Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Inside the Muceal Plane, Phena wasted no time in taking action – even though Ace wasn't with them and they were merely a group of deities, her husband had already told her not to underestimate them and to treat them as though they were her equals; as such, the moment she forcefully tore open the space to enter her homeland, Phena immediately attacked the group with all her might as a Sovereign.

The eyes of Killian and the others constricted as they felt the might of the incoming attack. They had no idea how it was possible for a Sovereign to enter a material plane after all this time. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to wrap their heads around this mystery, as the power of the strike was more than enough to kill them all.

Thankfully, Julius had prepared for all potential changes in advance. He knew that the chances of someone being able to threaten their safety entering were infinitely small, but as long as there was a chance, he knew he had to prepare for it; as a result, he made sure to lay several interconnecting barrier formations around them.

Each formation was done to the very best of his ability, but as he was only a paragon, it was only able to stall Phena for a mere fraction of a second, but that fraction of a second was more than enough for him to start operating the new and improved [Constellation Battle Tactics], channelling the combined Willpower of the rest of their group into Killian, who had already, without even thinking about it, moved to intercept Phena's attack.

At the same time, Leona, realising that they wouldn't be able to handle this on their own anymore, used her bond with Ace to tell him exactly what threat they were facing.

Between Ace receiving Leona's message and Aiden tearing through space to transport Ace and Amira to the location of Killian and the others, it was only a few seconds at most. Even so, it was more than enough time for Yoruna to all but devastate Killian.

When Ace and Amira arrived, the first thing they witnessed was Killian, virtually on his last legs, valiantly fighting to protect his friends and family behind him.

Without a second thought, Ace and Amira immediately used their [Dual Battle Tactics] whilst simultaneously using their Gol Clan Divine Ability, causing their soul selves to manifest in the sky behind them.

Even with their Willpower Directly doubling, Amira only had four units, whilst Ace had 12 – it was enough to crush any and every other deity alive, but in the face of Yoruna, they were wholly outclassed, but that was where the [Dual Battle Tactics] came into play.

It had to be understood that after Ace's awakening back in the Planar War, their souls sublimated once more, reaching a whole new level of unity; as a result, now, when using the [Dual Battle Tactics], the powerup they received was the average of their combined power, but it wasn't just limited to their Willpower or their divine power, it was everything. That included their spiritual essence and physical ability.

And unlike Julius' [Constellation Battle Tactics], it didn't just focus on one of them; they both received the powerup at the same time.

Even so, after blocking Yoruna's last strike and saving Killian from what would've been certain death, Ace told Amira that he would handle her. Killian was his sworn little brother, and seeing the state he had been put in had directly crossed his bottom line – he intended to send a message to the Sovereigns today, one they would never forget.

Amira's anger was no less than Ace's; even so, she merely nodded, allowing her husband to handle Yoruna on his own.

It had to be understood that, although she was a Sovereign, Yoruna wasn't a paragon, meaning she only had 20 units of Willpower. As for Ace, with his Divine Ability, he had 12, but the average of both his and Amira's Willpower was 8, so when using the [Dual Battle Tactics], his Willpower directly jumped to 20 as well.

Still, there was a larger-than-life difference between the body, energy, and spiritual essence of a Sovereign and Deity, but even so, Amira wasn't worried.

Seeing how Ace seemed to intend to take her on by himself, Yoruna felt as though she was being looked down on. Still, as angry as she was, she couldn't help but look up at the man leisurely drinking alcohol from his gourd in the sky.

Feeling the gaze of the Sovereign on him, Aiden shrugged and said that he wouldn't get involved. If his little disciple died, then he was simply too weak.

Yoruna didn't understand how a master could be so blasé about the life and death of their disciple, but she didn't feel like an all-powerful Overgod would be so bored as to lie to her; as such, as soon as she heard Aiden's confirmation, she shot excitedly shot forward to confront and take down Ace where he was.

She knew better than anyone how much her husband's future rode on the outcome of today's events, so she attacked with even more ferocity than before, hoping to take Ace down and capture him and the Overgod Talismans, as for what would happen next, her and Phueus already had a plan for leaving without having to forfeit their lives under the assault of the other Sovereigns.

Aiden, seemingly unbothered by the outcome of his disciple's life and death battle below, turned to exit the Muceal Plane, casually approaching the gathering of Sovereigns in chaotic space just outside.

The moment he appeared, the faces and bodies of the various Sovereigns present immediately tensed, none daring to breathe too loudly out of fear.

Still, Aiden ignored them all as he looked amusedly at Phueus, who, oddly enough, stared directly back at him fearlessly.

