Fierce Opponent

Not to mention even in terms of Nux he was comprehensively crushed, after all he only had 110 apertures open at the moment, which was paltry in comparison to the 3650 the puppet had.

Of course his aperture's were much larger than normal, around ten times as big, but even then it would be 1100 against 3650.

Not to mention the 20% increase the puppet had, which just further increased the gap between the two.

In simple terms, this would be an incredibly difficult if not impossible battle, but Minos wasn't afraid.

While others had little to no chance, that wasn't necessarily the case with him, and with all his abilities, he definitely had an opportunity.

Steadying himself, Minos looked ahead at the still puppet, its smooth face seemingly 'staring' back at him.

Rather than waiting patiently to get a feel for Minos, the puppet attacked directly, the tower clearly wanting to beat him with overwhelming force.

The weak had to be patient, but the strong could just crush everything that stood in their way, and it was this philosophy that the tower made use of.

With a raise of its hand, it pointed its finger towards Minos, causing a chill to immediately travel down his spine.

Without even needing to think, his Instinct passively activated, causing his body to jump to the side.

Almost instantly after he did that, a thick bolt of lightning traveled past, exploding into the wall and filling the air with a thick scorched scent.

If you asked most cultivators which element they'd least like to face, most would probably answer lightning.

The reason was simple: speed and strength. Not only did lightning have the sheer destructive qualities of elements like fire, it also had speed that was only beaten by the light element.

In simple terms, it was an incredibly powerful element, and a favorite for those who pursued dominance.

Of course it wasn't without its weakness, the most blatant of which being metal, which could absorb and even redirect its own power against itself.

Similar to light and darkness, lightning was very weak against metal, which lowered its standing quite a bit.

Such a glaring and obvious weakness made it less popular, but even still, if one didn't use the metal element themselves, it was still horrifying to come up against.

The tower clearly knew that Minos used wind, and while wind's biggest weakness was fire, it seemed Minos's earlier use of Revulsion was still lingering on the tower's mind.

So to play it safe, it chose another element with the same destructive power, and the speed to boot.

Having missed its first shot, the puppet quickly re-aimed its finger towards Minos, unleashing another bolt.

The second the finger hovered over him, Minos once again leapt in the opposite direction, just barely avoiding another strike.

Looking back at the scorched wall behind him and smelling the smoky scent that followed as the lightning bolt scorched the moisture in its path, Minos knew a single hit would be a game over.

Realizing just a single bolt wasn't enough to catch Minos off guard, the puppet raised both hands, pointing all fingers forward.

'Shi-' Minos couldn't even finish his thought, all the fingers releasing thick lightning bolts at once.

With all sides blocked, Minos could only activate Future Sight, his third-eye beneath his forehead pulsing as it released its power.

As his power activated, the world seemed to pause for a moment before regaining momentum, Minos using this opportunity to catch his breath.

Looking at the bolts, he used his Divine Sense to scan for an opening, of course given the speed of the lightning, but by the time he found one, it was already too late.

Struck by a bolt, his body immediately exploded backwards, a hole nearly blown through his chest, only being saved at the last second by the tower.

The deep pain caused the vision to shatter, Minos opening his eyes back to the present, aware of what to do this time.

With an extremely precise movement, his body took a weird stance, which seemed strange at first, but as the lightning bolt's perfectly traveled past him, everything made sense.

…

"What the hell, how'd he dodge that!" Orino yelped.

"Did he use Divine Sense? No, as powerful as Divine Sense is, it still shouldn't be enough to let him react to such a fast attack…" The Seventh replied.

"Maybe it's his Aptus?" Asumi said after some thought.

"Aptus…? That's right, I had nearly forgotten about it since it seemed he never used it, but maybe it's just an auxiliary ability."

"Asumi, didn't you team up with Minos in the Battle of Strategy, did you ever see him use his Aptus during that time?" Orinoa asked curiously.

"While we teamed up back then, we weren't exactly partners, and neither of us fully trusted the other, so Minos never used his Aptus in front of me, or at least he never made it obvious." Asumi replied with a shake of her head.

"Huh… But even if it was his Aptus, what kind of ability could it be? Don't tell me it's something like seeing the future?"

"Impossible! While some Aptus's can 'see' the future, it's more like making predictions, as for one's that can directly 'see' what will come, I've never heard of such a thing." The Seventh replied adamantly.

"Who knows? It's clear Minos is a unique person, so it would make sense his Aptus is just as unique. Besides, can you imagine how much money you could make if you could see the future?" Orino said with glittering eyes.

"Is money all you can think about? And even if his Aptus really was that heaven-defying, to use it to make money would be a waste, instead conquering the world would make much more sense."

"Can you two stop daydreaming? At the end of the day, this power belongs to our next king, so we should just be grateful." Asumi said.

"Look at you, little miss loyal. Since when were you so devoted to Minos?" Orino asked with a sly smile.

"Since the moment I was aware of his abilities, and if you are smart, you'll be just as loyal, otherwise I'll be the first to strike you down." Asumi responded, her sharp eyes glaring at him.

"Hehehe relax, I'm loyal to money, and as the king, Minos will soon naturally be the wealthiest, so my loyalty is guaranteed."

"Money makes for a poor master, I hope one day you wise up and choose something or someone better to follow."

"What, like Minos? Maybe if I was a pretty girl like you, I'd do so, but unfortunately I don't swing that way."

"Hmph, watch your tongue, me and Minos don't have that kind of relationship."

"Really now?" Orino said, his eyes scanning Asumi up and down, causing her to grit her teeth.

Feeling the tension, the Seventh quickly stepped in, taking this chance to calm the two siblings down.

"Relax, we're all going to be working together under Minos in the future, so let's not fight now. As for you Orino, less of those jokes, they may give the wrong impression."

"My mistake. I guess I forgot this sister of mine has no sense of humor."

"Or maybe your jokes just aren't funny." Asumi quickly clapped back.

"Touche, touche." Orino smiled, deciding not to escalate any further.

As he did so, he took a few notes of his sister's character, getting a better understanding of this sibling he knew next to nothing of not that long ago.

The Seventh also seemed to realize why Orino started this conflict, giving this brother of his a deeper look before focusing back on the fight.

…

"See! That's what I was telling you about! It's like he can see the future!" Tylia exclaimed, jumping up as she pointed at the holographic screen.

"I didn't believe you in the past, but I guess you weren't lying… It really is like he can see the future." Suki replied with amazement, still not understanding how Minos avoided that previous move.

While he lacked cultivation, he was definitely well-read when it came to cultivation itself, and yet he still had no idea.

The only conclusion he could reach was the same one as Orino's, thinking this must be Minos's Aptus.

But just like the Seventh, he also felt like such a thing was a bit absurd, after all seeing the future was just too strong!

"Hey Tylia, do you think Minos can see the future?" He suddenly asked, even himself not sure why.

"Of course, what else could he be doing?" Tylia replied with certainty.

"So confident? Don't you think such an ability is a bit much? I've never heard of anyone with something like it."

"No matter how crazy, how heaven-defying, how illogical, it all makes sense when it comes to Minos, because he himself is an enigma! At some point you just have to admit he's a mystery and learn to follow him regardless, because wherever he goes, greatness follows!" Tylia replied, eyes shining with reverence.