Birth of the Demonic Sword

"Style?" The inscribed cultivator repeated. "My predictions reveal that you'll continue your tests for a while, even employing multiple items to discover the limits of my body. You'll reveal your fake quasi-rank 10 stage afterward, and I'll die in three exchanges."

"What's the point of this fight then?" King Elbas wondered as he summoned a series of inscribed items and retrieved the various scanners.

"To gather data, obviously," The inscribed cultivator stated. "You are a peculiar existence. Even Divine Architect has expressed her interest in your power."

"Is she also part of Caesar's plan?" King Elbas asked as he dismantled and reassembled his items.

"There are multiple ploys and tactics at work inside the sky," The inscribed cultivator revealed. "Still, all of them see Heaven and Earth coming out victorious from this battle. The tenth rank is theirs to seize."

"I expected as much," King Elbas revealed. "Yet, your predictions are quite arrogant. Surviving three exchanges while I'm in my fake quasi-rank 10 stage is way too optimistic."

"My words carry no arrogance," The inscribed cultivator declared. "They merely are the result of gathered data and studies. I do not carry something as useless as emotions."

"Such limited creations," King Elbas commented. "Is that fine with you? Are you really willing to live at your pre-established level?"

"Your concept of limits is flawed," The inscribed cultivator pointed out. "I serve my creator and my purpose. There is nothing beyond that."

"Noah would have turned you into a pretty being," King Elbas chuckled. "It's a pity I won't see that transformation. I have other plans for you."

King Elbas finished reassembling his items until he created a giant cube that slowly turned ethereal as its functions activated. The inscribed cultivator's body released a few flashes as it inspected the new tool, but the process didn't seem to lead anywhere.

"That's something new," The inscribed cultivator stated. "I can see similarities with some of your past creations, but its purpose escapes my intellect."

"That's not surprising," King Elbas uttered. "Limited beings can't look past their functions. Divine Architect probably never wanted you to invent something similar, so she had made you unable to think about it."

A different shade of white abruptly appeared inside the inscribed cultivator's strange body and generated a faint tremor. The natural aura radiated by that strange being quickly changed, and King Elbas smirked at that event.

"Did you receive orders from Divine Architect?" King Elbas mocked. "She must be worried."

"I must terminate you immediately," The inscribed cultivator announced as it raised its glowing arms to generate a series of orbs that enveloped its figure.

The orbs had multiple purposes and shades of white. They actually resembled some of King Elbas' attacks due to their diverse nature. The inscribed cultivator was ready to unleash a proper attack that aimed to exploit its opponent's weaknesses.

King Elbas didn't care about that display of power. He continued to tinker with his giant cube to perfect its functions. The inscribed cultivator didn't let him do as he wished, and its offensive soon shot out.

A series of rays of white light converged toward King Elbas, and they transformed during the flight. Some gained the shape of lightning bolts that radiated pure destructions, while others turned into dark attacks that aimed to inflict serious damage.

The offensive continued to fly toward King Elbas before performing a sharp turn and converging toward the ethereal cube. The various attacks also transformed again, gaining ghostly properties that seemed to target the item's specific nature.

King Elbas seemed to have predicted that sudden turn since a series of items materialized all around the cube before the inscribed cultivator's attacks could land.

Multiple barriers appeared around King Elbas and the cube, forcing the incoming attacks to land on them. A series of explosions and a bright white light followed, but the defenses soon took over that glow with their golden radiance.

The inscribed cultivator's offensive had been useless. King Elbas' barriers had endured the attack perfectly without suffering any damage.

"Divine Architect must be really worried," King Elbas mocked as he kept his attention on the ethereal cube.

The inscribed cultivator didn't give up. It adjusted the nature of its orbs in a few seconds before launching another offensive. King Elbas did something similar with his barrier, and another impact happened.

The second exchange saw King Elbas' barrier enduing what had landed on them without suffering damage again. Moreover, they seemed to have countered the inscribed cultivator's offensive even better at that time since the impact released no sound.

The inscribed cultivator knew that it was losing ground. King Elbas was adapting his items faster, but there was something else to the issue.

"You are remarkable," The inscribed cultivator commented while retrieving its orbs and flashing with various shades of white. "You figured me out in such a short time."

"You are a marvelous being," King Elbas declared, "But a limited one nonetheless."

The inscribed cultivator knew why King Elbas could fend off its offensive so easily. King Elbas had already studied its fabric deeply enough to come up with perfect counters.

That wasn't as easy as it seemed, especially since the inscribed cultivator had also prepared attacks after computing everything known about King Elbas. However, the latter had still managed to come out on top of the exchange.

King Elbas' computing abilities weren't only incredible. He had also shown how his scanners stood in a completely different realm. All of that obviously led to his victory when adding the final energy to the equation.

Nevertheless, the inscribed cultivator had prepared for a similar event. It didn't expect the battle to reach that phase so soon, but it had attacks ready to counter the fake quasi-rank 10 stage.

The inscribed cultivator's body dimmed as a giant cloud expanded from its figure. The white gas enveloped King Elbas and the cube, but it didn't try to attack the barriers. Instead, it quickly condensed into a tiny sphere that hovered in front of the odd expert's chest.

"A controlled self-destruction," King Elbas spoke. "You were born to die."

"I wasn't born," The inscribed cultivator corrected. "I was created."

"Well, I need you alive," King Elbas announced, and his fake quasi-rank 10 stage expressed its power for an instant as he teleported.

The inscribed cultivator abruptly lost control of its energy. It found itself inside the ethereal cube, with King Elbas showing his curious smirk right outside it.

The tiny sphere inevitably exploded without the inscribed cultivator's control, but its energy struggled to expand inside the ethereal cube. Its power lost the violence gathered during the detonation and started to move according to the orders conveyed by the golden light.

"Don't blame your creator," King Elbas exclaimed as he modified the ethereal cube. "Divine Architect did her best by stuffing you with higher energy and all the data she had about me. I'm simply someone that she can't hinder through these methods."

The inscribed cultivator went all-out when it realized that King Elbas was altering its nature. Its failsafe tried to make everything inside its body explode, but only small detonations happened since the cube suppressed those functions.

"Now, now," King Elbas laughed. "I told you that I need you alive. How could I summon Divine Architect otherwise?"