I watch the black cube that Ember called an amplifier pulse with yellow and white light, moving for the first time since I found it underground in its tomb.
The static noise of a telepathy channel between myself and the cube flickers in my mind, but the glow fades, and the channel severs less than a second later.
I yell at it as the temperature in the room rises, and the flaming attacks Redgrave throws at the ceiling wrap around the room's outside and come my way at the outer wall.
"Atom? What was that? Now would be the time to show yourself!"
I tap the cube with my outstretched sword, but it just bounces off and rotates in the opposite direction like before.
I grit my teeth and fly forward before the wall of incoming flames from above hits me, charging up my restored blood-bonded weapons again, wracking my brain for new ideas because whatever just happened with the amplifier isn't within my control.
My sudden movements snap Redgrave out of his manic dances, and his expression turns cold and focused once again.
A streak of divine flames rockets my way, so I do the only thing I can and form my hexagonal defenses again, swinging both my swords at full power to block his strike.
My only option is to block. His speed and raw True Core power are far stronger than my own.
My perception and agility are my only advantage, and all that's good for is finding the optimal path to avoid a fatal blow.Another shockwave of dark red and bright yellow flames erupts through the room's top as my defensive barrier shatters like glass, and both my swords are dug into by his sun-hot blade.
It's overwhelmingly powerful, like another True Core is grasped in his hands. I can't even use my appraisal skill to understand what the weapon is; it just looks and feels like another entity. If I didn't have to worry about it slicing me in half, I could probably counter and land a hit...
These thoughts race through my mind as the blast from our exchange sends me rocketing back again, slamming against the black wall just a few kilometers to the left of where I hit before.
It isn't any less painful when my vision blurs as I take the impact and hear Redgrave's echoing laughter in my mind again while he dances around the room, now weaving between the tallest pillar of artificial stone.
"Two hits and you're still alive? Now this is good!"
He yells, coming my way before I can fully heal my blades.
I jump off the wall, and in a flash of yellow light, he's curved around a black pillar to appear right beside me again.
The sun-hot blade rockets my way faster than I can even raise my blades to block. The half-formed hexagon of divine energy shatters, and I'm hit across the chest by a flaming crescent of fire.
I synchronize my air steps and convert the energy I would have used to imbue my swords into a defensive shield in front of my vitals, but I still can't move out of the way in time.
I'm sent flying across the entire 30-kilometer-long room again, slamming against multiple immovable pillars of stone, ping-ponging across the battlefield until I hit the other back wall.
My body feels numb and hot, as a massive yellow gash rips through my chest plate and opens a divine energy wound deep into my chest, torso, and left leg.
However, I'm still conscious enough to finish healing my blades and shake the ringing in my ears away.
Redgrave's laughter fills my ears again, and at the same time, I watch the originator cube pulse and blink even brighter than last time. The static telepathy link that almost formed before now opens, and I yell through it.
"Are you there?"
My perception watches the entire outside world go about their normal morning, and all the forces outside the tower have powered up and moved into battle formation, waiting for orders or for another force to make their move.
I take a deep breath and think, as there is still no response from the amplifier.
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There isn't even an intuitive feeling or pulse of a response back. The bright white and yellow glow from the cube just fades away to black again.
Redgrave's voice echoes through my ears, and I feel the divine injury on my chest burn with hot flames, as it isn't something that's going to be healed by simple self-regeneration.
"You survived that one too? I think Beckman was wrong about you! You're not weak at all! If we'd met decades earlier, maybe you could have joined the council."
He laughs even harder, weaving through the pillars of stone again, his yellow sword glowing bright, ready to attack.
My blades have healed, and I have time to position myself for a defensive move this time.
His words, paired with the images of hundreds of millions of innocent lives outside the tower, make an idea click in my head.
I lock eyes with the flaming man as his focused gaze returns, and I manage to receive his next attack with my hexagonal defense and my blades this time, but he still sends me flying to the far side of the room again.
While it hurts more than any injury I've ever taken before, my mind is partially elsewhere, opening up my Rising Emperor's Domain, using the instant communication perk to forcefully send a message to every single link of loyalty at my fingertips.
