633 Immortal Ground

[POV: Da Wei]

With a single Flash Step, I appeared before N’wa.

I should finish this as quickly as possible, though I was curious about what abilities she had. I trapped her foot with mine and drove a punch straight at her jaw, intending to knock her out.

Instead, she headbutted my hand. She had somehow parried my punch with her skull. My knuckles split the skin on her forehead, leaving a bloody gash. Blood welled from her pores, and a magic circle suddenly lit up across her forehead.

An ominous eye opened from her forehead, freezing me in the spot and causing my body to harden into stone. I immediately cast Cleanse, forcing the petrification back while putting more pressure on the foot I had trapped. Bones cracked beneath my heel, earning a pained gasp from her.

“Now, look, lady. You’ve got the wrong guy. How about you enlighten me and tell me where you got that idea?”

N’wa grabbed my shoulders. Her mouth opened, revealing fangs blooming from her canines. Well, that was a surprise. Vampire lore in LLO gave their fangs an anti-magic property. Even high-level Paladins like me weren’t completely safe from them, especially in a world where the rules were different from what I was used to.

Her fangs pierced my neck. My blood essence began pouring into her. I answered by kicking her knee with Divine Smite. The joint shattered. The force severed the leg almost completely. Before she could react, I tapped her shoulder.

“War Smite.”

The impact launched her through the air and sent her crashing into the ruins. Without a leg, her mobility should have been severely compromised. Of course, if she could portal around again, that would become a problem.

“Designate: Holy Enemy.”

A reversed red cross appeared above her head. Holy damage against her increased, while her accumulated aggro climbed even higher. To seal the deal, I used Taunt.

“Come on, lady. You are boring me to death. Since you came all this way to kill me, at least try to make it interesting. Or are you going to hide behind your little tricks every time I touch you?”

N’wa slowly limped upright. Her ruined leg was already repairing itself. The eye in her forehead suddenly burst apart. In its place was a grotesque maw.

“Devour his soul,” she commanded.

I had no idea whether she meant that literally, but my Divine Sense was screaming at me not to take the chance. I leaned into Divine Speed, empowering my movements with Zealot’s Stride and Flash Step. I vanished just as quickly as I reappeared directly in front of her and drove my fist into her forehead.

“Divine Smite.”

Her head exploded. Blood and gore splattered across my suit. A magic circle illuminated beneath the ruins. Suddenly, I was standing several steps away. Before me stood N’wa, alive.

I rushed forward and trapped her foot with mine again. Except this time, she stepped backward before I could lock her down. She dodged it. I stopped, deja vu hitting me suddenly. Except this time, something felt wrong. Or perhaps, inaccurate.

When I looked at her forehead, the reversed red cross was gone. I didn’t waste time thinking about it. I simply attacked. This time, I abandoned any attempt at interrogation and unleashed everything I had.

“Thunderous Smite.”

My hand flashed and blurred like lightning. N’wa’s head separated from her body. Another magic circle lit up among the ruins. The world shifted and I found myself several steps back again.

I stared at N’wa before me.

“Now, that’s just cheating. That was one gimmicky trick.”

N’wa smirked.

“This is an immortal ground, a place where my previous incarnation perished. With that as its founding history, I created a soul-based spell that tampers with the laws themselves. It allows me to turn back time for a short period, giving me something close to immortality.”

So that was it, huh?

N’wa continued, her expression becoming strangely serious as she looked directly into my eyes.

“The Slayer Order gave me their orders to slay you, Evil God. But I have questions of my own. And I demand that you answer them honestly.”

Immortal ground, huh? It sounded invincible, but not really.

“Shoot,” I said. “Ask me whatever.”

N’wa stared at me. “Was it you who killed me in my past life?”

I thought about it. Nothing came to mind. I couldn’t even remember encountering this woman in LLO. “I believe this is our first meeting.”

“Lies,” she hissed. “I can see the memories of my past lives, albeit only in fragments. We’ve met before, Evil God. You are the sanctimonious guardian of the long-lost Willow, a mad god who disguised himself as a force of good. I don’t know what trick you are playing on me, but you have to be lying.”

Her eyes burned with hatred.

“Tell me, Evil God. Who killed me in my past life?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I don’t remember being there.”

