[218] Battle Overturned by a Phoenix
<span style="font-weight:400">Chapter 218: Battle Overturned by a Phoenix
<span style="font-weight:400">—
<span style="font-weight:400">The world hummed with the energy of a demonic dimension. “How unsightly,” Ai mumbled.
<span style="font-weight:400">Beside her, the other nine girls shared the sentiment. The North Pole was disgusting.
<span style="font-weight:400">This side of the pole was currently going through the continuous darkness, known as the Pr Night, thatsted half a year. Everything was eerie and dark but not in the usual sense. The celestial anomaly of the endless night had been grotesquely distorted by the towering structure known as the Blood Tower, spiraling towards the heavens, its peak piercing the sky.
<span style="font-weight:400">The ominous tower bled a deep, malignant red, casting an unholy light that reminded one of the twilight of an eternal eclipse. Where once there had been the pristine beauty of ice fields reflecting the moon’s endless gaze, there nowy a ghastly scene.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It sure looks gross,” Ruby agreed with her mother. The snow, tainted by the tower’s malevolent influence, shimmered with a crimson hue as if the ice itself bled underfoot. The air here was thick and oppressive, a stark contrast to the crisp.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It pains me to see my creation in this state,” Gxara mumbled.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ruby, Tsubasa, Ranefer, Xenovia, Irina, Jasmine, Gxara, Auriel, and Kwarna were all there beside Ai. They left Asia behind in the base since, although she was strong, she wasn''t strong enough to matter.
<span style="font-weight:400">“At the very least, there doesn’t seem to be any minion demons here since we cleared most of them in thest few days. Instead, the main bosses are waiting, it seems,” Tsubasa pointed a finger toward the peak of a red mountain ahead. Three figures, standing at the peak, were staring at them and waiting for them to take action.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We''ve taken care of all the smaller monsters of this region, they have no choice but to engage in this by themselves,” Ranefer added. “Not gonna lie, that phoenix guy smells like bad news.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Scared already?” Ai raised an eyebrow, curling up one side of her lip. The phoenix devil ignored her. Ai chose to move on too, nodding. “In any case, we can''t be taking this lightly. We’ll go all out from the beginning. Since I was having a hard timest time in this character temte, I should use a greater one this time.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Everyone looked at her as she closed her eyes. Her clothes shimmered and changed. She was adorning the clothes of Goddess of Light from Avatar 5, but she had barely won against Vortigern, the Abyssal Warlord, using itst time. Since there were two other enemies, it was better if she used a greater source of power.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her clothes transformed into the robes of a mage, that of a captivating sorceress. Her divine outfit transformed into robes of midnight blue, trimmed with intricate silver patterns, emphasizing her curves. A wide-brimmed hat tilted to cast a shadow over her gray eyes. With ears pointy, her blonde hair transformed into dark, curly hair that framed a lovely face, with sharp eyes gleaming through a silver-rimmed monocle.
<span style="font-weight:400">As the Eternal Sorceress, Ai Hoshino faced the Demon Gods’ gaze with a glint in her eyes. “It is meaningless to waste time diddling here,” she said, the tone of a medieval schrced in her voice. “Let us move.” Then, she sted forward at the speed of light. The others followed her lead.
<span style="font-weight:400">****
<span style="font-weight:400">“They’reing,” Just as Ai jumped, Ignaroth, the Demonic Phoenix, God of Destructive mes, announced to his fellow Gods of Anton. “That woman is peculiar. Her entire power-set just changed.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“How bothersome,” Zarthak, the Tumultuous Stormbringer, cracked his neck. “I''ll take her on. Since Vortigern lost to her before, he should take on someone else.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Be careful, she''s strong,” Ignaroth said, and Zarthakughed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Heh,” the sky rumbled, the clouds crackling outughter. “Unlike you two, I still have my Avatar. The entire sky is my domain since she has merged with the clouds and snow. I''ll be fine.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“In that case, I’ll take on this world''s Goddess and her minions.” Vortigern was wise to swallow his pride and said. “Naturally, that means Ignaroth is going to take on that woman with Phoenix aura around her.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Those three were the strongest in the group. The others could also be dangerous if they weren''t careful, but it was unlikely.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, that was my n too. Then, let''s not hold back,” Ignaroth said, and the sky exploded with… three <b>Icons</b><span style="font-weight:400">.
<span style="font-weight:400">This world''s forces showed no signs of an Icon, rushing toward the Demon Gods, who defied the universe''s will to tap into part of their true power. The earlier expression of the girls contorted.
