Phoenix Rising Chapter 207 Past Nobility In a room full of students, there was silence. They all sat at individual desks and were concentrating on writing on pieces of paper. At the front of the room was a teacher who sat while constantly checking the Crystal Clock that was on her desk. Two months had passed and it was time for the exams. The students of Astral Academy were currently studying their hardest to pass their exams with the highest marks. At that moment, Class 1A were sitting their Magic Theory exam with several other classes in different rooms. Lakshman was sitting at the back of the room with his head down. He looked severely at the question paper and did his best to answer all the questions on it. Through the entire term, he had studied very hard for this so he was confident he will get good marks. Finally, after two hours passed, the teacher rose to her feet and said “Alright, people! Finish whatever you are doing and then place your pens down. I will come around and collect your question and answer sheets so make sure you labelled them with your names.” Then the teacher began walking around while collecting the papers. She placed the question sheet above the answer sheet so as to cover up the answers of the students. Sometimes, she stopped and had to indicate a few things before collecting them. Once all papers were collected, the teacher walked back to the front and placed them inside a box. “Okay. I hope you all did your best and class dismissed!” she announced. “Finally!” “Yay!” “Phew!” With voices of relief and tiredness, the students rose to their feet and slowly exited the room. “Ha…” Lakshman sighed as he stretched as he stood up. As he bent to pick up his bag, a voice asked him “How did you go?”
“I did well so I’m not expecting to get bad marks,” he said when he straightened up and looked at Venezuela. “That’s true. I am also confident I will get good marks.” Lakshman laughed and he placed an arm around her shoulder. Together, they walked out of the classroom. As they passed other students, they came together and began whispering to each other. “There they are.” “Look at them… so lovely…” “Loving one another is so great…” “I want to fall in love too…” It had been two months since the public became aware of the relationship between Lakshman and princess Venezuela. Everyone was astonished when the king announced, in public, his approval of their love. However, he clearly stated that he wanted Lakshman to finish his studies before the marriage. Due to this, Lakshman had been working really hard to study so as not to look bad. Additionally, he also spent a great deal of time with Venezuela. She could see that he was trying his hardest to make her happy, but she noticed a sense of loneliness and realised what it was. “Want to meet up with Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia?” she asked him with a smile. “Sure!” he said enthusiastically. Venezuela was aware of his love for the four girls and did not want to interfere in it. Instead, she enjoyed the time she got to spend together with the girls. Ondine was proud, but reckless, Tetra is calm and cool, Emilia is timid, but nice and Cantia is crazy and wild with her behaviour. With all these different personalities, it was only fun times for her. Lakshman finally returned to his dormitory that evening. He did not use Warp because he wanted to take a nice stroll along the school grounds. It had been a while since he walked through the garden which was trimmed neatly on either sides of the footpath. “Ah! Mr. Reddy! You have a letter,” the receptionist said when she saw him enter.
“A letter? From who?” Lakshman asked when he walked over to her. The woman flipped to the back side of the envelope and said “It says it’s from Mrs. Lakshmi Reddy.” “Ah! That’s from my mum. I should’ve known since dad doesn’t know how to write properly.” “I see. So he’s an adventurer, I take it?” “That’s right. I think he’s an A-Ranked Adventurer who’s constantly going on missions.” “That’s nice of him. It’s always good when the head of the family works hard for the family. Well, please sign here your signature.” “Alright,” Lakshman said and he took the pen from her before scribbling what he thought was a signature on the paper. There was a moment’s pause before the envelope glowed brightly. Then the woman smiled at him and said “All done. Have a good day.” “I wish the same to you,” Lakshman said brightly. He took the letter from her and headed upstairs. Once he reached the second floor, he turned right and headed towards his room. “Open,” he said when he stopped outside his room door. There was a click and the door swung open. The moment he walked in, the lights turned out automatically. As of late, he had used a Sensor Barrier Magic Spell to turn the light on or off when someone entered or left. The people of the campus had no idea about this which made him wonder if they will approve it one they found out he experimented with their equipment. Just as he closed his door, a solid form with a white tail ended figure appeared. She had a bright smile on her face when she saw him. “How did you go? Did you write well?” Spectra asked him curiously. “I did alright. I doubt they will fail me with how good I answered the questions,” Lakshman replied as he walked over to the bed and laid his bad down.
Spectra frowned and asked “What’s with that attitude? You don’t have to be so negative when you speak about the results, right?” “I know, I know. Sorry, but I’m a little distracted.” “From what?” Lakshman held his letter and showed it to her. As she looked confused, he said “It’s a letter my mum sent me which just arrived.” “Is this the reply for the one you sent two months ago? That’s wonderful,” she said happily. “It is!” he said happily and he cut open the envelope. Taking the letter out of it, he straightened it while he sat down on the bed. Then Spectra hovered over him to read the letter with him. Lakshman looked surprised when he saw her hovering there. He scowled and said “Oi! Privacy!” “Aww…!” she said unhappily and she floated away. After watching her go away, he returned his attention to his letter. The hand writing unmistakably belonged to his mother. Then he started reading what his mother had to write in the letter. “Dear Lucky, How are you? I hope you are doing well. I am also hopeful that you’re eating on time and sleeping on time. What about us? We are doing alright. Your cute sisters are complaining they miss you. Things are getting very noisy and that’s keeping me and Mariana very busy. Your father, Indra’s also gotten sick recently. The winter’s finally got to him and he came down with a cold. I don’t know when you will receive this letter, but don’t worry. He should be fine by the time you receive this letter. Do we need anything from Floira capital? No need. We can get most of the necessary things from here or travel to the capital of Rodfox. It’s only three days trip from here to the capital so it’s fine if you don’t send anything here.
Now to answer your question regarding the nobility. Felix is an idiot for not wanting to tell you, but I understand where he’s coming from. It’s a topic Indra loathes that topic so much that he walks out if that topic is brought up. Now why does he feel that way? It’s because he… I mean, the Reddy family were part of the high nobility within the Rodfox Kingdom. We had great control over different parts of the kingdom. They were tyrannical rulers who stepped on anyone that got in their way. The people hated the Reddy family and the royal family. This eventually boiled into a heated rebellion against the high society. That was thirty years ago when the Phoenix Clan came and put a stop to the mess. Due to their mistakes, the high society were executed because of treasonous actions. Indra was only seven at that time that happened. His hatred was towards nobility and those with political powers. Ever since then, he turned his back on the nobility he once had, but continued to carry the Reddy family which was erased from the high society. Please understand that it was a difficult life your father led after that. It was thanks to a fateful meeting with the Sword King, Darian Ronald, he was able to survive. Thanks to that, I met him and fell in love with which bore fruit in the form of you and two cute girls! Anyway, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you will do your best. Sincerely, Your loving mother, Lakshmi Reddy” The letter was long and heart felt. Lakshman finally understood the reason to why his father was such a rebellious kid when he was young. It was due to his early bad experience that caused Indra to grow up to be very strong. Although, his desire for girls might be due to him wanting to forget about the past. “Dad really is something else…” he muttered with a shake of his head. “He certainly is to be able to survive with a scar like that in his heart,” Spectra said from behind him. Lakshman widened his eyes and he whipped around to see her floating over him. “What?! I told you to go away and what are you thinking reading other people’s letters?” he demanded in frustration.
Spectra shrugged her shoulders and said “Not quite true. I did leave like you suggested, but I got curious about why were you frowning. So I snuck over from the ground and appeared at your back so you wouldn’t get disturbed.” “Seriously…! You need to learn the definition of privacy!” he said as he looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face. “And you should learn to show some respect to someone who died in this room!” Spectra told him with a serious look in her eyes. “Uh… Right. Sorry.” “It’s fine. Anyway, you got a really good dad. He’s lived through all that and never once told you about it? He must have really enjoyed his life and all.” “True that, although I only noticed the parts where he kept getting hit by mum.” Spectra looked surprised at him. Then she laughed and said “That’s a good thing then. It means your father and mother were very close! If they did not argue at all, it means there is something wrong with their relationship.” “Huh? How could you interpret it like that?” “Oh? Then how about the times when your lovers and you argue? Don’t you feel annoyed, but somehow it makes you really appreciate having them around? Right? Right?” Lakshman hesitated for a moment as he thought about it. Now that she mentioned it, he indeed feel annoyed on the spur of the moment, but it somehow made him feel happy. Their company made him feel really glad to be with them and all. He finally shrugged his shoulders and said “Fine. That’s definitely true.” Then he decided to change subject and said “Anyway, it seems the letter took some time due to the travel and fighting monsters. I think there should be a safe way to send letters quicker and faster.” “If you think so, why not work on it? You’re already working on that magic formula for the magic ranks right?” Spectra asked him as she watched him put the letter away. “Yeah, but I’ll push it back a bit. It’s a lot more complicated than I thought it was. Instead, I’ll just focus on working out the other ones. Yeah. I’ll write this down and experiment with the others.”
Lakshman pulled a book from the bed side table and opened it. He turned a page and there was a list of things written on it. The header read “Magic Invention Ideas” with the list being those ideas. Then he wrote down the idea for sending and receiving letters quickly. Magic Ranks Power Counter Electricity Cooling System Heating System Messenger Visual Communication Just then, there were three knocks on the door. “Open,” he said and the door got opened. A Phintex Raja appeared through it and walked into the room. Then he knelt and said “Excuse me, sir. I have something to inform you,” Lakshman looked up from his book and was surprised to see it was a Phintex Raja. If he came down personally, then it must be something urgent. So he closed his book and put it away to listen to the Phintex Raja. “What is it?” he asked the kneeling man. “The Phoenix Emperor, Felix Phoron, wishes to see you as soon as possible.”
