*BOOM!*
"Urk... You!!"
Alvertoās body flew away as he tried to attack Riko, but Link got in the way once again, and his attack was blocked, causing a lot of impact to backfire on him.
While trying to ignore the heart-wrenching pain he was feeling from the continuous draining of his life force, Alverto tried to think of new measures to get out of this deadly situation.
The reason why Alverto was so laid back up until now was because he knew that no one could really do much damage to him.
But the very moment Riya entered the battlefield, his arrogance was shattered into pieces, and he was forced into a corner by her immense control over her legendary skill.
āThe Heart of Eternal Nirvanaā is a very effective counter for Alvertoās āSoul Resonance.ā
Riya has reached immense mastery over her legendary skill; thus, Alvertoās soul resonance wonāt have any effect on Link and the others as long as sheās protecting their souls and bodies with her own legendary skillās effect.
āAs long as I am within this healing field of hers, itās impossible to win against their combined might... I need to break their teamworkā!
The very moment Riya put all those blessings on Link, Alvertoās attacks nearly became ineffective on him!
Furthermore, his space-type skills have deteriorated to such an extent that he can no longer perform basic space-time attacks or apply basic boosts to improve his combat abilities.
āBlessing of the Worldās Stable Realmā is a compelling blessing that can solidify the space-time fabric in a particular place, making the space-time elementals of that area extremely stable.
If you try to influence the space-time elementals in this area, it will consume immense mana, and the results produced will be much weaker than you expected.
This blessing is the ultimate enemy of all space-time elemental users.
"Fine!! I acknowledge that you are all strong enough when together!"
"When you all die, I will definitely remember your names forever! Think of this as the greatest honor!"
Alverto glanced at the four of them and spoke in a calm tone.
The previous panic caused by Riyaās powerful abilities was forcefully calmed by him.
Seeing him return back to his usual calm self, Link frowned, and a look of annoyance appeared on his face.
"Just how tanky is this guy? We have been using our most powerful skills to beat him for so long, and he can still speak so calmly..."
"If it was Rio, then I can still accept that he can indeed deal with the combined offensive of us four, but... how come this guy isnāt going down even after all this!?"
Hearing Linkās annoyed-filled words, Alverto just shook his head, and a rare smile appeared on his extremely handsome face.
His smile made him look extremely charming; if it was an ordinary weak awakener facing him, they would have been charmed by his smile alone right now.
"Haha, you see... I am the hope of my race... I canāt afford to be defeated here; I must fulfill my mission! My entire raceās future rests on my shoulders!!"
"I canāt afford to be defeated here!! I have a mission to fulfill!! Thatās why I refuse to fall!!"
Alvertoās devotion to his brethren and his determination to save his kin were so strong that he was able to forcefully calm himself in a deadly situation without losing his edge.
Alverto raised his spear toward Link and spoke in a calm tone.
"The reason why your punches hit so hard is because they carry the power of protection... you are protecting the girl on your back with your life on the line..."
"The same is true for me... The reason why I am working this hard is because I am protecting the future of my entire race..."
"I am Alverto āThe Time Destroyerā... and I shall not lose!!"
[Soul Resonance]
[Forbidden Demonic Art: Soul Sacrifice: Forced Mass Teleportation!]
Alverto knew that he couldnāt defeat Link and the others as long as they all were together.
But he wasnāt able to divide them because Riya had placed a blessing in this area to make the space-time fabric extremely solid, which made teleportation impossible.
Thus, Alverto had to pull out a technique that would sacrifice a part of his own āSoulā to forcefully teleport Link and the others away from him.
This way, all of them will be separated once again, and it would become much easier for Alverto to kill them one by one.
Even Riya was not able to react on time when Alverto forcefully sacrificed his own soul to teleport them away.
Riya, Link, and Lia were all instantly teleported away in an instant without them even noticing.
"This is my determination... I will even sacrifice myself for the sake of my kin; donāt underestimate my determination; you are all just mere kids who havenāt even fought a real war yet!"
*COUGH!!* *Cough!!*
Alverto coughed a mouthful of blood, and even his eyes started to bleed from the side effects of sacrificing a part of his own soul.
"Ugh, as expected, even a small soul sacrifice had immense consequences... I have lost the ability to control those demons and monsters in the upper floors for now..."
The very reason why Alverto was even able to forcefully summon and use those monsters and demons in the upper floors was because he had the āSpire of Ascensionā and āSoul Resonance.ā
Jin caused his connection with the āSpire of Ascensionā to weaken, and Riya forced Alverto to the point that he had to sacrifice a part of his own soul.
Thus, making it impossible for him to use āSoul Resonanceā at its full power for the time being.
"I must kill them all before they cause any other damage!"
Alverto glanced towards Riko, who was not teleported away, and he took his stance once again.
"The reason why I didnāt teleport you away is because you are the weakest in their group; it will be much easier to kill you first..."
"Itās not that I am mocking you or anything; I deeply appreciate your determination... You are a true warrior in body and spirit, Riko Embeth..."
"Just for the sake of avenging your friend, you came all the way here and are even ready to sacrifice your life. I am deeply moved by your determination!"
"You can rest assured... After I am done with my plan, I will also join you and your beloved in the underworld too..."
Alverto rushed towards Riko and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to vomit a mouthful of blood and fly away at an insanely high speed.
Now that Riya isnāt here to heal her, itās impossible for her to stand again after being struck by this blow, as nearly all her internal organs have been destroyed by this one kick.
Alverto raised his spear and tried to kill her, but Riko moved and dodged desperately, yet she wasnāt able to properly deal with the attack.
*BOOM!*
Her left arm was mercilessly sliced away and drowned in the ocean.
Rikoās severed arm started to bleed heavily, and the ocean surface below her feet was instantly dyed red from her blood.
Upon realizing her inability to continue fighting, Alverto took a decisive stance to conclude the battle.
"First I will kill you here, then there will be no one stopping me anymore; I will go and kill your friends one by one..."
"After being scattered, thereās no way they can fight me individually..."
[Cronos: Spear Art: River of Flowing Time!]
Alvertoās spear was like the unstoppable force of a river; his spear distorted even time and space as it rushed towards Rikoās head.
Riko tried to dodge, but it was impossible for her to dodge or block this attack because she had no legendary skills to defend herself.
A question rose in Rikoās heart at this moment.
āIs this the end for me?...ā
*Clink!* BOOOM!
A sound of metal colliding rang out, and Alvertoās spearās trajectory was forcefully changed.
A pitch-black sword forced the spear to move back; the space-time elementals were forcefully scattered, and even Alverto was pushed back dozens of meters from the sheer impact.
A calm and emotionless voice suddenly came in Rikoās ears.
"No wonder those demons and monsters suddenly stopped appearing; you are heavily injured and canāt control them anymore, I guess..."
"It seems Lia and the others succeeded in completing their work..."
A boy with dark black hair appeared in Rikoās vision at this moment.
Seeing him, even Alverto was shocked.
"What!? How did you reach this floor so fast? I only lost my ability to control the demons and monsters just a few minutes ago!!"
Hearing his words, Rio just shook his head and spoke in his usual emotionless tone.
"Well, a minute or two is enough for me... My combat capabilities are not my strongest ability. The reason I am considered the strongest in my group is because I am āFastā..."
"Thereās āFlashā in my name for a reason..."
Rio threw a high-grade healing potion at Riko while his eyes always remained on Alverto.
āFinally the time has come... the moment when I will be able to avenge the original Rio is finally in front of me...ā