Birth of the Demonic Sword

It was hard to keep track of the passage of time in the Immortal Lands. The white sky never went dark, and each training session could last for decades. Noah and the others were even fighting powerful creatures that could take weeks to kill, so they never bothered to calculate how many years they had spent together.

The travel went smoothly. With Noah as a scout, the group always avoided areas that were too dangerous for their power. Also, most magical beasts were moving toward the regions on the borders, so they rarely met lands occupied by rank 8 creatures.

The number of resources accumulated in that period was immense. Each successful hunt provided many corpses and the materials hidden in their lair. King Elbas' knowledge also allowed them to recognize valuable things that the hybrids would have otherwise missed.

Noah had so many resources that he resumed his mass-production of Instabilities during his breaks. He even started to invent new disposable weapons that could fit better with the Shadow Domain.

His progress in that period was consistent. His body and dantian improved steadily, and he continuously increased the amount of dark matter stored inside his spherical rune to keep the expansion of his mind going. The journey was fruitful, with the only flaw that Noah had to hide his most powerful techniques.

That period also gave him the time to perfect some of his projects. His martial arts and spells needed constant attention, but he grasped the use of the Shadow Doman quite well as he kept training.

Even his experiments with the "embodiment of power" began to show real progress after he spent centuries testing various combinations of energies. Only the matter concerning his new Blood Companion was still at the starting point.

Noah had high standards when it came to his Blood Companions. No magical beast met his requirements since Snore and Night created an almost impossible minimum to overcome.

Even if Noah didn't limit his search to creatures with a darkness aptitude, his research was inconclusive. He couldn't find anything worthy of his existence, but his desire to test the red crystals was slowly taking over his need for another strong asset.

Noah didn't want to create a second Snore. The innate abilities of certain species could go beyond was his expertise could make from scratch. Night was proof of that. Noah had only improved its skill and removed its biggest flaw, but its power came from its species.

The consciousness that the Blood Companion had to have was also an issue. Noah had picked the Albino Snake when it came to Snore because he had confirmed that the creature would be a suitable mind for his creation.

However, Noah now needed a magical beast in the divine ranks, and the creatures at that level could be tricky to submit. They could also try to deceive or betray him since they didn't rely only on their instincts.

Their intelligence went against Noah in that project. It was something that he couldn't avoid when dealing with magical beasts in the divine ranks. It was in their nature to seek freedom, and their level gave them more chances to seize it.

The abilities that his creation would carry were another problem. Snore already featured the best that the dark matter could offer, so Noah wouldn't know what to give to a second Blood Companion made entirely of higher energy.

Noah eventually decided to suppress his curiosity for some more time. After all, he was exploring the magical beasts' domain. His chances to find a good specimen were high, and he had too few red crystals to waste them in pointless experiments.

As they were now, Noah, Don, Jordan, and King Elbas were running away from a pack of Silver Rhinos that featured fifteen specimens in the upper tier.

King Elbas had caused another mess when he saw their silver horns. He had incurred in the pack's wrath after using a peculiar slim thread to sever multiple horns from weaker specimens.

Those creatures could manipulate the ground with their innate ability, and they could perform it at the same time to increase its effects. The group had to run for an entire region before the sky stopped being a mess of large boulders and sharp rocks.

Don and Jordan didn't complain after the escape because their group had never stood a chance against that pack. King Elbas had managed to seize some valuable horns even in that situation, so the others couldn't scold him.

Since they didn't fight, the group soon resumed their journey, but a peculiar sight forced them to stop again. The four saw a massive island floating through the sky and moving in the direction of the border between the two domains.

"Oh!" Jordan exclaimed at that sight. "Come, come. You have to meet him."

Her words were for Noah and Don. She didn't even consider King Elbas in her phrase.

As the group flew toward the bottom of the floating island, a figure slowly became visible. There was a man under the big region. He was carrying the whole structure on his right shoulder.

"Greetings, Lord Wilfred!" Jordan shouted before flying under the floating island to meet the man.

Noah trusted Jordan enough to follow her even if his instincts were beginning him to run away. The man under the landmass radiated a rank 8 aura. He clearly was one of the leaders of the Legion.

"Three hybrids and a human," Lord Wilfred said. "What a strange group."

Noah could study the man properly once he reached him. Wilfred was quite fat, but his arms were as large as a man's torso. He had blue eyes and dark hair, and a short beard grew from his chin.

"The two of us are with the Legion," Jordan explained, "He will join us soon. The human is only an acquaintance."

"Were you trying to reach Eenalin?" Wilfred asked before releasing a proud laugh. "We have already evacuated the city to move closer to the new border. The others should be already searching for a new place while I carry our homes there."

Yellnbel was a city made of buildings that anyone could easily transport, but Eenalin moved together with its region. No one needed to move the buildings since Wilfred was strong enough to handle the job himself.

"We are simply exploring the magical beasts' domain now that the two sides are at war," Jordan continued. "Any news worth keeping in mind from these lands?"

Wilfred fell silent and scratched his beard as he pondered over Jordan's question. Noah's eyes darted between his right shoulder and the island above him. He was afraid that the whole landmass would fall on him if the rank 8 hybrid lost his balance.

"There might be something," Wilfred said. "The Land of the Fallen hidden in the magical beasts' domain has changed rulers after the invasion. The old rank 8 beast wanted human meat, so they only left the weakest in their packs behind. You might find something good there."

Noah's eyes lit up at that point. That was one of his planned destinations, and the political situation in the Immortal Lands seemed to favor its exploration now.

"The new ruler is a creature in the eighth rank, a rat-type magical beast," Wilfred said. "You can't defeat it, but you should be able to handle the peripheral areas of its lair."