Phoenix Rising Chapter 208 Ugly Coup Being called by Felix, the Phoenix Emperor, meant something important was going on. So Lakshman put his stuff away and followed the Phintex Raja out of the room. After making sure he locked the room door, they exited the boy’s dormitory and took a casual stroll until they exited the gates to Astra Academy. “Alright. Please hold on. I’m going to take us directly to my master,” the Phintex Raja said. “Alright,” Lakshman said and he consented with a nod of his head. In that instant, the Phintex Raja activated his powers and warped them out of there. A moment later, they appeared in an office room and Lakshman immediately bent down. He had forgotten this horrible sensation which he found strange because he had constantly used Warp inside school grounds. “Maybe the school’s warping magic is slightly different to the normal warping magic? Maybe it’s the person warping that’s causing this bad sensation? Weird…” Lakshman thought. At that moment, he heard a familiar voice say “Ah. You’re here, Lucky.” He straightened up and turned around. He immediately caught the sight of Felix’s smiling face as he sat behind his desk. Lakshman was impressed that Felix’s desk, which used to be so full of papers, was completely empty. It looked like he had gotten his work done on time. Then he heard two different, but familiar voices greet him from the side. “Hello, Lucky!” “Welcome, Lakshman.” Lakshman turned to the side and was surprised to see two more people he recognised. Waving at him with a smiling face with spiky white hair was Wolfenstine. Sitting next to him with one arm resting on the other was the Death Titan, Sevedant. “Wolfenstine? Sevedant? What are you two doing here?” Lakshman asked and he turned to Felix. “What are they doing here, Felix?” he asked finally.
Felix chuckled and turned his attention to the Phintex Raja. He nodded at him and said “Thank you for bringing him here. You may leave now.” The Phintex Raja bowed and vanished from the room. Only when he was gone that Felix turned back to address Lakshman. “So sorry to bother you during your exam time, but its urgent business,” Felix told him with in an apologetic tone. Lakshman took the empty chair and sat down before he said “No. Its fine, but I’m curious. The Phintex Raja told me it’s concerning the Demon Slayer and about the Mardana Kingdom. Did something happen?” “I’m more curious about the Demon Slayer thing that’s got you all worried,” said a voice from behind Lakshman. He became startled from hearing the sudden voice from right behind him. He looked around and was startled to see Spectra floating there. “Spectra? What are you doing? In fact, how did you leave the room?” he asked her immediately. “How else, but to latch myself onto you like a bug!” she said with a smile. “Eh…? Ah… I forgot you can come out if you’re attacked to me,” he said before sighing. “It’s understandable since you possess the Divine Protection of the Sun and Moon. Due to those two, you’re basically immune to most things and the same goes for anyone that touches you for that moment,” Felix explained with a smile. Lakshman frowned at him and said “I already know that. Decisive Player told me that when I asked him back when I discovered this ghost in my room.” “You did? That’s handy to have the Voice of the Phoenix to always help out whenever it is convenient for you,” Felix said with a big grin on his face. Lakshman inwardly sighed and thought “He has no idea how many times the Decisive Player ignored me by pretending to sleep. I still can’t get him to talk to me, even when I know he’s pretending to sleep…!” “Anyway, why is Wolfenstine and Sevedant doing here? Which reminds me… Sevedant! Are you hurt? You seem to be holding your arm in a strange way and it’s glowing in red.”
Sevedant shook his head slightly and said “Don’t worry. Just burnt. Nothing major.” “Oh. It’s good it’s not nothing major then. So is anyone going to fill me in here because I’m confused?” Wolfenstine laughed and Sevedant shook his head wearily, but Felix made a serious expression as he looked at Lakshman. “Two weeks ago, the Mardana Kingdom a coup took place to overthrow the royal palace. The king and his supporters were all killed in the process. The instigator of the coup was his son, the once crown prince of Mardana Kingdom, Adebola Gramstone.” “Eh? T-The prince did that? He killed his own father…?” Lakshman said slowly disbelievingly. Then he asked “Why?! Why did he do it?” “Two months ago, the prince was sent away from the king in pretence of learning about the world. The truth was that the king, Gram Gramstone, banished his son because the prince tried to raise an army to attack Floria Kingdom. This was because of the failed marriage proposal and, of course, you Lucky.” “After unofficially being banished, the prince became furious at his father for supporting you. He silently gathered his followers and launched a coup on the royal palace. He took the ministers hostage, killed all of his father’s supporters and ultimately murdered his own father,” Wolfenstine said in a cold voice. “I see. So that’s why came here because it was dangerous to stay there,” Lakshman said in an understanding voice. Wolfenstine strangely smiled and said “Actually… I had no idea the coup was evening happening.” “What?” “You see, I was in a meeting with the king when the coup took place. I had discovered something very intriguing when the throne room doors burst opened. There he was, the prince clad in a strange dark armour and his followers right behind.” “Mmm… Maybe he was corrupted by his anger and hatred? Maybe?” “I don’t know, but he was killing the guards so I went to stop him. Then this really powerful magician guy showed up and totally blowed me and the rest of the guards away! Then he
casually sucked these blue orbs that popped out of people’s chests and absorbed them into his staff.” Wolfenstine suddenly shuddered and said “Seriously! I realised he was harvesting human life! On top of that, he was laughing like a mad man. He seriously was a freak of nature!” At that moment, Sevedant spoke “Demon Dragon King, Razzel.” “What?! That guy, your enemy, was with the prince?!” Lakshman exclaimed in a shocked voice. When Wolfenstine then gestured towards Sevedant and said “I think I would’ve been killed by him as well, but thankfully, Sevedant came at the right time to save my life. In doing so, he got burnt severely by this strange magic attack I’ve never seen before.” “Burning Sorcerer. Slowly burns. Severely weakens prey. Ultimately kills. Affects Undead only,” Sevedant informed them. When he showed his wound to them, Lakshman was astonished. The skeleton arm was nearly burnt to crisp. However, it looked like the burst away arm was slowly regenerating itself. It was also causing Sevedant some pain from the wincing sounds he kept making from time to time. Felix sighed and said “This is troublesome. News of this hasn’t spread yet, but I doubt it will just yet. Right now, Adebola and his followers are keeping all news from leaving the region. Due to this, the other kingdoms will not know what’s happening or prepare any defences.” “Defences? Is Adebola planning on attacking the other kingdoms as well? Do we know that?” Lakshman asked curiously. Felix shook his head and said “No, we don’t, but let’s assume the worst case scenario. Now that he’s gotten grip over his kingdom, he will surely set his sights on the other kingdoms. After all, he just murdered his father and took over the kingdom without a second thought. So we must assume what he might be planning to do from how confident he might be feeling.” “What a foolish boy… He’s gone and made himself and his kingdom the enemy of the other three kingdoms now!” Spectra said as she found it hard to believe. Lakshman clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He was feeling angry at Adebola Gramstone for his actions. He first met the prince two months ago when Venezuela first confessed her love for him. At that time, the king of Floria Kingdom, Bernard IV Sargold, called him and the prince for a meeting.
During the meeting, Lakshman instantly recognised the prince to be an arrogant man. He was also a man who positively looked down on the lower classes, although Lakshman was a middle class. Then the comment about Lakshman leaching off the kingdom assets in the future. Lakshman totally disliked that commented and it even made him slightly frustrated. At the same time, Venezuela had risen to her feet in anger at him being called a leaching faker. He managed to calm her, but it annoyed him that it riled her up. So Lakshman coolly replied by pointing out how the prince was currently leaching off his parents and kingdom assets. Hurt and humiliated, the prince and walked out of the meeting with one last message to them. “I won’t forget this humiliation!” Lakshman knew the prince will try to get revenge. His arrogant and reckless attitude made it perfectly clear that he would. Lakshman was well prepared to tackle whatever the prince might throw at him. However, to use that revenge to kill his own father and then to take over the kingdom. It left the soft hearted Lakshman with a wondering doubt. “How could he do that? How could he do such a thing?! He didn’t just go kill a king… He went and killed his own father! His biological blood relative! What the hell was he thinking?” Lakshman said out loud. Naturally, no one answered. None of them knew what Adebola was thinking when he caused this mess. All they knew was that Mardana Kingdom was no longer an ally to trust. It had fallen into the hands of a twenty year old man bent on revenge. He proved he was capable of achieving his revenge when he murdered his father, the previous king of Mardana Kingdom. After a few minutes of silence, Spectra finally asked “What now? What we you boys going to do?” “I’ve also dispatched Phintex Rajas to both Rodfox Kingdom and Ashtra Kingdom. Hopefully, they will get prepare themselves for whatever that might come,” Felix said in a hopeful voice. “Have you informed the king yet?” Spectra asked him quickly. Felix nodded his head and said “I did. He’s taken quick steps and called all nobles to speak with them regarding this matter. I don’t know what he intends to do, but hopefully the nobles will listen to him.” Wolfenstine sighed and said “The real problem starts here though. We’re not talking about just a guy bent on revenge. He’s got that really strong guy with him that sucks out souls of dead people!”
