The world seemed to tilt on its axis as Kaede stood at the edge of the clearing, her eyes fixed on Lyra, who was pinned to the ground, muttering curses. The air was thick with tension, and the sound of battle raged on around her. But Kaede's attention was solely on Lyra.
Then, Veyruun's presence hit her like a physical blow. The crushing weight of its aura made her stumble, her breath catching in her throat. She felt like she was being pushed down by an invisible force, her body threatening to buckle under the pressure.
Kaede's eyes snapped to the entity, her gaze taking in its massive, obsidian form. Her mind reeled with shock and fear. "What the hell is this thing?... How could anything so powerful exist?" Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, her instincts screaming at her to run, to get away from this creature.
But Kaede's feet were rooted to the spot. She couldn't look away from Veyruun, her eyes drawn to its core, where a rotating sun-like sphere pulsed with energy. The sight made her head spin, her heart racing with a mix of terror and awe.
Saburo, standing beside her, reached out a hand, his voice low and urgent. "Sifu, we need to move. Now." But Kaede couldn't move. She was frozen, her body locked in place by the sheer magnitude of Veyruun's presence.
As she watched, Meili's strike hit Veyruun's core, and for a moment, the entity's power faltered. Kaede's eyes widened, a glimmer of hope sparking in her chest. But then, the core's energy surged back, and Veyruun's power returned, stronger than before.
The air crackled with a sudden, sharp tension as Meili's voice cut through the roar of Veyruun's looming strike. "Sifu Hibiki?!! He's…!" she shouted, her eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and horror. Her cry snapped the attention of everyone on the battlefield, and heads turned toward her like a collective reflex.
Kaede, still rooted at the edge of the clearing, felt her heart skip a beat. Saburo's hand tightened on her shoulder, his breath shallow. Ryker, whose chi was already a thin wisp after the fight with Vorgath, forced himself to look up, his face pale and his voice hoarse. "Meili, what are you saying?" he called, his words barely rising above the low, resonant hum of Veyruun's core.
Meili's gaze flicked to Ryker, and without a word, her expression said it all. She turned back to the massive entity, her voice rising again, louder this time. "Sifu Hibiki is within this monster!" she yelled, each syllable echoing off the shattered stones and reverberating through the tense silence.
A wave of shock rippled through the group. Kai, already nursing his side, clenched his fists in frustration, his eyes darting between Meili and the towering figure. "How do we even get close to that thing to pull him out?" he growled, his voice edged with desperation.
Fuse, crouched behind the broken pillar, peered out and added, "That's the least of our problems right now. Another attack is coming." Her words were barely finished when Veyruun's massive form shifted, its obsidian armor creaking as it prepared to unleash another devastating strike.
Kagawa, eyes narrowed, muttered, "Well, this is it," his tone of resignation. The ground trembled beneath them as the entity's core pulsed, and a low, thunderous crack split the air.
Meili's mind was a storm of thoughts, each one feeding into a rising fury. She could feel the heat of her own blood, the surge of chi demanding release, and the weight of every ally's hope pressing down on her shoulders. Her breath quickened, and a fierce, almost primal energy began to coil within her, ready to explode at any moment.
Kai's eyes flicked to Meili, and for a heartbeat he saw the familiar, dangerous glint in her—an edge of rage he'd once caught a glimpse of but never dared to ask about. Yet his mind couldn't linger on that mystery; Veyruun's massive form was already winding up for a crushing strike, and the air crackled with imminent doom.
Just as the entity's blow was about to land, two colossal shapes of water surged from the sea, forming massive, translucent hands that clamped around Veyruun's obsidian torso, holding it back with a force that sent shockwaves of spray across the battlefield.
Kai and several others whirled toward Kaguya, eyes wide. "Hey, wasn't me!" she shouted, hands still glowing with residual water chi, her expression a mix of surprise and pride.
From a nearby hill, a voice thundered down, cutting through the chaos: "How in the hell are you unsealed, Veyruun?!" It was Grandmaster Jiang, his robes billowing in the wind. He stood flanked by Grandmaster Fei and Grandmaster Yagushi, their presence a sudden, commanding force that seemed to shift the very balance of the fight.
Meili's rage, now a boiling tide, threatened to spill over, but the unexpected intervention gave her a momentary pause. She glanced at the grandmasters, then at Kai, whose gaze was fixed on her, and for a split second, the battlefield held its breath.
