I can't fight her."
Kyle remained unfazed. He effortlessly inscribed power-draining symbols in the air and infused them with his Celestial power before they entered Samara's body.
"What if her strength is equal to yours?"
Bia's eyes sparkled with excitement. If Samara's strength was equal to hers, then of course she could tear her to pieces!
-"Just leave her to me, then! With this battle, I can break through and also solidify my supreme rank strength!"
Kyle nodded with a faint whisper of approval. In the next moment, the time around them surged back into motion.
Samara, who was throwing a glass of wine at another demon in anger, froze when she caught sight of a pair of shoes in her line of vision. Instantly, goosebumps flared on her body as a dark shadow loomed over her. An all-too-familiar faint icy aura filled the air, sending chills racing through her body.
She lifted her gaze, and there they were—those haunting green eyes, piercing through the dim light, locking onto her with an intensity that made her blood run cold.
Her body trembled uncontrollably as she gasped out in a choked voice, barely able to comprehend the terror that gripped her.
"How...?"
Didn't he die? Why was the nature's favorite here? How could he possibly be alive?
Countless questions raced through her mind as she attempted to launch an attack, but it felt as though her peak supreme rank strength was utterly futile. He seized her neck with an iron grip.
She cried out, the sound echoing through the chamber, sending all the other demons in the space into a frenzy, fleeing without a backward glance.
Kyle didn't spare her another glance. The teardrop symbol on his neck glowed and hid the true color of his eyes, which he had revealed to show her who he was. He dragged her away, his voice chilling.
"It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"
Samara struggled, her screams scaring the souls out of every demon who heard them as her figure vanished into the space.
She couldn't fathom why this was happening to her—why? This man had robbed her of every precious opportunity to become stronger! She yearned to kill him, to rip him to shreds, but he had returned with a power that eclipsed her own. How had this mere human become so formidable?
Her eyes blazed with fury as she recalled the 'Fruit of Fate' he had stolen from her grasp. Yes! The Fruit of Fate! That was the source of his unimaginable strength!
If only she had gotten her hands on that powerful fruit, then it would have been her who became immensely strong! Her mind screeched to a halt when they stepped out of the rippling space, and Kyle tossed her into the air. She steadied herself in the air, her heart racing, and looked around.
They floated high above the endless expanse of the Sea of Consciousness.
"You bastard—"
Her voice abruptly faded into silence when she realized her strength had dimmed. Her hands trembled with horror and disbelief.
She had come to this land that housed the Sea of Consciousness to heal her injuries and rest for a while after being defeated by Odiak and those foolish Supreme ranks above the Sacred Divine Land. Who could have imagined that this would happen to her?
"No way... No way... I am at the peak of the supreme rank! Someone who will be called a shadow general soon! How did you do this? What did you do to me??"
She shouted in desperation, but Kyle remained indifferent. He glanced at Bia, who left his shoulder and transformed into a majestic crimson phoenix.
Kyle sealed the area and turned to leave.
"She is all yours. Good luck."
Bia nodded, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at Samara. Oh, how she was going to boast to everyone, especially Nox, once she eliminated this Demon Queen!
She chuckled to herself, and Samara, catching a glimpse of an evil spark in the phoenix's gleaming eyes, trembled. She watched as Kyle vanished into the distance, seemingly confident that Bia wasn't going to lose, and then the phoenix lunged at her with an overwhelming surge of power.
Samara seized her dark whip, crackling with tiny sparks of electricity, and retaliated with every ounce of her strength. She unleashed her fury without restraint.
"How dare you?! You insufferable bird! Do you even know who I am?"
Bia endured a few injuries, but she understood that this was part of her growing stronger. After all, Samara was a seasoned fighter, far more experienced than she was, so it was only to be expected. Also, even though the demon queen's strength had waned due to what Kyle did, it did not mean she had lost any of her skills and abilities.
It was good Samara couldn't wield any natural laws within the confines of the space Kyle had sealed. Thus, the moment Bia ascended to the supreme rank amidst the battle, she could only be overwhelmed by the phoenix flames and battered.
While Bia was beating Samara, ensuring she settled all old scores, Kyle appeared at the edge of the Sea of Consciousness.
The supreme-rank demons in the city who had previously wanted to attack him were all confused when his and Bia's auras suddenly vanished. They could only tsk and retreat, unaware that their Queen, who had recently come to rest in this land, had disappeared right under their noses.
Kyle glanced at a distant spot above the Sea of Consciousness where he could sense another familiar aura.
It belonged to Jian. He could tell the man was meditating, so he chose not to disturb him. Instead, he walked closer to the Sea.
There were no waves; the surface was completely still. He grabbed the hem of his hoodie and discarded it, ready to take a dip and discover just how powerful the Sea of Conciousness truly was. As he approached the water and stood on a protruding rock, a few old demons fishing nearby noticed him and erupted into loud laughter. One of the old men, whom Nine and the others would have certainly recognized, scoffed.
"Another fool, oblivious to the vastness of this world, here to take a dip."