CHAPTER 86: | THE DESTRUCTION OF ATLANTIS | 7
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? Empire of Atlantis — Imperial Palace Training Grounds ?
The air hummed with latent mana deep within the imperial castle, a structure so grand it defied mere words.
A low, rhythmic clang echoed from the training grounds, where two figures moved with practiced grace.
One was a woman whose beauty was without rival, her voluptuous figure seeming to float as she moved.
She yawned, her breath misting in the cool air, as she effortlessly manipulated the water all around them, creating a shimmering barrier that defended her from her disciple’s attacks.
"Samantha, why bother wielding a sword when you have no affinity for it? Isn't it a waste of time?"
Her voice, soft as a murmur, carried across the chamber.
Samantha only smirked in response, the edge of her sword gleaming under the ambient light.
She moved like the waves of the ocean, gentle and flowing, yet relentlessly dangerous.
With her eyes sharp and focused on her master movements, she parried a watery fist with a sharp slash.
Whoosh!
The liquid hand dissolved into a spray of mist, but another formed instantly, swinging in a wide arc.
Samantha ducked beneath it, her body low to the ground, before launching into a lunge.
She drove the tip of her sword at the hand's weakest point, and the blade made a sharp, tearing sound as it cut through the liquid.
Splash!
The watery hand collapsed into a puddle, splashing onto the ground.
Samantha then quickly retreated, just in time, as the puddle transformed into a set of writhing tentacles, snapping at her ankles with hunger.
Unperturbed, Samantha watched the encroaching tentacles.
A prickling chill ran up her heels as the mana-infused water coiled around her, but she ignored it, pouring a hundred units of mana into the tip of her toe.
Step!
The air crackled with the surge of power, and a faint blue glow enveloped her as she launched herself toward her master.
Ornate revolvers, then conjured into both of her hands in the last second, as it's muzzles glinted ominously.
"Mana bullet."
She muttered, her words a cold whisper.
As a torrent of glowing bullets, each the size of a marble, rained down on Ashin Sae Acoustine.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The bullets hissed like the screech of an eagle as they cut through the air, leaving a shimmering trails.
Ashin Sae Acoustine, however, had expected this.
She waved her hands, and with a deep rumble, the swirling water around her hardened into a solid shield of ice.
Tst! Tst! Tst!
The glowing rounds burst against the icy barrier with sharp cracks, their energy scattering into harmless sparks that fizzled in the cold air.
A smile played on her lips.
"Impressive. To think that you could unleash a firepower capable of decimating a Stage 1 Lord while being a Stage 0. This is exactly what I'd expected from my heir."
Her words were gentle, but her power was absolute.
She waved her hand, and the shield of ice groaned as it morphed into a pair of massive, solid fists.
The air pressure shifted, growing heavy and thick as she sent a deadly barrage of punches hurtling toward Samantha.
Each punch was a gust of chilling wind, a blur of motion.
Samantha wasn't worried in the slightest.
She calmly assessed her situation, her senses heightened as she searched for the most optimal path to dodge.
The fists thundered toward her, their impact rattling the training ground.
She calmly sidestepped, twisted, and spun, her body a flowing dance of evasive maneuvers.
With each dodge, she gained ground on her master.
She raised her revolvers, their ornate barrels glowing as a low, thrumming light gathered within.
A smile curved on her lips as she took her time aiming at her master, her hands steady as stone.
"Storm bullet."
She spoke the words, as mana streamed through her body with the force of a river’s current.
This was a skill Samantha had newly created out of necessity, a testament to her unmatched talent.
But Ashin Sae Acoustine’s smirk widened as she read the intent behind the single, incoming bullet.
The bullet spun, wailing wildly as it accelerated through the air like a miniature storm of its own.
"An impressive skill, but nonetheless a rubbish among rubbish, if we speak of its glaring weak point, my dear disciple."
Ashin Sae Acoustine took a single step, vanishing from the ground and leaving a faint ripple in the air.
An afterimage of her then appeared in front of the bullet, which was now moving in slow motion, its wail reduced to a soft hum.
Then she then tapped it with careless abandon, and the bullet's spin instantly ceased.
As it simply floated there, inert.
Ashin Sae Acoustine vanished again, reappearing directly behind Samantha.
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She then pressed the revolvers cold muzzles against her disciple's head.
Playfully, Ashin Sae Acoustine muttered.
"Baam! Baam!"
Time resumed as Samantha’s eyes sharpened.
She spun to face where her master had just been, but she was gone.
Her [Storm Bullet] was nowhere to be found.
She clenched her hands, only to find nothing there, and sighed.
