Life Hunter

"Sure, I suppose it"s time" Arima shrugged and crouched. He placed his hand on the ground "[Bestia Felis]" He chanted and a small black cat made of lightning immediately formed. It exactly was like the one he had given to Lifa.

"What are you doing?"

"It"s just to help those two love birds when they need. I a.s.sume they need some time" Arima smiled and patted the cat. He was more or less looking in his direction.

"…It"s definitely weird to see you unable to correctly define one"s silhouette" Night remarked and Arima chuckled.

"It"s not that bad, you know? I can"t see colors or images anymore, but at the same time, I can see way more. My other senses have been enhanced too"

"Just by curiosity, how far do you can hear something right now?" Layla asked and Arima spread his arms as an answer.

"I can hear every insect on this planet right now" He uttered and everyone just fell silent. They wondered how he could deal with all of the noise he should be able to hear.

"Anyway, let"s go now" Raylein announced. He drew a circle with his index which was enveloped by a blue aura "[What I seek is the road. What I offer is the path. Melumnia]" He chanted and a sort of weird tunnel appeared right on front of them.

"Follow me" Raylein waved his hand and went inside the tunnel. Arima told the small cat to go find Evergreen and Jin before going inside too with everyone else. The tunnel closed behind them just after.

"We"re going to Melumnia" Raylein told as they were walking in a transparent tunnel that only allowed you see darkness through the walls "Melumnia is the most important Plane of this Reality. It"s filled with powerful individuals from everywhere around this Reality. Melumnia is also the name of the biggest planet which has ever been formed, as well as the giant city covering its entire surface"

"Sound like a wonderful place" Karma commented and Raylein smiled.

"It is indeed. There"s no discrimination, crime, or even poverty. The very notion of money is not even a thing there. As long as you can take care of yourself, you have absolutely no problem living there. Melumnia is also the place where all of the Guardians go when they have to gather. Since it is under the rule of the First Guardian" Raylein explained and Arima hummed.

"Well, in any case, we have some time until we are there" Raylein added "Why don"t we talk a little? I"m frankly curious about your transcendence, not only Arima"s. What about yours, Night?"

Night frowned and looked at him indifferently "Mine is simple, I used fire as my base. I have the same ability as that Yeion. I can become fire at any moment and physical attacks don"t have any effect on me" He said and raised his hand. He beckoned Karma and she made a katana appear, which she swung at Night. His hand was immediately severed but it changed into a fire before returning to its original place.

"So, you chose second-degree immortality, huh?" Raylein muttered "You can revive as much as you want even if your body is destroyed. But you can"t if all the flames composing your body are extinguished or if your soul is taken. What about you two?" He then asked Karma and Layla.

"I can change every part of my body into the metal which composes my blade. I also can alter its composition to make it stronger in particular places. I also can"t be broken by magic nor can I be damaged by any weapon which doesn"t have at least a stronger aura than Arima"

Raylein blinked several times "…wow, I suppose soul weapons are really different than us when it gets to transcendence. You"re the last one"

Layla stared at Raylein "Try hitting me" She stated and Raylein became fl.u.s.tered "I"m not asking you to go all out. Just a light attack. I know I can"t withstand your strength"

"Then… in that case" Raylein turned around and waved his hand. A blue hue followed his movement then formed a strange pattern. A red ball was cast and went toward Layla before exploding with a really quiet discharge.

When it went away, Layla was completely unharmed and there was no indication that she had used magic to stop it. Raylein wavered then Layla extended her hand. A transparent energy was shot from her palm and directly struck Raylein in the abdomen.

He gasped and rubbed his abdomen for a few seconds "That was…" He mumbled in shock and Arima smirked "…reflection? Does your body actually reflect magic?"

"No. It converts any kind of damage done to me into pure energy which will be shot at the opponent afterward. I can"t use that energy for myself though" Layla combed her hair which had been touched by the shockwave as she explained.

"That already impressive… I don"t even know if you"re transcendence is actually better than Arima"s or not" Raylein gave his honest opinion and turned toward Arima.

The latter kept walking as if nothing happened. It also was useless for him to direct his eyes toward them. He felt Raylein"s look and chuckled "As you already know, I chose to be able to absorb any elemental energy and use them for my own convenience. What I didn"t tell you is how I could use that energy"

"If I want, I can send it back as it was sent to me, but I also can convert it into something like pure energy too. You already know that. But I didn"t tell you about the best advantage of this const.i.tution" Arima declared.

