章 243: Book 7: Chapter 12 – Six Months
Amira's frantic cry pierced the chaos left in the wake of the explosion. With Leona's powerful strides and Amira's incredible speed, they reached Ace's battered form in a matter of seconds.
Amira knelt beside him, her heart pounding with fear and concern. Ace's body was scorched and battered, his clothes in tatters. His breathing was laboured, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. The malevolent energy of Shelia's profound mystery of evil had left its mark, and Amira knew that they had to act quickly to counter its corrosive effects.
Leona stood guard, her obsidian eyes scanning their surroundings, daring the Magma Demons to come closer. The Divine Lioness emitted a low, warning growl, but the demons weren't willing to let go of such an excellent opportunity.
Upon spotting the Magma Demons' continued approach and understanding that Amira couldn't afford to be distracted, Leona's killing intent soared to the heavens. Without hesitation, she charged into the oncoming demons, fearlessly taking on all that remained by herself.
Amira, trusting Leona to handle the Magma Demons, focused all her attention on the severely injured dark-haired teen in her embrace.
Gently cradling Ace's head, her hands glowing with a soft, healing light. She channelled her profound mystery of purity, working to counteract the malevolent energy that threatened to consume Ace from the inside and slowly stabilise his condition.
A soft groan escaped Ace's lips as Amira's healing energy flowed through him, mending his damaged body. Despite the agony, he managed a weak smile when he saw the worry etched on Amira's face.
"I guess I overdid it a bit," Ace rasped, his voice strained.
Amira couldn't help but roll her eyes, though the relief in her eyes was undeniable. "You think? You're lucky to be alive, you idiot."
"It wasn't luck," Ace replied through laboured breaths. "I already told you I'd win, remember?"
Hearing that, Amira couldn't help but think back to the moments before they arrived on the scene. Ace had told her that no matter what happened, she shouldn't interfere; she should just trust him as he wouldn't lose.
Recalling that, Amira turned her gaze to Shelia's lifeless body, or rather what remained of it.
Shelia, the leader of the Cult of Darkness and former Empress of Darkness, not only had ceased to breathe but she was also left with only half a body. The rest had been incinerated by the devastation of Ace's [Myriad Point Convergence].
It had to be mentioned that, although the might of the technique had increased drastically after going from three to four simultaneous explosions, in terms of raw power, it was still marginally inferior to Shelia's [Devilish Destroyer] – a technique that Shelia had spent the majority of her time as a saint perfecting.
If not for Ace using his [Conqueror's Haki] at the last moment, effectively disrupting the flow of her technique slightly, the outcome of the final clash would've ended up very differently.
Ace's triumph over Shelia, a formidable powerhouse of their continent, was a remarkable feat that would have made waves if known beyond their group. His sense of accomplishment was well-deserved.
However, Amira's primary concern was Ace's well-being.
She couldn't help but be grateful that she had taken the time to comprehend the profound mystery of purity. Without it, Ace's recovery would have been uncertain, and at the very least, it would have taken much longer.
Fortunately, not only had Amira started comprehending the profound mystery of purity, she even had experience using it to counteract the profound mystery of evil.
There was a drawback, though: the gap in cultivation level and comprehension of their respective mysteries between her and Shelia meant that it took hours to stabilise Ace enough to move him without risking further harm.
During this time, Leona stood watch, guarding them against potential threats. Thankfully, with her current strength, she was more than capable of fulfilling this role.
"Leona, it's time to go," Amira said, gently lifting Ace, who had long since lost consciousness, and putting him on the large and muscular back of the black-furred lioness, disregarding the pile of defeated Magma Demons Leona had dispatched. "We need to find a safe place for Ace to recover in peace."
While the ordinary Magma Demons, being early-stage saints, posed no immediate danger to the group, Tarosse's warning about several prime saint-level creatures that called the second floor of the Necropolis weighed heavily on their minds, say nothing of their long list of human enemies that had likely entered the second floor by now.
Amira and Leona eventually found shelter in a small cave they had to create to secure their seclusion in this part of the Necropolis of the Gods.
