Ryu stood near the edge of a pit left by the floating islands, Sarriel to his side and his gaze impossible to read. He had already casually dealt with everything involved in this world and planned to take a step into the Chaos Plane now.
Truthfully, Ryu didn't plan on spending very long in the Chaos Plane, he just felt like he had to experience it. And, despite how confident he had sounded in his Ice Phoenix Clan's protective barrier, his intuition told him that it wouldn't be smart to underestimate the Martial Gods. There was a very real possibility that while he believed this barrier to be impenetrable, that the Martial Gods could have a method that he was wholly ignorant of.
"Why are you following me? Go back." Ryu said, not sparing Sarriel a glance.
Sarriel brows furrowed. "No one is following you, don't think so highly of yourself. This was my goal to begin with."
"What does that goal have to do with what you did to the Pedestal Plane?"
"You understand nothing. The Shrine World is the center of Sacrum and its most important hub. Wouldn't I be too stupid to not ensure I had secured a piece of it for myself?"
"A piece? An entire Plane is just a piece, now?"
"If it was up to me, I would have taken the Shrine Plane. But, unfortunately, those bastards were lucky enough to be born far earlier than I was."
Ryu shook his head. This woman really was just as if not more arrogant than he was. Clearly she was saying that the only advantage the Martial Gods had on her was their older age. There wasn't even much of a point in arguing against this.
"You're still skirting around the issue. That's not an explanation. You know more than just that. There obviously has to be more or else the Martial Gods and Ancestral Beasts wouldn't have been so ready to stop you. It seemed that they all had the same goal."
"Of course they all had the same goal. Very soon, maybe the only place in this world that will be safe is the Shrine World."
"And why's that? Because of the Martial God's real enemy?"
"Oh, look at that. Maybe you're not as much of an idiot as you seem." Sarriel sneered.
"You know, such a foul mouth on a woman isn't very attractive."
"Who cares about being attractive to you?"
"Ah, you misunderstand. I was only speaking in generalities. To me, it's actually very, very attractive. Attractive enough that maybe someday I'll have to take another taste."
"Talk about that again and I'll split your corpse into six pieces."
Ryu chuckled. This woman was indeed vicious. Six pieces probably meant chopping off his limbs and then his head. That would indeed make six.
"You mean like how I split your body in two? You want to reenact that? I happen to have some time today."
"Do you really think you can beat me?!"
"Yes."
BANG!
Two fists met in the air, causing both parties to flip backward, landing lightly on their feet. But, the difference was that Ryu could easily see that Sarriel's dainty little knuckles had reddened on impact, causing his lip to curl into a smile.
"Oh my, it seems that my lady's body is a bit weak. I would ask if there was anything I needed to take responsibility for, but when I said split you in two I didn't mean it that way."
Sarriel's gaze flickered with rage. She really wanted to bite this man's head off. When the hell had his body managed to become so ridiculously strong?
However, even with this being the case, Sarriel didn't think she needed to use a strong body to beat Ryu. She had a myriad of other methods she could use, each more potent than the last.
Eventually, Sarriel calmed, her chest settling down as she retracted her fist.
"… The Martial Gods have known for a long time that escaping to this world is just delaying the inevitable, but it's managed to buy them some time. Sealing off the Shrine Plane was stalled because your mother's seal disrupted their planes. In addition, linking up all the Shrines proved to be more difficult than it seemed because of the wild spatial maze that was the highest plane."
When Sarriel said this, Ryu's gaze narrowed.
"Are such protections not normal across worlds?"
"No. It's unique to us."
Ryu's gaze narrowed further. Was it a coincidence? Why did he feel like the Silver Star in his head now and its spatial abilities weren't entirely separate from this apparently unique phenomena…
A person that could travel back in time and invest in the future of this world… Not to mention a person having such skill that even Ryu's fully awakened Heavenly Pupils couldn't see through them…
Could it be?
The idea was so gripping that Ryu latched on and refused to let go. The Shrine Plane had always fascinated him. The complexity of its terrain was unlike anything Ryu had ever studied before and there didn't seem to be a natural cause as to why things were the way they were.
But this… This could be the reason that had eluded everyone for so very long.
Sarriel frowned when she saw Ryu like this, as though he had just figured something out. However, her pride ran far too deep for her to reach out and ask what he was thinking about. And, Ryu, who was amused by her display, was obviously content to tease her just like this.
"So you mean to say that the initial method the Martial Gods had planned couldn't be used and they had to take this approach as well. Now even the Ancestral Beasts want a piece, huh? But you still haven't answered. If this is about safety, but you plan on leaving this world entirely regardless, what is the point?"
"Why is this so hard for you to understand? I plan on leaving, but there will be a day when I come back. When that day comes, I'll purge my world of all invaders and lead it to the pinnacle of Existence. No one will stop my blade."
Ryu gazed upon Sarriel deeply when she said this. He suddenly understood that between now and that day Sarriel spoke so valiantly about… The Shrine World would ironically become the very cage Patriarch Three-Eye lamented. But, this time.. It would be a real cage.
Without another thought, Ryu turned and leapt into the hole.
"What are you doing?!" Sarriel shrieked, rushing after him.