"..."
The silence in the training ground now felt profound.
"Master, really?"
Ashin Sae Acoustine giggled lightly.
As she nonchalantly threw the revolvers into the air, and Samantha moved like a falcon, catching them mid-air.
She smiled as the cool metal felt familiar in her grip.
"Samantha, you should get more levels. Maybe reach Tier 10 and evolve into a unique race. Perhaps after a year of tutoring, you'll be able to overpower me."
Samantha shook her head, strapping the revolvers to her skirt.
Then she walked alongside with her master.
"Master, you jest. Me beating you is an impossibility! And how am I supposed to reach Tier 10 when I needs a billion or more EXP?"
Ashin Sae Acoustine flicked her hands and smirked, as a pink mist was beginning to rise and fill the air in the hallway.
It smelled faintly of cherry blossoms and something ancient.
"Exactly! How could you beat me, your master, with so little self-confidence? How about washing yourself and taking a bath to remove your sweat? Then, you can build your self-confidence, my dear disciple! Maybe that handsome guy will pop out in the tub and ravish you? How yummy would it be, being rammed by such a man?"
"..."
Samantha was shocked by her master's promiscuous words but blushed nonetheless as she imagined the scenario.
Heat bloomed in her cheeks, but she shook her head to clear her shameless thoughts.
"Master, stop playing with me. It's impossible. That man truly falling for my ugly self is utterly impossible! So please... stop teasing me."
Samantha wasn't confident in her lowly appearance that was as ugly as a duckling, as she lowered her head, biting her lips in shame at the thought of them being together.
Ashin Sae Acoustine however opened the massive ornate door, and the scent of mineral-rich hot spring water drifted out, drawing a soft sigh from her.
"What a dense fool you are. But nonetheless, you're right about you being ugly. Still, try to have some self confidence. Maybe you'll seduce him sometime."
Ashin's Sae Acoustine voice was insulting yet soothing at the same time.
"You're such a meanie, Master."
Ashin Sae Acoustine smiled at her disciple’s remark and then kicked Samantha inside the room.
"That's right, this master of yours is a meanie, so go inside and wash off your sweat!"
Samantha crashed onto the wet floor, feeling the humid air of the hot spring rolling over her skin.
She was now inside 'The Emperor's Private Spring,' a place only Ashin Sae and she, her disciple could enter.
The sound of water bubbling and the scent of steam filled her senses.
She sighed.
"Really?"
Samantha chuckled as she stood up.
"Such a dense master."
---
Meanwhile, outside 'The Emperor's Private Spring' The pink mist swirled lazily.
Ashin Sae Acoustine stood, gazing at the woman responsible for its creation.
"Long time no see, Edithe."
Edithe sighed, the sound heavy with defeat.
She knew this mission was as good as over.
Ashin Sae Acoustine had already caught her before she could kidnap her disciple.
"Damned brother!"
She whined, her voice raw.
"Why did you send me to this hell? Haaa..."
She gazed at Ashin Sae Acoustine, feeling as though she'd aged a century as she waited for her illusory mist to bloom to its full effect.
But Ashin Sae Acoustine didn't wait.
She pointed her index finger at Edithe and muttered.
"Atlantic Seal."
The temperature of the air plummeted.
Magic formations sparked and hummed in the air as a massive seal of solid ice formed above Edithe's head.
The ice was an impossibly deep blue.
She sighed and shouted.
"Purple Palm!"
Edithe's shouts echoed as part of the pink mist on the ground turned a deep, shimmering purple.
A palm that looked like the hand of a Bodhisattva formed in an instant, its surface a shifting, gaseous purple.
Aa it then met the descending seal with a monstrous impact, and the entire castle quaked.
Boom!
The floor beneath their feet trembled violently, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
Edithe was pleased by her skill, [Purple Palm], which she had polished for decades to be effective at blocking Ashin Sae Acoustine's signature skill, [Atlantic Seal].
Still, she knew better than to be arrogant, since Ashin Sae Acoustine wasn't going all out yet.
Her solidified purple mist trembled violently as Ashin Sae Acoustine's [Atlantic Seal] began to gain momentum.
A low, grinding sound filled the air as the massive block of ice became heavier and heavier before stopping at a staggering 100,000 tons.
The ground groaned under the pressure.
Edithe sighed in relief, gazing at the seal only a few inches from her nose, as the scent of cold, clean ice filled her nostrils.
"That was dangerous."
She murmured, nonchalantly rummaging through her storage pouch.
Ashin Sae Acoustine watched her with amusement.
"Are you looking for this?"
