Chapter 228: From Now On, I Decide Where This Floating Island Goes
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 228: From Now On, I Decide Where This Floating Island Goes
At this moment, standing atop the Floating Sky Island already high above the clouds, I added a stroke of fire-red clouds to the canvas. Blazing flames illuminated the entire island from above.
It was as if a second sun had dawned upon the Exchange Competition map.
Scorching heat swept across the entire region, and even the clouds thinned under the relentless scouring of the high temperatures.
Raindrops of fire condensed from the flames, pouring down upon this holy island. This terrifying phenomenon felt as though the place had been dragged into a fiery purgatory.
Meanwhile, I stepped into the central cathedral.
The interior was vast and magnificent. My eyes immediately fell upon the statue of the Holy Angel; the massive sculpture lent the cathedral an air of solemnity and gravity.
The multicolored glass at the top filtered the crimson glare of the flames outside, casting a red-hued light across the floor that evoked the apocalyptic dread of the Twilight of the Gods.
"What is happening? Who are you?!"
The Holy Angel who had been standing in the center of the cathedral in prayer finally could not restrain herself.
The sheer scale of the anomaly outside had almost made her fear that the Holy Angel Academy was about to be wiped out. But when she turned and saw the unfamiliar figure at the cathedral entrance, clad in the iconic attire of a witch, she felt as if she had been plunged into a cellar of ice.
The terror in her eyes intensified as she recognized the face—the same face belonging to the person who had once snapped her wings.
Her first thought was: Has the Witch Academy launched a full-scale invasion?
In the next heartbeat, she tried to scramble toward the front.
How was she so fast?
But the reality was exactly as she feared: the Witch Academy had indeed struck, though I was the only one who had come.
"We meet again, Miss Elvis. It seems your wings have recovered well. However, I'm not in the mood to play with you this time."
I gave her a thin smile.
By now, the flames of the Fire Rain Domain had burned through the cathedral's glass. Even the stone dome was beginning to crawl with inextinguishable fire.
"Please, die here."
I stepped forward, giving her no chance to speak further, nor any opportunity to reach the massive statue at the front of the cathedral.
They say villains die because they talk too much, but there’s no rule saying you can't talk while you're working.
The most vital source of Holy Light power on the Floating Sky Island was naturally located in this central cathedral. More specifically, it was held between the hands of the Holy Angel statue, right under its compassionate gaze—a cluster of Holy Light, blazing like a miniature sun.
The center of the island's most prominent energy transmission paths led here; I had every reason to believe this was the spot.
The statue itself was part of the ritual that condensed this core.
Therefore, if I wanted to destroy their power core, I probably... just had to destroy this statue.
This power wasn't just linked to the Holy Angels. Through my Spirit Vision, I could see it connected to the entire Floating Sky Island. Dense streams of energy extended from the statue as a hub, reaching every corner of the island.
As expected, the Floating Sky Island had defensive measures. The floating white jade pillars I had seen earlier weren't decorations; they were self-defense structures driven by the power of Holy Light.
Perhaps they hadn't activated them fully because it consumed too much Transcendent Holy Light power? Or were they simply that confident in their defense of the island?
Most importantly, the one guarding the most vital cathedral was this girl named Elvis. I assumed she had been sent here to offer prayers of repentance after I broke her wings.
I had already cleared out two Holy Angels. What about the rest?
"Witch! I knew you were lying! You actually sneaked in here!"
"My apologies, but you're late. I have my doubts about your school's ability to defend its home. Or did you really think a single angel could stop me? Call the others out. If I'm not mistaken, there should be three of you left."
I downed a recovery potion and turned to look at the fellow who had let me in.
Though I didn't know his name, he had clearly suffered quite a bit while passing through the fire rain. Many of the white feathers on his back were scorched, and his clothes were torn in several places. As he stood before me, the Holy Light blessing on his body had yet to dissipate.
