The explosion unleashed enough energy to illuminate the entire higher plane. The event wasn't only powerful. It was also massive, and many battlefields outside the green cloud ended up being affected.
Of course, even if Marcella claimed to have bottomless energy reserves, her attacks couldn't have unlimited range. The wave of energy lost power before leaving the cloud, so the other major experts could easily fend it off once it reached their battlefield.
Still, that sheer show of power put Marcella above the other leaders in many experts' minds. She appeared far too strong to be a mere cultivator at the peak of the ninth rank.
The green cloud resumed its expansion once the bright energy left its edges. Magical plants grew and flourished due to the absence of attacks crashing on their structure.
The scarlet dragons had disappeared, and the same went for the orange portals. Only Marcella remained inside the green cloud, but she knew that victory had yet to come. Her gaze remained fixed on a spot in front of her, where an orange radiance soon began to shine.
Divine Demon, Maribel, Sepunia, the odd dragon, and the space dragon slowly materialized among the orange light. They appeared confused about that teleport, but an explanation quickly became evident.
The space dragon growled in pain while spitting black blood from its mouth. Its figure featured holes and cracks that dimmed its orange color, and one of its wings had disappeared.
Divine Demon's armor was nowhere to be seen. The explosion had destroyed every trace of his power, but only the space dragon featured injuries. The others in the group were perfectly fine, without the slightest wound on their bodies.
"It protected us," Maribel gave voice to the thoughts that her companions shared.
Many pairs of eyes inevitably fell on Divine Demon. He had never said anything specific, but his companions had already appointed him as the leader of that team. Maribel, Sepunia, and the odd dragon wanted to hear his opinion about the space dragon's state, but that didn't arrive quickly.
Divine Demon stretched his hand toward the injured creature and ran his fingers over its smooth surface. He could sense scales hidden under that seamless orange color, but his focus wasn't on something so superficial.
Divine Demon closed his eyes to probe the depths of the space dragon's mind. The old rulers and King Elbas had deeply altered its species and purpose, turning it into something similar to a living weapon. Still, Divine Demon wanted to hear the intentions hidden past those thorough modifications.
"It won't last long if it keeps fighting," Sepunia commented before glancing at the odd dragon.
"Its endurance brings pride to my kind," The odd dragon announced, "But it remains limited."
"There must be inscriptions capable of stabilizing its condition," Maribel pointed out. "We can send it to Pellio and buy enough time for its recovery."
"You plan to deny this creature's purpose," Divine Demon declared.
Maribel didn't want to contradict Divine Demon, but the space dragon was a priceless asset that the landmass' forces couldn't lose. She was willing to argue if that helped her organization.
"You sent June away for similar reasons," Maribel stated. "There is a difference between determination and suicide."
Divine Demon opened his eyes and retracted his hand as he turned toward Maribel. The latter couldn't help but experience some fear under that heavy gaze, but the pressure radiated by her powerful companion soon transformed into faint sadness.
"The dragons are already dead," Divine Demon revealed.
Maribel couldn't say anything in front of that statement. Still, some of Divine Demon's sadness seeped into her mind and allowed her to understand his mental state. He didn't enjoy that situation at all.
Divine Demon didn't let his feelings affect his role. He turned toward Marcella as soon as he confirmed that the group had understood his intentions, and words inevitably came out of his mouth. "The break is over."
"Good," Marcella exclaimed. "I was getting worried."
Marcella lifted an arm to point it at Divine Demon, and the vegetation around her instantly reacted. Every plant shook and accelerated its growth while the whole array advanced.
Ethereal whips came out of the many flowers among the vegetation, and Marcella added more attacks during the advance. Bright petals appeared and prepared themselves to explode, giant trees expanded their reach to protect the whole array, and poisonous gas came out from some areas.
Marcella didn't stop there. Tall plants grew from specific spots of her technique to create flowers capable of shooting piercing bullets. Other plants appeared and filled the whole area with leaves that could resist fire.
Each of those plants seemed to express the peak of its field. Marcella could summon the best vegetation the higher plane had ever seen, and all her creations carried her overwhelming power.
The technique had changed shape and level of danger, but Divine Demon faced it without showing any fear. He raised a hand, and a pack of giant dragons filled his surroundings. They all carried the space dragon's maimed appearance, but their roars appeared unaffected by those fake injuries.
Divine Demon showed his respect for the upper tier companion before shooting forward. The pack flew with him, and the same went for the space dragon. As for the others, they remained behind since they couldn't join the imminent exchange without the portals' protection.
The space dragon summoned the entirety of its remaining power to create a space-time array that forced the vegetation to freeze for a single second. Its wounds expanded during the process, but Divine Demon didn't waste that chance.
The scarlet dragons crashed head-on on the vegetation while transforming into sharp attacks that severed as many plants as possible. More energy flowed in their insides once they started to deplete their power, and a partial success eventually arrived.
Marcella could only watch as the dragons severed her away from most of her creation. They limited her connection to the plants in her immediate surroundings, but she didn't hesitate to attempt to restore it once she regained control of her movements.
However, Divine Demon appeared in front of her at that point. Many plants divided the two, and Marcella had even filled that space with some of her toughest creations, but Divine Demon disregarded everything as he snapped his fingers.
Marcella and the plants around her suddenly took fire. Scarlet flames danced above the vegetation severed from the rest of the array, but they failed to pierce the special leaves that Marcella had prepared beforehand.
Still, the flames suddenly stopped flickering and transformed into an ethereal fluid that seeped inside the plants and forced them to rot from their insides. Countless flowers wilted, and blood-red spots even appeared on Marcella's body.
The infection expanded until Marcella felt forced to create new petals that enveloped her figure and attempted to heal her. Yet, Divine Demon teleported in front of her before the cocoon could close, and a sea of blood-red energy immediately exploded outward.
Marcella burnt under the raging might unleashed by the explosion. Her skin disappeared and showed its many defensive layers, but even they crumbled under Divine Demon's unstoppable power.
It didn't take long before the entirety of Marcella's body vanished among the blood-red sea. The attack pierced her previous spot and continued to fly until it crashed into the sky behind, where it finally dispersed into the void.
Traces of happiness appeared on the three companions who had remained behind, but that feeling vanished in no time. The vegetation that Divine Demon didn't target remained strong and healthy. Actually, more flowers grew from the various magical plants, which meant that the source of their power was still alive.
A blinding green light appeared above the space dragon while Divine Demon was still busy inspecting the area in front of him. A cocoon made of petals materialized, and Marcella's intact figure came out when it opened.
The space dragon was in no condition to activate another technique, and dodging wasn't an option either. Roots quickly came out of Marcella's body and pierced the creature in multiple spots. The already wide cracks expanded under those attacks until everything crumbled into a rain of orange shards.
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