Chapter 595: Ripping Through

Aliyah POV

She didn’t think Derek should be out here, especially during this mess. But having Cain and Freya at their side alleviated many of her worries. Having one Tier 6 was already an extreme show of power that even the Empire couldn’t easily deploy.

Still, she didn’t like risking Derek. She had already heard reports that many scions of noble families were either killed or kidnapped during the chaos. Some of them were even children of people she knew. The Conclave had been playing it quiet for the past few years, but it was evident that they no longer had the same intention.

This was practically a declaration of war.

So she tagged along with Derek’s group of friends. She agreed with Cain and Freya that it would be a good experience for them, with little risk, given who was waiting in the back to save them if needed.

However, to her concern, this wasn’t a mission for the whole group. It was purely for Julius, from what she could tell.

When they heard of Julius’s return, they all headed back without hesitation. But upon her arrival, she immediately noticed that the boy wasn’t the same. Somehow, he managed to advance during the time he was gone. Unbelievable.

That wasn’t what baffled her the most, either. It was the pressure she felt from him. She always knew that Julius was a powerful fighter. After all, he more than demonstrated that simple fact during the tournament. Everyone who watched his fights could see the brilliance of his talents. He would become a powerhouse someday.

Someday.

So when she saw him gathering mana, she couldn’t help but flinch back in astonishment. An impossible dense wave of energy was being concentrated within his body. It was nothing compared to what he had displayed during the tournament.

She heard the slow thumping of his energy accumulating. Each pulsation shook her body. Dark blue flames from his crown billowed out from his back like a scorching cape. Just looking at the flames hurt her senses. The aspects of destruction and ruin were so powerful that her own authority and domain reacted reflexively to protect her.

She peeked behind her and noticed that his friends had already backed away. Not because of fear of him, but because the energy he was releasing was so powerful that it was physically hurting them with each tick.

Still, it was shocking when the door and its protections were eviscerated with a single kick. The entire building shook, and she could already feel the enemies inside reacting, taking up arms. She was certain that Julius could sense the same, but he still strolled through the doors unhurriedly. It almost felt like he wanted them to have time to prepare.

His authority surged out from him as he stalked toward the incoming enemies.

She turned to look at Cain and Freya, both of whom were looking at Julius with unsurprised expressions on their faces.

“What did you do to him?” She asked quietly, but knew that they would hear her.

“Nothing. He did this all on his own,” Freya answered softly.

Aliyah had more questions, but before she could ask them, Freya and Cain followed Julius into the building. She could feel Freya continuously monitoring the barrier she had placed and making sure nobody interfered. Aliyah had decent enough senses and control for a Tier 5 that she was able to see what Freya was doing.

The Tier 6 woman demonstrated an elegance and command of mana that had Aliyah staring in awe. She was so awestruck that she almost failed to notice when the enemies were already confronting Julius in an open atrium with pillars all around the surrounding areas.

They attacked him on sight. Almost all of them were Tier 4s, and Aliyah prepared some mana to help Julius when she felt Cain rip away her technique with a casual flick of his hand. It would seem that they were really serious about letting Julius do this all on his own.

She was forced to watch behind the cover of Freya’s concealment barrier as over ten Tier 4s converged on Julius. Blasts of mana from every direction threatened to slam into the young boy. However, Julius was already prepared, and a barrier of blue light formed around him, just like the shields he used during the tournament.

Except this barrier was much stronger, which was saying something, since he had some of the most robust barriers among all the participants. The swarm of attacks splashed against the barrier, and only the more powerful ones had any effect.

Still, a single barrier wasn’t enough to hold off the combined efforts of so many Tier 4s. The barrier slowly started to show signs of fracturing and fraying around the edges. However, Julius didn’t reinforce the barrier as she expected. Instead, he sent the barrier flying forward, catching all of the attacks head-on. Some dove out of the way, and other warrior-focused fighters smashed their weapons against it, shattering the barrier.

He used this opening to dash forward. Several attacks managed to find gaps in his defenses and threatened to hit him from the side, but she spotted a field of what she knew to be kinetic energy around Julius’s body.

He had used a similar skill during the tournament. But this skill was also influenced by his advancement; the field destroyed and consumed the attacks with prejudice. She could feel his authority and kinetic energy tearing the attacks apart. None of the attacks was strong enough to withstand his oppressive authority.

Several powerful blasts of disruptive mana tried to wrestle his control away from him, but they had no effect. Julius’s will stood firm and smacked aside these disruptive attacks with ease.

By the time the enemies realized their attacks weren’t having the intended effects, Julius was already in their midst. And it was mayhem.

His kinetic field tore large gouges of flesh from his opponents when they got within several feet of him. He could sense that he was interrupting their movements as well. Slight shoves of kinetic energy at their feet to destabilize them, as well as blocking attacks aimed at his back.

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He was being absolutely bombarded by so many attacks that she could barely make out his form during the chaos. Her instincts led her to step forward to help him. This wasn’t something a lone Tier 4 could handle alone.

To her alarm, Cain used some kind of skill to hold her still. She was held in place by an indomitable will and could do nothing but watch as Julius was swarmed by countless attacks.

This was also the case for Derek and his friends. They could do nothing but witness the bombardment from the back.