Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 768 - Maze Lock - Interstice of Life and Death

Chapter 768: 768 Maze Lock – Interstice of Life and Death

The middle-aged man with a deformed appearance slightly drooped his eyelids as he deeply exhaled through his nose:

“Yes, in my life, there hasn’t been much happiness to remember. I only have her. Having seen so much death, having been through so much—it all seems destined.”

Dark pus flowed from Shard’s right palm:

“All mortals must die, and you should understand this as well.”

At that moment, Joey Barton’s eyes seemed to glow. Shard was determined to witness the epics of the Sixth Era, and he, too, was determined to retrieve his beloved:

“Yes, all mortals must die—everything must come to an end. So, if Midshire Fort falls because of this, then that is what destiny dictates. If tens of thousands die here, then that is the Death of Destiny meant for them.”

“In that case, Joey Barton, we are no longer friends—I must stop you.”

“Mr. Watson, yes, if you intend to stop me, then we are enemies! I truly admire you, but we walk different paths…”

Before he could finish, a dark Light Trace slashed down through the mist. Unbeknownst when, behind Joey Barton in the thick fog, the figure draped in a black robe had appeared. The Scythe of the Grim Reaper fell with an air of bringing everything to an end, thinning the surrounding fog.

This strike was made without holding back. Yet the black glimmer that seemed to slice through everything, when it fell, didn’t touch the cold and firm Earth of the Interstice.

Shard raised his arm, which was coated in pus, grasping the descending scythe:

“Sorry, I’m immune to Instant Death Attacks.”

The demon power began to dissolve upon contact with the scythe, leaving Shard holding the massive scythe with his bare hands; it couldn’t bring Shard to the end of his life because he had long understood the power of false immortality:

“All deaths are illusory to me—no one but myself can cause my demise!”

Even as The Chosen One, Joey Barton couldn’t maintain the Grim Reaper’s phantom behind him for long; as the scythe disappeared, so did Shard amidst the fog.

The short-statured middle-aged man vigilantly surveyed the surrounding fog, which soon revealed a dense array of red dots. Upon closer inspection, these were translucent Red Butterflies, fluttering in the fog, bringing vibrant colors to this monochrome world.

A dazzling Silver Light appeared right ahead, and as it burst forth, intersecting Light Traces attacked straight towards him. A short scythe appeared in Mr. Barton’s hand. Exerting all his strength, he swung his weapon, and the scythe collided with the Silvermoon Slash, both disappearing simultaneously.

Simultaneously, he also heard the sound of air above him. Shard, with both hands on the sword, descended from the sky; Barton could only barely roll aside to dodge. Before he could stand upright, a dark chain had already bound his feet.

With his right hand morphing into a massive black form, Shard jerked fiercely, flinging Joey Barton into the air with the chains.

Leveraging the demon’s immense power, Shard raised his right hand and swung the chains; spinning at high speed, the chains stirred the surrounding white fog, producing a sound of tearing through the air.

Once Shard felt the chains had reached their maximum velocity, he released their length and ceased his swinging motion. At the end of the Great Sin Chain, Joey Barton, like a projectile, flew with the chain towards the edge of the plaza, crashing into the wall on the second floor of a gray building. The building collapsed with a dull thump.

“Cough cough~”

Before he could crawl out from under the rubble, the chain around his ankles tightened, and it dragged him out of the debris again. Then, a figure appeared in the air, and Shard, leaping high, reached down from above. With a deafening impact, he firmly pinned Barton to the ground with his enormous hand, leaving only his head exposed outside the giant hand.

Priest Augustus was right. Even with the intimidating effect of the “Scythe of the Grim Reaper, all things die,” Joey Barton, before the ceremony, was still but a First Ring Sorcerer. In a dream state of the Interstice where Soul Power was evident, even assisted by demon power, he was no match for Shard.

“Mr. Barton, those who should leave must depart. Forcing those who have left to return can only bring tragedy. Even if deities help mortals escape the penalty of death, mortals must bear a great cost. I have a prime example by my side. You’re merely mortal; how do you intend to bear that cost?”

Shard slowly pressed down harder with his black hand, and Joey Barton glared furiously at this unfamiliar young face:

“But if I don’t try, how will I know the outcome? This damned fate took her from me and then showed me how to bring her back. How could I not attempt it?”

His eyes bloodshot, black mist seeped through his pores:

“Ah~ Ah!”

With a roar, a dense black fog burst from his body. The sudden eruption of power not only released his hand from the demon’s grasp but also sent Shard flying back.

This was no First Ring Sorcerer’s power; Shard sensed from the fog a dense presence of the Whisper Element—this was the power of the Interstice.

By the time Shard picked himself up, Joey Barton was already using the ground to slowly stand against the ruins. Then, lifting off the ground, he floated up. The Ring of Fate appeared behind him, still First Ring, but the glowing Spirit Runes were so abrupt and apparent:

Whisper—Interstice of Life and Death.

