Chapter 155: The Demon Slayer Corps is About to be Traumatized by the Phantylia...
〜Journey To The West World〜
The roar of a dragon… It's Dan Heng!
Within the hellish depths of the seabed, Ao Guang's draconic form shuddered, his head snapping upwards. Even across the vast, distant light barrier, he, as a fellow scion of the dragonkind, could sense the immense power Dan Heng was brewing.
His eyes widened to the point of near-rupture, yet even so, he refused to blink, determined to bear witness to the sheer might of the next strike from Dan Heng, the High Elder!
—
「 "Dan Heng... you take it from here." Jing Yuan's voice was a mere wisp of breath.」
"Understood. Leave it to me."
Following the High Elder's faint assent from behind, the seawater, parted on either side of the Scalegorge Waterscape, suddenly began to boil, countless bubbles churning and surging upwards.
Dan Heng leaped into the air, the Orb of Abysm in his hand spinning with dizzying speed. Soon, a water dragon surged forth from the ancient sea, followed by a second, then a third… a full nine water dragons ascended, weaving a dazzling net of celestial light across the sky.
"Do you truly believe victory is assured, Phantylia?"
With this draconic roar, the space above Phantylia's head erupted. Under the manipulation of Dan Heng's Orb of Abysm, the nine dragons instantly converged, solidifying into a colossal water dragon capable of eclipsing the heavens and earth, plummeting violently towards Phantylia's crown!
"Cloudhymn Roar—!"
"—BOOM!!"
Even with Phantylia's immense stature, she was instantly engulfed by this crushing deluge. When the water dragon dissipated, nearly half of Phantylia's body had been shattered into pieces.
Only now did she finally realize that she was not merely facing one High Elder. Instead, the entire Scalegorge Waterscape, every trickling stream, every vast expanse of ancient water… was her adversary.
"Tsk—"
Only then, amidst the battle, did a flicker of pain finally cross Phantylia's face.
Vast swathes of black Profound Lotuses withered almost instantaneously, replaced by her damaged body rapidly repairing itself.
"Oh? A Scion of 『 Permanence 』 ?" Phantylia coldly gazed at Dan Heng, who floated mid-air, a water dragon once again coalescing in his hand. "Have you finally remembered your duty of watching over the Ambrosial Arbor?" 」
「 .....」
〜Journey To The West World〜
"What a hit! That's how you do it! Dan Heng is so strong. Why didn't he strike earlier?"
When he saw that water dragon, large enough to submerge all of Chentang Pass, slam directly onto Phantylia's head, Nezha was so thrilled he nearly bounced out of his chair.
Mid-sentence, his peripheral vision caught Ao Bing, equally dumbfounded beside him. He quickly nudged him with his elbow:
"Don't just stare, learn from your senior dragon tribesman from another world."
"That Orb in his hand…"
Ao Bing sat beside him, his gaze lingering mostly on the Orb of Abysm in Dan Heng's hand.
"Our East Sea Dragon Clan possesses no such supreme treasure."
"Burp, tools are just aids; skill is the key."
Taiyi Zhenren, his face flushed crimson from drink, patted his wine gourd and let out a resounding burp:
"You'll follow me from now on. Even if you can't learn seven or eight tenths of Dan Heng's skill, if you lower your expectations a bit, learning one or two tenths is still achievable."
"That's quite a significant drop…"
Ao Bing found it difficult to retort too much at the moment, for the battle on the light screen had taken a new turn.
—
「 "Phantylia, though you regard us as mere ants…" Jing Yuan openly taunted her.
"To engage in such a back-and-forth struggle with ants, and met with so little success... I wonder what the other Lord Ravagers would think."
"Heh heh…" Whether Jing Yuan's words truly broke Phantylia's composure, or if she, gravely wounded by Dan Heng, struggled to maintain her shadowy form, her state once again transformed.
The tendrils of 『 Abundance 』 and the crimson gold of Destruction intertwined, both sacred and exceptionally monstrous, like a colossal, blasphemous stone sculpture. Beneath her pale skin, bark-like fissures had appeared, continuously spreading and growing, yet simultaneously healing and merging.
New branches of 『 Abundance 』 continuously sprouted and grew upon her body, only to carbonize and dissipate in the flames of Destruction the very next second…
Full of contradiction, yet… brimming with malice.
She pushed herself up from the ground with her hands, her stern voice echoing through the secret realm: "Does the General wish to meet the others? I fear… You will not have the opportunity."
"It is time to end all of this."
As she spoke, a small orb began to coalesce in Phantylia's hand, clearly intending to hurl this intensely compressed energy at everyone. 」
「 .....」
〜Demon Slayer World〜—
Mitsuri Kanroji instinctively covered her eyes.
Now, merely associating Phantylia with the word "orb" caused the Demon Slayer Corps members to subconsciously gasp, then… snap, quick as a flash, they'd all cover their eyes and fall to the ground, not daring to lift their heads.
After all, their eyes had only just been healed by the faint power of 『 Abundance 』 emanating from the light screen; no one wanted to go blind again.
Mitsuri tried her best to press her head low, but when they were ready, the anticipated violent explosion never came.
Phantylia's attack this time was rather ordinary, once again perfectly blocked by Stelle. However, she quickly summoned many golden Profound Lotuses, preparing to once again devour the vitality of the Astral Express crew and others.
"She can't possibly use the same trick three times, can she?"
Shinobu Kocho, lifting her head, frowned in confusion.
"Could Phantylia be out of options?"
"…Unlikely."
Obanai Iguro shook his head:
"As a Lord Ravager, capable of traversing the Star Sea for so many years, she likely has more tricks up her sleeve."
"The more unknown her trump card, the more cautious one must be…"
—
「 "Such stale tricks are no longer necessary, are they!" A faint smile played on Jing Yuan's lips, his Cloud-Piercer clutched tight, a daunting aura erupting from his entire being.
His gilded armor blazed with blinding gold, and behind him, the majestic and awe-inspiring divine form of the Lightning-Lord manifested. Accompanied by the thunderous roar that echoed between heaven and earth, the entire Scalegorge Waterscape seemed to transform into a boiling pool of lightning.
"Oh, Radiant Spirit, heed my word—Slay without mercy!"
Jing Yuan leaped forward, the Lightning-Lord's colossal palm merging with the Cloud-Piercer in his hand. Within that blade-light, cleaving through heaven and earth, one could almost perceive the stern sword intent of a white-haired woman from ages past, and the starlit galaxy traversed by a foxian girl's star-raft, but in the end… it all collapsed into a single point of incandescent, annihilating white— 」
「 .....」
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
"This is… the sharp edge of The Hunt."
Gazing up at the strike that threatened to cleave heaven and earth, Frieren murmured in awe:
"Too powerful. Even battles between Emanators are this exaggerated…"
Watching the afterglow of that blade on the light screen fade, only scorched lightning patterns remained in the air.
"Is it over?"
Stark felt his heart pounding fiercely. Though Jing Yuan's strike hadn't hit them, merely watching it from afar through the light screen had drenched him in cold sweat.
"Not yet."
Frieren calmly shook her head.
"That woman, supported by the Ambrosial Arbor, is incredibly difficult to kill. Now, she should be preparing her counterattack, shouldn't she?"
—