[219] Rise of a Demon God

Chapter 219: Rise of a Demon God

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Ai was startled by the sight in the distant sky, and she wasn’t the only one. Galaxara and her group were even more shaken. The falling body of the dying phoenix found no stop as it crashed down atop a mountain, going still with the flames around its flesh flickering out.

It was too late to help.

“...Fuck.”

Ai wasn't expecting the Phoenix woman to lose, not when she had tapped into a power stronger than usual.

At the very least, she should have held on until Ai could come and help her. Instead, she lay breathless now. She was dead.

“Kek-” the bloody god beside her cracked out a laugh.

Ai turned to look at him with a disapproving scowl. Zarthak, the once proud Lightning God, barely managed to stand in the air with blood dripping from his nose and lips. “Weakling, laughter is rich coming from you.”

He was quite injured, his arrogance shattered by the lethality of Eternal Sorcery. Hearing her words, he growled, “You're done for now, witch.”

Not a breath after he said that fell, the Demonic Phoenix God appeared right before her. It was as if reality had skipped a scene, he was that fast, his fist flying toward Ai’s face. Ai raised her arms to block the incoming attack, forming a defensive spell, and halfway through his punch landed.

The magic shield shattered and the dark feathery fist landed on her face. Ai was shot into the mountain in the far, crashing it into dust.

“Ghr,” Ignaroth grumbled. He turned to Zarthak and said, “Go help Vortigern, I'll take care of this woman.” Zarthak wiped his lip and flew away.

Ignaroth kicked the air and exploded toward the place where Ai crashed. The Eternal Sorceress was already weaving spells, birthing 144 magic circles in the sky, one above the other, like a funnel.

“Eternal Magic,” the Sorceress said. “Rotating Wheel for the Immortal Snail.”

The spell crashed down upon Ignaroth, who tried to brush it off with his Icon and failed, as his speed vanished.

His body grew sluggish, his explosive speed gone, as he barely moved through the air as if swimming through sludge.

He seemed to be covering kilometers in his mind, but space and time folded above one another to form a hamster run wheel, where no matter how many times his wings flapped, he remained in his spot.

Even without the Time Icon shining like a bell, as Ai didn't nearly know enough about the Eternal Sorcerer to bring out his full power, let alone an Icon, she could pull off spells like this.

“Speed O’ Light,” she said, kicking the ground and blitzing toward her target. Instead of relying on an attack spell next, she curled her fist, tapping into her supergirl powerset, and slamming her fist against his face.

The demonic phoenix left a trail of darkness in his wake, as he was sent flying into the Red Sea on the other side of the tower.

“Looks like he's not that dangerous, tsk,” Ai clicked her tongue as she flew towards the sea. A pang of guilt was spasming her heart, she should have picked on him earlier instead of letting Ranefer handle him. While he certainly had immense firepower, it was hard to counter something like time magic. So-

“YOU HAIRLESS MONKEY!” A loud, domineering voice shattered through the skies. The authority of a deity filled the air to the brim.

Besides the already radiant [Phoenix Icon], a second hexagon shape began to shine. It didn't belong to someone else, no, it came from the same source. The Demonic Phoenix God of Destructive Flames rushed at her like a comet with two Icons above his head.

The [Destruction Icon] manifested itself in this lower world. Reality crackled like spider webs just from its pressure.

Ai tried to form spells, but the magic circle fractured when the Phoenix set his eye on it.

A dark and deep aura of black flames surrounded the phoenix as he approached Ai. From his enraged bloodshot eyes, accompanied by the trail of blood on his nose, the double Icon took an immense toll on him in this suppressed world.

However, it was worth the table because Ai’s spells were powerless against it.

Ai crossed her arms when she realized spells wouldn't work, intending to block the fiery punch thrown her way. Instead, the punch melted through her forearms, through flesh and bones, and slammed into her face. Fire melted away the skin of her lips, leaving bone teeth open, and sending her flying a dozen kilometers away.

Ai spun around in the air beyond her control, the authority of the [Destruction Icon] ruining her clothes, canceling her transformation as she lost consciousness. Everything went dark.

****

“Ugh.”

Her eyes fluttered open under the red light of the blood tower. Ai blinked once and her eyes snapped wide when her brain registered the scene ahead. How long had she passed out, that the battlefield changed this much?

Apocalypse.

