"Are you okay?"
"I... am tired. All this bloodshed, all these unnecessary deaths—for what? A flag. What pisses me off is that these demonic bastards refuse to stand down. If they just let us reach the flag, many would survive. What are they afraid of?"
Azrael sighed, his gaze filled with exhaustion. He wasn't physically or mentally tired after spending months in the Ebonhold, but emotionally, he was drained.
"Give me the stats for both sides."
Azreal leaped from the pile of corpses he'd been standing on and landed near Uriel.
"From the initial 1300, only 900 are left, some injured. Our prey *cough* enemies' numbers have dropped from 450,000 to somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000.
Some are still hiding, but many are around the flag. They've retreated, giving us time to rest," Uriel explained, feeling relief. In the Ebonhold, they didn't feel hunger, which kept many going.
Azrael's mind lingered on her slip of the tongue. Prey... he thought, but quickly dismissed it.
"Teng has been silently scouting the flag, counting those surrounding it. We can't set traps or prepare a battle strategy—an ambush is our only option. I think we should regroup and strike head-on."
"Many will fall. Is that the only option?"
"It's the one with the highest chance of success."
"Then do as you wish."
Azrael replied with a sigh, watching Uriel walk away with a strange, almost joyful stride. Her changes, wrought by the Ebonhold, unsettled him more each day.
He turned back to the piles of corpses and raised his right hand, activating his authority. His eyes tracked sparks from each body, signs of continuity, the souls of those who had passed.
The time he spent in the Ebonhold had allowed him to understand the state of death ,how souls interacted with the body.
However, his authority only affected those on the verge of death or those already passed.
He couldn't see the sparks of Uriel or the others because they were alive. The complexity of the souls of the living was beyond his current understanding, which limited his ability to interact with them.
"Nagorth."
Azrael clenched his fists. At that moment, the sparks from all the bodies around him vanished—those within his range and beyond. His authority severed their connection to the world.
The bodies could not be resurrected, nor could they be possessed. The souls had been given a permanent finality. Their states were irreversible by any means.
The battlefield grew still as Azreal ensured the dead would remain at rest, their existence sealed beyond recall.
....
"Heh those brats really gave you a run for your money huh "
"Of course not senior Gao, if we had your he..." A man tried to suggest, but a sledgehammer immediately landed on his face, killing him on impact.
"For a person who is at the 1st stage of the body tempering realm he sure has a loud mouth...is that why you used him as a scapegoat to escape my wrath" Gao asked as he retrieved his sledgehammer and looked at the demonic cultivators around him who looked away in shame.
Gao whose at the 5th initial stage of the body tempering realm had their lives in constant oppression and at his mercy making them forcefully obedient
"Sacrificing another for your own survival is more common than you think, husbands and wives abandon their families to seek the path of cultivation... bloodlust"Gao stood up and picked up his sledgehammer getting ready for battle as he looked afar he noticed silhouettes emerge from the shadows of the grand canyon
"What a physique, is that the rumoured martial constitution of the Demiurge clan how envious" Gao added as he observed Azrael's body with eyes full of envy
As Azrael approached, the moonlight bathed his lean, sculpted frame, emphasizing a build that was not robust but honed to perfection.
His strikingly handsome face stood out in sharp contrast to his black, midnight-hued hair and piercing neon-red eyes, which burned with bloodlust, creating an unsettling aura.
Behind him, the other descendants of the Demiurge clan followed, their presence no less imposing under the pale glow of the Ebonhold.
"MARVELOUS MARVELOUS, I have decided I'll wear your face after I rip it from your corpse the name's Gao wh-"
"You have a choice," Azrael said, his voice warm yet laced with unmistakable disdain. "Sacrifice yourself and hand over the flag. It's quantity versus quality—you may be the strongest here, but the demonic cultivators around you are woefully lacking. I mean, my side lost 400, while yours lost hundreds of thousands, so..."
Azrael's almost congenial tone only served to deepen the sting, making Gao's lips twitch in barely concealed annoyance.
"Damn, You're more arrogant than what they mentioned
Self-sacrifice is painted as noble, but isn't it often just fear? Fear of standing tall, of demanding more, of declaring, "I deserve to exist too."
In erasing yourself, you save no one. Instead, you carve into the world a cruel lesson—that your existence was disposable, a shadow that faded without protest or meaning." Gao replied as he shrugged his shoulders, he refused to be a martyr for those he deemed lesser than himself
"Wise words from a dead man, so are you really willing to fight to the death" Uriel questioned as she emerged from the shadows while dragging her great sword on the ground.
"Let's give them the flag an..."
Bam!
"I much prefer the sharpest criticism from a single-minded, intelligent individual to the thoughtless approval of the masses.
Blind obedience from fools is a liability, but a fool who dares to think for themselves is far worse—an unpredictable force, wielding reason without wisdom, sowing chaos where there should be order."
Gao chuckled as his sledgehammer collided with the head of the opinionated demonic cultivator, killing her on impact.
"The brutality of you demonic cultivators never ceases to amaze me" As he finished speaking, Azrael dashed towards Gao and the sword he took from Gin clashed with Gao's hammer.
Cling!!!
They began to exchange blows prompting those around them to begin fighting, although his strength compensated for his short form Azrael felt a challenge for the first time in the Ebonhold
"You're quite strong for someone your age little boy..it almost seems illogical huep" Gio instantly landed a hit on Azrael's sword making it crack on impact
"A sword is still just a sword," Azrael murmured as he dropped the sword to the ground. Closing his eyes, he began to channel his Qi.
