Chapter 2049 - 2049. City
The monster couldn't only stop rising to launch flares in the avatar's new position. The empty creature even advanced in that direction, but the higher plane was Heaven and Earth's puppet perfect home. It could move freely inside and outside the sky, so escaping from the incoming attack only took an instant.
The monster ended up missing the avatar again, and the latter came out from another spot of the sky before launching its precise beam. The non-world saw a third hole appearing on its structure, and an angry growl followed the event.
Noah's face inevitably grew colder as the avatar continued to dodge the monster's assaults and damage its non-world. Heaven and Earth had come up with the safest approach to deal with that troublesome opponent. The sky had lost most of its brightness to fuel that puppet, but that power would go back inside the white layer once the battle ended.
'They won't waste much like this,' Noah understood as violent thoughts filled his mind due to his desire to hinder Heaven and Earth's clever tactic.
The rulers were depleting energy to hurt the monster, but that wasn't much compared to the actual threat that their opponent could pose. Heaven and Earth had found a way to preserve as many laws as possible during that battle, and their approach even limited the empty creature's destructiveness.
The apocalyptic event had forced the rulers to waste a lot of energy and assets, but they were only a superficial part of their power. They could recreate the crackling avatars and the swarms of flying cockroaches in no time, and even the improved cultivators were only slightly valuable assets compared to the entirety of their arsenal.
Noah had made the monster attack the higher plane to amass energy for his last breakthrough, but he didn't want such a strong ally to die without achieving anything else. Still, the aura that had filled the world stated how Heaven and Earth were fighting seriously now, so he felt out of options.
"Where is your leader?" Noah eventually growled after turning toward one of the modified magical beasts that had retreated in the same area.
The eagle tried to voice a meaningless screech, but the wave of pride that seeped out of Noah's figure suppressed it. The heavy and innate pressure that only magical beasts could experience fully pressed on the creature and forced it to use its connection with the orange city to call the old rulers.
"What is it?" A familiar androgynous voice soon came out of the eagle's beak. "We thought that sending out part of our army would have been enough to help you."
"Can't you do something to hurt that avatar?" Noah calmly asked, knowing that his question could sound delusional.
"That's a creature that contains part of Heaven and Earth's true power," The old rulers said through the eagle. "We have regained and improved a lot, but that power goes beyond the limits of the cultivation journey."
"I know that you have something capable of countering your new selves," Noah stated.
"We won't deny that we have made plans for an eventual frontal clash," The old rulers revealed. "Still, their purpose is to create an escape path. We can't defeat Heaven and Earth."
"I only want to hurt them," Noah explained. "I bet you can help the monster seize a partial victory."
"We can," The old Heaven and Earth admitted, "But why should we reveal our cards? The monster will buy everyone time. We believe that was one of your initial intentions."
"I want more," Noah uttered. "I want the energy to complete my breakthrough, the time to improve further, and I wish to leave Heaven and Earth wounded seriously. You are the only force in the entirety of the higher plane capable of helping me out."
"The storms have kept monsters hidden for entire eras," The old rulers contradicted, "But, you are correct. We are the only allies who can pull that off. However, we won't gain anything by helping you."
"You'll gain the non-world," Noah declared, and the eagle fell silent for the first time since the beginning of the conversation. It even shot a surprised glance toward him after his bold statement.
"What would be left of it," The old rulers eventually continued. "That alone can't match our expenses. We are talking about a weapon that we have spent countless years developing."
"I'll add the dark metal to the offer," Noah responded. "I'm sure you know what it does."
The eagle fell silent again. The old rulers obviously knew that Heaven and Earth's current state had forced the world to create a natural counter. Noah's journey across the sky didn't go unnoticed either. The orange city knew that he had gained access to the dark metal. That material was so valuable that his allies couldn't help but consider the offer properly.
"We want all of it," The eagle eventually said.
"Sure," Noah announced.
"No tricks, Defying Demon," The old rulers added. "You have the reversed dragon already, and your companion is already trying to replicate the very nature of that material. Giving everything you have to us is only proper."
"I don't have such a bad character," Noah joked.
"You definitely do," The old rulers chuckled.
Noah's time to fall silent arrived. He could still try to trick the old rulers, but something told him that they would notice an eventual attempt to trick them. It was almost frightening how attentive the orange city was about everything happening among the storms and inside the higher plane as a whole.
The dark metal was priceless, but Noah had to admit that the old rulers were right. Theoretically, the dragon was an endless source of the dark substance, and King Elbas was probably close to reproducing it. Sepunia's unique abilities could also replicate something similar, and Noah wasn't too far away from that with his dark matter.
Moreover, Noah felt sure that his anger toward Heaven and Earth would eventually generate better effects. That aspect of his existence would grow with him, so it would definitely surpass the power of a mere material born out of necessity. After all, the world couldn't suppress the rulers, so relying too much on one of its products wasn't ideal.
"Fine, but make sure to disperse a lot of energy into the environment," Noah exclaimed, and an orange portal soon opened next to him.
"That's inevitable," The eagle spoke, "But everything will depend on your ability to absorb it."
Noah scoffed before taking out all the dark metal he had left. Chunks and pools fell into the portal right under the dragons and the other magical beasts' attentive gaze. The space dragon was near him, but it didn't say anything in front of that scene.
"I would avoid hovering next to me from now on," Noah growled, and his tone alone managed to convey the amount of danger that the magical beasts would experience if they remained in the area.
The dragons and the other magical beasts quickly left to reach other safe areas. Even the space dragon didn't linger next to Noah. Nothing but whiteness expanded in his surroundings, so he prepared himself to activate his ambition.
Noah didn't deploy his ambition right away. He waited for the old rulers to keep their end of the deal, and they didn't take too long to show their power.
The avatar had continued to assault the monster during the negotiations. Still, an orange light suddenly spread from an intact area among the storms, and an immense city slowly became visible.. Heaven and Earth's puppet had to disregard its opponent since the crackling noises released by the array of lightning bolts above the tall buildings claimed the entirety of its attention.