Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 309 Awakening of the Inner Self

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"..."

Seeing Dale step forward without even giving the door a thought made the girl grow silent as her smile vanished.

Her expression then turned somewhat nostalgic, albeit pleased, though that was hard to discern.

"It's always like this." She mumbled quietly as her eyelids dropped slightly

"They choose the path of certain doom without even considering anything else."

"Some were fools, others were arrogant, but only a few knew what they were doing, though that doesn't change the fact they weren't wise for not considering other options."

"That is their arrogance, in the end, something all of your kind share." She said as she rested her staff on the ground

"Very well, do not…"

Dale wasn't in the mood to listen any further.

/DASH!/

He ran ahead, faster than before, purplish energy gathering at his feet as he broke the earth beneath his very feet.

"So impatient, all the same…"

/Spin…/

/SLAM!!!!/

The girl, as playfully as ever, spun her staff before hitting it against Dale's fist, intercepting it as if she were playing baseball.

/BAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!/

"Huff…"

Dale did not stop, even though his fist hurt, he pushed his right leg further right beside hers before stomping the ground, breaking it.

/SHATTER!/

"Ho?"

/BAAAAAAM!/

His right foot then locked with hers, pulling it forth as he tried to break her balance, but she only chuckled before stepping forward herself, closing in the distance between them in an instant, close enough to even kiss him.

With one of her legs between his, Dale felt a certain coldness he had never felt before, a danger of losing something he would never truly recover from...

"You should be more careful, look at what you have done."

"This is… Pretty important~" She said for a moment in a teasing tone before punching his chest, sending him flying across the air

/Booom…/

He crashed against the edge of the crater, which was about to be fully flattened, before vanishing into the green mist of the horizon.

/Clap clap…/

She clapped her hands off the dust before sitting on a rock nearby, but as she did so, her attention was drawn elsewhere.

"Hm?... I what?... Fufu, you're cute." She said out loud as she looked at the side

"Don't be so flustered, aren't you an adult also?... Oh, that? Don't be so stiff."

"If I were to enforce such things what would happen to the generations?"

"Any church with such rules doesn't understand the intrinsic nature of Humankind… He's back."

/SLAM!!!!/

/CRACK!/

/BOOOOOM!/

Interrupting her conversation with herself, Dale crashed from the sky with a downward kick, one the girl blocked all too easily by raising her left hand.

But the ground beneath her wasn't doing that well.

It shattered completely, sending massive boulders into the air as she was pushed down into the earth.

"Hum… I don't like this shabby place." She said momentarily as she held Dale's ankle

"Let's go somewhere else."

/FLY!!!/

The wings on her back opened wide, growing several meters in an instant as they spread golden sparks all around.

/FWOOSH!/

She took to the skies with Dale still in her grasp, letting go of him only once as she went in to grab his neck.

He tried to resist as much as possible, but whenever he gathered too much power…

/PIERCE!/

The girl would pierce a certain portion of his body, breaking his circulation and dissipating his gathered energy as if it were nothing.

"You're so obvious, haven't you been taught anything better?" She said ironically as she flew closer to the ground

"You're very honest, and I like that, girls usually do, but you see, if the only thing you have is honesty, people will take advantage of you." She said calmly as she used her index finger to pierce his chest

/Pierce!/

This time, not only his energy, but all of his strength suddenly vanished, he felt as if he had gotten a cold…

/SLAM!!/

/FWOOSH!/

As she flew, the girl slammed Dale's face against the ground, dragging it for hundreds of meters as she continued to speak:

"You need to wake up and stop being so simple."

/BAM!/

/CRACK!/

"Urgh!"

As they flew she used his face to shatter a large rock pillar, rising into the skies once more.

/THROW!!/

She then threw Dale against a nearby rock pillar, shattering it into a million pieces before dashing across his flying body.

/Slam!/

Using her staff as a spear, she hauled it against Dale, pinning him against the ground of an extensive plateau.

