The roc shot forward like a cannonball, appearing right in front of the snake.
He swiped his right talon, aiming for the snake's eyes.
'' Impudent! '' The snake hissed and twisted his head to the left, barely dodging the talon at an inch length.
He opened his mouth and a dense golden flame left his mouth.
The roc felt a sudden threat encase him, immediately he saw that golden flame. He bent his wing at a forty-five-degree angle upward and shot into the space above the snake.
The golden flame was about a metre long, and it moved at an instantaneous speed. Even Jerouch who was at the end of the wall far from where the battle was happening, felt his heart filled with trepidation as his body quivered.
The roc squinted his eyes, seeing the power behind the attack and dived downward again. This time, though, he aimed to attack the snake from his blind spot.
His wings turned in mid-air as he twirled and slashed with the edge of his left wing.
The snake sneered and compressed his body backwards, he watched as the tip of the wing grazed his skin, but that was his aim.
His neck abruptly elongated, and he twisted it, attacking the wing directly.
With the wing in his mouth, he yanked his head backwards, and the inertia force threw the roc away in an angular trajectory.
Bam!
The roc's body collided with one of the statues, and a terrifying shockwave spread from the centre.
'' Eh? '' Both Jerouch and the snake were agape as they saw what happened next.
The roc had actually appeared at the rear of the snake and struck…
Jerouch couldn't explain what speed that was. He knew when the roc crashed on one of the statues, but neither he nor the giant serpent saw when he appeared behind the snake.
The silver aura seemed to condense on the roc's wing to form a sharp blade edge, and he quickly struck the tail of the snake.
'' Ssshrllll! ''
A high note never before heard, travelled far and wide, and even Jerouch who was cloaked in the silver aura found his whole body vibrating as the sound reached him.
Some of his visceral organs were even punctured, leaving him with a myriad of internal injuries.
'' Urghh! '' A low grunt that was barely audible left his mouth, accompanied by blood.
The snake's eyes became vicious as they shone with greater intensity.
The snake opened his one-metre-wide mouth, revealing his long, sharp canines.
What followed next was thick venom. The venom gushed out from his mouth like a fountain and spread everywhere.
The roc made different turns and manoeuvres as he glided in mid-air gracefully.
Two golden flames, without warning, shot out targeting the large bird.
The snake himself propelled his body forward as it made a quick jump into the air. His flexible body danced in the air as it twisted and twirled.
He instantly closed the gap, blocking all escape points. His eyes and the roc's eyes clashed, and he released a jet of corrosive breath.
'' Kruuu! ''
Jerouch heard the agonizing screech of the roc, and he couldn't stop himself from grabbing his chest as he felt his heart contort in pain.
He was also constantly racking his head for any possible solution he could come up with, but everything led to one endpoint…
Death!
He could not even walk close to the two beasts, as just their auras alone would blast him to smithereens.
The roc, on the other hand, was beyond infuriated. Even though the snake was above him in rank, he still considered it as his prestige being trampled on, and he would not let that slide.
Even though he wasn't too savvy with his bloodline, his bestial Instinct was telling him that the snake was an inferior nobody who he must show where he belonged.
The same could be said for the snake. He also felt that the roc was the key he lacked for all this while.
If he could kill the roc, and purify his bloodline, not only would he advance, but his evolution would also come with a greater reward.
Jerouch and the roc were suddenly alarmed as soon as they felt the aura of the snake change.
He was finally going all out. As his eyes shone with madness and greed.
The surrounding temperature suddenly skyrocketed, and Jerouch at first thought he had been transferred to a furnace.
He felt the hall getting brighter which made him raise his head and what he saw made his heart quiver in despair and horror.
His hands were shaking uncontrollably, and he felt drained in his two legs, which suddenly felt too weak to support his weight.
Thud!
His two knees fell to the ground, but his eyes were still looking above.
Bright golden flames formed a thick cloud that enveloped the entire hall, basking the surroundings with hot golden radiance.
There was no room for escape. They were trapped, and they would die.
The roc saw this and he also felt shaken. Even if he managed to survive it, his human benefactor would without a double die from this attack.
Furthermore, he had been using his bloodline hierarchy to suppress the snake, if not, the battle would've ended faster in his loss.
Using his bloodline to suppress another beast, however, was extremely draining. He could feel mana leaving his body as though a powerful suction force was sucking it out.
Everything would be decided with this final attack, as he couldn't waste the little mana left in him.
The cloud of golden flame shone even brighter like a sun and then…
It was as if the sky were falling apart as the entire inferno cloud began to fall from the roof of the hall.
The roc's eyes constricted as he summoned all his mana to cast his final attack.
Jerouch's attention was pulled away from the falling fiery cloud as he glanced his head in the roc's direction.
The ferocious bird was unmoving as he spread his wings wide open in mid-air as if he was a divine guardian welcoming the attack.
A terrifying aura began to leak from the roc, and Jerouch could feel a crisp, sharpness reaching for him.
He was not the target of the attack, yet his skin was being lacerated just from that aura.
A thick silver blade that was dozens of meters in length suddenly left the roc's wing and appeared instantaneously before the inferno cloud…