The pressure released by the fairy was unnatural and it weighed down on everything. Akata felt as if a formless ancient power was pushing him to the ground, trying to make him kneel in front of this fairy. He couldn’t fight back against it at all, there was simply no way to force himself to stand up. The whole battlefield went silent as mortals and beasts alike were pushed to the ground.

Akata couldn’t tell if the fairy was utterly enraged or was entirely exhausted but when it unleashed this strange power, its eyes became blood red and its breathing was forceful. Not only that but the attacks that were eating away at the life of Peizhi Xiuying and the others crumbled. They too were forced to the ground and couldn’t stand up.

The fairy was in the air overlooking all of the figures that were in the area. He looked to be an ancient supreme being that could only be looked up to and not looked down upon. After a few breaths of time the fairy finally stabilised his breathing but even then his face still showed exhaustion, clearly this strange move of his drained a lot of energy.

“Aha… Ahahaha… AHAHAHA!! There’s nobody that can stand up to me. Nobody that can face me head on. This skill I learned is peerless within the world and nobody can go against its power. Ahaha! Kid, today is your lucky day. Today you will witness the strength of a lost ancient power that I can cultivate, Might of Aura. You, along with everyone else here, will die from this power of mine. Nothing can stop it as people can only worship it.” The fairy seemed to be crazed and in ecstasy as he spoke.

‘Might of Aura? What’s that?’ Akata’s mind spun as he tried to think of a way to get out of this situation. This power wasn’t a simple pressure that pushed him to the ground, it was also a mental attack that made him want to submit to the fairy. Although it was only a faint feeling it was still there. Perhaps it was so miniscule that nobody in the area would actually submit but if the fairy could use this power better then wouldn’t that mean he could make an army of loyal soldiers instantly with this power? How fearsome of an ability was that?!

The fairy vanished from its position and suddenly reappeared in front of Akata’s figure. “Insolent human, this is true power that humans can’t even think about mastering. You still try to struggle before me? Heh. It’s useless, I haven’t even fully comprehended this power but its prowess is already something you can’t match.” The fairy waved his hand and more of the power weighed down upon Akata’s body.

The ancient power called Might of Aura weighed down on Akata and prevented him from standing up. The power crept into his body in an attempt to further restrain him. It seeped into his mental dimension, his dantion, and his soul space. When the power came across the crimson rune it shuddered and attempted to run away but the crimson rune spun and unleashed a glow that slowed it down and devoured it. It then proceeded to cleanse all of the power from Akata’s body.

Akata could feel that he could move again thanks to his crimson rune helping him out. He still didn’t know what the rune was or all that it was capable of but since it was able to easily fight back against this ancient and supreme power that meant that it definitely wasn’t as simple as Akata thought it was before. Although the Might of Aura power couldn’t hinder Akata any longer, he still feigned powerlessness and pretended to struggle to prevent the fairy from noticing anything amiss.

Seeing Akata finally go down on both knees the fairy couldn’t help but smile coldly. He walked to the side of Akata and bent down to his ear. ‘This is where you are going to die, you humans are pretty tasty snacks so your body won’t go to waste. I’ll leave your companions bones but I will completely devour yours.’ The fairy smiled in satisfaction.

Swoosh!

A scythe suddenly appeared and swiped at the area the fairy was at. A huge gash was sliced open on the fairy’s chest and blood spurted out. The fairy staggered backwards and held its chest with his hand, his face was filled with disbelief. “How can you still move?!” He yelled with fright.

Akata didn’t waste any words as he continued his attacks. He slashed out again but this time it was faster. The fairy was prepared but it was too slow to dodge all the way and another wound appeared on its body. Blood kept leaking from him and confusion and rage filled his face. Why wasn’t Might of Aura working? It was supposed to be a peerless skill created by the fairy race long ago and nothing should counter it. How was this child able to move within it?

Akata didn’t think anymore about why his rune was able to counter this power, all that was on his mind was killing this fairy. He swung his scythe faster and faster, attempting to slash the fairy apart. The fairy was too fast however and he wasn’t able to hit any vitals. ‘I have to swing faster or these flesh wounds won’t be enough to kill him.’ Akata went berserk as he swung his scythe over and over again. Its speed was slowly getting faster as he kept swinging.

Swish. Swish. Swish. Akata’s perfect body made it possible to constantly improve his skills without any worry of having to slowly strengthen himself. His body that was reformed by Lord Dullahan seemed to be connected to his crimson rune. When Akata refined energy to strengthen himself, his body would also gain some of that energy and increase its might.

Scythe afterimages appeared as Akata increased his swinging speed. If before his speed could be said to be fast then now it could be considered peerlessly swift. The scythe glided in the air without any restrictions and it was as if nothing could stop its momentum.

‘The scythe is swift and agile. It is meant for pure speed and straightforward power. There’s nothing that can stop it once it gains momentum.’ Although Akata was purely focusing on attacking the fairy, he couldn’t help but comprehend a few more things regarding the scythe. Under his onslaught of attacks, Akata actually managed to breakthrough and his comprehension of the scythe reached the Second Rank!