“Demon Dragon King, Razzel…!” Sevedant said and he sounded frustrated. “Yeah, yeah! Whatever demon dragon thing he might go by, he is a total creepazoid because he just is! Seriously! He absorbed all the souls of the dead people and he showed no regrets! Seriously! Is that guy even human?” “He is Demon Dragon K-!” “Argh! Shut up, Death Titan! You were totally useless in that battle. In fact, your only injury is that puny burn on your arm that you somehow healed, but it still hasn’t fixed up yet!” “Burning Sorcerer. Quick to remove. Slower to regenerate,” Sevedant said flatly. “Okay! Whatever!” Wolfenstine said and he folded his arms with a grimace. Sevedant sighed and he turned to speak to Felix. “Felix. Demon Slayer. Soon for trouble. Must protect. Razzel might acquire,” Sevedant told him in an anxious voice. “I hear you, Sevedant. The Demon Slayer is just like the Phoenix Blade, a Sacred Spirit. It is also said to be more powerful than the Phoenix Blade according to the notes since eight-thousand years,” Felix said to them with a serious expression on his face. Spectra coughed and they turned to look at her. She looked at Felix and said “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I was her last Contracted Master. Because of my death, she began blaming herself and sealed herself underground. Now she doesn’t wish to even respond to me which is worrying me.” “She’s not responding to you, the previous owner? That’s not good… That’s not good at all…!” Felix said and he suddenly looked worried. “What’s the matter, Felix?” Lakshman asked quickly. Felix turned to him and said “Sacred Spirits actively try to look for another master if possible because they live off from the energies of their masters. If they do not obtain a master, they will soon start to lose their power and eventually be forced to return to the spirit realm.” “Eh? Then… How was Tetra able to stay in this world for so long?” Lakshman asked curiously.
Felix sighed and said “She shut herself away from reality and cut off her powers. In other words, she went to sleep by using as minimal amount of power as possible and waited for the time when her powers detected a new master. That’s how she did not awaken to my touch, but for you instead which is how you’re destiny slowly became clear.” Tetra had slept and awaited for the return of her one and true master. In the past, there were many that tried to forcibly use her, but it was no use. With her sleeping and powers cut off, she was as useful as a regular sword. Then she felt a trigger when Indra touched her and she felt there was a connection. So Felix, knowing the sword over to his friend which eventually got handed to Lakshman which awakened her from her deep slumber. Lakshman suddenly felt a rush of affection for the Sacred Spirit that had waited eightthousand years for him. A Sacred Spirit that is calm, cool and caring. She was his first partner even before meeting Ondine which he was not aware of at that time. Then he thought about the Demon Slayer. That Sacred Spirit had waited unknown amount of years before Spectra became her master. However, she was not able to use her full powers and failed to protect Spectra. Blaming herself for this irreversible mistake, she buried herself deep underground. “Looks like she wants to slowly die without being paired up with another master. She must think this is her punishment for her mistake…” he finally said in an unhappy voice. Spectra shook her head sadly and said “I constantly told her over and over it was not her fault, but she refused to listen. Now she’s taking responsibility and is punishing herself in her stupid attempt to die…!” “Whatever is the case, we’ll have to make sure she is fine and safe before-!” Felix was in mid-sentence when a gigantic explosion sound was heard. There was a moment of shock followed by the room shaking slightly from the shocking force. Felix jumped to his feet and he looked out through the window. His eyes widened when he saw a large cloud rising into the air in the distance. Then he recognised where that place was and he felt his heart sink with fear. “Oh no! There’s a great cloud of dust rising from Astral Academy!” Wolfenstine said when he looked out of another window. At that moment, a Phintex Raja suddenly appeared using the Warp technique.
“Sir! We have an emergency!” he said hurriedly while kneeling down. Felix turned to face the Phintex Raja and asked “What’s going on? What happened?” “Sir! It’s the Demon Dragon King, Razzel! He’s at the Astral Academy and is digging his way through the ground!”
Phoenix Rising Chapter 209 Devastating Loss “What?! The Demon Dragon King’s already here? How?!” Spectra exclaimed in a shocked voice. “Teleportation Magic. Most likely,” Sevedant said and he sounded angry. “Oh great…! Just when we were talking about him, he has to show up!” Wolfenstine said in an exasperated voice. Spectra looked very worried and she said “Oh no…! The Demon Slayer!” Without another word, she flew through the wall and out of sight. “Spectra!” Lakshman called, but she had already gone before he could do anything to stop her. Sevedant quickly looked at Felix and said “Felix!” “I know! Phoenix Portal!” Felix said firmly. The black whole appeared in front of his desk. Felix walked around his desk and walked into it. He was followed by Lakshman, Wolfenstine and Sevedant. The Phintex Raja warped out of the room just as the portal became small and vanished. At that moment, the black hole appeared at the entrance to Astral Academy. Through it, Felix, Lakshman, Wolfenstine and Sevedant appeared as they walked into the sunlight. They were startled by so much dust that covered the entire field. Felix then waved his hand and sent a powerful force of wind in all directions. This pushed the dust away and brought everything into view. The front gates to Astral Academy were utterly destroyed. As they quickly walked forward, they saw a lot of guards collapsed on the ground. Many of them were unmoving and Felix guessed they were either unconscious or dead. “Where the hell is he?!” Wolfenstine asked in a frustrated voice while looking around.
Demon Dragon King, Razzel, was nowhere in sight. Then they felt his energy and presence coming from below the ground. It certainly looked like Razzel had gone after the Demon Slayer after beating down all the guards that came at him. At that moment, they saw a guard struggling to sit up. Felix quickly ran over to him and supported him. Then he asked the guard “What exactly happened here?” The guard coughed once and then said “Phoenix Emperor… This guy just suddenly appeared at the front gates. Then he started emanating this weird dark energy and tried to force his way. We activated the barrier, but he shattered it like it was nothing. Then he blasted all of us away before absorbing these blue orbs from the other guards.” “Dammit…!” Sevedant muttered in annoyance. Razzel seemed to take the life of someone without mercy or remorse. It aggravated them, especially Sevedant being that he is a Death Titan and he was the Messenger of Death. As such, these kinds of acts of destruction made him really angry. Felix glanced at him for a moment before turning back to the guard. He understood the feelings Sevedant was going through and it worried him. So far, Sevedant had gone easy on Razzel because he did not understand what his objective was, but he was losing it. If Sevedant went all out, Felix feared he might not be able to stop him from utterly destroying Floria Kingdom. “Where is he now?” Felix asked the guard once he turned back to face him. The guard lifted a feeble hand and pointed in a certain direction. They looked towards where he was pointing and saw something on the ground. “Alright. You did well and be proud of your effort!” Felix told the guard firmly. The guard shook his head and said “Please forgive me for failing my duty, sir…!” Felix shook his head, but he did not have time to stop and lift the man’s sadness. He had more pressing matters to take care of. So he simply told the man to lie down. Then he joined the others that headed in the direction the guard pointed. “Wow…! This is one big hole in the ground!” Wolfenstine commented when he looked at it.
Lakshman looked down into the hole and saw a deep stretch of darkness. From up here, it was impossible to tell how deep that hole went or how far Razzel had dug. All he knew was that the Demon Dragon King certainly went after the Demon Slayer. “Okay. I’ll go first and Sevedant come after me along with Lucky. Um… Wolfenstine… You’ll…” “I’ll stay here and help with the protection. I’ll get the students to go to the hall which is the safest place in the academy,” Wolfenstine told him firmly. Felix nodded and said “Good. Alright you two… Let’s go!” With that, he hovered over the hole in the ground and slowly descended. Sevedant followed right after him and it was finally Lakshman’s turn. He was just about to go when he heard a shout of “Lucky?!” Lakshman looked over to where the shout came from. He saw Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Cantia and Venezuela running over to him with shocked expressions on their faces. “W-What’s going on?” “What was that explosion just now?” “Is something wrong, Lucky?” “Wow! Where did this big hole from form?!” “What’s the matter, Lakshman?” The girls each asked their question in their respective order. They could tell something was terribly wrong from the frowning expression on his face. Additionally, they could also feel the twisted energy of the Demon Dragon King and it caused them to fear. “The Demon Dragon King, Razzel, came and is now on his way to obtain the Demon Slayer, a Sacred Spirit that sealed itself beneath the Astral Academy grounds,” he informed them. All the girls exclaimed in shock at finding out the shocking news. Well, Tetra was the only one who did not appear to be shocked and instead, she was nodding her head in understanding. “I see… I thought as much. It felt weird I felt her presence here,” she said quietly. “What’s the matter, Tetra?” Ondine asked her curiously.
“Ever since we arrived here, I felt the presence of another Sacred Spirit. That feeling was confirmed when I recognised it as the Demon Slayer, but she seemed to have shut herself off from the world. So I didn’t bother to tell anyone about it.” “Oh? Then why does master know about it? Hmm? Master? Why didn’t you bother to share this information?” Ondine asked as she placed her hands on her hips as she stared at him. “Uh… Sorry, but Sevedant told me to keep quiet about it until the time was right. Anyway, we’ll talk about this fully later. Right now I have to go down and stop that bastard from obtaining the Demon Slayer,” Lakshman said quickly. “Then we’re coming along!” Ondine said adamantly and the other girls nodded in agreement Lakshman thought for a moment whether to bring them with him or not. Then he shook his head and said “No, girls. It’s best if you help around here.” “He’s right, you know? The one he’ll be messing with is a tough nut!” Wolfenstine said in support of Lakshman. “What the?! Wolfenstine? Where the hell did you spring from?” Ondine asked and he made a disgruntled expression on his face. “It’s not safe for you girls to come after us. He’s the Demon Dragon King and is an extremely powerful person. It has to be me, Felix and Sevedant.” “B-But-!” “No buts! That’s an order!” Lakshman said firmly and they stiffened in surprise. Then he smiled at them and said “Take care of everyone while I’m gone.” With that, he hovered above and slowly descended into the big hole in the ground. They watched him dive deeper into the ground until the darkness enveloped him. “Alright! Let’s move the people the hall where it’s safer for them! You girls go around and inform everyone about it,” Wolfenstine said and the girls began going around to speak to the other students to inform them. While they were doing that, Lakshman descended downward in total darkness. Looking up, he saw the spec of light that was shrinking by every minute. Then he landed on solid ground and almost stumbled in the total darkness.