<span style="font-weight:400">****
<span style="font-weight:400">The sky tore open with the blooming of Icons, shock spreading across Ai’s face. She was too close to the enemies for a tactical retreat, all of them were.
<span style="font-weight:400">The [<b>Tortoise Icon</b><span style="font-weight:400">] hummed like a bell.
<span style="font-weight:400">The [<b>Phoenix Icon</b><span style="font-weight:400">] shone overhead.
<span style="font-weight:400">The [<b>Storm Icon</b><span style="font-weight:400">] did the same.
<span style="font-weight:400">She was right in front of the Demon God wielding the Storm Icon, Zarthak, who wielded shimmering whips on his hand that he pped the air with.
<span style="font-weight:400">The raw power of the Icons swirling above was concerning, but retreat was no longer an option. Everyone had already begun to engage, as did Ai, mumbling spells under her breath.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Argh!” A sharp groan tore through the air, drawing Ai’s attention briefly. It was Ranefer, scuffling with Ignaroth.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">So the Dark Phoenix picked his opponent already,</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Ai wondered, while a secondary line of thought in her mind began to weave spells. As the Eternal Sorceress, she could divide her thoughts into multiple lines.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re not focusing on me, how bold,” Zarthak chuckled, throwing whips at her that she blocked with two shields of magic circles. Her eyes remained on Ranefer to make sure this wasn’t a one-sided massacre.
<span style="font-weight:400">The sh was ferocious—more so than anything Ai had witnessed before. She hadn’t seen Aqua and Thor sh, but from the turmoil that she had felt in the air back then, perhaps this was a battle on that scale. Gods against Gods; although Ranefer was a devil.
<span style="font-weight:400">The usual teasing and chatty Ranefer was nowhere to be seen. Herposed and untouchable face wrinkled with rage as she growled, rising from where she hadnded after the punch, her form shimmering orange.
<span style="font-weight:400">She tapped into her phoenix form. For the first time since she woke up, Ranefer tapped into her hybrid form.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Haaahhh!” The air boomed with energy as blood-red mes erupted from her back, unfurling into two massive, translucent fiery wings. Her entire body was covered with a bright and translucent sheath of fiery feathers, painting the night sky with a red light.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh…” Ignaroth paused at that, his ck mes pushed back by the red ones. “How beautiful. I wish we could have met in another setting, fellow phoenix,” he said and then rushed at her like a falling ck star. The sky exploded.
<span style="font-weight:400">The battlefield became a canvas of red and ck as Ranefer and Ignaroth exploded into their mes. It was as if hell had befallen upon this world, the heat of the atmosphere rose by miles.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Huh, she’ll be fine. I think.” Ai noted and turned to her enemy. “I should deal with you first.” With a snap of her finger, she called for spells of mass destruction over the Lightning God, who matched her ferocity with a crackle.
<span style="font-weight:400">****
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Dammit.</i><span style="font-weight:400"> On the side, Ranefer and Ignaroth continued their match. Each attack from Ignaroth was met with a fierce snub, their powers shing and sending shockwaves that tore the ground asunder. Ranefer’s new form seemed to level the ying field, evaporating clouds, and melting mountains with waves of her hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her mes grew ever more intense with each beat of her fiery wings. Yet, Ignaroth didn’t show any sign of weakness.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Oh, fuck, this isn’t looking good.</i> <i><span style="font-weight:400">At this rate, I’ll have to use True Transformation. </i><span style="font-weight:400">But if she did that and he countered with a simr form, it’d be over for her. Both of them were now gauging each other’s limits, and Ranefer had a sneaky idea who was stronger.
<span style="font-weight:400">Based on that [<b>Phoenix</b> <b>Icon</b><span style="font-weight:400">] in the sky, something she didn’t have, she knew she wouldn’t attain victory. The best she could do was hold him off.
<span style="font-weight:400">On another front, Vortigern’s heavy, tank-like presence shed with the metaphysical palm techniques of Gxara, backed by two archangels, as well as her hero, Jasmine.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Tiny Goddess, resistance is futile!” the big god announced with the voice of a lion, mming his fist against the flying palm techniques. Their techniques shed and dissipated. They were more-or-less evenly matched.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re not that strong, are you?” the Goddess said, and it wasn’t even a taunt. She was just saying what she thought, but that pissed off Vortigern.
<span style="font-weight:400">Being one of the four heavenly beasts, the ck Tortoise, Vortigern was ranked 4th among the Twelve Gods of Anton. However, he focused on leading an army rather than personal strength, like a moving force of an indestructive fortress. He was stronger the more minions he had.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, he couldn’t bring his army into this world on such short notice. The best he could do was bring his Avatar, but… his Avatar had been killed by some sect leader not long ago. He was alone here, and so he couldn’t disy his full power.
