Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah wasn't holding back, but he didn't use all his techniques right away. He limited himself to use the warp spell and his sword arts because he didn't know what the Matriarchs had in store for him.

Cultivators were different from magical beasts. They had tricks, strategies, and inscribed items that could turn a certain victory into an overwhelming defeat instantly.

Noah was stronger than the two powerhouses, but he had to be wary of their experience and preparation. He wouldn't be surprised if they prepared items to defeat him even before the situation reached that point.

The lunges flew through the dark world without any obstruction. Noah's ability would even make them stronger if they weren't so fast.

The Matriarchs only had an instant to react, but they didn't fail to deploy spells that could stop Noah's offensive.

Great Elder Diana's crackling second skin expanded and created a spherical defensive net that destroyed anything trying to cross among its holes.

A massive amount of her "Breath" went inside the net and fueled the many lighting bolts that converged on the lunges when they crossed her protection. Those powerful attacks couldn't do anything against her spell.

God's Left Hand waved her fan vertically a few times before violent gales shot out to clash with the lunges. Noah didn't think much of that spell initially, but he had to reevaluate it when he saw his attacks falling apart.

The winds that she had created through that gesture appeared dense enough to stop his sword arts. Noah believed that the Matriarch of the Empire would struggle a bit more to deal with his attacks, but it seemed that Shandal's return had made her power improve more than he expected.

A large cut suddenly opened on God's Left Hand's back. The Matriarchs showed a surprised expression, but she soon redirected more "Breath" toward her whirlpools to increase their rotation speed.

Noah knew through his mental connection that Night missed God's Left Hand's neck because the whirlpool on her back had accelerated on its own. The defensive ability had noticed the arrival of a threat and had acted before the Matriarch contemplated the issue.

Night was one of Noah's aces. Even the Elbas family had been unable to obtain its power, and its body had gone far beyond the limits of its species after Noah used the Royal Metal with it.

There was a chance that something capable of countering Night couldn't exist in a lower plane. The existences facing the creature could only rely on wide defensive methods to hinder its silent attacks.

The two Matriarchs had done that. The crackling sphere and those whirlpools created a defensive array that could block attacks coming from any direction. Noah had to break them if he wanted to inflict serious damage on the two powerhouses.

'They won't reveal anything at this pace,' Noah thought when he understood that he couldn't defeat them with only casual attacks.

Noah entered the dark world, and smoke started to come out of his skin. The demonic armor covered his figure instantly, and three fiendish copies appeared near him in the next second.

A small sphere appeared in his palm, but Noah immediately threw it outside of the dark world. The Black Hole spell was frail, so he needed to keep it away from the battlefield to rely on its power.

Snore formed inside the dark world before it surrounded the Matriarchs with its huge body. Lightning bolts, gales, and fire shot out from its head as it blocked some of the powerhouses' escape routes.

The dark world empowered Snore's elemental attacks while its suppression intensified. The Matriarchs' defensive spells lost some of their effectiveness when the Blood Companions' abilities swept them.

The two powerhouses couldn't ignore the dark world for too long. Their level didn't allow them to keep control of their abilities inside that environment.

God's Left Hand destructiveness lost intensity, and Great Elder Diana's failed to properly control her lightning bolts when the dark world affected their defenses. The elemental attacks destroyed them to envelop the Matriarchs in a tight wave.

Noah didn't stop there. He was inside the dark world now, so he could charge his Demonic Sword with dark matter more quickly.

His higher energy flowed inside the blade and transformed it into a four hundred meters long sword that fell on the spot where the elemental attacks were suppressing the powerhouses. Night also remained in the area to prevent anyone from escaping that offensive.

Shockwaves spread through the dark world. Noah's domain trembled under the might that he had unleashed, but no happiness appeared on his face.

He knew what had happened to the Matriarchs through the dark matter around them, and he didn't like what he sensed.

Violent lightning bolts shot out of the raging waves of dark matter that surrounded the Matriarchs. Dense winds also rotated around the area and created a massive tornado with the Matriarchs as its center.

'They are far more prepared than I expected,' Noah thought as the dark matter in front of him dispersed to reveal the two powerhouses.

Both Great Elder Diana and God's Left Hand held two long unfolded scrolls high above their heads. Countless lines covered the yellow surfaces of those items, and some of them shone brighter than others.

Those items were similar to talismans, but they didn't have a limit on the spells that they contained. Experts had to inscribe the scroll to engrave a series of spells on their surface to activate them at a lower cost.

Of course, the scrolls would express their true power when they contained the best spells that the cultivators wielded. The Matriarchs had engraved some of their most powerful abilities on those items, so they could cast them as soon as their "Breath" filled those lines.

Moreover, the spells used by the Matriarchs to defeat Noah's offensive were slightly different from their usual attacks. They didn't carry the powerhouses' individualities, so the dark world couldn't suppress them on the spot.

That was a weakness of the dark world. Noah could prevent the Matriarchs from using their laws whenever he saw fit, but he had to know which meanings he had to suppress beforehand.

Noah couldn't even imagine how long the Matriarchs had needed to inscribe spells that didn't even suit their individuality, but he soon suppressed those thoughts when his opponents began to speak.

"It's hard to keep track of all the eyes studying you once you reach a certain status," God's Left Hand said. "The entire world has created countermeasures for you since the battle against King Elbas."

"We have our pride too," Great Elder Diana said. "You were nothing more than a bastard back then, but I was a powerhouse already. I took orders from you because you were stronger, but that doesn't mean that I am weak!"

Great Elder Diana's aura surged as another set of spells lit up on the scroll that she held. Her lightning bolts began to transform into an army of crackling wolves that charged toward Noah.

"I won't remain passive anymore," Great Elder Diana continued. "You have chosen your path, so don't blame me if I aim to kill you now. May the best of us win!"

Great Elder Diana jumped on one of the wolves at that point and used it to fly out of the dark world. God's Left Hand did the same, and Noah couldn't stop them because the dense tornado that slowly rotated at the center of his technique had begun to move toward him.

The two attacks made him feel danger. He couldn't ignore them.