The BGM became more and more intense, faster and faster.
The heavy drumbeats struck like giant hammers, pounding again and again against the audience's hearts.
And in front of the four standing in a line, the sound of crystals shattering grew louder and louder, until it became unending.
A pitch-black sword shadow burst out from within, instantly sweeping across the surroundings, turning that blood-stained area into ruin.
Countless crimson particles floated in the air like flower petals.
"..." The Flame Reaver stepped out from within.
Behind the mask that concealed his face, one could imagine he wasn't wearing any relaxed expression.
"Hmph!" Mydei slammed his fists together, flames blazing fiercely in his eyes.
He had never intended to rely on that small trick to eliminate the Flame Reaver. Now that the opponent had broken free, it suited him perfectly.
After all, defeating such a powerful enemy head-on was the best gift after becoming a demigod.
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
The air twisted as waves rippled outward. One clone after another appeared.
Four clones, just like Mydei, Phainon, Stelle and Anaxa on the opposite side, stood imposing beside him.
The Flame Reaver said nothing, holding his sword with both hands, standing firm before them.
Boom!
The four phantoms struck almost simultaneously, attacking from different directions.
This was the most counterintuitive aspect of fighting the Flame Reaver.
Four attacks came at them in a tightly linked, eerie sequence.
No one could have any idea about which strike truly hit, nor how the others would follow.
There was simply no way to defend with full certainty.
But it didn't matter, because this time, the Demigod of Strife was there.
"Petty tricks!" Mydei roared, leaping up. His entire body became like a fully drawn bowstring, and as he reached midair, he suddenly punched.
His right hand clenched into a fist and smashed forward. A blood-colored fist shadow, carrying terrifying thunder, slammed toward the Flame Reaver.
Four streaks of sword light closed in from all sides.
In an instant, the crimson fist shadow and the pitch-black blade light burst together in the frame.
It was too fast. For a moment, the audience couldn't even see how they collided.
Boom!
Boom!
The screen trembled.
A ship horn and electric guitar from the background music echoed together. They represented the tone of the Demigod of Strife and the Flame Reaver's motif, clashing within the BGM as well.
Bang!
Red crystals exploded. Countless crystals spread rapidly along the trajectory of the punch.
The blade light was swallowed, shattered. Even the phantoms themselves were instantly engulfed by the spreading crimson crystal mass.
Within just a few seconds, these phantoms, like the crimson crystals, rapidly crystallized, then burst apart and turned into powder drifting through the sky.
The power of the Demigod of Strife was terrifying beyond measure.
Mydei stood there, one fist clenched, looking down at his enemy from above.
He looked like a god of war. No, at that moment, he already was.
However… The Flame Reaver still didn't move.
He maintained the posture of holding the sword before him.
Four new phantoms emerged once again from his sides.
As for himself… He seemed to be brewing some terrifying attack.
Stelle and Phainon moved from Mydei's sides, one left and one right.
A bat and great sword whirled. They fiercely entangled two of the phantoms.
"Mydei! Watch the real body!"
Phainon drove back a shadow with an upward slash and shouted.
"Hmph, petty tricks!" Mydei snorted and stepped forward.
He didn't need Phainon's reminder. He had long noticed the Flame Reaver's strange posture.
Behind the Flame Reaver's head, a black space had now opened.
Cube shapes spiraled endlessly within it. But Mydei made no further move.
Out of arrogance, and confidence. This demigod of strife seemed to deliberately wait for the Flame Reaver to act.
"Vanity..."
A hoarse voice squeezed out from the throat.
The Flame Reaver seemed to understand Mydei's intent, but his response was only cold, like a judgment:
"...leads to self-destruction."
The moment the words fell.
The black space behind the Flame Reaver's head suddenly expanded.
Swallowing half the arena into it.
"This was…?" The phantoms before Phainon and Stelle instantly shattered on their own.
They stared in shock at this strange space… almost like a domain.
Pitch black tightly wrapped around everyone, bringing a suffocating pressure.
Looking straight ahead, all they could see were rotating cubic lines forming something like a vortex, like an endless passage.
Just looking at it, they felt as if they might be sucked in.
"What kind of principle is this?" Anaxa, who had been standing behind everyone watching this battle, showed shock for the first time.
Ordinary combat or martial skill alone wouldn't have caused such a reaction.
It was entirely because of this strange space. How had the Flame Reaver managed to influence space itself?
Phainon and Stelle exchanged a glance.
Phainon was instinctively wary.
Stelle showed no emotion on her face.
Because this scene felt strangely familiar.
The way the black space unfolded.
The eerie sense of enclosure.
All reminded Stelle of Acheron.
'No way was he going to slash like Acheron.' Stelle blinked.
Stelle did not believe that the Flame Reaver possessed power on the level of an Emanator.
Apart from the three with their differing thoughts, Mydei still stood calmly between them, fists clenched.
Though the space was indeed strange, between him and the Strife Titan's power, there was resonance.
As long as he could draw upon the power bestowed by Strife, there was nothing to fear.
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
Inside the black space, the strange humming and fluctuations grew stronger and stronger.
An invisible ring suddenly appeared, locking the four firmly in place.
And the Flame Reaver raised his great sword, bringing it down toward them.
No, it was an illusion!
After everyone had just watched the Flame Reaver leap up and slash downward.
