Wu Gurang’s Fury
The platform was a scene of utter devastation.
Raphael lay sprawled on the ground, his golden hide was ripped and torn, blood oozed from his wounds. His limbs and those massive hooves he'd once used to crush those who offended him, were scattered.
Beside him, Qi Fenwei's once-magnificent amethyst armor was shattered. Her feathers were scattered like fallen leaves, and her remaining limbs twitched feebly. She was alive, but barely.
A short distance away, Gastaroid's mountain had been split into 2,023 pieces. They lay scattered, resembling a morbid puzzle that no one would dare to solve. His head, severed cleanly, was leaking lava that sizzled and hardened as it touched the frosty platform.
And near Gastaroid's head, Lu Jade's emerald form lay motionless, severed in two. His scales were dull, his life essence flickered like a dying ember.
It was a massacre.
Above them, Wu Gurang hovered, she gazed down upon the carnage. She was breathing softly. She had incurred a few injuries, but a smug grin stretched across her snout.
"Did you BRATS truly think you could CHALLENGE me? Did you not hear my name?! I AM Wu Gurang, the Shadow Ice Fox! A 1st Layer Emperor Calamity! Those pathetic attacks… They didn't even tickle my hide!"
She shook her head, amused by their foolishness, "You didn't even have a ONE PERCENT chance of defeating me, not when those fools who crawled beneath my paws for centuries could barely even graze my furs. You should have acted more pleasantly, perhaps bowed a bit lower, or kindly asked me to discipline you for the next three hours, then maybe, just MAYBE, I would have obliged! Maybe I would have gone a bit softer on you! But…"
She paused for dramatic effect.
"…it is too late for REGRETS now! What's DONE is DONE! These brats are DEAD as SHIT! Fuhuhuhu!"
Her laughter resounded across the dome. But then…
As she was about to savor her victory, a horrifying realization hit her. She scanned the platform.
"Hmm… Wasn't it FIVE… who ENTERED?"
Her gaze darted from one mangled corpse to another. They were all accounted for, except…
"Where is that… TREE?! Did I knock her out of bounds? Yes, that MUST be it…"
She was about to dismiss Thienika as an insignificant casualty, when…
A chilling voice came from behind her.
"Natural Phenomenon – Damage Reflect!"
"Hmmm?" Wu Gurang froze. She slowly turned.
And her jaw dropped.
There, hovering a few feet above the ground, was Thienika. Her silver-bark skin glowed with a gentle, white light. In one hand, she clutched her staff, and in the other…
"Leaf Orbs?"
Wu Gurang stared in disbelief as dozens of sparkling, translucent spheres, each pulsating with a strange energy, rose from her vanquished opponents' corpses. These 'Leaf Orbs' converged towards Thienika's outstretched hand as if they had a life of their own!
Within those orbs, she saw horrifying images: shattered bones, ripped flesh, a swirling vortex of primal energies! It was as if she were witnessing the very essence of her victims' pain.
"Hmmm… That tree woman… She wasn't knocked outside? But how…? She's only a lowly 1st Layer Calamity, surely her defenses couldn't have withstood my 'Rage Emitter'?"
Even as she pondered, a chilling premonition, a gut-wrenching truth, had her tail trembling. The energy within Thienika's grasp, that warmth… It wasn't simple Solar Essence. It was something more.
And then…
Thienika began to rise.
She soared upwards. Her lanky form was radiating a strength and a resolve that defied her frail appearance. Those starlight leaves of hers, they spun around her like a halo of defiance!
"How… BOLD!"
"RAGE EMITTER!"
Wu Gurang didn't hesitate! She lashed out again!
Her entire body pulsed with that invisible, destructive energy! It was an omnidirectional attack, blasting the mangled corpses below away.
But…
Thienika was ready.
"REGAL COUNTER!"
BOOM!
She slammed her staff against the air and unleashed an unseen force that had the air itself warping and bending.
And then…
Those dreadful energies, the ones that had shattered bones and ripped flesh mere moments ago…
They were reflected!