"Try using an elemental magic on me. Just a small one. Not even enough to harm a tenth level of the mortal realm. I won"t be using any magic. Just the ability of this body"

Raylein was perplexed and cast a small fireball which he propelled toward Arima. He didn"t move as the fireball approached him. When it touched him and everyone expected an explosion; it actually even inside Arima"s body like a drop of water.

Raylein"s eyes widened and before he knew, a purple flame if the exact same size as his own suddenly emerged from Arima"s body and reached him at incredible speed. The explosion then created was definitely not made to only kill a tenth level pract.i.tioner. It could even injure some that were in the fourth sky of the earthen realm.

Raylein huffed and the flames were extinguished instantly. But he was deeply confused about what he just experienced "What was that? You said you wouldn"t use magic, right?"

"I didn"t" Arima replied "The fireball you threw at me was sent back to you the same way you sent it to me"

"Don"t play with me. That thing was at least fifty times stronger than what I conjured"

"I know. But I never used my magic in the process" Arima grinned "Your fireball merged with my body because of the transcendence. From there on, I can either send it back or use it as my own energy. For the latter case, I just get the same amount of energy you used to cast it"

"But for the former, it"s different. While it is in my body, the magic will be under a constant refinement by the Omni energy residing in my cells" He explained and Raylein"s pupils contracted "Basically, any elemental magic coming at me will resonate with the Omni energy inside me then be sent back with a much more powerful momentum. But technically, it"s the same magic altogether"

Raylein stopped walking and took a step back "…What are you? You"re defying every logic at the moment. I never saw it under that angle but… let me ask you; how strong can the elemental magic you absorb be, at the maximum?"

Arima"s smile became wider and scary "Unlimited"

"No f.u.c.king way…" Night unconsciously exclaimed and Raylein felt dizzy.

"I never saw it like that" Karma was thunderstruck.

"It"s unreal…" Layla followed "If it"s true, you"re virtually capable of beating anyone as long as he uses powerful elemental magic against you"

"That"s just cheating. If you take this even further, that would mean you could even kill the Original G.o.d if uses elements against you. That"s f.u.c.ked up. That"s the first time I feel terrified by someone"s power for a long time" Raylein muttered and Arima snickered.

"All of this is only possible thanks to the countless different energies I host. Eion, Omni, Silver, Life Forces from every opponent I killed, the parallel lines, Malum"s darkness, as well as my own race, Eternal Dragon"

"Yeah, I know" Raylein snorted "That"s why you"re an anomaly. No one will ever be able to imitate you in any way. Your uniqueness is what makes you dreadful. Maybe you"ll die soon at this rate"

Arima smirked and turned around to face Raylein with his unicolored eyes "Let"s bet then. When will I die? Who will kill me? That"s a really fascinating topic. I also finally managed to attain first-degree immortality. I"m quite eager to try it"

"…What?"

Arima laughed and his voice mixed with another one much deeper. Half of his face disappeared and turned into a burning skull "My fusion with Malum gave me something else. My life energy muted. I won"t die no matter what happens. Even if all the flesh on my bones is burned or reduced to cinders, I will then be a walking skeleton. If my bones are destroyed, the fragments will get back together and form me again. No matter if I have mana or not"

"Unless someone manages to destroy my soul, I will always live. But let me tell you, I don"t think there"s anyone who has a stronger soul than mine" He added and the flesh on his head came back.

He smiled again and tried to direct his eyes directly toward Raylein "What do you think?"

The former Plane Guardian gulped and his expression twitched. He couldn"t believe a transcendental had just threatened him. Arima"s group just shrugged and brushed it off with a smile "Anyhow; it"s your turn. What about your ability?"

Raylein groaned retrieved the lead inside this tunnel "…Mine is kinda normal compared to yours. I just can use my body to travel through s.p.a.ce and time. I can do it as easily as breathing"

Arima nodded "I expected that. Even if it"s normal, it sounds pretty powerful"

Raylein grunted "You"re just lowering my self-esteem so can you stop, please?"

"Fine, I"ll stop teasing you"

"Stop what?"

Arima ignored him and took out Yeion"s crystalized original force "If you say we have time until we get there. I"ll just try to a.s.similate every memory in this. There"s too much I don"t know. I"ll use this to clear it up. Should be a piece of cake. I"ve done this more than seventy million times"