CHAPTER 32: | LIORA'S ADVANCEMENT
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Days flew like dust traveling through the horizon.
"Has it been more than a few weeks... since I've been born?"
Liora practiced her sword dance with her eyes shut.
Her movements were perfect, she could now replicate my movements with mastery.
Her sword moved with grace, cutting through the stalk of kelp with a single sweep.
The water didn't ripple, nor did the stalk of kelp collapse, as Liora had only cut their atoms with precision.
Her golden irises gleamed with palpable excitement as she locked eyes with me.
"Master, I've finally replicated your movements! Aren't I a genius?!"
I shook my head at her silly question, my gaze locked on a flower blooming under the water.
"Yes, you're a genius when it comes to controlling your body, but... your progress in the realm of intent has become slower. Pray tell, what's the matter?"
Liora fidgeted for a while, then glanced at me with confusion as she complained.
"Master, I've been trying to solidify my intent but couldn't do it, even though I've understood its workings."
I pondered her questions, then smiled.
How could she be so naive thinking that solidified world intent meant making it tangible?
I ruffled her hair, then chuckled.
"Liora, you're thinking too much about it... Think about it, why does its name tell you that it's solidified world intent?"
Realization struck her as she began to ponder and murmur words questioning it.
"why?"
"Why does it imply solidified world intent... just why."
Liora murmured as realization struck her, her intent, once a mist of intangible intent, began to intertwine as it formed into a thread.
A wide grin split across her face, and her eyes sparkled with uncontainable glee.
She chuckled, then gazed at me.
"Master! I see what you're meaning to say! So, solidified world intent means weaving the mist of an intent into a more tangible form that can be seen in different forms!"
I nodded at her discoveries, then gazed at the thousands of intents on her body that had now transformed into strands of a thread.
Her intent was gradually increasing by the second as Liora observed the world's intent, absorbing it into her own.
She was a genius in her own right, needing little to no guidance to realize the realm beyond.
I ruffled her hair, which she annoyingly pouted at and smacked my hands away.
"Stop playing with a lady's hair, Master!"
I sneered at her response, then chuckled.
"Hahaha, it seems that you can now begin to advance to Convergence of Man and World."
Liora nodded as she began to ponder why it was named 'Convergence of Man and World.'
What did it imply?
She questioned herself, why do man and world converge?
Do they become one, or maybe something more?
She couldn't understand it and gave up pondering it as she swung her sword with glee.
Tendril-like wings, or perhaps feathers, shimmering with an ethereal luminescence, unfurled above us.
A majestic being flew directly above us, its wings like those of an angelic Seraph, gliding through the water.
Rumble! Rumble!
The ground shook uncontrollably as this being's intent lashed out everywhere, a palpable force that vibrated the very water around us.
Cough!
The sound of Liora's distressed cough echoed beside me as she dropped to her knees, gasping for breath.
The immense pressure, akin to a demonic entity's crushing grip, pressed down everything within a 20-meter radius.
It felt like an invisible hand squeezing the breath from Liora's lungs, each gasp a desperate fight against its invisible weight.
Liora forcefully pushed herself from the ground, using her sword as a cane to stand against the immense pressure.
Her lips bled, the metallic tang of her own blood filling her mouth as her pearly white teeth bit hard into the soft flesh.
A silent scream of defiance rose within her as she shouted.
"Damned beast!"
The angelic Seraph above us trembled from her words.
Then, its iridescent golden eyes shifted unnaturally, burning with a malevolent, searing hatred as its gaze directed itself at us.
Its voice reverberated through our minds, mana rippling as it conveyed its words.
"Mongrels... leave this instant, for I, the Seraph, shall spare your lives."
Its voice was commanding, and its aura intensified, forcing Liora to vomit a mouthful of blood.
Ugh! Cough! Cough!
Tears welled in Liora's iridescent golden eyes as she wiped the blood from her face.
Thump!
Her legs gave out, and she knelt onto the seabed, her head resting upon her sword.
Her face was pale, and she was unconscious, eyes wide open.
"Haaaa. Quite the vicious greetings you have there."
The Seraph's golden eyes rolled, then locked onto mine, gazing with disdain and anger.
Whirr!
The currents shook violently as its wings flapped once, then twice.
A hurricane, a churning vortex of visible, crackling energy, a swirling maelstrom of raw, destructive power, flew towards me, hanging inches before me.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Shook!
The currents churned as the hurricane disappeared with a single sweep of my 'Hellfire Golden Gauntlet.'
The Seraph gazed at me with shock, then its form vanished like a ghost, reappearing meters away from me.
Crash!
The water shattered like glass around my blazing fist, then spiderweb cracks spreading through the ethereal medium as my hands, set ablaze with purple flames, met its fist that had transformed into a claw.
Its eyes turned into slits as killing intent gushed from its body.
Its intent was a jumbled mess, thousands of threads, sharp as razors and cold as the abyssal depths, lashed out, scraping against my skin, though they found no purchase.
This guy had reached 'solidified world intent,' but all of its thread-like intent was rendered useless as I could see its true intent.
Clenching my fist, I shouted.
"Bull gang!"
Its emotions ran rampant as my fist phased through its tendrils, then hit its chest directly.
Shook! Crack! Shatter!
Blood gushed from its mouth as it coughed violently.
The Seraph before me, while humanoid, was not a true Seraph.
Its body was covered in a grotesque, tendril-like tentacles.
The fight ended before it could even begin properly, the being before me lost its vitals.
Its heart melted to goo as its insides cooked.
I gazed at Liora, who was in such a pitiful state, then sighed.
I opened my maw, began to rip it apart, and devoured it.
Minutes passed as a hologram appeared signifying of my victory.
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[You have slain.]
• S: 1 | T: 7 | Level 18 | Abyssal Seraph [5★]
[You have gained.]
[6,500,000 - EXP.]
[You have gained a level.] x15
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[You have devoured.]
• S: 1 | T: 7 | Level 18 | Abyssal Seraph [5★]
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[Skills Devoured.]
• Blade-Claw Strike [Tier 7]
• Corrupting Gaze [Tier 9]
• Ethereal Glide [Tier 8]
• Hidden Reach [Tier 7]
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[Grotesque Physique would like to devour these skills.]
• Blade-Claw Strike [Tier 7]
• Corrupting Gaze [Tier 9]
• Ethereal Glide [Tier 8]
• Hidden Reach [Tier 7]
[Yes] / [No]
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Blade-Claw Strike [Active | 40 - Stamina | ▪︎]
The Seraph's hands can transform into sharp, hardened claws infused with a chaotic form of its Solidified World Intent. These claws strike with surprising force and precision, capable of tearing through defenses and inflicting deep lacerations.
Corrupting Gaze [Active | 65 - Mana | ▪︎]
The Seraph fixes its golden eyes on a single target, unleashing a concentrated beam of chaotic energy. This beam inflicts searing pain and can temporarily disrupt the target's internal mana flow or physical coordination.
Ethereal Glide [Passive | ▪︎]
Its tendril-like wings/feathers allow it to glide through water with unnatural grace and speed, creating minimal resistance. It can achieve rapid accelerations and fluid movements, making it difficult to track despite its visible form.
Hidden Reach [Passive | ▪︎]
The internal tendrils grant the Seraph an unnerving, extended reach in close quarters. They can subtly extend and retract, adding to the power of its physical strikes or allowing it to manipulate objects just beyond its visible grasp.
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