The plan had been simple-deceptively so.
Intercept Ishtar's vessel while it was in transit, extract her by force if
necessary, and disappear before the Astiel clan could react in any organized
manner.
Ery had studied the planetary charts and the mariti routes used by Astiel nobility. Ishtar's itinerary was precise: departure from a secondary hub toward the primary celebration continent.
Leaving the city behind, Ery rose into the upper winds, crossing jagged mountain ranges while cloaking his presence beneath layers of subdued aura and spatial distortion. When the land finally gave way to endless ocean, he descended low, skimming above the waves, letting the roar of wind and water mask his passage.
His divine sense stretched outward to its limits, carefully calibrated to detect threats without announcing his own presence. Outposts. Patrols. Convoys. Each was avoided with ticulous precision.
Hours slipped by. Then more. Thousands of miles vanished beneath him as the world grew quieter, emptier, until nothing remained but the sea, the sky, and the cold pulse of anticipation in his chest.
Then VIA's voice sounded within his mind.
[Target vessel detected. Distance: 1,800 miles.]
Ery slowed at once, his body vanishing into a fold of mist and distortion as he extended a thin filant of soul perception toward the distant signature. He did not rush. He probed gently, extracting information without alerting the vessel's defensive arrays.
A hundred magus.
Four Grand Magus.
Three carried the weight of one cosmos. The fourth, two cosmos.
Ishtar's escort was larger than expected, but still well within what Ery could dismantle in monts. Even so, he waited. Numbers ant nothing if he struck the wrong target. He needed confirmation. Absolute certainty.
Seconds stretched thin.
Then VIA spoke again.
[Identity confird. Ishtar Astiel.]
Ery's lips curved into a cold smile.
"I found you."
He surged forward at once.
This ti, there was no concealnt. No restraint. The Icarus Wings flared open behind him in a violent eruption of light and thunder, tearing through the sky as he accelerated beyond atmospheric limits. Wind scread. Space warped. The ocean below fractured into towering walls of spray as the pressure of his passage crushed the air itself.
Halfway through the charge, VIA's tone shifted-urgent.
[Secondary target detected. Identity: Caclthar Asticl.]
Ery's eyes narrowed.
For the briefest mont, his forward montum faltered-not from fear, but from calculation. The two-cosmos Grand Magus accompanying Ishtar was none other than the very figure tied to Klea's disappearance.
This was no ordinary cultivator. Caelthar was a Nephilim elite, a genius whose reputation eclipsed most of his peers, a man said to surpass even Eeshoo in the
sanctum
His presence here was abnormal.
A figure of that standing had no reason to serve as an escort for a re celebratory outing.
That fleeting hesitation disappeared almost as soon as it appeared, replaced by
a grim, burning clarity.
So it was true.
Both of them were involved.
A cold edge crept into Ery's thoughts..
"Good," he murmured, "With both of you present... I'll get my answers today." Seconds later, the vessel entered full view.
It was a luxury flying ship forged from radiant gold alloys, its hull engraved with Astiel sigils that glead proudly beneath the sun. A massive banner bearing the royal crest stread behind it, announcing its lineage to the skies themselves. Along the outer decks stood rows of magus guards clad in ceremonial gold armor, spears lowered in disciplined formation as alarms began to wail.
Ery descended like a living storm.
A spiraling lightning tornado wrapped around his form-an advanced technique integrated directly into the Icarus Wings-and slamd into the vessel's
defensive periter.
BAAAMM!!
The ship shuddered violently as arcs of lightning burst outward, crawling across the deck like living serpents. Dozens of magus were struck down instantly, their bodies collapsing as their protective arrays overloaded. The stronger ones barely managed to remain standing, dropping to one knee as
their realms were forcibly suppressed.
Ery hovered above the main deck, wings spread wide, lightning cascading around him like the mantle of a god of storms.
His gaze locked onto the center.
Ishtar sat there, draped in gold and jewels, her expression frozen-
But..
Not in terror,
In sothing dangerously close to delight.
Two female Grand Magus stood protectively at her sides, both radiating peak one-cosmos pressure, while behind them a middle-aged man remained
motionless, eyes closed, his presence deep and unfathomable.
Caelthar.
Before Ery could move, Ishtar laughed.
Not a scream. Not a gasp.
A laugh.
"You really showed up!!!" she exclaid, her eyes gleaming with manic
excitent. "Hahaha... You're even crazier than I imagined!"
Her words startled him,
She had been expecting him.
His thoughts raced.
Had his preparations been anticipated from the beginning?
Was this entire encounter a trap?
It didn't matter.
Not anymore. What mattered was that both figures responsible for Klea's disappearance
stood before him, within arm's reach.
"Where is she?" Ery demanded, his voice carrying the weight of a gathering
storm. "What did you do to Klea?"
Ishtar tilted her head, studying him as if he were a fascinating specin.
"Oh?" she said lightly. "You don't know?"
Her lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Good," she continued, amusent dripping from every word. "That makes this
perfect."
Cosmic energy erupted from Ery's core, the air around him trembling as the
Elysian Roots burst forth from his palm-luminous strands of law and authority
piercing into reality itself.
"You will tell ," he said coldly. "You will tell now."
Ishtar's smile vanished.
"Stop him," she ordered, her tone casual, dismissive-as if ordering servants to
restrain a pet.
The two female Grand Magus moved instantly.
Their their timing precise-twin arcs of power surging as they charged forward
with exquisite spears leveled.
Each wore high-grade armor etched with Astiel runes, their auras flaring to the peak of one cosmos. They were Ishtar's personal elite guards. Together, their combined pressure was enough to suppress even a two-cosmos Grand Magus.
Ery had studied them before this encounter. He knew their strengths. And he had no intention of entertaining them.
His cosmic energy blazed without restraint, surging outward like a released
flood. The Dao of Heaven and Earth answered his call, reinforcing his will as the Elysian Roots erupted from the void-vast, luminous strands of law and authority tearing through space itself.
The roots struck before either woman could complete her attack.
They wrapped around armor, limbs, and weapons alike, crushing montum
and locking their bodies in place mid-charge. The spears clattered uselessly as the two were yanked violently backward, suspended helplessly in the air.
"Arghhh-!"
Their screams echoed across the deck as they struggled in vain, unable to break free.
Caelthar finally opened his eyes.
He stepped forward slowly, his presence unfolding like a deep, oppressive tide.
"Two cosmos," he said calmly.
The words struck Ishtar like a blow.
She stared at Ery, disbelief flooding her features. "So it's true," she
whispered. "You really are a monster..."
Then her expression hardened.
"Fortunately for ," she added coldly, "You're so stupid to attack here"
At that precise mont, VIA's voice echoed urgently in Ery's mind. [Warning. Three vessels detected. High-speed approach. Distance: 6,000 miles.
Estimated arrival: thirteen minutes, twelve seconds.]
Ery's eyes
darkened.
So it had been a trap after all.
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