BOOM!!
Alongside this heaven-shaking roar, an entire corner of Seireiden's palace was pulverized by incomparable ferocity. The strongest Crimson Lord's terrifying aura—like a roaring flood, a crashing tsunami, an erupting volcano—finally burst forth without reservation, sweeping every inch of Seireiden.
As if a primordial beast, asleep since ancient times, had finally opened its eyes.
In the opening and closing of its massive jaws, a dreadful howl threatened to tear apart the universe, annihilating even the stars.
Murky-purple flames, filled with boundless viciousness, soared into the sky, like a fierce starving tiger biting desperately into that thread of grey.
At this very moment, Sydonay unleashed all his primal ferocity, transforming his own flesh and flames into a savage beast capable of shredding and devouring any enemy before him!
Even without invoking his transformative ability, simply gripping the steel spear Shintetsu Nyoi, his boiling, violent Power of Existence blazed furiously, emitting an aura surpassing even the monstrous chimera he once became while fighting Shana. The surrounding space trembled under the unbearable strain.
In ancient times, Sydonay had walked the lands of China under the name of "Chi You, God of War," leaving behind a legacy of brutal might. All revered his valor; all feared his cruelty.
Now, with steel spear firmly in hand, he once again displayed strength and violence worthy of that name—"Fierce God."
BANG!
THOOM!
BOOM!
Chasing, colliding, exploding, shattering—
Unlike Tendōkyū, eternally bathed in tranquil sunlight, Seireiden's sky always remained peacefully starlit no matter the hour. Yet now, this tranquil night had turned into a furious, boiling sea of flames.
All the Denizens below could only look helplessly upward, unable to lock their gazes on the two elusive afterimages battling in the heavens—like frogs trapped in a well, gazing futilely at distant stars forever beyond their reach.
Murky purple and deathly grey traced millions of jagged lines through the sky dome.
Every abrupt turn scattered blazing white sparks, as though the heavens were repeatedly shattered, then instantly reassembled.
The first shockwave had not yet dissipated before the second erupted upon it.
The murky-purple trails surged forward like violent tides, raising ripples of sonic booms.
The grey meteor sliced cleanly through the air, leaving behind a long corridor of vacuum.
Two streams of light intersected, constantly unleashing rolling waves of thunder.
The majestic palace roof shook violently, bricks and walls fracturing with sharp cracks, jagged fissures spreading ominously, as if about to collapse to dust in the very next moment.
This was merely residual force, yet enough to shatter the distant palace. At the epicenter of collision, violent flames instantly expanded into a blazing sun-disc.
Its core temperature melted steel instantly, while at its edges turbulent arcs of lightning abruptly condensed.
The sun-disc burst, scattering fragments of light like countless meteors dragging fiery tails downwards, leaving scorched craters across the palace floor.
Reliefs carved into pillars warped grotesquely under heat waves, stone faces flickering between mercy and ferocity amidst shifting light.
Crimson Denizens, who always viewed humans as insignificant ants, now could only cover their heads, wailing in terror. Power which they had wielded to torment humanity now offered no comfort as fiery fragments rained down mercilessly, burning countless Denizens to nothingness—not even ashes remained.
Most of Bal Masqué's Crimson Denizens sank into despair at this apocalyptic scene, while a rare few stronger ones—like "Tempest Hoof" Fecor—were instead terrified by the enemy forcing General Sydonay into such desperation.
What kind of monstrous existence could push even the General this far?!
Sydonay had no spare attention for Seireiden's devastation. The more he fought this enemy, the deeper his dread became.
No matter how much strength he displayed, how much faster, stronger he grew, the enemy always surpassed him by a small margin. Every time he thought he had caught up, she revealed even greater power.
He swung Shintetsu Nyoi like silver lightning splitting the heavens. Each stroke screamed louder than nearby explosions, every half-spin of the spear roaring like dragons, pushing back surrounding flames.
Yet his opponent—Nitocris—wielded a strange grey longsword of unknown, rough-hewn material, as though naturally formed rather than crafted by human hands.