It was a pity... unlike Tan Han's Ancient Remnant Ice King transformation, the damage threshold of this Fire Rain Domain was quite low. However, its potential ceiling was definitely higher than the Ancient Remnant Ice transformation.
It was just that I was the one using it, and I hadn't fully mastered the domain yet. Any random angel could currently trek through my Fire Rain Domain to reach me.
Thinking back to the last time I used it, I had forced those elves to cower under the World Tree, not daring to come out.
Granted, I had specifically targeted them last time, whereas this time I hadn't intervened manually, so it wasn't a fair comparison. But the fact remained.
I looked up at the cathedral's dome. This thing was in the way.
Unfortunately, I didn't have a good way to blow the roof off.
Wait, that's not necessarily true... the Rock Collapse Spell might work. Even though it was just a spell from a Basic Consumption Spellbook, when combined with the application of Earth Resonance, it should be quite effective. It might not just collapse the cathedral; it could cause fissures across the entire Floating Sky Island.
However, the exact extent of the damage would depend on the situation. At the end of the day, it was just a Basic Evocative Magic.
I was already using fire rain to scorch the stone; I could use the high temperatures to make them crack. One should never underestimate the temperature control of fire rain within its domain.
"Witch! Die!"
Another Holy Angel arrived. Now, only these two stood before me.
Both of them looked stunned. They couldn't understand why, with the island facing such a crisis, only the two of them had reached the core area.
"Where is Elvis! She was in the cathedral! What did you do to her, witch?!"
"I sent her off. Honestly, what were you people thinking, letting a traumatized girl guard such an important place?"
"You! I'll kill you!"
"If you dare come any closer, I'll destroy your statue, break the core ritual, and leave every single one of you powerless!" I threatened, having already climbed onto the statue.
But the look of terror I expected didn't appear.
Instead, they looked ready to go down in flames with me.
"Did you hear me? This is the core of your Floating Sky Island! Without this, the energy in your Angel Halos will dissipate and shatter!"
To make sure they understood, I reiterated my point by reaching out and grabbing the cluster of energy held in the statue's hands.
I could feel the energy supply to the entire Floating Sky Island being interrupted, but other than that, nothing else seemed to happen.
"I've never seen a witch as stupid as you. That is the energy source for the island's defensive facilities after the ritual is activated. You think that will shatter our Angel Halos?" one of them mocked me openly.
"Thank... you... for... that..."
I ground out the words. When I didn't see terror in their eyes, I had already suspected this might not be the core I thought it was.
In the end, I had suffered from a lack of experience. I immediately stowed the energy source away. I had originally intended to crush it, but there was so much energy inside that I feared the explosion would take me out along with them.
Since I had nothing to threaten them with, I changed my tactics to a direct assault!
However, the consumption from using the Fire Rain Domain was immense. Even after taking the potion, my body felt a bit weak.
Still, dealing with these two Holy Angel small fry was more than manageable. Though I had to admit, once they entered their Holy War Angel State, they were a bit of a nuisance.
Since there was nothing left in the cathedral to threaten them with, I didn't bother trying to collapse the dome. I simply cast the blessing of a fire element spirit on myself and headed outside.
The outside was my home field.
Feeling the fire rain fall drop by drop, destroying everything in sight, the once-pristine white Floating Sky Island was now engulfed in flames. Anything flammable had been reduced to charcoal.
After resonating with the flames within the domain, that sense of total control returned.
The two Holy Angels who rushed out of the cathedral were sent flying back as if they had been slapped by a giant hand made of fire.
"Are you two the only Holy Angels left on the entire island?" I asked calmly.
In reality, I was just trying to create distance so I could use Spirit Vision to find the true source of their power. If I didn't destroy that, these birdmen would still be able to act all high and mighty.
I had been too presumptuous before. Now, I had to put away my contempt. I was currently destroying an enemy base!
There was no room for carelessness.
"Even if it's just the two of us, don't think you can destroy the Holy Light Source Spring. You can't do it alone, not even with these tricks of yours!"
"Quite confident. Who gave you that confidence?"
