Chapter 241 - The Fiery Angel

"Is that an angel?" Luar exclaimed. He couldn't believe that creatures like angels actually existed.

"Yes, and as you would expect, he is quite powerful. Luar, he has wings and a halo, which means that his blood purity is over 75%. Simply put, he's pretty fucking strong. Don't spare any skills or items if you want to stay alive." Wain said seriously and prepared for battle.

Luar nodded. He felt a powerful and unwavering aura emanating from the angel. He had never encountered such a powerful being before.

Wain decided to see the status of their enemy.

[Zaral Latson

Chronicle: Second

Void: 3]

'Damn, he's Second Chronicle. Do we even stand a chance?' Wain pondered.

His stats were unnaturally high for a First Chronicle creature since he was already well beyond that stage. However, Wain believed that even so, he was weaker than almost all Second Chronicle creatures.

When the angel entered Luar's zone, space immediately began to regenerate, and at that moment, several chains emerged from the darkness, which chained Zaral. 

However, these chains were not as powerful as in the Purgatory Zones.

The strength of these chains depended on how strong the zone was, which was invaded by a creature with too high a Chronicle. 

This meant that even though the chains chained Zaral, his power was not reduced to First Chronicle as it would have been in the Purgatory zone.

Angel weakened but no more than a tenth of his former strength. It was already much better than nothing, though.

'Hmm, he's weakened, but only slightly...' Wain pondered, and at that moment, the angel turned to Luar.

"Flaming Lion, if you give me a Soul Pearl now, I won't kill you."

"That's a pretty good offer, isn't it?" Asked Luar looking at Wain.

Luar, like Wain, did not use his real name in the World of Darkness and chose an alias, now he is Flaming Lion.

"This Soul Pearl belongs to you, and you have the right to decide how to use it, but we have no guarantees. He can take the Pearl and absorb it, and then we definitely don't stand a chance. We can't be sure he'll do that, though. It's a tough decision." Wain said seriously.

If he were in Luar's shoes, he wouldn't consider those options. When Wain had any chance of winning, he would take it and wouldn't let that chance get any smaller.

Luar doubted. If the angel wasn't deceiving him, it was the easiest way to survive. However, something kept him from making that decision.

'Wain is right. If the angel absorbs the energy from Soul Pearl, then it is definitely the end. Moreover, if the angel kills me, he gets my Void and the corresponding bonuses. It's doubtful the angel would turn down such an easy profit.' Luar thought and hid the Pearl.

"A wise decision." Wain uttered.

"Fool, it's your fault you chose death. You are but First Chronicle creatures, yet you dare contradict me. How arrogant." Zaral said with contempt in his voice, and his sword went up in flames.

Wain didn't wait. He decided to attack first. He pointed his sword at Zaral and used the Magic Missile. The white, magical projectile instantly headed toward the angel.

Zaral reacted quickly to this attack. He swung his sword and repelled the Magic Missile. The Magic Missile had great power and punching power, but it was nothing compared to the flaming sword in the angel's hand.

Luar was weaker than Wain, but he had one major advantage. He was in his Void territory, and all relevant bonuses were active. The most important thing was a significant increase in his stats.

Whoooosh.

Zaral flapped his massive wings and headed toward Wain with lightning speed. The angel swung his sword sharply from top to bottom, intending to cut him in two.

Wain did not retreat. Instead, he accepted the challenge and clashed swords with the angel. He was sure his stats were enough to stand up to the angel.

However, Wain could hardly withstand the onslaught from the angel. His hands trembled, and the ground beneath his feet began to crack. 

Moreover, the angel was not on the ground. Zaral continued to flap his wings, thereby putting more pressure on Wain.

"Oh, that's impressive." Wain muttered.

"That's only part of my power." Zaral said coldly, and the flame on his sword flashed brighter than usual.

Wain felt an intense heat, and part of his hair burned. He quickly stepped back and used the Magic Missile again. 

Zaral repelled the white beam and was about to chase Wain, but suddenly he was attacked from behind by Luar.

He had no weapons, but around his arms were yellow, energy claws like a lion's. They were strong enough to cut through the flesh of most First Chronicle creatures.

Yet his claws only lightly scratched the angel's wings, only a few white feathers falling to the ground.

"You little rat!" Zaral shouted angrily and swung his sword.

A fiery blade of fire flew out of the weapon in the shape of a half-moon. Luar did not have time to dodge but tried to block this attack. 

A yellow, round barrier of fire appeared before him, and the blade collided with it the next moment.

This barrier was one of Luar's skills and was effective against fire, light, and dark attacks. However, even so, the fireblade broke through the barrier and collapsed on Luar.

The force of the attack weakened, but Luar was still wounded and suffered moderate burns. He clenched his teeth and jumped aside.

'Damn, if it hadn't been for the barrier, that blade would have definitely burned Luar, and not even ash would have been left. The angel is stronger than me. I'm not sure that I can handle him even by activating one of the forms. Hmm, I can't get out of here, but maybe I can somehow link my zone to this place? At least for a while.'

