The skies above rumbled, rays of golden sunlight piercing through the dense black clouds as though blades of the Heavens themselves.
The sight seemed like something out of this world, carrying with it an undeniable sort of beauty that existed only in a tale woven of a fanciful world beyond imagination.
BANG!
The change was just as sudden as Ryu's breakthrough was. Several attacks converged from all sides, bombarding the Birth Phenomena that called the center of that battlefield its home. The violent storm of attacks were still dwarfed by the momentum of the clouds above, but in the fragile, cracked state Ryu's Birthed Phenomena was in, it didn't need to be able to match it.
Ryu hardly got the chance to name his Dao when those inthe surroundings no longer held back. Finding his most vulnerable moment, the bombarded him from all sides, seeking to tear the behemoth that had just been given form apart.
In truth, they weren't sure if such a thing would work. A Birthed Phenomena, as far as many of them knew, was an illusory construct, there shouldn't have been a point in targeting it. However, after seeing that bolt of lightnign and what it had done to Ryu, they acted in a final moment of desperation. They had a feeling that even half dead, so long as Ryu could summon this construct, it was only a matter of a thought for them all to suffer gruesome deaths.
And somehow, it worked.
Their attacks landed as though they were hitting something tangible and, better yet, Ryu looked as though he had taken a direct hit, his body convulsing as more blood flew from his lips.
It had been a while since Ryu had taken such a loss. He didn't even really count his bout with Sarriel as he had managed to remain relatively intact. But, the current him felt as though his entire body might shatter at any moment.
The good news was that the Southern Heavenly Wind was finally showing its prowess. The bad news, however, was that it seemed his Birthed Phenomena would collapse before he even had a chance to recall it.
However, despite how bad the situation looked, Ryu didn't seem to have a violent or panicked reaction. His eyes continued to shine like two orbs of Divine Lightning, radiating outward with a gorgeous sapphire color. The eyes of his Birthed Phenomena, though… had closed.
Ryu took deep breaths.
The Ancestral Beasts had finally realized that they couldn't just continue sitting idly by. Even though Ryu had killed far more of the humans, it was only a matter of time before he interfered with them as well.
Joce was finally able to separate from his Dark Phoenix, his wild halberd technique being among the first to bombard Ryu's Birthed Phenomena. At the same time, Gervis of the Heavenly Dew Branch, Linnet of the Silver Touch Branch and Berold of the Nourishing Soul Branch all sprung into action at once, each releasing their own attacks all at once.
At the same time, the Dark Phoenixes released beams of Death Flames that put Er'lan's to shame. Taking the helm, Dia'si spread his wings, his beak opening wide as his dark feathers fluttered in the air. With a breath, his neck expanded a size before a sizzling black beam shot out with blinding speed.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Ryu fell to a knee on Nemesis' back, his face paling considerably.
Retracting his Birthed Phenomena now would leave it in a slight state of vulnerability even worse than it was now. If they managed to get the timing right, it truly would be over.
What shocked the Martial Gods and Dark Phoenixes, though, was that despite how fragile Ryu's Birthed Phenomena looked, it withstood their attacks with hardly a tremble. Though the fine cracks that ran across its body did expand somewhat, it wasn't nearly large enough for what one might expect from a construct that looked like it was on the verge of collapse.
Ryu suddenly felt something moist licking at his chin. With a chuckle, he looked down and patted Little Gem's head.
The little one was a bit dirtied by his blood, but she had been taking in a steady dose of it for a long while now as well, after all, it was part of her recovery plan. The more Chaos Qi the little one ingested, the closer to breaking the shackles of her curse she was.
In fact, the truth was that Little Gem would have already grown to the size of a normal Griffin had it not been for Nemesis sharing his Adept Body Talent with her as well. As such, she still looked like a normal cub. But, the reality was that Little Gem was already about to break into the Second Order.