Fortunately, the unique properties of this space limited spiritual sensing, ensuring their hideout remained undiscovered throughout the entire week they spent there until Ace had regained enough strength to move around on his own.
During their stay in the cave, Ace was compelled to observe bed rest, unable to wield his glaive for practice as he would have preferred. However, he could still engage in meditation, allowing him to integrate the insights gained from his intense battle with Shelia, further advancing his strength.
As for Leona, she had developed an even stronger determination to grow more powerful after her near-death experience, followed by Ace's rescue. Even though she remained in the cave, she diligently absorbed Ace's insights into the essence of fire.
The only thing that left her frustrated was the mysterious limitation she faced. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to absorb Ace's insights into the fused mysteries. In fact, aside from the essence of fire, she was unable to comprehend any of Ace's other insights. A peculiarity that puzzled both Leona and Ace.
Unfortunately, their unique ability to share insights was a phenomenon unheard of, even by the likes of Lord Beirut.
They didn't know whether Leona could only absorb one profound mystery at a time or if there were other reasons at play. Regardless, Leona recognised that her capacity to absorb Ace's insights still provided her with a significant advantage compared to other Divine Beasts, whose understanding of natural laws lagged behind their human counterparts.
Still, the most notable progress over that week was made by Amira. Her repeated usage of the profound mystery of purity to counteract Shelia's corrosive 'evil' energy resulted in her improving by leaps and bounds in a short space of time.
Once they departed from their cave sanctuary, the trio embarked on a deliberate journey toward the heart of the second floor. Along the way, they encountered numerous gatherings of Magma Demons scattered amidst the ruins, using them as practice and challenges to bolster their strength.
Despite being on the second floor, the lower levels of the Necropolis would remain open for the next decade. Therefore, they had no pressing desire to ascend to higher floors. Unlike many older saints who had spent centuries at their current levels, encountering seemingly insurmountable bottlenecks, Ace, Leona, and Amira possessed abundant potential for growth.
Plus, the second floor proved to be a treasure trove, offering a myriad of unique ores, mage spells, warrior techniques, and even cultivation aids for mortals making their steady progression well worth it.
The only thing they were slightly regretful about was that they hadn't run into Wukong or the others from the Pavilion. Still, with their strengths, there was little that could pose a threat to them on the lower floors.
After six months of relentless effort, their progress was remarkable. Amira had ascended to the middle stages of the eighth rank as both a mage and a warrior. Although she hadn't made a decisive breakthrough in terms of comprehension, her progress was still steady and constant. She had even begun developing the [Sky Stance] of her [Bright Sky Sword Art], utilising the concepts of wind.
As for Leona, though she still hadn't found a solution to her inability to absorb the rest of Ace's insights, her insights into the essence of fire had reached the prime saint level and was rapidly approaching completion. Additionally, with the aid of cultivation treasures, she had broken through to the ninth rank.
If she were to face Shelia again now, even if she couldn't win, she would at least be able to escape with her life.
As for Ace, he was the only member of the group who refused to use the various cultivation treasures to increase his realm, instead choosing to focus on maxing out his comprehension for each level before focusing on breaking through.
Still, his progress could only be described as mind-blowing. After spending several weeks observing the eruptions of various volcanoes, not only had his comprehension of the fused mystery of the essence of fire and explosions reached 50%, he had even completely comprehended his second profound mystery.
After comprehending the profound mystery of Fire-Body, Ace felt like he had gone back to being a true logia. Not only could he transform his body into flames at will without wasting mageforce, unless one's comprehension had reached that of a prime saint, it was impossible to even touch him.
Still, the thing he was most proud of was that his [Blazing Glaive Art] had improved drastically, to the point where its might had increased two times over.
Overall, even though he was lacking somewhat when compared to the prime saints, he could look down on peak saints like Shelia and Byrius – before his last breakthrough.
And even though he wasn't a match for prime saints by himself, when fighting alongside Amira and Leona, the average prime saint could only run away with their tails tucked between their legs.
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