[The Dragon's Lair]
The battle was going poorly.
Ganyu had transformed into her Qilin form, freezing the battlefield to cut off the Dragon King's hydro supply. Shenhe threw the Calamity Queller, using its spirit to suppress the moisture in the air.
But the Black Dragon King was simply too durable.
"Is that all?" The Dragon King roared, shedding his human form. Scales covered his body as he partially transformed into a dragon. "You insects are annoying!"
Bang.
He swatted Jean aside. Her Wind Beauty sword absorbed the blow, healing her instantly, but the impact still sent her flying.
"Kamisato Art: Sometsu (Frostflake Seki no To)!"
Ayaka summoned a blizzard of razor-sharp ice. The Dragon King ignored it, smashing through the storm with a swing of his tail.
Crack.
Diluc and Eula tried to intercept, but their claymores bounced off his scales. The Dragon King punched them both, sending them crashing into the cavern walls, vomiting blood.
"Impossible..." Rosalyne wiped blood from her lip. "How can the gap be this wide?"
They were Vision holders. They were strong. But facing a thousand-year-old Cultivator with a Dragon Body was like fighting a mountain with a toothpick.
Only one person was still standing in the center of the arena.
Beidou.
She had been knocked down earlier, but she was back on her feet. Her eyes were glowing with a strange, dark light.
"I see it now," she muttered, gripping her Serpent Spine. "It's not about the element. It's about the Soul."
"What are you babbling about?" The Dragon King sneered.
"A Zanpakuto is the reflection of the soul," Beidou said, her voice echoing with power. "To unlock its true form, I must burn my soul to match its frequency. My nature... is Battle."
Lightning began to arc around her. Not purple Electro, but Dark Gold.
"Bankai."
BOOM.
A pillar of golden lightning erupted, shattering the cavern ceiling.
"Thunder Emperor (Raitei)!"
When the light faded, Beidou was clad in armor made of solid lightning. In her hand, the Serpent Spine had vanished, replaced by a jagged, dark-gold greatsword that hummed with the sound of a thousand storms.
Inside her body, her energy compressed into a solid core. She had instinctively reached the "Core Formation" stage of cultivation.
"Die."
Zap.
Beidou vanished.
The Dragon King's eyes widened. "Fast—"
Shkkt.
He didn't even finish the word. The dark-gold blade pierced his indestructible scales like they were paper. The lightning didn't just burn; it disintegrated his flesh.
"ARGHHH!"
The Dragon King screamed as he was launched into the ground, creating a massive crater.
Beidou didn't stop. She appeared above him, slashing again. And again.
"How?! How did you break my defense?!" The Dragon King howled, blood spraying everywhere.
"Su Han told me," Beidou grinned, her face illuminated by the lightning. "Quality over Quantity! My lightning is denser than your scales!"
She prepared a finishing strike. But her light flickered. Bankai was draining her stamina rapidly.
"Rosalyne! Now!" Beidou shouted. "I can't hold him forever!"
Rosalyne watched the scene, her mind racing.
Core... Quality... Density.
She realized her mistake. She had been throwing raw fire at him. She needed to compress it.
"I understand."
Rosalyne closed her eyes. She recalled the Shushan Cultivation Method Su Han had shared.
The body is a furnace. The soul is the fuel.
She turned her Zanpakuto inward, stabbing it into her own chest.
"Ignite."
Hellfire consumed her. It burned away her impurities, compressing her vast elemental energy into a single, tiny point in her dantian.
It was excruciating. Her skin cracked like porcelain.
But then, a lotus bloomed.
Whoosh.
Rosalyne opened her eyes. They were no longer human eyes; they were pools of liquid fire.
"Samadhi True Fire (Sanmei Zhenhuo)."
She drew a bow made of pure flame. No fancy incantations. Just one arrow.
Twang.
The arrow flew silent and true.
The Dragon King, who had just kicked Beidou away, felt a sudden chill. He looked down.
There was a hole in his chest. The arrow had melted through his scales, his flesh, and his bones instantly.
"What... is this fire?!"
The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. It burned his soul.
Realizing he was outmatched by these two monster women, the Dragon King made a tactical decision.
He ran.
Splash.
He dissolved into water and shot toward his inner sanctum.
"He's fleeing!" Eula shouted. "After him!"
"Stop!" Beidou warned, deactivating her Bankai and collapsing to one knee. "He's going for the Seal!"
"The Kongtong Seal can't attack, can it?" Xiangling asked.
"No, you idiot!" Beidou panted. "It grants immortality! He's going to heal himself!"
The group rushed to the palace gates, but they were too late.
Hum.
A massive golden barrier sprang up, covering the entire inner sanctum.
The Dragon King's voice echoed from inside, filled with mockery.
"I admit, you humans are strong. But did you think I survived a thousand years by being stupid? This array was left by an Ancient Immortal! You can pound on it for a century, and it won't break! Hahahaha!"
The team stared at the barrier.
"Well," Jean wiped blood from her face. "That's a problem."
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