NOVPUBAs he commanded his forces to set off, Achilles remained floating in the skies, his gaze locked on the blazing energy signature of a Luminblood Stage Astral Core Ascension entity.
If it could even still be placed in that stage...no, it was already nearing and perhaps even settling into the next one. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝘤𝘰𝑚
The Celestbone Stage of Astral Core Ascension.
The stage where starlight fused into one's very bones.
Such an entity should've been immensely powerful, a serious threat had Achilles not been here himself. And yet, in this moment, the figure revealed itself...and it was none other than...
Atlantian?
His eyes flashed sharply.
From the memories gained during the Acheron Phoenix Assembly, Achilles had learned of the Everburn Aerie Continent, and of its neighboring Thalassphere Arx that housed the Atlantian Behemoth Tribes.
If an Atlantian was here… then the Ancient Millennium Acheron Phoenixes couldn't be far.
But… what was this?
The Atlantian before him wore a frantic expression. Her body shimmered with blue and gold light. The upper half of a woman, barely covered in gem-lined wrappings, and the lower half, a mythical, glittering fish-like tail.
A gaping hole pierced her chest, and yet she surged toward the Kingdom of Neon. She spotted Achilles mid-flight and veered toward him, calling out desperately.
"Sir! Would I be able to—Gah!"
In the middle of her plea, she coughed up a spray of blue-gold blood, clutching her chest with pale, trembling hands. She came to a halt a few meters away, barely hovering, her voice shaking.
"Hello. I… I just escaped a battle. I don't know if my enemies are still pursuing me. Would Sir be kind enough to grant me shelter? I won't ask for free- I have a treasure here…"
With a flick of her wrist, she revealed a dazzling golden pearl, radiating with a pure, pulsing concentration of Primordial Energy that she threw over to him.
Achilles studied her and the pearl that he caught with care, this being- this supposed victim, with disbelief tightening in his chest.
An Atlantian... asking for shelter?
Did she think he knew nothing of her kind? Of their ties to the Ancient Millennium Acheron Phoenixes?
And this… all of this was a ploy?
For what?
To get close to him? To gather information?
"…"
His mind worked quickly. His expression turned guarded as he asked, playing along.
"I may not know much, but… aren't you an Ancient One? And the Ancient Ones we've encountered so far… haven't exactly been friendly."
He didn't move closer.
The Atlantian's face grew paler. She glanced behind her as if expecting an enemy to strike from the shadows at any moment.
"Please. Atlantians have stood beside Humans among the Nine Supreme Forces since the beginning, since the first humans came into being. I'm not here to rekindle ancient alliances. I just need a place to heal. That's all. Please."
There was raw desperation in her voice.
Achilles noted her tone, better than before, and after a pause, he nodded slowly- eyes flickering to the golden pearl in his hand.
"You're injured… is it all right if I heal you?"
…!
He approached slowly, hesitantly- purple gold wings pulsing behind him.
But as he neared, he felt it.
Her body tensed.
She shook her head, her voice strained.
"My physiology is unique. Any foreign energy from another entity right now, no matter how pure, might make my wounds worse."
…!
She was avoiding his energy.
And that set off alarm bells in Achilles' mind as it meant she had seen the most recent battle.
'Has she been watching me? Studying me? Alone or with others? For how long?'
His gaze sharpened to a deadly glint, but he masked it well. He nodded at her words, then waved his hand, summoning three glowing Primordium Evolutius Fruits.
"These are naturally occurring fruits that I found atop an Aeonic Treasure Mountain. They contain extremely pure Primordial Energy and Evolutius Energy. You can check for yourself. They are extremely conducive to healing and strengthening. Please."
Of the three purple-gold fruits that began emanating a terrifyingly sweet smell, floated toward the Atlantian as her eyes released a light of astonishment.
The fruits arrived in front of her as she looked between them and Achilles, her senses exploding out and washing over these fantastical fruits as her eyes showed increasing shock at the level of purity of Primordial Energy and Evolutius Energy within them.
And she truly did not sense any energies belonging to a specific entity.
Prepared with her own confidence that she would not be in any way affected by the energies of another due to her own bones and her past Neuronova Stage before the Long Slumber, she looked at the fruits, and in order to completely play the part of an injured person taking care of themselves, she bit into one.
And…
Achilles smiled with a dangerous hidden glint.
The Primordium Evolutius Fruits were filled with his Spores in between all the boundless pure Evolutius and Primordial Energy.
Ever since the moment he had begun refining his bloodline with Adrastia Imperium Vitae Ascension Codex, every single quality of the assimilations that he had became more than ten times as powerful as it was before.
The Draconian Pathogenicity V quality became even more deadly, as the quality of it being able to slip through into the bodies and existence of others became utterly disastrous.
And right now, against this Astral Core Ascension entity, he would not even activate them right away to make her suspect anything, as he would keep them dormant until he had full confidence for them to erupt across her existence and utterly control her very being.
The moment that she bit into a single Primordium Evolutius Fruit, her eyes flickered with a shock as she began to take multiple bites. Within seconds, an entire fruit was in her system, and its raging energies, that included Biological Nurturing V from Achilles, began to rapidly heal her wounds. In addition to this, it flowed into her blood as shockingly…
BOOM!
She released a pulse from her body that instantly attracted the flow of a dancing sliver of starlight from above, streams of wonder gushing down freely!