At that moment, he heard Felix’s voice say “About time you got here. What took you so long?” “Girls,” Lakshman said shortly and Felix understood immediately what he meant. “Well, anyway. I can feel his energy coming from over in that direction,” Felix informed them and he pointed in the darkness which no one saw. “It’s a bit dark to see properly…” Lakshman said slowly. That was when Sevedant said “No problem. Spirit Light.” Three balls of lights erupted out of his hand and floated around them. They expanded until they shone the underground like it was a lit room. Without further ado, the three warriors ran into the distance where the ground opened a hole. The balls of light floated after them and soon kept pace with them. Thanks to that, they were able to see ahead and avoid the jagged rocks where the ground was opened unevenly. “Razzel’s a Demon Dragon King, but he certainly doesn’t know how to make holes in the ground!” Felix exclaimed as they avoided another set of rocks that were in their way. “Razzel destroys. Destruction seeker. Power hungry,” Sevedant said in an angry voice. Very soon, they reached the place where the ground finally became even. They were surprised to see that there was an overhead entrance erected here as if this was some sort of shrine. Walking through it, they felt they were in a strange place filled with silence and emptiness. It almost felt foreboding to be there. Just then, there was a violent flash of light from up ahead. Sensing danger, they ran as hard as they could towards the location. Once they arrived, they were shocked to see what was happening. The Demon Dragon King, Razzel, was firing some sort of energy beam at something in the air. They looked towards what he was firing it at and was shocked to see that it was none other than Spectra, the ghost. “Spectra!” Lakshman shouted and he charged forward. Razzel was taken by surprise from his quick movement and Lakshman grabbed Spectra. Then he quickly retreated to where Felix and Sevedant were. Once he got there, he gently let go of Spectra who was barely conscious in his arms.
“Spectra! Spectra!” he said and repeatedly called out to her. Spectra managed to open her eyes and look into his face. Recognising who it was, she croaked “Please… Save the Demon Slayer…” Her eyes suddenly closed and she fainted. Lakshman knew there was no waking her up right now. So he gently laid her on the ground and straightened up to face the Demon Dragon King. This was his first time meeting the man, but he already hates him for how he treated everyone, including the dead. Razzel smiled towards them and said “Well, well, well! Look who it is! Its Felix the Phoenix Emperor and Sevedant, the Demon Titan! How pleasant of you both to drop by. What’s this? A boy who is on par with all of you? How fun!” As he laughed hysterically, Lakshman stood next to Felix and Sevedant. He wore an angry expression on his face as he stared at him. Just from appearance, Razzel appeared to be a normal man, but his power was something different. Lakshman could feel an immense power coming from the man, but his ability to sense power was not as refined as the two warriors that stood next to him. Razzel grinned at them and then held out a box as he shouted “You’ve come to retrieve this from me, right?” Felix, Sevedant and Lakshman looked at the box he was holding. They could feel a strange energy emanating from it and they suddenly realised what was inside. “T-The Demon Slayer is inside?!” they exclaimed in shocked voices. Razzel nodded his head at them as he withdrew and tucked it to his cloak. Then he said “Unfortunately, it seemed like it didn’t like me. The stupid Sacred Spirit tried to attack me, but I locked in into that Containment Box before it could not do anything anymore.” “Give her back!” Lakshman shouted at him. Razzel said “Tat, tat, tat. That’s rude to speak to a Demon Dragon King, boy. Besides, finders keepers. The most important rule people follow when they find something.” “Grr…! Damn you!” Sevedant screamed and he began surging with power. “You idiot! Stop!” Felix shouted fearfully.
They were all buffeted by the power that Sevedant was releasing. Lakshman, who was still using Power Counter to observe their power levels, was astonished as Sevedant’s values kept increasing at a rapid pace. Then he charged straight towards Razzel. The Demon Dragon King reached immediately by beginning to surge with power. Just as Sevedant reached him, Razzel created a powerful barrier to protect himself. “ARRRRRAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Sevedant screamed as he punched at the barrier. The force of the impact against the barrier created a powerful shockwave and it sent a shocking wind everywhere. Felix and Lakshman got buffeted by the strong force that was released. Razzel widened his eyes in shock as he realised he was slowly sinking because of the powerful punch Sevedant delivered. Suddenly the barrier vanished and Sevedant was surprised to see that Razzel had disappeared. A moment later, they all turned around to see that he was several meters away from Sevedant. “Wow! I never expected you to be this strong!” Razzel said in a surprised voice. “I’m just getting warmed up!” Sevedant shouted and he charged towards him again at incredible speed. “That idiot” Felix shouted and he charged into to fight. With Felix joining the fray, it soon became a battle between two against one. Both Felix and Sevedant were moving at incredible speeds, but Razzel was moving fast as well. He kept blocking and dodging their attacks in this confined space. With each of their blows, a shocking force was sent everywhere that shook the ground. Lose rubble, rocks and debris kept slowly falling down around them. Lakshman began to fear that they might get buried under all the rubble. Just then, he suddenly realised something. As the three warriors fought, he could see the box that Razzel was hiding under his cloak. Realising this was his chance to make his move, Lakshman surged with power and dashed forward. As the battle continued fiercely, Razzel kicked his opponents away as hard as he could. Fighting the two powerful warriors was very difficult, especially when their speeds were slightly faster than his. As he breathed out, he was stunned when he saw Lakshman appeared right in front of him.
Before he could react, Lakshman had delivered countless punches that knocked him offbalance. “I’ll be taking this!” Lakshman said as he reached out and grabbed the box. “You!” Razzel exclaimed in a shocked voice. Razzel instantly recovered and reached forward for box, but it was too late. Lakshman had used Instant Step to disappear and reappear where Felix and Sevedant were standing. “I got the box!” Lakshman said triumphantly. “Good man! Now we can take him without worrying about the box!” Felix said as he stared at Razzel with a grin on his face. “You’re finished, Razzel!” Sevedant shouted at his enemy. Radiating in purple aura, Razzel looked angrily at Lakshman. He was actually impressed the boy moved even faster than both Sevedant and Razzel combined. This gave him an idea and he reflexively smiled for all of them to see. “What’s so funny?” Felix asked him cautiously. “Oh yeah. I’m finished. It’s about time I return to my base,” he said and flashed a smile at them. “What?” Felix said and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He instantly knew something was wrong. The Demon Dragon King was smiling for some reason and it was not good. “Stay on high alert, you guys. He’s got something in mind and it doesn’t look good…” Felix said quietly to them. Sevedant nodded at him and Lakshman nervously “Y-Yeah!” Razzel was standing and smiling at them one moment. The next, he vanished from their sights which startled them. They knew he was still there, but they just could see him anymore. Then he reappeared directly in front of Lakshman where Felix and Sevedant had their backs turned.
Realising he was behind them, Felix and Sevedant quickly turned around to hit him. Lakshman took one step and prepared to hit the man with his own power punch. The next thing they knew, they had stopped moving. Razzel was holding up a crystal which was glowing dimly. He smiled and said “Well, well! Strong warriors, but weak against this one tiny Time Crystal!” He roared with laughter as the three warriors were frozen on the spot. All three of them were unable to move their bodies, but they were able to keep track of what was happening. “Now then. I’ll be taking this… Hmm? What’s this?” Razzel said curiously when he looked at the box. The Containment Box was emanating a dark aura and it was flowing towards Lakshman. Inside the box, the Demon Slayer was somehow triggered by Lakshman’s presence. Razzel looked at the box and then at the boy standing before him in time frozen. “I see… Looks like I have more than one reason to capture you now,” Razzel said and he made an evil grin on his face. Lakshman realised he was in deep trouble and there was nothing he could do. Even the Decisive Player had no solution to how he could break out of a time freeze. Then there was the sound of cracking noise from the Time Crystal Razzel was holding. He looked at it in surprise and said “Whoops. I better get this over with before it breaks!” He quickly put his hand on Lakshman’s head and grinned as he said “Thunder Cracker.” In an instant, Lakshman felt an immense lightning surging through him. He wanted to scream, he wanted to wail, he wanted to yell in pain, but it was no use. Being frozen in time, only his eyes widened in shock from the lightning force. A few seconds later, his eyes went blank and he closed them as he was knocked unconscious. Once Lakshman was unconscious, Razzel held the box and then grabbed hold of Lakshman’s other hand. Then he turned around to see time slowly returning to normal. Both Felix and Sevedant were moving at him in a slow motion attack sequence. “Alright then. I enjoyed my time fighting you idiots, but it’s time I go. I’ll see you lot later,” Razzel said and he smiled at them.
