Alm and Bruno were very pleased. All their generals had trained the armies flawlessly, and even without their direct presence in the battle, the squad leaders followed the plans to the letter.
Their commands were impeccable, all the soldiers attacked in sync, brutally and powerfully. The fight ended very, very quickly.
It was so fast that the hidden ’protectors’ didn’t have time to decide how to act or even understand what was happening. Of course, they could have interfered and prevented all the deaths, but they were more concerned with arguing. The reason? None of them could see through the evil shadow.
Although the figure could be seen physically, it couldn’t be felt. And around it, a supreme Yin of death and a sinister karma surrounded it, obscuring the eyes of anyone who tried to identify it.
All those entities were tense and scared by its arrival; when the battle began, at first, they didn’t care... until everything ended too quickly.
Now, the entities were extremely shocked by the death and the victory of the army of that shadow, and they quickly appeared to ensure it wouldn’t have a chance to escape.
It wasn’t just one, but four immense beastly figures that materialized around the rounded shadow, surrounding it from all directions.
In the same instant, an immortal and primordial power covered the entire area. Alm and Bruno watched coldly the figure in front of them. It was her, the Ice Phoenix they had been looking for and couldn’t find; she was no longer sealed and was now fighting alongside the enemy.
That primordial beast radiated majesty with an ethereal glow. Her feathers gave the impression of crystal-clear ice, almost as if they were made of frozen wind and moonlight. The cold, white Yin created fluid curves in her wings and body, evoking the image of intense cold spreading all around.
This was the only primordial beast, but the other three were Immortal Divine Beasts, not smaller than her.
On one side was the White Tiger, the personification of untamable strength and wild purity. Its fur, of immaculate white, was cut by black stripes that looked like brushstrokes drawn by the heavens. Its entire body pulsed with the supreme immortal laws of lightning, a power that seemed to shape its essence and make the air around it vibrate in reverence.
On the opposite side was the Dragon Turtle. As the name suggests, it was a colossal turtle, with a shell resembling mountains sculpted by time, adorned with immortal runes that glowed with the powers of earth and water. Its head resembled a dragon’s, while its tail extended like a living serpent wrapping around its body, ending in another head, clearly a dragon’s head.
This creature was a type of chimera with two heads, the first mortal beast born from the heavens after the Dragons. It was born with traces of draconic bloodline, from the Chaos Dragons. This fusion evolved into something distinct, yet grand. Every aspect of its presence emitted a primitive and frightening aura.
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Finally, there was the Vermilion Bird, also known as the Scarlet Phoenix, the embodiment of fiery splendor. Similar to the Dragon Turtle, this bird had received a fragment of the Fire Phoenix’s bloodline, emerging in the dawn of the universe. The bloodlines mixed and gave it life. Its feathers shone in shades of orange-red, like the colors of a monumental sunset. This bird was like living embers dancing gracefully.
The sinister shadow was surrounded by the four, who stared at it coldly. They snorted, then Ruri and Purimu reacted, and all the spatial laws of the formation vibrated.
The four beasts didn’t react, as they were focused on the shadow that wasn’t doing anything. It was the only concern, and these two simple mortals wouldn’t be able to do anything...
Suddenly, the four jumped and turned toward Ruri. At that moment, her eyes pulsed, and her divine soul surged.
The runes of the formation were fed by her soul, and then Purimu and all the millions of allies from the victorious army were connected and disappeared from there.
The four were surprised. How did this small human manage to hide her divine soul from them? But quickly, the three immortal beasts showed twisted smiles.
"So, she really is a Heaven-Defier. As for this one..." The White Tiger spoke with its rough voice, staring at the rounded shadow.
Alm and Bruno were obviously using their celestial soul to hide, and everything that had happened until that moment was only possible because of it. They only added their karma and used some Yin to help create an atmosphere of terror. In the end, not even these beasts could see through it.
Alm and Bruno stared at the Ice Phoenix, but their gazes were even colder than hers. This beast fought, along with her twin sister, by the side of the Forge God. The two died and were reborn, and the Fire Phoenix made sure her sister was sealed with her. Even though they didn’t like each other at all, there was no shadow of doubt in their loyalty and honesty toward one another.
Her presence here meant that, at some point, she switched sides. But would the queen and the heroes accept that?
The Leviathan was a low-level primordial beast, he or his two brothers were not comparable to the Phoenixes or the Chaos Dragons. So, it was understandable why they wanted her on their side. And on top of that, this Ice Phoenix had the ability to find the Primordial Chaos item, the Reincarnation Mirror.
"You’re very late. The party’s already over. But since you’ve come, let’s settle our problems."
The shadow spoke coldly, then waved, and a long, resplendent spear appeared in its hands. The four widened their eyes. They felt the Yin and Yang united in that spear. And worse... it was an immortal weapon, of Legendary Divine Level!
"This... I don’t remember any enemy defeated in the past war using this." The Dragon Turtle spoke seriously.
"Only the Sacred Goddess has the ability to create a new one... even those runic seals that the army used; it’s clear all this comes from that dwarf. Only he can do this. Did he betray us? That seems inconceivable..." The Vermilion Bird said tensely.
"It doesn’t matter. This Heaven-Defier has many secrets. There are two, actually. Let’s end this." The cold voice of the Phoenix sounded, clearly the leader of the four.
Now Alm and Bruno, internally, widened their eyes. Only the God of the Forge can do that? Did he betray them? Did they hear that right?
But quickly, they swallowed their surprise and focused on what was ahead. This was the objective of the side quest, so they needed to eliminate these figures.
With a huff, all the distorted shadow around them dispersed. The four could finally see the glorious, round, gigantic figure. However, at that very moment, they gulped as they felt the pressure of death’s presence.
Suddenly, all eyes turned to one single point. The Yin of death, saturating the environment, began to distort grotesquely, as if the very fabric of the universe was being torn. There, the Heavenly Spirit God emerged, already practically beside the Vermilion Bird.
His body was covered in intricate violet lines, and his eyes were nothing but emptiness, as if he had lost all autonomy. The moment he appeared, all his power erupted.
And then, without warning, he made his final move.
**KBOOOM!**
He self-detonated with devastating violence, an explosion so colossal that spacetime shattered completely over a vast area, engulfing the four. But for the immortals, this wave of destruction was little more than a fleeting breeze.
However, for a brief moment, their senses were lost. They didn’t react, bewildered, wondering why they couldn’t feel it coming.
It was then that they remembered her—the human Goddess who manipulated the Yin of Death. The same one that covered the battlefield like a domain. They had so underestimated her that they hadn’t even remembered she was there.
It took two seconds for them to regain their senses. Just two seconds of blindness...
But it was enough.
When they regained their perception, their gazes were immediately drawn to the sky. And there he was—the glorious whale.
There was a wicked smile on his face, contrasting with his eyes that shone like sacred, brown-terra beacons. His body radiated a primal ancientness, as if a primordial beast was staring at them.
But something was wrong.
What was before them was no longer just the bearer of the Behemoth bloodline. At that moment, he had become something beyond, something monstrous, surpassing even the primordial beast itself.
Around him, four colossal meteors of earth gently spun, each the size of a planet. With a single thought, the two tattoos on his forearm lit up.
Yin, Yang, and the Laws of Earth merged in a terrifying synchrony, shaping the meteors into something completely new. They turned black, becoming obsidian created by the supreme laws of earth.
Then, their entire surface was covered in cracks that glowed with a spectral purple, pulsating like a profane heart beating in a rhythm of destruction.
"Anti-life!" The three immortal beasts growled in unison, filled with fear.