<span style="font-weight:400">Vortigern found the situation unfair. However, he didn’t know that the Goddess had lost many of her divinities in her battle against the Phoenixst time, as many of her Archangels had died. So she was far from her prime self as well, even if she had healed her injury and regained a considerable amount of power thanks to Aqua feeding her divine treasures.
<span style="font-weight:400">If she went against Ignaroth again, she''d lose, she was sure. However, against Vortigern, it was doable. Supported by Kwarna and Auriel, Gxara managed to hold her ground quite well. She alone, however, wasn’t in a shape to win, at least not so fast. This would be a long battle.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Die, you tiny wench!” Vortigern’s attacks were relentless, a brutal series of blows that shook the very reality around them. Gxara’s response didn’t do much damage to him, although she remained harmless too by dodging. The Evil God didn’t bother to dodge, he had great defensive properties, after all. That [<b>Tortoise Icon</b><span style="font-weight:400">] was powerful.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Haap!” Thankfully, Kwarna wielded a God Killer weapon. True Longnius swiped through the air, nudged by Vortigern’s shoulder, creating cracks in the barrier that shimmered around his body. She had risen to the ranks of Archangel, although she originally only managed to attain 10 wings, holding the True Longius rose her to the state of 12 wings. She wasn’t weaker than a High-ranking God back on Earth.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Annoying! A mere angel dares to point a spear toward me?” Among the three Gods, Vortigern seemed to be the weakest. Yet, he was the loudest. He growled, jumping at Kwarna as his skin grew thicker and darker, but then the Hero came to her aid.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Your opponent is here, Evil God,” the time paused as Jasmine swung her sword forward with the wrath of an Empress. “Vagabond Style, Form Three, Sword that Beheads the Sun!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Although she couldn’t use it perfectly, the power of a nuke still fell upon the pole. The God held against the force with gritted teeth, a translucent turtle shell forming around him.
<span style="font-weight:400">On the side, Gxara tapped into her Divinity of Void—Death, Erasure, and Decay—as a purple aura enveloped her. The battle against the defensive God grew.
<span style="font-weight:400">****
<span style="font-weight:400">As the three strongest members of their group shed against the malevolent gods above, confusion swirled among the non-divine individuals.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ruby, Tsubasa, Irina, and Xenovia exchanged uncertain nces, each weighing where their efforts would be most needed. "Should we assist Ranefer? She seems overwhelmed," Ruby pointed out.
<span style="font-weight:400">She and the other three girls had their eyes drawn to the fierce battle in the distant sky where fiery explosions painted the night with a brutal ballet of red and ck.
<span style="font-weight:400">Irina frowned, unsure what to say. "Ranefer does seem to be having a hard time with the Phoenix God, but are you sure we can help in a battle like that? She''s holding her ground.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“She’s not, she’s going to lose at this rate,” Tsubasa said, already in her hybrid form, her Gold Sign, the White Tiger transformation.
<span style="font-weight:400">Thest of them, Xenovia, also agreed with Tsubasa. "Goddess Gxara and her team seem to be doing well, and we don’t even have to worry about Ai. I think we should help the Goddess finish the enemy first so that she can help Ranefer. We by ourselves might not be very helpful."
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hmm,” Tsubasa wondered with a hum. "Honestly, that’s not a bad idea. Then let’s not waste any time. This battle is unlike any we''ve faced, be careful."
<span style="font-weight:400">“Haah, alright then.” Irina nodded, the votes were not on her side.
<span style="font-weight:400">With their resolve set to help Gxara fast so that they can help Ranefer next, the girls prepared to take off into the air.
<span style="font-weight:400">But right then, the entire world shook. Pangeal trembled.
<span style="font-weight:400">The ground beneath them betrayed their intentions; with a violent shudder, the soil exploded, sending showers of snow and debris into the air. The shockwave knocked them off their feet, and as they tried to regain their bearings, thendscape around them morphed, pulling them deep into itself.
