Birth of the Demonic Sword

'Kill the light!'

'Destroy the light!'

'Death to the light!'

Night sounded ecstatic as it flew through the corrosive smoke and unleashed its abilities on the formations' cores. Its anger toward everything that shone appeared boundless, but Noah could understand the reason behind such intense feelings.

The rank 7 Night-blade Pterodactyl had lived in the Immortal Lands for years without ever gazing at the sky. Heaven and Earth had put a massive limitation on its path toward the higher ranks.

Noah didn't know how old Night was, but he could understand that its life in the higher plane had been harsh. The creature probably blamed every form of light for its fall.

Night accelerated inside the corrosive smoke before slamming head-on on the cores. Its attacks resemble a brainless charge that relied only on its physical strength and speed, but Noah could sense something more profound.

His connection with the creature was strong. He could sense part of its unconscious and understand some of the things that Night didn't even remember.

The name Night-blade Pterodactyl indicated the species' ability to turn into a sharp weapon right before attacking. However, the specimens didn't become simple blades.

Night merged with the world when it clashed with the cores. It became part of the laws of the darkness element and severed everything else effortlessly.

Also, its cuts tainted the world, which gave birth to more darkness. It seemed that the more it destroyed, the more the world lost light.

'To think that we would be so suitable for each other,' Noah thought as he witnessed more cores exploding and small dark areas replacing them.

Noah and the Pterodactyl shared many similarities. He had also pondered the chance that the roars of that species had affected him during his past enlightenment.

'Merging with darkness to spread darkness,' Noah thought while shaking his head. 'A blade that belongs to Heaven and Earth's system can only obey their rules.'

Countless ideas on how to improve Night's body surged in his mind, and a tingling sensation spread on his fingers. Noah wanted to forge, but that wasn't the right moment.

It wasn't only the invasion. Noah was still doubtful about Night's character and preferred to make it grow inside his mind for a while before improving its species.

Both Great Elder Diana and Chasing Demon couldn't contain their smiles at that sight. They had the power to destroy the cores themselves, but the Royals had never given them any chance. The same had happened when Noah arrived. There were too many defenses in place.

However, Noah had a weapon capable of flying unnoticed among his corrosive cloud and expressing power in the sixth rank!

Great Elder Diana completed multiple calculations in a matter of instants. Her slow approach had taken into consideration a battle prowess unable to inflict any damage to the formations, but the situation had changed now.

"Destroy all the cores!" Great Elder Diana shouted. "We'll focus on destabilizing the shields and protecting you!"

Noah nodded, and a human-shaped crack replaced his figure. A massive fissure crashed on the golden shields and darkened a large chunk of their surface, but they remained intact.

Noah reappeared in the open and pointed the tip of his knife-like Demonic Sword on one of the cores before performing one of his slow slashes.

The core exploded, and a human-shaped crack replaced Noah, who moved toward another target.

Night continued to destroy cores, and Noah helped it whenever he could. He had to let the Demonic Sword rest from time to time. That stressful battle didn't suit a weapon in the fifth rank, and Noah's expertise was the only thing keeping it undamaged.

Chasing Demon and Great Elder Diana blocked the incoming attacks and launched spells on specific spots of the defenses. Their expertise in the formations field wasn't low, so they could exploit the opportunities created by Noah.

The two of them had even started to use inscribed items!

The powerhouses found it pointless to reveal their weapons when they felt they couldn't win the battle. Yet, Noah's new power had given them a chance, and they didn't hesitate to commit their powerful assets to exploit it fully.

Chasing Demon held a long stick that had countless drawings carved on its surface. The carvings depicted magical beasts of various kinds, and a violent aura came out of them.

A series of lens floated around Great Elder Diana. Small crackling spheres followed them and aimed their lightning bolts at the black glass that made those inscribed items.

Whenever the arrows or the Royals' spells arrived, Chasing Demon and Great Elder Diana stepped forward and used their abilities to block them. Then, during their short moments of freedom, they activated their inscribed item to pressure the defensive array.

The carvings on Chasing Demon's stick lit up when he poured "Breath" inside them. The chosen beasts would form in the shape of earth puppets in less than an instant under that light.

The stick shortened Chasing Demon's casting time, but Noah knew it was far more than that. He could see the theories of the Copying Technique behind that summoning. His expertise could be low, but very few experts were capable of matching his knowledge when it came to magical beasts.

The creatures on the stick were copies of existing beasts that took life once Chasing Demon fueled the item with "Breath".

Of course, Noah didn't know all those details, but he could vaguely figure out that the puppets were weaker reproductions of real creatures.

Great Elder Diana's lens had the purpose of enhancing the power of her lightning bolts.

The leader of the Council specialized in precision. She could express the lightning element's innate violence, but her individuality didn't allow her to reach the peak in that field.

However, the lens allowed her to be precise and destructive, making up for the only drawback of her individuality.

The powerhouses' attacks crashed on the golden shields whenever a core exploded. Their idea was to push the destabilizations to their limits until a crack appeared and allowed them to advance.

'I can't go on much longer,' Noah thought after he destroyed his thirtieth core.

His dantian was almost empty after sprinting and attacking for so long, and his Demonic Sword was nearing its structural limits. Even Night's shouts had become less lively after destroying more than fifty cores.

Long battles on that level were Noah's weakness due to the disparity among his centers of power. His dantian had reached its limits, but he wanted to press forward for as long as he could anyway.

The alliance was attacking. Noah could retreat once he became exhausted.

"I'll retreat after a few more," Noah conveyed to the powerhouses through the alliance's special notebooks. His announcement surprised Chasing Demon and Great Elder Diana, but they accepted it quite soon.

It was only normal for Noah to feel exhausted before them. His battle prowess made them forget that he was only a newly advanced powerhouse who had barely amassed five hundred years of experience.

"Target these," Great Elder Diana sent a few specific locations to Noah's mind, and he didn't hesitate to sprint again to destroy those cores.

He was unstoppable when he flew in his dimension, and everything fell apart when his blade cut the laws that made the matter. As an opponent, Noah was a deadly force capable of threatening solid defenses due to his high mobility and sharpness.

Five more cores fell apart before the Royals could even think about targeting Noah, and seven more exploded due to Night's actions.

Noah retreated at that point. His low-waist felt heavy, and his dark star spun at high speed to compensate for the lack of darkness in his center of power.

Night retreated too, and Noah massaged his temples when he saw its condition. The bird-like body that had taken him a few months to create had turned into a broken, empty head that floated back to him.