With just one talent that he had managed to acquire, he had changed the tide of this battle.
The Emperor's talent was an A-class talent. Northern didn't spare an extra thought to inspect its abilities; he had copied it purely out of spite and felt shamed, unable to make a difference in the battle despite possessing the man's talent.
He discarded the talent because he was angry and used it solely to avoid employing Black Flames and Black Lance now that he knew how much damage they could inflict.
While he wanted to deal with the Kirithon once and for all, as quickly as possible, he wasn't looking to destroy the entire sea.
'Turns out this choice of flame was an even greater force of destruction than Black Flame.'
Before Northern could fall into the ocean, like a flash of breeze, Aerisyles flew right below him.
As he landed firmly on the creature, its wings stretched out wide, flapping slowly to gather enough momentum, and with a mighty swing, it surged higher into the storm.
The storm was now a cacophony of ashen darkness and crimson red, strong gales like rippling fabrics of existence battling against the pillars of flames that threatened to burn the essence out of them.
The ocean and wind collaborated in fury to dispel the wickedness of the flames, but this only broke out into a more ferocious and vile war.
Northern watched as this unfolded, his cards not yet played. He hadn't even started using his Black Flames on the sword, which had been his main reason for using Stainless.
But now that he saw the might and terror of the flames he copied from the Emperor, Northern couldn't help but wonder what level of dissonance would emerge once he decided to use both.
But now, he didn't just want to use Black Flames. What he had hoped to do with Black Flames was give it the kind of power the Emperor's flames had.
Of course, that was easy to link together in theory. Northern, however, didn't know if it would be possible in practice.
Black Flames was not a talent; it was a form of element available to him due to his attribute.
It did not have a structured usage, which was what differentiated it from a talent-type element.
Talents were equipped with a kind of structure, which prevented them from being versatile. On the other hand, they were incredibly powerful.
Of course, the fact that Black Flame was so versatile made it seem like it would be a walk in the park to give it the structure of a talent ability.
But that wasn't the case-it was like trying to make a wild beast into a pet.
The level of mishap that could occur was unpredictable. The unpredictability of the Black Flame wasn't something he thought he could afford.
'To think, I have an enemy right in front of me, and the thing I'm worried about is not destroying it but rather causing irredeemable damage to the sea itself.'
Northern sighed tiredly. This was quite sad indeed-the responsibility of a strong person, so it seems.
He looked into the eye of the storm. 'I have no choice but to try.'
Northern narrowed his eyes with resolve and looked down at Aerisyles, who was steadily flapping its wings towards the storm, encountering more defiance as it climbed higher.
Northern leaned the sword over his back and extended his hand; then a plume of black and bluish flames licked the blade of the sword, dancing feverishly.
Northern glanced at the maliciously burning flames and looked to the focal point of the storm that was battling the scarlet flames.
He then added his second hand to the sword's hilt and placed the sword in front of him, cutting his image in perfect half from an opposite vantage point.
Northern focused intensely in front of him. What he was about to do was a delicate act; he could only hope it worked.
Merging the flames' versatility with his own Chaos Sword, he was going to create a semblance of what he wanted.
It might not be as effective as Eternal Blaze had been, but it would be a start.
From now on, Northern also wanted to begin tempering his own flames. They were a crucial part of his being.
Black Flames and Black Lance were both elements of Chaos and Void-the one thing he could call his true power.
Tempering and cultivating it was bound to bring fruitful results comparable to that of the Emperor's flames in the far, or perhaps near, future... who knows.
Northern closed his eyes, paying attention to every single muscle memory in his body.
Since he had achieved the peak of the Chaos First Form once, he believed he could do it again
without having to map out the structural works of the three sub-forms.
Northern slowly opened his eyes, and something about them was dangerously deep-they carried the same azure light as they always did.
But this time, they burned with a dangerous intensity-monstrous, in fact.
Northern muttered as he brought the sword down in a single strike.
Not just the waters-there was a heavy tremble that distorted the entire atmosphere. Of course, it wasn't so powerful and primal that it threatened the fabric of reality.
But it was intimidating enough to cause a distortion in the air.
The winds revealed a spectral form of coloration as they seemed slowed by an unknown force.
Then an efflux of bluish-black flame broke out of the sky. It was like an arc-a colossal arc of flames that began to divide the storm and the flames, consuming both elements in the
Northern watched as the storm fell prey to the power of the Black Flames, its versatility paired with the destructive power of the Chaos Sword Art.
He smirked, Chaos Eyes revealing themselves in his gaze. Northern leaped away from Aerisyles, straight into the mouth of the storm, stretching his hand to grab something.