The blood mist thickened rapidly until the entire battlefield disappeared beneath a crimson sea. The already unstable sky of the Violet Heaven Secret Realm became little more than a vague red blur while countless streams of blood energy drifted through the air like living creatures.
Arthur hovered silently in the air with the Holy Light Sword still clenched in his hand while the purple Aether wings extending from the Godbuster Armor illuminated the surrounding fog.
Beside him, Chen Yuze swept his divine sense outward repeatedly, but after several attempts his expression gradually darkened. "I have lost track of him," he said grimly. "I can't detect him even using divine sense."
Arthur nodded because he was facing the exact same problem. Even his unique perception that allowed him to sense life-force was being interfered with. He could still vaguely feel Malphas's presence somewhere ahead, but the signal was becoming weaker and weaker as the blood mist continued thickening.
It was almost as if the demon was dissolving himself into the fog. Arthur frowned slightly. "This guy really has some tricks up his sleeve."
Chen tightened his grip around his spear and nodded. "We should keep our guards high. Who knows what he would do next?"
Arthur agreed, a weakened Infernal was already dangerous enough. A desperate Infernal was infinitely worse. The two immediately accelerated toward the last location where they had sensed Malphas.
As Arthur flew through the crimson fog, his senses remained focused on the surrounding space. Then suddenly he felt a faint spatial fluctuation ahead. His eyes narrowed immediately, space distorted for a brief moment.
He became suspicious. 'Does he also know how to teleport?' During the entire battle Malphas had never used spatial movement. If he possessed such an ability, he could have made their fight significantly more difficult.
Then realization suddenly struck him and his eyes widened. This wasn't teleportation, this was escape. "Hurry up!" Arthur shouted through their telepathic link. "I think he is trying to flee!"
Beside him, Chen's expression changed instantly. "What!?" Without another word he exploded forward at maximum speed, tearing through the blood mist while shockwaves spread behind him.
Arthur had even teleported to the location. Unfortunately, they arrived a few seconds too late. By the time Arthur and Chen reached the location where Malphas had last been sensed, all they found was a formation circle fading into nothingness.
Complex crimson runes floated in the air before gradually breaking apart into countless particles. At the center of the formation hovered a blood-red orb roughly three meters in diameter.
The moment Arthur saw it, every instinct in his body screamed danger. The orb radiated an extremely volatile energy fluctuation. His pupils contracted and beside him Chen had apparently reached the same conclusion because both of them reacted at the exact same moment.
Arthur immediately teleported in front of Chen while simultaneously reaching out with one hand toward him. Then the blood orb detonated, and a terrifying explosion erupted without warning. There was no buildup or visible charge. One moment the orb existed and the next moment the entire world turned red.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The blast swallowed everything within sight. Space fractured instantly while blood-red energy and shockwaves surged outward in all directions. Mountains that had already survived the destruction of the secret realm were erased instantly. The atmosphere ignited and the secret realm itself suffered another catastrophic wound.
Arthur felt the Godbuster Armor screaming warnings through its internal systems as countless impacts slammed into him simultaneously. Even with the armor absorbing and dispersing most of the force, the sheer amount of energy involved was enough to overwhelm his defenses. At the last possible moment Arthur grabbed Chen's body and activated Spatial Manipulation. Space twisted around them, and a fraction of a second later they vanished from the center of the explosion.
…
Nearly a hundred kilometers away, space suddenly tore open and two figures crashed out violently. Arthur and Chen slammed into the ground hard enough to create a massive crater. The impact shattered the earth while debris flew in every direction.
Arthur rolled several times before finally forcing himself to stop. "Cough!" Blood spilled from his mouth.
"Cough! Cough!"
Even through the Godbuster Armor he could feel the damage throughout his body. Several organs had ruptured, multiple of his ribs had shattered and internal bleeding spread throughout his body.
The attack had been powerful enough to injure him despite the protection of the armor. Fortunately, the damage only lasted moments. His regeneration activated immediately while Adaptive Evolution strengthened his body further in response to the injury. Ruptured organs regenerated, broken bones reconnected and internal bleeding stopped.
He slowly pushed himself back to his feet while coughing one final time. The Godbuster Armor was covered in scorch marks, but the armor itself remained completely intact. He let out a relieved breath before immediately turning toward Chen.
His expression became serious, Chen Yuze's condition was far worse. The Artifact Refiners Union Head lay motionless several dozen meters away. Large portions of his body had been burned black.
His clothes were completely destroyed and many of his bones were exposed through charred flesh. His breathing was so weak that Arthur could barely detect it. If Arthur hadn't teleported them away at the last moment and used his own body to shield Chen from the majority of the blast, the older man would have been vaporized instantly.
