Eternal Saṃsāra: The Wanderer of Worlds

[222] Against the Heavens, Against an Old Sweetheart

Chapter 221: And the Monarch of the Brightest Night Swings His Sword

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The Phoenix and the Heavenly Demoness clashed punches. The air exploded, and the sky split in two. Clouds cleared to reveal the dark blue sky, three moons shining down at them like chandeliers.

“What the hell are you?!” The Phoenix demanded as his wings deflected the long, heavy Blood Sword of the Demoness. His own fists slammed against her face, and although she tried to dodge, she was too slow.

The demoness was sent flying backward, spinning in the air, twirling with a peal of laughter.

“Imbecile!” The Phoenix shouted. His attacks landed, and they did damage, but the woman did not seem dispirited a bit. Crazy bitch.

She came to a stop in midair, wiping her lips, and then crackling at him. “You're stronger than me now.”

At least she knew to admit it. “You’re going to meet your end, you crazy devil.”

“Demonic Human,” she raised a finger to correct him. “Not really a devil or a demon. Although my demonic cult does indeed worship the Demon God Mara, who is a reflection of myself.”

“I did not inquire about your theology,” he raised a hand in the air and said. His hand began to brighten up with a dark light, black flames condensed on the tip of his finger. “Be quiet and just die.”

The Phoenix's hand, glowing with ominous energy, thrust forward in a swift and precise manner, aiming to end the confrontation with a single blow. The Heavenly Demoness merely crackled up at that, a flicker of dark amusement in her eyes. She twisted in the air, her form blurring into a streak of shadow.

With a derisive snort, she evaded the deadly touch of the black flames, her laughter echoing through the clash of their powers. “Predictable, Phoenix! Is that the best your newfound strength can muster?” Her taunt sliced through the roaring wind as she countered with a swift, sweeping arc of her Blood Sword.

The blade was drenched in the essence of countless battles that Ai had never fought, but this character had, and now it shimmered with a lethal crimson hue as it sliced toward the Phoenix. He didn’t bother to dodge and instead chose to block it. His wings unfurled to a majestic span, feathers like blades of night slicing through the bloodied gleam of her attack.

Their forces met with a cataclysmic clash, sending ripples of distorted energy cascading across the sky. Black feathers mingled with droplets of blood in a dance as old as time, painting a macabre picture on the celestial canvas above.

“Enough of this charade!” the Phoenix roared, his voice carrying the weight of his age. He clenched his strength, the dark aura around his fists intensifying as he prepared for a counterstrike that’d end her. He shot forward, a blur of darkness, aiming directly at the heart of the Demoness. “[Talons of Night and Darkness]!”

“Enough? Sure, enough,” she met his charge with a devilish grin, her body shifting with unnatural grace. As they closed the distance, her hand shot out, not with a blade, but with a bare, clawed grip aimed to catch his next attack. “[True Demon Fist Art, Scarlet Annihilation Fist].”

The moment their powers collided, the air itself seemed to scream in agony. A shockwave of mixed auras burst outward, the dark against the demonic, shattering the stillness of the night and shaking the very foundation of the skies.

The Phoenix with his Black Demonic Flames, and the Demoness, with her Demonic Blood Arts, were entwined in a duel not just of strength but of willpower and divinity. They sought to dominate each other and beg for victory.

The Phoenix growled. He closed his eyes for a moment, red eyes closing, before he reopened them. His entire body overflowed with dark mana, demonic divinity, as he channeled them into his wings. The energy exploded to expand his pair of black wings, covering half the sky. The feathers lit up, charging with demonic divinity. His feathery lips, shaped like beaks, whispered the name of the technique. “[Shower of Black Heaven]!”

All three of his Icons lit up, they all affected this technique. 

“Oh, we're showing off ultimates?” She put her arms behind her. The world lit up. Stronger did not mean victor, she wouldn't stop replying with her attacks. “Sure, let's have a go.”

“[True Demon God Art, God Slaying Order].” Her expression lost its humor and spoke in chilly majesty. The air around her grew dense with the metallic scent of blood. From behind her, countless droplets of blood coalesced and spiraled outward in a mesmerizing dance of crimson. 

In an instant, the sky transformed; where once there were stars, now there emerged a dome of swords, spanning kilometers across the heavens. Each sword was forged from the essence of blood and divine will each shimmered with an ominous glow. They arranged themselves in a perfect, massive hemisphere, where the demoness stood at the epicenter.

