I created my own system

"Not good"

A bullet was loaded and in my current state, I won't be able to block bullets or tank them using my body. I am simply too weak for that. Desperate an idea pops inside my head.

"A potion should help me"

My ring activated and a bottle appeared in front of me.

"BANG!"

A shot was released directly hitting the bottle, and its contents spilt while I took that opportunity to drink it.

"Nice!"

My body felt energized though it would only last for a brief minute.

"I need to stay alive!"

For the sake of the sacred land, I must not fall on the enemy's hand.

{I admire that courage}

"Get out of head!" I shouted and lifted my weapon to attack.

The power of the scythe blows up the sky along with my two enemies however it wasn't what I needed to end the fight. I need something even more powerful.

So teleported right in front of them, in a fluid motion, I brought the blade of my scythe crashing it down on their exposed flank.

"Damn it!"

But as soon as I brought down my weapon something caused a resistance, a drag that made my attack slow, until it completely halted, an invisible shield was there neutralizing my attack.

.....

Apollo's Pov.

[Light of Aegis is currently active]

Just like what happened to one of the skills Disintegrate, I also boosted the power of Light of Aegis using the essence.

The attack was blocked and now it's my time to attack.

It happened the moment his scythe met my invisible shield, my blade was drawn and powered by my ki and with all my strength and speed it drilled through his flesh. He tried to fight back but Alicia released a black energy that kept him in place.

With his remaining life, he tried to erase every memory he had of the sacred land however it was too late. My spell Veritas runs through his flesh, breaking his will and devouring his soul.

"I see this is good"

His memories flood in however Jeremiah was there sorting out the valuable information I needed.

After all the search a map appeared, a temple found in the sky, completely secluded in the dark halls of clouds.

"He should be there"

A wide smile escaped from me

"Finally I could end this mission"

I already got what I wanted so the archbishop's life is useless.

[Skill activation Distintergrate]

As my skill took action the body of the great priest disappeared along with his mournful cry of grief.

Continuation of Apollo's POV

Finally, I got the memories of someone who knew about that place.

"Alicia"

"Yes?"

"We have one last destination, will you come with me?"

"Of course so where should we go?"

I pointed above which made her laugh a bit.

"Any higher than this and the oxygen will be extremely thin out, can you handle it?"

"Of course, would I ask you to come with me if I can't"

She laughed at my arrogant answer but then proceeded to nod her head.

"Let's go," she said while her wings began to glow a bit.

Is she excited?

Yes perhaps she is

So what are we waiting for?

Let's start

"Okay let's go"

My wings beat the air and let the wind guide me through the upper part of the atmosphere.

As I fly into the atmosphere the first thing that hits me is the low density of oxygen that almost knocked me unconscious. I fought hard to maintain the stability of my body and replace oxygen with mana, in that way I could keep myself from losing my mind. After that hurdle, I started to feel that my blood was boiling due to the extremely low pressure.

My head spin even more as I felt my body tremble due to the cold temperature.

[An anomaly has been detected...

Proceed to provide countermeasures...

Countermeasures fully established...

Current status Normal]

I suddenly smirked hearing those words then my eyes landed on the person beside me.

"Why does she look so unbothered?"

[Her physical stats are probably much higher than yours that is why she can handle the sudden change in the atmosphere]

I frown then order Jeremiah to let me see her stats.

[Name: Alicia Von Nyx

Occupation: {Sealed}

Status: Normal

STATS: {UNAVAILABLE}]

Here it is again the word unavailable that plasters her stats. The first time I saw these stats made me suspicious of her but hearing that she is the trusted aid of the emperor I didn't bother to complain. Because at that time only the emperor's command matters. However, now the mission is about to end it made me curious about her mysterious identity.

Just what kind of person did the emperor acquire?

She is strong despite her age and to sum it up her appearance right now doesn't look like a mere transformation magic. Her being an anomaly to me made me want to inspect her further. However, I didn't want to peek into her because somehow I could feel that she knew what I was doing. Truly she was scary, especially her strength it was enormous.

"Are you done staring at me"

[!?]

[Creator she notices you!]

"Shut up and why are you panicking?"

I shook my head finding Jeremiah a bit jumpy whenever Alicia was involved. Perhaps the fact that he can't see through her made the artificial intelligence paranoid. Jeremiah is usually successful in analyzing and gathering information but with Alicia, he could do nothing.

"Where exactly are we going?" she began to ask thus I answered.

"Just follow me"

My wing glided through the atmosphere and then flew past the clouds.

[Current height: Estimated to be 50-60 kilometers above the surface

Current Location: Northern section of the empire]

"Good just a little bit more"

I flew even higher and from 50 kilometres it reached 80. The oxygen was almost nonexistent while the temperature dropped to negative.

"Hoo"

Finally, my eyes landed towards the sole structure you will find in the middle of the atmosphere.

"Now I understand why no one was able to find this place, to think they put it in here"

"A temple above the clouds"

"Yes"

The height of 80 kilometers above the surface made a beautiful view of Bunag, though the only thing that I could see was the land belonging to the empire, it was still breathtaking. The human structures that were built a hundred years ago can still be seen despite the height I am currently in.

Among the Noctilucent clouds, a platform was floating amidst the beautiful northern lights. It was a temple made of gold and gemstones, it glitters and shines just like the stars and planets in the sky.

We didn't rush in because we could see the hundred layers of the protective barrier surrounding the building.

"I'll leave those barriers to you"

"Yeah let me remove it"

My eyes scanned the entire temple and analyzed each barrier that protected the place.

"This is easy, Jeremiah deal with it"

[And here I thought you would do it instead of me]

"Just do it"

Somehow I could feel he was exasperated but still obeyed my orders.

With Jeremiah's spell breaking the barriers I could see dozens of lights breaking into pieces.

[There are also shields I will be breaking them as well]

"Good"

I only remained where I was and saw every defensive measure of the temple turn to dust.

"Let's go it's all done"

With all the hindrance gone, we landed on the temple grounds and could finally appreciate the beauty of its architecture. From afar I could see two things, the decorative gateways and the roof. The roof was sloped, with overhanging eaves and decorative cornices while the gateway was carved with gems embedded in it.

Then after walking further what first welcomed us was the temple's facade, it was the grand entrance that seemed to serve as the main portal into the temple. The entrance was framed by columns and pilasters and topped with a lintel, a horizontal beam decorated with relief sculptures and inscriptions. Looking even closer to the pillars my eyes caught the decorative columns that help the temple stand.

The columns are not the only thing decorated and carved, there were also reliefs and sculptures all depicting tales of the person residing inside the temple.

We walked even further inside and each step we took creates echoes that reverberate inside the desolate temple. There were traps but Jeremiah had taken care of it.

"Just a little further"

I said while following the map which came from the archbishop's memories.

"Just what do you want to get here"

Alicia finally asked it seemed she already had an idea of what I wanted to do. After all the temple is covered with clues I'd be worried if she doesn't notice anything. Continue your saga on m|v-l'e -NovelBin.net

"Without the five there is no way you can do this"

She added then her eyes began to pierce me as if telling me to hide nothing.

"Tell me Apollo how will you open a door without its keys"

However instead of answering I laugh,

"My dear Alicia, who says I don't have a key?"