Realm of Myths and Legends (WN)

Zakra's Harmonic Spear of Causality allowed Izroth to exert brief control over the principle of Causality.

However, given his lack of mastery of the skill, Izroth was unable to unleash its full potential. This limited the number of ways in which he could utilize the principle of Causality. And, it applied even more so against someone of Ourami's caliber.

Nevertheless, despite the inherent limitations due to Izroth's current mastery, the principle of Causality remained incredibly versatile. It simply required one to be creative in their execution.

'If the mountain is immovable, I just have to move the earth around it.'

Izroth understood that even if he was successful in the use of Causality against Ourami, the effects would break almost instantly due to the power gap between them. Therefore, he had no choice but to utilize a more indirect approach.

Swoosh!

Izroth slashed through the air with his Sword of the Storm, leaving behind a faint trail of purple lightning as it descended towards Ourami.

"This time, I shall seize your very fate," Ourami stated calmly.

The following moment, the pillar's right eye released a faint glow as his right hand moved and his tail reacted to Izroth's incoming attack.

The Epithet of Seizing--this was the ability contained within Ourami's right hand.

With it, the pillar could "seize" things that were both physical and intangible. Be it one's train of thought or the strength behind their attack, Ourami was able to separate it from its source.

Although the effect was temporary, in a place like a battlefield, such an ability could change the entire flow of a battle within an instant.

It was with this ability that Ourami kept Hakros' abnormal strength at bay with seemingly relative ease and limited Izroth's movement skills at key moments.

However, if it was just that much, the celestials would not consider Ourami to be the individual with the highest combat potential among the pillars.

It was not an overstatement to call the Epithet of Seizing a fleeting ability as it only lasted a fraction of a second. This meant that Ourami had to possess flawless timing with his execution; otherwise, it was practically worthless.

Even for someone at the peak of the legendary realm, it was impossible to always have perfect execution within such a limited window of time. But, for Ourami, it was different because of one thing--the Epithet of Divination.

The pillar's right eye allowed him to peer up to three seconds into the future!

While this was not considered impressive as far as futuresight was concerned, most of those abilities typically required one to perform a long ritual and serve a being capable of granting them divine power.

When it came to the battlefield, one could not exactly perform an entire ritual in the middle of a fight. Therefore, in terms of combat effectiveness, Ourami's ability was leagues ahead!

Paired with his Epithet of Seizing, it created a perfect combination where he always knew the precise moment to "seize" something from his target.

Just as Ourami's tail was about to clash with Izroth's Sword of the Storm, it changed its trajectory and avoided the blade. Instead, the tail struck the ground in front of Ourami, causing the earth it collided with to shatter and form a dust cloud.

'Is he trying to obstruct my vision? It won't work.'

Izroth had his Energy Vision Sense active and his sense of perception was at the highest level it had ever been before. How could he lose track of someone with just a little bit of dust blocking his eyesight?

Izroth activated Zakra's Harmonic Spear of Causality. He used it on his Sword of the Storm and adjusted the causality so that "The Sword of the Storm will always reach its intended target."

As for the effect it would bring into existence, it was "The Sword of the Storm hits its target".

So, no matter where Ourami moved to or how far he ran, Izroth's Sword of the Storm would find him!

Of course, Izroth was curious as to why Ourami altered the path of his tail at the last second.

From what Izroth had experienced thus far, the pillar was not the type to back away from a head-on challenge. Most likely, his pride as a pillar would not allow him to do so even if he wanted to. Therefore, his actions came off as somewhat unusual to Izroth.

But, Izroth had no plans of pulling his attack back. In the end, he could not afford to back down and risk losing a potential opportunity.

Needless to say, Izroth was not being completely reckless. Since he still had the protection provided by the Veil of the Seventh Origin Flames, he could receive another direct hit or two from Ourami without instantly losing his life.

Out of nowhere, Izroth's Sword of the Storm shot forward through the dust cloud near its center.

The principle of causality seemed to be taking effect as the blade found its way to Ourami.

However, right as Izroth cut through the dust cloud and caused it to split apart, he felt a heavy force crash into his Sword of the Storm.

'?!'

Without warning, a powerful torrent of liquid shot out of the crack in the earth created by Ourami's tail not that long ago.

The liquid erupted like a geyser; however, at first glance, one could tell that it was not water due to its murky black color.

In fact, Izroth recognized this liquid as the same substance that was in the lake where he liberated Hakros.

'This is...'

The torrent of black liquid was unbelievably heavy. Each drop of the liquid made Izroth feel as though his sword was being hit by a solid iron ball the size of one's fist.

Despite this unexpected interrupt, Izroth's Sword of the Storm continued on its path towards Ourami, who was just on the other side of the torrent of black liquid. But, there was a problem.

If Izroth continued on with his attack, he would have to go right through the black liquid to reach Ourami. After all, his Sword of the Storm was guaranteed to reach its target, but that did not mean there would be no obstacles along the way that may bring harm to Izroth.

Woosh!

Izroth's Soul Sense sounded in his head as a silver streak curved around the torrent of black liquid and swiftly positioned itself at Izroth's back. It was Ourami's tail! However, it appeared that the tail had doubled in length as it extended further outward than normal.

In the blink of an eye, Izroth was placed in between the black liquid and Ourami's tail. This left him with a difficult choice to make.

If he continued onward, without a doubt, Izroth knew that he would lose the last of his protective aura. However, if he forcibly canceled the causality applied to his sword and attempted to avoid the pincer-like assault, it was likely that Ourami was expecting it and would immediately seal his movements to prevent his escape.

If that happened, not only would Izroth have gained nothing in the process, but he would still suffer the same outcome of being struck from both sides!

Since he would be hit either way, Izroth decided that the best course of action was to not let up. Besides, he still had a few tricks up his sleeves.

'I may not be able to parry it from this angle, but...'

All of a sudden, Ourami's tail slowed down and dropped slightly as if a heavy burden was abruptly placed upon it.

'That should buy me some time.'

Without halting his actions, Izroth used one of the inscriptions placed on his Sword of the Storm called Concealed Heavy Wounds.

This allowed Izroth to instantly double the mass of a target, which, in turn, decreased its overall maneuverability.

Though even under the effects of Concealed Heavy Wounds, Ourami's tail was still quite fast and quickly on its way to catching up to Izroth.

BANG!

[-30,058]

[-30,058]

...

[-30,058]

The black liquid slammed into Izroth's body, immediately reducing what was left of his protective aura by more than 30% of its initial value.

'It's heavy... Is it some kind of liquid metal?'

Izroth did not have much time to think as he emerged from the black liquid to the other side of the geyser-like eruption.

There, Ourami stood without a hint of concern as a small grin appeared on the pillar's face.

"I can see everything," Ourami commented as the glow in his right eye dimmed.

The mysterious aura Ourami's right eye emitted did not disappear. In fact, it grew even stronger than before!