The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 1209: Two Options

’The Dream Law should work,’ Vaan thought.

Although the dream realm was connected to reality, it wasn’t bound by it. Thus, even if his existence disappeared from reality, it might still be possible for him to exist in dreams, even if it was only temporary.

After all, dreams were fleeting and easily forgotten. As such, dreams could temporarily retain his existence after it disappeared from reality. That brief moment should be enough to trigger the activation condition for his grand reversal spell.

’That’s another law I’ve yet to delve into. Will I have enough time to complete the spell before the death of nonexistence ensnares me? No, whether I have enough time or not is irrelevant. I have to do it; I have to succeed!’

’Failure is not an option.’

Ding!

<Analyzing requirements for the creation of the Great Restoration Spell, utilizing the Spatial Law, Temporal Law, Inverse Law, and Dream Law>

<Due to insufficient understanding of the Spatial Law, Temporal Law, Inverse Law, and Dream Law, Soul Power will be used to acquire wisdom from the void and make up for the deficiency>

<Analysis completed>

<Spell creation requirement: 10,430,590 units of Soul Power>

<The spell creation has been added to pending tasks>

...

’Indeed! The Soul Power requirement is astronomical!’ Vaan felt heavy-hearted upon seeing the sheer amount of Soul Power required.

It was many times more costly than the Heaven-rank Everlasting Will Secret Art.

However, such a massive difference was also to be expected.

After all, the Great Restoration Spell was very different from the Heaven-rank Everlasting Will Secret Art. This was a practical spell rather than pure theoretical knowledge; it required great comprehension to draw power from heaven and earth.

Moreover, the Great Restoration Spell wouldn’t be an ordinary Heaven-rank spell. It might even surpass that rank.

Vaan couldn’t even imagine how long it would take him to accumulate enough Soul Power for the spell creation. If he solely relied on Soul Power, he would definitely die before he could see its completion.

After all, it would take too long.

’The comprehension of the four laws is crucial to completion the spell creation quicker. But, will I get such opportunities?’ Vaan pondered.

Given the constant pursuit of the Edge Sweeper, there was only so much time Empyrean Oceanheart could buy him.

Moreover, Vaan realized he couldn’t use the Nihility Law carelessly, even if it could be used to greatly enhance mana recovery. The Nihility Law was simply too rare. Thus, it attracted great attention, the wrong kind of attention.

Using the Nihility Law would likely draw the Abyssal Beast King’s attention, accelerating his death.

’The Edge Sweeper can’t be killed too quickly nor too late. It’s unknown what danger will follow the Edge Sweeper’s death. However, it will undoubtedly be more dangerous.’

Vaan’s instincts told him so.

Regarding the Edge Sweeper, Vaan had some ideas after learning about the Hyperion Shards on its body.

Since the whale-looking Void Beast could coexist with the Hyperion Shards and not be assimilated by them, he thought of multiple possibilities.

For instance, the whale-looking Void Beast could be a new-generation offspring of an Outerworlder with high earth affinity. As such, its relationship with the corrupted earth crystals was akin to an earth spirit and its earth elements. ＲÁΝоВËṢ

In other words, the Edge Sweeper had high innate resistance to the Hyperion Shards’ assimilation power and could even utilize them to some extent despite being far from strong enough.

Such cases of wielding power far above one’s cultivation level were not unprecedented, just rare. Each being capable of it was undoubtedly the cream of the crop, a top-tier genius among geniuses.

Another possibility was that while the ’Edge Sweeper’ was alive, the Void Beast itself was already dead. The Hyperion Shards simply parasitized its body after partially assimilating it.

However, that also implied that the Hyperion Shards were similar to sentient existences.

"How is it, Sir Vaan? Can you learn anything from these strange crystals?"

Empyrean Oceanheart inquired after seeing that Vaan had stopped paying attention to the Hyperion Shards.

"Yes, these strange crystals were originally normal earth crystals. However, they were corrupted by the corrupted Earth Law and mutated, evolving into a higher-dimensional material."

"That’s why they are so strong and lethal. They are essential existences akin to the Outerworlders."

Empyrean Oceanheart was quickly shocked by Vaan’s explanation. Even Seraphina was shocked, too. Neither of them imagined the strange crystals to be evolved forms of corrupted earth crystals.

Didn’t that imply that the corrupted earth elements back in the Myriad Sea God Palace could also become like that?

