Ascenders Rift

Chapter 136: Earth's Border, A Dark Scene?

Soaring through the upper limits of the sky was a Heli Porter, a uniquely designed helicopter with four turbines used to propel itself at alarming speeds. Currently, this transporter was flying towards the bordering barrier that divided Earth from the main sectors of Qeodreona. There, one would see that far beyond the edges of the continent, and the boundless ocean was a golden barrier that covered both the land and sky, wrapping the Earth's entirety in a dome.

Looking beyond this sight, one would see a green sky and green ocean with strange beasts soaring the distant heavens, while massive sea creatures would spring from the water as they dived back to its depths, scattering large ripples of waves in the distance.

Many monstrous birds flew at these heights; some evolved from eagles while others were those that came from various Lesser Spaces. They were each quite powerful, and dangerous, capable of accelerating beyond 200 mph.

Despite their airborne superiority, however, they did not approach the Heli Porter but stared at it from a distance as if they were weary of it. One such bird was even bolder, its wingspan being a few dozens of meters as it had a red crown on its head, its hawk eyes glared at the Heli Porter with a mean look.

Right at this time, Evan, Joe, Layla, Emilia, Breya, and Rick were seated within compartments fastened by a belt wrapped around their waist. They each looked no different from soldiers approaching an airborne drop-off point, carrying an air of solemnness.

Yet, that was only, but on the surface, looking at them closely, one would realize that though their eyes had bits of uncertainty, their current moods were one of curiosity.

"That bird sure is stubborn, it's been following us for a few hours now, do you guys think it will attack?" Joe asked while eyeing the strange eagle that stood out from the rest.

"It shouldn't be that stupid; it even seems to have grown a sizeable level of intellect even more so that the others. Maybe it's already weighed the pros and cons..." Breya said while looking at it as well.

"..." Rick remained silent as he stared at it before shifting his sights to something else, his thought unknown to anyone.

Layla and Emilia looked at it curiously, but soon their faces changed as they felt a slightly different feeling.

Layla sensed a malicious feeling as if a predator eyed them, she looked at the hawk carefully, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find its source.

Emilia, on the other hand, only felt something odd about the bird, while it was nothing dangerous, something about it, made her feel wary.

"Evan, I sense a lifeform's malicious intent, but I can't find it, the only thing I can see is that hawk," Layla said while looking at Evan.

"Hm, Layla is right, my spirits are also warning me of a different threat," Emilia added with worrisome eyes.

'You mean that there is a separate danger, yet I can't sense it?' Evan thought as his eyes narrowed, he glanced at the eagle as his eyes glowed when he looked at it.

[Red Crown Eagle - Level 7]

[Race - Eagle (Evolved) | State - Stage 1 Ascended Lifeform]

[Health - 800]

[Wind Power - 40]

[Strength - 75]

[Vitality - 72]

[Agility - 82]

[Defense - 75]

[Skills:]

[Air Cutter - A conjuring of Wind Power to create a series of sharp cutting winds that sheer any creature of a weaker stage.]

[Gale Flash - A conjuring of Wind Power that wraps around the body of its caster, allowing them to greatly increase their speed by lessening the effects of air resistance.]

...

"Evolved monsters are so darn troublesome. If it does attack, we'll have quite a battle on our hands," Evan said while staring at the eagle.

"Huh? What makes you say that? It's not even comparable to any of those generals we faced in that realm..." Rick, who was previously preoccupied, asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Evan shook his head and replied, "You're right, it's weak, but its innate advantage is its speed, in the sky, no one can fight it properly especially if it doubles its speed using its talent ability."

Rick and the others were a bit surprised by this, they originally thought that the speed booster would at most increase its speed by a portion, but if it were double and they had to fight it in the air, they knew things would get ugly.

"Are you kidding me? That shit is only at Level 7, how can it be so fast?" Joe exclaimed as his face showed a look of disbelief.

Evan replied in a calm tone, "Since ancient times birds were always depicted as royalty of the sky, kings that surmounts any other lifeform in the air. While this eagle is but only a minor bird from evolution, there are still more fearsome things than it."

