The frozen moment shattered.
The stillness that had covered the battlefield fractured like glass, and the world resumed its movement. The fragments of ice that had been suspended in the air fell toward the ground, while the enormous sword scar left by Kaelus's earlier attack remained stretched across the grassland.
Rein landed several meters away, straightened his posture, and clicked his tongue. "Tsk even freezing time won't work huh?.." His gaze shifted toward David. However, something else caught his attention. A shadow had appeared behind David. Rein's expression changed slightly as he examined it, recognizing the familiar presence within the darkness.
"it's not completely useless though" The shadow suddenly moved.
A fist emerged from the darkness and struck toward David with tremendous force. David immediately shifted his body, allowing the attack to pass beside him, but the fist continued forward and collided with the distant ground.
The resulting impact created a gigantic crater that stretched across the open land. David glanced toward the destruction, then toward the shadow responsible.
"So the shadow retained my strength?" Before he could examine the phenomenon further, Darius emerged from beneath David's shadow. He wasn't alone. Tina was with him, having been carried through the darkness. The moment they appeared, Tina extended her hand toward David.
"Soul Structure." Something changed. It wasn't an alteration in the physical environment, nor was it an attack that could be detected through ordinary divine senses. Tina's soul magic had reached beyond David's physical body and made contact with the structure of his soul.
A lock formed. David's movements remained unrestricted, but he could feel the interference within his spiritual existence. It was subtle, almost imperceptible compared to the enormous soul power he possessed, yet it was undeniably there.
Tina smiled. "I didn't think it would work because if your enormous soul power but I guess I'm in a bit of luck today" David smiled in response. "right…your more dangerous than you look because you can directly affect the soul of anything even a person stronger than you isn't immune to your soul magic…"
He slowly straightened his posture.
Until now, David had fought with his hands behind his back, relying on his understanding of soul power and the smallest possible movements to overcome the group's attacks. Even when surrounded by several Authorities, he had barely needed to move.
That was about to change. David finally released his hands from behind his back. He brought both arms forward and held them out, his golden eyes observing the group standing across the battlefield.
"since you brought me your level, the mid deity stage, I have no choice but to fight" The atmosphere changed. Eryndor and the others began to smile. They had finally managed to make David acknowledge their combined strength, even if only temporarily. More importantly, Tina's soul magic had created an opening that could not simply be ignored.
However, the connection she had established would not last indefinitely. Tina looked toward the others. "guys, you have a limited amount of time so make it count" Kaelus immediately ran past them. "you don't have to tell me twice"
His body accelerated, and the wind surrounding him gathered around his legs. The moment he entered David's range, his figure disappeared. "azure step" Kaelus appeared beneath David.
His right fist folded tightly as he prepared to deliver an uppercut, but before the attack could connect, he changed his movement. Instead of completing the punch, he shifted his weight and raised his left leg, directing a kick toward David's face.
David leaned away. Kaelus used the momentum of his missed attack to rotate his body, bringing his right foot around for another kick. This time, David raised his right hand and blocked it. The impact produced a sharp burst of wind.
David smiled and immediately returned a punch. Kaelus crossed both arms in front of his chest, receiving the attack through his guard. The force pushed him backward, but David wasn't finished. He dashed forward, intending to follow up before Kaelus could recover.
Then the space around them distorted. David's perception shifted for an instant. The direction of his movement became uncertain, and the distance between himself and Kaelus no longer behaved as it should. His eyes glanced toward the left.
Isly was standing there, her hand extended as Chaos Magic distorted the space around him.
The interference was brief, but it was enough.
Alucard entered the opening.
"qilin's arm" His right arm expanded dramatically, transforming into a gigantic limb carrying the tremendous physical strength of a Qilin. The attack came directly toward David, covering enough distance that simply stepping aside would no longer be sufficient.
David extended his right hand. The enormous fist stopped against his palm. Despite the difference in their sizes, David had halted the attack without being pushed backward. His golden eyes remained calm as he held Alucard's transformed arm in place.
But before he could respond, another presence appeared beside him.
Dova. "The Authority of Entopuswhite flash" A blinding light erupted outward. The entire battlefield disappeared beneath the brilliance, and the energy released by Dova's Authority spread across the surrounding land. Its effect was directed toward the very nature of David's power, attempting to impose Entropy upon his existence.
David did not panic. His right golden eye glowed faintly. Soul power emerged from within him and covered his body like an invisible armor. The moment Dova's Authority came into contact with that protection, its effect was rendered useless.
The light eventually faded. David remained standing in the same position. However, Tina's connection had exposed her to part of the backlash. Since her soul magic was still linked to David, the interference traveled through that connection and reached her as well.
