Damaged Spirit was a problem for every Axalt, it was possible to fix it but only with a lot of resources as well as Axalt's own talent. The thing was, the recovery of the Spirit didn't happen on a hospital bed in front of a doctor, but during training.
The damaged parts had to be not just restored, it was necessary to make Spirit become one whole again. This could only be done with strong physical activity and by using the power of the muscles to make all the pieces fit together like puzzles.
To do this Axalt had to go through a great deal of pain, but could not stop as all progress could disappear in an instant. To go through such an ordeal required talent and willpower, as well as time, a lot of time.
Those Axalts who critically wounded their Spirit and then managed to recover it would become extremely strong fighters in the future. As well as their Spirit, which was usually several times stronger than the others.
Now, in the place of such an Axalt, was the strongest of them all, Liang. Normally, there was no way Nitra would be able to do something like this, but with her new powers, it was possible. Increasing her power to 25%, her spear had enough momentum to pierce Liang's chest right through his Spirit.
'Unbelievable... I was actually able to do that...' Nitra internally muttered in disbelief as she looked at Liang's bleeding wound, 'Increasing my strength to 25% was the right decision! Though I'm less able to maintain this state now, my victory is now a foregone conclusion!
The Guardians were surprised and truly happy that their ruler turned out to be worthy and strong.
'Hah, it's all over now! Without his Spirit, he will no longer be able to unleash such powerful attacks! Moreover, he has lost a large volume of blood! All Mrs. Nitra has left to do is finish him off!" The Guardian exclaimed with an excited expression and a glint in his eyes.
If their race became known for defeating Liang, The Strongest One, it would open up more opportunities for them. In that case, it would be Nitra, who would be considered a virtually invincible opponent that even Liang couldn't withstand.
"Agh... That was actually painful..." Liang muttered, looking at his palm covered in dark blood.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThen, Liang's gaze traveled lower, looking at his Spirit, the left side of which was split open. It wasn't completely destroyed since it was nearly impossible to do so, for Nitra had to rip Spirit off of Liang's body, piece by piece. Even with all her enhancements, she wouldn't try to pull something like that off.
Now with every second, Liang was getting weaker, or rather, it would happen with every action he took.
Every step he took, sword swing, or attack would waste energy or the red threads that were still full of internal energy. When all the reserves would run out, Liang would become much weaker, as if he was under the effects of exhaustion, spending weeks without a drop of energy.
Liang could still absorb energy from the environment with his body like all creatures, even considering that he was an Axalt. However, his Spirit would not be able to fill threads with this energy or simply transfer it to his Soul Altar. He would receive unrefined energy that would marginally increase his attacking abilities.
"Give up!" Nitra exclaimed, pointing her space spear at Liang.
Liang didn't reply anything, he just continued to stare at his reflection in his own blood. It had already been years since he had last seen such an expression on his face.
"Hey! You can definitely hear me!" Nitra said confidently, "I'm giving you one last chance! If you surrender right now and let me seal your soul, I'll keep you alive!"
Liang slowly raised her head, directing her serene gaze towards Nitra. This slightly confused her, as he absolutely did not panic, even though he had good reason to do so.
"So what's next? You're going to seal my soul and keep me alive? Well, I'm willing to believe that, just as I'm willing to believe that immediately afterward I'll become a lab rat for you to experiment on. There's no way you'll miss this opportunity." Liang calmly said.
Then, Liang shrugged, "But, that's fine, I'm not judging you, I would be surprised if you would think differently considering the world you live in."
"Enough!" Nitra exclaimed sternly, "If you agree to my terms then throw your sword aside! If you wish to die, then kneel down and I will execute you according to the rules!"
Wain smirked, as did Sven and Alucard. They all knew that a person like Liang would never agree to surrender without a fight. However, that didn't mean that Liang had lost.
"I will only tell you one thing..." Liang muttered, looking at Nitra with a slight and almost happy smile on his face.
"Hmm?" Nitra raised an eyebrow in confusion, listening to his words, which had to be something very important.
"Thank you." Liang slowly said as his words echoed for hundreds of meters around.
Everyone was puzzled, especially Nitra as it was not what she expected to hear after everything that had happened. She had almost won by critically wounding Liang, and he was grateful to her.
"I can see that you are puzzled, so let me tell you something." Liang said calmly as he stepped forward, continuing to bleed.
Nitra became wary. She realized that Liang was definitely not going to give up, so the only option left was to fight to the last breath.
"Blood is a valuable material that is used in alchemy, even in the preparation of very powerful potions. Well, you probably know that, after all, you are a Construct." Liang shrugged, "As well as the fact that the stronger a creature is the more valuable its blood is, as it contains a richer, denser, and purer energy."
Nitra frowned, "So what? Everyone who has ever heard of alchemy knows what you just said! It's clear to everyone that blood is very important!"
Liang nodded, "Exactly. Especially my blood. Well, unfortunately, I'm not a Vampire, blood can't make me stronger... However, it can be a useful material."
"Agh...?" Nitra was puzzled, then her eyes went wide when a shiver went through Liang's body.
The wind around Liang started spinning faster and faster, but it moved in a strange direction, pressing close to Liang's body and expanding, then repeating over and over again.
Liang was shivering on his own as he was moving his muscles and body parts at top speed, in as small an amplitude as possible.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThus, his body was quickly becoming warmer and the temperature was constantly rising, it seemed that this effect had no limit.
Nitra was stunned, she couldn't believe her eyes and didn't understand why Liang was doing this. She could have attacked him right now, but at that moment, she wasn't thinking about the fight at all. She wanted to know what Liang's plan was.
Gradually, Liang's skin turned red, as the wind currents around became so hot that space began to distort as if in a very hot desert.
The ice around Liang immediately melted, and the higher the temperature became, the larger the area was. Ashes and soot covered his feet again, while trickles of water from the ice ran down them.
Then, the water began to evaporate rapidly, raising thick streams of steam that partially hid Liang's silhouette.
His skin was already red-hot, and if it had been an ordinary person in his place, it would have long since turned into a pile of ashes, perhaps not even it would be left.
'Damn... Even the strongest versions of steel would start to melt if they got on his skin... I'm this far away, but I can feel the intense heat... How much longer is he going to do this? Has he decided to kill himself this way?' Nitra pondered.
Nitra nodded slightly, 'Yeah... If Liang, The Strongest One, dies by burning in his own fire, it will sound more majestic than surrendering to the Progenitor of Constructs.'
Liang raised his head, directing his gaze towards the sun, as a wide smile appeared on his face.
The temperature had already reached unbelievable heights as steam was emanating from him and even his skin was beginning to burn slightly, being covered in light burns.
If Nitra approached Liang now, she could burn with him since she didn't possess the ice attribute and couldn't quickly reduce the temperature.
"Damn, it's beautiful." Wain said with a confident smirk.
"Ah? I thought he was going to fight to the end, but in the end, he decided to die that way..." Marlis snorted with a frown.
"Hahaha, what the hell are you talking about?" Wain laughed mockingly, "He already gave a clue. Just look at that." Wain pointed forward. ɴo(v)elFɪre.net
Marlis did as he said, and her eyes went wide with coldness down her back. Nitra noticed it at the same moment.
They watched as Liang's Spirit began to melt like an ingot of iron in a furnace, slowly but surely and irreversibly.