I struck again, beating them into a pathetic heap on the ground. That angel armor was certainly good for taking a beating. I wasn't willing to kill them just yet; I wanted to squeeze some intel out of them. Otherwise, would all this effort just be for killing a few Holy Angels and "redecorating" their island?
That would be a terrible deal.
"Tell me, where is your power source?" I demanded, hoisting one of them up.
Even if I didn't ask, I had a rough idea of where the so-called power source was. It was... right at the very center of the Floating Sky Island's interior.
But that place was well-protected. A domain-type ability couldn't focus enough power to destroy the entire island. They were right; my current methods couldn't destroy it.
But they couldn't be invincible. There had to be a way to break it. This was an Exchange Competition, and everything had to be "fair." Otherwise, why would we witches be subject to so many restrictions?
"Just wait for death! I'll never tell you! Never! Ptui!"
"Interesting. But it doesn't matter."
With a wave of my hand, I directed the resonance of the fire rain toward their Angel Halos. I wanted to see how they would fare as ordinary people once their halos were gone.
I had learned my lesson; I destroyed the halos from a distance so the resulting explosion of Holy Light wouldn't catch me.
As two bursts of Holy Light erupted, the pair lost their power. Within the fire rain, they began to look like food dropped into a deep fryer. If I hadn't reached out to shield them and bring them back into the cathedral, they would have died in the next moment.
Though, they weren't far from death as it was.
"If you keep being stubborn, I'll throw you back into the fire rain. If I'd known you were this pathetic, I wouldn't have wasted my mana on these methods," I said with a frown. I had expected a hard-fought battle, but this felt like playing house.
"Kill me, witch!"
"So you've lost the will to live?"
Now that they were ordinary people, they posed no threat to me. However, their current mindset was a bit problematic.
You can't pry useful information out of someone who is determined to die.
Come to think of it, how many times had I heard someone tell me to kill them?
I had lost count, but it wasn't important. At most, it just proved I had done something very excessive and cruel to them.
"It's fine. Even if you don't tell me, I know. This cathedral is at the very center of the Floating Sky Island. The source of your Holy Angel power is actually inside the island itself, isn't it? Right beneath this cathedral," I said with a smile, tapping my foot on the floor.
"Heh... so what if you know? You can't touch it."
"True, I can't touch it."
I nodded, but my gaze was fixed on the massive statue. I had noticed earlier that this statue was the "hub" for guiding that energy source, and also part of the ritual.
I hadn't thought much of it before, but looking at it now, taking the energy source away was the wrong move. Since this controlled the energy supply for the entire floating island, there had to be a control hub.
I placed the energy source back into the hands of the angel statue. At that moment, the entire floating island seemed to "reboot."
A light screen appeared in front of the statue. The UI design immediately reminded me of the "Ley Line Operating System."
"I was wondering why this looked so familiar."
I manipulated the light screen; it definitely had the feel of the Ley Line Operating System.
The two birdmen were thrown into a panic when they saw me force open the defensive hub of the floating island through a "reboot." How did she know!
"No! Impossible! How could you possibly..."
"Listen to the nonsense you're spouting. I'm not a primitive; how could I not know? Have you never used a Ley Line Operating System? This is practically identical."
"It's useless! The permissions for the defense system are with Lord Archie! You can't use it!"
"With him? No wonder I was able to invade so quickly without any resistance. Turns out you lot don't even have permissions."
I shook my head with a smile and continued exploring the remaining functions. I couldn't control the defense system—meaning the shield covering the entire island and those white jade Holy Light Divine Art Cannons—along with many other features.
It turned out that the students of the Holy Angel Academy who hadn't completed the ritual weren't the true masters of this sky island.
Last night, the Holy Angels had completed the ritual, obtained the energy source, and unlocked these features, activating all the island's functions. No wonder... they were arrogant enough to leave only these few to guard the home.
They never expected a witch to sneak in and steal their base.
That girl Elvis—she must have been trying to reach this to launch a counterattack.
