"Good." Lian nodded and did not argue, he knew there was no point in arguing with this stubborn girl.
He turned around, first heading toward Aren, then he knelt beside him, the latter slowly opened his eyes with difficulty and when he saw him, he gave a very weak smile.
"Finally..."
Lian took out a stronger Healing Potion.
"Open your mouth."
Aren did not even have the energy to protest and took the Potion from him.
The liquid entered his body, a very weak light appeared around his wounds, and the bleeding decreased.
The open tissues started to close, but his arms did not return, the Potion could keep Aren alive.
It could not regenerate two severed limbs from nothing.
Lian looked at the two hands lying on the ground, there was no time for complete treatment for now.
If reconnecting or Regeneration was possible later, they had to act quickly, but for now, only staying alive mattered.
Then he stood up and went toward One without wasting any time.
With every step he got closer, the pain coming through the Hive Link became clearer.
When he reached the giant ant, he placed his hand on the healthy part of its head.
One moved its antenna very weakly, and the feeling was immediately transferred.
Pain, anger, and .... shame, and deep inside all of them, happiness that Lian had returned.
"That’s enough, sorry I was late." Lian kept his hand there for a moment.
He took another Potion from his Inventory, the amount was small for One’s huge body, but it could stop the process of death.
He poured the liquid directly into its mouth.
Then through the Hive Link, he sent only one command.
Stay alive.
The response was very weak, but it came, pain and obedience and something like stubbornness.
Lian pulled his hand back and slowly stood up.
Now there was nothing left between him and Caelus.
The leader of the Cindari had been watching him the whole time, he had neither attacked nor tried to touch the Cocoon.
Lian’s sudden arrival had changed the situation that had been completely under his control only a few moments ago.
His eyes stayed on the Human for a few seconds, then on the Cocoon, and finally on the sword that was still lying beside Seris.
"I did not expect a Human to appear at the last moment, but I have to thank you for saving His Majesty." Caelus took a calm breath and a smile appeared on his face.
Lian, who was walking toward him, stopped, looked at him for a few seconds, and then looked at the Cocoon.
Selina was still floating motionlessly inside the Cocoon, and Black veins could be seen on part of her neck.
[92.0%]
His gaze returned to Caelus.
"His Majesty?" For a moment, he really thought he might have heard wrong, and his eyebrows rose slightly.
"You just called the Calamity that almost destroyed your entire world before... His Majesty?"
"That’s right." Caelus answered without the slightest hesitation.
Lian stayed silent for a few moments, no, he had not heard wrong, an idiot had really called the thing that almost destroyed their world His Majesty!
Of course, he did not simply think it was because the man was stupid, he definitely knew there was a bigger reason behind it.
Something like serving a Calamity...?
"You Outsiders don’t understand, you are one-dimensional, short-sighted and empty, and what you call a Calamity... is actually a Blessing." Caelus continued, and something like worship and fanaticism appeared in his eyes.
"Now I’m sure you’re crazy." Lian looked at him for a few seconds, then gave a short laugh, not because he found it funny but because he could not believe it.
His smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and his gaze became cold, the images of the Tomb returned to his mind.
Cindar Vael.
A body in Suspended Death, 0.03% biological activity.
The dying Forgotten Tree, the Black Silence Fetus, Selina as the new Vessel,
And the conclusion he had reached himself.
Cindar could not control these events in his current state, there had to be someone else, someone who would continue his plan.
And now a man was standing in front of Lian who knew about the Cocoon, knew about the Gestation Progress, and had entered the Dead Zone without any fear.
He was the current leader of all the Cindari, he called The Black Silence "His Majesty" and called the one responsible for destroying his own world a Blessing.
The pieces fit together too well.
"So it’s you."
"The one continuing the work of that corpse under Rootcrown."
Caelus’s expression really changed, not a small frown like during the battle and not simple surprise, but his eyes opened wider for a fraction of a second, even the calm Mana around him fluctuated for a moment.
"You... entered that place?" How? How had a Human entered that place? He was sure he had placed the best security systems in the Archive and the hidden floor!
Then how!?
"Of course, but there was nothing in the First Archive, but what was underneath it was much more interesting, Cindar Vael, Suspended Death, a body that had been kept almost dead for hundreds of years, but not completely, I found many interesting things." Lian got closer to the enemy with every word that came out of his mouth.
Caelus’s eyes became colder with every sentence.
"The one who betrayed the old leaders during the Final Battle against the Corrupted Titan..."
For a moment, Aurelia’s words played through his mind again.
"And even before that, he allowed the Black Silence to enter this world..." His eyes were fixed directly on Caelus.
"Cindar is that traitor, right? You are also one of the dogs continuing his path, aren’t you?"
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
Even Caelus, and then the corner of his lips rose slightly, but this time his smile was different from before, colder, more ruthless, and filled with killing intent.