She asked, a moon chakram of polished silver circling playfully around her fair hands.
Edithe stared at her, shock visible on her face.
Her form trembled, and a flush of rage spread across her cheeks.
"You bitch!"
She shouted.
"When did you steal my beloved chakram?!"
Ashin Sae Acoustine however only tilted her head as she threw the chakram into the air, before catching it with her head as she danced through the hallway like a fairy, her movements light and mocking.
"You mean how?"
She asked, stroking her chin in a cute manner.
Then she giggled mischievously.
"Well, you were quite busy blocking my 'Atlantic Seal,' so I rummaged through your storage pouch to see if there was anything interesting! Teehee!"
Furious, Edithe trembled with rage, clenching her fists until veins popped out on her face.
"How dare you... how dare you toy with me, the God of Illusion!"
But Ashin Sae Acoustine, the Emperor of Nonchalantness, merely giggled in mock amusement.
She gripped the chakram on both sides and exerted a bit of her strength.
The sound of metal straining was unnervingly loud.
Crack!
The chakram bent unnaturally.
Edithe bit her lips in indignation and charged forward, but before she could reach for her beloved chakram, it broke.
Crash!
The sound of shattering metal was deafening.
Rage and despair were etched on her face as she clawed at the air, hitting nothing.
Ashin Sae Acoustine however playfully danced to the rhythm of her frustrated swipes before whispering into her ears.
"Are you sad? Are you sad? How about becoming stronger and challenging me at a later date?"
Edithe continued to claw at her, the sound of her frustrated nails scratching the air echoing like sandpaper meeting rust.
Whooooshhh... Whooooshhh...
Ashin Sae Acoustine however stroked her chin nonchalantly, before bending down to dodge a claw then kicked Edithe back, sending her hurtling toward the window.
Then in the next instant, the window glossy glass shattered and the wind howled as Edithe fell.
Crash!
Ashin Sae Acoustine cackled with mock amusement.
"You see, I'm busy. So how about you hide like the five cowardly gods you are? Or should I now call you the five clowns of my era?"
A smile, amused and mocking, was on her face.
Edithe clenched her fist and leaped back through the window, appearing in the hallway again, her clothes torn and a bloody cut on her cheek.
Ashin Sae Acoustine flicked her hand, and a massive seal of glacier hurtled at her, an avalanche of ice and pressure.
It slammed into her, sending her flying straight out of the window again.
This time Edithe was flustered by Ashin Sae Acoustine's playfulness.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she flew across the currents.
She leaned inward and gazed at Ashin Sae Acoustine inside her castle.
"AshinSaeAcoustineyoubitchyoubitchyoubitchyoubitchyoubitch!"
She shouted, the words slurring together in her rage.
Edithe leaped toward the window where Ashin Sae Acoustine was playfully dancing in a single step, but to her dismay, all she saw was an illusion, a shimmering afterimage.
A chill ran through her spine as she felt it, the sharp, stinging pain of an ornamental ice spear digging into her flesh, its frozen surface slick with blood protruding unnaturally out of her stomach.
Her eyes lost their luster in the next second, and her vision faded to darkness.
The world began to blur.
As she felt her blood, her cells, her muscles, her bones, her brain, and her heart freezing with every passing second, the cold was an all-consuming fire.
She smiled as she muttered.
"What an insufferable... bitch until the... end..."
Then her heartbeat stopped, a final, fading beat, and her brain soon followed.
She had no signs of life.
She felt it, death was claiming her, a life she had lived futilely chasing the brilliance of one woman who didn't take anything seriously.
It was none other than Ashin Sae Acoustine, the one true god of this world, the one who had the right to lead this world to completion, the one who tamed the calamities and the first calamity, Aulie, as her concubine.
It was none other than the Emperor of Atlantis, gloriously named Ashin Sae Acoustine...
---
[Year 1, Month 4, Day 25 of the Imperial Calendar]
Edithe, the God of Illusion, retired from the scene in sorrow, unable to leave even the faintest mark upon her rival. She was slain by none other than the Emperor of Atlantis, the Supreme God of the Abyss, Ashin Sae Acoustine, thus marking the fall of the second god out of five.
---
As her remaining consciousness faded, Ashin Sae Acoustine just gazed at the futile end of her lifelong enemy and sighe...
BOOOM!!
But before she could rest, an explosion ripped through the city.
A storm of fire rose outside, held barely in check by the surrounding currents of the deep.
She glanced at it through her window, smiling faintly before closing her eyes with a final sigh.
“Those fools are at it again…”
Maybe give it a try? ??
