Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah's boasting didn't make Moira lose her concentration, but her eyes widened when his figure disappeared again. She had been ready for that event, but she failed to sense him.

That was theoretically impossible. Her consciousness covered the entire training area, but her mental waves had lost track of Noah. He was moving faster than her thoughts.

A shield made of sparks immediately covered her figure, but a hole soon appeared in that defensive array. Moira only managed to see a shadow before a cut spread through her defense and destroyed the entire spell.

Moira detonated the sparks still lingering around her. A wave of energy shot outward and revealed a human figure approaching from her side. Noah was about to attack her again, and she had less than an instant to react.

Sparks appeared on Noah's path. Countless attacks ready to discharge lightning bolts gathered between Moira and him, but he didn't stop his assault.

Sparks began to explode on his skin and release their power as he pressed forward. Noah was enduring those attacks with the sheer power contained in his body. The unstable substance made his skin able to shield him from Moira's spell, but its might still tried to push him away.

Noah inevitably slowed down while he shot through those storms of sparks. His body could endure their power, but Moira became able to focus on his position due to the loss of speed.

Moira succeeded in unleashing a second attack after slowing down Noah's charge. She snapped her fingers, and a series of sparks appeared between her opponent and her.

The sparks didn't attack Noah. They crashed on each other to create loud and unstable energy that took the shape of a thick lightning bolt. The attack then shot toward her opponent and hit him at the center of his c.h.e.s.t.

Noah's physical might couldn't oppose the pushing force anymore at that point. The storms and the lightning bolt succeeded in making him lose his foothold. Noah flew backward, and he soon crashed on the black walls.

Moira decided to gain the upper hand in the battle. She left her position for the first time during the fight and flew after Noah.

Sparks gathered around her figure as she approached Noah, and a series of lightning bolts slowly began to fill the entire training area.

Noah could see that Moira's domain was taking control of the training area. She was filling the environment with her law. It wouldn't take much before she could cast multiple versions of the last lightning bolt anywhere she wanted.

A roar came out of his c.h.e.s.t as the Demonic Sword left the separate space. Noah promptly wielded the weapon and slashed forward to disperse part of the sparks filling the environment.

A series of singularities ran through the training area and destroyed the lightning bolts spreading from Moira's figure. Most attacks tried to reach the expert, but the array of sparks that protected her blocked the slashes and allowed her to continue the flight.

Moira clashed with Noah. She fell on him and released the full power contained in the sparks that had gathered around her. A massive discharge of energy engulfed Noah, and his skin began to crack again, even if the unstable substance was still empowering his physical features.

'She can hurt me,' Noah thought while black roots pierced his palm and shot forward.

The parasite's corrosive aura created a large hole in the flare of energy and shattered the few sparks that continued to protect Moira's body. The expert felt the urgent need to retreat, but the roots managed to touch her before she could fly away.

Moira landed on the other side of the training area and tried to summon more sparks, but a sharp pain suddenly reached her mind. Her eyes went on the spot where the roots had touched her. She noticed that a black hole had appeared there.

The black spot didn't only hurt. The parasite had managed to taint Moira with its corrosive aura, which eventually destroyed her skin and muscles while it tried to spread through her body.

Moira had to cut away the tainted flesh to get rid of that corrosive energy, but her expression paled when she saw that strands of a dense black substance were flying in her direction.

The parasite had sent its toxic aura toward Moira. Noah had activated its new feature against the expert. She had to dodge, or the corrosive substance would force her to remove more pieces of her body.

Moira flew away and escaped the corrosive aura, but Noah suddenly appeared in front of her. He had predicted her escape route. His previous ranged attack with the parasite had only been a piece of his tactic.

Noah waved his sword, but sparks began to clash among themselves right above Moira's figure. A series of thick lightning bolts flew out of her when Noah completed his attack, and singularities ended up crashing on those spells.

The result of that impact was a loud explosion that flung both experts away. Noah and Moira found themselves on opposite sides of the training area again, and cold smiles slowly appeared on their expression.

They seemed to be equally matched. The two experts were still holding most of their abilities back, but they didn't forget the purpose behind that fight.

Both Noah and Moira wanted to confirm that their opponent didn't belong to Heaven and Earth's system. Still, they had begun to enjoy the fight, and that could make them forget about that purpose.

"How much of your power did you deploy?" Moira asked.

"I'd say half," Noah replied. "What about you?"

"More than half," Moira laughed. "Don't tell me that you are actually stronger than me."

"I told you that I was ready to destroy the entire floating lake," Noah snorted. "I've already dealt with two of them. One had a strong expert named Otto, but I've taken care of him too."

Moira froze when she heard that name, and even the other leaders who had remained behind their defensive spells dispersed their techniques to inspect Noah and Harold.

Harold could only nod at their glance. Noah had taken care of those opponents, and he had also felt the same surprise back then.

"Do you mean the cultivator with a light aptitude?" Moira asked.

Noah nodded and proceeded to describe his facial features. He even explained how he had fallen prey to Heaven and Earth's bribes after the world had turned upside-down.

"He was quite famous in our previous political environment," Moira revealed. "Otto has performed many legendary deeds throughout his life. I struggle to believe that he has decided to join Heaven and Earth in the end."

Noah shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't speak for Otto. The expert must have had his reasons to switch sides, and the power obtained after that decision definitely made everything worth it.

"Otto is dead then," Moira sighed. "I wonder how many experts in the eighth rank still hide on this side of the Immortal Lands."

"My previous words weren't a lie," Noah explained. "I've really met Castor, Rebecca, and Melissa. They are gathering an army to clear the plane and give it back to Heaven and Earth."

"What is your plan then?" Moira asked.

"I want the Devils to win," Noah revealed, and a laugh inevitably escaped Moira's mouth.

The three leaders on the sidelines also ended up laughing. They weren't mocking Noah. The four experts felt honestly excited about that mission.

****

Author's notes: The others on the discord already knew about this. I'm writing a second story. It will have a western setting and sci-fi elements. The name of the new novel is "Chaos' Heir". Give it a look if you want. Anyway, I'd like to point out that Demonic Sword will always have priority in my writing schedule, so don't worry about that.