Chapter 212: Rose The Invincible

Difar placed his hand on Extinction's blade.

"Valtheim, do me a favor and prevent those two from experiencing any...collateral damage..." Difar said calmly.

We were suddenly surrounded by a field of Valtheim's power again.

Difar's sword began glowing much more.

"Perhaps you'll enjoy the power of blast radius? Let's see how much you can take!!!" Difar said.

He raised Extinction and brought it down over Rose.

The resulting pillar of Corrupted power was enough to create a huge chasm where Rose had been standing.

But she hadn't allowed it to hit her.

She shot towards Difar and he was impacted by several streams of exploding light.

Then I felt it...

What once gave me courage and determination beyond anything else...

Was now something horrible...

I felt utter terror just looking at Rose.

Her ability, Almighty Presence had activated.

"Damn it all... Curse you, Vakra... You created a damn monster!" I said.

"GAAAHHH!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" Difar screamed.

It seemed like her light magic had actually burned him.

He distanced himself and began quickly regenerating.

I could hardly believe my eyes.

I would have been so proud of her for wounding Difar... But now I was beyond horrified.

He was supposed to be our trump card!!

"DIFAR!!! STOP SCREWING AROUND!!! SHOW HER WHAT YOU CAN REALLY DO!!! OR IS MY EX-WIFE TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO HANDLE!?" I shouted.

"You little shit... FINE!!!"

I saw an after image appear around Difar as a contamination zone spread out beneath his feet.

It was utterly suffocating how much impending doom I had been feeling lately...but this was enough to hurt my head.

Several Corrupted dragons and an army of Corrupted titans appeared.

Rose exploded into light and erased them.

"This isn't enough, Corrupted Source! You'll have to try harder if you want to break me! I AM BEYOND YOUR PATHETIC SOLDIERS! I AM THE HERO WHO WILL STOP YOU!!!" Rose shouted.

"GAHAHAHAHA!!! A CHALLENGE!?!? I LOVE IT!!!"

Suddenly, Difar began moving at speeds I could no longer comprehend.

He appeared in the air with wings of Corrupted energy and shot down towards Rose.

The impact shattered the ground and created an explosion...

The sky turned black with Corruption and the entire city of Noir...

...ceased to exist.

The deep crater he had left began writhing with hundreds...if not thousands of Corrupted dragon heads.

Then light flashed and obliterated them.

"WHY ARE YOU SO DAMN HARD TO KILL!?!?" Difar shouted angrily.

"BECAUSE I AM THE SHIELD THAT PROTECTS AVERNIA!!! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!"

Then light began exploding all around the crater...

Thousands of light streams shot towards Difar.

"SHATTER!!!" Rose shouted.

Difar dodged the light streams and flinched as the voice of the centurion impacted him instantaneously.

He simply paused for a moment and frowned.

"So you can break my defense with that? Interesting. Well...I'll have you know that Corruption is not so easily broken. My defense can easily restore itself from this."

Then Rose seemed to pause as well.

"Then I'll just break your defense again and again! SHATTER!!!" She roared.

He smiled and suddenly, the space around him warped.

Her voice impacted him and did absolutely nothing.

"So, you are the shield that protects Avernia? You're a failure. I just wiped out an entire city of people. Did you protect them? What about the people of the Sleeping Dragon? You're no different than I am. A murderer. A mass-murderer. Now, let me show you something hilarious..." Difar said.

Corrupted energy formed on his back as seven shadowy dragon heads sprouted from it.

Their eyes glowed with a bloodthirsty rage.

"It's been such a loooong time since I had to use this. I mean it. You should be honored, Isabella."

"MY NAME IS ROSE!!!" She screamed.

"GAHAHAHA!!! WHO THE FUCK CARES!?" Difar laughed.

Then she shot forward to attack and her sword was caught in one of the dragon's mouths.

"ADORABLE!!!"

All seven of the dragon heads blasted her with Corrupted energy and blew her away.

She landed on her feet and readied herself again.

But Difar had already arrived to attack her.

She desperately tried to defend against his sword strikes as the dragons all tried to bite her.

