Chapter 145: William
[Quest Complete: Ancient Map Gained]
Ren ignored the system and looked around. He saw what had happened, fully taking in the destruction that this whole thing had caused.
"There is no time to hold back anymore. Ophelia needs to be stopped." He got on his feet with the girl in his arms.
Ren did not have emotions towards any race that was not under him, but he respected the value of all life, the same reason he had moved to save that girl and lost his own. He could not allow something of this nature to continue to go on. He needed to stop it.
"Seems you handled things here." A voice suddenly came from behind.
"You are William, the Spirit King," Ren said without turning back.
"Sharp as expected."
"I’m guessing you are not here to help me," Ren said.
"Well, you are kind of near my territory. Is that a good enough reason for me to show up?"
"You are asking? Well, no," Ren replied.
"Yeah, thought so too."
"So you are working with Ophelia," Ren said.
"Sigh, she has something that I desperately need, and she has promised to hand it to me. The phase two of her plan has begun, and you are in the way," William explained.
"Ahh, I see. Well, that means there will be no way I can talk you out of this or leave here."
"Sadly, no. I’ll have to finish what I came here for. Honestly, I wished I could be carefree and oblivious like the rest of the forest lords, but sadly, things do not work like that for everyone, and I am a prisoner to my fate," William said.
"I guess we all are prisoners to something," Ren said and turned around. He looked William dead in the eye. "The question is, are you willing to break out and be free?"
"Some things are beyond breaking out, especially when you have come so far and gone too deep."
Ren let out a sigh. "Before we do this, can I have one of my subordinates take this girl away? I would hate to hurt her after everything that she has gone through," Ren asked.
"I’m sorry, Ren. You are extremely dangerous, and if your care for that girl can be the upper hand that I get to defeat you, I’ll use it," William said with no shame or care at all.
"So it’s that deep. Sigh, fine then."
William wasted no time. He clapped both hands together, and lightning began crackling between his palms, every bolt striking the ground and leaving massive burns on it.
"Do you know something about the spirits, Ren? Our greatest power is derived from belief and will. My will to get this done is the greatest that it has ever been in my life, and the belief that all my fellow spirits have in me to deliver what I said is extremely high.
"So know this, my actions are not done for my sake, but rather for the sake of all those that follow me. You would understand, right? You love your subordinates, you give your all to them, so you are like me," William said as the lightning grew even more. It became a large network of dancing lightning that was striking everything in a five-meter radius.
"You know what, William? Yes, I am like you, and I would do whatever it takes to ensure that my people are safe and taken care of. But that being said, it does not mean that I will allow you to do what you want. I’ll do my best to stop you. It is now your job to get through me, and if you do, then you win."
William heard that and smiled. "Great." He unleashed the lightning into a massive stream. It was as thick as a human and rushed forward like a roaring dragon, sounding like a chainsaw.
Ren saw the attack coming in fast. He spun around and used Iron Scale. The blast slammed into his back with all its force.
BOOM!
"Arghhhhhhh!"
Ren screamed as he tanked the attack outright. His knees tried not to give out, his eyes glowed red as he dug deep into himself to ensure that he did not fall.
When the attack ended, he staggered forward with steam rising from his back.
William saw this and frowned. He was happy at the fact that Ren could not fight at his best with the girl in his arms, but it also rubbed him the wrong way.
He charged in, his hands spread apart, and two balls of condensed lightning formed on each hand. He hurled the first one at Ren. Ren spread out his wings and flapped hard. He dodged the attack. The sphere slammed into the ground and exploded. He weaved past the second one as well and then turned to face William.
Ren pulled back his head and then unleashed a very compressed stream of crimson flames. William stepped back and lifted his hands as multiple walls of earth shot out of the ground, a total of ten that took the attack.
The flames smashed through one after the other until they shattered the last one, and William was forced to dodge. Still in the air, Ren created twenty energy spheres and unleashed them at the same time.
William gritted his teeth and thrust his hands forward. Ice lances formed and shot at the spheres, each one exploding in the air, creating a massive light show of destruction.
’Lightning, ice, earth, hmmmm.’
Ren observed everything that William was throwing at him.
"How are you still this good with someone in your hands?" William asked.
Ren simply smiled and looked at him with calm eyes.
"Seems I’ll have to go even further for you. I can see why the Calamity Orc lost to you, but my fight will not be the same."
He spread his arms out. A crackle of lightning started and then instantly exploded into a massive sea of lightning that covered over ten meters, destroying everything that was around him instantly.