Chapter 1168 - Purifying Arnea
Looking up at the sky that was changing, the thing in control of Arnea's body growled as mana started to erupt from his body.
Letting out a roar, the mana transformed into a barrier that forced Nine away, allowing Arnea to clear a path towards Iris.
"Not on my watch!" Nine shouted as he threw away his sword and punched towards the ground.
*BANG!!!!!!
Shattering the ground around him, blades erupted out from the cracks and pierced into the mutated portion of Arnea's body.
Pushing out with his spare hand, Nine narrowed his eyes and activated a tier 5 magic circle.
All of the blades around him started to vibrate as illusionary shackles appeared around Arnea's body.
Surprisingly, despite being a tier 5 spell, Arnea found herself unable to advance.
.Summoning all of the mana in her body, she tried to charge out but was halted in place.
Watching all of this, Shiro couldn't help but laugh since the thing controlling Arnea was not as experienced as the original. If it was then he would have realised that had he exploded his power at once the chains would snap. Instead, he chose to slowly increase his body and allowed the chains to turn that power against him.
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a waste of power. Though it's about time that this ended." Shiro chuckled as she activated her skill and looked past the illusion that Iris had created.
Above them, a giant array was being formed. One that was not at all inferior to the one she had created back when she was using Wrath of Stars. Even though it was just tier 5, it radiated the power of tier 6 as this formation was created from a myriad of tier 5 magic arrays that was further enhanced by Shiro's help.
Despite the aura this formation radiated, Shiro could tell that it was focusing everything on helping Arnea rather than harming her. It was an array purely created from spells that would be helpful for Arnea!
Analysing the array, Shiro could simulate roughly the effects of the spell within her mind. Even though all the spells here were helpful, anyone that was 'normal' would die the moment they got hit by this spell.
This was mostly due to the fact that it would instantly force them to overdraft their vitality not unlike what she did to the dragon when they first met.
"Seems like she got quite the inspiration from my spell." Shiro mused while increasing her own understanding of healing spells. Even though she was stronger than Iris and had better spells in the healing department, she was nowhere near being a master. Gaining inspiration from all sources would help her out greatly since she understood that healing was a branch of creation. Some understanding of healing may even help her improve her control over Error and Source Codes.
"NINE!" Iris shouted out as she clasped her hands together. Her aura flared as the bandages around her eyes threatened to fall off but managed to stay on.
Hearing her shout, Nine understood that she was ready and quickly jumped out of the way while making sure that Arnea was still locked in place.
Sensing that Nine managed to get out of the range, Iris smiled and activated a tier 5 magic circle around her.
*BOOM!!!!!
Before Arnea could even react, a pillar of light shot down from the skies and dispelled the illusion that she had set. Seeing the array of star charts and spell circles, the person controlling Arnea instantly recognised what she was trying to do and wanted to hold on to Arnea's body.
However, the purification from the array, while weak in offensive power, tore open his grip on Arnea's body.
"Noooo!!!!" Letting out a cry, the mutated section was forcefully separated from Arnea.
Seeing that Arnea was free, Nine quickly dashed forward and dragged her away from the mutated mass while Iris finished the rest of her spell.
A cage of light appeared around the mutated mass as sizzling sounds could be heard from its body.
"URAHHHH!!"
*BANG!!!!
Shattering the cage, an incomplete crest could be seen faintly shimmering on the mutant's body.
Seeing this, Shiro immediately appeared before him with a small smile.
"I figured I couldn't kill you fully. Though it seems like you don't have memories, only the knowledge I'm the one who killed your main body. An incomplete God trying to take over Arnea." Shiro said as she narrowed her eyes.
Backing away slowly, the fragment of Raven could feel his body tremble from fear. As a fragment of a God that had been planted into Arnea and cultivated with a mix of her power, he couldn't be truly called a fragment but rather a separate entity with high similarities with the host. However, there was still a small connection.
And the day that connection faded, he knew that the original had died. With that knowledge in mind, he could tell that the spells and restrictions he put within Arnea had started to fade so he took this chance to weaken her spirit while also empowering himself with anything he could get his hands on. Everything was going well and he was making his way towards the next feast then a pair of eyes locked onto him. The instant it did, he felt an instinctive fear and knew that whoever just locked onto him was the same one who killed the original.
Since he was a fragment, there was no way for him to escape her notice but he had to try. He couldn't die again. As the fragment that was detached from the God, he should have been able to cultivate Arnea into a Demi God then eventually become a God! This was not where he would di-!!!!
 *BOOM!!!!
Waving her hand with boredom, Shiro erased the mass of flesh in front of her and stomped down with her foot.
Black mist erupted around her as she pulled out a lantern.
"Enjoy whatever is left of his shard I suppose. It should be pretty enjoyable for you." Shiro said as an annoyed grunt could be heard from within the lantern.
"Are you kidding me? I'm risking my ass to fight Rokarn for you, used my immortal body for you, which PERISHED!!! Who f*cking knew that was possible! And after how many months you finally remember me and want me to help you eat whatever the hell this thing is? Hell nah!" The Ancient Terror shouted out as Shiro scratched her cheek.
"Fine, fine, sorry, I know you're still injured but would you believe me if I said I was too busy?" Shiro apologised.
"You! Sh*t! Fine just give it here, I need it to recover anyways. Do you know how annoying it is to still be hurt after all this time che. The bloody TV you gave me stopped working too so it's just been f*cking boring in here." The Ancient Terror complained as Shiro shrugged helplessly.
Allowing a wisp of energy to grab whatever remained of Raven's fragment, Shiro was about to send the lantern away when the Ancient Terror called out once more.
"If you're thinking about sending me back then at least hear me out. I have a small proposition for you." The Ancient Terror said with a rare moment of seriousness.
"You know who I was before I became this right?" He asked as Shiro nodded.
"Somewhat, Nyx gave me some details."
"Well let's just say that when I was fighting Rokarn, him borrowing your divinity has completely 'destroyed' the sins and corruption within my flesh along with some of the corruption that was latched onto my soul. His destruction cleansed me in a way and wanted me to return to null but I was able to escape before that and recover some of who I was before. And while I may never be able to enter a body unless it was immortal, I have an idea. It's something that will benefit you and make up for the lack of 'destruction' you have right now I suppose." He said as Shiro raised an eyebrow.
"I'm listening."
"Will you. . .Fuse me with your sword? Your sword is developing a sentient spirit already but it cannot handle the power that you hold. The moment it matures, it'll be broken by your power. My soul is unique, it's already been tempered by the sins and corruption of a whole world. If you fuse me with your sword, I won't perish and I would even be able to help it increase its strength." The Ancient Terror offered as Shiro furrowed her brows.
"What's in it for you?"
"Nothing much if I'm being honest. But it's better than staying in this Lantern all day long. Plus, that sword is a gateway for me to obtain a body that can actually withstand my corruption. Eventually, I should be able to transform that sword into a body for myself. Of course, that doesn't mean I become independent, I'll still be at your command like I am now. If I had to use your terms, it'll be like me moving into a better house. Nothing has changed except for me getting better living conditions and being able to obtain a physical body again." He shrugged as Shiro thought about it for a moment.
"It's a big request. You're wanting to experiment with my main weapon and something that is incredibly rare. An indestructible blade, one of its kind. However…
"I do owe you quite a bit." Shiro smiled.