The Winged Serpent's delighted hiss cut short.
Because Roland truly offered no resistance and chose to trade power for power, the Winged Serpent's notion that its opponent might be an arrogant fool vanished as well.
The Winged Serpent had not forgotten to draw all its power back into its body, apart from what it had poured into Total Annihilation of All Forms, to prevent Roland from easily breaking through its defenses and turning the tables.
But the abnormal trembling it experienced beneath the blade's light still sent a sudden pang of alarm through it.
It froze as though struck in its vital spot.
Yet Roland, holding the blade, felt no excitement at reversing the battle.
With a solemn expression, as though he were merely doing something that had to be done, he forged the possibilities flowing into him into the sword in his hand.
He could not analyze the power of Total Annihilation of All Forms, nor could he touch the essence of the Serpent. All Roland could rely on was the Key of All Spirits.
Manipulating and creating Contract Spirits was this key's innate ability, an authority separate from {Serpent}, and the fundamental meaning of its existence.
Once Roland obtained preliminary authority, he naturally understood the structure of this ability.
The Winged Serpent had used its own authority to absorb these possibilities as its own power. There was nothing wrong with that move.
Under the restraints of its mission, even the Key of All Spirits could not reclaim these dominated Contract Spirits. To interfere with this connection, two requirements had to be met.
First, one had to be able to analyze part of {Serpent}'s essence.
Second, one needed authority beyond the multiversal level to serve as a vessel.
For the Winged Serpent, which hunted in the Sea of Worlds