Spark kept watching despite the cold feeling all over his body.
The crimson-soaked egg pulsed violently. A sickening heartbeat against the desolate, blood-drenched earth.
Then, with a sound like tearing silk and cracking thunder combined, the shell fractured. Fire erupted. An unnaturally perfect flame. Shimmering with impossible colors: crimson, gold, black.
From the swirling inferno, a form coalesced. It was a giant hawk. Wreathed in those terrible, perfect flames.
Its wingspan was immense. Blotting out the already bruised sky. Its talons were tipped with molten fire. They seemed capable of tearing reality itself. It was a... Flaming Hawk.
It was slightly smaller than the Dragon King. But its presence felt heavier. More ancient. A consuming void.
A chill settled deep in Spark Nighthawk's gut. Far colder than ice. This didn't feel like a protective guardian. It radiated so much raw, destructive malice. This might be something else entirely.
The Dragon King sensed the threat. It let out an enraged roar. It had been held by the power of the three magic scrolls in the hand of Prime Minister Elfalcon, Field Marshall Misthawk, and Admiral Ashenowl.
It burst into explosive radiation of energy. Breaking free from the shackles. It ignored the three recoiled Tier-7 humans. Its reptilian eyes were fixed on the flaming aberration in the sky.
It could feel the threat. This new creature was a direct challenge. A blasphemy to its natural order.
With a thunderous beat of his wings, the Dragon King shot forward. A living siege engine of ancient power. Its maw opened. A vortex of shadow and unholy fire forming within. Ready to unleash a catastrophic blast.
King Aquila's face was grim. But his eyes were alight with a terrifying fanaticism. He thrusted his arm forward.
"Guardian! Block and retaliate!" He bellowed. His voice echoed. Amplified by the still-glowing ritual array.
The Flaming Hawk responded instantly. It streaked across the sky. A meteor of pure fire. It met the Dragon King mid-air. Not with a magic blast. But with a brutal, physical charge.
The two behemoths collided with a sound that tore the air. A concussive shockwave that sent debris flying. And momentarily deafened Spark even from his hidden position.
Raw power. That was the language these creatures spoke.
The Dragon King was heavier and seemingly more grounded in its destructive force. It tried to grapple. Its clawed forelimbs reaching.
But the Flaming Hawk was pure kinetic energy. It didn't grapple. It struck. Its glowing white-hot talons raked across the Dragon King's scaled hide. Scoring deep furrows and sending sparks flying.
The Dragon King roared in pain and surprise. Its scales were tough. But they were not impervious to such extreme heat.
Responding in kind, the Dragon King snapped its head forward. Aiming to bite clean through the Hawk's fiery neck.
The Hawk twisted with impossible agility. A blur of flame. Avoiding the strike by a hair's breadth. It spun. Lashing out with a wingtip. A solid, flaming blow that knocked the Dragon King off balance.
The Dragon King tumbled for a moment. Roaring. Before balancing itself with a furious flap of its massive wings.
The fight escalated. It wasn't a dance. Or a duel of elegant spells. It was a brawl. A wild fight of titans.
The Dragon King unleashed torrents of shadow-flame. Dark energy that sought to smother the Flaming Hawk's inferno.
The Hawk, in turn, retaliated with blasts of pure, concentrated white fire. Incinerating the shadow-flame.
They exchanged devastating blows. Each one was capable of crushing mountains.
The Dragon King brought its spiked tail around. In a wide arc. A wrecking ball of bone and muscle.
The Flaming Hawk met it with a burst of fiery energy from its chest. A concentrated beam that scorched the tail. And forced the Dragon King back.
The ground beneath them continuously ruptured. Blasted apart by stray energy. Or flattened by the sheer force of their movements.
The battle raged for what felt like an eternity. The sky above became a canvas of flame and shadow. Tainted by fire and dark magic. The air simmered with heat and the acrid stench of blood.
The Dragon King, despite its immense size and ancient power, seemed almost clumsy next to the Hawk's wild movement and devastating speed.
But the Dragon King had endurance. It absorbed hits. Roared through pain. And kept pressing its attack. It tried to wrap its body around the Flaming Hawk. To crush it with sheer mass.
The Hawk, however, would burst apart into a shower of embers and reforming flames. Only to coalesce back together a dozen yards away. Striking from an unexpected angle. It was like fighting a phantom made of fire.
Spark watched. Transfixed and horrified. He had seen clash of powerful beings. But this was on a different scale entirely.
Each clash vibrated through the ground. Even where he stay hidden. Further away from the battlefield. He felt the impact of every blow. The heat of every fiery outburst.
As the fight continued. A disturbing detail began to emerge in Spark's eyes. The four human powerhouses (King Aquila, Prime Minister Elfalcon, Field Marshall Misthawk, and Admiral Ashenowl) were watching the combat at the edge of the battlefield.
But their posture was less triumphant. More strained. Their breathing was ragged. Sweat plastered their faces. And their eyes held a flicker of exhaustion. They seemed to be in worse state than they were not long ago. What had happened?