"If you feel your power has been borrowed, this is why. The battle has begun. I, The Flame Emperor, have started the fight to save this world. You may not believe me yet, or may not even want to, but I'm sending this message out so that all that I've done isn't in vain."
The throne's trials haven't even begun, and I'm already being thrown around and toyed with by an enemy who isn't even the main threat.
While I'm healing my blades and attempting not to draw any attention to myself until I'm ready to take another hit, Redgrave's manic laughter echoes through the room as he sends waves of fire at the ceiling again.
Next, I forcefully activate the [Spectate] perk on my Rising Emperor's Domain.
Usually, it would be used for surveillance or for me to give direct orders to subordinates, as using this skill gives me access to their visual and sensory feeds. I used it once before to see through Abby and Maria's eyes after the B-Class exams. Smells and even feelings are transmitted through this link.
Instead of viewing through my link's eyes, I allow access for every single one of my links to watch through my own, creating a live pop-up feed of my every thought and move in the minds of over 17.7 million humans all over the 8 Great Regions and Dark Continent.
I yell aloud for all to hear through the link.
"If I die here, this world is in the hands of whoever kills me. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen. I still need your support!"
I lift my greater form's hands to form a defensive barrier and swing my blades while Redgrave turns my way and bellows out a yell.
"What are you babbling on about? This world was never yours! It's been mine! All mine! For centuries!"
His blade collides with mine again, carving chunks out of the blood-bonded weapons and sending me flying tens of kilometers with a blast of divine light.
As I slam against the wall, I see the amplifier glow again, but I ignore it, as the feeling of millions of eyes watching me takes precedence, and I want to take advantage of that attention while I have it.
I yell for all to hear.
"That's right! The Association has used us all! To put it simply, all the strongest nations in the world right now are fighting over an artifact that either means the end or salvation of the human race as we know it. I—"
My words are cut off again before I can heal my swords, so I have to take this attack head-on again, leaving another massive gash across my chest while Redgrave laughs and yells back.
"Oh, you must be talking to that dragon! What a shame, you're already delusional. I was getting excited that I would have even more time to play. It looks like your time is up, and you're right; the Hunter's Association is mine. The citizens of your 8 Great Regions and Dark Continent are nothing more than sacrifices for my ideal world."
He laughs again, sending divine flames at the ceiling while flying my way and yelling again.
"You know what? They're even more insignificant than that. When I control the throne, I will make your lands and everyone in them burn to ash just to celebrate! You think you can protect them? They are all my people; their lives are mine. Today, The Flame Emperor dies, and I, Redgrave, shall conquer the throne and become this world's god!"
He weaves between pillars of stone faster than ever before, and I don't have the time to heal my blades while simultaneously dealing with the second near-fatal gash on my chest.
The wide, crazy eyes of the red-haired man come into full view as his greater form swings at me with the bright blade shining hot with a True Core's light.
I kick myself off the wall anyway and swing both my damaged blades at the larger-than-life divine flame user coming at me.
I have no way of dodging, and my swords can't handle another hit.
Still, I block, twisting my body to make the odds of my survival as high as possible.
Redgrave's sword swings across his body at me, and I feel the millions of eyes peering through mine.
Many still don't grasp the enormity of this situation at all, but every moment that passes, more begin to understand that today is not just like any other day.
As the yellow blade shatters my hexagonal barrier, instead of making contact with my blades, it collides with the bright yellow cube that rotates around me; and the eruption of gravity waves and static noise that follows makes all past collisions pale in comparison.
Even the flames of the hound and Ember down below us are extinguished and blown away by the blast of energy. I'm sent flying backward from the absurdity of the shockwave's force.
As my back slams against the wall like many times before, I grin this time while coughing up blood because across the room, Redgrave's eyes are wide open as he too makes impact with a pillar of rock, unable to control the momentum that pushed him back.
I feel both my blades finally heal back up to their natural state, but the amplifier that usually rotates around my body now stands still between the tips of both swords.
My craftsmanship skill instinctively pulls at my consciousness, and my True Core pours threads into the two blades as I see a yellow system message hover over all three items.
[Craft Soul Weapon]
[YES][NO]
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