Chapter 29: Chaotic Battle Against Demonic Beast 3
The three-way battle raged like a storm caught within an iron cage—vicious, volatile, and entirely unpredictable.
Elton's group struggled to maintain footing against the blood-raged Silver-Tier 4 Demonic Beast and the two remaining disciples of the Night's Light Devouring Church. Each clash tested their limits, forcing them into a deadly rhythm of blades, spells, and desperate dodges where even the slightest mistake promised death.
The third disciple of the Night's Light Devouring Church, the one previously hurled aside by the beast's brutal tail strike, lay groaning several meters away—injured, dazed, and barely clinging to awareness.
None of them noticed the glint of steel until it was far too late.
Schlick.
A throwing knife, impossibly fast and nearly invisible, buried itself deep into the injured disciple's throat. His body convulsed once, eyes wide in stunned disbelief, before falling silent forever. A clean kill. No ally nor enemy witnessed the strike.
The chaos pressed on regardless.
Elton, Christy, Zoro, and Cedric stood bloodied, battered, and breathing heavily. Christy's sweat-matted hair clung stubbornly to her face, her gaze sharp with unyielding determination. Zoro's katanas dripped with gore, his red starry eyes gleaming with grim intensity. Cedric's clothes were torn and his arm mangled, but his burning dagger remained ready. Elton's chest heaved with effort, his body carrying the pulse of white lightning beneath the skin.
The Demonic Beast, though grievously wounded, still roared with undiminished ferocity. Its one remaining eye burned with savage hatred as it lunged for Cedric. Elton and Christy dashed forward, striking to intercept before the creature could claim him.
Then—
BOOM.
A violent shockwave split the air as a radiant arc of force slammed into the beast's chest, hurling it backward like a broken toy. The ground shattered beneath its weight. Before the monster could regain its stance, a radiant blade of condensed Ki energy pierced straight through its ruined eye.
The beast convulsed, released one last rattling roar, then collapsed with a thunderous crash. The steaming corpse twitched briefly before falling completely still.
For a moment, silence reigned.
Elton's heartbeat thundered within his ears. Cedric blinked in disbelief. Zoro's grip on his blades tightened. Only Christy seemed less surprised, her lips curling faintly as if recognizing the hand that intervened.
A voice cut through the smoke, calm and laced with casual authority.
"Quit hesitating and finish those bastards."
The tone carried weight, one that tolerated no argument.
Zoro stepped forward without hesitation. His twin katanas hung loosely at his sides, but the killing intent radiating from him was overwhelming. His red starry eyes locked onto the stronger of the two disciples, and his voice came out cold and final.
"I'll take the strong one. Do not get in my way."
Elton's eyes narrowed. Cedric grimaced in worry. Christy tilted her head curiously, though her smile never faded.
Finally, Elton exhaled slowly. "Fine. Just don't die."
The air shifted. Both Night's Light Devouring Church disciples unleashed their full aura, sinister energy flooding the battlefield. The stronger disciple, robe torn and face streaked with blood, raised his staff with a snarl.
"You dare mock the Church, boy? I'll tear you apart piece by piece!"
The other disciple twirled his twin daggers, dark essence licking the blades like serpents. His eyes focused entirely on Elton's group. "You've meddled too long. Now you'll bleed together."
The fragile truce shattered instantly.
Zoro became a shadow streaking forward, his blades clashing with the staff in an explosion of dark sparks. Elton, Christy, and Cedric faced the second disciple, who darted like a phantom serpent fast, cunning, and utterly ruthless.
The clearing erupted again with vicious combat.
From a nearby tree, a veiled woman sat upon a thick branch, her black hair cascading around her shoulders like a shroud. Her attire marked her as a Fighting Brawlman Sect disciple, though her aura carried something deeper. Her left eye glowed faintly crimson beneath the veil, pulsing with quiet power.
She observed the carnage below with an air of cold detachment, yet her gaze softened when it settled on Christy. There was no predatory gleam in her look.
She remained silent, simply watching the storm unravel.