Her eyes narrowed, cold fury seeping into her voice.

“Then I will have to pry the answer from your severed tongue. I will take as many chances as I need, but I will get my answers. I have my mission, but I also have questions. Questions which answers I know for certain you can provide.”

“I’ve lost interest in you.” I remarked apathetically, turning around. “You get a pass for now. Enjoy it while you can. Luck is a precious thing. The next time we meet, chances are I won’t be nice to you, so pray that we don’t see each other again.”

I waved a hand dismissively.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Anyway, I’ve got other stuff to do.”

This immortal ground was annoying. I’d rather not deal with her. It wasn’t like she could really hurt me. The only way I could see her becoming dangerous was if she learned my patterns and tactics well enough to exploit them.

Still, I was curious. What exactly was this Slayer Order, and why did they want me dead? However, I didn’t get far.

N’wa laughed behind me.

“It seems there is a misunderstanding. This is not something you can run from. The moment you entered this mystical formation bound to the immortal ground, you became trapped here.”

I blinked and I was standing right in front of N’wa again. She had turned back time.

“So that’s how it is,” I sighed, annoyed. This was rather broken. In some ways, it was even more powerful than my Ultimates. Hah. Since she was so sure of myself, I was left no choice. I couldn't see myself convincing her, otherwise. “You asked for it.”

I clenched my fist and poured as much power into it as I could.

“Divine Smite.”

My fist struck the ground. The ruins collapsed beneath the impact. Stone shattered. The earth caved in, and the magic circle surrounding the immortal ground was torn apart. Then, in the blink of an eye, everything returned to how it had been.

The ruins stood intact. The magic circle was restored. And so was I.

N’wa smiled. “Cute, but hardly meaningful. Try as you might, it won’t change anything.”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

"..."

"Watch," I raised my fist again, trying a second time. “Divine Smite.”

Another blow crushed the ground, sending a second Divine Smite with my other fist. The ruins were destroyed even further.

N’wa reset time. “Futile.” She rushed toward me, a bladed whip emerging from her shadow. “Let me see what you’ve got.” She lashed out.

I caught the whip with my arm. The blade tore through my suit, but barely scratched my skin. “Nah.” I yanked her off balance and hurled her into the air. “War Smite.”

The knockback effect sent her flying more violently. She crashed into the ruins. Time reset again. N’wa appeared before me as though nothing had happened.

“You and I could dance like this forever,” I said. “You reset the world, I kill you, you reset it again. We can repeat this until the end of time. But in the end, you’re the one who comes up short.”

She smirked.

“That is only because you are stronger than me. But as you can see, strength means nothing before the occult. No matter how powerful you are, there are things in this world that your strength cannot overcome.”

“I never claimed to be stronger, but guess what I have?" I asked, channeling as much focus as I could at the ring on my finger. “I got Meregreen, my city. And lots of liquid spirit stones, ready to be spent at the wave of my hand.”

Confusion appeared on her face.

One of the most painful developments since coming to this world was losing access to my LLO inventory. So many precious items, just gone. Naturally, the next thing I did was look for an alternative. When rumors reached me about mysterious rings capable of storing items, I knew I needed one.

My ring stirred with mysterious energy as I summoned piles upon piles of spirit stones from within. They were a strange resource, one that made magic possible in this world. Even with the strange laws suppressing my abilities, there had to be a way around them.

If the laws demanded more resources, I could simply throw more resources at them. In other words, pay to win. The piles of spirit stones vanished almost as quickly as they appeared, consumed partly by the world itself as some kind of tax.

Fine by me. I had plenty.

I unleashed an Ultimate.

“Judgment Severance.”

A golden rift shaped like a cross tore open in the sky. It descended upon the immortal ground, devouring the mystical formation beneath us.

N’wa's eyes widened. “What... What kind of power is that?!”

I ignored her and punched the ground. “Divine Smite.”

The central node of the formation shattered. With my Divine Sense and enough observation, I had already identified several other points feeding the formation. I moved from one to another, destroying them in rapid succession.

Each node exploded beneath my fists. The golden cross hanging above us finally vanished. That was my cue. I unleashed my full speed, tapping into my skills.

