Sarriel's lip curled as she watched Ryu walk forward. "I'm honored."
It was obvious that Ryu had prepared these Skeleton Warriors long ago and stored them within his Corpse World. This was the only explanation for him summoning so many and so quickly. The only surprise was that his Corpse World could actually hold so many to begin with. Obviously, if this was easy to do, everyone would do it.
But… Quite frankly… She was unmoved.
Her palm flipped over, a curved katana with a length of just over seven feet long appearing within it. It was clear that compared to the last time Ryu had seen this weapon, it was far different. It only took Ryu a single glance to realize that it was a Mystical Grade treasure, a step above even the Heaven Grade… And it wasn't just any Mystical Grade treasure at that, it was at the very Peak, just a step away from the Ancestral Grade…
The kind of weapon only a Cosmic Seed Realm expert would use.
"Do you know why my eyes are called the Truth Pupils despite the fact what they're best at is deceiving?" Sarriel asked lightly.
Ryu didn't answer, his steps not pausing as he continued to walk forward. Clearly, she planned on speaking, so why would he waste his breath? Instead, his momentum continued to climb, his Monarch Realm coming and going like a tide. Each time it pressed forward, it grew in strength, pressing down with an oppressive might.
"Do you know why despite what happens, my Truth Pupils have been and always will be ranked seventh, never moving up, never moving down… Never being too high and never being too low…?"
Sarriel, too, began to walk forward, her cadence enigmatic as though she was trying to lull Ryu to sleep. Her body swayed and her steps multiplied. Soon, it became difficult to tell how many of her were speaking, how many limbs she had, and even her eyes themselves multiplied before she suddenly formed several hundreds clones at the same time, each more real than the last.
"When you reach a certain level of strength, the truth is what you make it."
It felt as though hundreds of Sarriel's were speaking at once. Just one voice was soft, but when they layered , it felt as though she was roaring at the top of her lungs.
They mingled and intertwined, bearing down on Ryu until the dome of her own Small Realm manifested itself, pressing down against Ryu's as though to dominate it.
"This is the greatest truth of the world. The one with the largest fist, the greatest strength, the most unquestionable power decides what is and what isn't. First Ranked Heavenly Pupils?"
Ryu could almost hear that sneer of derision as her roar forced the peak of the mountain to tremble, her layering voices seemingly refusing to be content until they could force the world itself to bend to their will.
"That's a title I allow you to have and it's one I will take away just as easily as I will take your life."
Sarriel brandished her katana lightly, each one of her hundreds of clones doing the same. The countless afterimages that were left in the air made the mind spin. Anyone else in this situation would have passed out just from the overload, as though Sarriel was somehow forcing your mind to take in all this information at once.
And then, the world stilled.
A fight of Skeleton Warriors and clones was soon to erupt. At the same time, Ryu wasn't fooled in the slightest and his eyes never left her main body, his gaze pervading an endless cold. However, he was also aware of just how potent this ability of Sarriel's was.
[Truth Clone]. It allowed Sarriel to form hundreds of clones, each with half her usual combat power. The more seals she unlocked, the more clones she would be able to form. In fact, if she lowered the number she summoned, she could even form a few 90% clones. It was just clear and obvious that she wasn't taking Ryu seriously.
There was no such thing as a weak pair of Heavenly Pupils. But, the most shocking part of this ability was that it was an innate and easy to use for Sarriel as [Third Perspective] was to Ryu. This was just the beginning.
Sarriel felt like she was no less talented than Ryu. In fact, she felt that she was even more talented. From her Heavenly Pupils, to her own Ancestral Great Circle that she had yet to reveal, she felt untouchable.
The fact that she was fighting someone seven substages beneath her was nothing more than a trampling of her pride. A trampling she refused to accept.
"Rise up and split the Heavens."
At that moment, Ryu felt his Immortal Rings tremble, feeling as though their dignity was being provoked.
To Sarriel's back, a massive blade took form. It swung down to its left, leaving afterimages in its wake that soon turned corporeal. It then swung down to its right, repeating the same process.
The sound of sword qi rang through the skies as though willing to sever all that stood in its path. Demons would be slayed, Gods would be felled, the Heavens themselves would be ripped asunder.
A blooming fan of swords radiated, each with a aura just as oppressive as the next.
Thirteen swords. Six splayed out to each side and one at the very center with its blade facing forward. Everywhere Sarriel passed, the clouds above would be split in two, collapsing beneath her might.
The two didn't waste anymore words. It felt like in just one instant, they were separated by almost a kilometer. In the next, they had collided.
Ryu felt his blood boiling. She wanted to have a match of arrogance with him? She believed herself to be above him? That he wasn't even worthy enough to cross blades with her?
Ryu's laughter erupted, splitting the clouds above just as Sarriel's Immortal Ring manifestation had.
He was Ryu Tatsuya. The world had yet to birth someone that was his equal, nor would it ever.
He would trample her beneath his feet.