The watery hands that had seized Veyruun's obsidian form began to recede, their surface rippling as the massive entity thrashed against the sudden restraint. From the hill, Grandmaster Yagushi stepped forward, his voice calm yet urgent, cutting through the lingering echo of battle.
"Everyone, I'm glad you're all still standing," Yagushi said, his eyes scanning the scattered fighters. "Your courage has kept us from being swallowed whole."
Ryker, his breath still shallow from his earlier exertions, raised a hand to steady himself before speaking. "Health report: Kaito's side is holding, though he's nursing a wound. Kaito, omega's squad leader is alive, but he's barely clinging to consciousness. Sifu Hua is at his aid alongside Jaggy and Koko."
"Understood, Sifu Akane and her team of healers would handle that. Right now we deal with what's in front of us," Grandmaster Yagushi replied.
Jiang, his brow furrowed, glanced at the massive, restrained figure of Veyruun and then at his fellow grandmasters. "This... Veyruun was one of Wushu Guan's greatest foes, sealed decades ago after the cataclysm at Shaoshi Mountain. Its core was fragmented and hidden deep within the earth, bound by a lattice of ancient chi that required a living anchor to stay dormant."
Fei, his voice low and reverent, added, "Legends tell of Wu Long's sacrifice—how he shattered the entity's physical form, leaving only its Astral Will sealed beneath the academy. The core could not exist without a host, and for generations we thought it lost to time."
Yagushi's gaze hardened. "Xaphan's hand is unmistakable. He's somehow re‑awakened the core, using it as a conduit for his own ambitions. The seal was never meant to be broken from the outside; it required a resonance from within, a living vessel with immense chi. Maybe why Hibiki's presence was so critical—he's become that vessel, this is bad."
Jiang nodded, his eyes narrowing. "If Xaphan has indeed merged Hibiki with Veyruun's core, then we're not just fighting a monster—we're confronting a living seal, a weaponized host. To defeat it, we must sever that connection without destroying Hibiki entirely, or we risk unleashing the full, unbound force of the Star Devourer."
Fei's hand tightened around his staff. "We need to act quickly. The longer Veyruun remains active, the more it will draw on the ley‑lines, destabilizing the entire region. Our priority is to extract Hibiki, and the seal before Xaphan can complete his plan."
Yagushi turned back to the assembled warriors, his voice steady and commanding. "Form a perimeter, all of you. Keep Veyruun contained with elemental techniques—water, earth, and wind. Ryker, coordinate with Kai and Fuse to create a channel for extraction. Meili, channel your Void Sword Style to disrupt the core's resonance, but do not strike it directly. We'll need every ounce of precision and restraint."
From the hill, Bravo Team, Zabuza's squad, and a handful of Wulins thundered down, their collective shout echoing across the battlefield as they slotted into the defensive line. Zabuza, ever the front‑runner, slammed his palms into the earth, summoning a towering wall of stone that rose like a jagged shield. Kaguya and Asami moved in sync, weaving their water and earth techniques together—Kaguya's flowing currents laced with Asami's solidifying mud—to create a hybrid barrier that pulsed with both fluidity and strength. The newcomers added their own elemental flares: gusts of wind, bursts of flame, and crackling lightning, each strike stitching itself into the growing tapestry of resistance.
Just as the plan began to solidify, Veyruun let out a low, resonant roar that reverberated through stone and bone alike. The sound cracked the air, and with a sudden, violent surge, the entity ripped through the watery hands and the newly forged defenses alike. Shards of liquid, splinters of stone, and arcs of raw energy scattered like a storm of glass, scattering across the battlefield. The obsidian armor that encased Veyruun cracked and then re‑formed, each fissure sealing with a pulse of dark, golden light. Its core, a rotating sphere of blinding chi, flared with renewed intensity, casting an eerie glow over the chaos.
Zabuza's eyes widened as the raw energy from Veyruun's shattered core burst outward like a storm of glass. Without hesitation, he slammed his palms into the earth and roared, "Earth Style: Bastion Wall!" A massive, curved stone barrier erupted from the ground, forming a protective dome around the scattered fighters. "Everyone, get behind me!" he shouted, his voice reverberating through the stone. The barrier held, absorbing the chaotic shards of energy and shielding Kaguya, Asami, and the others from the lethal aftermath.
