2204. Victory
Albatia was as confused as her opponents. She didn't know why Heaven and Earth had intervened, especially since there was a limit to what they could do.
Albatia had lost part of her world, but she remained a privileged cultivator. Heaven and Earth probably had the chance to annex her now, but that would require time, and they also needed to be awake during the process.
As for Noah and the others, they inevitably saw similarities with what had happened to the old woman. Supreme Thief's ethereal beings were still trying to reach Albatia, but the white light around her was impenetrable and created a pillar with the distant sky.
"I thought you had accepted defeat," Supreme Thief exclaimed.
"I did," Albatia announced. "Heaven and Earth are doing this on their own."
"Are you about to come back stronger than ever?" Supreme Thief joked, and many cold gazes converged on Albatia. "I don't think that will work with all of us here."
"I told you already," Albatia stated. "I don't know what the rulers are trying to do, but I'll accept whatever comes next."
Noah materialized above the pillar of light. June was still on his lap, but she wasn't a hindrance since he had no intention to attack. He only wanted to confirm something, and a quick inspection sufficed.
'It's the same exact light from before,' Noah thought while turning toward the distant sky, 'Which means ….'
The sky seemed to answer Noah's thoughts. Part of Albatia's body transformed into dust that began to flow through the tunnel. Heaven and Earth didn't even bother to keep her damaged body whole during the process.
"Oh, I see," Albatia sighed. "I will accept this fate if that's what you want."
"What is happening?" Noah asked.
"I've always fought to keep my world safe from Heaven and Earth," Albatia uttered, "But they remain my allies. I've chosen my side long before your birth, Defying Demon. You won't get answers from me."
"We should have killed you first and questioned the others," Noah sneered.
"You really should have," Albatia chuckled while showing an honest smile.
More pieces of Albatia's figure turned into dust and flowed through the tunnel. Confusion appeared on her expression as she lost even more parts of her world, but her eyes soon focused.
"You are an interesting bunch," Albatia admitted. "You don't stand a chance against Heaven and Earth, but I wanted to see your last struggles."
"Are you dying?" Noah asked.
"Rank 9 existences have already established worlds," Albatia explained. "You can destroy them, but their mark on the universe will remain forever.
"That's far from enough," Noah replied.
"I knew you would have said that," Albatia laughed before moving her gaze among all the experts gathered on the scene. "I wonder what would have happened if I met you before joining Heaven and Earth. The choice felt so easy back then, but I can sense doubts now. I'll blame my broken world."
Noah was the type of leader who would have rescued his foes and transformed them after hearing similar words. However, he had already tested his power against that light. Nothing he had could pierce it.
"Why are you so sure Heaven and Earth will win?" Noah asked, hoping that Albatia's broken state could make her reveal something.
"You all are too young to understand their plan," Albatia declared. "Though, I don't blame you. You might come close to victory, but you would lose even in that case."
"Victory is victory," Noah responded.
"Is it?" Albatia wondered as the last parts of her body turned into dust and voiced another line. "You'll understand once you see it, even if I can already predict how you'll react."
The last bits of Albatia's world flowed through the tunnel and disappeared inside the sky as those words echoed in the void. Heaven and Earth retracted their light, and the massive hole in the fabric of space began to close.
"She was a good opponent," June weakly commented from Noah's lap. "I wish I was the one to face her."
"A troublesome opponent," Noah corrected. "Heaven and Earth have also decided to send her to stop us, which means that they were ready to lose her before the final battle."
"That's even better, right?" June smiled as her battle intent filled her expression.
"Just focus on healing," Noah snorted before hovering toward Supreme Thief.
Supreme Thief retracted the azure domain and condensed it in the form of a sphere held firmly in his palm. He played a bit with the item while the fabric of space closed above him.
"Time to go," Noah exclaimed when he reached Supreme Thief. "Can you use this power for the breakthrough?"
"I might, but I won't," Supreme Thief announced.
"Get it done with then," Noah ordered.
"Sure, boss," Supreme Thief chuckled before rotating his hand and flicking the azure sphere.
The stolen and transformed aspect of Albatia's world fell into the void and flew until it disappeared among the blackness. Everyone on the scene inspected the event before regrouping above the healing fabric of space.
Whiteness soon filled the entirety of the area and erased every trace of the previous battles. The sky didn't send anything forward either. The group could stay in the middle of the enemy territory and make a point of their situation.
The latest achievement had been incredible. The group had removed three of the strongest assets of Heaven and Earth's army. Yet, their mission had suffered greatly.
Noah saw nothing but problems when he inspected his group. Most of them had suffered injuries, and some were in no condition to fight. Resting sounded mandatory, but they couldn't stay still in the middle of the sky, especially since they had yet to complete their mission.
The Eternal Snake would take a while to awaken, so Noah already stopped considering it. June, King Elbas, and the Foolery had suffered severe injuries, so he couldn't count on them too much either.
Maribel, Sepunia, Steven, and the odd dragon had suffered light injuries, but only Steven was a significant asset in the overall prowess of the group. Meanwhile, Noah was relatively tired and in need of refilling his world with potential.
Only Divine Demon and Supreme Thief appeared at their peak. They were powerhouses among the group, but Noah didn't know if they would be enough for the rest of the journey. Still, he didn't see other options.
Sending the injured companions back in the higher plane would be stupid since Heaven and Earth could ambush them during their flight through the sky. Noah wasn't even sure the rulers would let them go, but he didn't test the option since he had already disregarded that idea.
Moving forward with the current set-up appeared mandatory. The group had a decent chance to complete their mission as long as Heaven and Earth didn't intervene again, but that would remove Supreme Thief from their arsenal.
Noah still had Alexander and Wilfred in mind. Finding them after Supreme Thief initiated his breakthrough would be impossible since that would leave Divine Demon as the sole expert at his peak. Noah trusted that some of his companions would recover by then, but their power might still fall short.
The answer became obvious at that point. Supreme Thief would probably curse Noah, but he had made his decision.. They would look for Alexander and Wilfred before taking care of Supreme Thief's problem.