After chatting for a while, Desterie added, "My Fate Sovereign Clone is about to enter seclusion. I'll have my Destruction Divine Clone keep you company instead."
Desterie's Fate Sovereign Clone then went straight to his palace, as if he knew the way by heart, and entered seclusion.
Iluka sighed ruefully. "Are you planning to use the flood of faith to reach Paragon in the Fate Rule?"
Desterie smiled. "You even know about that? Then again, you used to be friends with Sovereign Komodo, so I suppose it's no surprise you know."
Iluka didn't answer this time. He only let out a deep sigh.
Seeing the conversation turn somber, the girl quickly asked, "Uncle Desterie, who's this beautiful big sister?"
But as soon as she'd asked, Desterie flicked her on the forehead and scolded, "Mind your manners! Don't call her big sister. Call her aunt!"
His words were deliberate, and Dalayer took them to heart. The corners of her mouth lifted involuntarily as she said, "It's fine. You can call me whatever you like."
The girl's eyes widened. Her gaze darted around, then she ducked behind Nawi. "Uncle Nawi, Uncle Desterie, that old bachelor of a thousand years, has finally come around!"
Thump! Thump! Thump! Desterie answered with several rapid flicks to her forehead.
Iluka suddenly walked up to Desterie. "You just said your Destruction Rule is only one step away from Paragon... You refined a Sovereign Spark, so your Destruction Divine Clone should have gained Willpower, too. Let's fight!"
Desterie smiled. "You even know a Divine Clone can gain Willpower? Good. I've been wanting a fight, too. Let's see how far I am from a Paragon!"
Heavenly Realm, Xingdou Mountain, the Sovereign of Fate's residence.
Orloff sat in the seat of honor, frowning with his eyes closed. He wasn't even in the mood to conduct research for the time being.
The other five Fate Sovereigns sat to either side, the atmosphere just as tense and silent.
Boteer and Manlu sat at the end of the row, not daring to make a sound.
"Manlu, what on earth happened? Why did Iluka do such a thing?" Karin, a Fate Intermediate Sovereign, demanded sternly.
Manlu panicked at once. "I really don't know! If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have let Iluka take part even if I had ten times the courage. No—I would've killed him outright!"
Orloff massaged his brow, an unusual sight. "Don't blame Manlu. I was careless about this. There's no need to question him further."
With the Sovereign of Fate having spoken, the other Sovereigns had nothing more to say.
"If the Overlord won't pursue Manlu's part in this, what about Boteer? He kept claiming he'd invited Magic Sound Asura to participate in the Plane War, but not a trace of her has been found."
Boteer hurried to explain. "Lord Orloff, Sovereigns, I just looked into it. Magic Sound Asura did register in the Life God Realm before entering, and both commanders and soldiers saw her on the Plane Battlefield. But ever since Iluka entered the Plane Battlefield, no one has seen her again."
Boteer wasn't sure whether Iluka had done it, but they needed someone to take the blame now.
"Iluka again!" another Fate Sovereign shouted, slamming a hand against the armrest.
They'd had a sure-win Ten-Win Streak within reach, and a share of Willpower almost in hand. Combined with the previous one, it would have let a Fate Intermediate Sovereign stand on equal footing with an Overlord, and a Lower Sovereign match an Intermediate Sovereign. How could the Fate Sovereigns not be furious?
After a moment of silence, Orloff suddenly asked, "Has that new Sovereign named Desterie still not come to the Heavenly Realm?"
Boteer quickly replied, "My people just reported in, my lord. Desterie didn't come to the Heavenly Realm, but he didn't stay in the Netherworld either. He returned to his hometown in the Material Plane with Iluka. He—"
"I know!" Orloff interrupted. "I mean, after he returned to the Material Plane, did he come to the Heavenly Realm?"
This was the first time Orloff had cut Boteer off. Uneasy, Boteer hurriedly answered, "As far as I know, he hasn't left."
Sovereign Karin said angrily, "If he still dares to shelter Iluka, does he plan to hide in the Material Plane for the rest of his life?"
Listening to all this pointless anger and empty talk, Orloff frowned and shook his head. A weary sense of "What use are you all?" rose within him. "You may all leave. There's no need to discuss this further today."
After everyone had left, Orloff gazed up at the sky and murmured, "Iluka... It was you, of all people."
In a sparsely inhabited sea in the Mulan Plane.
Desterie and Iluka hovered facing each other, gazing across the distance. Far below them, the deep sea rose and fell.
Iluka held a white longsword, while Desterie had temporarily asked for the Heavy Sword he'd just given Dalayer back.
There was no helping it. Desterie had become a Sovereign too recently, and his resources were meager.
"We're a good match. We both cultivate the Destruction Rule, yet you wield a Light Attribute Sovereign Artifact while I have one with the Death attribute," Desterie said with a smile.
Iluka shook his head. "I also have a full set of defensive Sovereign Artifacts. It's hardly an even match."
Desterie's expression changed. "That reminds me. Dalayer just told me that you gave her nearly all the Commander Badges in the Spatial Ring. You... why?"
Iluka smiled. "Why else? I'd killed too many commanders from the Heavenly Realm's side. I didn't want their badges to go to waste, so I gave them to an old friend's emissary."
"You know that's not what I meant," Desterie said, shaking his head as well. "Your motive for joining this Plane War is baffling. You'd been living in seclusion for so many years, and you already had a full set of Sovereign Artifacts. You had no reason to get involved. It's almost as if you joined this Plane War to sabotage the Fate Sovereigns.
"When Dalayer and I met you, you probably wouldn't have killed us even without your connection to Komodo, would you?"
Iluka shook his head again. "You have to play the part all the way. I wouldn't let you off every time, but I couldn't pretend not to see you every time, either. If you hadn't seen Komodo's Sovereign Token, you might not have survived that encounter."
As he spoke, Iluka raised his Sovereign Artifact longsword. "My lord, stop asking. I have nothing to say about this. You know I'm not afraid to die. If you don't want to fight, we can leave it at that."
Desterie's fighting spirit flared. "Good. Then let's have a proper fight!"
Boom! They collided violently, the thunderous crash echoing across the sea. Space rifts of every size appeared across the surrounding ten thousand miles of ocean.
A battle between Paragons—truly terrifying!
Half a day later, black lotuses and jagged black shards made of Destruction Highgod Power drifted everywhere across the sky and sea. They kept fading away, while constantly creating tiny but terrifying spatial rifts.
Before you continue