Yet this crude, strange blade clashed repeatedly with his Shintetsu Nyoi without shattering. How could Sydonay not be shaken, not horrified?
But retreat was impossible!
If he lost, if he gave up—then who could save Hecate? Who would guarantee her safety?!
"Ghhhh… OOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRR—!!"
Murky-purple flames exploded forth violently, Sydonay's hair dancing wildly as if aflame itself. A suppressed howl burst painfully from his throat—like thunder trapped in his chest. Space distorted from intense heat, even bending light into deep purple shadows.
Mountain-shattering strength and violent purple fire surged down his arm into the steel spear, causing it to hum as if suddenly alive, spewing sparks and stretching forth a viciously sharp point.
In the next moment, the fierce beast's roar became rolling thunder, shaking the endless sea of fire.
"GIVE HECATE—BACK TO MEEEEEEEEEE!!"
Shintetsu Nyoi shrieked with a dragon's cry as Sydonay swung it downward ferociously. Its silver-white blade sliced toward the horizon's end, bridging countless miles in an instant, tearing a perfectly straight vacuum corridor through the ocean of flame—fire forcibly split apart, fleeing desperately to either side.
The silver lightning-blade streaked forward, drawing a brilliant trajectory through the fiery sea, finally slamming into Nitocris's horizontal longsword. At the moment of impact, the unstoppable blade shattered into countless fragments of light, while Nitocris became a blurred grey shadow shot violently backward. Air compressed into twisted mirror surfaces around her, cracking continuously.
Sydonay growled deeply, feet exploding with purple ripples, space beneath collapsing into a murky whirlpool as he surged forward through the flames in pursuit.
Collisions, strikes, clashes—
Sparks burst between steel spear and stone sword.
First collision—a tearing sound erupted sharply! The meeting of spear-tip and sword-edge blasted a blinding burst of purple-gold sparks, like a furnace bursting violently apart.
Tenth clash—Sydonay grew fiercer with each attack, his aura like a colossal dragon roaring through murky-purple flames. Shintetsu Nyoi served as the dragon's claws and fangs, each strike heavier, each blow more savage!
Hundredth clash—space itself twisted and crumbled beneath an invisible hammer-blow. Two indistinct silhouettes dragged billions of destructive light trails through the flames, storms of furious assaults unleashing twisted suns and rampaging radiance.
Thousandth clash—Sydonay was visibly tiring. His purple flames, repeatedly forming into dragons, were sliced apart at the throat, exploding into embers.
Ten-thousandth clash… the spear aimed straight at Nitocris's skull but was blocked by her sword once more, violent sparks scattering. Sydonay's grip trembled—almost losing hold of his weapon.
In mere moments, they had clashed tens of thousands of times!
He swiftly retreated, abandoning close combat, raising his arm, spear-tip aimed toward heaven. A murky-purple flame-column roared skyward, instantly swelling into a vast purple sun.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!"
With an ear-shattering roar, Sydonay hurled that devastating purple sun toward the tiny grey figure below—Nitocris.
Not simply falling—space cracked inch by inch beneath it. Its surface instantly shattered into countless solidified purple arrows, plunging like violet lightning, cascading like torrential rain, covering the entirety of Seireiden's sky.
Nitocris casually and calmly swung her sword, deflecting the incoming flame arrows. Her figure abruptly blurred, leaving only a grey afterimage slowly dissolving on the spot.
Immediately after, a lifeless, deathly grey—like ink dripping into clear water—began seeping into the base of that destructive sun. At an unimaginable speed, it expanded, devouring the surrounding murky-purple energy. The raging flames within the sun seemed to have met their natural predator, silently wailing as they struggled futilely, assimilated and frozen by that dead grey—until the dazzling purple sun turned entirely grey, abruptly shattering into countless fragments of light.
Crossing the endless shards of radiance, Nitocris instantly appeared before Sydonay, thrusting her grey blade directly into his chest.
Puchi—!
