The two distinct, interlocking colored energies in the sky grew, and grew, and grew, until they matched the sheer size of the dragon phenomenon facing them. With every passing breath, it began to take shape, illuminating one side of the blackened sky.
First formed the talons, each boasting four razor-sharp claws, followed almost instantly by the revelation of its body and twin wings. They unfurled, detaching from its sides and multiplying its size fourfold.
Finally, the heads atop the body manifested—yes, heads. The coalescing creature possessed two heads: one blood red, the other a dark, venomous green.
"Bürküt!"
When the Master saw the two-headed eagle rearing up against the dragon born of his own energy, he shrieked. His eyes, which had been glaring with sheer arrogance up until that moment, blew wide open in pure panic.
"That's right! The god you murdered like a treacherous bitch now stands before you. Get on your fucking knees and beg for mercy!"
Opening its massive beaks, the phenomenon conjured by Nafız let out a deafening roar. After the ear-piercing sound, the black clouds were torn asunder, letting the sunlight bleed through. The sky was pitch-black on the side of the dragon phenomenon, but radiant on the side of Nafız's creation.
"So you've managed to grow this strong, but you know damn well it won't be enough, don't you? Your corpses will pave the path I'll walk to the Other Realm!"
The Master thrust both his hands forward; ice-blue energy began condensing in one, while fire-red energy flared in the other.
"Our last encounter must have scrambled your brains; I am neither that person, nor am I the only one standing against you!"
Just as Nafız finished her words, a hiss echoed from amidst the crumbled walls of the tower. The sound came from the tongue of a purple cobra adorned with golden stripes, and those it carried materialized right behind Nafız.
The members of the Orc-Druid Alliance, the disciples of the Holy Bone Sect, the Sheikh of the Holy Blood Sect, Lareina, and Jashua—all stood firmly behind her.
"The people you divided and ruled with your bitch-ass tactics have united, Dragon Emperor. If you've come out of hiding from your precious dungeon to show your face here, you're going to pay the price!"
The moment Nafız slid her blood daggers out from her bracers, everyone drew their weapons. The Druids instantly cast defensive shields over the group. A force ready to wage war at a second's notice now stood against the Master; the sprawling hall of the ruined tower was turning into a brand new battlefield.
"Just because millions of ants are crawling under my boots doesn't mean I'm going to be afraid of them. No matter how much you've grown, you will bow before the soul of the dragon!"
First, the phenomena in the sky lunged at each other, immediately followed by the Master and the group spearheaded by Nafız. The space was tight, they were blisteringly fast, and they were a hair's breadth away from colliding—but in that exact moment, the space right between them tore wide open.
It was a rift massive enough to forcibly separate both the phenomena in the sky and the combatants in the tower. Faced with this completely unexpected event, both sides pulled back, their eyes locked on the two shadows standing inside the portal that had opened from another domain.
As they stepped closer to the light, the shadows shrank, and the duo that had barged in just as a lethal battle was about to erupt finally revealed themselves.
"The First Sheikh!"
Jashua was the first to shatter the silence—how could he not? The man he had met in both his youth and his old age within the dungeons above the Hell Realm now stood before him. And today, the Sheikh was in the exact same prime condition as when they had fought.
With his spiky hair and his imperious posture, the First Sheikh looked absolutely flawless; right beside him stood his wife. Two of the past sheikhs of the Holy Blood Sect had manifested at the most critical juncture imaginable.
"Master, I've come to settle our unfinished business! Are you ready?"
Gripping the broadsword slung across his back, the First Sheikh turned to face the Master. The tension crackling between the two became thick enough to cut with a knife.
"You still haven't died?"
"I haven't. I live solely to repay you for the wound you carved into my flesh!"
As the Master and the First Sheikh spoke, the Fourth Sheikh waited in absolute silence by her husband's side. The rest of the people in the room were no different, frozen in anticipation.
"You should never have crawled out of whatever hole you were hiding in. If you had just waited a little longer, I would have come and dealt with you myself!"
The Master burst into a fit of laughter; simultaneously, the energy fueling his phenomenon in the sky came rushing back into his body.
"Master, in the past, you used the disciples of my own sect to wound me, but today, I won't allow it. The time for my revenge, and the revenge of the Holy Blood Sect, has come!"
The First Sheikh pulled his broadsword to his side as he finished his words, his wife standing right at his back.
"Know your place, you walking corpse!"
Realizing a massive assault was incoming, the Master condensed the energy he had siphoned from the phenomenon into his hands. The man who looked to be in his fifties wielded no weapons. Neither side entertained the thought of dodging; at this range, the only way to survive a large-scale attack was to meet it head-on.
"Blood Red!"
The first strike came from the man who founded the Holy Blood Sect. Looking like a young warrior in the prime of his life, the Sheikh unleashed the blood-red energy erupting from his broadsword straight at his enemy. The sharp tip of the conical energy pointed at the foe, while its widening rear spun relentlessly. In this state, the attack looked exactly like a colossal drill bit.
"The exact same trick again? Then I'll give you the exact same answer! Dragon's Claw!"
Hurling both hands forward, the Master launched his attacks—one ice-blue, the other fire-red. Moving as three distinct trails, his energies collided dead center with the blood-red assault. The sky, half radiant and half pitch-black, became a blinding spectacle as the clashing energies sprayed violently in every direction.
Both attacks were vicious, ferocious, resembling raging floods bursting through dams, but for those with the eyes to see, the outcome was already decided. The Sheikh's blood-red strike had an entirely different property: it was actively shredding the opposing attack second by second.
"Establishing absolute mastery over vibrations. A skill I couldn't grasp in thousands of years, but the outcome won't change!"
A single breath after the Master muttered those words, the two claw-shaped energy attacks shattered. They shattered alright, but the blood-red cone also stopped spinning.
"This is the limit of your power. No matter what you do, you must bow before my claws!"
Just as the Master plastered his arrogant smirk across his face, the First Sheikh roared once more.
"Sonic Boom!"
The attack, which looked like it was about to dissipate where it stood, shot forward at the speed of light. Before anyone could even blink, it was right in the Master's face.
"Shield of Nature!"
The middle-aged man threw his arms up as a barricade and met the blood-red assault with the energy surging from his body. The aftermath of the collision was as instantaneous as its beginning; an agonizing groan echoed through the sprawling hall of the ruined tower.
The Master was blown away like a kite with a snapped string, only coming to a halt by slamming into one of the few walls still standing. Half of both his arms were completely gone, and a massive, gaping hole was glaring right in the dead center of his torso.
Another thud rang in their ears. The man who had unleashed that attack was now on both his knees, his wife standing right beside him. Their appearance had drastically changed; the vibrant fire of youth had vanished, turning them into two frail elders on the very brink of death.
As Nafız and the others rushed to their side, the First Sheikh used the absolute last drops of his strength to scream.
"He's not dead! Finish him off!"
Nafız was the first to react. The moment she drew her daggers, she lunged forward, but before she could even cross half the distance, seven shadows materialized right in front of her.
"Protect the Master!"
While three of the seven rushed to the side of the critically wounded man, the remaining four drew their weapons, forming a wall that looked impossible to breach.