What is the meaning of genius?
Geniuses are those able to do things that are impossible for normal people. Stuff that is very simple for a genius can be very difficult for a normal person.
But even among geniuses, there are some that are superior.
They are monsters in a league of their own. Trying to compare those monsters to normal people is a joke. Common sense doesn't apply to them.
And Eres is this kind of monster.
Since she was a child, she was superior to anyone around her. Her talent was one of a kind, and she was smart enough to learn anything in one go. It was as though the world itself had blessed her.
Her cultivation speed was incomparable to normal people, and her combat strength was unrivaled at the same level. She even dared to face demigods as an A-Rank practitioner.
But because she was this kind of genius, she had never been pushed to the limit.
Until today.
Facing the Saint of the Church of Slaughter, Eres felt that she was close to death for the first time in her life.
The pressure exerted by the Saint of Slaughter was suffocating. The slightest mistake could lead to her death, and even without making a mistake, her death was just a matter of time.
Under this pressure, something inside Eres seemed to awaken.
Her talent, which was unmatched in the entire world, started to blossom.
She seemed to understand her transparent flames more and more. With every shadow monster she killed, her comprehension deepened more and more.
And finally, a change happened.
In that instant, Eres and the flames became one.
The transparent flames were absorbed by her body, then, they fused with her flesh and blood, turning her body into a being made of flames that seemed inextinguishable.
Her clothes were burned to cinders and her eyes became two torches that lit up the darkness created by the shadow monsters. Her sword was engulfed in flames, and it seemed about to break at any time due to the extremely powerful flames.
Holding her sword with an indifferent expression, she swung it towards the shadow monsters.
Then, transparent flames filled the sky.
The flames consumed everything in their path. Dozens of shadow monsters were incinerated instantly as the flames spread without a stop.
The expression of the Saint of Slaughter changed. He immediately released countless shadow monsters and used them as a barrier against the flames.
At this moment, the positions of Eres and the Saint of Slaughter reversed. Now, it was Eres's flames that had the advantage.
But as a demigod, the Saint of Slaughter was not that easy to defeat.
"My shadows, consume everything!"
Hundreds of specter-like shadows emerged from his back. The shadows charged towards the flames fiercely while emitting horrifying screams that seemed to shake the soul.
Dozens of specter-like shadows were burned to ashes instantly, but more shadows replaced them, charging towards the transparent flames fearlessly, only to be burned down one second later.
This method managed to stop the spread of the flames. Eventually, the flames and the shadows hit a balance.
Noticing it, both of them retreated, revealing the Saint of Slaughter and Eres in her flame form.
"What kind of monster are you?" The Saint of Slaughter asked heavily. "You should not be this strong."
Eres did not reply. In fact, she was just as surprised as the Saint of Slaughter.
Right now, she felt that she was stronger than ever. It was as though she had unlimited power.
She looked at her hands that had turned into transparent flames and furrowed her brows.
At that moment, a piercing pain hit her head, before disappearing one second later.
Eres frowned. She immediately realized that this power had a limit.
If she overused it, the price would not be low.
But now, she could not afford to worry about it.
With a thought, she created a ball of flames in her hand. Then, she threw it toward Bloed and Liu Ying.
The flames did not injure them. Instead, they turned into a layer of flames that adhered to their skin.
Bloed and Liu Ying looked at it in surprise.
However, the effects of the layer of flames soon became apparent.
When the monkey demigod's claws hit Liu Ying again, the flames spread to its body, burning violently.
"Aack!" The monkey screamed. It immediately released a wave of mana towards the flames, extinguishing them.
However, the flames had injured it.
Seeing that, the expression of the monkey changed.
Liu Ying's eyes lit up. She looked at the monkey with a playful smile.
"Nice."
Putting her fist together, Liu Ying narrowed her eyes and charged toward the monkey.
The monkey moved at great speed and avoided Liu Ying's charge, but when it was about to counterattack, it saw Eres' flames and hesitated.
Taking advantage of that, Liu Ying swung her fist sideways, forcing the monkey to retreat.
She followed up with a straight punch, grazing the monkey's cheek and burning it with the transparent flames, then, while the monkey extinguished the flames, she swung her knee towards its abdomen.
The monkey was forced to receive the attack with its arms, and Silent Touch's vibrations plus Eres's flames broke through his defenses. For the first time since the battle started, Liu Ying seemed to be at an advantage.
But at that moment, the monkey's eyes flashed coldly.
Suddenly, it raised its claw and swung it towards Liu Ying's neck. The attack was so fast that Liu Ying did not manage to react. She could only watch as the claw was about to slice through her throat.
But at that moment, an energy bullet hit the monkey's claw, deviating it.
Bloed, who had been paying attention to Liu Ying and Eres's battles, interfered as soon as he noticed Liu Ying's predicament.
But due to it, he was too late to avoid one of the wolf's attacks.
*Bam!*
"Ugh."
Grunting, he endured the arrow of wind that hit his shoulder and jumped aside. Fortunately, Tito's armor and Eres's flames mitigated part of the attack, otherwise, his left arm would have been blown off.
Even so, the attack injured Bloed. The movements of his left arm became slower, making his movements slightly awkward.
Noticing it, the wolf increased the intensity of its attacks.
It watched Bloed coldly as dozens of wind arrows rained towards him.
"Bloed!" Liu Ying panicked and looked in Bloed's direction, but that was a bad idea.
In the brief instant that Liu Ying was distracted, the monkey charged toward her.
It ignored the flames protecting Liu Ying and stabbed Liu Ying's throat with its claws.
But just when it was about to kill Liu Ying, it felt a piercing pain in its head that froze its movements.
"Now, Liu Ying!" Princess Elwha shouted. She had regained consciousness a while ago but feigned that she was still unconscious to wait for an opportunity.
And this was the perfect opportunity.
Even though she could stop the movements of the demigod monkey only for one second, it was enough.
Liu Ying was not going to miss this chance.
"[Silent Touch: One-Point Destruction]!"
With a growl, the demon girl used her right fist to hit the money's chest.
But then–
*Swoosh!*
A curtain of wind appeared in front of the monkey, blocking Liu Ying's blow.
Liu Ying opened her eyes wide. From the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the wolf sneering at her.
The next second, the monkey broke Elwha's technique.
"Ugh…" Elwha groaned painfully as blood slid out of her nose and eyes. She tried to use the same technique again, but the pain in her head made it impossible to focus.
As soon as the monkey broke Elwha's technique, it roared in anger. Its mana erupted violently as it disappeared from Liu Ying's sight, only to appear to her right and hit her waist.
"Agh…!"
The attack sent Liu Ying flying several meters away. Part of her waist was gouged out, and her vision became dizzy.
At the same time, Bloed failed to avoid another wind arrow and was hit on the chest.
Seeing that, Eres tried to help them, but the Saint of Slaughter attacked her with dozens of shadow beasts, making it impossible for Eres to help Bloed and Liu Ying.
"It's the end." The Saint of Slaughter stated indifferently.
"Yes, it's the end." And an ice-cold voice replied from the sky.
Before the Saint of Slaughter could react, an energy blade cut through the sky.
And his right arm was sliced off.