The two were exchanging blows back and forth but the fairy slowly became more pressured as the fight went on. He could feel Akata’s strength slowly increasing as he attack. All of a sudden he felt a total change to Akata’s attacks and he instantly became pressured and fell back rapidly.

Akata’s eyes were cold and even though his understanding of the scythe broke through to the Second Rank, it only matched the comprehension of the fairy, it wasn’t enough to actually kill him. Akata still had to be on guard and find an opening to kill the fairy.

“AAARGH!” The fairy roared and made incantation gestures. He pointed at Akata and suddenly boundless pressure came rushing over. “Might of Aura!” The fairy once again utilized this move to fight against Akata. The ancient power washed over Akata and forced him back as he wasn’t prepared for it. The fairy used this chance to flash in front of Akata and slash out with his Grand Yaga Sword.

Akata immediately rotated his crimson rune and forced the Might of Aura power to vanish from pressuring his body. He quickly dodged to the side but couldn’t fully evade the strike. A gash appeared on Akata’s abdomen and if it were a bit deeper then he would have been disemboweled completely and killed on the spot.

Disregarding his injury and focused back on attacking. The trials had taught him to not only be ruthless with others, he especially had to be many times more ruthless to himself. Crimson smoke appeared around Akata’s wound and boundless vitality seeped out. The wound could then be seen healing at a visible rate.

Lightning flickered within Akata’s gaze as much more crimson smoke appeared around his figure. Vitality filled the smoke and sparks of lightning could be seen within. His figure flashed and he reappeared behind the fairy. His speed could be said to have increased by leaps and bounds when using his new element. Akata raised his scythe and as he did a pink glow appeared around his body. The glow seemed capable of drawing the attention of every being that looked at. Akata slashed out but the fairy was completely prepared for it.

Swish! The Grand Yaga Sword shot out explosively and pierced through Akata’s chest, barely missing his heart. Akata’s eyes went wide and he couldn’t help but cough out a mouthful of blood. He stared at the fairy in front of him with cold calm eyes.

“Ahahaha! You thought you could fight me evenly? How absurd. I’ll show you what it means to mess with me. You’re going to wish you were dead.” The fairy’s tone became ice cold and another Grand Yaga Sword appeared within his other hand. While the fairy used Might of Aura he wasn’t able to utilize other techniques. All he was capable of was using his weapon.

Swish! The fairy sliced off some skin from Akata’s arm. To his surprise, however, Akata didn’t even wince. It was as if he didn’t suffer an attack at all. The fairy continued his assault and torture. He would stab Akata repeatedly, making sure to miss his vitals. He would slice, pierce, whack, all sorts of things in order to break Akata. But nothing seemed to work. Akata wouldn’t even let his face deform, let alone let a groan out.

Akata continued to look calmly at the fairy in front of him and that made the fairy more fearful than anything. ‘This boy gives me an uneasy feeling. I ought to end this fast then.’ The fairy no longer thought about “torturing” Akata and instead sought to kill him now. He raised his Grand Yaga Sword and aimed it at Akata’s throat. Swish!

Blood, skin, and clothes were everywhere. Akata didn’t even appear human anymore as his body was badly mutilated thanks to the fairy. But not an ounce of pain could be seen on his face at this moment, only utter calmness. This type of calmness gave his friends and especially his enemies an eerie feeling deep in their hearts. They didn’t know what Akata was capable of and that brought fear to their hearts.

The sword stabbed out but it was at this time that the pink glow on Akata’s body completely disappeared. The glow seemed to enter into his body and transform. All of a sudden the pink glow sprang back out and shone on everything. It illuminated the surroundings and washed over everybody in the area.

The sword in the fairy’s hand stopped moving and one could see the hand holding it trembling uncontrollably. The fairy had his eyes wide open and utter fear dwelled within his pupils. In front of his eyes was a skeletal figure dressed in a ragged black cloak. This figure was covered in blood and an ancient eerie aura suffused from him.

The skeletal figure reached out with a hand and grabbed onto the sword that was inches away from its throat. When the hand touched the sword a crimson light appeared deep within the black eye sockets of the skeleton. When that crimson light appeared, the fairy felt his hand become lighter. When he looked down he discovered that his sword had turned transparent as motes of light floated from it. The motes of light then gathered around the skeleton’s other hand until it took on a ball-like shape. The skeleton pinched the ball and held it up into the air. It then dropped it and the ball fell into the skeleton’s mouth where it was swallowed in one gulp.

This scene utterly frightened the fairy and he no longer had any will to fight. What had just happened? This terrifying figure suddenly appeared in front of him. That wouldn’t have been so scary but then it actually took and ate the soul of his Grand Yaga Sword. This sword was made from his Grand Yaga Leaves and therefore had strong defensive capabilities and a very strong lifeforce. It was even to the point that the life contained in a Grand Yaga Leaf was nearly a third of his own lifeforce. Yet, not only did the skeleton figure take away that lifeforce, it did it in a mere instant. How terrifying would it be if that hand of the skeleton touched his own body?

The fairy no longer thought about fighting. He no longer thought about where this skeleton came from. He no longer thought about the mortals, the element Akata created, the genius kids, or anything else. All he cared about was fleeing and saving his life.