"No, shit..." Joe murmured as he eyed the eagle; if other monsters exist that was even more terrifying with speed compared to this bird, he knew that their future days wouldn't be carefree.

Evan seeing their looks, still had a dark expression as he spoke again, "This eagle is troublesome, but it's not the danger Layla and Emilia were speaking about..."

When the others heard this, their faces turned dark as they looked at the eagle again, Layla and Emilia hadn't taken their eyes off for a second.

Evan's eyes gleamed in a sharp ray as he stared at it in detail, skimming pass its dark feathers and humongous frame as he thought to himself, 'Where is it? Where is the danger?'

While everyone had similar thoughts, the eagle, which was casually flying a few dozens of meters away from the Heli Porter, remained at ease. It didn't seem as if it was going to attack anytime soon, but oddly enough, it was slowly shortening the distance between them in a seemingly non-threatening manner.

Soon, an uncanny mood began to saturate the air; the sky even became a shade darker than usual as if something was coming into being.

Evan and the others grew even more vigilant at this change, even the pilot of the Heli Porter was trembling as he didn't like the current ambiance.

Suddenly, the Red-Crowned Eagle, which was now roughly a few meters away from the Heli Porter, made a sly a grin as something appeared on its back. If one didn't pay attention, it would have been hard to notice, but as Evan, Layla, and the others were on high alert, they quickly picked up on the strange entity.

It was a being that was covered entirely in black; its skin made entirely of dark feathers. Underneath its cloak was a facial structure that seemed much like that of a hawk's, and if one looked closely, they would see two glaring red eyes that shone in a sinister manner.

As if the being sensed their gaze, it lifted its head, causing more of its eyes to reveal before they flashed, sending a towering pressure across the air along with ripples of black energy. The power was so high that it even began to shake the Heli Porter despite its rapid speed, the turbulence seemed as if it was only moments from causing it to tumble out of its air.

"W-We can't take much more of this, we've lost control of the Heli Porter!" The pilot said in a panic as the alarms went off, causing red lights to flicker on and off in the carrier's interior. 

Joe and the others were shocked by the mysterious entity's power, they each exclaimed.

"Who the hell is this?" Joe exclaimed as he looked at the man in horror.

"This isn't good," Rick murmured as he grasped his spear at the ready.

"E-Evan, what do we do?" Layla said she was beginning to feel a headache as the power coming from the man was something beyond the norm.

Emilia was also worried, Breya looked on in silence, she had already sent a distress signal to her sister.

Evan's eyes shone once more as he attempted to gather the being's details, but right at this time, something unexpected occurred.

[Warning! Warning! You are not authorized!]

[?????]

[?????]

.....

Evan seeing this was shocked, as he thought, 'You've got to be kidding me? I've been blocked, could this guy be from RADA? An Administrator!'

When Evan thought this, his face turned even darker; he gritted his teeth as his eyes shone with determination. He shouted, "No matter who you are, I shall not let you have your way, Inspect!"

[Warning! Warning! You are not... you are not... y-y-you... faaaillurree!]

As the system said this, Evan's Void Blood Pendant glowed in reddish light for a moment as the system sounded once more.

[Special Status authorized! Projecting user data:]

[??? - Administrator - Level??? ]

[Race - Hawk Man (Blessed) | State - Stage? Ascended Lifeform]

[Administration Lock - All stats of the lifeform are constrained within a time boundary for each Calamity. The current phase has limited beings abilities to the peak of an Early Level Stage 1 Lifeform.]

[Class - ???]

[Health - ???]

[??? Power - ???: Sealed]

[strength - 105]

[Vitality - 100]

[Agility - 100]

[Defense - 100]

[Skills:]

[Dark Feather Blade - A power that forms a blade made from the host's unique dark feathers, each is capable of cutting through any material below the level's of a peak Rank 1 Lesser Tier Weapon.]

[Innate Skill - Dark Current - ???]

[?????? : Sealed]

[?????? : Sealed]

The moment Evan saw these details, his face sunk as his eyes reflected the image of the mysterious being. Its sinister eyes were glaring towards him as a sneer was visible on its face when it spoke in a voice to usher a new change, "Your time has come..."