The flames on the girl's body seemed to ignore the barriers of time and space itself. No matter what happened outside, nothing could shake their burning.
Pale blue spiritual power gathered from all directions, condensing around her body. Then, a gigantic humanoid figure—over thirty meters tall—slowly took shape in the air above.
Neither heaven nor earth, nor any of the onlookers, nor even the massive dragon, could do anything but watch as her transformation unfolded. None could interfere.
The wind stood still beside her. Sound could not travel. Everything became strange—this world seemed like a motionless model placed before her eyes.
She could only watch. They could only wait.
No one knew how long it took for the giantess to form. Perhaps it was an instant, or perhaps it spanned a long, endless era.
At last, when the lightly veiled giantess opened her eyes, all the changes stopped.
Chu Lian's figure was no longer visible, but everyone knew—this giantess had to be Chu Lian.
It was unbelievable that this giantess, radiating such immense power, was once the same girl who had been fleeing so desperately under their attacks. Yet, after witnessing the scene just now, none could doubt it. None could forget it.
In her hands were not Chu Lian's bow, but two slender swords. Compared to the delicate Chu Lian, she now looked far more mature—her figure graceful and flawless, her beautiful eyes indescribably captivating.
However, the thin veil over her face concealed her true features. No one could see even the slightest trace of her countenance. Only through those hazy outlines could one faintly sense that she must be breathtaking beyond words.
Her appearance shocked the world—but her next strike completely severed this world from its illusion of peace and normalcy.
The twin swords danced lightly. From the sword in her left hand flew a pale blue ice phoenix, while from the sword in her right hand soared a deep blue fire kite.
She was using the same spiritual power, yet splitting it into two distinct attributes, transforming them into tangible forms of attack.
This godlike manipulation of energy made even the S-Class superheroes lower their heads in shame, wishing they could find a hole to hide in.
Although their destructive and defensive powers matched that of Earth-tier beings, their control over energy was nothing compared to this. Witnessing a technique that seemed fit only for gods naturally filled them with inferiority.
At the same time, the dragon unleashed the black light sphere it had been gathering in its mouth, firing it as a beam.
The destructive energy twisted the surrounding space and time, as though the world itself could barely endure its passage.
The ice phoenix and fire kite entwined midair, forming a unique streak of half-light, half-dark blue that collided head-on with the dragon's destructive beam.
Two forces capable of leveling an entire city clashed in the sky, yet no energy leaked outward. Still, everyone watching trembled with fear.
Nearby fighter jets and buildings were instantly reduced to particles, vanishing without a trace. Above, the black clouds split apart abruptly, as though terrified of the powers below.
"Big Sis..." Even without seeing the details, Chu Chu could sense through their special bond that the pale blue giantess was her Big Sis transformed.
Even from here, she could feel the apocalyptic power hidden within those colliding forces. The howling wind tore through her hair, scattering her tears into the air behind her.
"Lian..." At that moment, Inori Yuzuriha wanted to rush forward without hesitation. Yet, as soon as she took a step, her legs suddenly gave out beneath her. Her wine-red eyes welled with tears as she raised her hand to shield her face from the windblown strands of hair.
Of all present, she could see most clearly—and thus, she understood best how perilous Chu Lian's situation was. One misstep, and she would lose her life.
This battle was far beyond what they had faced before—more terrifying even than their encounter with the three Spirit-tier peak experts.
If, against those three, there had still been a chance to retreat unscathed, then against this dragon... there was no escaping at all.
Though she did not fully understand what change had overtaken Chu Lian, she knew it came at a tremendous price—so great that she herself could do nothing to stop what came next.
"Chu Lian..." Li Xiu'er collapsed directly onto the ground, closing her eyes as tears streamed freely down her cheeks. She did not understand, she could not see clearly—but she knew that Chu Lian was now standing at the brink of death. This grief, sharper than when she herself had faced death, tore at her heart. It made her realize how important Chu Lian truly was to her.
Even the pain she had felt when her parents abandoned her, when all her friends left her, when she was utterly alone—none of it compared. This pain surpassed them all by a thousandfold.
"Don't worry, you won't be alone." Liu Yanran didn't cry. She merely smiled faintly, her tone filled with gentle warmth.
When she had been resurrected, she could hear Chu Lian's voice—she knew of her vow, and the bond that connected them after her return to life. That was why she wasn't afraid.
If Chu Lian died, she would follow her in that same instant.
She would not be alone—Liu Yanran would accompany her along the road to the underworld.
"Even if this betrays you all... my daughter has already found someone she can entrust herself to—someone she can rely on. After all that she has done to bring me back, do you know? Your daughter has completely fallen. This body shall belong to none but the Chu family. Be it in the human world or in hell—I will share life and death with her, never to part for all eternity." She whispered softly, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"Who is that young man upon the road so gallant? I vow to give myself to him, and with that, my life is his..." Her heart, in that moment, was exactly as the poem described.
