"What's wrong? Do you not plan on leaving anymore?"
The Sacred Queen looked at Elise as she halted, smiling. "What a pity. Perhaps we could have conversed at a better location."
"Your earlier words… should I understand them as…"
"If I don't kill you, you won't be able to leave?"
Est clasped Elise's hand. The Sacred Sword emerged amidst white light, its tip aimed directly at the Sacred Queen.
"If you want to interpret it that way, that's fine too."
The Sacred Queen raised her own sword, mirroring Elise. A sword of light condensed brilliantly in her grasp.
The two thus began their standoff.
Does a higher-level world truly exist beyond this one?
The Sacred Queen had always been doubtful. The farthest she could perceive was only that world within the Root Vortex.
For the Elemental Spirit World and the human realm, the Root Vortex was the highest world.
But the moment she saw Elise, the Sacred Queen understood—or rather, the angelic part of her body understood.
There absolutely existed a world beyond the Root Vortex!
As to where it was, the Sacred Queen did not know.
But was not Elise herself standing here?
As long as she obtained Elise, she could reach that higher-level world!
The elements of the Elemental Spirit World were false elements. Only the elements within the Root Vortex were real.
Then the elements of an even higher-level world… just how powerful could they be?
The Sacred Queen could not imagine it!
And so, she made her decision!
In that instant earlier, the Sacred Queen had indeed planted an anchor point inside Elise.
The power of this anchor was extremely subtle. Unless someone surpassed the Sacred Queen, it would not be easily noticed.
She then used it to bluff Elise, making her feel threatened.
Truth be told, the Sacred Queen was somewhat afraid Elise would just run away outright. Even she could not confirm whether, once Elise left, she could still sense that anchor.
After all, higher-dimensional worlds far surpassed the imagination of any being. The gap between the Root Vortex and the Elemental Spirit World alone made that clear.
Fortunately, Elise stayed behind, just as the Sacred Queen expected.
That gave her a chance to obtain coordinates to the higher world from Elise!
If that still failed…
She would have to use that method!
Clang—
The Sacred Sword and the sword of light clashed midair. Tremendous energy waves spread out from their collision, shattering the pyramid's walls within seconds. The entire structure began to collapse.
Yet their battle did not halt because of this.
Mere stones could not affect their fight. Any rocks that drew near were instantly annihilated by the rippling energy.
The Sacred Queen wielded Divine Power, while Elise wielded Prana. To an onlooker, it would be obvious Elise was at a disadvantage.
This was the world of Elementalists!
This was the home ground of Divine Power!
Even with Divine Power's heavy consumption, the Sacred Queen could restore it from the air itself.
Elise, on the other hand, could only recover Prana on her own. Est's contact with Prana had also been too short, and she had not yet mastered proper energy conversion.
Against others of the Elementalist World, Elise would surely have crushed them. But against a powerhouse of the Sacred Queen's level, it was insufficient.
The Sacred Queen also noticed Elise's close-combat abilities were not that strong. Thus, she deliberately pressed in for melee, never giving Elise a chance to unleash ranged attacks.
Finally, in one exchange, the Sacred Queen kicked Elise hard to the ground. She landed as well, keeping a distance of about eight meters. If Elise tried to flee, she could interrupt her immediately.
"Cough, cough!"
Elise rose from the ground. The Sacred Queen before her was undeniably powerful—stronger even than Fan Xinglou of Asterisk!
"You're nearing your limit, aren't you?" The Sacred Queen raised her sword and continued, "If you surrender now, I will grant you a path to survival."
"And if I don't surrender?" Elise gripped the Sacred Sword once more, pointing it straight at the Sacred Queen.
Elise had already realized she was no match for the Sacred Queen. Throughout their battle, she had tested it multiple times.
When Elise used this world's faith power to attack the Sacred Queen, the Sacred Queen absorbed it easily.
But when Elise used her own faith power, the Sacred Queen could not absorb it.
This gave Elise new insight into the Elemental Lords.
Previously, she had not known how powerful they truly were. Searching online had yielded nothing useful either.
But there was one statement that lingered in her mind:
The Elemental Lord governs the very elements that make up the world, reigning at the pinnacle of all spirits. They are not merely incomparably powerful spirits—taken further, they are the world itself.
In other words, to oppose an Elemental Lord was to oppose the entire world!
Thus, in battle, sunlight aided the Sacred Queen, Divine Power aided the Sacred Queen, the entire world aided the Sacred Queen!
In such a fight, Elise saw no chance of victory. She had already been thinking of escaping. Several times during the battle, she had prepared to flee, only for the Sacred Queen to cut her off.
Anxiety rose in Elise's chest, but she could not falter in her presence. She could not let the Sacred Queen see her weakening!
"Since you won't surrender, then I'll simply beat you half to death."
The Sacred Queen's tone was casual. Her sword of light swelled even larger.
This strike?
Elise felt the same sensation as before—this attack could not be dodged. She could only receive it head-on!
A massive surge of Divine Power condensed into the Sacred Queen's sword of light. The next blow would certainly be devastating.
What should she do?
Relying on her own strength alone, it would be difficult to withstand. But if she tried to flee, the Sacred Queen would forcefully interrupt her.
It looked like a dead end.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you…"
The Sacred Queen smiled at Elise. But in that instant, her eyes suddenly lost focus, and the gathering of the sword of light slowed.
A perfect opening!
Elise did not hesitate. She used her own faith power to the fullest, casting Sacred Speech.
"Gate of Space!"
In less than a second, Elise vanished from the ruins of the pyramid.
"Ugh!"
The Sacred Queen shook her head, her eyes clearing once more.
"She ran, did she?"
Sensing no trace of Elise's presence, the Sacred Queen dispelled her sword of light.
"But you still haven't returned to your own world. I can feel it!"
"You're still in our world… in the Elemental Spirit World, perhaps?"
"Very well. I'll grant you a little time to relax. But…"
What was that just now?
At the moment of her attack, something had interfered with her. It seemed like… eyes?
Were Elise's eyes also a power of the higher-dimensional world?
"Heh… hahaha!"
"How wonderful!"
She then looked down at her palm. This saintess' body had already begun to show several cracks during the battle.
"A human body truly won't do. I must obtain hers instead!"
"Once I have her body, everything she possesses…"
"Will all be mine!"