Perhaps Archie had delegated permissions to her.
A bit of a shame... I killed her. But even if I hadn't, she wouldn't have cooperated. It didn't really matter either way.
The basic functions of the Floating Sky Island didn't require permissions. I wondered how to change the permissions. Was it defaulted to the Holy Angel Academy team leader?
"By the way, I didn't realize your Floating Sky Island could move. It stayed in one place so long I thought it was stationary."
Unfortunately, it seemed that important operations, including moving the island, required permissions.
By now, the two Holy Angels didn't even have the strength left to curse me. Perhaps knowing I lacked permissions made them less agitated.
"So, do you know how to transfer permissions?"
"Heh, you think I'd tell you?"
"So you can transfer them. Thanks for the tip," I mocked with a laugh. That shut them up completely; they realized that the more they spoke, the more information they leaked.
At this point, I felt a bit of a headache. This floating island was like a safe protecting the core Holy Light Source Spring. Even if I focused the heat of all my fire rain, I couldn't destroy this thing.
After all, this island wasn't the World Tree. Even with the World Tree, I had only managed to snap off a single branch.
And my Giant Sword summoning had become a joke; the damage from its weight certainly wouldn't match the damage from resonating with the entire fire rain.
It was almost laughable that I was being held back by a permission prompt.
I followed the menus and eventually found the people who currently held permissions. One was the Archie they mentioned, and the other was indeed Elvis. However, Elvis's icon was currently grayed out.
Did being killed temporarily remove her?
While I was checking for more info, I tapped on Elvis's icon. A prompt popped up: "Apply for emergency permissions?"
I clicked "Apply" without hesitation. Then, a list of backup candidates appeared.
"Is it really that simple..."
I could hardly believe it. Next came the identity verification: "Confirm identity of operator."
"It seems you two have some residual value after all." I walked over, grabbed them, and dragged them over for identity verification.
"What! You! Don't even think about it!" At that moment, the Holy Angel student made the ugliest face possible, trying to prevent the verification from succeeding.
"Behave." After I slapped him into a daze, he actually became quite cooperative.
"Verification successful. Welcome, Paddy Peter. You have obtained temporary permissions for the Floating Sky Island."
"Good job."
I smiled and knocked him out cold to prevent him from committing suicide and ending the permissions. I gave the other one the same treatment as a backup and to prevent him from killing the first guy.
I also slapped some restraints on them. Without their power, they had zero chance of resisting the binding.
"Now, I am the master of this Floating Sky Island! Open all-around shields! Not even a mosquito gets in! All Divine Art defense systems, begin charging!"
Ordering the island around felt incredibly satisfying. The power of this Floating Sky Island was terrifying!
It reminded me of a Wizard Tower. That Wizard Tower was probably something like this, wasn't it?
But amidst my excitement, I noticed that the energy source in the statue's hands was depleting rapidly.
No wonder the Holy Angel Academy hadn't flown the island over to harass us; the energy consumption was insane.
They probably couldn't bear to use it.
Even if my actions didn't physically damage the island, I could at least drain the hidden rules they had gained from their ritual. They would be heartbroken for days!
As for what I was going to do after starting the island... naturally, I would maximize my gains. Attack the Wizard Tower!
No matter who won or lost in the end, I wouldn't lose. I remembered the power of that terrifying charging Great Witchcraft from the Wizard Tower. I wondered if that strike could break the Floating Sky Island's defense?
If it could, then everyone would be happy. If it couldn't, then I'm sorry, Wizard Tower—you might just be crushed into dust by the Holy Angel Academy's floating island.
"Oh, right. I haven't taken these two's storage equipment yet. I forgot the other two as well... damn... how many resources have I wasted?"
I slapped my forehead as I remembered this crucial detail. Of course, what I needed most were recovery potions.
I wondered if the Holy Angels stored potions.
Even if the floating island was their source of power, they couldn't possibly go without recovery potions. Recovery potions could restore Holy Light power as well.