What is this? Sol wondered quietly as he tilted his head, letting an empowered arrow graze past his cheek.
Till now, all the enemies or people in the King-realm that he had faced or even bothered remembering were truly exceptional individuals.
There was nothing strange about it. When comparing the overall population of the Mortal and Astral Realms with the number of existing Kings, there was no denying that, no matter how much he might look down on some of them, just ascending to the King realm gave one bragging rights. Something that they could flaunt throughout their lives.
Even at their worst, or even if they were despicable, they walked steadfastly while holding absolute confidence in the Truth inside their hearts.
This went for people like Drei or even Lupus. Entities who ascended the King realm were strong beyond measure. They were people who were worth fighting and learning from.
Perhaps this was why?
Seriously, what the fuck is this?
His disappointment was even higher than his earlier expectations. After all,
“Why the fuck are you so weak?” Another arrow inched closer, flying straight for his head. Yet this time, Sol did not even bother dodging. The arrow flew at an incredible speed, destroying everything in its wake, only to break apart like a fragile piece of glass when it finally landed on his skull.
There was no pain. No scratch. Not even the slightest recoil. The arrow splintered into a million pieces after colliding with his head. Granted his scales were one of the highest defenses available in this world’s context, but he was not even in dragon mode.
Sol sighed as he looked at the arrow vanishing after failing to do the slightest damage to him and observed the forest basking in darkness.
“I will be honest. I am very disappointed,” Sol muttered, his eyes accurately landing on the hiding Satella. Her ability to conceal her presence was commendable but it was nothing particularly impressive either.
Milia’s skills in this department were far more outstanding than hers, even before she had obtained her True Name. Compared to her current skills, the Elven Queen was nothing but a joke.
“You are the Queen of the elves, right? The leader of one of the top races in this world. A king that lived for more than a thousand years and yet… this is all you have to offer to me? And you still dare to challenge me?” His eyes narrowed, and anger started to creep in.
Sol was not deeming Satella weak simply because she was unable to wound him. He had enough practical experience by now to compare her with the other Kings he had encountered. He was positively sure that Satella was more than weak, she was pitiful.
“When was the last time you fought seriously? What about training in the truest sense? You are rusty and hesitant. Your attack lacks any intent, your mana is all over the place. Your breathing is erratic, even though we started fighting barely a few minutes ago.”
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He scratched his head. “To be honest, fighting you is nothing but a waste of time.” His words were harsh but honest.
Satella was a mess.
Sol paced leisurely toward Satella, ignoring all the arrows barraging him like machine gun fire. Those arrows were too weak to be a concern for him. Not long after he took a few steps, the surrounding gravity seemed to increase, doubly so. Slowly, ever so slowly, the pressure increased further. Soon, four times the usual amount of gravity affected the area around Sol.
Despite the modification and increase in the surrounding gravity, Sol’s gait remained undeterred. He did not stagger, stop, or even register any of the attacks really. The ground may collapse under the weight of her power, but his back stood ramrod straight.
“Pitiful.” The look in his eyes became icier than before. “What you used should be a power related to the concept of Pride, right? But it’s so weak, it’s depressing.”
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“I see… So it doesn’t affect you.” For the first time, she talked. But her voice showed no surprise, only a silent acceptance.
“If I were to kneel because of a shattered Pride, Tiamat would kill me.” He laughed, and with a wave of his hand, the pressure vanished instantly as if it had never existed in the first place.
“From what I understand, this ability to manipulate gravity is related to the concept of Pride. More than gravity, this is the weight of the user's ambition. A weight that can push down anyone with a weaker belief than the user and even dominates the will of the world.” Sol shook his head. “One could call it the power of pure delusion. This is a power directly tied to the belief one has in their strength. Theoretically speaking, this power can even bypass the level restriction.”
If someone was crazy enough or had a particularly powerful mind to delude themselves into thinking they were the greatest in all of existence, then… Even a Duke might be able to make a Demigod kneel. Of course, this power was limited by the simple reality of this world and the restriction it imposed on its beings on a certain level. Even so, it was truly something with an extremely high potential.
The catch was also quite obvious.
“The lower your confidence, the lower your pride, the lower this power becomes.” A concept that entirely depended on the mindset of the user.
In Satella’s case,
“I do not know how strong you were one thousand years ago. But now, your ambitions are too small and shabby. In the first place, do you even have anything left in you? Do you even hold dreams of ambition any longer?”
He stopped just one step short of colliding with the elf. Two pairs of blue eyes gazed into each other.
“You know. What I am most curious about is… Why allow the use of concepts? Was it pride? Did you not want to give me too many handicaps, despite knowing very well that you were outmatched?”
Her eyes showed a certain serenity, while Sol showed more and more curiosity. He just couldn’t get a grasp on this situation. It just did not make sense to him at all.
“Though to be fair… Even without that concept of yours, there was never any chance of you winning. Your chances of victory were nil to begin with. But you should have known that from the start, right?” It was not arrogance. As he was now, unless it was a King that was already halfway through the demigod realm like Sun Wukong or Lilith, there was simply no way for anyone in the King realm to even make him frown.
“I did.” Satella nodded.
“If so, then… Why?” Now it was time to answer to the crux of the matter. Why challenge him? Why set herself up for further humiliation? “Wouldn’t losing to me break your Pride even further and thus weaken you more?”
“How could my Pride break when I have none left?” Her answer was only a sad smile, the smile of a broken woman. “I will be honest. As I am now, calling me a King is nothing but an exaggeration.” The bow and arrow in her hands vanished.
“For one thousand years, I have been constantly weakening. My concept is breaking apart. My True Name is leaving my grasp. My power is waning. I am nothing more than a husk of my past self. A pitiful Queen only by name, not even respected by the Elders she governs.”
Sol shrugged, “Your sob story is interesting, and I understand your plight. But why should I care? How does that matter to me?” Sol had an inkling about what was about to happen, but he was not particularly interested.
“The Witch of Life talked to me and told me that you could change my destiny. She told me that you had experience in dealing with crumbling power and could even bestow a new path upon me.”
“Persephone speaks too much sometimes.” He mumbled, “But you see… What is in it for me? Having a weak King like you under my order would help me control this country far more easily. Nay, in the first place, do I even need your help? As things stand, one word from me would be enough for the three-quarters of Southern Pride to rise in rebellion under my flag. What can you give me that would be worth the trouble?”
“My everything.” Her eyes held a strong will as she uttered those words. She was ready to sell everything she had. Her body and soul if necessary, all for more power. She knew that the prince was an extremely lustful man. She had been observing him for days now, after all.
Sol smiled at her. He could understand what she was thinking and knew what she was expecting. Sadly for her, “Your everything— is worth nothing to me.” He told her the cold hard truth and walked away.
As of now, he lost most of his interest in the woman called Satella Superbia.