Far from her on the left, tentacles of snow held the two angel swordswomen hung in the air, limbs bent backward, bodies covered in blood, and their eyes white. Were they even alive, or just unconscious? Ai’s superhuman hearing didn’t catch any heartbeats from them.

Archangel Auriel lay dissected in two, her torso and legs resting in two places, painting the snow with golden blood. Her dead eyes stared up at the red sky with an empty, broken look. She had died with her hopes crushed to dust.

Goddess Galaxara still fought, one of her arms gone, golden blood oozing out from the stump, while Kalawarna swung her spear to support her. The Fallen Angel was injured beyond belief, her body churned with lightning, and a massive hole gaping from the left side of her waist.

She could pass out anytime now with how she looked.

“....!”

Ai watched in shock, as that’s exactly what happened. With a powerful impact from Voltigerm’s fist, the Fallen Angel was shot down toward the snow, digging into it and going unresponsive. Her spear was swept away by a force, falling into Voltigerm’s hand. Wielding that, he rushed toward the heavily injured Goddess.

Anyone could guess how the fight would end, but Galaxara didn’t give up, she clashed against him in a last-ditch effort. Ai couldn’t watch that fight till its outcome, as the voice of her daughter caused her to lose attention. Her head snapped to the side.

On the side, Zarthak’s lightning danced across the air, clashing against Nine-Colored Qi as Ruby and Tsubasa barely held on against the god. Tsubasa wasn’t directly engaging him, she couldn’t because his Avatar, the feminine face carved in snow and clouds, attacked her from all directions. She was fighting against the Avatar with all her power, each punch crushing the snow projections into dust, until newer ones grew from under her feet.

It was a matter of a minute until these three would go down too, Ai could see. Oh no, Aqua… For a moment, she wondered if her son would come and save them. But that seemed unlikely. Here, they had three deity-level individuals, two archangels, and Ruby and Tsubasa, who were all demi-god level. Yet they faced such a dirty defeat. In that case, how could Aqua be holding well on his side, with just Quetzalcoatl by his side?

“Cough. This is not good…” She wiped her bloody lips and slowly stood back up. She had to do something about this, otherwise her children were in danger. Looking around in search of the main culprit, her heart skipped a beat as she saw Jasmine clash against the Dark Phoenix in the distant sky.

The Hero performed her ultimate, mixing it with the technique her successor showed her, yet it was interrupted midway, the phoenix’s hand slipping into her chest. She gasped, while his other hand punched her in the face, sending her flying away like Ai had flown earlier. She didn’t return.

Ai grumbled. “Dammit.”

Was there no way to win against these Gods? The Phoenix didn’t even use an Icon to defeat Jasmine just now; clearly, nobody here was a match for these Gods other than her. She could tap into the Empress’ character, but last time she passed out when she tried that.

Even if it stuck this time, what was to say that the Empress would win? This time, the Phoenix might finish that it started by killing her, she wouldn’t have a third chance to try. If that was the case, if there was no other choice but total annihilation of her entire group, then….

She did have a trump card.

To begin with, the Empress wasn’t the strongest template she had. If she ignored the side effects of berserk, she did have an ‘Absolute Win’ template too. The side effect was that she might end up killing everyone else, ally or otherwise if she used it. Should I take the chance?

“Argh–!” Ruby groaned in pain, as lightning twirled past her wave of Nine Colored Qi, slamming into her chest. She was sent flying, her skin charred, black and red flesh sizzling under it. She fell on her back, and the Lightning God was above her just a second later. He was grinning like a maniac, eyes alight, as his hand slammed against her throat.

He began to say something to Ruby, but Ai didn’t catch it. Suddenly, she could hear nothing.

Rage filled her veins. Her hesitation shattered, and she transformed. As Ai Hoshino's form blurred and shifted, the air around her crackled with raw, mystical energy. The [Wardrobe] acted up. Her simple attire dissolved into a majestic and ominous black dress, clinging tightly to her form and flaring out at the hips into billowing folds.

-「Many Men~ Many Many Many Many Men…」

Every head snapped towards her. Her form began to rise in the air, floating upwards as if to embrace the heavens.

For a moment, the demonic aura in the world vanished, concentrating only around her. Her dark hair cascaded down her back in a wave of lustrous purple, shimmering under the eerie moonlight. A deep, dark red belt cinched her waist, highlighting her presence. She scanned the area in a new light, her eyes losing all rage and replaced by smugness.

