The Veilwalker

The time Ross, Alexander and Julia spent training in the accelerated time field not only encompassed grasping their given laws. Due to Alexander's nature as a Veilwalker and his speed of growth, he did not have the time to explore the inner capabilities of each power stage.

But he had all the time he needed to explore this with Ross and Julia. Through their trials and training, they were able to break down what each stage had to offer. The Semi-Immortal stage was more than just the beginning of grasping laws to a threshold of 25%.

This stage elevated the evolution and life force of the being to higher levels, effectively rendering them nearly unbreakable entities.

Semi-Immortals were capable of freely controlling their bodies and freezing their ageing process up to a certain stage, so long as their life force was not close to its end.

Additionally, their control over their magical energy reached an extreme level. They were capable of manipulating their magical energy without actually having to use their abilities. This meant they were capable of using pure energy-based attacks.

This was further pushed at the Immortal level, where their control and reach encompassed an entire galaxy within a range of 100,000 light years. With speeds faster than 870 million times the speed of light, Immortals could cross that much distance in an hour, more or less.

Immortals were more or less the representation of their law and unique magical energy, and there could be more than one being at a time.

Being the representation of their energy meant they could do anything they wanted with that energy. They were highly attuned to their unique magical energy, being capable of creating a domain — visible or otherwise — where they had absolute control.

In a certain range that meant the extreme of their expanded senses, an Immortal could dissolve and rebuild their body in another location. The laws of physical matter no longer bound them — they were practical immortals in the truest sense of the word. Unless they were killed, they weren't going anywhere.

More than that was the ability of Immortals to harness the broad spectrum of abilities their piece of law granted them. Flames were just one aspect of a larger spectrum of the law of fire, and Alexander guided Ross on the path of comprehending the entire spectrum that the law of fire had to offer.

The same was true of the law of ice.

When Alexander said he sealed their power because their control was not perfect, he truly meant it. The solar system and the surrounding bodies would have ceased to exist if Alexander had been a picosecond late.

***

Ross tapped into his control over his ambient energies, precisely transmitting his intent into the surrounding fire energies. The effects were instantaneous.

The incoming projectiles incinerated as the redhead broke down the projectiles' condensed energy state with his energy control.

At the same time, his higher level of energy control enabled him to dissipate the weak spatial energies around him, thereby breaking his prison.

The final nail to the coffin that literally inflicted a burning sensation on the souls of Serenya and her officials was the soul-devouring flames Ross ignited with his intent.

This soul-devouring flame was neither seen nor felt by his opponents. To Ross's enhanced senses, however, the flames appeared as a silver-black, with the two hues blending and swirling in an eternal dance.

"Ahh…!!!"

The soul-wrenching pain lasted less than a nanosecond. However, the damage it dealt was unlike anything they had ever experienced. That momentary break in concentration was all it took to dispel their gathered energies.

As soon as the pain disappeared, Serenya and her officials wasted no time and backed away from Ross, putting billions of kilometres between themselves and the redhead.

"W-What the hell was that…?"

One of the hunters muttered with trembling eyes filled with absolute and spine-chilling dread. He wasn't the only one, as Serenya and the others looked at Ross like some kind of monster. Just recalling the pain made their bodies shudder in dread, instilling an extreme sense of fear in their hearts.

The cause of this rising fear stood in the same spot, gazing at Serenya with a knowing smile. The redhead knew he had succeeded in breaking their will to fight, snapping them out of whatever delusions they were under.

"What's the matter?" Ross taunted with a devilish grin. "Aren't you interested in conquering this region anymore? Did I go too far…? Hehe."

"..."

For several moments, the hunters did not say a word, staring fearfully at Ross, who had decided to give them all the time they needed to think things through.

When the four who were sent into the distance arrived, they noticed the dreadful looks on the faces of their companions. They had caught a glimpse of what happened to Serenya and the others, but were unable to determine what made them appear so frightened.