"Impossible! How… how can she…?!"
Wu Gurang stared in shock. This tree woman, she'd deflected her most potent attack? It defied logic! Her pride wouldn't let it stand!
"Hmph!" She snorted and swatted her massive paw downwards at Thienika! It was a casual yet devastating attack.
Seeing that massive paw descending, Thienika smirked.
"This… is what I've been waiting for!"
"ROYAL GUARD!"
She thrust her staff forward, and a translucent shield materialized, just in time to block the paw's devastating blow.
And in that instant…
As the paw hit…
Wu Gurang froze!
She was trapped in a stasis field, her form locked in mid-motion, but her eyes, they were wide with disbelief.
This…
This was power she hadn't felt before!
"Impossible! It's as if… the very fabric of reality is resisting me…!"
Those dreadful thoughts, however, died a swift death as Thienika acted. This opportunity to claim victory, those few milliseconds of stillness… she wouldn't waste it!
WHOOSH!
Thienika shot upwards!
BOOM!
And in that heartbeat, she slammed the large 'Leaf Orb' she'd created into Wu Gurang's nostrils!
The stasis ended.
And instinctively…
Wu Gurang inhaled!
The Leaf Orb, carrying the combined essence of Raphael's team's pain and injuries…
It was lodged deep within her brain!
"No…!"
BOOM!
The Leaf Orb exploded!
"ARGHHHHHHH!"
Wu Gurang shrieked.
Her massive form shuddered as a terrifying pain shot through her! It was as if every injury, every wound she had inflicted on Raphael's team…
It was reflected back at her, a thousand-fold!
Her right eye which had healed earlier completely exploded!
Her tail ripped apart!
Her legs shattered!
Blood splattered, painting the platform crimson.
And as she writhed in agony…
A faint buzzing and flickering had her gaze turning downwards, "Those… insects…?"
Below her, Raphael, Qi Fenwei, Lu Jade, and Gastaroid were…
…regenerating!
Their wounds were knitting back together at an alarming rate.
Bones mended. Scales reformed.
Flesh solidified.
Feathers sprouted!
And within a few seconds…
They were whole once more.
"Hmm…" Gastaroid stared at his reanimated body with a hint of awe. "That old hag… her 'Natural Phenomenon' trick, it's truly remarkable. To have those energies coursed through me? It's like a blood bath, without the blood!"
But his amusement at being healed, it died instantly!
"GASTAROID! DO it NOW!"
"This bull! How dare he…!"
Gastaroid was annoyed. But he also recognized the urgency in Raphael's voice, and deep down, those pangs of gratitude for being healed, compelled him to act.
"FINE!"
He blasted into the sky! His molten form soared above Wu Gurang's collapsing figure, and those who watched this spectacle from afar wondered, "What is he doing?"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
From his mountainous body…
…six 'Bull Demon Pillars' erupted!
They shot downwards!
Their obsidian tips slammed into her back, her flanks, and her legs!
Wu Gurang howled in pain!
"ARGHHHH! These pillars! They're… DRAINING me!"
She struggled, but the pillars held firm.
Gastaroid laughed.
"Muwahahaha! I told you! I would make you pay for that earlier insult, fox! Those pillars are a gift! A memento of our encounter! Embrace them!"
She glared up at Gastaroid. "You… You think these… these worthless attacks can DEFEAT ME?! Such arrogance! You… BULL! I'LL CRUSH you ALL!"
But her words were laced with fear. She could feel it, her Solar Essence draining rapidly. It was like a river rushing out of a broken dam!
"No… I can't lose! Not like this! Not to these insects…"
Hearing her pronouncements, Raphael chuckled, for surely wasn't desperation a powerful motivator, a catalyst for those grand, ambitious plans.
He then shouted to Gastaroid, "Hold her there!"
And to his team members who'd recovered their strength, "Gather here! BEHIND me! NOW!"