“Can such a thing be true?”

Shard sensed that something was very wrong.

“Mr. Watson, please forgive me, may you rest in peace.”

The Spirit Rune “Interstice of Life and Death” burst forth with dazzling Black Iron Spiritual Light, and an extremely difficult-to-observe transparent water membrane was rising from the surroundings, enveloping the area where the two of them stood.

Although the scenery within the view had not changed at all, the Core Spirit Rune “Space-Time” was reminding Shard that the space was undergoing an unusual change. The Whisper Element was becoming thicker, and the Ring of Fate behind Joey Barton, who had floated off the ground into mid-air, had grown larger and larger until it swelled to a size greater than any building in the hazy fog.

The Core Spirit Rune “Death” “Flying Bird”, First Ring Spirit Runes “Graveyard” “Spirit Summoning” “Black Hand” “Interstice of Life and Death” “Music”. Seven Spirit Runes, taller than Bizard, radiated expanding Spiritual Light that looked like they were about to spew out beams of energy the next moment.

“Her” timely reminder arrived:

[“Outlander, you have entered the ‘Maze Lock’.”]

“Maze Lock?”

That’s when Shard realized:

“The ‘Interstice of Life and Death’ is his Maze Lock? Even if The Chosen One’s talent is strong, isn’t this a bit too exaggerated… ”

At this moment, there was simply no way to hide his strength any longer. A corner of Shard’s Ring of Fate manifested behind him, “Little Match Girl” and “Kiss of the Tree” erupted with Spiritual Light simultaneously. Even as a Three Rings, he couldn’t utilize the full potential of the Maze Lock, but at least now snow was falling within the interstice, and the faint rustling of the tree canopy manifested the power of the Maze Lock.

He countered the opponent’s power with his own incomplete Maze Lock, yet it only enabled Shard himself to remain unaffected by the negative influences within the opponent’s Maze Lock.

Compared to that massive Ring of Fate, Mr. Barton in the air appeared like an ant.

He extended his right index finger, and a pitch-black pillar of light shot out like an arrow. Shard immediately dodged, then heard a thunderous boom~ all physical entities within a radius of 20 feet were blasted away along with Shard and the swirling snowflakes.

When he crawled up from the ground spitting blood, the place where he had just stood had become a deep pit.

He had thought it was a point-to-point attack, but it turned out to be an area attack.

“This is wrong, I’m a Three Rings, even possessed by Divinity, in normal conditions, I still can’t fully activate the Maze Lock, how did he manage to do this? Even with astounding talent, where did he get so much Spiritual Power from?”

Joey Barton stretched out his right hand again, and Shard promptly pressed his hand against the ground. Black pus erupted, enveloping his entire body like an eggshell.

Fierce vibrations accompanied by muffled explosions barely protected Shard with Demon Power, yet he still felt as if his organs had been shaken. This had merely been Joey Barton’s casual strike, nowhere near his full strength. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

[“If my senses are correct, the Interstice is actively providing him with power.”]

“I never thought I’d be dragged into a Maze Lock by someone else one day. I used to do this… What do I do now?”

The Demon Rune in his palm faded, and the Demon’s Power couldn’t last for too long. Without Iluna’s “Balance” suppressing The Chosen One’s talent, Shard had no chance of winning against his opponent.

“She” was chuckling softly:

[“Run fast.”]

“Run? I’d like to run too, but I’m inside the Maze Lock and I can’t open it, oh!”

The third and fourth beams of black light struck simultaneously, causing Shard to hurriedly leap high into the air, and before the explosion occurred, he moved another ten meters higher using “Lagre’s Leap”.

It was difficult to leverage in the high altitude, and as Shard faced the giant pitch-black scythe slashing down toward his body.

“Moonlight Greatsword!”

Weapons of light yellow and Holy Silver appeared in each hand, crossed overhead, and in the next moment, along with Shard, were smashed toward the ground.

[“Joey Barton can only use the Maze Lock within the Interstice. By himself, he is still just a First Ring Sorcerer.”]

“So, the best place to fight is far away from the Interstice? Otherwise he can use such a degree of Arcane Technique at any time?”

Shard emerged from the cracks in the ground, and the faint voice of Miss Aphrola again reached his ears:

“Shard, where are you now? Why can’t we hear your voice? Also, the Church has located Joey Barton too, in a few minutes, you’ll be able to see them, can you retreat now?”

“I think, I won’t have the chance to see the Church’s people. I’m in a Maze Lock, can you get me out of here? This time it seems I really can’t win.”

The more important reason was that he did not have the “Night Watchman” on him, otherwise Maze Locks were what Shard feared least.

“Maze Lock? My God, what has happened? Wait for five seconds!”