"Lady Serenya, what do we do?"

Another one of Serenya's hunters called softly, hoping for a new directive, preferably one that didn't include that soul-wrenching pain. They didn't know how Ross did it, so they kept their distance, just in case.

To the question directed her way, Serenya furrowed her brows as she gazed at Ross's expression. The Arkheons' boss had no instructions to give. Her heart was still racing with a foreboding feeling —a strange sensation of the unknown.

Suddenly, her cosmic-coloured eyes brightened as Serenya executed a spatial attack, conjuring a spatial arc blade that zoomed towards Ross from his eight o'clock position. It was a deadly cutting attack that nothing could offer resistance to, and she rarely used it on people.

The attack was perfectly executed, leaving no trace of its manifestation. Serenya didn't want to escalate the issue by hurting the redhead. However, with things looking as they did at the moment, she needed to take action. It was a long shot, but she hoped it might have some effect on Ross, even if it was just increased caution.

Unfortunately for her, the way Ross responded to her sneak attack left her and her men in a deeper state of shock. Right under their gaze and senses, they all watched as Ross extended his left hand towards the space blade.

He didn't even bother to look in the direction of the incoming arc blade as he caught it in his hand. The next moment, he clenched his fist, shattering the spatial blade like glass.

"I-Impossible…"

While Serenya and her officials had their beliefs overturned, Ross's senses tuned in on the ongoing battle. 'The Starbane forces have pretty much lost the fight. Serenya's forces actually managed to do this without much bloodshed.'

He knew the Starbane forces stood no chance against the Arkheons of Valemont. His connection with Alexander was the only reason they held back all this time. However, with the formation of the UAC and its conditions for claiming territory, the Arkheons demonstrated what they were capable of.

'Let's overturn the narrative.'

Returning his focus to the still-shocked hunters, Ross stated coolly, "This farce has gone on long enough. I've shown you the futility of your actions, and it's time I sent you packing." The redhead made his move as soon as the last of the syllabus left his lips.

Ross assumed a combat stance, extending both hands towards the more than ten hunters, excluding Serenya. His eyes and figure blazed like a divine entity, the visual impact sending a shiver down the spine of the hunters.

"What's happening?!"

Before they could react, the hunters felt their bodies being restricted by unseen forces. Serenya abruptly turned her attention to her officials, realising Ross was only targeting them. With her senses honed in on Ross, she watched as the redhead made a combination of controlling gestures.

'What is he doing?!'

Serenya panicked, afraid it might be another unknown attack from Ross. However, the gestures the redhead executed reflected on her officials, making her question if Ross was truly a fire ability user.

"Ah… Lady Serenya. Help!"

"Ugh…!"

Whatever Ross did to her officials happened so fast that by the time Serenya attempted to react, it was already over. Like puppets being controlled by a puppet master, the redhead toyed with the hunters, sending them crashing into one another at incredible speeds that exceeded their capabilities.

With each collision, powerful shockwaves erupted, the kinetic energy sending massive jolts of force into the bodies of the hunters. In the blink of an eye, Ross incapacitated Serenya's officials, finally knocking them unconscious after what felt like an eternity of a disorienting park ride.

"What do you think?"

"!"

An uncharacteristic squeal of fright Serenya didn't know she could make escaped her lungs when Ross's voice suddenly echoed behind her, making her jolt forward. She turned around, only to see Ross looking at her with an amusing grin.

Serenya attempted to teleport away when her expression turned even gloomier. She didn't know how, but she was locked out, unable to use her spatial abilities. The Arkheon boss gulped as she backed away instead.

'He defeated all of them before I could even blink!' Serenya's heart was racing out of her chest. All her officials were out cold, floating helplessly in the void. 'We severely misjudged his strength. He's not at the Venerable stage!'

"Aren't Immortals incredible?"

Those words were the last straw that broke whatever remaining delusions Serenya had of conquering the region. Winning was never in the cards for them. Ross was right, their actions were futile!