Bang!
The man crashed into the ground, dazed from what he just witnessed.
Grey was on the other side of the explosion, he was also impacted by it and felt a tinge of burning sensation as the heat from the explosion blew past his skin.
The result of the explosion was beyond Grey's imagination. He knew it would be strong, but he didn't expect it to be this powerful.
"He broke through?" He murmured, but then he looked at the sky and shook his head.
"No, that's not how this usually works. The energy should've been transferred into his body, but now the energy has dispersed."
Grey thought hard and he came to the same conclusion as the man, he has forcibly stopped the man from breaking through to the Sovereign Plane by destroying the energy that gathered in the sky.
'But… that shouldn't be possible, right?' Grey was left speechless by his deduction. If he's accurate, doesn't that mean others could stop people from breaking through to the Sovereign Plane at the last minute. Just the thought of it alone scared him.
If the world were to find out about this, then everyone would be more secretive when they want to break through and have trusted people to guard them from any potential attacks on the energy.
Grey was baffled at the scene, he had never heard of the energy being dispersed before.
'Is it that no one ever attempted to do this?' He wondered as he took to the sky, patiently awaiting for when the explosion would die down.
Without the explosion dying down he could already sense the energy that was destroyed. He literally blew a hole in the sky, causing a large spatial tear. This is something incredulous on its own, dispersing the energy a Venerable wants to use to get to the Sovereign Plane was even more unbelievable.
Grey could sense the presence of the man, he marked him after all and could tell that he wasn't far away.
Just like Grey, he was also impacted by the attack. But unlike Grey, he wasn't fast enough to get to a place with minimal damage, so he was injured from it.
Grey didn't wait for too long as the explosion died down within a minute or so and he went straight to where the man was located.
When he got there, he saw a figure that seemed lifeless. The man was alive, clearly still alive, but his eyes were listless. It was obvious that he still couldn't accept the fact that Grey stopped his breakthrough in such a manner. It was too shocking to accept.
Grey shook his head when he saw this man, "There's no point with me causing you any more harm. Klaus would know what to do with you. You're of no threat to anyone like this."
The initial plan was to destroy the man's cultivation base, but right now, he could sense that the man's cultivation stage dropped from being a Pseudo-Sovereign to being an Eighth stage Elemental Venerable.
Grey didn't know the backlash from not being able to break through a major Plane would be this alarming.
'I really need to be extra careful henceforth.'
He couldn't imagine what would happen to him if he attempts to break through, and while in the process of breaking through, he fails. Klaus would not let him hear the end of it. Not just that, but there were also his enemies who would capitalize on this any chance they get.
Grey knew not just the Gnomes were his enemies, there were also some figures who he had offended in one way or the other who were looking to take him out. There's also the Necromancers.
He didn't dwell on this issue, it was something for the future, it wasn't like he had any plans of failing to break through in the future, so there was no point in thinking about it. If something like that were to happen, he'll go hide behind his father. That's the use of having a strong background, and a powerful father too.
Grey looked at his clothes and realized they had been destroyed from the battle. With a quick movement, he changed and picked up the man who didn't even try to resist.
He took the man who seemed to be lifeless with him as he left the sight, leaving a wreckage behind.
….
On Grey's friends' end.
"What's taking him so long? That silly thing is still moving." Klaus studied Reynolds intensely and said.
"He will return soon, you know that man is powerful." Alice said.
"What do you mean? We left that guy at death's door before handing him over to Grey. If I were to catch him in that state at my peak, I would've killed him already." Klaus complained, he looked into the sky and said, "Grey's always so slow."
"You're not even as powerful as he is, yet you're acting all high and mighty." Alice rolled her eyes, but there was worry in her face, just like Klaus, she was worried for Reynolds' satefy.
Aries looked at Klaus, dumbstruck. Klaus was just on another level.
Just as Klaus was about to continue speaking ill of Grey, a fissure tore in the sky and Grey's figure slipped through it elegantly, on his shoulder was the man who wasn't moving.
"You killed him?" Alice asked.
Grey tossed the man to the ground and chuckled sinisterly, "No, I destroyed his hope of breaking through."
"Oh, I see. He's in the Eighth stage now." Alice nodded after studying the man.
It wasn't hard to get the current cultivation stage of the man, he wasn't trying to hide it anyway.
The man could barely even see them, his eyes were focused on the sky, and he finally opened his mouth, "How is it possible to destroy the sky?"
He looked at Grey and said, "The universe is unshakable, how can you destroy the energy? That's impossible!"
As the man was speaking, everyone could see that he was on the verge of going mad. He saw something that left him in a state that shaked him up.
Aries looked at Grey, and then at the man. She couldn't help but wonder what Grey did that left the man in such a state. Halting the man's breakthrough shouldn't make him go mad, unless he did it in a manner that shouldn't be possible.
'He destroyed the energy?'
Aries wondered and then she recalled the process of breaking through to the Sovereign Plane. During the process, the world would gather a special energy and fill up the body of the Venerable that is breaking through.
"That's can be destroyed?" She blurted out with a shocked expression.
"Who knew?" Grey shrugged, not too bothered about it. He looked at Reynolds, and then at the man, "Fix him."
"You… you… what are you?" The man asked, "Are you the descendant of a God? Only Gods can achieve what you just did. Tell me! I'm ready to be your slave."
The descendant of a God would definitely know a lot of secrets, if Grey were to take him in, he would be able to bring back his daughter.
"Are you brain dead?" Klaus spoke up when he heard the man's demands.
"We want to kill you and you're begging to become his slave? Do you think we'd take an evil person like you in?" Klaus asked.
"Actually, it's not a bad idea. Although he's a Necromancer, and I detest Necromancers, I do have someone there that provides me with some information. It's been a while since I contacted him. I wonder if he knows my identity now." Grey said with a thoughtful expression.
The man did something that intrigued him, which was merging the puppets. As much as he hates Necromancers, this man is clearly a genius. Having such a servant isn't a bad thing, but it's not generally a good thing either.
With how smart the man is, no matter what he does to him, there's a good chance he will be able to destroy it. So even placing an array in his brain or heart wouldn't really be of much help.
"Grey, are you crazy? He tried to kill Rey!" Klaus felt like smacking Grey's head.
"I know, but what's the harm of having one of the enemy's guys? We get more information and other benefits. There's just the fear of him leaking a few things." Grey shrugged, he looked at the man seriously, contemplating if it was worth the risk.
The man would be a good addition to those he has taken in, he just needs to make sure the man's in check and everything would be good.
"Heal my friend, we'll talk after." Grey pointed to Reynolds, and just as the man was about to move, "Also, I'm no descendant of a God."
The man froze when he heard this, clearly hesitating.
"Your choice."
Grey walked to the side after saying this, he was a little tired from the fight, and a few ribs were broken which needs fixing.