At the same time, they would occasionally stop to fire Corrupted lasers.

Each one of Difar's sword strikes caused a controlled explosion. He moved so quickly that I couldn't even see his sword swings.

I was cheering for him...but also...

I wasn't looking forward to the day that I would be on the receiving end of his ferocious assault.

For now, I allowed myself to smile.

The mockery of the one I once loved was being beaten back and shown the horrifying difference in their power. And I was enjoying every second of it.

"What is this...power!? Is this your true strength!?" Rose said.

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! NOT EVEN CLOSE, YOU IDIOT!!!!" Difar screamed with an insane smile.

Rose backed away and looked in my direction. Just before she could try anything, Difar punched her in the face as two dragons bit down on her shoulders.

Then the remaining five clamped their jaws all over her body.

They blasted her all at once and her mangled body was thrown far away.

Unfortunately...

She began immediately regenerating.

Then she stood up and tried to compose herself.

She was breathing heavy and half of her face had been destroyed.

Her helmet had been also shattered from the impacts and explosions. It fell in pieces off of her head and face.

I almost yelled out to Difar to tell him how to kill her.

I didn't want him to know... Because one day, we could be enemies again. Then...

Rose began rapidly increasing her power.

"That's really annoying!" Difar said suddenly.

"I will not fall here!" Rose shouted.

"Truly? Because I can keep going. I have power to spare, Isabella! This is only my second form. I have two more just waiting to see the light of day. My final form has only ever been seen by the previous King of the Abyss, you know? He didn't last very long."

Suddenly, Rose looked unsure of herself.

"You're...a very troublesome enemy..." She said.

"Troublesome doesn't even begin to describe it. I am beyond you, wretched woman," Difar said.

"Perhaps you're right... I need more power if I'm going to get past you. But Mizik is another story!" She said.

Light beams shot our of her and impacted the barrier Valtheim made.

Or maybe it was more accurate to say they went into it...

"That won't work, dumbass. You're just shooting into the Void. That's different from dispersing her remote form with your barrier," Difar said.

"Tch...then Valtheim is the problem... I'll just kill her, then!" Rose said angrily.

She looked at Valtheim who stood quietly by the barrier.

"Umm...good luck with that. Not even I could kill her if I wanted to. It's not possible. Or...it just requires me to use powers that I don't technically possess," Difar said.

So she can be killed? Good to know...!

Rose seemed genuinely bothered by this.

Then she sheathed her sword.

"I'll be back, then. Mark my words, Mizik, I will hunt you down if it's the last thing I do!!" She said angrily.

Then she unsheathed her sword and opened a portal with the strange power surrounding it.

She walked in and it immediately closed.

Right after that, Difar dispersed the power surrounding him and flew back over to us.

"Valtheim, take us to Hakumo. Tatsu Isle. The entrance to the water dragon's temple," he said.

"I...obey..." She said.

At once, we were enveloped in darkness and found ourselves at the temple entrance.

It felt weird seeing it in good condition...

"Now then, Mizik... Tell me what that was all about," Difar said.

"I can't. I don't know what it was about!"

"Why did she have so much power? And if she can move about like that, don't you think this is going to be a problem?" He said.

"I know it's a problem, you idiot! I didn't think for even a moment that the Oracle would be capable of just giving her back her old body with all of its powers and no memories!"

"It's true... I didn't think of such a thing, either..." Cassandra said sadly.

"Well, now we're on the run. Look, I can hold her off, but if I have to keep protecting you, it's going to get complicated."

"I know... That's why we have to get this over with and get to Ignitus," I said.

"Fine. Let's go," Difar said.

We followed behind him and suddenly he turned to Valtheim.

"Valtheim, if you detect anything like the power Isabella wielded, take Mizik and Kyriel into my castle in the abyss. Then come back for me," Difar said.

"Understood..." She said.

"You have a castle?" I asked.

"Of course I do. I just said it, didn't I? What, did you think it was just a giant hole in the ground? There are cities and societies down there. People as well."

"I wasn't sure what to expect, Difar. Also, her name is Cassandra," I said.

"I don't really care. And I'm not in the mood for banter. Sorry to disappoint you."

