Strings Of Domination

The whole surroundings quietened down and the only thing that could be heard except the constant sounds of battle in the distance was the gentle breeze that appeared from the north, carrying a small amount of chilliness that could easily make anyone tremble unwillingly.

Yet, at this moment it seemed no one noticed the coldness their bodies were feeling as all of them were standing motionlessly in one place, their faces holding stupefied complexions that were quite an amusing sight to see.

Flake's and Bane's eyes were wide as saucers and their jaws were dropped before their knees with utter disbelief as they couldn't comprehend what they have just seen in the past short few seconds.

As they were both at the Warmaster Rank both of them had seen many things during their lives but the sight they have just witnessed was the very first.

They knew perfectly well that the creature that had been killed under less than 5 seconds was an Evolved Beast, a creature that not only was on the Warrior Rank with strength capable of rivaling those weaker ones at the Warmaster Rank, but it also possessed terrifying defensive capabilities!

And if that was not enough, it also held a Legacy that allowed it to fortify its defense to such degrees that not even a Warmaster Rank existence would have the capability to kill it easily much less slay it with a single strike!

But in spite of all these, an individual that was not even at the middle phase of the Warrior Rank just killed an Evolved Diamond Beast not just under less than 5 seconds but even using a single attack which was not even a magic spell but a technique using arrays, a skill that needed extremely long preparations and even than its results was not promised to be that effective!

"Did he... really used array symbols to kill?" Flake doubted his eyes thus asked in a low voice, looking at Miles' figure before the melted pool of crystalline with a complicated look.

"It seems so... But I am not really sure about that." Bane who regained his composure a small while ago nodded and began to walk toward Miles.

Miles, who was already anxious as he destroyed the beast's core accidentally watching as Bane and Flake were walking toward him tensed up even more, his grip on his book tightening even more than before.

"I-" Miles wished to apologize without finding an excuse when he saw as Bane raised a hand, stopping him from talking.

"You don't need to apologize. It is obvious at first sight you have only learned that Domination Art thus your control over it is not perfect."

Flake nodded and glancing at the book in Miles' hand asked curiously, "If you can, what Class is that Domination Art?"

Miles looked stupefied at how calm the two Slayer was without showing any anger or hatred because he have destroyed a precious object just now, but once he saw how Nash and Amy who walked over nodded calmly indicating he can tell it, he swallowed nervously and looked at Bane.

"I-It is only at the Lesser Grade among Transcended Class Domination Arts."

"Such a powerful Domination Art possessing such a terrifying attacking power is only at the Transcended Class? And even only being a Lesser Grade? That makes no sense." Flake said with a slight frown but as he didn't see Miles' face because of his mask to see if he was telling the truth or was lying he just sighed and shook his head helplessly.

Bane didn't say anything either and after giving one more glance at the once-mighty Diamond Beast's melted 'corpse', he turned around and with great speed dashed into the distance, helping the soldiers to kill the second beast.

Although Bane didn't show it, from the looks of it and the way he was throwing out punches one after another like a crazy unstoppable torrent it was apparent that his fighting spirit was ignited upon seeing how Nash and Miles killed the Diamond Beasts with one single attack.

In the end, Bane still was an existence at the Warmaster Rank who on the inside couldn't accept the fact that two Warrior Rank beings were capable of killing beasts faster and more smoothly than he was.

"And here we go again." Flake sighed helplessly as he quietly ordered his men to retreat and let Bane take care of the Diamond Beast alone.

And exactly when he did...

BOOM!

The sound of something exploding into thousands of pieces sounded while a powerful ripple swept through the air, sending several smaller-sized boulders flying into the distance, only coming to a complete halt after a few hundreds of meters.

"He is strong!" Nash exclaimed out loud as he watched how the Diamond Beast's body burst into chunks like an overloaded balloon, even having the need to press his feet firmly into the ground to balance himself.

Miles did the same while Amy hid behind the two as her strength was weaker than theirs and if it were not for them blocking the shockwave she would have definitely been pushed back.

"Phew... I feel much better now." standing in the middle of a crater that had at least a ten-meter radius, Bane heaved a sigh of relief while picking up a black orb from among the Diamond Beast's pile of chunks.

After killing the Diamond Beast the group decided to continue their search and wander further away from their spaceship in the hope to find more Diamond Beasts.

The scenery was always the same no matter where they went with only the temperature getting colder occasionally in smaller domains where the wind blew stronger than on other places.

In the very beginning the luck didn't seem to stand on the group's side as they needed half an hour to find their next Diamond Beast, but after killing it with relative ease and fast thanks to the burning spirit of Bane they were able to cross paths with several others almost every five to ten minutes!

Bam!

Another great explosion shook the surroundings and earth as another Diamond Beast fell miserably under the great assault of Bane, allowing him to collect another black orb.

"And with this, we have nine cores. Only one more and we are done here." Bane exclaimed his thoughts with delight and looked around only for his complexion to turn slightly disappointed.

"But it seems we have to search for another half an hour or so before we can leave..." Bane sighed as he felt no presence in the surroundings meaning finding the final Diamond Beast won't be that of an easy feat as he wished it to be.

"Well, that was easy. Thought it would be harder." one of the soldiers behind Bane spoke loudly, his face holding a rather bored expression.

Furthermore, it was not only him who looked casual and even bored but all the other Slayers too as after the first three Diamond Beasts they literally didn't have to do a single thing thanks to Bane taking care of each and every one of them.

Nash frowned when he heard the words of Slayer and wished to say something when suddenly everything in his eyes slowed down while his brain process began to quicken at least two folds!

'This... Not good!' Nash's eyes widened when he realized what was happening and without daring to hesitate grabbed both Miles and Amy on his side and activated his Sky Wings, allowing him to grow a pair of black wings behind his back.

"Watch out!" was the only thing Nash was able to roar as he soared high into the sky, surprising everyone before the ground where he stood shattered and sunk, while a huge diamond hand with blade-like fingers arose, clenching together like a jaw of a beast!

BAM!

Flake, Bane, and the rest of the Slayers first were shocked to see how Nash suddenly grew a pair of wings out of seemingly nowhere, but once they saw how a humungous hand emerged at the spot where he and his friends stood and how the ground even below their own feet started to crack, indicating the same scene will occur with them too, all of their complexions changed.

"Retreat! Now!" Bane roared loudly while he raised his fist high and without waiting for a reply or others to react, he slammed his fist which was covered in with his glove powerfully into the ground.

BOOOOOOM!

The ground split, huge chunks of earth flew high into the air while a massive crater with at least a hundred-meter radius and with Bane as its center formed the very next instant, shaking the entire earth in a few miles radius.

Flake and the soldiers without waiting to be buried alive used their techniques to get as far away as possible while all of them watched with widened eyes as a beast with a size of at least twenty meters emerged from beneath the ground, its appearance exactly like a Diamond Beast's!

"I-It's a Mutated Diamond Beast! And at the peak of the Warrior Rank!" Flake's expression turned solemn while the others on his side who were able to escape just in time stared at the beast with slightly pale faces.