Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

At the same time, a few miles away from where Olivier had just lost consciousness, an epic battle was taking place.

Linley couldn't remember the last time he had been in such a bad position. His once radiant azure scales had dimmed considerably, or at least what was left of them. He was a bloodied mess, but the fire in his eyes still burned bright as he continuously waved his swords to defend himself.

'This Linley…' Felicia sighed to herself in amazement as she continued to bombard him with spell after spell. 'Even now, his swordsmanship is improving at a visible speed.'

Despite being put firmly on the back foot, the defensive ability of Linley's [Rippling Tide Stance] was becoming more and more airtight.

Till now, because Linley rarely ever met an opponent who could force him into a corner like this, he had focused primarily on the offensive nature of the [Rippling Tide Stance], but it was only now that he realised how foolish that was.

He always knew that the defensive aspect of his [Rippling Tide Stance] was impressive, but it was only now that he realised that it was actually much better suited to defence. After coming to that realisation, Linley forced himself to forget everything he thought he knew about the Concept of water and start again, focusing primarily on its defensive nature. As such, he was able to bring his swordsmanship to a whole new level.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Felicia hadn't been going all out before that point either.

Linley's new and improved sword stance brought his strength to the level of a prime saint – albeit reluctantly – and yet, in response, Felicia simply increased the might of her spells, a feat that shocked Linley to no end.

Having previously received the complete list of Laws and their respective Profound Mysteries from Ace, Linley was easily able to discern that Felicia had become a prime saint by comprehending the Law of Light's Profound Mystery of the Essence of Light to over 90%, and though impressive, it wasn't shocking, but the moment he achieved his own breakthrough, Felicia revealed a might that, whilst unable to compare to a Demi-God's, had clearly surpassed what one should expect from your average prime saint.

"You…" Linley continuously waved his swords in a graceful manner, futilely attempting to dispel the force of each light blast as he suppressed the shock in his heart. "Fused Mysteries…"

"Fused mysteries?" Felicia muttered curiously, having clearly heard Linley's shocked words. "So that's what it's called, huh?"

Like most of the other experts on the Yulan plane, Felicia's understanding of the progression of power was sorely lacking. As such, she had no idea how impressive her accomplishment was. All she knew was that, after a sudden moment of comprehension during a life-or-death situation, she subconsciously fused her ability to control and manipulate her light elemental mageforce with her ability to purify it.

Though it was still very much in its embryonic stages, the fusion allowed her light elemental mageforce to become several times more pure, and by extension, several times more powerful.

Immediately, she went from a peak saint on the same level as Heidens and Lehman to a prime saint seemingly more powerful than even Fain, an expert who had been a prime saint for hundreds of years already.

Unfortunately, before she could ask Linley anything else, a black shadow scurried through the air like a bolt of lightning, distracting her for just enough time for Linley to mount a counterattack.

"[FROST WAVE]!" Linley roared as he slashed his swords with all his might.

A frosty energy, several times more powerful than any of his previous uses of his ultimate technique, exploded out of him, freezing everything in its path, from the ground to the air; even space threatened to freeze with his attack.

Felicia was just about to deal with the incoming black shadow when she felt the icy air of Linley's ultimate technique surround her, threatening to freeze her from the inside out.

Her beautiful hazel eyes constricted slightly as she saw the ferret-sized black rat whizzing towards her neck, bearing its fangs and claws.

After her recent breakthrough, dealing with a surprise attack like this should've been simplicity in and of itself, but with Linley's [Frost Wave] taking effect, she found her reactions a lot slower than they should've been.

Still, her eyes quickly regained their usual calm as her gentle voice rang in the ears of Bebe and Linley, "[World Purifying Light]!"

World Purifying Light was one of the three known forbidden spells of the light element, and although it wasn't directly as powerful as single-target forbidden spells like Pheonix Metamorphosis or Dimensional Edge, with Felicia's comprehension of the fused mysteries, its power didn't lose out in the slightest.

With Felicia at the epicentre, a white light exploded out of her, turning everything it touched – be it the trees or the grass – into dust.

"BEBE!" Linley bellowed in fear as he watched the white light envelope his partner.

Linley was on the verge of losing himself to his madness, preparing to charge unhesitantly into the bright light when his master's voice entered his mind.

"Calm down, Linley," Doehring Cowart called out, using a hint of his spiritual essence, causing just enough of a jolt to wake Linley from his crazed state. "Trust in Bebe – you know how powerful his defence is."

Linley didn't respond, but seeing how he didn't charge in immediately, it was clear he heard his master's words. Still, his entire focus was on his spiritual connection to his familiar.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long.

"Ahh, that really hurt," Bebe cried out via their bond as he shot out of the blast zone, landing back on Linley's shoulder.

"Bebe," Linley called out in relief as he hurriedly lifted his partner into his hands, not minding the blood. "You're alright."

Linley's concern was understandable. The might of that attack was nothing short of incredible, but once again, Bebe showed what it meant to be an apex-level Divine Beast.

"Of course I am – I'm a Godeater Rat!" Bebe puffed out his chest with pride. "Our defence is unmatched in the universe!"

His usually glistening black fur was singed and matted with blood and dirt, but other than that, he was perfectly fine.

Linley, who had finally calmed down, nodded believingly. He had always known Bebe's defence was astounding, but because they rarely went up against opponents this powerful, they had never got the chance to find out the true limits of Bebe's defence – until now.

Before they could continue with their conversation, a calm and curious voice entered their ears.

"How could you be here?" Felicia frowned softly as she studied the basically uninjured Godeater Rat in Linley's arms before turning towards the direction Bebe had just come from.

As far as she knew, there was no way Bebe and Olivier had the ability to defeat so many of her subordinates this quickly, and there was no way they would simply allow Bebe to come here.

Unfortunately, her fight with Linley caused them to travel several miles away, making them out of eyeshot of the other battlefield, and with her spiritual essence being severely constricted, she had no way of finding out what was going on over there.

Still, other than being a little surprised, she didn't feel much else. With her current strength, she was easily able to suppress them both whilst showing enough restraint from killing Bebe. Although, by the looks of it, killing Bebe would be a tall task in and of itself anyway.

Felicia may not have known what happened on the other battlefield, but Linley did. With their spiritual connection, Bebe had long since told him about Olivier's actions.

Although he was concerned about their new ally, he knew that without Bebe, his chances of coming out alive were zero.

"Bebe, you be my support," Linley sent mentally as he prepared for round two.

"Boss, you're in a worse state than me. Let me be the main force this time," Bebe sent back. "You've seen my defence; she won't be able to do anything even if she wants to. Plus, she's probably too scared of offending Grandpa Beirut to really try and kill me."

Linley frowned slightly. He knew Bebe wasn't wrong, but he knew better than anyone how powerful Felicia was now. That last attack, as powerful as it was, was merely a last-second attack to protect herself. If she had truly been attacking Bebe, he knew Bebe's defence, as impressive as it was, wouldn't be enough to protect him. Still…

"Boss, trust me!" Bebe sent mentally, able to sense Linley's concern. "I know what I'm doing."

"Okay, fine," Linley replied, sensing Bebe's resolve. "But make sure to pay attention to your safety first."

"Haha, don't worry, boss," Bebe chortled. "Just watch as I show you the true might of a Godeater Rat!"

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Story Complete!

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