It surged through him, coating his arms in a thin membrane that shimmered faintly.
Slowly, the membrane took on a faint red glow, its hue vivid enough to draw the attention of those nearby, their gazes fixed on the ominous hue.
"What is that? Us body-tempering cultivators cannot use martial or battle-based techniques. His level alone should prevent him from using them… This is all illogical."
"Let's just give them the flag," murmured some of the cultivators, their voices tinged with fear and confusion as they observed Azrael
Many felt the urge to surrender, but others were captivated by his enigmatic technique, intrigued by how he stood unscathed despite unleashing something entirely unfamiliar.
"That's not a martial arts technique," Gao said with a chuckle, his tone light but his eyes gleaming with greed, betraying his harmless demeanor. "It's something… odd. What did you do? I'm just curious."
Azrael smirked, his voice calm yet sharp. "How greedy. You feel threatened by an unknown variable, so you want a way to counter it. Very well."
He stepped forward, his voice growing firmer as he continued. "From the beginning, we were taught how to circulate Qi and its basics, but denied the privilege of cultivating it normally.
Forced to rely on our reserves, I saw it as a limitation, even unfair. But over time, I began to understand something deeper about Qi. Within the body, Qi flows like a river—steady and controlled.
For a brief moment when released, it undergoes a transformation, almost like combustion, turning into something far more intense and volatile.
This realization came when I tried to recreate my crescent blades. My reserves, however, were insufficient to sustain them, and they were never meant to be permanent. So, I devised a different approach.
By focusing Qi, I concentrated it around my arms, compressing its flow into something far more potent. This wasn't just enhancement—it was about turning dispersed Qi into concentrated Qi, amplifying its effect beyond anything I could achieve before.
This is my first time properly using this technique. It demands an immense toll on my reserves, but it works, and that's all that matters." Azrael shrugged with a prideful grin, but the sharp intensity of Gao's gaze unsettled him.
"What is the a prob...."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" Gao roared, his expression a mixture of frustration and disbelief. "Meridians, acupoints—without understanding those, you should have killed yourself!
I was once a scholar. I've dissected countless bodies to study the fundamentals. What inspired you to make such a reckless gamble?" Gao's predatory eyes bore into Azrael, his obsession to uncover the truth clouding his judgment.
"Four states of matter," Azrael replied in a blunt tone, his words leaving no room for further explanation. Gao's frustration grew, his annoyance barely concealed as Azrael's curt response shut down any opportunity for clarification.
"YOU BETTER TELL M—ARGGHHH!" Gao's roar turned into a scream of pain as a sword tore into his back, slicing him open. Blood spilled freely as he stumbled, struggling to stay upright.
Turning his head, he saw Uriel behind him, holding a massive greatsword radiating a faint red glow, its energy enhanced in a way eerily similar to Azrael's arms.
"you BITC-"
BAM!
A devastating punch slammed into Gao's face, the force so immense it sent him hurtling through the air like a ragdoll.
His body collided with a wall in an earth-shaking crash, the impact shattering stone and creating a massive crater.
The shockwave rippled outward, scattering debris as the entire structure trembled under the force.
"Wait, wait, wait—cough cough—we can talk—"
Gao's plea was cut short as two devastating dropkicks landed in quick succession. One smashed into his face, snapping his head back with a sickening crack, while the other drove into his pelvic area with bone-crushing force.
The impact sent him crashing into the ground, his body writhing in agony as the sheer force
As Gao struggled to stand, his eyes darted around desperately for an escape. His gaze landed on Teng, who was charging toward the flag, clearing a path by obliterating anyone who stood in his way.
"NO!!!" Gao shouted, his voice full of panic. He stumbled to his feet, attempting to move toward Teng to stop him, but was met with two punches to the face. The blows landed with brutal force, one after the other, leaving him no chance to retaliate.
"I was skeptical at first, but now I see," Azrael said with a grin, his voice dripping with disdain. "You don't have any Qi, do you?" He continued to land blow after blow, each punch rattling Gao's skull and leaving him dazed.
"Please stop, when I catch yo—"
"Catch who? Catch these hands," Uriel interrupted, her voice cold, filled with disdain and disappointment.
The twins didn't stop there. They unleashed a relentless barrage of strikes, each one more brutal than the last.
Their fists moved in perfect synchronization, delivering devastating combos that brought Gao to the verge of death.
The surrounding demonic cultivators and descendants of the Demiurge clan watched with a mix of disbelief and pity, witnessing the once-proud Gao being reduced to a broken shell of himself.
'No, this can't be it! No, no, no! My freedom!' Gao's thoughts spiraled in fear as every strike hammered him closer to his end.
"I DID IT! WE WON! WE CAN GO HOME!" Teng shouted, his voice filled with triumphant relief as he seized the golden flag.
At that moment, dense spiritual Qi and an unfamiliar aura descended upon the Grand Canyon. The demonic cultivators froze, their bodies wracked with agony as they turned to dust and disappeared from the Ebonhold.
'NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! WHY? WHY? WHY?' Gao's thoughts screamed in terror, but no matter how much he pleaded, his fate was sealed.
One by one, the descendants of the Demiurge clan began to collapse, their bodies succumbing to exhaustion and the overwhelming weight of the dense spiritual Qi.
'It's finally over,' Azrael thought with a faint, satisfied smile as he collapsed beside Uriel, his consciousness fading as the battle came to an end.
...
Merry Christmas 🎄