Chapter 1024: Variable 2
Deep underground
Garen had finally gathered the last of the 999 rays of Sunlight.
He slowly sucked this last ray into his mouth, and felt it get automatically carried away by the scarlet glow, flowing toward the small sun near his liver. It was then soundlessly integrated into the dazzlingly bright and painfully hot ball of light that was the sun.
Soundlessly.
The last ray of Sunlight merged into the small sun, like a stream flowing into the ocean. It did not create any ripples, and just went in calmly, as though it was not the last ray of Sunlight.
Garen slowly released a breath, and saw the white whirlpool in front of him gradually fade, his heart filled with unspeakable relief.
He took out the Ice Magic Scroll and opened it, that same blue-golden light pillar appearing before his eyes once more.
"So this is Inherited Power... the Origin of the Inherited Level." Garen let out a breath, blowing out another scarlet glow that lightly enveloped the blue-golden light pillar.
He had accomplished the first grade of the Magic Light Fist, Sunlight, and now, he was worthy enough to absorb this wisp of Inherited Origin.
The tremors from above grew in magnitude, and the Wolf Pack Imprint in his Willpower grew dimmer and dimmer. In just a moment, several dozen Winter Night Wolves had died. Those two could reach him down here at any moment.
Garen knew his situation, the Blue Wolf was gone, and the Wolf Pack had died as well, so it would be extremely difficult for him to run.
Although he had completed the Sunlight level, he did not know how strong it was. Still, he could tell that it was not as strong as the Two-Moons Level. He was just Level Five, and had not reached the Resonance stage, so there was a large difference between him and the two Two-Moons Level fighters above him.
Just like before, even though the Magic Light Fist was strong, the gap was still too big to be covered.
The tremors from above grew clearer, Garen sensed that the two of them could break through the upper layer of soil any moment now.
He felt a sharp sense of anxiety like a knife at his back, making his scalp tingle. This was killing intent! They had finally decided to kill him!
The sense of danger that Garen felt grew stronger and stronger, he knew that if they actually found him down here, he would really be in trouble! He could not use the same tricks against Two-Moons Level Energy Machinists again, they were not stupid. After living for so long, they had many, many ways to deal with him.
Garen narrowed his eyes, and knew that his time was running out.
With his current methods, he had less than a twenty percent chance of escaping from the two of them alive.
He took a deep breath. The more precarious the situation, the calmer Garen became. He watched the scarlet glow cover the blue-golden light arch slowly, pulling it quickly towards him.
His heart was completely calm.
He had experienced too many life-and-death situations, the more dangerous it got, the more stable and determined his heart grew.
If the Inherited Origin really had the effect the secret scroll said it had, then he still had a chance!
The instant the Inherited Origin entered Garen's body, an intense heat emanated from it.
The frost-type secret method that had been stored on the Ice Magic Scroll actually carried with it an intense and dazzling heat, this was something no one had expected.
Sweat began to drip from all over Garen's body.
The frost energy from the Scarlet Snow Technique inside his body was evaporating rapidly, the vast amount of cold energy chased and neutralized by the high heat, and eventually turning into a faint warm wind that reverberated through the cave.
But thankfully, the Inherited Origin put up no resistance, perhaps as a result of the Sunlight sphere that Garen had created. Instead, it dashed straight for the ball of light, as though meaning to fuse into it.
Garen heaved a sigh of relief, and watched as it rushed for the ball of light, gaining speed and urgency as it went.
It was so fast that Garen felt slightly shocked.
"Could this be normal?"
His heart was beginning to tremble.
But immediately after that, the Inherited Origin's speed continued to increase. Within a few short seconds, its speed had multiplied several times.
Hah!
The edges of the Origin actually lit up with a faint blue flame!
"No, wait!!" Garen finally sensed something amiss. The Origin did not mean to fuse, it...
Psst!!!
A bolt of blue light instantly shot out of Garen's stomach, dashing straight above him, and the layer of soil there evaporated instantly on contact with the blue light.
Psst-psst-psst!!!
Everything that met the light, everything that stood in its way, was instantly evaporated, nothing could stop it.
The blue light dashed for the sky with a tremendous and terrifying air.
"Shit!!"
Garen's expression changed drastically, and he dashed out quickly, rushing for that bolt of blue light that was trying to escape.
That was right, the blue light was actually trying to escape, it had its own will.
Vaguely, Garen saw where the blue light was through a hole in the layer of earth.
On the tip of that pure blue-golden light, there was actually the image of an old man's face!
He was actually alive!!
**************
Hah!!!
The blue light broke past the top layer of soil, and rushed straight for the sky.
Barlow and Ron, who were in the midst of digging, were nearly hit straight-on by the piercing bolt of light, and they barely just avoided it. They watched the blue-golden light rush toward the sky blankly, it seemed as though it wanted to break through the clouds.
"Could it be that kid!!?" Boss' heart gave a jolt, and he abruptly gathered all the power of the Scarlet Snow Technique in his body, that terrifying cold aura covering everything within a radius of several dozen meters, dragging a vast amount of cold energy toward him.
They watched as the blue-golden light approached the clouds, vanishing without a trace.
Boss' heart grew more and more still, and he instantly reached his highest Oneness Realm.
