Chapter 261: First One Down
Ellie was quick to access her enhanced form. Her arms and legs grew bigger and stronger, while patches of fur appeared on them. Her canines emerged out of her mouth, as they grew a little too much. Her aura explosion caused the ground to shake, and her QI made the small rocks levitate all around her.
Ariana's face remained still, a look of shock painted over her visage. She had fought hundreds of beastmen before, but never did any of them show this kind of power. It was simply unfathomable for her, how a weakling (in her eyes) managed to do something even the strongest of her race struggled to do. However, her shock didn't end there, as the transformed Ellie disappeared from her position, only to appear in front of Ariana a moment later. A swipe with her gauntlets and the ground was gouged out.
"What a frightful power-up," said Ariana while hovering in the air. "The little kitten turned feral!"
"Is it okay?" a peaceful voice, which seemed to hum, called out to Ariana, "Is it okay for you to keep playing around like this?"
Similarly, a figure appeared next to Ariana in the sky. Except for this time, it wasn't a normal sized figure, but a gigantic one. Made entirely out of rocks, a golem, several tens of meters tall, swiped toward Ariana as if she was an annoying fly, which caused her to shoot straight to the ground.
"YOU! You weren't around here, how did you appear out of nowhere?!" she bellowed, as she gazed upon the figure sitting on the Golem's shoulder, Stephanie.
"I don't have any obligation to tell," Stephanie said, "but you are too laid back, you do know that we used a similar tactic in the Bloody war, right? Well, nothing too important. You're still not paying any attention, you know."
Ariana turned back immediately, and her face froze once again. In front of her, Eric had turned into an entirely different being. His skin was cracked, and green lines traveled all over his body. His QI oozed out of his body, and he exuded an aura of overwhelming power.
"Aiyah, your face tells me that you can't believe what's happening. What, never thought we could have hidden powers?" Eric asked, and his face turned emotionless...serious. "You should have known we wouldn't be pushovers!"
He swung his sword upwards, and the air separating him and Ariana broke into two. Her shoulder burst open, and blood flowed. Her scream came delayed, as she realized what had happened too late. Perhaps, she felt the looming danger, so she decided to summon her own Avatar.
A gigantic beast, rivaling the golem in height, appeared behind her. Black purple fur, thick, and harder than steel covered all of its body, including its face. Horn like red growth emerged out of its head, and its two red eyes shone even under the daylight. It roared, as it realized that its master's enemies were threatening her, and swiped down on them with its gigantic palm. But, before it could hit them, it was stopped by Stephanie's Golem.
"Everyone, leave this to me! You focus on her!" she announced, as she turned her focus back to the Avatar.
"You little brats..." Ariana struck the ground multiple times with her whip.
"Oh, are you finally annoyed? Will you be taking things more seriously now?" Eric taunted her with his words but didn't seem to be taking any effect on her. "Nothing, huh? Then it really is serious."
He rushed forward and slashed towards Ariana, but was blocked as she pulled her whip using both of her hands, increasing its elasticity. She quickly counterattacked, and a flaming snake emerged out of her whip. Upon making contact with Eric's body, however, it started to rotate around him at an astonishing speed, and in two seconds, the flames were no more.
"Rotating wind, I see. Anything that comes into contact with you, is actually hitting a wind barrier…" said Ariana.
"Exactly," affirmed Eric, "it's like a miniature Wind Wall."
Ellie appeared behind Ariana and struck at her with a closed flaming fist, but the latter managed to dodge just in time. The three continued to attack and dodge, none of them taking the chance of attacking more than once before disappearing away. However, Ariana was injured by a light that hit her uninjured shoulder. She looked over, and there to behold was Alicia.
"You…!" she said, "You can transform as well?! What is up with you bastards and transformations?!"
Alicia stood tall and powerful. Excalibur shone in her hands, and a pure white gown surrounded her body. Her hair, adorned with a silvery white crown gleamed under the sunlight.
"You, don't tell me you can transform as well?!" Ariana asked while looking at Hayato.
"Ah, it's not really a transformation, you see, Asmodeus is called the Demon sword for a reason," Hayato said with a smile, as black liquid oozed out of his sword. It started to climb up through his hands, and before long, had surrounded most of his body. His black eye burned in red light, and two bat-like wings emerged out of his back; he looked like a demon.
Hayato and Alicia stood next to each other, their colors contrasting each other. Both of them raised their swords and slashed with their full power. The black and white slashes merged together and struck Ariana, who was suspended in the air due to Eric locking the air around her, squarely in the chest.
She emerged out of the attack with blood flowing out of her chest wound and mouth. The four young'uns and the old witch started fighting nonstop. Far behind them, the demon Avatar managed to destroy the Golem, but far from being over, it was dragged down by another one, who Stephanie managed to create just in time. Three more Golems ran and jumped over it. Stephanie kept washing it over with soil and earth and managed to trap it underground.
Ariana and the four's fight shook the heaven and the earth. The dead soldiers from Blood sect had long since turned into dust, while the remaining ally soldiers chose to escape with their lives. They knew that they weren't going to be punished since one of their orders was to escape once only the leader was left.
Five elements battled in the air, and the dimensions around them twisted, turned, contracted, and expanded. Each attack left a scar on the earth, and the blood of the four combatants was the only apology they could provide. Dozens of time. Each of them plummeted to the ground dozens of times during every minute of the battle. Their bones screamed, and their flesh ripped and healed back by their natural power. No one present had ever fought any harder.
The four didn't give Ariana the chance to use a trump card, nor did they allow her to heal. It was all going according to Ed's plan. Then, once full of injuries, Ariana revealed an opening that all of them noticed.
"Meteor Impact!" shouted Ellie, as she drove a flaming fist, whose flames had turned white due to the intense heat, inside of Ariana's stomach, which sent her flying. As she coughed blood, she caught sight of white light and could feel her body losing its freedom.
"Let the Light judge you," said Alicia, as the light ropes she had sent acted as bindings.
Eric and Hayato mustered their remaining strength and released it all in one fell swoop. A black slash, which consumed everything in its way, and a green slash which grew stronger as it absorbed more air; the two slashes connected with Ariana's head and heart, piercing through the both of them.
The demon, which had just managed to crawl out of its earth prison, disappeared into nothingness. Ariana's limp body fell down to the ground, and the young'uns surrounded her. Their battered and injured bodies suddenly felt a jolt of energy surge through them.
.
.
.
Back in the previous battlefield, Ed, whose neck was clutched by No-bō's hand, smiled.
*DING*
Acquired 800.000.000 Exp.
Acquired Gacha ticketx10.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Shigun
Shigun Ho ho ho, I'm back, and I brought a late Christmas present! Enjoy the present everyone, and know that I will try to publish daily from now on!
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-- Power
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