"What did you say?!"

While the name was different, there was no mistaking it. There could be no other basic force of this universe stopping normal cultivators from advancing further than entropy!

By looking at how I obtained the power to wrong ith it in the first place, everything would make sense. Basically, unless one could use a system like I did to save himself from the decay, then overloading oneself with magic force would inevitably result in the entropy poisoning.

And looking at the way in which it worked, it would be no wonder why it was called a power of decay!

At the same time, I realised just what kind of power both immortals and grand sages alike received after passing through the hurdle of advancing past the sage realm. While I never really bothered to use it in this way as it would be sort of degradation of its full, true potential, entropy could be used as sort of antimagic. Just by directing as much entropy as normally, a magic spell would be infused with if it was made with raw magic rather than condensed and adopted one, one could turn the intent within the spell or technique into nothing, rendering all sorts of traps, attacks or even mechanisms worthless!

"What, never heard about the power of decay either? Whoever taught you how to cultivate, had to either really believe in your unlimited potential, or just be as stupid and uninformed as you are! Gosh, speaking to you makes me feel as if I'm going through some kind of mental breakthrough! Are you some kind of inner demons aiming to destabilise my peace of mind or something?!"

With Celleria as agitated as I was, there was no way for anyone to stop the raging flames of emotions that suddenly birthed from the realisation that both of us came at. Nobody could stop it, but Eve.

"Okay, calm down, both of you. Bart, can I ask you for this favour?"

Maybe it was the change that occurred with her advancement, or maybe it was just the hidden part of the personality that she never really bothered to show to me before, but seeing such a serious look on the face of my beloved, all thoughts of arguing or prying for more information instantly disappeared from my head.

At this point, I could only observer, completely enchanted by her profile, how Eve turned to her step-sister to lecture her this time.

"And you, Celleria. As much as it pains me to lecture my…. older? Younger? Ah, it doesn't matter. As much as I would prefer the two of us to start on another foot, you need to calm down just as well. Most likely, you don't even have a shred of an idea of what made Bart so agitated in the first place."

As if she was some kind of militarized police, it took only several sentences from her lips to turn the situation on its head. From the possible argument created by the misunderstanding and different points of view, we were now back at the square one, with the one difference being the fact that both I, Eve and Celleria have all learned something new.

Yet, to be frank, I couldn't help but believe that it was actually me and Eve who came out with more benefits from this discussion!

"Okay then, let me explain, as no matter how much I love this uncommon face that Eve is making, I can't stand seeing her even slightly angry or annoyed. Listen, if I'm not wrong, this force of decay that you spoke about, that force that you believed to be only accessible to those who already reached the level of grand sages or immortals…"

Just as I was about to go and make a big reveal, Celleria looked at me as if I was some kind of worthless worm, before interjecting.

"Just what the hell are you speaking about? I never said that the force of decay is what allows one to turn into grand sage. It's the immortal's only domain!"

Once again, everything that I believed to be true, the entire picture that I already painted in my head… fell apart. Yet with such a capable source of information right in front of me, how could I hold back from prying even further?

Even knowing that bringing this entire topic back might potentially upset Eve, as it could influence my means of protecting her from any harm…

"Bart, now you are stepping out of the line. I know that you just saved my life…"

Saying those words out of nowhere, Eve suddenly appeared in front of me, with her face twisted in the grimace of both anger and worry.

"... but I don't want you to risk your own life for my sake. Living in this world without you would be as meaningless to me, as doing so was for you while you worried about my health. And let's face it, just from the fact that you are wondering where those words of mine are coming from, proves the fact that I'm already more capable, or at least, more inclined to use our newly gained, innate powers!"

Only by hearing her say those words, I could finally come to terms with reality. Yet only when I raised my eyes on her beautiful profile as she spoke, only to realise that she wasn't moving her mouth at all, I was finally forced to admit that she beat me now.

"Okay then. Let's just say that I'm curious. Celleria, mind telling me just what kind of force, or reason does grand sages need to advance from the level of ordinary sage? If it's not the force of decay, then what?"

forced to calm myself down I took a moment to take a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling them in slow succession while keeping my eyes on the cutest profile of the most beautiful woman in the world for yet another calming factor.

"Eh… If you ask politely like that, then I don't really mind replying. While immortals rely on the power of decay in order to break free from the confinements that keep them by their former power in this dimension, grand sages go in the exact opposite way. They deny all of this power, feeding on the blood of immortals to condition their bodies into counteracting against said power. What's more, grand sages need to fulfil just a single more thing before fully embracing the title of the protectors. They need to become the absolute masters of the realm they want to protect."