The Dark Phoenix's scowl deepened as the colossal wings at his back gathered a sinister aura. Each feather, infused with his dark mana, began to emit an ominous glow, casting shadows that danced like specters in the twilight. With a tense flutter, the feathers blazed to life, bursting into a brilliant display of destructive energy. 

He unleashed his fury, and the feathers burst forward like a swarm of comets, each one trailing a blazing path of dark fire across the sky, blasting forward.

The thousand-blood swords hurled ahead too, and the two oppositions collided against one another. The sky exploded with colors of black and red. Liquid blood splashed all over, and black fire vaporized it. 

Black flames spread across the air, while liquid red dampened it. The sky was a canvas, two artists painted its landscape. Luminous darkness and red smoke filled the clear sky, and the lights of the North Pole looked like hell incarnate once again.

However, the Phoenix didn’t stop there. The feathers of his titanic wings lit up for another time, charging with demonic divinity. “[Shower of Black Heaven]!”

He fired the technique again, while the Demoness didn’t have enough Authority to spam it. She grumbled as the technique joined his earlier one, and pushed back hers. It began to rush toward her, a thousand sharp little knives intending to riddle her with charred holes.

Due to the speed it all happened, the Demoness could only cross her arms. She didn’t have enough time to prepare a counterattack, so she chose defense. However, she was sure just crossing her arms like this wouldn’t save the day. Well, this is bad.

That’s when a trail of light shot from the ground and stopped before her. The sword swung forward, and the Phoenix’s technique evaporated.

The Phoenix and the Demoness waited for the dust to clear before them, preparing another attack just in case. Yet, when the dust did clear, both of them stepped back in surprise. A third party had just intervened in their battle, they both had noticed, but the identity of the party took them aback.

A man in gold stood where the explosion had taken place, a blazing sword at hand. Two Icons shone overhead, the [Crown Icon] and the [Sword Icon] glittered over the world.

“Oh my, it's…” the Heavenly Demon blinked, grinning widely. “It's the disgusting little Emperor?!” She grinned at him, and Aqua scowled.

“Seems like you two are together,” the Phoenix grumbled. “Then die!” his feet exploded and he rushed toward Aqua. Aqua turned to him slowly, sword moving through the air currents.

[Grand Chariot, 7th Form.]

[Vagabond Style, Third Form.]

He waved his sword, the air exploded around him, his forearms bled, and he continued moving his sword. The destructive power of a star splat out of the tip of his blade, exploding into the face of the phoenix.

The Phoenix crossed his arms, attempting to block the nuke that exploded on his nose. He was sent flying across the sky, spinning across mid-air.

“Cancel the transformation,” Aqua turned back to his deformed mother and said.

“Oh my~ someone sounds angry,” she covered her face with a hand and said. “Why, don’t I look pretty like this, my son? I don't want to cancel this.”

Aqua sighed.

Then, he blitzed behind her, kicking her in the waist.

The Demoness twisted midair, evading his kick and grinning at him like a maniac. His punch came flying at her teeth, and her form vanished before the impact could be made.

“You're not fast enough, little Emperor,” she taunted him, crackling up a few dozen meters away.

Aqua didn’t reply. His eyes fell in the distance, where the Phoenix stopped when he saw that he and the demoness were fighting. When he saw that, he didn’t dive into the battle, he rather decided to spectate in the hope that his enemies would take each other out. That did not happen, both of his enemies locked eyes with him.

“Mhm, how about we take care of him first, then? It'll be unfair if he took advantage of the situation and killed me,” the Heavenly Demoness said, putting a hand on her waist. “Not that I'm unable to defeat him on my own, of course.”

From what Aqua sensed, she was unable to defeat this guy. The Venerable One was a character he gave to Ai with the intention of ultimate survivability. It wasn't the ultimate victory. She wouldn't have to win against all enemies to survive, she could always flee.

And if it was about fleeing, Ai could do it against this enemy. However, she'd have been unable to win against him. He's too powerful, although he couldn't use all of that properly yet since he only recently gained that much power.

However, if the fight elongated and he got more used to his powers, then even Ai and Aqua together wouldn't be enough to defeat him.