-「Many Men~ Many Many Many Many Men… Wish death 'pon me. Lord, I don't cry no more… Don't look to the sky no more」

The sky shimmered with the shadow of three pseudo-Icons, three hexagon blurs, only a copy of the real deal, pulled by the Wardrobe ability rather than actually embodying a concept.

The Icons sang, as the Venerable Immortal Over Heavens, in his young days, as the Heavenly Demon, stared ahead through her eyes.

[Image Here]

“Aah,” she rubbed her neck, smirking while wide eyes watched her from all directions. “It feels weird to be in a female body. Wardrobe, eh?”

Barely any semblance of Ai’s mind remained in the body. The Venerable One looked around, eyes falling upon the injured girls, and then at the enemies. The Demon Gods were sweating.

Why wouldn't they be? The entire blood tower's demonic energy swirled over her head, and the aura of the Heavenly Demon filled the North Pole.

“Who the fuck is that?” Zarthak asked, while his companion, Vortigern, trembled on his spot. The Phoenix God flickered from his spot, vanishing. He, however, didn't reappear beside Ai to attack her, like how some expected. Instead, he was nowhere to be seen.

The presence of the Heavenly Demon was too much for these Gods. Her demonic aura was far more than anything they could express.

In Aqua's 9th life, he only became the Venerable One after a thousand years of cultivation. In his initial centuries, he rather went by the alias of the Heavenly Demon. The concept of the heavenly demon came from Murim, it didn't exist in that xianxia world. He actualized that name in that realm for the first time, as the leader of the Demonic Cultivators. His demonic aura was unmatched.

Her lips curled up. She let out an echoing laugh. “Amusing little rats, must I deal with you first before I devour those girls?”

Her eyes flickered to the injured woman, pausing when she saw Ruby. The blonde girl was injured and bloody, and yet instead of sympathy, lust was the first thing that flashed before The Heavenly Demon’s eyes. She licked her lips at her daughter's figure, while the others shivered. Nobody missed her gaze, they trembled in nausea.

“This bitch has gone crazy!” Zarthak let out a burst of laughter, kicking the air and rushing toward her. “I don't know how you manipulated that aura around you, but your show ends here!”

His whips charged with divinity, and demonic horns grew out of his forehead. Instead of playing around, he tapped into his ultimate technique.

The clouds crackled blue, and his whips were covered in an electric aura that sizzled through the air. Reality melted, and his whips slammed forward at the speed of lightning, intending to cut her head clean off her shoulder.

The music grew louder in the sky. She chuckled, raising a forearm. “True Demon Sword Art,” she said, her hand letting out a crimson aura. The sky grew red, and she waved it downward, “Crimson Annihilation, the Swordless Devastation.”

While her forearm came down, the clouds split up in the sky. A titanic blood-red sword shone brightly as it cut through space, rushing downwards at a speed beyond understanding.

When Zarthak was ten meters away from her, the titanic sword crashed down on him. It happened instantaneously as the Heavenly demon didn’t cut only him, but the space between them too, he barely raised his arms to block it. The weight of a planet befell his shoulder, while his arms fell from their place.

“True Demon Fist Art,” she stepped forward, her fist curled back, “Scarlet Annihilation Fist.”

Her punch shot forward. A wave of redness flew forward, shaped like a fist, the size of a tank. Like the slash before it, it twisted space and simply appeared on Zarthak’s face. The outer god was shot backward and tossed through the air. As the others began to hear the name of the technique, The Heavenly Demon already had Zarthak’s head between her hands.

“True Demon God Art,” she smiled gently. In the sky, one of the three of the blurry icons cleared for a moment. The Blood Icon shone. Demonic aura slammed into the Demon God's brain through his ears, swelling up inside. The outer god resisted, trembling on his spot, trying to attack Ai, but resistance was futile. Her grin widened, “Infernal Eruption, Grasp of the Demon God.”

God of Lightning, Zarthak, exploded like a blood star, splashing blood all over the snow. Yet not a single drop touched her, crimson mist clouding around her, complementing her charm as her smile turned euphoric. Licking her lips, she slowly turned to the other remaining outer God, the little turtle.

“Ahhhn... You’re a durable one, aren’t ya?” she blinked, and suddenly she stood before him, fist pulled back. “Good, I’ll enjoy the look in your eyes as you see your shitty little Icon crumble before true power.” The True Demon Fist Art struck ahead.

Everyone watched in shock, as well as disgust at the demonic energy, as Ai – the Immortal Venerable – manhandled the God whose turtle shell couldn't help him against the demon.

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