Appearing above the Phoenix, I patiently waited for her to realize I had moved from my spot, which didn't take long as a few moments later, she suddenly looked up and angrily eyed me, much to my annoyance since I just wished to relax a little.
While looking at me, she opened her flaming beak and released a loud screech, much louder than the previous, following suit; her body started growing in size while her flames got brighter and hotter, changing from a dark red to a soft blue. Once she finally stooped screaming, her body was roughly four times her previous size, though, in comparison, her strength had massively increased; her previous cultivation base of a middle Divine had been enhanced to a staggering late Divine King, a full two major realm increase and then some.
'For her to increase her cultivation base so much, she must've used a forbidden technique; she truly wishes to see me dead.' Thought Elif with a frown while looking at the giant flaming blue Phoenix.
Although she was now a late Divine King, the strength at her disposal was comparable to a late Divine Emperor, which, while not enough to defeat me, was no longer an opponent I could easily dismiss.
"Looks like you never had any intention to talk about this; listen, I don't know why you're so determined, but just know, if you continue this, I will kill you; your current strength, while powerful, isn't enough to defeat, so I'd suggest stopping before you pass the point of no return." Advised Elif solemnly with a frown as he summoned Hokori and unsheathed him without any hesitation while eyeing the giant blue Phoenix.
Unfortunately for her, my words held no weight as she screeched in pure anger before charging directly at me. At the same time, her body erupted into even more violent flames, resulting in her nearly looking like a ball of raging blue fire. Seeing her approach me, I hardened my eyes while giving off an air of indifference as I lifted Hokori above my head, prepared to unleash a Heavenly scar.
As she swiftly neared me, she opened her beak while the raging blue flames that covered her body showed signs of converging toward her open mouth, causing her previous large blue build to slowly shrink as she condensed all of her power into one attack.
'Alright, now you're really starting to anger me.' Thought Elif while looking at the now dark red Phoenix near him while she contained a small but powerful ball of blue flames.
Sensing the sheer Qi radiating off that blue ball of flames, I clicked my tongue in slight anger as that attack was comparable to an all-out attack from a peak Divine Emperor, which is capable of actually killing me. If she genuinely intended to launch that at me, which I'm sure she was, a Heavenly scar wouldn't be enough to stop that kind of attack; it's not that it won't be powerful enough, it's just that all the power won't be centered in a small area.
Lowering my sword, I held Hokori right beside my face in a thrusting stance as I covered it with sword Aura, causing an ethereal purple aura to surround Hokori; once that was finished, I began to prepare a Heavenly scar by infusing a substantial amount of Qi into Hokori, yet I intended to use one of its variations I created, Heavenly pierce.
Right when I finished preparing the attack, the Phoenix widened her mouth and, without any hesitation, launched the blue flaming ball, causing it to shoot an immensely powerful beam at rapid speed. Instantly after she attacked, I did as well, powerfully thrusting Hokori forward, causing all the sword aura and Qi to converge at the tip of my sword before it was powerfully shot out, resulting in a Heavenly scar with the shape of a compressed purple beam.
The moment the blue and purple beams collided, a massive rush of wind flew back at incredible speeds as the two beams were locked in a power struggle; neither side was capable of overwhelming the other, though unlike her, I was still in great shape as I hadn't used a forbidden technique. The amount of Qi released from the struggle between the two beams caused the several Phoenixes that had managed to arrive at the scene to get forcefully blown back, only managing to stop themselves once they were a hundred or so meters away.
Although the power struggle lasted for some time, the beams only had so much Qi at their disposal, and eventually, it came to an end; neither side emerged victorious, though, with one glance, I could tell she was utterly spent, her flickering flames a dead give away to how exhausted she truly was.
In all honestly, I would've killed her; I'm not a fan of killing people, but I had warned her, yet she still chose her path, and for someone like that, I saw no reason in being merciful; however, killing a phoenix while inside their territory isn't the smartest of decisions, granted I'm confident they wouldn't do anything as I wasn't the one who initiated combat, but still.