In the split second that the shield steadied, Ryker's gaze snapped to Kai and Meili. He raised a hand, signaling with a sharp, urgent motion. "Now! Move on my mark!" he called, his tone cutting through the chaos. "We need to get to Hibiki before Veyruun's next strike!"
Kaede, already poised at the edge of the battlefield, stepped forward, her eyes blazing with determination. "I'm coming with you," she said, her voice firm. "The kids can't pull this off themselves." As she spoke, she began to channel her chi, her body tensing and expanding. "Bujutsu, Human Transformation: Gorilla!" she shouted, and her muscles swelled violently, her skeletal structure reinforcing with chi. Her posture lowered, arms thickening, and a raw, primal power surged through her. "Let's break this thing down!" she growled, her voice now deep and resonant, echoing with the force of a charging beast.
Kai, eyes fixed on Meili, nodded sharply. "Let's go, Meili. We'll create an opening." Meili, her mind still a storm of rage and focus, tightened her grip on her remaining blade. "I'm ready," she said, her voice low but steady.
The three of them—Kai, Meili, and transformed Kaede—launched forward in a flash, their movements synchronized as they darted toward Veyruun's core. Zabuza's Bastion Wall held firm behind them, a temporary sanctuary as they charged into the heart of the danger, their combined intent clear: reach Hibiki, disrupt the core, and turn the tide of the battle.
The grandmasters' eyes flicked to the charging trio, and in an instant they sensed the shape of the plan. Jiang's voice cut through the clamor, low and steady, "Fei, lock it down. I'll draw its eye." He raised his hand, and a thin veil of moisture seeped into the air, the subtle humidity of "Tidal Dominion" spreading like a breath across the battlefield. The moisture gathered, turning the dry dust into a slick, reflective sheen that made every movement of Veyruun's massive form echo with a faint, watery resonance. A domain technique similar to Kreal's Abyssal Domain: Deadwater Veil, but more intense enough to cover Veyruun's geometry.
Jiang then snapped his fingers, and a cascade of glittering ice needles burst from his fingertips—Kaguya's trademark move, now wielded by her idol. "Ice Needles!" he shouted, and the shards arced toward Veyruun's core, each needle striking with a sharp, crystalline bite. The sudden, precise assault forced the entity to turn its attention, its roar faltering as it tried to swat the icy projectiles away.
With Veyruun's focus split, Fei stepped forward, his eyes flaring with a deep, violet hue. He whispered, "Echo of Regret," and his visual prowess surged, projecting a wave of raw, emotional memory into the creature's mind. The technique tugged at the ancient trauma buried within Veyruun's fragmented core—flashes of its first defeat, the loss of its original anchor, the lingering sorrow of being sealed for decades. The entity's massive limbs trembled, its roar turning into a guttural, pained whine as the weight of its own regrets pressed down on it.
The combined effect was immediate: the moisture from Tidal Dominion made the ice needles melt into a slick, reflective surface, creating a mirror of water and ice that reflected Fei's visual assault back onto Veyruun. The creature's movements slowed, its obsidian armor cracking under the pressure of its own emotional turmoil. For a heartbeat, Veyruun stood frozen—caught between the icy sting of Jiang's needles and Fei stage 3 paralysis genjustu.
Kaguya, watching from behind Zabuza's stone shield, felt a surge of admiration and awe. "Grandmaster Jiang… he's using my technique," she whispered, eyes wide. "He's always been my inspiration." She clenched her fists, feeling the echo of his power resonate within her own chi, ready to channel that same precision into her next strike.
Fei's voice, now a low, resonant chant, rose above the din: "Hold, Veyruun. Let your past bind you." The echo of regret wrapped around the entity like invisible chains, buying Kai, Meili, and transformed Kaede precious seconds to close the distance and attempt to reach Hibiki's hidden core.
Fei's reputation as one of the rare masters who has reached the 'Dark Purple Stage 3' of visual cultivation precedes him. His eyes burn with a violet intensity that can read, distort, and even rewrite an opponent's perception in a heartbeat, and his genjutsu‑style paralysis Bujutsu turns a foe's own memories into unbreakable chains. This insane visual prowess makes his "Echo of Regret" not just an illusion, but a direct conduit for emotional overload, giving him the power to lock down even a colossal entity like Veyruun with a single, well‑timed glance.