The Mystic System and a Narrow Escape

After a prolonged standoff with Audris and the others, Motis evidently grew impatient. It unleashed the power of its fifth elemental affinity: the legendary spell, “Time Annihilation!”

The vertical eye on Motis’s fifth head opened, a golden gleam piercing the darkness like the first light of creation. A bright yellow cross, sharp at all four points, descended from the heavens, pressing down upon Audris and his companions.

Audris and the others dared not be negligent, promptly deploying their most potent ultimate abilities to counter the attack.

“Warrior’s Will!”

“Dirge of the Undead!”

“Magebane Lament!”

“Spiderweb Dominion!”

Golden runes enhanced Audris’s form, pushing his combat-oriented martial arts to their absolute limit. Ripples visible to the naked eye expanded from Yue’ertuotai, shaking the air. A mournful dirge echoed, carried by chilling winds, yet the world around them held a solemn stillness.

Bloodthirsty light coalesced into crimson poison spears, hurtling towards the sacred cross. Meanwhile, a white spiderweb shimmered with silver light, seemingly impregnable, binding the cross tightly.

The cross shattered, dissolving into shimmering golden dust that danced in the air before vanishing completely.

“Pfft.” Even after such a clash with Motis, Yue’ertuotai coughed up a mouthful of blood. Audris and the others fared no better, their faces pale, trickles of blood escaping the corners of their mouths.

“Is this… the true chasm between a Legend and a Myth?” Rose, the golden-haired goddess, sighed in despair as Audris and the other three felt their hopes dwindle.

Just as they despaired, a flurry of blades descended. The black blade light moved with such speed that it blurred vision, making one wonder if it had surpassed the speed of sound. Each terrifying strike drew blood.

The fierce energy sliced through Motis’s fine scales, revealing wounds that cut deep to the bone. Several bloody gashes appeared on its purple wings, and frost of varying sizes began to crystalize around the injuries.

“Roar!” Motis was clearly enraged. It knew no weakling beneath its notice could possibly wound it. So, who was it? Who dared to launch such a cowardly sneak attack?

“You shameless insect! How despicable!” Motis roared, its purple wings stirring up gusts of gale-force winds, far more potent than mere wind blades.

“Noisy!” Aedris appeared before them, offering Motis no pleasantries.

A beast, even one with awakened intelligence, could never compare to a human in logic. Seeing Aedris’s dismissive demeanor, Motis’s fury ignited instantly.

However, Motis was well aware of its opponent’s incredible speed. Its colossal body would only serve as a massive target, so it chose to transform into a black-haired middle-aged man. In truth, excluding its time in slumber, Motis was merely in its adult phase as a magical beast. Yet, perhaps favoring a more weathered appearance, it had chosen the form of a scruffy, bearded uncle.

Motis narrowed its eyes, only to spot a mysterious mark on Aedris’s ample chest, right between her breasts. ‘Black battle aura… a mark… of the Mystic System?!’ It had just realized the opponent was truly formidable. Her battle aura was the utterly unique Mystic System! One had to remember, the Mystic System was as enigmatic as a demon god.

“A bunch of good-for-nothings,” Aedris scoffed, sweeping her gaze over Audris and his companions with a contemptuous smile. “You can’t even deal with this piece of trash? Truly useless!”

The Audris group remained speechless. Faced with such overwhelming power, they wanted to retort, but no words escaped their lips.

“Vile woman, what did you say?” Motis, hearing itself called trash, instantly shot forward without another word.

Aedris, far from panicking, merely curled her lips into a wicked smile. “Oh? Was I wrong to call you trash?” Ice arrows materialized in the void, calmly tearing through the air towards Motis.

Motis clearly paid them no mind, attempting to swat them away with a wave of its hand. Yet, to its surprise, the ice arrows vanished into thin air, only to abruptly reappear behind its head. Not wishing its skull to be fractured, Motis evaded with all its might. Even so, blood blossomed on its shoulder.

