I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 986: The Beginning Of The End

Northern watched with a subtle frown creasing his delicate olive features as the airship began its unholy change.

No. Change wasn’t the right word. This felt more like a revealing—or perhaps a breaking free? Something was clawing its way out from within the metallic shell, desperate to escape the prison of steel and bolts.

The sight made Northern’s lips curl downward. He could almost taste something bitter on his tongue.

A wide split tore across the bow, and pale crimson light bled from within. The light pulsed like a heartbeat, though far more unsettling than rhythmic.

The entire metallic body rippled. Steel turned to liquid, waves rolling across the surface.

Black tendrils stretched from the ship’s core, each ending in white, pristine teeth built for crushing rather than tearing. The tendrils writhed in the air, still forming, still reaching.

Northern gave them one last glance before turning away. As he did, the Tower ship’s bow shifted, veering from the grotesque vessel. A more complete tentacle lashed forward.

But the wind itself recoiled, blasting the appendage back before it could strike.

Northern turned, his face calm and unreadable.

”Right. You’ll cause trouble if I let you be.”

He studied the monstrosity with cold eyes.

”Well then.”

Northern raised his hand.

Above the changing ship, the air shimmered and trembled. Even the instructors on deck watched with tense faces as pressure built in the sky.

The air tore open with crackling sparks. Something black and glossy plummeted through the rift—too fast to track. The moment it struck the airship, a sonic shockwave rippled outward.

The rift sparked again. Something else was coming.

The first had been Corpse Eater. Though not the most active of Northern’s void summons, he commanded the legion of souls within the Limitless Void. He wasn’t growing stronger, but he was definitely growing smarter.

The second entity Northern summoned was different.

Mr Fluffy.

Northern never expected such overwhelming presence to crush the very air around them.

Twilight had broken through the clouds, casting radiant light through the mist. But whatever emerged from that rift plunged everything back into darkness—though nothing had changed to the naked eye.

Something fell from the tear in space. At first, it looked like snow drifting down. Then the limbs emerged fully, and its form became clear.

Four enormous paws descended, along with a body of white fur that flowed like waves of fresh snow.

Mr Fluffy’s blue eyes blazed with ancient, fathomless light. He had taken his gigantic form. As he landed on the creature-ship, the vessel couldn’t bear his weight.

It buckled. One side tilted, then began its slow dive toward the earth below.

Every tentacle responded—formed, malformed, and unformed alike.

But Mr Fluffy was more than enough to handle them all. Landing on the ship, his size filled the entire bow of the airship, causing it to tilt and drop under his sheer weight.

His claws and fangs showed no mercy. With brutal efficiency, he tore through the liquid metallic body of the ship-creature, rending it apart in a furious blaze. What had been pale crimson light now sprayed out in showers, staining the beautiful cantaloupe clouds of twilight.

Northern couldn’t see what happened next. The Tower ship had traveled quite far by then. The last thing he heard in the distance was an unholy, wrong cry that made his skin crawl.

Afterward, he continued his journey to the academy. It didn’t take long. Barely a dozen minutes later, the academy’s wall came into perfect view.

And it explained why the instructors’ faces had turned pale, struck with plain disbelief. Even Selis, Helena, and Vector had their eyes frozen wide, mouths hanging open.

Vector gasped, shaking his head in amazement.

”Good stars... I never thought I’d live to see this mighty wall torn down. I never even thought it was possible!”

Selis grimaced darkly.

”Whatever did this... honestly, I can’t even imagine how massive it must have been.”

The instructors stared ahead with terrible expressions—fear, anxiety, and disbelief mixing into a strange, unspeakable cocktail of reactions.

Northern remained strangely quiet. Of course, he’d been surprised too when he first saw it. Though that had been over two dozen seconds ago.

The students seemed most shaken by the wall’s sorry state.

The academy’s metal wall looked as if a gigantic clawed hand had shredded it from the clouds’ embrace down to the very ground that held its foundations.

Not all the students were awake. After being tended to, Shae had awakened, along with the pink-haired girl, Lenn, Tever, and Aster.

All of them stared with deep, grim expressions.

As the ship slowed, gliding over the wide mountain chasm—which had once contained the Crimson Clouds but now sat empty—Northern frowned.

”I see... explains the strange color of the clouds.”

Even though day was breaking, the clouds remained red, as if bleeding. This part of the island seemed untouched by the rising sun.

Then Northern spotted Dante and several others in black military uniforms.

He raised his brow, almost confused. Then he frowned and scoffed, muttering:

”This bastard... Well, that’s not surprising.”

Dante—as the shadow of a strangely built ship covered part of the mountain—raised his head with a scowl creasing his face.

Observing the change in their Lieutenant’s mood, Azzut looked up.

”How are they here... I thought those strange people stole all the ships.”

The other guy, with black spiky hair though not as rebellious as Azzut’s, grinned wickedly.

”Should Azzut and I go take care of him?”

Now that one looked at them both, there was a subtle, almost dismissible resemblance between the two. Their eyes were both dark and full of dangerous energy. However, Azzut was much shorter than Azsdan.

Koll looked at the pair and glanced up again.

”Those fools. I thought they said they could stop him from reaching the academy.”

Behind his plain face, he hid deep, primal hatred and disgust for everything around him.

The military men surrounding him. The dark elves circumstances had forced him to ally with decades back.

He hated everything he’d been forced to settle for—things that weren’t part of his plan due to one situation or another.

And most of all, he truly hated how persistent and undefeatable Northern was. He’d lost more than half his lifespan because he’d encountered this strange kid on different occasions.

And now, Northern was being a burrowing worm in his sandbox of plans.

Koll finally sighed and looked at them both.

”Neither of you forsaken twins should come back if that boy isn’t defeated.”

Azsdan grinned fiercely.

”Expect nothing less.”

Both suddenly lowered themselves in perfect synchronization, then with the same fluid motion, they catapulted toward the ship.