That was when the Time Crystal final broke. As it broke, all frozen time was restored in an instant. Just as it did, a magic circle appeared beneath Razzen and Lakshman. It enveloped them in a bright yellow light. “AAAH!” Felix screamed as he and Sevedant were finally free from the time freeze. They came forward with their fists raised to deliver a powerful blow to Razzel. However, Razzel had disappeared in a golden yellow light with Lakshman. Felix and Sevedant fell silent as they came to realise what just happened. The Demon Slayer was reacting to Lakshman which they were unable to understand. However, Razzel realised this and knew he needed Lakshman in order to make the Demon Slayer his. So he took Lakshman with him to who knows where. In anger and frustration, Felix sank to his knees in the deserted underground. The balls of light were still hovering over them, but their light was not enough to lift the veil of sadness that covered them. “Dammit…! Dammit!” Felix screamed as loud as his lungs would let him and he hit the ground as hard as he could. The ground shook violently, but nothing else happened. Felix had failed as the Phoenix Emperor to stop the Demon Dragon King from taking the Demon Slayer and Lakshman. He had failed at being the guardian of the Phoenix Titan.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 210 Realising Darkness The air felt empty, the space was filled with emptiness and all was covered in darkness. There was no knowing where anyone would be in such a place of eternal darkness. In it, a consciousness was slowly drifting in this empty space. At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind which did not startled him. It was a voice he had known since three years of knowing who he was. “Time to wake up, sleepy head. Time to open your eyes.” “Mmm…” Lakshman moaned softly as he slowly awakened. Lakshman slowly arose from what felt like a long sleep. He felt groggy and had the sensation as if he was going to fall asleep. “Oh, geez… WAKE UP DAMMIT!!” the Decisive Player suddenly yelled as loud as he could. “Oww… Okay, I’m getting up…” Lakshman said slowly and he finally opened his eyes. For a moment, he was confused. Everything around him was dark and he could feel the ground beneath him. It was not like the sensation that he always had whenever he drifted in his mind. Instead, he was faced with a reality that was covered in darkness. “Um… What?” he asked uncertainly while looking around. Lakshman was confused when he suddenly found himself lost in the dark. There was not a glint of light in the location he was at. He could only heard the sound of his heart beat and feel his surroundings. “What the? My hands…!” He tried to move his hands, but suddenly found that he could not. There was something that tied his hands behind his back. No matter how hard he tried to free them, it was no use. Additionally, he also noticed that his legs were tied up. With the effort of trying to free himself, he suddenly fell sideways to the floor. He felt stupid as he rolled pathetically on the ground in this darkness. After several seconds of painfully
moving his body, he finally managed to lie on the ground as he faced the ceiling which was covered by the darkness. “I’m tied up and I’m struggling to use my strength and energy… Dang!” “Sounds quite the tough predicament you’re in,” he heard the Decisive Player comment lightly. “Decisive Player! Tell me! Why am I tied up? In fact, why am I even here? Decisive Player? Do you know what happened?” Lakshman asked nervously. The Decisive Player cleared his throat and said “Try to remember what happened last time.” Upon those words, Lakshman thought back to the recent events. The last he could remember was holding onto the box containing the Demon Slayer Sacred Spirit. That was when the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, appeared right in front of him and placed his hand. Then a wave of pain coursed through his body and everything went blank after that. “Uh… So I was easily defeated by the Demon Dragon King? How?” Lakshman asked incredulously. “You used a Time Crystal to stop you, Felix’s and Sevedant’s time. Then he walked over to you and flooded you with an electric attack called Thunder Cracker. Because you took the full force of the Sage ranked attack, executed at full power, without any defence, and you were knocked out cold.” “Oh… Wait! Doesn’t that mean he kidnapped me? Huh? He kidnapped me?! Why? What does he need me for? Hostage?” “No. I do not believe one from the Dragon Clan would dare sink as low as to use a hostage.” “How do you know? Do you have some sort of history with the Dragon Clan?” “The Dragon Clan are proud and honourable warriors that fought for respect and dignity. Well… That’s what they were like eight-thousand years ago…” Lakshman was surprised to hear the doubt in the Decisive Player’s voice. It was the first time he had heard the Decisive Player sound uncertain about something. “Why do you sound like you’re not sure? Is there something you’re not telling me?” Lakshman asked him quizzically.
The Decisive Player sighed and said “It’s like everything else. As times change, so do the people and their beliefs. Compared to how the Dragon Clan were over eight-thousand years ago, they sort of became arrogant about their powers. They started believing themselves to be a superior race compared to the humans and the Phoenix Clan.” “Mmm… That sort of makes sense…” Lakshman said in an understanding voice much to the Decisive Player’s surprise. “You do? How?” the Decisive Player asked him quickly. “I mean, yeah they certainly are quite different from the humans. They possess the Dragon Blood that enables them to live long lives, have dragon-like abilities like breathing fire, transforming into dragons and the natural ability of flight. On top of that, they also are said to be naturally strong from birth. So yeah… They are superior in a way.” “Unbelievable… I can’t believe I’m hearing this from the future Phoenix Titan!” the Decisive Player said heavily. “What? I’m telling how it is,” Lakshman said indignantly. The Decisive Player sighed in resignation. Then he said “Getting back to the point, make sure you don’t reveal yourself as the Phoenix Titan. I suspect he’s taken you here to experiment with you. If he finds out you are the future Phoenix Titan, he will take advantage of it and will try something that can’t be fixed.” Hearing that, Lakshman shivered reflexively and said “Seriously… Razzel is staring to creep me out by the minute! Geez! Is there no end to this guy’s craziness?” “It will only get worse when he begins to experiment with you and the Demon Slayer.” “Huh? Why would he want to experiment with me and the Demon Slayer? First of all, I’m not that Sacred Spirit’s Contracted Master. Secondly, why experiment with me in the first place? I barely revealed any power except for delivering some really fast blows to his body to grab the box.” “I guess you didn’t notice because you were preoccupied by Razzel. The fact is, the Demon Slayer reacted to you.” “Um… Decisive Player, please explain it to me in a way I can understand… Please?” The Decisive Player sighed and explained.
“I’m certain he could’ve knocked you all back, taken the box and gotten out of there via the Teleportation Magic Circle. However, he was forced to use a Time Crystal which got broke and fell to pieces because he took the extra time to take you with him. This was because he noticed the dark energy the Demon Slayer was emanating and how it was warping around you.” “Warping around me? Um… Sorry Decisive Player, but I don’t remember noticing any unusual energy warping around me,” Lakshman said slowly. “Of course, you wouldn’t. Who the heck would pay attention to that when the enemy is right in front of you? Anyway, he noticed the flow of its energy as it warped around you and noticed that it was reacting to you. Just like the Phoenix Blade, the Demon Slayer was beginning to recognise you as its master.” “Ah…!” Lakshman said as he finally understood what the Decisive Player was trying to tell him. The Demon Slayer was a Sacred Spirit, just like the Phoenix Blade. Just like Tetra, the Demon Slayer shut herself off from reality and cut her own power. She had totally intended to die, but her small hope lingered in the form of that tine bit of energy. And so, the Demon Slayer waited for a whole hundred years for a new master. Then Razzel came along and tried to forcibly take passion of her. In her self-defence, she automatically attacked him. Unable to control her, the Demon Dragon King was forced to lock her inside a Containment Box. While stuck inside the box, she could do little, but hate the one who was forcibly trying to take control of her. Then Lakshman appeared and took the box from him after delivering blows that knocked him unbalance. Now she felt a change. She was now in the hands of a different person even though she was still stuck inside a Containment Box. Even so, she felt a strange sensation when she was near Lakshman. Due to this and her desire to connect with him, caused her powers to slowly awaken and even penetrate through the box to warp around him. Lakshman nodded his head in the darkness and said “I see. The Demon Slayer took a liking to me, huh… It’s so strange how Sacred Spirits choose their masters.” The Decisive Player chuckled and said “There are so many Sacred Spirits out in the world that choose masters on a specification. Sacred Spirits, like Tetra, are rare because they are duty bound to only serve one specific type of master. In Tetra’s case, it has to be the Phoenix Titan and the Dragon Slayer serves the Dragon Titan.”
“Wait, what? Dragon Slayer? Is that the title of the Sacred Spirit the Dragon Titan wields? Wow! What is with these Sacred Spirits using the ‘slayer’ term so much?” “Only their maker would know about that. Anyway, I don’t know why, but the Demon Slayer has taken an interest in you which made the Demon Dragon King take an interest in you. Now you better be prepared for the worst case scenario here…!” “Worst case scenario?” Lakshman asked and he suddenly sounded nervous. “Yeah. Like torture, suffocation, interrogation, possession and various more things he would use. Believe me, if there’s one thing the Dragon Clan are, it’s that they are stubbornly persistent and resilient. He won’t stop until he is satisfied with the results if he became a sort of ruthless scientist.” Lakshman gulped and said “I actually feel I’m in more danger from him than Wolfnestine! Dang it, Darian and Rumble! Those two got it lucky while I’m stuck with this mad scientist!” “A mad scientist bent on doing whatever it takes to achieve the results.” “Gah! That’s even worse! Besides, why the hell does Razzel want to experiment with me anyway? It’s not like I asked it to choose me or anything. Besides, what makes him think he can get hold of it once he was satisfied with his science experiments?” The Decisive Player offhandedly said “To naturally understand the flow of your energy and add it to his already filled collections.” “Hold on… Back up! Add my energy to his collection? Am I missing something here because I don’t know this collection you’re referring to, Decisive Player?” “Of course. You definitely wouldn’t know about it because you haven’t touched Spirit Theory.” “Spirit Theory? Is that a subject?” “It is, but it will take far too long for me to explain it than you studying it on your own.” Then, ignoring Lakshman’s disappointment, he said “Anyway, the Death Titan had said this when he revealed what happened three years ago when he did not appear of what Razzel does to restore his lost energy. Remember what he said?” “Um… He said that Razzel restores lost energy from constantly using the Time Crystal to restore the energy force that was permanently removed,” Lakshman said with distaste.