This sounded like nothing. After all, it had already been years and the Second Order was merely the equivalent of the Pulse Opening Realm. However, if those who understood what it meant to be cursed knew that Little Gem's cultivation had actually progressed…
It would cause an uproar of uproars among the martial world, larger than even the ripple Ryu's talent had caused.
,m Little Gem, though, didn't seem reassured by Ryu's pats, a light of panic in her eyes. She tried to peek over Ryu's shoulder, growling at the people who were still attacking his Birthed Phenomena, but her frame was so small and adorable that they came out like little 'yips' that melted the heart.
"Don't worry, they're just a bunch of jumping clowns. Just because the Heavens can harm me, they seem to believe that they can. It seems they have no idea how high the skies above their head are."
Little Gem licked at Ryu's chin again as his body convulsed. Ryu gave her one more smile before shifting down, taking a seat on Nemesis' back.
Every time Ryu took a deep breath, his body would pulse with a golden light, the Southern Heavenly Wind quickly healing him. However, at this pace, it would definitely take quite some time, at least a few hours, before he could display his strength once again. That said…
He wasn't worried in the slightest.
Ryu felt that it was about time he displayed some of his true strength, lest some individuals truly think themselves to be invincible.
It was right that moment that the eyes of his Birthed Phenomena opened, causing a world of volatile energies to become frighteningly still.
The next volley of attacks completely froze in their tracks, a gaze of unfathomable depths staring down on the world as though it wasn't worth much of anything to it.
The eyes of Ryu's Birthed Phenomena rotated about like two stars. One was a beautiful silver and the other was a gorgeous blue, each having an enigmatic aura all to its own.
However, just when the fear of god had gripped the surrounding experts, the Birthed Phenomena began to slowly fade away, vanishing into thin air as though it had never been there to begin with.
To use his Birthed Phenomena on this sort of trash? Ryu didn't think that it was necessary.
In that moment, a golden figure slowly emerged from Ryu's forehead. The instant it did, all the Dark Phoenixes felt as though they had been frozen in place. Their Deity had appeared and their Blood had run completely cold.
At that same instant, the pitiful cry of a Dark Phoenix resounded through the now quiet skies.
Little Rock had already managed to gain an upper hand in his struggle. The moment Ryu had acted, it was as though he was given the final leap he needed.
His claws sunk into Er'lan's fleshy chest and his beak tore into the latter's neck.
Streaks of golden lightning surged, jetting out from one side of Er'lan's neck and exiting through the other.
A cry of pain, remorse and rage resounded, but it ultimately meant nothing as a Dark Phoenix fell from the skies, never to rise again.
With a single flap of his wings, Little Rock returned to Ryu's side, his proud silver neck rising into the skies and the glistening wounds of battle reflecting a bright crimson across his scale-like feathers.
"Qi! Qi!"
Ryu burst into a fit of laughter. Though Little Rock didn't speak in human tongue, Ryu could understand him just fine.
"Yes, yes. You look better than I do. Fair enough."
After challenging Little Rock like he had, Ryu had definitely come out the worse of them.
There was a reason that Ryu would never think of replacing Little Rock. Though Little Rock didn't have Nemesis' nor Little Gem's talent, Ryu would always remember that battle the two shared atop an obsidian mountain.
He and Little Rock viewed the world in the same exact way… The both of them wanted to dominate it until none remained above them.
There was no amount of talent that could replace that kind of mindset.
"Alright then, little brat. Your big brother will just have to show you that he's still the big brother, then."
Ryu's Indestructible Soul began to grow even brighter. He sat back on Nemesis, his breathing slowing. Then… His Spiritual Qi flourished.
One after another, powerful Visualization after powerful Visualization began to appear.
First it was the gorgeous <Immortal Sakura>, then came the devastating <Divine Chaotic Annihilation>, then came the tome of the <Elemental War God>, and finally, there were the countless motes of light of the <Formation Eye>'s.
Since his body could no longer fight this battle, his soul would just have to.
Countless arrows of lightning, ice and fire blotted out the skies, casting the battlefield into darkness once more just after the black clouds above dispersed.