[The Dragon's Palace – Inner Sanctum]
A barrier of swirling blue energy blocked their path.
Beidou smashed her Bankai-empowered blade against it, but the barrier only rippled.
"Damn it," she growled, her lightning armor flickering. "This Ancient Array is tough. If we don't break it soon, that lizard will heal completely!"
Jean stepped forward, channeling Anemo into a drill, but even her focused strike failed to leave a scratch. It was a deadlock.
"Are we just going to stand here?" Beidou clenched her fist.
"No," Rosalyne said, looking behind them. "Reinforcements are here."
A group of Diren soldiers swam into the cavern. Leading them was a breathtakingly beautiful woman with a sorrowful expression.
The Diren Queen.
"This is the Eternal Youth Array," she said, her voice trembling. "It was set up by the Immortal Gu Yue to protect us. But that beast twisted it for his own use."
"Can you break it?" Chen Jingchou asked.
"I can," the Queen nodded, pulling a golden hairpin from her hair. "But the array is tied to my lifeblood. Breaking it requires a sacrifice."
"Your Majesty, no!" her soldiers cried.
"Silence!" The Queen shouted. "Do we want to be livestock forever? Gu Yue isn't coming to save us! If we want freedom, we must take it!"
She plunged the hairpin into her chest.
Splurt.
Golden blood coated the pin. With a cry of despair and determination, she threw it at the barrier.
"Gu Yue... since you won't come, I have nothing left to lose!"
Shatter.
The hairpin struck the core of the array. The blue barrier cracked like glass and exploded into light.
Inside the palace, the Black Dragon King was interrupted mid-meditation.
"You wretched woman!" He roared, bursting through the roof. "You broke the Eternal Youth Array?! Do you want to age and die?!"
"I'd rather die of old age than be eaten by you!" The Queen spat, clutching her wound.
The Dragon King was apoplectic. Without the array, his external immortality was gone. He glared at the intruders with pure hatred.
"You want the Kongtong Seal? Come and get it!"
[Final Phase]
"Attack!"
Beidou didn't hesitate. "My Bankai has five minutes left! Let's finish this!"
She became a streak of dark lightning, clashing with the Dragon King. Chen Jingchou and Tuoba Yu'er joined the fray, their protagonist halos allowing them to keep up with the frantic pace.
Xiangling unleashed her Awakened Devil Fruit, turning the cavern into a sea of fire.
"Burn!"
But something was wrong.
Despite taking heavy hits, the Dragon King wasn't slowing down. His wounds healed almost instantly.
"Why won't he die?!" Eula shouted, her greatsword chipping against his scales.
"He swallowed the Seal!" Tuoba Yu'er realized. "It's inside him! He's using it to regenerate!"
The Dragon King laughed maniacally. "Correct! As long as the Seal is in my belly, I am unkillable!"
The team's morale plummeted. They were running on fumes. Jean was frantically healing everyone, but her stamina was draining fast. Rosalyne's flames were flickering. Diluc and Eula were battered and bruised.
They needed a miracle.
Ganyu stood at the back, drawing her bow. Her arms were trembling from exhaustion.
I can't let them down. I must protect them.
The pressure in the air grew heavy. The ice around her feet began to sing.
Her Zanpakuto, Star Spirit, whispered to her.
Release me.
A surge of spiritual pressure exploded from the Qilin. The temperature in the cavern dropped to absolute zero.
"Bankai."
Ganyu opened her eyes. They glowed with celestial light.
"Phoenix Wings Rise (Fengyi Tianxiang)!"
She released the arrow.
It wasn't just an arrow. It transformed into a massive, crying phoenix made of ice. It screamed through the air, locking onto the Dragon King's soul.
"What is that?!" The Dragon King tried to dodge, but the phoenix turned mid-air, tracking him perfectly.
BOOM.
The ice phoenix slammed into his chest.
The Dragon King froze solid instantly.
"Now, Shenhe!" Ganyu collapsed, her energy spent.
Shenhe was already in the air. She threw the Calamity Queller like a javelin.
"Spirit Mantra: God-Slaying Strike!"
The spear pierced the frozen Dragon's chest, shattering the ice and driving straight through his heart.
"ARGHHH!"
The Dragon King vomited blood—and a glowing golden seal.
The Kongtong Seal flew out.
"He lost the Seal! Kill him!" Eula screamed, charging forward with the last of her strength.
Beidou, Rosalyne, Xiangling, Jean—everyone unleashed their final attacks.
Thunder. Fire. Wind. Ice.
The Dragon King's body was torn apart. He crashed into the ground, reverting to his true form—a massive, battered black dragon.
"I... am a King..." he wheezed, trying to rise.
Rosalyne walked up to his head. In her hand was Tenseiga.
"You were just a lizard."
She thrust the blade into his skull.
Tenseiga, the sword that cuts the underworld, latched onto his soul.
"NO! WHAT IS THIS SWORD?! GET IT OUUUT!"
"Devour."
Schlupp.
The Dragon King's soul was ripped from his body and sucked into the blade. His massive eyes went dull.
The tyrant of the Sky Trace was dead.
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