NOVEL NEXT Chapter 963: Difference
While the dark copies kept their distance, Ryan managed to stop their attacks and stole enough mana to keep going like that without worrying about anything. However, soon they understood that Ryan wasn't in a hurry, and then they created those double-edged ice spears that Ryan used many times. He clicked his tongue in annoyance because he knew what was about to happen.
Using Telekinesis, the dark copies made the spears spin and fly toward Ryan from different angles. Ryan had a hard time making those weapons disappear with Chaotic Hunger Crossbow because they weren't proper spells. When the weapons got close enough and surrounded him, Ryan made Solar Arrows rain down in the area, making them melt. Soon after, the dark copies did the same they aimed at Ryan, but he repelled the bolts with his weapons.
"You truly are resourceful, but what would happen if you lose those numerous weapons that you have?" Ymir asked. "A weapon can be a useful tool to increase the effectiveness of one's abilities, but the overuse of them might hinder your growth."
"You think so?" Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. "Tell me then how an archer can fight without bows and crossbows then. If your answer is the use of magic, then I wouldn't be an archer."
"Perhaps you shouldn't be, weapons can be stolen, but magic can't… at least not when you reach a certain level of power," Ymir said. "Nevertheless, you are planning to stall for time, but that isn't going to help anyone."
If Ryan knew a way to attack and cause damage, he wouldn't be wasting his time like that. Since his attacks that had divinity weren't working, he couldn't help but wonder how the elder gods were planning to fight. Considering that Ryan couldn't cause damage, it was hard to imagine any other human being causing it. While he was wondering about that… Ryan had an idea.
"Merlin… do you think that Soul Spliting Arrow can damage him?" Ryan asked via Telepathy.
"I suppose it is worth a try, that being said, I don't think someone like him would let such a skill have much effect," Merlin replied.
Since the projectiles passed by Ymir earlier as if he was a ghost, Ryan assumed that the skill might work. He had forgotten about it since causing pain on a soul was quite nasty. Regardless, before the dark copies might try anything else, he attacked Ymir. However, the Soul Splitting Arrows passed by him like all the others.
"Hmm? You tried something different I see," Ymir said.
Ryan frowned and then was forced to use Teleport when the dark copies bombarded him with Solar Arrows again. Instead of counter-attacking or blocking them, Ryan thought about why Ymir reacted to the attacks, even though they didn't damage him…
"Merlin… why do you think he said that?" Ryan asked.
"You know that I am not supposed to hell you like this, right?" Merlin asked.
"You asshole… we are fighting for the sake of Earth," Ryan frowned. "Whoe cares about those stupid rules that your stupid creator put on you."
"If it weren't for my stupid creator, your universe would be doomed from the very beginning," Merlin said.
"My ass, it is because of him that we didn't have much time to prepare. Although I can't deny that is thanks to him that many survived in the beginning," Ryan said. "Nevertheless… Shit."
The dark copies began to like the battle too much now that Ryan was focused on dodging. Ryan didn't have time to complain, and asking Merlin for help was useless, so he had to find the answers he wanted by himself… but first, he had to deal with the copies.
When the creatures tried to attack Ryan from all angles again, he stopped and fired used the Chaotic Hunger Crossbow. Just as expected, the attacks were blocked, but Ryan didn't stop there. When he pulled the trigger, he also fired Soul Splitting Arrows behind the projectiles. When the dark copies saw that, it was already too late. They got hit and began to tremble uncontrollably.
"... So, they have souls…" Ryan muttered.
If they had souls, then Ryan could seal them into weapons. However, before he could do that, Ymir canceled the spell making the dark copies disappear alongside Mindscape Materialization. When Ryan returned to the real world, he saw that the elder gods were fine, and their copies had also disappeared.
"I thought I would have some more time, but in the end, I was forced to do more than I planned," Ymir said. "I am satisfied for today because I don't plan on doing all the work for those two. Let's see how you guys will handle them as well."
After saying that, Ymir disappeared, and slowly the atmosphere returned to normal. Most people didn't know what he was talking about. However, the elder gods and the most powerful humans knew that he was talking about Lucifer and Chronus… unfortunately, they were approaching Earth.
"It seems we won't have time to deal with one of them before the others approach," Isis said while making a complicated expression. "Ryan, he summoned your mind somewhere, didn't he? Did you learn anything?"
"I tried, but we didn't have much time to learn anything," Ryan said.
"It is fine, I can analyze his powers by using your memories," Merlin said. "It will be faster if you use Void World."
"All right… aside from that, I tried some attacks but nothing worked, not even attacks that were supposed to damage the soul," Ryan said. "Odin, you fought and damaged him thanks to Gungnir, am I right? What else can we do? What is the secret behind Gungnir?"
"You are right… I caused some damage thanks to Gungnir, but the difference in power was too great to make any difference," Odin said after a long sigh. "As for the secret of Gungnir… It is a combination of Death Manipulation, Time Manipulation, and Space Manipulation. By using Death Manipulation, I can cause damage without revealing the nature of the attack and using the other two, the attack is instant and unblockable."