N’wa had already begun forming another portal, but I reached her before she could complete it. My hand closed around her throat. I squeezed lightly, causing the portal collapsed. “There’s more where that came from.”

"Ngh... You will get nothing from me." grunted N'wa.

"That's not for you to decide." I lifted her slightly off the ground. “Now, tell me more about yourself and this... Slayer Order. Hmm. Do you drink tea? Yes, I think this is a conversation best served with tea and snacks.”

I took a black rope from my storage ring.

It had been fashioned from my own hair.

The lack of equipment had made me surprisingly resourceful. After noticing the strange properties of my body and realizing some of those qualities carried over, I had commissioned a tailor to make a few useful items. It had cost a considerable amount of money and several skilled craftsmen, but it had been worth it.

This rope was especially durable.

I looped it around N’wa and tried to tie her up properly. My goal was simple: restrain her arms and legs so she couldn’t move around or activate another portal. Somehow, things went wrong. I tightened one knot, and then another.

By the time I finished, I stared at my handiwork.

“Huh.”

I had been aiming for a simple restraint. This looked considerably more elaborate and somehow more risque.

N’wa stared at me in disbelief. “You absolute bastard! What in the seven hells have you done to me?! Untie me, you lunatic! You filthy, brain-dead excuse for a god!”

I felt awkward. I was fairly certain I had tied her correctly, but something about the result made me wonder if I had missed a step somewhere. “Hush now. Be a good girl, or do you want to be punished?”

She immediately began struggling harder. “You think this is funny?! I’ll tear your heart out! I’ll drink you dry! I’ll—”

I hoisted her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

She squirmed and flailed against the ropes. “You fucking bastard! Put me down! I swear I’ll kill you! I’ll rip your head off and use your skull as a chamber pot!”

“Behave, will you?”

“Go to hell!”

“Already been there.”

That shut her up for a moment. I started walking.

The journey back to civilization was considerably less dignified than I would have preferred. N’wa continued muttering insults the entire way, though eventually they became little more than an angry stream of curses beneath her breath. “You fucker…”

“What’s that?”

“N-nothing.”

I carried on.

Meregreen eventually came into view. The moment I entered the city, people began staring. I couldn’t blame them. There was probably something strange about seeing me casually walking through the streets with a bound woman slung over my shoulder.

For some reason, I felt embarrassed. Maybe I should have brought a carriage.

I took a black rope from my storage ring.

It had been fashioned from my own hair.

The lack of equipment had made me surprisingly resourceful. After noticing the strange properties of my body and realizing some of those qualities carried over, I had commissioned a tailor to make a few useful items. It had cost a considerable amount of money and several skilled craftsmen, but it had been worth it.

This rope was especially durable.

I looped it around N’wa and tried to tie her up properly. My goal was simple: restrain her arms and legs so she couldn’t move around or activate another portal. Somehow, things went wrong. I tightened one knot, and then another.

By the time I finished, I stared at my handiwork.

“Huh.”

I had been aiming for a simple restraint. This looked considerably more elaborate and somehow more risque.

N’wa stared at me in disbelief. “You absolute bastard! What in the seven hells have you done to me?! Untie me, you lunatic! You filthy, brain-dead excuse for a god!”

I felt awkward. I was fairly certain I had tied her correctly, but something about the result made me wonder if I had missed a step somewhere. “Hush now. Be a good girl, or do you want to be punished?”

She immediately began struggling harder. “You think this is funny?! I’ll tear your heart out! I’ll drink you dry! I’ll—”

I hoisted her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

She squirmed and flailed against the ropes. “You fucking bastard! Put me down! I swear I’ll kill you! I’ll rip your head off and use your skull as a chamber pot!”

“Behave, will you?”

“Go to hell!”

“Already been there.”

That shut her up for a moment. I started walking.

The journey back to civilization was considerably less dignified than I would have preferred. N’wa continued muttering insults the entire way, though eventually they became little more than an angry stream of curses beneath her breath. “You fucker…”

“What’s that?”

“N-nothing.”

I carried on.

Meregreen eventually came into view. The moment I entered the city, people began staring. I couldn’t blame them. There was probably something strange about seeing me casually walking through the streets with a bound woman slung over my shoulder.

For some reason, I felt embarrassed. Maybe I should have brought a carriage.