She endured it, though the strain briefly disrupted her concentration. Stellar used that instant. The ground beneath David's feet froze.
A thick layer of ice spread outward, locking his feet in place while the temperature across the battlefield dropped sharply. Above him, countless particles of ice gathered and converged, forming an enormous sword that hung over the battlefield.
Stellar raised her hand.
Then she waved it downward. The gigantic ice sword descended. David looked upward and smiled. "I'll admit, you guys really did surprise me" He bent his knee. The ground beneath his feet cracked as he pushed himself upward, breaking through the ice that had restrained him. His right fist drew back, and he struck the descending sword directly.
The impact shattered it. Countless pieces of ice scattered across the sky, spreading in every direction before falling over the grassland like fragments of a frozen storm. Yet the attack had served its purpose. The others had already begun moving.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Eryndor appeared beside David, his hand firmly gripping one of David's feet. His body rotated, and he used the momentum of his Storm element to swing David around before throwing him toward the ground.
David's figure became a golden line racing downward. The distance between him and the ground disappeared rapidly, but before the collision could occur, Isly intervened once again.
The ground beneath David vanished. For a brief moment, there was nothing below him. The terrain had been distorted by Chaos Magic, leaving an empty space where the earth had previously existed.
Rein emerged from the abyss beneath the battlefield. The instant David entered his range, Rein activated his Law of Speed.
His body accelerated beyond the ordinary limitations of movement, and he appeared beside David with his right leg extended. The kick connected against David's side, forcing him to cross both arms to block.
The impact carried him across the ground.
David slid backward, leaving a long trail through the earth before finally stopping.
For the first time since the battle began, the group had managed to force him to give ground through a sequence of coordinated attacks.
Their expressions remained focused. They understood that this was not enough. David slowly lowered his arms. The soul power surrounding his body became more concentrated, and his gaze settled on Rein, who stood closest to him.
"good, now I will take the initiative to attack" The moment those words left his mouth, David disappeared. There was no gradual acceleration, no visible movement, and no warning through the surrounding air.
He had simply crossed the distance. Rein's eyes widened as David's right fist appeared directly in front of him. The attack was already there.
A black chain suddenly shot forward and wrapped around David's hand. It was Darius's chain, empowered by his position as the Warden of the Black Sun. Its purpose was to restrain, and for the briefest instant, it interrupted David's attack.
David immediately released his soul power. The chain shattered but that small interruption was precisely what Rein needed. He crossed both arms in front of his body. David's fist struck his guard.
The impact reverberated across the battlefield, and Rein felt the overwhelming force behind it. Despite having already ascended to High God, his body was pushed backward by the sheer physical strength of David's attack.
The difference in their mastery was still enormous. At the same time, the soul connection Tina had established finally broke.
The invisible lock disappeared from David's soul, and Tina's connection was severed. She regained her freedom, but the opportunity she had created was gone. The others understood what had happened. Their temporary advantage had ended. Yet nobody retreated.
Kaelus held out his right hand. Tempest flew toward him, returning to his grasp as the wind gathered around his body. The sword resonated with his element, and its physical form began merging with the surrounding currents. "elemental embodiment"
Darius's shadow expanded beneath his feet, rising around his body as countless dark chains emerged from within it. "shadow embodiment"
Alucard's body underwent another transformation. The Aura of the Beast God spread outward, and the power of the countless creatures he had assimilated began converging into a single overwhelming presence. "beast god transformation"
Dova's Entropy gathered around his body, while the pale energy of his Authority became increasingly concentrated. "entropy's will"
Isly's Chaos Magic erupted around her, distorting the surrounding space as her existence began resonating with the chaotic nature of her element. "chaos nirvana"
Tina's Soul Sword dissolved into green particles, which spread across her body and merged with her soul power. "soul elemental"
Stellar's Absolute Frost descended across the battlefield. Ice formed beneath her feet, and the temperature continued to fall as her Authority responded to her will. "absolute frost"
Rein's golden Dominion energy surged outward. The golden light surrounding his body became increasingly intense as his Authority began merging with his spiritual existence. "dominion spiritualization" Finally, lightning erupted around Eryndor.
The storm clouds above the grassland gathered once more, and the blue lightning carrying its faint black hue spread across his body. His presence became heavier, as though the atmosphere itself had begun responding to his existence.
"Storm element" Nine divine presences stood across the battlefield.
They had already surpassed their previous limits, awakened their Authorities, and reached a new level of existence. Yet David had forced them to understand something they could not learn through ordinary training.
Reaching a higher realm did not automatically mean mastering it and now, with their transformations beginning, they were preparing to demonstrate just how much they had learned. The final test was far from over.