Kurosaki Satsuki's figure vanished on the spot—but in the next instant, she was restrained in place by Water Lord, who bound her with a chain of water. Staring at her face filled with suppressed anger, Water Lord's voice was calm: "My master has commanded me to watch over you. No matter what happens to her, none of you are to approach—not even a single step."
"She's in danger, and you would just stand here and watch?" Kurosaki Satsuki's feelings toward Chu Lian were different from the others. They were not merely gratitude or the respect of a disciple for her master, but something no less deep—only expressed differently.
"I understand it better than you." Water Lord was no less anxious. If it could, it would rather stand in front of her now and be annihilated by that overwhelming power than see harm come to Chu Lian. But until then, its duty was to watch over these girls.
"Mommy... mommy... mommy..." Anna's murmuring never ceased. The black runes in her eyes seemed ready to float out of them. She was chewing quietly on the bread Chu Lian had left her, hiding her face so the others would not notice.
In her heart, it felt as if a raging dragon was roaring to break free from the mental restraints Chu Lian had placed upon her. Just a little longer—and she would convince herself to act.
"Please, Water Lord—go! Nana promises to stay here and wait for your return!" Ruriko Nana, who had not spoken a single word since their arrival in Miami, suddenly dropped to her knees before Water Lord. Her short, ear-length hair fell forward, brushing the ground as she bowed deeply, her voice trembling with pious sincerity.
The courage, the selflessness, and the sense of responsibility Chu Lian showed this time had shaken her to the core.
This person—after freeing her from the shackles of fate—was the one she had vowed to serve.
She didn't want harm to come to someone like that. She didn't want to find another person to follow. Who else could possibly be more worthy than her?
Golden hair fluttered wildly as Lux Lyle knelt on the ground, eyes closed, hands clasped tightly together, reciting the creed of her faith: "As I will, so shall I see—all beauty in this world. As I wish, so shall I dream—all peace in this world. As I see, as I wish, may the world remain as it was. With my devout prayer, I heed the whisper of the divine—may the heavens protect the pure-hearted, and may God grant me strength to shield her."
By the end of her prayer, she spat a mouthful of blood. She had poured out all her energy, sacrificed ten years of her life, and broken through her rank's limits just to form a protective barrier around Chu Lian's body. Then, her body went limp, and she fell unconscious.
"Water Lord—please, go to Chu Lian," Ruriko Nana pleaded, bowing her head to the ground. The other girls also turned to Water Lord, eyes full of desperate hope. "We promise to stay here. Please—help her..."
"Stay here... and await my return..." Truthfully, she didn't need to say it. At that moment, Water Lord could no longer hold itself back. Their pleas gave it the perfect excuse to act.
With a surge of strength, it ignored the terrain beneath and sped swiftly toward the battlefield.
"What a troublesome person you are... cough..." The pale-faced youth slowly walked toward the distant battlefield where the two forces clashed. Watching the blue giant, he gave a bitter smile.
All the power within his body had already been activated, waiting for the moment of conclusion—to rush in and rescue Chu Lian, even if it cost him his life.
Because this was a debt to his master, or so he told himself.
Both the blue giant and the dragon knew that this was the final moment. All their energy gathered, converging into their ultimate strikes directed at one another.
Clang~ A strange sound echoed, and then a dazzling light erupted from the point where the two energies collided.
Moments later, a black beam of destructive energy pierced through, striking the blue giant directly.
At the same time, the half-light, half-dark blue beam split apart once more into the ice phoenix and the fire kite, which shot toward the dragon's wings.
Roar... Both of the dragon's wings were severed cleanly at their roots, and the two streaks of energy carved long, deep scars across its back before surging onward toward the distant sea.
The ice phoenix froze the sea as it passed, while the fire kite set the waters ablaze. They flew on and on until they vanished into the depths of the ocean.
The destructive force carried by the black beam caused the blue giantess to begin dissolving from her chest upward, turning into nothingness. Her gaze remained fixed upon the dragon, as if trying to etch its form forever into her memory.
Three seconds later, the giantess's head began to fade away, and Chu Lian's figure emerged. At that moment, she wore nothing but a white gown.
Her face was drained of color, her body devoid of spiritual power. She no longer had the strength to flee. With only a faint, regretful smile, she fell.
Her eyes pierced through the clouds torn apart by the clash of energies, gazing at the blue sky beyond. Softly, she whispered, "What a pity... so it ends here... I'm sorry..."
The black beam had not yet vanished. Wounded and enraged, the dragon grew even more ferocious. Seeing its target still alive, it raised the beam upward—aiming straight for Chu Lian's falling body...