I Reincarnated As A Stick

As this third person entered the barrier where a reversal was about to happen, Aurus stopped his claw just at it was about to hit Zeldrion at its greatest power yet. Well, it wasn't as if he didn't want to go all the way and end all his troubles there and then. It's just that…he couldn't.

Whoosh!

At a seemingly short instant, a domain that spanned far larger than the domain created by [Ruler of All] spread over Aurus, Zeldrion, and the third person that had entered the fray. Forming a stark contrast with the dark green energy that seemed to cover the domain Aurus had conjured, this domain was glimmering a lustrous silver, allowing those that couldn't see what was happening in the dark green domain to find out what could have been the final verdict.

Seeing that the ruler of their kingdom was only a few inches away from total death, everyone watching the fight unfold could not help but suck in a bit of cold air as they all looked at the third person with respect and awe. Respect, because he was the one who saved their ruler for imminent doom. And awe…from the sheer power he was exuding.

While this was happening, Dalton looked at the space that had opened up beside him. Surprisingly, no one decided to fill in this space as a barrier still existed between him and those outside the barrier. Seeing the barrier still up and running around him as he watched the fight, Dalton let out a light chuckle as he looked at the third person that entered the barrier he conjured, muttering, "He's finally made his move."

Indeed, the person that made a move was none other than the Seraph Kingdom's guardian, the only Transcendent to exist in the kingdom, Wilhelm Seraph.

Seeing as he could not move his claw even an inch further, Aurus decided to dispel the claw before aiming for the person that had put him farther away from the only step he needed to take to achieve a higher comprehension level. With the primal instinct in control, Aurus moved the domain formed by [Ruler of All] to where Wilhelm was, instantly muttering out statements that seemed to be a command from the heavens above.

"You have lost sense of all energy."

"Your techniques are of no use to you."

"Your body is frail."

"Your feet are rooted to the ground in fear."

One statement after another, a debilitating effect would be applied to Wilhelm as he felt the power he had as a Transcendent gradually disappear. At first, the energy that seemed to surround him at first instantly disappeared. Then, the techniques he had mastered for a great amount of time seemed to be gradually forgotten by him. After that, he felt like his body was being shackled down as his legs couldn't help but shiver in fear.

However, even after all of that, Wilhelm calmly looked at the being in front of him with a confident smile on his face. "So, it seems I'm up against one of the Spiriveritae. I haven't seen you before, so I'm guessing you're a new Spiriveritas. The twelfth? The thirteenth?"

Seeing as Aurus did not respond to his question, Wilhelm did not find it offensive at all. Instead, he let out a chuckle as he continued, Anyways, the other Spiriveritae should have told you before entering this kingdom that…"

"Techniques like these don't work on me."

Swoosh!

In less than an instant, the silver domain that covered all three of them instantly compressed to cover both Aurus and Wilhelm. Soon after, this silver domain conjured strands of silver energy that headed to where Wilhelm, quickly removing the debilitating effects brought about by the skill Aurus had activated. Taking in a deep breath as he watched his opponent swipe at his body with a claw made out of multiple wind blades, he clenched his fist before sending out a straight punch towards it.

Bang!

Surprisingly, as he sent out his punch, the silver domain that covered both him and Aurus sent multiple strands of silver energy towards his fist, creating a silver fist that had amplified the force behind his attack. At the very moment both claw and fist had collided, it was obvious as to what the aftermath was.

Whoosh!

As if he was a bird that lost its wings, Aurus was sent flying with great speed before crashing towards the barrier that hampered from going any further, falling to the ground soon after. After such an attack, it wouldn't be surprising for others to think that Aurus would decide that he finally had enough and wave a white flag.

Unfortunately for those bystanders, Aurus was currently being controlled by a primal instinct, an instinct that only acted to achieve two things: to survive and to kill as many beings as possible. With that in mind, it didn't take long for Aurus to stand up as he quickly repaired the injuries he had received, prompting Wilhelm to click his tongue as he could not help but say, "I haven't met any other Spiriveritas like you before."

"But that makes it all the more interesting," he said soon after as the domain surrounding the two of them before had now condensed around his body, emanating a level of power that seemed to tell others that he was someone that couldn't be trifled with. After that, he looked at Zeldrion, who seemed to be looking at him with a hint of guilt in his gaze, before telling him, "Leave for now. You can tell me everything else later."

With a slightly hesitant nod, Zeldrion quickly left the barrier, heading to where Dalton was as he gave off the feeling that he wanted to watch Wilhelm fight against Aurus. Seeing that his grandson hadn't truly left the vicinity and decided to watch the fight unfold even further, Wilhelm let out a soft peal of laughter as he said to himself, "Even after staying with him for over two hundred years now, he still hasn't changed."