As an Overgod himself, Aiden could see a lot more than even the most powerful Sovereigns. After staring intently at Phueus for several long, drawn-out seconds, a fiendish grin appeared on Aiden's face as he told him that even if he became the Overgod of Darkness, he still wouldn't be his match.

Phueus' eyes constricted as he was temporarily overwhelmed with fear under the pressure of Aiden's frightful battle-lust, but it was only for a second. Phueus was quickly able to regain his bearings, but even so, he didn't respond; he simply went back to watching the battle between his wife and Ace, understanding that his hopes of one day becoming an Overgod may well ride on the outcome of that battle.

Phueus may have been able to quickly regain his bearings, but the other Sovereigns were a different matter entirely. They had no idea what Aiden's words meant. Was Phueus about to break through and become an Overgod?

They had no idea how it was possible to become an Overgod, but just that revelation… if they had any intentions of attacking and killing Phueus in the past, they had been quickly doused now.

Back in the Muceal Plane, the fight between Ace and Yoruna quickly reached boiling point, and neither party intended to hold back.

Unfortunately for Muceal, although she definitely held a slight advantage over Ace as far as energy levels, spiritual essence, and physical strength went, with their Willpower being equal and Ace's skill with his weapon being so vastly superior to her own, she was completely unable to gain the upper hand. In fact, as time went on, she found herself slowly being suppressed.

And to make matters worse, it seemed as though Ace was actually using her as a whetstone.

With such a perfect opponent, Ace decided to only use the [Radiant Stance] of his [Blazing Radiant Glaive Art], wanting to perfect it with the pressure of facing a Sovereign. And just as he had hoped, she really was the perfect training dummy.

He was making noticeable improvements by the minute, which only served to make Yoruna's situation worse and worse.

Still, Yoruna had no intentions of running away. No Sovereign had ever lost in a battle against a deity, and she refused to be the first, even if it was against the most powerful deity the universe had ever seen.

With that thought, her attacks became even more ferocious and frenzied, and without even realising, she slipped into an enlightened state. And as though he was unwilling to be outdone, Ace did too.

Everyone, be it the Sovereigns in chaotic space or Killian and the others, watched on with bated breaths, understanding that the first person to make their breakthrough would inevitably be the winner.

But what no one could've seen coming was that when the natural laws descended, it would descend for both of them simultaneously. Unfortunately for the various Sovereigns praying for Ace's downfall, not all breakthroughs were made equal.

After Yoruna finally became a paragon, she was awarded another portion of Willpower, and whilst the same was true for Ace after taking his [Radiant Glaive Art], based on the Concept of Light, to perfection, with his Divine Ability, that single portion of Willpower became two, but that wasn't the end.

Ace and Amira were using the [Dual Battle Tactics]; as such, now that Ace had access to 14 units of Willpower on his own, it boosted their combined average to nine, meaning that, as it stood, Ace had access to a frightening total of 23 units of Willpower, compared to Yoruna's new total of 21.

Yoruna should've been ecstatic after her breakthrough, but seeing the heaven-defying Demi-God eyeing her as though she was mere prey, any thoughts of fighting went out the window. Instead, the only thought on her mind was escaping.

But how could Ace just let her go? He had already decided he was going to use her to send a message to the other Sovereigns – he needed the entire universe to understand that he wasn't to be easily trifled with.

The moment Yoruna turned to flee, Ace took action, striking out with all of his might.

At the same time, in chaotic space, Phueus' eyes constricted. Even though he wasn't able to sense Ace's improvement with his own senses, he knew that after their respective breakthroughs, the minimal gap between the two of them would only grow wider.

Phueus may be a sadistic and evil entity to most, but to his wife, he was a caring and loving husband; after all, their relationship was far from new. In fact, they had met shortly after they both ascended into the infernal realm from their respective Material Planes, back when they were mere Demi-Gods.

He took a step forward, intending to save his wife from death, regardless of the consequences. Unfortunately, as powerful as he was compared to Sovereigns, in front of an Overgod, he was nothing more than an unruly infant.

Before he could even take his second step, he, as well as the other Sovereigns present, found that the space in the surrounding area had solidified to the point where none of them were capable of moving more than their eyes.

Everyone, from the moment they became a Demi-God, was capable of using their Godrealm to suppress their targets, but very few would use it, not unless one was facing someone far weaker than them; after all, the suppression was easily cancelled out by the Godrealm of someone else, even if that person was significantly weaker than them.

The shock could, therefore, be imagined as all the Sovereigns, Phueus and Wodred included, instinctually used their Godrealms to try and cancel Aiden's, only to find their own Godrealms quickly voided.

Aiden didn't even look at them; he merely continued to leisurely drink his alcohol whilst casually watching his disciple strike down his first genuine Sovereign with his glaive.

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