Realm of Myths and Legends



Zareign's cold gaze landed on Izroth as he emitted heavy killing intent. The Duke was surprised that a young human had withstood his aura and approached him without falling to his knees. However, besides that, Zareign was unimpressed and did not even place Izroth in his sights.

In Zareign's mind, what threat could someone who had yet to set foot into the legendary realm possibly pose? To him, it was no different than watching people casually discard their lives before his eyes.

But, what irked the Duke more than anything was how calm and collected Izroth's expression was as he stood before him. There was a limit to how arrogant and ignorant one should be!

"Rejoice, human child. When you arrive in the afterlife, you can brag to every being there about how you perished at the hands of Duke Zareign. Be sure to send me regards to the others I have sent off to that place." Zareign stated indifferently as he casually snapped his fingers.

Zeeeut! Zeeeut! Zeeeut!

The next moment, three black orbs the size of one's head appeared above Zareign.

A carefree smile formed on Izroth's face as he brandished his Sword of the Storm and Scorched Inferno's Fang.

"There will be no need for me to send your regards—since I will make sure that you can deliver it yourself in person," Izroth replied calmly.

Zareign narrowed his eyes as the aura around him darkened.

"An amusing choice of last words." Zareign scoffed.

He then uttered, "Disappear."

The instant that word left the Duke's mouth, the three black orbs over his head shot out in three separate directions.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

One of the black orbs traveled on a straight path towards Izroth. As for the other two black orbs, one soared to the left and the other to the right.

'Guess he's not much for small talk. Though, I can't say that I don't prefer it that way.'

Without hesitation, Izroth activated Flickering Steps as his body started to flicker in and out of existence. And, right as he performed this action, the black orb that was on a straight path to him pierced through his flickering silhouette.

Izroth successfully avoided the first black orb as multiple afterimages lingered in the places he shifted in search of Zareign's blindspot.

But, less than a second after he avoided the first black orb, the other two curved around on their flight pattern. Then, as if the two black orbs were opposite poles of a magnet, they rapidly pulled towards one another with Izroth at their meeting point.

Snap!

The two black orbs crashed into one another and released a shrieking snap-like noise that sent out several overlapping waves of mana in the form of vibrations in every direction. These vibrations contained a mighty destructive force that caused whatever it swept past to collapse into itself under an immense level of pressure.

However, the vibrations were not confined to the top of the staircase as they spread more than fifty meters out from the origin point.

Although the destrructive effects of the vibrations became weaker the further away it was from the clashing black orbs, it did not take long for it to throw the battlefield into a state of chaos.

Many of those from the 9th Division and 5th Unit alike experienced an intense sensation of dizziness as the world around them seemed to be spinning nonstop. This opened up numerous opportunities for the Night Terror Shadow Beasts and placed several groups in precarious situations. But, this kind of outcome could be seen as light compared to those who were positioned closer to the staircase. The vibrations paralyzed their movements and made them feel as if their body was ready to implode and shatter at any given moment.

But, right before it reached a critical point, the vibrations tremble differently than before—as though another set of vibrations abruptly collided with it. This caused the vibrations generated by the crashing of the black orbs to quickly lose their effectiveness and disperse.

Zareign looked at the floor beneath his feet and noticed a strange rippling-like effect that resembled a stone being dropped into still water.

"Mana disruption?" Zareign thought to himself as he snapped his fingers.

Upon doing so, the black orbs released away from one another before returning to Zareign's side along with the first black orb that shot towards Izroth.

Simultaneously, Zareign unleashed his mana full throttle and overwhelmed the mana disruption effects that were already having trouble dispersing the vibrations he created. Though by the time he succeeded, the damage was already done and, as a result, both vibrations had vanished.

Swoosh!

Out of nowhere, a streak of light pierced through the air in Zareign's blindspot that was just out of his peripheral view.

BANG!

The streak of light hit a protective wall of transparent mana and got stuck in its track.

Zareign glanced over at the object that hit the protective barrier he set up and saw the tip of a spear.

"A hopeless-" Zareign began to speak; however, his words were cut short as something unbelievable ensued.

Crack! Woosh!

In a split moment, the protective wall of mana fractured and broke apart before outright shattering as the spear penetrated through it effortlessly.

Phhhtk!

The spear stabbed into Zareign's right shoulder as the Duke had a look of disbelief in his eyes as his gaze landed on the wielder at the other end of the spear. That person was, of course, Izroth.

'Too shallow. Even though it managed to pierce through, I suppose the overall power of the strike is still somewhat diminished.'

A few moments ago when Zareign released those sinister vibrations, Izroth reacted fast and used his Ninth Sword Form: World Quelling Ripple to counteract it.

Although it was swiftly erased by Zareign, Izroth had already accomplished his goal and successfully disrupted the Duke's vibrations. But Izroth did not stop there as he took advantage of the exact moment when Zareign called the black orbs back to his side and launched an attack from his blindspot.

Izroth was well aware that a normal attack would not work on someone in the legendary realm like Zareign; therefore, he activated the skill Reign of the Shattering Void.

Naturally, Izroth understood that Zareign probably had some layers of protection around him even with his aloof attitude. And so, he took advantage of the Reign of the Shattering Void's disruption effects on shields and barriers, as well as its armor-piercing ability. All these things paired together with the essence from his Source that Izroth infused into the attack, were more than enough to punch through any defenses that stood in its way!

'It's a shame that I'm unable to stack the effects of madness using my ninth sword form. However, I expected as much.'

If it were possible to instantly reach 120+ stacks of madness using an AOE skill like his ninth sword form, it would be like giving wings to a tiger, as the skill could, in theory, stack thousands of times with just one move alone.

Despite his attack just now being too shallow, it did not change the fact that Izroth landed the first strike on Zareign.

To a reputable Duke of the skounae like Zareign, this was a great humiliation and a huge slap to the face. And, this boundless rage could be seen in his eyes. If looks alone could kill, Izroth would have already died a thousand times over!

However, whether the Duke was angered or not held no importance to Izroth as he did not let up on his attack.

Bzzzt...! Crrrckle!

Although the ninth sword form did not provide him with stacks towards his madness, it did grant him Storm Surge Charges for his Sword of the Storm.

Clap!

A surge of the lightning element emerged from Izroth's sword and encircled Zareign. The following moment, a cage of lightning was formed that momentarily immobilized the Duke. This was due to one of the weapon effects attached to Izroth's Sword of the Storm, Lightning Cage.

Lightning Cage was supposed to paralyze its target for five seconds; however, needless to say, Izroth did not count on it. But, for what he had in mind, limiting Zareign's movements for one or two seconds was more than enough time to act with his Flickering Steps in use.

Bzzzzt...!

Suddenly, numerous electrical currents of purple lightning could be seen flowing on the surface of the ground.

'Call of the Thunder God... Fourth State: Heavenly Field.'