Heaven's Protection. It's Noelle's generated skill upon achieving the Glimpse of her Transcendent Pathway. It's different from the skill that one would naturally acquire upon completing their Mortal Pathway.
I remembered the girl coming to me saying that it's something that is a very useful passive skill with one downside. It will only be triggered if ever she is faced with a fatal danger. In short, it's a life-saving skill that not everyone could have.
When it gets triggered, it would use not only her Source Energy reserves but also the surrounding inherent Source Energy to protect her from dying in a swift fatal strike.
It's still possible to fail if the fatal strike came from an insurmountable entity with Source Energy so thick that it would be impossible to nullify the damage. For example, a Sage.
For the Bonds of Serendipity to pull that out at my moment of demise, it's kind of laughable how lucky I became.
After I expelled all of my Source Energy to prevent it from freezing, everything that my faucets have been trying to shove into me was once again used to activate the skill, leaving me in another powerless state.
At the moment, instead of falling into unconsciousness, it kept me awake just enough to be aware of my surroundings. I was plummeting helplessly due to the prolonged Energy Exhaustion while also enduring the excruciating pain coming from my chest. I probably already lost a lot of blood but for the sake of survival, I kept holding on to my consciousness.
Noelle's skill only prevented me from dying but it wouldn't heal me right away.
I couldn't even hear Tem's system messages. With the lack of Source Energy, the incarnation within myself was also silenced.
Thankfully, with my mental fortitude of a former Divinity, panicking had long been pushed out of my head.
Allowing myself to free fall and not move at all while calmly analyzing my situation to survive this predicament born from my carelessness.
The veiled woman that should've been blasted away from her attempt to end me should also be in a critical condition.
We were both put at death's door. If she recovered quicker than me, I doubt I would be able to activate the same skill through the Bonds. That would really be my end.
But if it's the other way around... This world. The world that I chose to destroy just to make a demonstration would no longer have the pillar holding it up.
It would fall even if it's not against me but against my Companions who wouldn't take it lightly seeing me in grave danger.
However, with my head clearing up, I once again got hit by the dilemma of whether we should continue with my original intention or not.
Innocents will die and the destruction of this world will not even damage the prestige of the Overworld Serpent. It will only make them aware that somewhere out here in the lower reaches of our known universe, someone dared to take away something from them.
It's pointless to say that they'll bleed out because of one lost Level 1 World when they could get countless more of them in an almost infinite number of World Zones.
Their experts stationed here, no matter how they lauded themselves like some kind of officer in their organization, weren't the cream of the crop as well.
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[0:02]
[0:01]
[0:00]
[Energy Exhaustion state has ended]
As my head continued spinning through those thoughts, an angelic voice rang in my ears at the same time as my senses returned when the Energy Exhaustion ended.
It's mental communication through the crystal.
"Daisuke! Please answer me! I'm coming for you!"
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I had no idea how long it was but not long after that voice reached me, someone caught me in their secured embrace.
Despite the person's short arms, they held onto me tightly, preventing my body from plunging down into the sea of lava.
Like a ray of sunlight that broke past the cloudy, dark skies, they brought the warmth that I very much needed compared to the furious heat of the sea of lava below.
"It'll be fine. I won't let you die!" With a strong conviction in their voice, they activated a skill.
A tempest of Source Energy gathered around us before it fully enshrouded my weakened body. I could feel the pain easing up as the Source Energy within my body gradually recovered. At first, it was a drizzle but eventually a torrent of Source Energy coming from various sources mended my weakened state.
When I finally got the chance to see my savior, I caught a distressed, almost crying expression from the normally shy and timid Noelle.
Yep. In the end, not only her skill saved me but she also took the risk of coming over to ensure my survival.
They're all locked in their respective battles against the other Rank 3 Transcendents. It must be difficult for not just her but all of them.
"Daisuke!"
She called out once again and this time, I forced my head to move and faced her worried gaze. My lips stretched in difficulty as I attempted to smile at her.
"You're alive! Yes! Don't worry, I'll protect you this time!"
Uncharacteristic of her usually timid demeanor, Noelle sounded more desperate than ever. Holding me close to her, her brilliant Source Energy bloomed in a magnificent light as her radiant Halo which signified her complete Mortal Pathway from the World of System deflected an incoming attack from my assailant.
The veiled woman who vowed to kill me, despite her own critical state, launched that attack to ensure my demise.
The tailed barbarian that I killed was definitely someone with the same importance as me to my Companions for her. She wouldn't allow me to live even if it would also bring about her own end.
I couldn't see it clearly but Noelle activated another skill and this time, instead of her normal Blessings that boosted our stats, it's a counterattack against the veiled woman.
Whether that ended her or not, I had no idea.
Moments later, a translucent pair of wings sprouted on Noelle's back as she flew me away from that spot.
Our destination; the Kingfisher which was still relatively safe despite being in the middle of the battlefield.
While doing so, the girl told me what exactly happened and how she immediately took action.
Because the Bonds of Serendipity drew a skill from her, she was notified by it. Knowing what entails for the activation of that skill, Noelle quickly detached from Yuko, Caila, Zerina and Reinys to come to my rescue.
Which means, they were left to deal with the pair of Rank 3 Transcendents. Without my support buffs and Noelle's Blessings, they would be at an immediate disadvantage. And the same could be said for the other girls.
Hikari was the only one left to support them and with the faucet I directed to her gone, the Glacial Domain that she copied had also started crumbling.
Fortunately, the veiled woman's domain was also pulled back when she decided to go all out on me.
Still, with how pivotal my role is... I couldn't help but feel the need to go out again and help them.
Noelle won't have it though.
Pushing me on my chest and having my back rest on the wall, the girl sternly advised, "Recover here, Daisuke. Don't push yourself and recover. Now, more than ever, we want you to prioritize your health. Watch us finish this, we'll be expecting your praise later."
Upon saying that, her angelic smile once again bloomed, and upon activating another skill that enclose me in some kind of protective barrier, the girl flew away, her translucent wings flapping elegantly as she rejoined the battlefield with Yuko and the others while also informing them of my state.
"She's right... I should focus on recovering rather than putting myself in danger again. However…"
As I muttered that to myself, my eyes focused outside and instantly, I found the veiled woman who had yet to die.
She's maniacally laughing while also trying to recover her Source Energy without even stopping to tend to her own critical wounds.
For her, destroying all of us in revenge for the tailed barbarian had become her sole purpose.
Then I too, should make sure to protect my loved ones against her. It's karmic retribution but that's just how it is in this dog-eat-dog universe. Only the strong ones have a say in who will survive in the end.
"Hey, I'll be using you this time. Don't fail me."
"Heh. Finally, Source Energy being! You should've used this one from the start! Behold the power of Chaotic Energy!"
That's right. Even if I'm still recovering my drained-out Source Energy, I still have another source. The one that I had assimilated recently. The Chaotic Energy from the Small Chaosworld.
It's risky but it's better than waiting.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l