On the ground, Elton's trio moved in tight rhythm. The disciple's twin daggers slashed like streaking shadows. Elton ducked narrowly, redirecting one strike with his forearm while Cedric took a shallow cut to his already damaged arm. Christy countered with a flurry of palm strikes, infused with chaotic essence, forcing the disciple back.
For several exchanges the clash stayed even. Then Elton shifted.
His body flared with radiant power.
—White Star Speed Transformation—
Lightning coursed through his veins, his frame shimmering with luminous energy. His figure blurred and then reappeared beside the disciple in less than a blink.
Crack!
Elton's fist slammed into the side of the disciple's temple, sending him staggering in shock.
—Burning Fang Rend!—
Cedric roared.
His dagger erupted in blazing fire, carving into the disciple's leg just beneath the knee. The flesh seared instantly, flames wrapping around the limb in a wave of agony. The disciple screamed, collapsing partially from the sudden destruction of balance.
Christy stepped forward calmly. Both palms pressed against his chest.
Boom!
A burst of chaotic red essence detonated from her strike, hurling the disciple across the clearing. His body skidded violently against stone, smoke rising from his chest and leg. Whether he lived or not mattered little—he would not fight again.
The three regrouped, breathing heavily, standing side by side.
But Elton's eyes darted quickly across the field.
The real battle was still ongoing.
Across the way, Zoro clashed against the final disciple—the strongest of the Church trio. Sparks showered as staff met twin blades, each strike heavier than the last. At first it looked as though Zoro was losing ground, his movements slower, his guard battered.
Then he smirked.
It was not the smirk of a man straining against defeat.
The disciple froze briefly, his expression twisting in realization. "You… you're tainted. That cursed power—you dare use it against me? I'll kill you, Zoro Tatsumaki! I'll drag your carcass to the Church myself!"
Zoro gave no reply. He walked forward slowly, blades dragging behind him with a metallic rasp, his aura twisting with shadows.
The disciple screamed and charged, staff blazing with violent essence.
Their clash was brutal. Zoro's strikes grew heavier, his footwork sharper, his presence overwhelming. The disciple's defense crumbled blow by blow until he was driven back, bleeding from a dozen cuts.
Zoro crossed his blades behind his back. His aura surged like a storm breaking its chains.
—Two Sword Style: Dark Cutting Shadow—
He vanished.
The disciple's eyes widened as twin arcs of darkness ripped across his body in a zig-zag slash, carving a spiraling wound from chest to hip. His scream died in his throat as his body fell limp, crumpling into the blood-soaked dirt.
The clearing grew silent once again.
The Demonic Beast was dead. The disciples of the Night's Light Devouring Church were annihilated.
Elton, Christy, Cedric, and Zoro stood together, battered but alive.
Minutes later they regrouped, tending to wounds with potions, bandages, and simple Ki compression techniques. Cedric groaned against a rock, Christy leaned against Elton with a tired smirk, and Zoro cleaned his katanas with mechanical calm.
Then, footsteps approached.
They spun instantly, blades and spells ready.
From the brush stepped the veiled woman with flowing black hair and crimson-glowing eye.
Christy's face brightened immediately.
"Big Sis Shia!" she called warmly, rushing forward.
The woman nodded once, gaze softening slightly at Christy's embrace before hardening again for the others. "You fought well. But why are you heading in this direction?"
Elton hesitated, stumbling over words. "Uh… there's this… pull… something I can't quite explain—"
Christy interrupted with a laugh, waving it off. "Something feels wrong near the central battlefield. Ominous. We're checking this path instead. Safer, for now."
Shia's crimson eye narrowed as she glanced toward the basin's heart. "Ominous, you say? Very well. But be cautious. Especially you." Her gaze lingered on Christy for a moment longer before she turned and vanished back into the trees like a phantom.
Elton exhaled sharply. His hand clenched.
"The pull is stronger now. Whatever it is… we're close."
No more words were needed. The group gathered themselves, wiped the blood from their blades, and pressed forward into the shadowed path, destiny drawing ever nearer.