"Snowstorm Palm!!!"
Vast amounts of cold energy gathered on his palms, and with a low roar, he used the tremor of the soundwave as the key for activation.
Boss abruptly shot his palm into the sky.
A clear-white palm mark rushed into the sky. It caught up with the blue-golden light like lightning, and hit it hard on the tail.
"Seal-Free!!!"
Second Brother Barlow looked similarly stern, having evidently used all his power.
An unprecedentedly large transparent seal rushed into the sky, large amounts of formulae and information spiralling around it, and it pressed toward the blue-golden light in the sky like a small mountain.
Just then, something else rushed out from the earth beneath them and dashed into the sky. The black shadow shot out of the soil, taking advantage of that empty moment immediately after the two of them had used their massive techniques.
Garen did not even look at the two of them, there was absolutely no point in ambushing them. Their energy fields alone would require him half of a day to break through, and the key was still the Inherited Origin. He had sacrificed so much for it, he could not let that thing escape!
He shot into the sky without a word, but Second Brother Barlow was even faster than him. When he saw Garen break out of the soil, his expression changed, and he followed closely behind his Seal-Free, darting into the air and grabbing the blue-golden light directly. He had long since guessed that it might be the Inherited Origin, and now that he saw Garen rush out again, there were no more doubts left in his heart.
"Hahahaha!! The Origin is mine!!"
Barlow was the fastest, and he moved first, so by now he had already rushed up beside the blue-golden light, reaching out his hand to grab the Inherited Origin that had been frozen in mid-air thanks to the Sea-Free and the Snowstorm Fist.
Seeing as the Origin was nearly in his grasp, Barlow could not help but rejoice.
With the Origin, he had a hope of reaching Inherited Level. He did not dare to hope for the legendary Black Moon Level, he might have a chance in reaching the pilot's Black Moon Level, or the Black Moon Level of a similar technique, but no one had reached the Black Moon Level of the Scarlet Snow Technique in a long time. He was not Carthage, but with this Inherited Origin, his chances of reaching the Inherited Level could instantly rise from fifty per cent to eighty!!
Just the thought that he had a chance to reach Inherited Level and forcefully suppress that damned monster made his heart sing.
His hand was just several centimetres away from the Origin.
Just then, Garen was still a dozen meters away, and Boss Ron was more than twenty meters away, they stood no chance at all.
But just then.
An old man's face appeared on the surface of the Origin, his expression fierce as he opened his mouth wide, as though he was roaring out in fury.
Boom!!!!
In an instant, the whole sky seemed to darken.
The golden-blue light abruptly exploded as though it was an atomic bomb, resulting in a terrifying burst of radiation!!
The extremely blinding light and heat instantly gathered into extreme levels, and then they exploded again in an instant, at the same time. An average person with their eyes open would have been instantly blinded by the intensity of that explosion.
A terrifying wave of heat washed over them.
Second Brother Barlow's hand was instantly melted by the endless light and heat, and the joy on his face turned to intense horror. He rapidly retreated, but was still one step too late.
The enormous waves of blue-golden light shone onto his body, melting away the power of the Scarlet Snow Technique all over him. It was just a second, but Barlow felt as though a year had passed.
The limitless light and heat spread everywhere madly, and in an instant, it was as though a small blue sun had lit up above the trees.
The trees quickly turned from emerald green to charcoal black, and the earth turned from moist to dry. The dried-up leaves and branches were instantly ignited, and the small flames that rose gathered together rapidly, lighting everything aflame.
In just a few moments, the entire forest beneath them had erupted into roaring flames. The fire rose into the sky, and even the dancing red flames were already several dozen meters tall.
Boss Ron was also hit by the immense light and heat, and he screamed as he flew backward. He was still too late, however, and smoke rose all over his body. He was pretty badly injured.
However, somehow he did not give up even when retreating, and instead he struck again with another powerful move.
"Snowstorm Palm!!"
He roared wildly, and shot out a clean white palm mark, grabbing for the blue-golden Origin.
The face on the Origin was shocked and furious, but it could no longer avoid this attack. In his despair, he used his last bit of explosive power.
Bam!!
A large wave of light and heat erupted, clashing with the clear white palm mark.
The two forces, one cold and the other hot, created a terrifying heat between them.
In mid-air, the blue-golden Origin finally caved, and was thrown far away by the explosion.
"Blood Eagle!"
Just then, Garen's body naturally glowed with a faint golden sheen that enveloped his body. Not only did this block off the terrifying light and heat, it even absorbed the tremendous explosive power greedily.
Not only did the intense explosion do no damage to him, it even provided him with an enormous amount of power and momentum. That endless heat rushed into his body, and was immediately taken apart by the ball of Sunlight, which in turn converted the energy into basic power to heal his nerves and tendons. This actually increased his speed, and he pressed forth rather than retreating!
Just then, in that instant, a pair of illusory red wings had appeared on Garen's back, and he flapped them hard, appearing in front of the blue-golden light as though he had teleported there. The Origin had long since lost the ability to resist.
He opened his mouth and sprayed out a red cloud that promptly surrounded the Origin.
Whoosh!!
The scarlet glow wrapped around the Origin, and both shot into his mouth.