"Anyways, I should really finish this fight," he said soon after before charging to where Aurus with a quick dash, clenching his fists once more before sending out a barrage of silver fists.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Without hesitation, Aurus used his teleportation skill to appear behind Wilhelm, wanting to catch him off guard as the fists collided with the barrier. With the silver fists containing a lot of power, every time the barrier seemed to waver, the bystanders became more anxious and fearful that the barrier was going to break. Fortunately for them, it hadn't gone past the tipping point as Aurus sent out another attack of his own, prompting those who were watching to learn from them to let out a collective sigh of relief.

Seeing that his opponent was specialized in hand-to-hand combat, Aurus went ahead and…closed the gap between them. Thinking that his long-ranged attacks would be blocked by his opponent either way, Aurus decided that this would be the best choice, sending all of his strength and energy towards his fists as he punched out, even going so far as to imbue the domain from [Ruler of All] into it.

Wilhelm, who was watching this unfold in front of him, could not help but let out a cackle as he said to Aurus, "So, you want to fight against this old man with fists? Let me tell you that I won't back down that easily!"

Without hesitation, Wilhelm slightly expanded the silver domain to where it would cover both of them once more, reducing the strength behind Aurus's fists while increasing his own. After that, he willed the domain to send out a barrage of silver fists towards Aurus from all directions, basically forming an attack that gave Aurus no way to escape out of.

"[Lustrous Barrage of Omnipresence]!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With each silver fist that collided with his body, Aurus felt that a great chunk of his vitality was being cut off, given how he had no way to form a level of defense as the interval between the fists were just too short for him to make use of. Seeing how Aurus would eventually die from the attack, the primal instinct that was controlling Aurus's body was going into panic, wondering if there was any way for it to escape from the clutches of hell.

Fortunately for the primal instinct, it was at this very moment that the faint flicker of light that awakened from before to appear once more. Seemingly looking at the primal instinct, the faint flicker of light asked, "You want to escape this predicament?"

As it had no way to respond to its question, the primal instinct quickly sent out signs of affirmation, to which the faint flicker of light responded, "Alright, I'll help you out. But in exchange, let me have control until the fight is over."

Hearing the condition proposed by the faint flicker of light, the primal instinct felt like it had to refuse it, but for some reason, it quickly agreed, prompting the faint flicker of light to let out a light chuckle as it told the primal instinct, "For now, do this…"

…

While that was happening, more and more silver fists collided with Aurus's body as his vitality was being sapped away. Of course, he converted the energy he was regenerating into vitality, but even that wasn't enough to balance the damage he had received. At most, he had only slowed it down to where he had more time to decide.

For those that were watching it as a means of entertainment, they all booed at Aurus as they wanted to fight to be over now that it was at a standstill. However, for Felix and the others, especially Argentum, they looked at this from a different standpoint.

"Why is your original body not moving?" Felix could not help but look at Argentum and ask. In response, Argentum shook his head as he replied, "I have no idea either."

But just as he said those words, a stream of thoughts entered his thoughts from who knows where, prompting Argentum to focus his attention on Aurus once more, sensing that there was now something different in the Aurus he was looking at. With clenched fists, he gazed at Aurus with excitement, causing the other four to look at him with a hint of confusion.

Although the stream of thoughts told him that he couldn't tell the others of it yet, Argentum had finally gained confirmation of his return, inwardly exclaiming to the heavens, "Oh heavens! Thank you! Thank you for bringing him back! You've allowed a miracle to happen!"

…

Surprisingly, a couple minutes had passed since an impasse was formed. At the moment, the energy making up Aurus's body seemed to be on its last legs, only radiating a faint green luster that told others that he was still alive. As for Wilhelm, he continued to stare at Aurus's body as he sent out wave after wave of silver fists. Since he was the kingdom's guardian, he had to make sure that he was doing his duty to the fullest, knowing fully well that he couldn't be half-hearted with his job whatsoever.

Fortunately for him, it seemed that his dutifulness brought him a bit of a gift as Aurus, who hadn't moved all this time, finally made a move…but not in the way he had expected. Looking at Wilhelm, who was surprised to see Aurus finally move, Aurus went ahead and focused more of his energy towards healing as he asked Wilhelm in an innocent tone, "Er…could you stop sending out attacks at me?"

"And why should I do that?" Although the tone Aurus used to talk with him had no malicious intent whatsoever, that did not mean Wilhelm was going to stop then and there. But after hearing Aurus's response to his question, the two sides of his mind seemed to be waging war on one another, considering whether he should do what Aurus said or not. As for what Aurus said, it was…

"Well…"

"I'm giving up on fighting back."