"I kind of like not being insulted every five seconds, actually," I said.

"Don't get used to it, you damn brat," he said.

I rolled my eyes and we continued into the temple.

We walked past many monks and visitors until we reached the gigantic doors of the water dragon.

Several guards eyed us curiously.

"The water dragon is not accepting visitors right now. You must leave," one of them said.

Without being told to, Valtheim erased them.

"Good. Just like we practiced so many times," Difar said.

Several more guards looked at us from behind and readied their weapons.

Difar casually summoned a few behemoth variants and they charged straight at the guards.

I didn't bat an eye as they were slaughtered.

They screamed really loudly, though.

"I should mention, Mizik, that Isabella was immune to infection, somehow. She might still have a piece of that shitty ability that you have," Difar said.

"Great...something else to worry about..." I said.

He pushed the doors open and summoned many more Corrupted abominations. They rushed forward and slaughtered everyone.

Then I saw her.

Kelvastiol.

She had beautiful dark blue scales that seemed to shimmer in the light.

The water dragon looked similar to how she had as the shadow dragon...but she didn't seem to smile.

She looked down at Difar curiously.

"Who are you to disturb me after my worship has concluded? Speak, small one," she said.

"I am Lord Cain Difar. King of the Abyss and god of Corruption. I am to understand that you desire great power, yes? World dragon of Avernia...I can grant it to you."

She tilted her head.

I could see a certain level of desire in her...dragon face...

"Ah...you are the one plaguing our world. I can feel your strength. It is truly awe-inspiring. May I ask how you can offer me more power?"

"Of course. Serve me and allow my essence to enter into you. You will become a vessel for my strength. A commander for my armies and a terror on the field of battle. You will no longer be worshipped as a simple deity by these pathetic monks...but feared as a god of destruction across numerous worlds! Will you join me, Kelvastiol?" He asked.

"Hmm...you know my name, yet I have never spoken it. I...have always desired greater power. And yours feels truly limitless as far as I can tell. Your offer has tempted me... Very well. I will accept you."

Wow. It was really that easy?

Difar reached out his hand as several tendrils of Corruption extended and pierced the scales of the water dragon.

She had a pained expression as her scales began to turn pitch black...

Within moments, she resembled the horrifying monster I had fought here so long ago.

When she opened her eyes, she smiled.

"I can feel it...such power...SUCH MIGHT!!! I AM YOURS TO COMMAND MY LORD! WHAT SHALL I CALL YOU?"

"Refer to me as Lord Difar. Now then, I will be storing you away within the pit. The well of my power. You will not be harmed...but you shall witness the magnitude of my strength. Learn from my place of power. Grow from it and be inspired."

She smiled even wider and sank into the ground.

After that, Difar turned to me.

"I'm done now. Do you have anything else you need in this pile of garbage you call your home world?" He asked.

I still wanted Cassandra to see my home...but I wouldn't risk being here any longer.

Also...it was too painful.

And pointless.

At this moment, I never wanted to see Lorelei ever again.

Avernia was dead to me.

"Not a single thing. Let's go to Ignitus," I said.

"Super. And where would you like to end up? Nexus? Arcadia?"

"Where do you think? Take us to Torantis. The Enforcer HQ. I need to speak with Iris as soon as possible."

Difar smiled.

"I hate you so much. But if there's a single thing I respect about you, it's that you always like to get straight to the point," Difar said.

"Sure. Whatever," I said.

"You heard him, Valtheim. Take us to the Enforcer HQ in Torantis on Ignitus. Preferably the meeting room. We're skipping Daser this time!"

"I...obey..."

Suddenly, we were enveloped in her power and I felt myself being dragged down.

Cassandra clung tightly to me as we went down...far down...

I saw dots of light rapidly going up until we stopped.

We were in a place of pure emptiness.

Valtheim's form seemed to shift for a moment.

It solidified completely.

After that, she shimmered again and we began moving upward. Moments later, I heard a tearing noise as the barrier surrounding Ignitus was pried open. Then we rose from the floor within a very familiar location.

We were now standing in the Enforcer HQ's throne room on Ignitus.