[Golden Organization Hideout.]
Deep within the Golden Organization's hideout, Darkness sat, her body still as a statue as she meditated, restoring and stabilizing her power.
Moment next; Her eyes snapped open.
"How is he?" she asked, her voice a low hum.
Dracula's gaze fell to the floor, his fists clenched. "He is dead."
Darkness rose slowly, a cold, killing intent swirling in her eyes.
"Something isn't right," she muttered, staring at her own hand.
"That little girl shouldn't have so much power. We are in the same Ascendant rank, yet I've fused with two of my darkness spirits' souls... Do I have to find the remaining three before I can destroy Cordelia?! And who the hell is that God who helped them!?"
Her enraged scream filled the room, and a wave of dark energy burst from her, shattering every piece of glass.
"We suffered a huge blow today... but so did they," she said, her voice softening slightly.
"Even if it's for just a few days, the loss of their people will stick with them." She turned to Dracula, her gaze firm.
"We won't back down. We must avenge our fallen! What about Lincoln?"
"I tried to stop him," Dracula replied:
"but he's going after the one who killed his son."
"That's stupid!" Darkness sighed, a weary note in her voice.
"Advika is surrounded by powerful Awakeners and tamers. What can he do?" She shook her head.
"So troublesome... Forget him for now. We must think of a new plan."
Suddenly, a voice, eerie and ancient, echoed in her mind.
*****A New Plan!?*****
Goosebumps erupted all over her body. 'Who?! Who are you?!' she screamed inwardly.
*****You dare question me?!*****
A guttural scream tore through her mind as she collapsed to her knees, clutching her head in agony.
"This... What rank are you on?!" she gasped.
Dracula watched, dumbfounded, frozen in place. He had never seen his Master in such pain.
'Whoever caused this is a lot stronger than Master... Saying anything might get me killed,' he thought.
*****Are you still Questioning me?!!!*****
"No! No!" Darkness shrieked, the pain unbearable.
*****Good... I have the rest of your soul fragments. If you want them, you have to come to me... Location: At the end of Alvin continent, cross the Dead Sea... Come find me.*****
The agony vanished as quickly as it had come. Darkness blinked, the world coming back into focus, and she looked up at Dracula.
"What happened?" he asked, his confusion evident.
"I just found my other soul fragments," she said, a slow smile spreading across her face.
"Get ready. We are leaving this place in an hour."
Though he was still confused, Dracula simply nodded. "Yes, Leader."
________
[The next day.]
[Zenith Office.]
Zenith stared blankly at the documents on her desk.
"Although everything is settled," she muttered to herself, "we still lost so many soldiers and people... And most of our beasts are injured."
Just then, the door was thrown open, and two guards rushed in.
"What now?" Zenith asked, a frown deepening on her face.
"Commander! Lincoln is at the border!" the guard reported. "Yelling Advika's name!"
BAM!!
Zenith slammed her palm on the desk, rising to her feet. "How bold!" she hissed.
"Let's go! Does that old fool not know the Evander family is under the protection of the Valhalla family?! In the whole of Cordelia, they are clearly untouchable!"
_____
At the city's edge, Lincoln stood atop a massive black-scaled dragon, his voice raw as he screamed:
"Advika! Come out!"
Behind him, four more gigantic dragons stood watch, their gazes fixed on the city gates.
"How many times have I said this?" Philip asked, a bored expression on his face as he sipped his tea.
"Advika is in the city. She won't hear you, no matter how loud you shout... The soldiers training won't even hear you."
"Because of your small victory, you are this arrogant before me?" Lincoln spat.
"Do you know I can burn down this city?!"
"Burn down this city?" Philip turned to his subordinates, and they all erupted in laughter.
"Hahaha! Burn down our city?! What a moron!" one of them guffawed.
"He's truly a fool! You want to join your dead son, right?!" another sneered.
"What a stupid man... Coming here with five divine-stage dragons, and he thinks he owns the world." a third one added.
Lincoln's teeth gritted in rage. "You!"
"Okay. Okay. Stop laughing," Philip said, his eyes now glowing gold.
"We don't even need our Transcendent masters. We alone can take you out." He snapped his fingers.
"Come out, my girl."
BOOM!!
The space behind him cracked open, and a huge red snake dragon flew out, hovering over the city wall.
