"If you desire to make a difference in the world, you must be different from the world."
— Elaine Dalton
***
The skies boomed and rumbled with ever-increasing intensity as a Roc, bloodied and damaged, continued to charge over to Rya and the dragon with a primal ferocity lacing its eyes.
It was a majestic creature for sure, mighty and awe-inducing with all its divine grace. But, something incongruent about it was the light of intelligence in its eyes, which burned with anticipation and… greed.
Even from thousands of kilometres away, the dragon and roc's eyes met for an instant, an unspoken plan being conveyed.
Both had the same idea: kill the common enemy first, then battle until only one of them stood tall.
Although they were not mortal enemies, the current situation was the most opportune one for them to progress their cultivation, consuming the others to progress forward.
The dragon, which was pursuing Rya a moment before, stood back, trying to change its form from a humanoid one to something more desperate, more… destructive.
Ashy flames began to burn it from the inside out, its body twisting grotesquely. Scales warping, bones melting, and mana flaring throughout its body.
What remained in the end was only a monster resembling the eldritch beings straight out of horror stories. Its horrid scales practically reeked of decay and desolation, the fire burning its body shimmering into a gentle rhythm which pulsed occasionally in twisting waves, forming shapes that could kill a mortal on mere sight.
It stood on all of its four legs, wings of raging flames flapping, sending gusts of wind in all directions.
The Roc was almost upon Rya already, with both the beasts cornering him in between them.
As for Rya, he was still standing there, his eyes ping-ponging in his eye sockets, trying to tease apart all the small details from the two beasts, trying to find an effective way to neutralise them both.
Troublesome… the dragon is on its last legs, and the Roc is in a better condition than it… But the dragon is also relying on its trump card; the roc over here might also have something up its sleeve.
Rya's mind was clear as he tried to piece together a plan.
But at the back of his mind, he knew that he had already won.
With the transcendent taking over him, the death of these two beasts was already decided; the only thing remaining was a dwindling desire to try and kill them both by his own hands.
Okay… let's try to waste time. The dragon will kick the bucket soon, and then only the roc will remain; it'll be easier to kill it alone.
With that thought spurring him on, he got into a stance, his mana flaring and dominion enveloping the world around him.
In response, the dragon and the roc overlapped their own dominions in kind.
The air whined, and mana flared erratically, seeming as if the world itself had begun creaking and trembling at its seams.
Over the beast's side, the intangible heat wave covered the dragon, while transparent sparks of lightning bolts enveloped the roc.
While for Rya, his dominion didn't cover the world like before, instead, the air around him seemed to split and bend towards him, as if prostrating in deference. Looking as if anything he willed would be split apart by the world itself.
There was no outward showing of the tumultuous power emanating from the three fighters, but the battlefield seemed to quieten, as if anticipating the clash about to erupt any second now.
In the silent atmosphere, the dragon and the roc opened their maws at the same time, blasting forward while roaring and howling.
Roar!!! Chirr!!!
Rya readied himself, his body crouching and preparing to move instantaneously.
Seeing this, the dragon opened its mouth to form a ball of ashy-grey flames that ate at its throat, concentrating till they looked akin to a polished marble.
[Dragon's Breath]
And at the same time, the Roc opened its wings wide, sparking with pillars of lightning bolts that rose to its beak, opening at the same time as the dragon.
[Heaven's rage]
A concentrated beam of grey light and another formed from sparkling bolts shot towards Rya at the same time.
Both attacks were potent enough to level entire empires, and yet, Rya took the sight of it all in and stood still for but an instant.
His will pulsed, and his mana responded in kind.
The blade in his hand swung towards the incoming bolt of lightning, trying to sever it… No, sever the very space it was passing through, just enough to make room to dodge out of the way.
Space parted like a block of butter, and his coiled muscles flexed, leaving ripples in the air with his movements.
A battle cry left his mouth as he swung down with full force, mana blasting out, and the pulsing light of the crest on his head shining brightly.
Chi!!! Boom!!!
Both the sound of tearing and an overwhelming explosion sounded at the same time.
The ball of flames and the charging lightning collided, leaving sparking flames and sputtering sparks dancing across a cloud of plasma.
As for Rya, he was already blasting towards the Roc, his skin slightly charred from the lightning bolts which nicked at him.
His hand rose, and a [Slaughtering Sword] bloomed from the tip of his blade.
Faster than before, the blood coloured blade lights shot out, rocketing forward and colliding with the startled roc.
Not expecting a counter at the same instance, it was short of a second to block.
The bloody light seemed even more fiendish and enigmatic. It crashed into its body, leaving a gaping hole in its torso.
Boom!!
Now!
Rya, seeing the opening, moved nimbly, executing another killing move.
[Duskblade fifth form - netherworld annihilation]
The light dimmed in the skies as an oppressive darkness rose, resembling the oncoming darkness after the day ended.
His blade blurred, moving along the darkness akin to a monster prowling in the dark, about to consume its prey and leaving nothing behind.
A maniac light danced in his eyes, his body flickering, almost suffusing into the darkness itself.
The roc tried to form a shield of lightning in haste, alas, it wasn't fast enough.
In that moment, a single diagonal slash blossomed, tearing through the fur and lightning coating the roc alike.
It parted flesh and almost reached the bones of the beast, leaving it hovering at the doors of death.
Another attack and the roc would be done for… but Rya never got the chance.
The moment the dragon sensed the tide of battle shifting in Rya's favour, it opened its jaw wide and roared.
[Dragon's roar]
The undulating waves of sound assaulted Rya, managing to push him away while disorienting him for a moment, which didn't last long.
In a breath, Rya steadied himself, seeing the dragon approaching him with a savage expression marring its beastly face.
It roared and charged straight towards him, not caring... or pretending not to care for its own life.
Rya, sensing the roc on the brink of death, rushed forward to finish it off, but the dragon didn't give him the chance to pass it by.
He furiously clashed with the dragon, sending ripples of power and blade sparks flying all around them. Flames that came his way, he either dodged or severed the path of, but one thing didn't change. He still couldn't approach the wounded roc.
Dammn it!
Sensing the dragon would not let him approach the roc, even shielding it at times.
Making moves that seemed almost suicidal, it managed to make Rya take a step back in the ensuing combat.
Just as Rya was thinking of just focusing on the dragon to kill it first, he watched the roc being struck by lightning bolts.
The wounds he had given it dripped with viscous blood, shimmering with sparks of thunder.
Rya tried to blast towards the roc again, but the dragon blocked his path. They clashed once again, but the slight annoyance he was feeling kept rising.
Eventually, the roc's body dissolved into raging lightning that took the form of a colossal behemoth.
Another resurrection technique?
Sensing the shift in the tide of battle, the dragon and the roc moved in sync, all their pretence of pride and loftiness vanishing as they pursued Rya like rabid hounds.
The roc, whose speed had already increased manifold since before, pushed Rya's perception to the limits.
The roc moved like a flickering spark, dancing through the skies with speeds that were reaching Rya's opening move, which severed the dragon in half.
As for the dragon, it too moved with tenacious will, even as its body continued to wither away; it continued to use the ashy-grey flames.
Rya pushed his body to the limits without using the techniques of [-----].
Even battered and clashing continuously, he tried to always rely on his own blade technique, not trying to use [Sky splitter] or such.
After continuously levying blows at the two beasts, he realised that both of them were approaching death.
He recognised that the current enhanced forms of them both kept consuming their own life force and vitality in exchange for power, and if he just kept on dodging and avoiding their attacks, he would eventually win.
This realisation made his heart relieved, and in place of his faint worries, only nothingness remained.