“Mysterious, truly mysterious, and unfathomable!” Motis nodded in praise; such minor injuries were clearly nothing to it. “Hm?” Motis suddenly frowned. A biting chill had formed an ice crystal on its right shoulder, causing a faint ache.

Motis brushed off the ice crystal. Then, the vertical eye tattoo on its brow opened, emitting a flashlight-like beam that swept over Aedris. However, Aedris had already vanished without a trace. As Motis pondered this, a sudden alarm seized its heart, and it spun around sharply. It found Aedris, wielding her demonic blade, leaping through the air, intent on a single, decisive strike.

“A terrifying woman!” Motis hastily shifted its body to dodge, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on its forehead.

The demonic blade’s edge blazed with an eerie flame. It resembled black battle aura, yet it radiated intense heat, only to feel like plunging into an ice cellar the moment it struck.

Motis’s hand transformed into a colossal claw, swiping at Aedris. Her demonic blade erupted with blinding light and surging battle aura. The blade’s tip clashed with the massive claw, generating a shower of sparks.

Then, the blade relentlessly hacked away, striking once, twice, with bewildering speed. Its horizontal and vertical slashes were so swift and numerous that they dazzled the eye, making it impossible to discern clearly.

Blood bloomed like crimson flowers, spraying forth as Motis’s hand became covered in wounds of all sizes. Aedris, heedless of its form, simply cut, cut, cut! The explosive battle aura scattered in all directions.

Motis, no longer in the mood to maintain its human form, reverted to its true body and unleashed the legendary spell, “Sacred Word Breath!” Unlike a dragon’s breath, the luminous flame spewed from Motis’s fifth head carried no physical harm. Its sole purpose was to seal the opponent, suppressing all their abilities—battle aura, magic, bloodline, everything! This skill was undeniably terrifying!

However, such a wide-area breath attack was slow and cumbersome. Even if it seemed fast to a giant, Aedris, possessing spatial manipulation, instantly teleported atop Motis’s fifth head.

With a flash of her blade, like a river of stars, like a cascading waterfall, four heads were severed, soaring into the sky. They left behind four crystalline cores of varying colors. Grievously wounded, Motis, now with only one head remaining, fled far into the distance.

Aedris let out a cold snort before striding away. Audris and the others remained as silent as cicadas in winter.

“Her strength? Has she already reached the Legendary level?” Rose gulped, her voice trembling with fear. As a fellow female, and a descendant of the Spider Goddess no less, she couldn’t believe how much she lagged behind Aedris.

“Peak of Legend… but capable of rivaling a Mythic.” Mobius finally spoke, still visibly shaken.

Following the beast tide, Ziyao’s whereabouts became unknown. Locks, however, anxiously rushed back to the s*ave market. Upon opening the door, he exclaimed, “Huh? Where… where is everyone?!”

“They… they ran away?” Locks’s sinister eyes blazed with fury, his face contorted into a grimace. “Don’t let me find out who it was! I’ll tear you to pieces!”

‘If Akareya ran back, then what about me?’ Locks mused internally. ‘No, I can’t let her go back. If she returns, I’m dead!’

He then called out, “Gather a team, and follow me!”

“Hmph, running away? Where do you think you can go? You’re leaving, aren’t you? Today, I’ll wait for you right outside the gates of the Arcadia Empire. I’d like to see where you can possibly flee!”

“Princess, where are we going? Back to Arcadia?” Su Han inquired.

Akareya shook her head. “Brother doesn’t know where he’s gone, and I don’t want to go back either…”

“Then where shall we go? How about a visit to the Darkmoon Forest?”

“And you, where do you want to go?”

“Me? Well, I was thinking of going to Cangnan Academy…” Su Han seemed to grasp Akareya’s unspoken meaning and tentatively suggested, “How about we go together?”

“Alright.” Akareya nodded.