“Yes, but it’s more than that. Along with absorbing their life, he incorporates their energy, memories and skills. He’s basically absorbing the energy components, the memories and the various skills that person possessed while alive.” Lakshman was left speechless when he heard this. Although it was dark, his eyes wide with horror at how crude the Demon Dragon King was leading his life. He is basically killing people, absorbing their being into himself and then uses it as if it belongs to him. Yet, he shows no compassion, no mercy and no regret for his actions. “He’s a heartless monster.” The Decisive Player softly said “You achieve nothing by mouthing badly like that. Sure, you are taking your stress out on others, but be different. It’s no good to let your reason get crumpled by your feelings. Reason should outweigh feelings in such delicate situations, but listen to your heart as well. In some cases, your heart knows best that reason will fail at.” “Yeah…” Lakshman said and he thought about Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Cantia and Venezuela. At that moment, he heard a strange sound. Lakshman silent and listened to the sound getting louder and louder. He instantly recognised it as the sound of footsteps and there were multiple sounds of them. It looked like they were headed where he was tied up on the ground. The footsteps came to a stop followed by people issuing orders. Then the there was a split that opened in the centre from not far away. The split widened and light streamed in the room. For the first time in a while, Lakshman welcomed the light. It lifted the gloom from inside the dark room. Several people entered the room and paused when they saw Lakshman’s moving body. “He’s awake.” “Already?” “He’s tough!” “Anyway, we have our orders.” “Let’s go!” Once they were done talking to each other, two of them walked over to Lakshman. Being unable to move his arms or legs, feeling too weak to use his energy or strength, he was easily
lifted by the two men. Then they began dragging him out through the doors into the bright light. As soon as he got adjusted to the light, Lakshman began to struggle. He might not be able to move his arms or legs, but his body was still in good shape. So he struggled his hardest while shouting at them. “Let go of me! Release me, dammit! Let go! Let go!” His reward for his valiant struggle was four severe blows to the top of his head. He cried out in pain as his head stung painfully. “These guys are really strong!” Lakshman thought painfully. “No. It’s more like you’ve become weak. Really… really… weak!” the Decisive Player said bluntly. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?” “Relax. I don’t know why either, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. Now stop struggling because that head blows are painful to take right now!” Heeding those words, Lakshman allowed himself to get dragged. The two men were using their hands to carry him by the shoulders while his feet got dragged on the ground. It was as if these two men were purposefully making the ride painful for Lakshman. Lakshman noticed there were several others that were walking outside. It looked like they were in a formation to make sure nothing happened while Lakshman got dragged. Lakshman felt a little dizzy After several minutes of going straight and turning in different directions, they finally stopped outside a door. After knocking twice, one man said “Sir! We’ve brought the package!” “Huh?! Package?! Me? They’re referring to me as a package?!” Lakshman thought indignantly. There was a moment of pause before the door opened to let them in. Lakshman groaned when his legs hit the door frame, but the people dragging him did not care. They had a task to complete and they were set on doing it without delays.
Lakshman got dragged for several more seconds before they stopped again. This time, they were in a brightly lit room which caused Lakshman to close his eyes reflexively. Without the slightest bit of gentleness, the two people raised him into a standing position. Then they made him stumble into a walk before forcing him to sit on a chair. With their task complete, the men left him on his own. Lakshman heard the door close which puzzled him because he still had his eyes shut tightly. The suddenly blinding light caused his eyes to hurt and he was taking it easy to reopen them. He was forced to change his plan when he heard voices. “Ah. He’s the one alright. You did a good job bringing him here, Razzel,” a familiar voice said. “It was nothing, but I am surprised my soon-to-be guinea pig interests you, sir,” Razzel’s voice spoke calmly. “Oh! I don’t think interest is the right term here. I think the term hatred fits nicely here,” the man said and he laughed. Then the man directed a question at Lakshman and asked “Isn’t that right, future husband of princess Venezuela of Floria Kingdom?” “That voice…!” Lakshman exclaimed in alarm. He had heard the voice before, but he could not immediately remember from where. So he forced his eyes open as they slowly adjusted to the bright light. He blinked for a moment because his vision was blurry. Then it cleared and he was able to see clearly. Lakshman blinked twice flatly. Then his eyes widened in shock when he saw someone he immediately recognised. The handsome face of a prince with an arrogant expression on it. The man was smiling at Lakshman, but his eyes were cold as rock as he stared at him. “I’m glad you recognised me, plebeian,” the new king of Mardian Kingdom, Adebola Gramstone, said with an evil grin on his face.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 211 Painful Lesson “Adebola Gramstone!” Lakshman exclaimed as he stared at the man in shock. “So nice of you to remember my name as well,” Adebola said and he smiled at him. Although he was smiling, Lakshman could tell it was a fake. Adebola was playing with him and he did not like it one bit. At that moment, the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, spoke to Adebola in a flat voice. “So I see. You really hate this guy. Then there is no point in pretending to be formal.” Adebola glared at him and said “Don’t forget that you’re still my subordinate!” “So long as our alliance remains! Otherwise, I don’t need you or anybody!” Razzel said as he glared back at him. Lakshman looked at them and demanded “What? What alliance? What is this? What the hell is going on here?!” Razzel smiled evilly at him and said “Why should we tell you anything? You’re just my test subject! I will use your to understand your powers and then harness them for myself to control the Demon Slayer!” Lakshman’s eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the thing he had forgotten earlier. He struggling in his bind as he asked “Where is it?! Where is the Demon Slayer?!” “In a safe place, far away from your bound libs can reach! So count yourself lucky to be a test subject.” “Before you do that, I have some business with him,” Adebola said and he looked fiercely at Lakshman. Razzel nodded and said “Whatever, but make sure not to break him. He’s useless to me if I can’t experiment on him.” Adebola laughed and said “Ha! I doubt this filth will break so easily!”
Nodding in understanding, Razzel left through the open door. Once the door closed, Adebola and Lakshman were the only ones left in the room. Lakshman suspected there were guards just outside in case something were to happen to their master. Adebola grabbed a chair and dragged to where Lakshman sat with his hands and legs bound. Then he set the chair straight and sat down while he faced Lakshman. The two men stared at each other as the silence stretched on as each second passed. “You know… I am surprised that you got yourself caught so easily! Maybe I misjudged you,” Adebola finally said to him. Lakshman snorted and said “I’d like to see how you’d do in a frozen time environment! Getting frozen in time, then getting electrocuted until it knocked me out! Seriously… That’s quite the cowardly method of defeating someone if you ask me.” “I see… So he used a Time Crystal. Well…! I’m not surprised. I hear he was forced to fight both the Phoenix Emperor and the Death Titan! I think he would’ve easily managed with at least one of them, but two on one is hardly fair now, is it?” “And you call tasking hostage for the sake of experiments is justifiable?!” Adebola shrugged his shoulders and said “I don’t know, but I don’t care. People are subjects that should be stepped upon when they do not yield to the awesome powers of their king!” “A king who killed another king to become a king! You’re not a king! You’re a murderer!” “Yes, yes, yes! Our history is filled with the bloodshed of king killing kings, queens killing queens, brother killing brothers and sisters killing sisters! Our history is full of it if you aren’t aware.” “I don’t need a history lesson because I’m not talking about the history here! You killed the previous king before you to become king! What’s worse… is that the king you murdered also happens to be your father, dammit! You killed your own father to ascend to the throne!” Adebola laughed hysterically and said “He’s my father? So what? He’s a king and he got in my way and I got rid of him. Getting rid of obstacles by exerting your full might is the true force of a king!” “You heartless monster! You are his flesh and blood! Killing him was like killing yourself!” Lakshman said angrily.
Adebola looked surprised and he began checking his body for any deathly wounds. As he did, he said “Really? Cause’ I could’ve sworn that I’m still alive. Killing him didn’t kill me. Why would it? He may be my father, but so what? He’s a bastard that deserved to die by my hands and I gladly did it!” “You arrogant fool! Your own pride will be your undoing!” Lakshman said in a threating voice. Adebola’s eyes widened and he suddenly looked livid with anger. The next moment, he brought his hands forward and grabbed Lakshman by the throat. As Lakshman began to choke and splutter, Adebola rose to his feet and lifted Lakshman by his throat. Then, with tremendous force, slammed him against the wall. Lakshman groaned in pain from the impact against the wall. His back ached greatly as Adebola let go of his throat and stepped back. He was breathing quickly as he angrily glared at his prisoner. “You got a lot of nerve to speak to me in that way! It’s almost like you’re not afraid of me!” Adebola said as his breathing calmed down, but not the rage in his eyes. Lakshman looked at him fiercely and said “Fear? You? Why? What’s so fearsome about you that I should fear?” Without a word, Adebola walked forward and slapped Lakshman left and right six times. The impact caused Lakshman’s head to dangle helplessly. It caused him to recoil from the sudden slapping his cheeks received. Then he lifted his head and angrily glared at Adebola with gritted teeth. “What, fool?! Feeling angry?! Feeling humiliated?! I felt ten time worse back when you insulted me in front of Venezuela! ARGH!” Adebola screamed at him. Without a second though, he began punching Lakshman in the stomach and face. He was fast, his blows were hard and the impact was painful. After a whole minute of nonstop punching and kneeing Lakshman, Adebola took a break. Lakshman coughed out blood and his breathing was haggard. Blood slowly dripped down his mouth as he had difficulty getting his breathing right. “Why…? Why does it hurt so much? I’m a lot stronger than this bastard, but… why am I so badly injured…?” Lakshman thought painfully.