No, it definitely already happened!

Once the strange crystals in the Dark Horizon reached a sufficient scale, they would become an unprecedented disaster, one they could not stop or control. They would have no choice but to abandon the Holy Land and migrate.

Empyrean Oceanheart quickly realized she needed to warn the other Empyreans back at the Myriad Sea God Palace.

However, being trapped in the depths of Umbral Edge, it was clear that she was currently incapable of doing so. She wasn’t even sure if she could make it out alive with Vaan and Seraphina.

"The Edge Sweeper was covered in these evolved earth crystals, making it virtually invulnerable to all attacks. Does that mean it can’t be killed without paying a significant price?"

Empyrean Oceanheart frowned.

She did not mind sacrificing herself to slay the Edge Sweeper. But after she sacrificed herself, how could Vaan and Seraphina survive the remaining dangers hidden within Umbral Edge?

Would they still have hopes of escaping without her?

As such, unless they had no other choice, she wouldn’t choose this unfortunate option.

"Not necessarily," Vaan stated before adding, "Depending on the actual status of the Edge Sweeper, we have two options we can approach to slay it."

"For example, if the Edge Sweeper is an independent life form that managed to coexist with the Hyperion Shards due to some innate traits, we can try to break their relationship of coexistence."

"In that case, the Hyperion Shards will turn on the Edge Sweeper and assimilate it, effectively killing it. That is one way to end its relentless pursuit," Vaan said.

Although this method wouldn’t end the threat posed by the Hyperion Shards themselves, at least they wouldn’t be chased by the Edge Sweeper anymore.

In fact, this option could be considered the best-case scenario.

"I suppose the second option is less favorable of the two?" Empyrean Oceanheart guessed based on Vaan’s expression.

"Yes," Vaan acknowledged and said, "If the Edge Sweeper is not actually alive but parasitized by the Hyperion Shards, then it would be more troublesome for us to slay it. Still, we don’t have to destroy the Hyperion Shards."

"As long as we can deal a lethal soul attack to the Hyperion Shards, we might be able to wipe out whatever trace of sentience it has, effectively removing its assimilation ability and instinct to attack life on sight."

"If we do succeed in this, however, we’ll be able to remove the threat of the Edge Sweeper and Hyperion Shards simultaneously and gain a windfall of priceless treasures," Vaan stated.

Empyrean Oceanheart couldn’t help but feel moved.

Indeed, the Hyperion Shards would become priceless treasures if they lost their threat value and became inanimate objects. After all, these were possibly the best materials one could find in Chaos.

"Soul attacks, huh? Can’t say I’m strong in this field," Empyrean Oceanheart said honestly.

Although she could use spells that could attack the souls, they weren’t considered true soul attacks since they were fueled by magical power. In essence, they were closer to energy attacks.

As such, if such spells were countered, then she wouldn’t be able to deal lethal damage to the Hyperion Shards’ sentience.

Fortunately, there were Hyperion Shards in their current area.

Thus, they had chances and time to experiment with soul attacks before facing the Edge Sweeper.

Even though they had yet to determine the Edge Sweeper’s actual status, it didn’t matter. The first option was conditional, but the second option would solve everything once and for all.

Naturally, she would hope that they could succeed with the second option.

Swoosh!

Shortly after sharing her intention, Empyrean Oceanheart immediately took off to find her own spot near the Hyperion Shards for practice.

Meanwhile, Vaan also considered practice.

’Although these Hyperion Shards are physically firm beyond belief, the same shouldn’t be said for their spiritual defense,’ Vaan thought.

He suspected that if he used the Nihility Law, he could easily wipe out the Hyperion Shards’ spirituality, turning them into inanimate objects that would no longer assimilate everything on contact.

’I should avoid using the Nihility Law... I wonder how effective the soul attacks of a Soul Master at my level will be to these Hyperion Shards...’

Currently, Vaan’s soul cultivation was only at the pinnacle of Early-stage Divine Warrior, not exactly strong, considering the Edge Sweeper itself was a Pinnacle Divine Emperor.

Fortunately, he had the Everlasting Will Secret Art and Astral Soul Realm.

Thus, even if his soul attacks ended up being too weak to wipe out the Hyperion Shards’ spirituality, he had to engage in some soul cultivation. He would undoubtedly make swift progress with these advantages.

Without further thought, Vaan made a move on the Hyperion Shards in the distance.

Boom!