Michael took a deep breath after killing the two Platinum leaders. But he didn’t let down his guard yet.
After all, he knew that defeating these 9th stage Maugnetics wasn’t going to be the hardest part of this Stronghold invasion. It’s just the start.
Just then, he felt the hairs on his neck stand on end as an overflow of Aubility Power surged out of these two corpses.
To be exact, it came from the fluttering object on their necks.
Michael disappeared into a shadowy figure and reappeared at the opposite end of the room, making as much space as he could away from the source of that strange power.
He watched carefully as the objects finally slipped out of the Platinums’ collars, hovering slightly above their smoking cadavers.
It was a necklace.
The chains themselves were ordinary. But the gem at its center was anything but.
Dark and crystalline, the centerpiece of the ornate jewelry looked like it was carved straight out from an iceberg made entirely out of obsidian.
Michael had seen this type of necklace before.
And he knew what it contained.
As if sensing the deathly state of its owner, the two necklaces pulled themselves out of the corpses’ necks, snapping its golden lace in an instant.
The black gem slowly hovered above, a shadowy mist slowly gathering to form a vortex.
Michael felt a heavy feeling in the air. Aubility Power was slowly being unleashed. A tremendous amount. Something that far surpassed even the Platinum leaders themselves.
This was definitely something from a Nascent Spirit realm.
He knew that it was only a piece—a small sliver of the real thing—but it was still intimidating nonetheless.
His right hand lay near his right thigh, ready to retrieve the gun from his holster.
His left hand reached for his chest, finding solace in the wooden talisman that protected him.
These were just his last protective measures. He didn’t want to waste two of his six bullets, after all.
"Alpha... you here?"
Beside him, a woman emerged from his shadow.
Alpha. She was his only weapon against these Nascent Spirit pieces. She couldn’t kill one herself, but she could sure as hell occupy them enough so that he could deal the final blow. Or vice versa.
"Charlie. Come here," he said.
And on his right, a new figure emerged.
It was another one of his Unity Clones.
In comparison to Alpha, Charlie’s power was completely nonexistent. He was basically a mortal at this point and completely of no use in this fight.
But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t. Contained on those two 9th stage corpses were Artifices that could be used for the ascension of Charlie to become the same level as Alpha and Beta.
Of course, he had to retrieve the Artifice first.
Finally, his opponent showed themselves.
The two black gems hovering in the air exploded into a million pieces, their shards slowly turning into a black mist.
A vortex spawned in their place, slowly gathering the dust and mist of the black gem and coalescing them into one cohesive figure.
Two ghostly horses emerged from the wreckage. Their skin was a ghostly black, with a slight tinge of a bluish green, coming from the cool, fiery mane on its head.
These Horse Divas had an air of superiority around them, supplemented by the ornate golden armor that they proudly showed off. They looked like a steed worthy only for a mighty general.
So it’s not from the Grandmaster. That’s good.
The Grandmaster’s Diva was a shadowy soldier.
This was from another Nascent Spirit cultivator in the Ersatz group.
I have to get around these two horses. Alpha, distract them.
He needed to steer the horses away from the corpses so he could take the Artifice for himself.
She nodded at his instruction, completely disappearing into her own shadow.
The two ghastly horses snorted derisively as they felt Alpha’s presence approach them. They felt disdain for the Diva that was pretending to be a Nascent Spirit.
One of the horses scratched the ground it stood on, before charging towards Alpha at top speeds.
A bluish fire was left in their wake as it circled around the shadow flitting on the ground.
Alpha tried to escape from the bluish fire, but found herself being burned as she did so.
She emerged from her shadow, facing the Horse Diva upfront.
It looked at her, neighing with mirth and scorn.
Alpha didn’t react. She simply tucked her hair behind her ears and took on a low stance.
She assumed the posture of an elite runner.
And as she did so, a bluish fire burst out of the soles of her feet—completely identical to the ghastly horse’s Aubility Power.
Its eyes went wide seeing a carbon copy of its fire.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Michael stared at the two corpses on the ground. The Horse Diva trotted around them casually, not even paying him any attention.
Charlie, I’ll distract the horse. You get those Artifices.
His Unity Clone wordlessly nodded, before turning into a shadow and keeping his presence to a minimum.
Michael, on the other hand, looked down into his shadow inventory.
In the dark chasm at his feet, he saw hundreds of glistening GodForge pieces floating aimlessly like sunless planets.
It’s time to use you, he said.
He reached out his hand, letting his natural Maugnetism attract the drops.
Silver liquid began to emerge out of his shadow, immediately bursting into a white fire as it made contact with the air.
Its speed fastened as it got nearer towards Michael’s heart. They got excited at the thought of becoming one with him.
The ghastly horse Diva finally paid him attention. It stared at the drops of GodForge pieces and let out an angry breath.
These genuine GodForge pieces were anathema to these Diva borne from Artifices. It reminded them of their own inadequacies.
Its hooves scratching the ground, the Horse Diva charged towards Michael in an attempt to destroy those flaming drops.