Then he heard the Decisive Player say “There is something that’s supressing you’re power and strength. Right now, you’re nothing, but an ordinary man. I doubt you will even be able to transform into the Phoenix Titan if you wanted to!” “What? What sort of thing is making me feel so weak?!” Lakshman demanded, but the Decisive Player did not respond which only meant the he did not know. Just then, Adebola walked forward and grabbed Lakshman’s head. Lifted it to look directly into his eyes, he shouted “Do you have any idea the kind of humiliation I suffered because of you! You, that wench and that damned king! Even my father got in my way and I took care of him! Now I will pay back the humiliation ten times- no, a hundred times!” Lakshman weakly looked at him and asked “W-What are you… planning to… do…?” At that question, Adebola grinned and said “Revenge! My first revenge was against my father and it went successfully. Now I will turn my attention to Floria Kingdom and destroy it utterly! I will show those fools for daring to mock me and my power!” Lakshman coughed painfully and said “Stop this madness, prince-!” The next moment, he lost his words in his mouth. In a wild rage, Adebola began banging Lakshman against the wall several more times which caused cracks to begin appearing there. Then he began lamenting all his anger and hatred on him by beating him black and blue. Unable to respond or protect himself, Lakshman was forced to take all the blows. No one came to stop them and no one tried to protect him. Beating after beating ensued with Adebola using everything he got against Lakshman. Adebola finally stopped to take a breather. Lakshman’s feet trembled due to losing so much blood and energy. His energy finally failed and he slowly toppled sideways when Adebola suddenly grabbed him by his hair. Caught by the hair and weakened severely, Lakshman winced as Adebola easily lifted him up. Then he began slapping Lakshman across the face at the end of each sentence. “I’m not a prince anymore! I’m now the proud king of Mardana Kingdom! There is no one who’ll dare to challenge my authority now! No one would dare to stop me and my followers! We will march on and destroy Floria Kingdom! Then I will force the entire world to bow before my knees!” Lakshman immediately could not respond. From the previous assault, Lakshman lost a lot of blood. It was dripping out of his hanging mouth as he desperately fought to stay conscious. He
did not know what will happen to him if he fell unconscious there and the fear made him stay awake. As he heard the words spoken by Adebola, he slowly looked at him. His visibility was blurred as he could not clearly see anymore. The tears in his eyes from the pain and suffering he just endured also made it difficult for him to see properly. Then, he mustered his last remaining energy and said “That’s a fool’s dream. You will never obtain it…!” With that, he went limp. Lakshman fell unconscious. Adebola got really angry and raised his fist back. He began gathering large amount of energy into his fist while glaring at the unconscious face of Lakshman. Just as he was about to unleash the power, the door suddenly banged open. The Demon Dragon King entered the room and said “That’s enough, Adebola! Stop this right now!” “Why?! He dared to insult me before going limp on me! This damned bastard!” Adebola shouted and he punched Lakshman’s unconscious face. “Even so, I cannot let you hurt him anymore! I need that test subject to be alive!” Razzel told him seriously. Adebola let go of Lakshman’s hair and he limped fell flat on the ground. Then Adebola turned to face Razzel with an equal amount of seriousness in his eyes. “This guy’s a waste of life! All blood and muscle with no brains at all! I would thoroughly enjoy taking the life out of him for you!” Adebola said to him. Razzel shook his head and said “Like I told you, the Demon Slayer responded to him. I want to find out why and possibly harness his energy so I may wield the Demon Slayer!” Adebola walked right up to Razzel and they were staring at each other. Both of them did not back down nor showed any sign of being afraid of one another. “Are you talking back to your king?” Adebola asked him fiercely. Razzel glared at him and said “I might behave formally when everyone is around, but you are not my king and I’m not one of your subjects! Make sure to remember that! I allied myself with you because our goals are similar! You want to destroy Floria Kingdom and I want to destroy both the kingdom and that accursed Death Titan!”
“But-!” Razzel held his finger to Adebola’s mouth and said “I promised I will assist you in empowering your soldiers with the equipment they need for an invasion. In return, you will assist me by providing with me with the required materials! Are you planning on breaking our alliance over this guy?” Adebola did not respond immediately, but he glared at him unhappily. He was unhappy, but he had to agree to the terms and conditions of the Demon Dragon King if he wanted to fight against the Phoenix Clan. The clan’s specialised armour protects the users and empowers them. Adebola painfully was aware that his kingdom does not possess the knowledge or the skills to fight against them. This is why Adebola allied himself with the Demon Dragon King. The armour made by the Dragon Clan are really powerful and also empower their users. If they are to start an invasion, he knew they will need Razzel’s help for it. With the obvious decision made, Adebola sighed and said “Alright...” There was no other way, but to listen to Razzel right now. Razzel smiled at him and nodded in approval of his decision. Razzel was aware of how frustrated Adebola was and this only made him feel more confident in his ability to make the man listen to him. With the talking done, Adebola clapped his hands twice. Several men walked into the room and bowed before him. Then, as they straightened up, Adebola pointed at Lakshman’s unconscious body lying on the ground. “Take him and throw him with the lot!” he ordered his men. “We will, sir,” the men said with another bow. They walked over to where Lakshman lay motionless. After nodding at each other, they lifted Lakshman by the shoulders and dragged him out of the room. Lakshman was not aware of what was happening anymore. His breathing was shallow, but he will survive. However, the painful experience of not being able to use his powers for the first time made him feel helpless. His mind and heart were still firm, but his body was not in such a good shape. The men dragged him out of the room and disappeared. Then Adebola turned to Razzel and asked “When will you start experimenting on him?”
“Soon. I’m still preparing some things, but right now I’ll let the test subject rest. I don’t want him complaining about a lack of sleep and rest,” Razzel replied before making an evil smile. “Alright. In the meantime, I’ll manage the politics and all. There is so much work to be done. I need to bride the nobles and threaten so many others. Ah… I feel tired already…!” Adebola said with a sigh. Then he walked towards the door, but stopped right before exiting the room. He turned around and looked at Razzel one last time. “Don’t do anything funny while I’m away…!” Adebola warned him. Razzel raised an eyebrow and said “You’ve got some nerve saying that to me, the Demon Dragon King!” “Hmph!” With that, Adebola walked out of the room and disappeared.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 212 Womanly Compassion It was dark when Lakshman finally opened his eyes. He was again surrounded by an empty space of nothing, he was again feeling lonely from how deep the darkness was and he was again feeling that his arms and legs were bound. “Wait, wait, wait! Stop! This repeat of finding myself in this darkness is annoying! Earlier I was in another place and covered in darkness only to get taken away into the light which I liked. Then I disliked how I somehow became a punching bag to a total freak! Now, here I am, surrounded by darkness once again!” He sighed and said “Only thing different is that I’m bleeding… I’m feeling pain… I’m feeling very angry!” “I feel for you. I really do,” the Decisive Player told him in his mind. “This isn’t funny, dammit! First of all, where am I? Where the hell did those people take me and why is it that I’m always surrounded by darkness?” “Didn’t you know? Darkness is your friend. It’s only natural to always be with your friend, right?” Lakshman was not impressed by the joke that the Decisive Player made. He was in no mood for suck jokes because his body was aching. The beating he suffering at the hands of Adebola Gramstone did not ease. He continued to bleed from multiple wounds on his body, but he felt his head and stomach hurt the most. Adebola threw lots of punches and kneed him with powerful impact. Lakshman, for the first time, felt how it was to be helplessly beaten up. He found it sickening and hated Adebola for doing it to him. However, what hurt Lakshman the most was Adebola’s arrogant attitude and disregard to the fact that his opponents was in no way of defending himself. Lakshman prided himself for being someone who fought on even terms. He always fought straight and never once tried underhanded tricks. He was aware that he constantly disappeared and reappeared behind the opponent’s backs, but he always used only the strike.
Unlike Zenahart, who stabbed him from behind three years ago, Lakshman preferred a fair play style. “Coward…” he muttered weakly. Then he moaned softly from the multiple wounds on his body. He wished he could move his hands, but it was no use. For some odd reason, he just could not muster the strength to free himself. “This is so annoying…!” he finally said before wincing as he accidentally moved a little. “I agree with you,” said a man’s voice from the darkness. Lakshman instantly became alert and began using his sensing ability that he developed. He was startled to find that there were more than twenty-eight people in the same place as him. For some odd reason, he was situated in a place away from where they were all huddled together. “Um…? Who’s there?” he asked into the darkness. There was a pause of silence and he waited for the reply. Then it came as the woman’s voice said “Lots of people.” At her words, Lakshman snorted with laughter and he immediately wished he had not. He winced in pain when his body ached from his sudden laughter that caused his body to move slightly. Now he lay flat on the ground and looked up at the dark ceiling. “Did those guy trap you in here?” the man’s voice asked him a few seconds later. “Trap me? What are you talking about?” Lakshman asked in a confused voice. There was a short pause and he heard the sound of muttering from the other side of the room. “Are you not one of those noble family’s kid?” “Uh… No. I’m just a guy that got taken hostage due to… um… weird circumstances.” “I see…” the man’s voice said softly. Then he asked “Who are you?” “My name’s Lakshman Reddy.”
“Lakshman… Reddy… Mmm… Doesn’t ring any bells,” the man’s voice said slowly as he tried to remember if he ever heard of his name. Finally, he asked his fellow inmates “Any of you recognise the name Lakshman Reddy?” There was a murmuring of people as they shared the name with each other. For a moment, the people talked to each other about whether they recognised that name or not. The room seemed to be large because Lakshman could hear their murmuring, but he was unable to hear their exact words. He waited patiently while knowing, full well, none of them would recognise him. Suddenly, a loud woman’s voice asked “Lakshman? Did you say Lakshman Reddy?” “Yeah. He’s over there lying on the ground.” There was the sound of someone as they rose to their feet. Then the sound of footsteps on the floor could be heard as they quickly walked over to him. “L-Lakshman?” the woman asked in a breathless voice as she finally sat down where he lay. Lakshman tilted his head to see who the woman was, but it was no use. The room was too dark to let him make her out. “Um… Who are you?” he asked her hesitantly. At this question, the woman flinched in the darkness. “It’s me, Lucky. Erza Flameheart. Remember? Remember me?” He was rendered speechless by the woman’s desperate questions. He racked his brain to try and remember the person called Erza Flameheart. After a few seconds, he finally concluded that he could not recall ever meeting such a woman before. “Decisive Player. Do you think we’ve met this person? This Erza Flamerheart?” Lakshman asked the Decisive Player in his mind. He did not know what else to do because he certainly did not remember ever meeting a woman with that name. “No. I don’t believe we’ve met,” the Decisive Player finally told him in a flat voice. With the final verdict given, Lakshman sighed and said “I’m sorry, but have we met? I don’t remember meeting you before or ever hearing your name.”