<span style="font-weight:400">They suddenly found themselves far from the battlefield. They found themselves in a cave of ice and snow, surrounded by walls.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ruby grumbled, throwing Nine-Colored Qi around to clear the snow around her. Pushing herself up, she found abyrinth of illusions and snowden traps surrounding her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What the fuck.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Stay on guard, <i><span style="font-weight:400">cough</i><span style="font-weight:400">.” Tsubasa coughed out snow as she too stood back up. The other two girls trembled in the cold, tightening their grip around their swords. “There are monsters around.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Indeed, monsters lurked in the shadows. Beads of blue eyes looked at them, waiting for them to let their guard down so that they could feast on these girls’ dead bodies. Monsters made of snow and lightning sizzled in their wait.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ruby confirmed their presence with a scan of her Nine Colored Eyes, "Ugh, who’s this now? We need to clear these monsters, and fast."
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hehe,” a voice startled them. Looking around, they found nothing, until the face of a woman morphed in the snow. “My my, girls. You want to escape? Not in my watch. My lord, Zarthak, wishes you a pleasant death.” The Avatar of the Storm God said.
<span style="font-weight:400">Ruby scowled, Nine Colored Qi sprawling out of her. “Annoying woman, prepare for death.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Lady Ruby, stop,” Irina said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked at Xenovia. “We two will take care of her and the monsters. You two push through and go out first,” she said and Xenovia nodded in agreement.
<span style="font-weight:400">Tsubasa nodded out as thanks. Ruby hesitated but Tsubasa looked at her, “They''ll be fine.” As if to confirm her words, the two girls chose to unveil the full extent of their transformation.
<span style="font-weight:400">Taking a deep breath, they tapped into the power they had received from Aqua.
<span style="font-weight:400">– <b><i>Shingg!</i></b>
<span style="font-weight:400">With a radiant burst of light, wings unfurled from their backs—grand, powerful, and majestic. A wave of divine energy spasmed out of them, signaling their evolution into beings of higher celestial order.
<span style="font-weight:400">In DxD, humans could use Brave Saint cards, simr to the Evil Pieces, to be Angels. Aqua had taken that concept with the help of Gxara, granting these two girls an angel transformation.
<span style="font-weight:400">“...In that case, be quick and join us!” Ruby said before sting forward with her Nine-Colored Qi. Tsubasa followed her with the sh steps of an Overlord.
<span style="font-weight:400">They flew across enemies who tried to stop them and were intercepted by the two angels. Tentacles of snow and spikes of ice tried to m into them, but a wave of Nine Colored Qi, and a punch from Tsubasa, shattered them into pieces.
<span style="font-weight:400">The two girls soon returned to moonlight a few minutester, bursting through a wall of ice. The Icons above, ominous as they were, now shimmered even brighter.
<span style="font-weight:400">The earlier sh of fire in the distant sky seemed too one-sided now, and not in their favor. It was swirling with ck mes, with the only red mes being Ranefer, in the form of a fiery phoenix,rger than the Clock Tower.
<span style="font-weight:400">Despite being in that fearsome form, her mes paled against the ck phoenix muchrger than her. The maw of that demon god was ghastly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That doesn''t look good…” Tsubasa looked worried. Naturally so, as the wings of the ck phoenix cut against the red phoenix’s body, earning a groan of pain and frustration, while mes of darkness exploded behind each attack.
<span style="font-weight:400">The situation totally looked one-sided. The losing Ranefer mustered herst ounce of strength in a desperate attempt.
<span style="font-weight:400">She screeched like a bird, Her red mes exploded onest time, a brilliant surge that lit up the night sky. “Kreaaachh—!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Besides the [<b>Phoenix</b> <b>Icon</b><span style="font-weight:400">] of Ignaroth, another [<b>Phoenix</b> <b>Icon</b><span style="font-weight:400">] half materialized, shimmering with the potential to turn the tide.
<span style="font-weight:400">“....!” Ignaroth’s eyes widened as he recognized the implications of this new development. <i><span style="font-weight:400">What a dangerous foe.</i><span style="font-weight:400"> With no choice left, he acted swiftly.
<span style="font-weight:400">He growled and exploded toward her, leaving a trail of ck mes behind, and mmed his talons into Ranefer’s chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">She gasped, the air knocked from her lungs, and her expression twisted in pain. As her breathing faltered, the Icon that had begun to materialize flickered with uncertainty before it vanishedpletely.
<span style="font-weight:400">The flow of the battle had been overturned, the brief hope sparked by Ranefer''s final effort extinguished as swiftly as it had red.
<span style="font-weight:400">The massive body of the red phoenix fell from the sky. Her wings didn''t move to save her as she crashed into the snow. Her wounds didn''t heal as shey there, silent.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Grhh,” Ignaroth had won the battle.
<span style="font-weight:400">The first victory ought to change the tides of the other battles. The war’s result might just as well have been decided.
<span style="font-weight:400">**
<span style="font-weight:400">**
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