/Splat…/

"This place looks better, now, let's try this again." She said with a chuckle as she pulled her 'spear' out of Dale's stomach

Thankfully, the tip of the staff wasn't very long, it barely did any damage to him despite its sharpness.

Behind her, the golden doors manifested again, and just like that, it seemed as if returned to normal.

"I'll also be taking these off." She said as she looked at her now bare feet

Somewhere amidst their fight, she took off her shoes despite their quality, preferring to remain barefooted.

/Pull… Shine…/

The moment she touched them, two strings of reddish whisps slowly materialized in the air.

She held them in her hands, looking at Dale with a chuckle before she crushed both at the same time.

"You're quite the savage, planning on blowing my feet off? Well, not a bad start." She said with a satisfied nod before vanishing from her location

Throughout their fight, even as he was beaten and used like a sandbag, Dale was trying his best to utilize his energy to protect himself and to damage her, but she was much, much more perceptive and skilled than him.

He was being pushed into a bind... Though he had never been in a position to be considered on a standstill to begin with...

"But... You'll need more than that to make me sweat a bit!"

/PUNCH!/

"Oh?"

/Grab…/

This time, Dale wasn't punched without resistance.

He raised his fist, intercepting hers as he took a deep breath, rising and standing face to face with her.

Although it was more of him looking down on her due to their height difference.

[Skill, Harmony 1-??? has been activated]

His body's disrupted circulation suddenly calmed down.

The energies within his Heart combined effortlessly, becoming a stream of Purplish light that was fed to his entire being through his Veins and Arteries.

His forehead began to shine, creating a thin and strong pilar of white light rising to the air above him.

[Skill, Inextinguishable Will 1-??? has been activated]

His eyes became fiery, as if two stars had been lit within the darkness of his Pupils.

His entire body screamed in anticipation.

[Skill, Soul Core 2-Star has been activated]

/Baddum…/

Something seemed to resonate within his body, an Ancient and mysterious but familiar presence.

Something he had never seen before but he knew where it had always been.

His Soul screamed also, it wasn't pleased.

Every fiber of his being revolted, they were angry.

In the revelation of his all working together towards a single objective, Dale's mental state changed, and the striking headache that had been getting on his nerves vanished.

[DING]

[Temporary Skill, Manifestation of the Perfect Self 1-???, has leveled up to 2-???]

As it stirred within his chest, the faint memories of the warriors he had seen when he was first pulled into this strange realm replayed themselves, and with that, he moved.

/Shuaaa…/

He raised his hand, moving it towards her.

"Finally…" The girl said as she saw his fist approach her

/BAM!!!/

His seemingly gentle fist exploded with power, sending the girl flying back as she crashed across a nearby mountain.

/Shine…/

/BOOOOOOM!/

From within the rubble, golden rays of sunlight sparkled, and from within, a massive explosion resounded, blowing a portion of the mountain up as she floated from within, her hair moving in the wind as if nothing had happened.

Golden light shone around her as she descended from the skies, holding her staff like an envoy of the Gods.

Instead of feeling angry or humiliated at this comeback, she smiled, pleased with the situation more than anything.

"Warm up is finally done then? Or do you need some more time to get serious?"

"I don't mind waiting, I have a lot of time... But do you?"

"..."

/Clench…/

Dale's fist full of energy, even if he was meant to lose, he wouldn't go down that easily.

Albeit… For not even a moment, he saw himself losing.

Maybe she was right, arrogant beyond belief…

Their battle would continue, the challenge of a man against something beyond mortal understanding.

But the world wouldn't wait for them…

...

/Crackle…/

/HOOOOOOOOOOM…/

At the depths of this dark abyss, a large gurgle shook the lands.

/CRACK.../

And from the depths of the earth, something slowly began to rise, moving the mountains around it.

Just like he felt before, Dale had already overstepped his welcome.

But even if he wanted to leave, he couldn't, someone was blocking the way out.

What a tiresome situation.

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Notes