So, with an annoyed sigh, I sheathed Hokori and floated toward the exhausted Phoenix, who happened to transform into a more humanoid form while the various Phoenixes from before huddled around her and attended to her, though that changed when I approached.
"P-Prince Elif! P-Please, I hope you can be magnanimous and spare the young Mistress! If killing her is the only way to quell your anger, please, take my life instead, Prince Elif!" Said a young lady passionately with flaming green hair as she kowtowed toward Elif.
"Please spare the young Mistress, Prince Elif! Take our life instead!" Said the remaining Phoenixes, in human form, simultaneously and without any hesitation; they all deeply kowtowed to Elif, though such a sight both saddened and angered the one at fault.
Such a sight was a little unexpected, though it just shows how well she treats her servants if they were willing to offer up their own lives in exchange for hers. However, if I desired to kill her, their words wouldn't have persuaded me; besides, unlike last time with the Fairy Clan, I'm not in an alliance with the Phoenix Clan, so there are no repercussions for killing her.
"D-Don't you dare harm them, Elif! I won't allow you to take away anyone else I care for!" Declared the exhausted woman as she unflinchingly stood before the kowtowing Phoenixes and fearlessly eyed Elif down.
'What is she even talking about? I've never harmed nor killed a Phoenix.' Thought Elif as he tilted his head in confusion while looking at the women.
"Young Mistress Spica!" Exclaimed the kowtowing Phoenixes worriedly as they looked up at her figure.
"Be quiet! This is my fight; stop trying to interfere!" Replied Spica Harshly, though she was mainly trying to protect them.
"Listen, Spica; first off, don't call me by my name; we aren't equals, and we will never be equals; secondly, I won't be killing you, even if it's quite tempting. Thirdly, what's your deal!?" Stated Elif in an irritated voice while intently eyeing Spica, who ground her teeth in anger.
"What my Deal!? I should be asking you that! You're the one who killed my lover! My future husband! Now you're asking me, what's my DEAL!?" Yelled Spica in anger and sadness as flaming tears started escaping from her eyes, though her words only served to deepen Elif's confusion.
"What're you talking about, husband? I haven't killed that many people in my life, and I've definitely never killed a Phoenix; there is no way you've mistaken me for someone else; with my heavenly appearance, that's impossible." Said Elif in confusion, though even in such a solemn setting, he couldn't contain his narcissistic ego.
"My Husband, Comet! Don't tell me his death was so insignificant to you that you've forgotten it!" Replied Spica in wrath as small wisps of flames emerged from her body, though that only served to further her exhaustion.
"Comet? Ahh, now I finally remember; you're that Phoenix Zanga was ordered to retrieve. I was always curious why I happened to meet Zanga in that tiny realm, but it was all because of you." Remarked Elif while tapping his chin before he suddenly widened his eyes.
Of course, I haven't forgotten about her; with my cultivation base, it would be nearly impossible for me to forget anything. In reality, the events that happened in the spirit realm were so insignificant that I had stored those memories in a back section of my soul, a place where I never looked.
"So you finally remember!? You took the love of my life away, and I'm going to make sure I take your life as revenge!" Yelled Spica while her hair erupted into flames of vengeance, though her poor condition didn't allow her to do much else.
"Hehe, that's quite comical; even after using a forbidden technique, you still couldn't beat me in battle. However, allow me to tell you some good but annoying news. Unfortunately, your dear Comet isn't dead; just before I was about to capture his soul, he escaped the spirit realm and vanished into the void." Replied Elif lightly in slight amusement while watching Spica.
"Y-You, are you telling the truth!? Don't lie to me!" Said Spica as her eyes widened in astonishment, wanting to believe his words.
"Yes, he's alive; not long ago, he happened to return to the same spirit realm, though he is probably long gone." Remarked Elif with a nod of his head.
"He-He's alive!? C-Comet's ali-" Exclaimed Spica in joy, though she was interrupted as the after-effects of using a forbidden technique finally caught up to her.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 244: Dessert) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 126: Mistress Michelle) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 216: The Insatiable Vs Mad Monk)|| Marvel's Black Steel (Chapter 178: Discussion Of Apocalypse) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]