"A peak Divine-stage beast? One step from Sky stage?" Lincoln's eyes widened in shock.
"LINCOLN!!!!!"
Everyone turned their heads toward the city. A huge eagle was flying toward them, with Zenith standing on its head, radiating fury. The eagle unleashed a massive fireball that shot toward Lincoln with deadly accuracy.
"This?!" Lincoln yelled. "Defense!"
His dragon summoned a barrier just as the attack slammed into it, shattering the shield into a million specks of light.
"This?!" Lincoln stammered, flying off the dragon as the raging flames consumed the divine-stage beast, turning it to ashes.
He landed on another dragon and coughed up a mouthful of blood from the backlash.
"You can't even face me, and you want to kill Advika?!" Zenith hissed from atop her beast.
"How foolish of you!"
"When did your beast break through into the Sky rank?!" Lincoln yelled.
"Hmph... And you expect me to reveal anything to you?"
Lincoln gritted his teeth, looking at Zenith's beast, then at Philip's.
"Okay then... You want to go all out? Fine by me! All of you, join for the Ultimate Attack!" He infused his life force into all four dragons.
"The fifth one is dead! But that doesn't mean this attack isn't strong enough to wipe out one-third of your city! Even if I die, I won't die alone!" he yelled.
Everyone's expression turned serious as the four dragons opened their mouths wide, sending out four different-colored flames that merged together to form a colossal fireball.
"I will use all my life force! There's no way you will survive this!" Lincoln's eyes glowed blue.
"He is going all out!" Philip yelled, looking up at Zenith.
"He isn't the only one who can go all out," Zenith said, lightly tapping her eagle's head with her foot. But before she could speak, a figure flew past her, heading directly toward the merging fireball.
".....?!!"
Everyone was stunned.
"What the hell?" Lincoln frowned, yelling, "Unleash!"
The four dragons released their attack in unison, sending the massive fireball toward the unknown attacker.
BOOOOOOM!!
A massive explosion rocked the air.
Everyone was frozen, their eyes wide as they stared at the blast.
"Did that person... chest the flames?" Philip muttered to himself.
"How cute."
He turned to the side to see Katherine and Adonis walking toward them, with Phoenix and Xing following behind.
"Why are you guys here?" Philip asked, confused.
"We were on our way to a hunt—"
"I won't call it a hunt," Katherine cut Adonis off. "We are looking for a special type of beast."
Zenith frowned. 'If these guys are here, then who...' She turned to the explosion, seeing Advika standing there, her body enveloped completely in flames.
"Advika," she whispered.
"Yep... We heard the yelling, and she rushed over," Katherine said, walking to the edge of the wall.
"Advika is someone who never breaks her promise."
"Promise? What do you mean?" Philip asked with a frown.
"The attack on the city," Adonis explained.
"Leon was the one who brought those undead into the city, and even though he's dead, he caused a lot of damage. Advika promised my mother she would kill every single one of them. Lincoln is on the list."
"....?!"
Philip and Zenith looked at each other, then at Phoenix and Xing.
"What beast are you five after?" Zenith asked.
"A beast that requires two Supreme-rank, two Transcendent-rank, and one Ascendant-rank."
"That, my girl, is a secret," Phoenix said flatly.
"Yes, second Transcendent master... But... I have a wish," Zenith said.
"And what is that?" Xing asked, frowning slightly as she looked at Advika.
"Can I come with you?"
The four were stunned into silence.
______
"Advika! You finally came out of hiding!" Lincoln smirked. "Now die!"
Moment next; He dropped to his knees, vomiting a mouthful of blood onto his dragon's head.
"You used all of your life force on that attack," Advika said, her voice cold.
"Do you think you have any left to use?"
A huge ball of black flames appeared before her, a hundred times stronger than Zenith's eagle fireball.
".....?!"
Lincoln's face instantly went pale as the fireball grew, covering the sunlight for a hundred kilometers. Everyone in the city turned their heads to the black orb of destruction.
"Such a strong skill?! How dense is your life force?!" he yelled.
"To tell you the truth... I have infinite life force..."
"Infinite?! How is that possible?" Lincoln asked, shakily getting back to his feet.
"I take life force from the planet," Advika sneered. "The only way I will be drained is if the planet gets destroyed."
Lincoln froze in horror, seeing death standing right in front of him.