Wain's idea was that if he gets bonuses from being in his zone fighting here, it could dramatically change the situation. Moreover, in such a case, the deterrent power on Zaral would increase significantly, and his strength would rapidly decrease.

Wain wanted to think about it, but he didn't have time for that. Zaral raised his sword high above his head, and then his weapon began to lengthen because of the flames. It looked like a plasma sword.

Whooooooosh.

Zaral swung his sword, and a wave of fire came down on Wain. The power of this attack was comparable to a volcanic eruption.

Wain's eyes flashed, and the platinum sword disappeared. A long sword with icy blades along its edges appeared in its place. 

A woven bandage also appeared on his face, covering his nose and mouth. Six dark chains bound his left arm. 

The temperature around him dropped sharply, and Wain swung his sword, creating a wave of ice. It collided with fire but could only partially resist the flames. It took Wain to create a wall of ice to block the angel's attack completely.

"Oh, your power is rather strange. Hmm, what race are you from? You're definitely not one of the Pillars, but I can't figure it out. Your energy fluctuations are too strange. So are you." Zaral uttered, looking at Wain and Luar.

Wain answered nothing. At that moment, he was not thinking about the fight but how he could connect his zone with this one. He concentrated, and his Seal of Darkness shone brightly.

Then a message appeared in front of Wain.

[You, as the owner of Void, can form alliances with other owners of Voids, if necessary. In this case, your zones will join together in an alliance. The bonuses from all zones of the alliance will become joint but will be divided equally among all alliance members. 

Also, the rights to zones in the alliance will be divided equally among all leaders. Creatures will be able to move from one zone to another without getting a special invitation].

Wain smiled contentedly.

'I can break the alliance at any time?'

[Yes, but you need the consent of the rest of the alliance to do so. Otherwise, you will have to leave the alliance without your zones or eliminate those who disagree with your decision.]

'I see.' Wain thought and ran up to Luar.

Together they dodged a fiery blade flying in their direction, and Wain quickly said, "Luar, we must unite as leaders of Voids and form an alliance. Then I'll get bonuses from your zone and you from mine. With that, we can defeat the angel."

"I don't mind, but what am I supposed to do?"

"I'll show you." Wain uttered, and his Seal of Darkness glowed brightly.

Then an offer came to Luar to ally.

[Flaming Lion, the other owner of Void, Nameless, wants to form an alliance with you. Do you agree?]

Zaral realized they were up to something and decided to speed up.

"Yes." Luar answered confidently, and the next moment space shuddered.

Crackling.

At Luar's Void, a crack appeared in the air and grew rapidly. Then there was an explosion that tossed Wain, Luar, and Zaral aside. 

At that moment, the passage between the two zones was established, and the alliance was finally created.

The passageway exited Ice Caves, and so a cold wind immediately blew in Luar's Void, and a faint blizzard began.

Then the stats of Wain and Luar began to increase because of the bonuses from their zones. 

Of course, Wain's Void's bonuses were much more significant, and this alliance was more beneficial to Luar than to Wain.

Wain always received bonuses from his Void, but only permanent ones. However, the strongest bonuses were those that only worked when he was in his zone.

He decided to ally with Luar to get at least half of the bonuses that weren't active before because he was in someone else's Void. 

Now, technically Wain was in two Voids simultaneously and, like Luar, was getting all the bonuses but reduced in half.

"AHAHAHAHAHA, this is incredible! How powerful is your Void that you have such bonuses! I can feel the power overwhelming me!" Luar exclaimed joyfully and immediately activated his a Beyond.

The silhouette of a golden lion appeared above him, and its eyes glowed brightly with golden light. The energy claws on his arms became longer and sharper, and his entire body became more robust.

"You bastards. Do you really think that by banding together, you can stand up to me?" Zaral spoke fiercely and used his a Beyond.

His halo shone brightly like the sun, and his snow-white wings were covered in a scarlet flame that could burn anything. 

His sword also grew bigger and longer. Zaral could burn down a forest or drain a body of water with a single swing.

"Huh, do you think that increased stats and resistance is the only advantage of this short term alliance?" Wain smirked, and the next moment, several chains appeared next to Zaral and shackled him again.

These chains were much more powerful because they came from Wain's Void. 

However, even they couldn't bring Zarala's power down to the values of the First Chronicle. He was still mighty, though considerably weakened.

Nevertheless, Wain was no longer worried about it. He was confident of victory because all his stats exceeded the mark of 400 points after all the bonuses.

Given that the limit in First Chronicle was 250, this was a huge value. After reaching 250 points in each stat, a person could increase them only with items, temporary effects, or various bonuses, but not with energy.

"I admit, your decision to form an alliance was smart, but it's still not enough. I will easily burn the two of you, and you will experience a hell of a lot of torment!" Zaral shouted and pointed his sword at Wain.

He was about to attack him, but suddenly a blue flash flew out of the passageway, reaching the angel in a second. Then, the silhouette swung its icy swords and left a diagonal 'X'-shaped cut on the angel's body.

"You idiot. Who told you there were only two of us?"