"Damn it! That bull…" Gastaroid grumbled, but he adjusted the positioning of his 'Bull Demon Pillars' with a grunt. They pressed harder, forcing Wu Gurang closer to the platform.
She was almost kneeling!
"MOVE IT! We don't have all DAY!" Raphael's bellow shook her very being.
Qi Fenwei, Lu Jade, and Thienika rushed toward him as the others looked on in confusion.
"What's he doing?!"
"They're going to attack together, but… it's useless. She's too strong!"
"They're idiots!"
Those whispers died as they witnessed a horrifying sight. Gastaroid lowered himself with a groan, "Fine!" He'd created a platform for Raphael! His molten body was now their foundation, their anchor!
With their team gathered, their Solar Essences began to merge.
A brilliant white light engulfed Raphael's form! Golden sparks from Shao Jin's remnants danced! Emerald-green energy pulsed from Lu Jade's scales! Qi Fenwei's Black Wind Lightning crackled! And Thienika's starlight essence flowed through them, a combination of power!
Raphael was now a beacon of chaotic yet unified energies!
He then extended a hand.
And in that moment…
…a golden key materialized!
He gripped the key tightly and with a swift movement, pushed it forward and turned clockwise.
The air rippled.
"What…?"
Wu Gurang's stared in horror. A chilling awareness of impending doom had her struggling with renewed ferocity. She had to break free! But those pillars, they were draining her, slowly, inexorably.
And then…
She saw it.
"That's…"
"No! It can't BE! NOOOOOOOOO!"
BOOM!
A monstrous drill, constructed from seven black metal rings adorned with blue gems and spiraling runic symbols, materialized. It was colossal! Its presence warped the very air! The drill spun with a horrifyingly loud whirring sound.
It positioned itself between Raphael's horns.
And at its tip…
WHOOSH! CRACKLE!
…a cerulean energy beam gathered. Growing larger, more potent with every second.
Raphael was channeling the combined power of his teammates into the drill.
And from his very core…
"HELIOS STREAM!"
A golden beam shot forth, merging with the drill! It amplified the cerulean energies!
The drill's seven black rings spun faster. The air around it was almost severed.
"ABSALOM DRILL – FIRE!"
He shouted!
BOOM!
The drill unleashed its devastating power in a concentrated blast that seemed to shatter the very fabric of reality!
And while this blast was being unleashed, the platform Gastaroid had created with his molten essence remained firm and unshakable.
"Muwahahaha! This is FUN!" He laughed.
"Damn! This power! I'VE never tasted anything like it! Is THIS what it feels like to be an Emperor Calamity?! Yes… Yes… YESSSSS!"
His ecstasy, his shared desires to conquer, had those others on his team groaning as their Solar Essence were depleted, but they understood. This power, this unified energy, it was breathtaking.
…
Above them,
Wu Gurang was barely holding on. She watched the drill's terrifying cerulean energy approach.
"Hmph!" She extended a paw, and before her…
…a majestic shield materialized.
It was a kaleidoscope of glowing, spinning geometric patterns.
Each shape throbbed with potent Solar Essence.
"Geometric Bastion, arise!"
BOOM!
The 'Absalom Drill's' beam struck!
The shield held!
But Wu Gurang was pushed backwards!
The sheer force of the attack was dragging her across the platform, leaving behind deep, gouges in its delicate surface.
She gritted her teeth as she struggled against the relentless assault!
"No! I WON'T be defeated… Not by these… INSECTS!"
One minute passed.
Two minutes.
Then, after three agonizingly long minutes…
The beam faltered. It flickered, and then…
…it died.
The 'Absalom Drill' sputtered. Its rings slowed, and with a final, metallic clang…
It shattered!
The fragments dissolved, reverting back into a golden key that fell onto the platform with a soft thud.
Raphael collapsed, those coughs returned, more blood splattered across the platform.
"Haaaa… Huff! Huff!" His breaths came in ragged gasps. His golden form trembled.
He was utterly exhausted. Completely drained.
The others also slumped onto the platform, panting and groaning.
They had given it their all.