When Pine had descended with his group of five Spike Dalki by his side, he believed that they would easily complete the task, just like they had done multiple times before. There were occasions where he had been called to fight when there were more troubling members, but each of them had been dealt with, and with relative ease. One of the main reasons for this is because of the power that had been given to Pine. He could absorb different forms of energy into his body. Until today, he thought he could absorb all forms of energy, including that of Qi. Because even if an opponent did fire out Qi, he could absorb it and take it in as power. There was a limit as the location was on the palm of his hands, but still, it was a powerful ability. He could essentially block nearly all types of abilities, convert it into energy, and then use the power they had just expended out of them against them. It was why, when his own skill was used against him in an unexpected fashion, he had been hurt by it as well. Today though, the task was not an easy one. He found someone who could block his attacks, energy he was unable to absorb, and an opponent that was able to change up its fighting style and think on its feet quite literally. He never expected to be pushed to the point where he would have to use his ability in another way. Right now, the energy he had absorbed from the attack that Russ had reflected back at him was running through his body. His ability could be used in this way as well, powering up his muscles, his strength, and all aspects of his body. Using the power in this way, it would eventually wear out without a constant upgrade in power, but it wasn't as if Pine was weak without this power. It was just making him even stronger. With this, even if someone could copy his powers, it didn't matter. Because if he was going up against himself, then the boost in power would be from those around them. Right now, Pine, the Dalki, and humans had a lot more allies, even if some of them were slightly confused about which side they should pick in this fight. ------ In the distance, around fifty metres away, Russ was lying in the rubble. He could see Layla's unmoving body, although she wasn't moving by herself before, so he wasn't worried about her being dead. He was more concerned that if they didn't do anything to Pine, they would be dead soon. Just when he thought they were all out of options, he heard a voice that he hadn't heard this entire time before. It was speaking directly into his mind. "What is this?" Russ thought. "Is the sound coming from the sword? Is it possible that it's a special type of Demon tier weapon?" Russ had seen the sword and its powers, but he thought it was just another Demon tier weapon with a strong effect. 'Are you some type of spirit in the sword? Wait, this is making sense now. No wonder Layla was badly hurt. The power she was using wasn't her power, and now it makes sense why I was unable to see this power in her memories and copy it as well.' Russ was more amazed with his own conclusion than the fact that a sword was speaking to him, but he needed to focus and be clear on the decision. 'Sword, you're saying that the two of us can fight him together. What do you even mean by that?' Russ asked. 'You're not suggesting doing the same thing to me as you did to her. I saw what state she was in. I think we're more likely to die if that were to happen.' 'That wouldn't work with you,' the sword replied almost immediately. 'Remember what I said, the two of us can work together. In the first place, you can talk to me because you are holding me, but I'm sure you have noticed that you are no longer able to use your powers. 'Believe it or not, there aren't many that can handle using me, and Layla is a special one, a one in a million that can handle my power to any type of degree.' The comments from the sword were quite surprising to Russ, and he wasn't sure if the sword was just being nice, because this certainly wasn't a way to ask for help. 'If you were to use the sword, then it would be the same as if anyone else picked me up, it would make no difference.' "I see," Russ said, standing up from the rubble. Dirt fell off his clothes and he looked at the opponent in front of him, seeing if there was anything he could do. Since Layla was on the floor, he knew in his mind he was unable to run away. "This means that you're useless in my hands!" Russ went to throw the sword to the side, but once again the sword screamed to stop him. "WAIIT!!!" The sword shouted. "Don't you have patience?" "Does it look like I have time to have patience!" Russ replied back. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂 Many Penswi, Amra, and Mermerials had come onto the battlefield. They had turned their attention to Pine and were trying to stop him, but each of them lasted less than a second, getting hit by Pine's hands. It almost looked like even those that were attacking him would get injured more themselves than doing damage, like he had obtained some type of magical star. "I have been evaluating your powers. I don't have time to explain my backstory, but is it possible that you can copy powers from anyone that is in this area?" The sword asked. "I mean, that's not quite how it works, but let's say I can," Russ replied. "Then, does that include myself? Would you be able to get powers from me? If there was some way, a way that you could transform into my former self and wield the blade in your hands, then I can guarantee that we can get rid of him!" The power of the sword did certainly seem strong, and the fact that the two of them were conversing meant that there would be something there. Russ hadn't even thought about looking into the sword because it was just simply a sword. Looking in front of the broken wall, he could see that Pine had set off, pushing from his feet. Abilities and Amra stood in his way, but they all just bounced off his body, nothing was slowing him down. "Can the original owner, the original person, or whatever from the sword defeat that thing? If this goes wrong, it will be the last use of my MC cells... but what else can I do!" Russ chucked the sword on the ground. While using the sword, it would block out his powers. There was a chance his powers also wouldn't work on the sword. However, he was in. He was able to access its memories while not touching it. Pine had entered the building, heading straight for the two of them, ready to finish them off. The Blades were in the middle of their fight. Those watching around all reached out, as if this would help in some way to stop Pine, but it did nothing. "Got you!" Pine said with a smile, but the smile soon faded from his face. From the outside of the building, a large strike of black energy was emitted from the building. It was so large that it could be seen from any part of the city and even struck the clouds above, splitting them in half. The next moment, Pine was seen flying through the air, landing back in the centre of the square with a deep cut across his chest, blood pouring onto the floor on both sides. Footsteps were slowly seen as a figure walked out from the building. No one had any idea who this was, who the person was holding onto the black sword. "I am the one that once went against Immortui. All of you are nothing to me." ***** ***** For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below. 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