That figure then turned into a form holding a ritual sword fused together with a twisted great sword.
Then… it changed again!
Once more transforming into a stance holding the sword at an angle, like a flourishing slaughter.
The Flame Reaver's figure kept shifting! Each time in a different posture! Each transformation was accompanied by a heavy, thunderous crash!
Faster and faster! Heavier and heavier!
Until, a Flame Reaver like giant appeared within the black space.
Before him, the four seemed tiny and oppressed!
Within the black space, starlight and multicolored phantoms began to spread.
These phantoms formed a Möbius strip, tightly binding the four within it.
Then… the Flame Reaver raised the greats word high!
From above, he slashed down with a single stroke!
"I am but sending a dynasty to its end."
The Flame Reaver's cold voice echoed through the black space at the moment the sword light exploded.
The next second, what appeared before the audience was an utterly terrifying slash!
This strike instantly tore through the screen.
A deep crack was carved across it. The phantoms, the Möbius strip, and the black space, all shattered violently with this single slash!
Black and white light burst forth!
At that moment, the terrifying impact frames shook the audience's vision and hearts like madness!
Whether it was an illusion or not, the stunned viewers felt that this attack from the Flame Reaver could split the entirety of Amphoreus apart!
This sense of oppression! Extremely terrifying, beyond doubt!
Since the appearance of Star Rail until now, the only one who could bring such visual impact and pressure was probably Acheron!
This was this the Flame Reaver's full-power strike?!
In that instant, worry, fear, and uncontrollable curiosity filled the audience.
They feared that the situation, which had only just turned around, would be cut down by this strike.
At the same time, they were sinking into even greater curiosity about this guy.
Such overwhelming strength! And a mysterious origin!
What truth was hidden behind all this?! The audience desperately wanted to know!!
As countless thoughts surged through their minds, within the erupting black-and-white light, a streak of blood-red burst out, then rapidly spread and expanded!
Devouring the black that represented the Flame Reaver completely!
Mydei's loud laughter rang out from within.
"Well fought! That was a good opener to the ceremony!"
"Now, we honor the fallen gods with this fight to the death!"
As his words fell, a ferocious blood-red lion suddenly swung its claw, tearing apart the vast shroud of darkness.
Red aura exploded around Mydei, a look of incomparable exhilaration on his face.
The aura enveloped him, gradually transforming into a lion.
Blocked!
That terrifying strike from the Flame Reaver, Mydei blocked it!
...
: Aaaaaaaah!
: I can't take it anymore! So cool! So explosive!
: Flame Reaver, Mydei, holy crap, this fight is so intense, so awesome!
: Damn, Amphoreus is really going all out. With power at this level in the universe, you could dominate anywhere!
: That sword strike was terrifying! And that Möbius strip, damn! Feels like there were so many hints!
: That slash was seriously cool!
: The tension is off the charts! MiHoYo really nailed the Amphoreus boss fights!!!
: Mydei actually blocked it!
: Is this the power of a demigod of Strife?!
: Go! Defeat the Flame Reaver!
...
Emotion. Music. Effects!
This battle perfectly embodied all three. The audience watched, dazzled, their blood surging!
And on screen, behind the composed Mydei, Stelle and the others were okay!
They looked at Mydei's back, feeling completely at ease. The power he gained after becoming a demigod was equally outrageous!
"..." But the Flame Reaver showed no frustration or any other emotion.
Still calm, almost inhuman.
He floated high in the sky, the black space already torn apart, starlight shining all around him.
Without a word, countless phantoms appeared again.
More than before, even more frenzied!
These densely packed phantoms filled the entire sky, then swept downward!
Stelle and the others raised their weapons and stepped forward to fight!
Mydei took the lead, charging ahead, smashing one phantom with each punch.
Behind him, Stelle and Phainon supported him.
Just then, Mydei had just shattered a shadow, but failed to notice the Flame Reaver's true body hiding within the darkness, he was ambushed from within!
Mydei raised his fist to meet it! Though he blocked the blow, he was knocked flying due to losing his balance.
Still, he adjusted his posture midair and landed steadily.
However…
Aside from Phainon, no one noticed, just after Mydei landed, a phantom that had been observing from the sky for a long time instantly moved behind him.
This phantom remained absolutely silent the entire time. Like an assassin, constantly minimizing its presence.
And because the Flame Reaver's true body was directly in front of Mydei, he didn't notice the attack from behind at all.
Normally, with Mydei's immortal body, even a sneak attack wouldn't matter.
But this time, the sharp blade thrust straight toward Mydei's spine!
The audience froze.
They still remembered… Mydei had only told Phainon that his weakness was in his spine.
And then, the barrage filled with countless question marks.
What the hell!
Cheat?!
But fortunately, Phainon had been watching closely. The moment he sensed the shadow's movement, he dashed over and raised his sword to block the phantom's blade.
Sparks flew. Only then did Mydei belatedly turn around.
Realizing he had nearly been killed, his expression turned serious.
Seeing the Flame Reaver coming at him once again, Mydei threw a punch!
This punch was ferocious!
The Flame Reaver raised his sword to defend, but had no time to react before being blasted away!
After sending him flying, Mydei leapt up again and unleashed another violent punch in midair!
This punch directly turned the Flame Reaver into a cannonball!