"You understood more than you should have, but Traitor is not the right word." There was even something like pride in his voice.
"Brother Cindar made the right choice, he was the first one to accept the truth."
"The first one who understood that true salvation does not come from resisting Father." His eyes shone slightly.
"...But from worshiping him."
"Brother Cindar? God Father? Are you guys part of some cult?" Lian looked at him for a few seconds and then burst into laughter.
Caelus showed no reaction, but that itself was enough of an answer.
"Very well." The young Vorhelm’s smile disappeared and he took another step forward.
"Then before I kill you, I have a few questions for you."
Caelus narrowed his eyes slightly, but Lian was no longer looking at him.
He opened his panel.
[Power: 750]
[Spirit: 450]
[Speed: 500]
[Mana: 975]
[Resistance: 533]
[Free Stat Points: 792]
His eyes stayed on the last number, during everything that had happened recently, he had not had the chance to really use them.
These points had been earned, they were only waiting to be assigned and he no longer saw any reason to keep them.
A Level 35 was standing in front of him.
He had pushed Seris to the edge of death, pierced One, and cut off both of Aren’s arms.
And if he had arrived a few seconds later, the Cocoon would probably have been destroyed too.
Now was no longer the time to save them.
[physical Strength +250]
[physical Strength: 750 → 1000]
[Speed +200]
[Speed: 500 → 700]
[Resistance +192]
[Resistance: 533 → 725]
[Mana +100]
[Mana: 975 → 1075]
And finally
[Spirit +50]
[Spirit: 450 → 500]
The final panel appeared.
[Status Updated.]
[physical Strength: 1000]
[Spirit: 500]
[Speed: 700]
[Mana: 1075]
[Resistance: 725]
[ Stat Points: 0]
Lian opened and closed his right fist for a moment, he immediately felt the difference.
Physical Strength, one thousand.
Speed, seven hundred.
He had now officially reached the peak of power that was possible for him, and he had reached a level that no Awakened below the First Evolution had ever reached in all of history.
He had officially set a new record.
The most powerful young Awakened in history below the First Evolution... a record that was far better than the previous best, and he highly doubted anyone in history could reach it.
Caelus also felt the change, his expression became a little more serious, he did not know why, but he had a bad feeling.
He might not be able to see Lian’s panel, but the sudden increase in physical pressure and Mana could not be hidden.
"Your friend also thought he could kill me, you saw the result." He then said and pointed toward Seris, a mocking smile appearing on his face.
"Yeah." Lian looked at Seris for a moment and then looked back at Caelus.
"Then you should understand the difference between—" The Cindari leader sneered, but before he could finish his sentence...
[Thunder Step.]
The rest of the sentence was never said.
Even Caelus, with Level 35, saw only blue light for a fraction of a second.
Seven hundred Speed with Thunder Step was nothing like what he had faced a few minutes ago.
Lian appeared directly in front of his face and the distance between them became zero.
Caelus could only open his eyes wider, and his right fist was already pulled back.
Blue and white lightning wrapped around his arm.
[Thunder Calamity.]
One thousand physical Strength was released in a short movement.
There was no need for a big Swing, there was no need for long Momentum, the distance was less than half a meter. The fist hit Caelus directly in the jaw!
BOOM!
The sound of the hit was more like an explosion than a fist hitting a face.
Lightning was released at the moment of contact. A circular shockwave pushed the dirt around them away.
The Cindari’s head turned to one side and his feet left the ground, his body was thrown backward as if it had no weight.
The first dry root in his path hit his back.
It broke.
The second one also failed to stop him.
Caelus passed through it.
The third dead tree cracked.
His body was thrown more than thirty meters across the ground and between the roots before finally landing inside a pile of gray dirt and broken wood.
For several seconds, silence filled the area.
Aren raised his head slightly with a pale face.
Seris opened her only healthy eye.
Even One weakly moved one of his antennae.
Where Caelus had fallen, dirt was still in the air, then a movement could be seen, a hand came out from between the pieces of roots.
He slowly pulled himself up, he looked confused, blood was running from the corner of his mouth, the inside of his lip was split.
When he opened his mouth slightly, one of his back teeth was broken, his face was still fine, but the swelling on his jaw became clear within a few seconds... He spat the blood inside his mouth onto the ground.
Then he looked at Lian in disbelief.
The young Vorhelm was still standing in the same place where he had thrown the punch, lightning was moving slowly around his fingers.
His face showed no special emotion, no satisfaction, no pride, no obvious anger, but only coldness, very cold.
"You..." Caelus said with difficulty.
"Your mistake was thinking that because you defeated them... I am also like them." Lian did not let him finish his sentence, he slowly started walking toward him.
"Level 35? I expected more, maybe you won’t believe it, but even a Level 35 ant was at least able to take one of my punches.