Chapter 156: Fusion (Part 1)
The wind howled, the smoke rampaged, and the fire blazed!
Carlos, the Sword Demon, and Tarlasya were hot on the heels of the Old Man. They couldn’t get too close to the Mad God—his terrifying skeleton was engulfed in Chaotic Fire, and the thick smoke billowed upward, spreading quickly all around and promising instant d*ath to anyone foolish enough to touch it.
As they circled the Deity Body, dodging the snake-like plumes of smoke that zipped by, Carlos shouted from a distance, “Little Shay—!”
It was only then that they got a real good look at the Mad God’s horrifying face, twisted and contorted into a grotesque parody of humanity.
Those bodies writhing in agony, licked by the flames, screamed in bone-chilling terror.
“Oh God.”
Tarlasya stared at the shadows, feeling his scalp tingle. The screams were even more terrifying than Dead Smoke, “What in the world are you?”
“LITTLE! SHAY!”
Carlos called out a second time, his voice strained.
But up there, in the inferno above the skeleton’s head, Little Shay didn’t respond.
“What’s going on…” Carlos looked serious, “Has she fainted?”
“Look closely, her eyes are glazed over!” Tarlasya yelled from a distance, just as they heard the Old Man’s powerful shout from above, “Get moving!”
Swish, swish, swish.
A faint breeze whispered, and no one quite saw where the Old Man was or how he acted.
But in the next moment, three razor-sharp sword energies tore through the smoke and BOOM! They struck the Mad God’s body. Just then, a thunderclap echoed as the Sword Demon launched a surprise attack, and a stunning bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens, slamming into the back of the Deity Body.
Meanwhile, Tarlasya raised his two swords high, unleashing a torrent of fire while Carlos muttered, “I really envy you flashy types…” And with a flash of lightning, avoiding the incoming smoke, he struck out with a sword, its invisible, slender edge coming down on that gigantic rib.
Whoosh!
The flames on the Mad God flickered.
The Deity Body remained motionless.
Whether it was the Sword Saint, the Sword Demon, or the two men, their combined strongest attacks crashed into the massive Dead Body, and the moment they made contact with the Black Fire, they melted away like mist.
The blazing fire was swallowed by the Black Fire, the sword tips shaking in the flames, and lightning didn’t even make a ripple. Instead, this little scuffle seemed to finally “wake up” the uninterested Dead Body, which raised its massive skull, its black, fire-glowing eyes locking onto the Old Man above.
“WATCH OUT, TEACHER—”
In the next moment, before anyone saw what the Mad God was up to, countless clouds of Dead Smoke burst forth from the Chaotic Fire, dense and thick, racing toward the Old Man!
“RETREAT!!!”
Carlos heard the Old Man’s thunderous shout, and those clouds of Dead Smoke were about to envelop the elderly figure when the wind roared violently, shaking the atmosphere. The swirling force instantly blew the Dead Smoke away, sending it racing back toward the Dead Body!
This sudden turn left Carlos and Tarlasya, who were still lingering near the Dead Body, taken aback.
“Get over here, quick!”
At the Old Man’s insistence, the two men transformed into lightning, darting back close to the ground, narrowly avoiding the rolling waves of smoke above their heads. However, when they looked back, they noticed the Mad God was contorting its giant Dead Body in an eerie way.
—It was gearing up!
In a moment of clarity, Carlos felt his heart race. He summoned all the electric energy in his body and heard the Old Man yell “here,” seeming to have landed nearby. Without a second thought, he zigzagged through the smoke toward the sound, while Tarlasya did the same.
The two arrived almost simultaneously at the back of the elderly figure standing firm in the gale, when suddenly, the Sword Demon Anacelis dashed over.
In the next instant, a torrent of Dead Smoke surged forth, like a black avalanche. The smoke rushed right at them, causing Carlos, the Sword Demon, and Tarlasya to reflexively step back. But they saw the Old Man standing tall, sword raised, ready to cleave through the front.
Boom—
The deafening roar of the wind erupted at the exact moment that sword swung out, generating monstrous waves of power!
In an instant, the “smoke wall” threatening to engulf everything split in two, the crashing waves of smoke parting around the Old Man’s body and tumbling backward, encircling everyone within.
But the roar of the wind wailed around them, forming a fierce tornado centered around the Old Man, engulfing Carlos, Tarlasya, and the Sword Demon, while the Dead Smoke couldn’t breach an inch. The Old Man’s earlier swing had created a nearly clear vertical tunnel of visibility, and the ominous Dead Body reemerged, its black flames flickering, swirling smoke revealing the figure of the girl atop its skull.
“Follow me.”
The Old Man said with a firm tone, pushing forward into the gap of Dead Smoke, racing toward the giant, grotesque head, his aged body moving swiftly as if he were a sword immortal. Carlos and the others trailed behind, feeling like they could never catch up.
Dead Smoke surged all around, eager to strike. If one were to elevate their gaze, the horrifying smoke was nearly covering the entire Holy City’s summit, blending with the equally turbulent smoke above. It wouldn’t be long before the Holy City was completely consumed.
“We don’t have much time!”
In the smoke, the Old Man addressed his companions behind him.
At the same time, the Dead Body could clearly sense the group charging toward it and seemed surprised—or perhaps enraged—that they weren’t being overwhelmed by the Dead Smoke. Its grotesque mouth opened wide, and a thick black fireball surged toward them.
“Left side!”
The Old Man calmly guided as he stepped left, and everyone followed closely, dodging the tumbling Chaotic Fire. Just as they landed, before they had even steadied themselves, another fireball erupted. The Old Man directed them again, narrowly avoiding danger while expanding the wind barrier around himself, pushing the Dead Smoke back several meters.
At this moment, they had truly come face to face with the Dead Body.
They saw the girl.
“Little Shay!!!” Carlos shouted anxiously.
“Hey, Silvya!” Tarlasya echoed, while the Sword Demon, without a moment’s hesitation, brandished his sword, sending a crackling bolt of lightning straight toward the girl’s face.
In their line of sight, the girl held a massive black-red scythe, enveloped in searing Infernal Fire, the blade embedded in the top of the skull, creating cracks as the scarlet flames surged within, making the Dead Body agitated, furious, unleashing its Chaotic Fire at the girl in an attempt to snuff out that bothersome Infernal Fire.
Yet the girl remained unfazed.
Her eyes were half-closed, lacking focus, her grip vice-like around the scythe. Below the ankles, her feet had melded with the Dead Body’s skull, deaf to Carlos and the others calling for her. The Sword Demon’s lightning struck the burning flames, only causing a few ripples before vanishing.
Only the branch of the Holy Tree, hovering by her face and emitting a faint white glow, reverberated with a dragon’s roar, sounding as if it were eager to strike!
“It’s it.”
The Old Man’s eyes brightened as he stared at the floating branch, “Dragon’s Haven—”
As he spoke, his hand reached into his pocket, pulling out a vibrant, golden, humming media ball.