Hopefully it wasn't too late. Nonetheless, they had to defeat him right now.

“Fine with me,” he raised his sword, “I'll deal with you after fucking him up.”

****

[First Person Point of View]

How annoying it must be for everyone else to deal with the Venerable One, now I had a gist of it. As a matter of fact, this wasn’t even the Venerable in his ultimate form, the Heavenly Demon was a tamer variation of the Venerable as he was from a very early stage of my 9th life, while the Venerable One was the last stage of my life.

I had purposefully only allowed that much information to Ai so that she wouldn’t tap into something she couldn’t handle. But it seems I’ve underestimated the Heavenly Demon, as he himself was troublesome enough that Ai couldn’t keep her sanity.

Regardless, I’ll have to deal with her later. The enemy at hand needed to be taken care of first. 

I blasted toward the Phoenix, sword at hand, while my demonified mother followed right beside. I didn’t take the risk of flying faster than her, what if she attacked from behind?

“[True Demon God Art, Broken Wheel of the Demon Kind].” Ai shouted from behind, as a titanic wheel of red Qi formed in the air above us. It spun, and as it did, her speed exploded exponentially. She flew faster than me, and toward the Phoenix.

“…!” The Phoenix shouted some technique name, but who the fuck cared about that? I withdrew my sword in preparation for absolute anarchy, while Ai and the Phoenix’s attacks clashed. His wings caught fire, flowing like liquid flames, as they clashed with the fists of the Demoness. The sky exploded, and reality cracked like glass.

“[Grand Chariot, 7th Form],” I shouted, my Sage’s Authority amplifying my sword with divine willpower. “[Vagabond Style, Third Form]!”

“[Malevolent Maelstrom of Magnificent Destruction]!” the Phoenix shouted in return, the three Icons over his head shimmering bright to amplify his technique. His entire body exploded, his form evaporated, and a massive phoenix bird of black flames replaced him.

That must be his true form.

My sword technique layered one above the other, clashed against the talons of the true dark phoenix. Reality actually shattered this time, shards of the sky falling away to reveal a colorful flow of cosmic energy in the inner layers of this dimension.

The clash between Gods caused all the snow to melt, and a tsunami to rise from the large amount of boiling water. Ai crackled like a maniac beside me, as she leaped toward the Phoenix’s head. Her hands lit up with a True Demon God Art, and she went right for his throat. We clashed against the harbinger of the apocalypse with all our might, and he stumbled in the air, getting pushed back.

Truly, he’d have been a difficult foe if he had the chance to get more used to his newly earned power.

Unfortunately for him, I wouldn’t allow that.

“[Grand Chariot, 7th Form] – [Vagabond Style, Third Form]!” I allowed my Sage’s Authority over my sword. Then, my sword lit up with brilliant illuminating sparks of the sulfur sun. “[The Monarch of the Brightest Night: Chaos Slaying Slash.]”

The Blade of the Emperor that Illuminates the Dark Worlds, the thin blade of my sword, Caliburn, grew with the solid holograph of a heavy blade. The Emperor’s sword descended into this mortal world. I, the Monarch of the Brightest Night, waved my sword toward the chaos bringer.

The world went too bright for anyone to see.

Sounds of explosion so loud that human ear failed to pick it filled the clouds. The clouds solidified from this immense pressure, and the solid cloud detonated into chunks of soft wool. Pangeal screamed as reality healed, rather than being destroyed, while all chaos burned at the tip of my blade.

The black phoenix was nowhere to be seen when the light faded and the world regained its color. What remained was an inverted bird of white, eliminated from the flow of time and space, as its frozen white body remained in the sky. A moment later, the body sliced into a million pieces, feathers raining down in the world. Each feather healed what once had been destroyed in Pangeal.

I reached out a hand to grab something from the sliced apart body, gently depositing it in my Void Storage. It’ll come into use soon.

Not yet, but soon.

Because right now, I still have someone else to take care of.

“Woo-hoo~ You truly have things that I can’t pull off since some of your techniques are really lethal toward evil. Unlike mine.” Said my demonified mother, the Heavenly Demon, who stared at me with a grin. “Is it my turn now?”

This world wasn't quite free yet. All the demonic energy in the area surrounded her instead of the Dark Phoenix now. The blood tower still stood ominously because it still had an anchor to cling to.

“Yes.” It was her turn.

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