Isaac noticed the change in expression and smiled.
"Surprised?" Isaac asked with a cold smile.
"Indeed, I am surprised," the Third Priest answered, his frown returning to a calm expression.
Isaac did not like how calm the man looked. So, he asked,
"Did the World Tree order you to come for Eleanor?"
"Yes," the Third Priest answered.
Isaac raised a brow. "You answered that pretty easily."
"Your Talent is great, magnificent even, Isaac Hargraves. You must make use of it to serve the World Tree. As such, it is only normal that I do not hide anything from you. After all, in the future, you would realize the words of the Great One had important reasons."
Isaac stared at him for a moment before asking another question. "What about working with the Purification Cult to target Emily?"
"That was not ordered by the Great One."
That answer confirmed two things immediately. First, the Third Priest was wary of Avery, otherwise he would not have needed the Purification Cult’s help. Second, Isaac hated it someone tried to harm his people.
"Thanks to your answer, I now know what I need to do," Isaac said with a cold smile. "I’m going to burn that tree down."
The reaction was immediate. The Third Priest froze, and for the first time since Isaac had met him, genuine emotion appeared on his face.
Anger erupted from him. The calm mask disappeared as mana surged into the surroundings. His eyes slowly opened, revealing completely blue irises that seemed to glow with power.
[Mana Pattern Eyes]
Isaac recognized them immediately. Catherine had taught him about the eighteen ocular powers derived from the Five Great Ocular Powers. The moment he identified them, something struck him.
There was no warning and no visible attack. One moment Isaac was standing there, and the next a huge portion of his abdomen disappeared. The attack had moved so quickly that it did not even throw him backward.
Instead, it simply erased part of his body. Blood poured from the wound as chunks of ruined organs fell from the cavity. His Mana Core shattered. His heart was destroyed. The world suddenly felt distant as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth and the light in his eyes began to fade.
"No one is allowed to speak ill of the Great One," the Third Priest said as he stepped forward. Then he took another step and another, casually walking through the air toward Isaac’s position on the neighboring building. "I will heal you this time. But use these moments to understand how fragile you are. How weak you are. How worthless you are. You should feel blessed that you can be of use to the Great One."
From the corner of his vision, Isaac saw Sera shouting.
The two Ancient Kings were trying to push forward as well, but the Purification Cult members kept them occupied.
No matter how hard they tried, they could not reach him.
The Third Priest stopped directly in front of Isaac and looked down at him. "Do you understand what I said?"
"I... do...." Isaac coughed blood before slowly grinning. "I understand that... the World Tree is a fucking nuisance who can’t live without the vanity of his followers constantly praising him."
The Third Priest’s face twisted with fury.
Deep wrath burned within his eyes as he stared at Isaac.
"You! Looks like I need to teach you a proper lesson! Only then will you understand—"
The words abruptly died in his throat as golden flames erupted around Isaac’s body. Torn flesh repaired itself. Broken bones reconnected. Injuries that should have taken weeks to recover vanished in moments.
For several seconds, the Third Priest simply stared. This should have been impossible. He had personally destroyed Isaac’s Mana Core.
Isaac should no longer possess any internal mana. Attempting to use ambient mana should cause immense backlash.
Yet Isaac was healing as though nothing had happened.
Then a realization struck him.
’If Isaac no longer haa a Mana Core, how are those summons still fighting?’ he wondered.
What he didn’t know was that Isaac’s clones were no different from his true body. They shared mana reserves and skill cooldowns. Although the Mana Core in his main body had been destroyed, the Mana Cores inside his clones remained intact. Isaac was simply borrowing their mana.
Using the moment of surprise, he moved.
Void-Silence Guillotine shot forward. The blade pierced toward the Third Priest’s abdomen with terrifying speed.
The priest reacted instantly and reinforced his body, but the sword still managed to force its way an inch into his flesh before stopping.
The difference in strength between them remained too great for a deeper wound, yet the momentum behind the strike was enough to launch the priest backward.
Before he could recover, Isaac vanished.
Phantom Step and Moonstep Silent Footwork activated together, carrying him directly in front of the Florathi team.
The warriors barely had time to register his appearance before his sword flashed through the air. One Mana Core shattered. Then another. Beila’s eyes widened as his mana disappeared.
The first tank suffered the same fate. An attack slammed into Isaac’s leg and blew it apart below the knee, but he completely ignored the pain.
His sword swept sideways and severed the arm of the second tank before anyone could react.
Golden flames engulfed the ruined leg and rapidly rebuilt it.
The instant the healing finished, Isaac kicked away from the building.
A heartbeat later, an invisible attack landed exactly where he had been standing. The entire structure exploded apart.
Walls shattered, steel beams twisted, and concrete collapsed inward.
The Third Priest hadn’t bothered attacking away from the Florathi team. There was no reason to. Isaac’s attacks on their Mana Cores couldn’t be healed, making them useless in the battle.
If they were gravely injured in the aftermath, so be it.
Isaac barely had time to look back before the Third Priest appeared again. The battle immediately turned into a brutal exchange.