Chapter 561: Aether Suppression [Bonus]
Nosphaleen burst through, the barrier on the region gone.
"Use <Charm Veil> on me. Stay as high in the sky as possible for as long as you can without compromising your stamina and staying within 100 meters of me. Be prepared to use <Projected Shift> at any moment," Sylas called out on his orders as he landed on the ground.
The vines surged toward him again, but Sylas had already swapped to <Surfing Frost> from <Chilling Rise>, riding on a curving wave of ice through the air.
At that moment, he felt a sparkling Aether coat him.
<Charm Veil> was an illusion technique capable of shrouding the presence of someone and confusing the senses of those that saw them.
When it was used on Sylas, the trajectory his real body was taking and the trajectory his illusion was taking deviated in the sight of the Violet Rose Heart.
Vines snaked through the skies, but they were no longer aimed at Sylas himself at all. The Violet Rose Heart was continuously hitting nothing but air, and in its poor intelligence, it thought that Sylas was truly dodging so well despite the fact the illusion was moving far more erratically than the real Sylas could ever manage.
Sylas dove down toward the ground again, and from high above, Nosphaleen followed suit, realizing why it was Sylas wanted her to stay within 100 meters. Only like this could he stop the poison from influencing her so she could completely focus on the task at hand.
'He's grown much stronger again...' she couldn't help but think.
Watching Sylas' valiant back, she felt an odd emotion growing in her heart. Slowly but surely, the shadow of Sylas in her mind was becoming just as overwhelming as it was in the Basilisk King's.
Sylas had no idea what Nosphaleen was thinking. He was instead basking in a feeling he had never experienced before.
Despite the danger as he shot down from the skies, he had never felt more alive.
He pulled on his Gluttony Seed, and his nearly 2000 Physical Telekinesis surged. He ducked and weaved through the mess, truly flying for the first time.
SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! SHUU!
He shot through the waves of attacks, appearing below the humanoid plant.
At that moment, the crown above the Violet Rose Heart's heart pulsed, and Sylas felt as though the illusion Aether around him shattered.
The howl of the creature echoed again as it realized that Sylas was already between its legs. However, the foolish thing realized too late that its legs had already been frozen into the ground. It was so focused on the battle above that it had let the Mancer's Blossom sink its own roots into the ground.
At the same time, Sylas' Domain had been steadily growing all this time. Other than movement skills, he hadn't cast any others because all of his Aether had been diverted to <Woodland Frost Domain>.
His frosty wood wiggled through the Domain of the Violet Rose Heart, seamlessly integrating as though it wasn't there at all. And then...
He erupted.
<Woodland Frost Spike>.
[Woodland Frost Spike (FFF-) (Skill)] (Bronze Mastery)
[Damage: 400]
[Special Damage: 120/sec for 5 seconds]
[Attribute: Wood-Ice-Poison]
That was the base strength of the Skill. However, between all of Sylas' boosts, the existence of Mancer's Blossom, the activation of his Domain, and <Madness Control>...
-
[Woodland Frost Spike (FFF-) (Skill)] (Bronze Mastery)
[Damage: 960]
[Special Damage: 300/sec for 5 seconds]
[Attribute: Wood-Ice-Poison]
The frosty fists that Sylas had used to attack the humanoid plant earlier had already sunk deep. Although not as deep as Sylas would have hoped, as powerful as the Violet Rose Heart was, the vines were just extensions of its body, and between Sylas' Poison Sparked Will and his 60-plus Foundation Runes, it didn't stand a chance.
CHII! BANG!
The spike rose up from between the humanoid plant's legs. It was large, its base being at least five meters in diameter, while its body was a twisting mass of several roots.
They came together to form a frosty tip that tore through the frozen exterior of the humanoid plant right through the groin.
The creature had been distracted by Sylas in one instant and was overwhelmed in the next.
LUBDUB. LUBDUB.
A wave of pressure slammed Sylas down to the ground.
He had just been about to follow up and into the gap his attack created, but just a single normal pulse from the heart sent him flying.
[Violet Rose Heart (Bronze)]
[Level: 32]
[Physical: 750]
>[Strength: 0]
>[Constitution: 2999]
>[Dexterity: 0]
>[Speed: 0]
[Mental: 2071]
>[Intelligence: 2999]
>[Wisdom: 1500]
>[Charisma: 1713]
[Will: 984]
The stats were the exact same. No, they had even weakened as this heart had no physical whatsoever. And yet Sylas felt like he had just run into a completely different enemy.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body shuddering under the pain.
High above, Nosphaleen's expression changed.
"Aether Suppression! Not good!"
Sylas vaguely picked up on these words. He didn't have the time to find out exactly what it
was.
SKKKKREEEEEEE!
Sylas felt his Aether rolling in his body, fighting its way to get out as though it would rip a path out of his pores if it was given the slightest chance.
His torso grew a size, and blotches of blood appeared beneath his skin. In that moment, several of his internal organs ruptured, and his heart nearly imploded beneath the pressure.
A pain that nearly caused him to black out took hold of him, but his Will flared up, forcefully taking control of his mind.
The backlash of his <Cryobane Elevation> was starting to set in, and the battle of hot and cold in his body was quickly reaching an end he didn't want to see.
In one moment, he felt like he was flying high, and in the next, there was a savage sort of slap
from reality.
However, Sylas' intent blazed.
The woven tale between Aether, Runes, and Will had been percolating in his mind for a long
while.
And just now, he saw a door open.
How many times had he seen opponents use a pulse of Aether to disperse his telekinesis? How did Aether counter Will? And why couldn't the opposite be done if the vice versa had worked? He unleashed a roar, and his Will was forcefully integrated into his Aether skin.