The sickening sound of pierced flesh echoed as the blade tip protruded from his back, scattering—not blood—but intensely condensed murky-purple flames. These fragments twisted violently in the air, splattering and sizzling as though alive.
"Guh!"
A suppressed groan of agony—drawn out as if from the depths of his soul—escaped from between Sydonay's tightly clenched teeth. His powerful, muscular body trembled violently; his chest heaved with pain.
Facing this soul-rending agony, Sydonay took an unexpected action... With his empty left hand, he suddenly lashed out, his thickly muscled palm gripping the blade tightly like an iron clamp. The sharp edge sliced open his palm, yet he didn't care in the slightest.
Instead, he flashed a ferocious grin, like a wild beast forced to the brink.
"Now…just die already!"
The muscles in Sydonay's right arm twisted and bulged grotesquely, dark-purple veins surging across the skin's surface, throbbing wildly like countless enraged vessels. In an instant, his arm expanded dozens of times over, turning what was previously a strong, lean limb into a monstrous appendage as thick as a pillar, fingers thickened like battering rams, sinister claws erupting from their tips. Murky-purple flames wreathed the arm, making it appear horrifyingly grotesque.
His spear—Shintetsu Nyoi—also changed accordingly, growing gigantic alongside his arm, becoming a demon-god's weapon capable of splitting mountains apart.
With merely a slight lift of his monstrous arm, the surrounding air cracked under unbearable strain. Murky-purple flames wrapped around his limb and spear, dyeing the nearby space in the same ghastly hue. The Shintetsu Nyoi possessed the power to freely adjust to Sydonay's will, growing or shrinking with his transformations, even extending, bending, or splitting into thousands of blades to attack his enemies. It was the only weapon perfectly suited to Sydonay's abilities.
In the next instant, his gigantic arm swung fiercely!
Shintetsu Nyoi ripped apart the air, dragging a hundred-meter-long tail of murky-purple flames, crashing down like a falling comet toward Nitocris!
Yet Nitocris showed no concern for the terrifying attack descending from above. Her sword had pierced Sydonay's chest—one slight push would carve him into pieces. Though it wouldn't kill him, it would certainly stop his strike.
At that moment, countless golden chains abruptly appeared, tightly binding Nitocris's body and sword together.
"You've been focused entirely on Hecate and the General this whole time."
Bel Peol suddenly emerged behind Sydonay, smiling gently. "I may just be a strategist, but please don't underestimate my fighting strength completely."
"Ooooooaaaaaaaarrrrr—!"
With Bel Peol's support, Sydonay held nothing back, smashing down the mountain-sized Shintetsu Nyoi with full force.
BOOOOOM!
Thunderous explosions shook the space itself, tearing it apart as a tsunami-like surge of violet flames burst outward, forming another blazing purple sun in the sky.
Seeing this, several Crimson Denizens felt hope rising in their hearts.
Did they win?
The enemy was unprecedentedly powerful, but this time, both the General and Strategist had joined forces—surely even the strongest enemy wouldn't survive…
BAM!!
BAM!!
Before the purple sun above could disperse, two dark shadows plummeted to the ground like cannonballs, creating deep craters upon impact and kicking up clouds of dust.
"Cough…"
Bel Peol lay in one crater, coughing harshly with a pained expression.
"De..."
Sydonay's appearance was horrific—both arms and everything below his chest had vanished entirely, the severed sections burning fiercely with oily violet flames.
The General and Strategist… actually lost?!
These were two of the Trinity—the oldest, strongest Crimson Lords in existence!
Moreover, they wielded Treasure Tools specially crafted by the Snake of the Festival, vastly increasing their power.
Yet even with such forces combined, they failed to overcome this unknown figure who had appeared out of nowhere?
Has the world gone mad—or have we gone mad?
Even more despairing to the Crimson Denizens was that the monstrous, powerful woman had already descended to the ground.
Not only was she completely unharmed, without a trace of disturbed breathing—but besides her own grey sword, she now also held the steel spear, Shintetsu Nyoi.
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was toooo lazy and slept allllllllll week sorgee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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