Spark sight strayed to the ground. And he couldn't help but gasped.
The ritual array on the ground hadn't stopped glowing. In fact, its runes seemed to pulse with an even more insistent, hungry rhythm. The ritual hadn't been completed yet.
Spark had a very high innate understanding of runes and energy flow. He immediately felt a prickle of unease. He had a bad feeling.
He instinctively reached for his Spatial Belt. Pulling out his [Appraisal Goggles]. He quickly wore and activated them. The lenses glowed faintly.
He first aimed them at the ritual array. The goggles whirred. Processing the complex magical energies. A stream of data flowed directly into his mind.
[Rune Structure: Life-Drain Genesis Sacrifice Array (Corrupted)]
[Energy Source: Blood, Life Force, Soul Energy, Mana]
[Function: Creation and Sustenance of Apocalyptic Entity]
[Target: All life forms within array radius]
[Status: Activated (Continuous Absorption)]
Spark's blood ran cold. He was right. The ritual was still ongoing. And it wasn't just about creating the 'Guardian Beast'. It was a sustenance ritual.
It was feeding on the four human powerhouses. Slowly but surely draining their life and mana. They weren't just onlookers; they were batteries.
He shifted his gaze. Aiming the [Appraisal Goggles] at the Flaming Hawk. Which was currently locked in a brutal aerial exchange with the Dragon King. Shedding flaming feathers that disintegrated before they hit the ground.
The goggles worked overtime. Struggling to compute the sheer, overwhelming power emanating from the creature.
The data that flooded Spark's consciousness was more terrifying than anything he had ever encountered.
[Entity Name: The Evil Phoenix of Apocalypse]
[Species: Primordial Horror]
[Power: Tier-8 Threat]
[Nature: Embodiment of Extinction; Initiator of Cataclysm]
[Threat Level: Apocalypse-level power upon full manifestation]
[Origin: Malicious entity summoned through corrupted genesis sacrifice aimed to summon a guardian beast. This one is not a guardian but a harbinger of destruction.]
[Current Status: Partially manifested. Growing stronger.]
[Powers: Absolute Pyrokinesis, Corrupted Regeneration, Soul-Devouring Aura, Entropy Curse, World-Rending Manifestation (incomplete)...]
Spark felt a wave of despair so profound it almost buckled him. He squeezed his eyes shut behind the goggles. Trying to process the data. This wasn't a guardian beast. It was a primordial horror.
It was Tier-8. Just like the Dragon King. But it was still 'partially manifested'. It was still growing stronger.
It was a primordial horror creature. Linked to extinction and cataclysm. It was... bad.
No matter who won this fight... the Dragon King or The Evil Phoenix of Apocalypse... He would definitely die. The dragon would massacre humans for vengeance. The phoenix would burn the world for its 'fun activity'.
He wasn't just a pawn anymore. He was trapped in a cage with two apex predators. The people in Eagledome Capital City… No, humans on this entire island, maybe even beyond, would be annihilated.
The very sky would burn. The land would crack. This wasn't a war for territory. It was the prelude to an apocalypse.
He thought hard. Desperately. How could he survive this? His mind raced through every scenario. Every plan. Every last resort he possessed.
Transform into his werelion form and run? Use his Sky Grimoire and flee? Fight? None of those choices would end well.
He couldn't find any viable idea. The despair deepened. Cold and heavy in his chest. His usual pragmatism failed him. There was no angle. No advantage. Only overwhelming, inevitable destruction.
Above, the Flaming Hawk delivered a searing flame breath to the Dragon King's back. Sending the massive beast crashing down into the ruined earth. With a groan that seemed to shake the island's very foundations.
The Dragon King roared. But it was a sound of pain. Not defiance. It was weakening.
And so were the humans.
King Aquila, Prime Minister Elfalcon, Field Marshall Misthawk, and Admiral Ashenowl... The four Tier-7 masters... They all dropped to their knees. Almost simultaneously. Their energy was faint.
PM Elfalcon's gryphon wings withered. His lightning crackling weakly around him before dying out.
Marshall Misthawk reverted to his human form. A goliath of a man. But now haggard and pale. Gasping for breath.
Ashenowl's mechanical armor crumbled into pieces. Leaving him slumped. Frail and vulnerable.
King Aquila stared at the monstrous Flaming Hawk. His eyes were wide with horror. His own armored suit now dark and inert.
Their energy was about to run out. Their lives were about to run out. The ritual was taking everything. Soon, the Evil Phoenix would turn its full attention on the rest of the world.
Spark Nighthawk gritted his teeth. The despair hardening into a cold, desperate resolve. There was one option. One single, terrifying, unthinkable gamble.
He hadn't wanted to use it. It went against every instinct of self-preservation. Every ounce of his trust issues. But there was no choice left.
From his Spatial Belt, he pulled out his… Demon Contract Grimoire.