He hurried over and crouched beside him. A quick inspection confirmed his fears, Chen was dying. Without immediate treatment he wouldn't survive more than a minute. He immediately scoured his storage and retrieved several glass vials filled with different colored liquids.
These weren't products he intended to sell, they were experimental healing potions he had developed during various research projects. He uncorked the first vial and poured the liquid directly onto Chen's wounds and instantly the charred flesh began regenerating.
He opened another vial and carefully poured its contents into Chen's mouth. A few moments later Chen's breathing stabilized, the color slowly returned to his face. His life-force strengthened steadily as the potions worked their magic. Arthur finally relaxed slightly after confirming the older man would survive. Without wasting more time, he brought Chen back to his shop.
…
Half an hour later, inside a quiet room within Arthur's shop, Chen Yuze slowly opened his eyes. For several moments he stared blankly at the ceiling while memories gradually returned. The battle with Malphas, the blood mist, the explosion.
Understanding finally appeared on his face. He slowly sat up and was surprised to discover that aside from some lingering soreness, his injuries had almost completely disappeared.
"I see you have recovered well." Chen looked up and found Arthur sitting nearby with several jade slips spread across a table. Arthur stood and approached after seeing him awaken.
Chen immediately left the bed and bowed deeply. "Master Liu, thank you for saving my life."
Arthur simply raised one hand dismissively. "I only did what I should have."
Chen didn't respond immediately because he knew that wasn't true. Arthur had risked his own life to save him. Without Arthur he would already be dead, the gratitude he felt was genuine.
After a brief silence, Chen's expression became serious again as he remembered the existence of Malphas. "We need to inform the higher-ups of the Union about the Infernal," he said. "A catastrophe is brewing with his release."
Arthur looked slightly curious. "How did you know the Infernal was unsealed?"
Chen sighed. "I received the information from Crimson Hall so I entered the secret realm."
Arthur nodded slowly. So Lu Gang really had contacted them, that made sense. Arthur briefly thought about the fate awaiting Lu Gang. The man had unleashed a disaster upon the entire world through his greed. Whatever punishment awaited him would be deserved.
Suddenly Chen appeared to remember something important. He looked toward Arthur with an odd expression. "Master Liu... are you a member of the Celestial Sect?"
Arthur immediately understood the misunderstanding. Between Malphas, Lu Gang and his use of Holy and Light elements, it was an easy conclusion to reach. He shook his head. "No."
Chen blinked. "No?"
Arthur smiled faintly. "I can use Holy and Light elements, but I am not a member of the Celestial Sect. You're not the first person to make that mistake."
Realization immediately appeared on Chen's face. "Ah... I apologize for the misconception."
Arthur waved it off. "It's fine."
The room became quiet for a few moments before Arthur finally said. "Now that you're healed, I should go deal with the beasts coming out of the secret realm." The Violet Heaven Secret Realm was collapsing rapidly. Countless monsters were undoubtedly escaping into the outside world and someone needed to contain the situation.
To Arthur's surprise, Chen immediately stood as well. "I'll come with you."
Arthur looked at him skeptically. Chen laughed seeing his worried look. "Don't worry, I'm not that fragile."
Arthur stared at him for a moment before eventually nodding. "Fair enough."
The next second space twisted around both of them. And the next second they found themselves standing near the entrance to the Violet Heaven Secret Realm. The sight before them was absolute chaos. Thousands of cultivators filled the sky while countless monsters poured out of the enormous crack hanging above the Desolate Forest.
Explosions echoed continuously across the battlefield. Roars from giant beasts shook the earth while cultivators launched techniques in every direction. Fire salamanders surged out of the collapsing realm alongside gigantic serpents, mantis monsters, winged predators and dozens of other species.
Blood covered large sections of the forest as countless battles raged simultaneously. Sects, independent cultivators, Crimson Hall members, Artifact Refiners Union experts and local forces were all working together to stop the flood of monsters before they could spread throughout the planet.
Arthur silently observed the battlefield while sensing the strength flowing through his body. The battle with Malphas had pushed him to his limits. Maintaining the compressed Behemoth state inside the Godbuster Armor had placed tremendous strain on his body. Then the blood orb explosion had injured him severely enough to trigger another round of adaptation and evolution.
As a result, he could feel his strength increasing continuously. Every cell in his body felt more powerful than before. His durability was higher and even his control over Aether seemed smoother. He could clearly feel it, he was standing at the threshold of reaching a new realm of power. One more push, one more life-and-death battle, that was all he needed.
Beside him, Chen Yuze also looked toward the battlefield before smiling slightly. "Looks like we arrived just in time."
Arthur nodded, then without another word both men shot forward into the sky. Like two comets entering a storm, they joined the battle as the dying Violet Heaven Secret Realm continued collapsing. And somewhere beyond the horizon, a wounded Infernal named Malphas was still alive waiting for revenge.
***
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