Erza gasped in shocked and she clapped her mouth with her hands. Lakshman guessed the news really upset her, but he was curious now as to why she knew his name. He was quite proud of how good his memory was because of all the people he had met and gotten to know. However, she clearly knew his name, but he did not know her name. He was seriously troubled by this more than her. “Um… Ms. Flameheart? How do you know my name? Have we met before and I simply forgot about you? If so, I’m truly sorry… Ouch!” While speaking, Lakshman winced when his body hurt again. He seriously wished he could move his hands so that he could heal his body. Regardless of whether he was powerful or not, he knew his Advanced Ranked Healing Magic Spell will work. “No, no. It was my mistake for mistaking you for somebody else. Please forgive me for my mistake,” Erza said apologetically. Lakshman chuckled and said “It’s alright. I’m sure you just imagined I was the person you dearly missed and automatically thought I was him.” Erza nodded her head in the dark and said “Yes. I really do miss him very much.” “Ah. He’s lucky- oww!” he said and winced at the sudden pain. “What’s wrong? You’ve been moaning for the last few minutes. Are you perhaps injured?” “Haha. I kind of am…” “Oh my. Please let me see. Light Ball!” At the woman’s command, a ball of light suddenly materialised in her hand. With that, she gently threw it into the air and it shone the entire room. Thanks to the light, Lakshman became able to see the woman sitting near him. He was surprised to see that she was around his age. She had long blond hair that fell down to her waist and she had a charming smile on her face. Her face was slightly muddy, but he thought she would look pretty once all clean and neat. Then he was startled when he heard noises erupt in the room. There were gasps from the women and groans from the men when they saw him. He was not aware that his blood had
spread all around him and stained his clothes in the process. All he was aware was the slowly depleting energy in his body. “Oh my goodness! What happened to you?!” Erza exclaimed when she saw him and he charming smile disappeared from her face. He chuckled and said “Adebola Gramstone beat the heck out of me when I spoke rudely to him.” There was a shocked silence within the room when they heard who did it. “A-Adebola Gramstone did it?” “Oh my god…!” “Doesn’t that mean he’s hated…?” “Oh no…!” With apprehensive looks on their faces, the twenty-seven people distanced themselves from him. Lakshman easily understood why they were fearful to be near him. He was beat up which meant that Adebola disliked him. If any of them got close to him, they feared they will receive the same kind of punishment as him. “Man… That bastard sure is controlling people by scaring them!” he thought in exasperation. “Fear is a powerful element and is one of the greatest enemy of all life. Using it, you could bend the will of anyone that fear of something bad. Adebola is using the element of fear to rule over his people well.” “What the? Is it just me or did I hear you praising him just a second ago?” “I’m admitting his cleverness in using the one element that works against all those that fear. It is the perfect strategy to ensure no one would dare to challenge one’s authority.” Lakshman sighed in resignation and looked up at Erza. Seeing that she was staring down at him with a worried look on her face, he spoke to her in a voice full of concern for her. “Erza. You should keep your distance from me like the rest of them. I don’t want to become a burden to any of you. Please do yourself a favour and go join those people over there.”
He was genuinely worried about others getting hurt because of him. This kind of attitude had been in him since he was just a kid. Whenever someone got hurt or injured, he would help them out and would even defend even if it sometimes got him into trouble with his parents. He was doing it again. In order to keep complete strangers safe, he was willing to isolate himself. It was not like he was alone because of the presence of the Decisive Player. Even without him, Lakshman had gotten accustomed to being alone when he lived at the boy’s dormitory a few days ago. “Erza. Please go over there. I can heal my own injuries if you just untie me,” he finally told her. Erza did not respond because she was still stunned from seeing his injuries. Then her eyes narrowed which surprised him. A frown appeared on her face and she looked down at him. For a second, he imagined himself looking at his family maid, Mariana, when she found his actions to be unsatisfactory. “Just because you tell me doesn’t mean I will quietly listen. I’m not like those people over there who scurry away like rats in the face of trouble and danger. You are injured and need immediate attention. I have no interest in abandoning those that are in need of help.” She spoke to him firmly, yet Lakshman thought there was something strange. The manner of her speech was elegant and refined. It was as if she was from a royal birth or something because he was suddenly reminded of Venezuela Sargold, princess of Floria Kingdom. This time, it was his turn to narrow his eyes as he said “Like I said, I can heal myself if you just untie me. So please do me a favour and then go away.” Erza shook her head firmly and said “No. You are tired and badly injured. To make matters worse, you’ve lost a lot of blood. If I don’t heal you now, you will be in serious trouble.” “Ah come on…!” he said in a frustrated voice. Erza shrugged her shoulders and said “You’re choice. We can argue all we want, but you will still need me in the end.” At that moment, the Decisive Player said “Listen to reason. This girl is right. You’re badly beaten and need healing, but you don’t have enough energy to do it. So just listen to the girls and get this over with.” “B-But…! I’m a man and always being cared by the woman is… bad.”
“Now that’s just silly. Currently, she is the only one who is offering you help. Take it without questions or she’ll start thinking you’re some sort of eight year old child!” Lakshman finally sighed in resignation and said “Fine…! Please take care of me, Erza.” Erza smiled that he would let her take care of him. Without pause, she outstretched her right hand towards with by saying the magic spell out loud. “Healing.” She began healing the several wounds on his body by hovering her hand over them. It took some time, but it was worth it. Within several hours, all of Lakshman’s wounds were healed. Then she turned her attention to the blood he had lost due to the injuries. “Cleaning.” With effortless efficiency, the blood was wiped clean off the floor. Then she raised her hand and cleaned the blood off his clothes as well. Once all done, she nodded in satisfaction and said “All good.” Lakshman appeared to be surprised. He no longer felt the injuries that were causing him so much pain before. “Wow! I’m all healed!” he said in a happy voice. He quickly tried to sit up when he suddenly felt dizzy. He lost the strength in his arms and he fell sideways onto something soft. For a moment, he was puzzled by what the soft thing was. Then he came to the realisation that he had fallen on Erza’s lap. “Ah! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to fall on you like that!” Lakshman said quickly and he tried to get up. Then his strength failed him yet again as he said “Ah!” He landed with his face lying on her lap and found that his body stopped responding. His arms were tired and so were his legs as he rested on her lap. Then Erza patted his head and quietly said “It’s alright. You should sleep and get rested. Your body is tired and you know it.” “B-But… Sleeping like this is…” he said anxiously.
She smiled at him and said “Go on… Sleep…” Lakshman was surprised and soon sleepiness began to welcome him with open arms. He did not know that Erza was applying her magic to make him go to sleep. She knew he will not listen which will result in an argument like before. “Wow… So sleepy…” he muttered and slowly closed his eyes. In a matter of seconds, he was fast asleep with his head on her lap. Erza stopped applying her magic spell on him and smiled as she looked down at his peaceful sleeping face. “Sweet dreams, Lucky,” she said quietly. With that, she deactivated the balls of light. As soon as they disappeared, the room was covered in darkness once more.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 213 Suppression Rings The next time Lakshman woke up, he noticed that it was still dark. For a moment, he was confused as sleepiness slowly made itself out of him. Then, he remembered the past events of how he ended up being in that dark place. “Decisive Player. How long was I out for?” he thought curiously. “More than a few hours. You wouldn’t sleep so the young miss used a Sleeping Magic Spell on you,” the Decisive Player told him in his mind. “Oh, I see,” Lakshman said shortly while sounding surprised. That was when he became aware of something soft and tender beneath his head. He had noticed that he was sleeping in an elevation as if he was lying on top of a comfortable pillow, when he realised it was not a pillow. The feeling of skin and clothes could be felt as he lay there in the dark. “What the? What am I lying on?” “On her lap.” Lakshman’s eyes widened in surprise and he tried to get up, only to realise that his hands and feet were still tied up. Instead, he moved around so restlessly, that he accidentally rolled of her lap and landed on the floor. “Ouch,” he yelped when his face hit the hard floor. “That’s what you get for being a restless sleeper!” “Come on…!” At that moment, he heard a moan coming from above him. He tried to turn, but somehow ended up in an awkward position as Erza Flameheart opened her eyes. For a moment, she looked surprised as she patted herself on the lap. Then she tried looking to see where he had rolled disappeared to.
“Lakshman? Lakshman?” she called for him in a soft voice. “I’m right here…” he said and startled her with how close he was to her. “W-Wow. Y-You surprised me,” she told him with a chuckle. “Anyway, why are you there, Lakshman? Didn’t you like sleeping on my lap or you felt too conscious about something?” “Eh?! No, no! I didn’t have ulterior motives to roll down here!” Lakshman said quickly, but then became surprised when she easily laughed. “Please don’t worry. I know the kind of person you are, so it’s quite alright,” she told him and he thought he saw her smile. “Oh… So then, can you please untie these knots off me? It feels really restricting to lie down like this while my hands and legs are tied up.” “Of course. Just give me a few seconds. Light Balls.” With her magical lights activated, she gently raised them into the air where they floated without support. As the light hovered over them, Erza moved around while making him expose his bad side where his hands were tied up. Once she wrapped his hands, she moved to his feet and untied them as well. “There you are. All done,” Erza finally said once she crawled back and leaned against the wall. Finding himself finally free of the restraints, he finally sat up. He rolled his shoulders a little and stretched his legs to ease the main in them. To him, it felt like a really long time since he had properly used his hands and legs like this. “Thank you, Erza! I really appreciate your help,” he told her gratefully with a smile on her face. For some reason, she did not return the smile and this puzzled him. Previously, she was smiling and joking around, but now she looked really sad. It made him wonder what was upsetting her like this. “I may have been able to untie those knots, but I cannot remove their rings from your arms,” she said while pointing at his arms with her finger. “Eh?” he said in a surprised.
It was then that he became aware of unrecognisable rings wrapped around both of his arms. Apart from the green coloured rings, which he knew were Gravity Rings, there were a set of six other rings that he did not recognise. He attempted to take them off, only to realise that they would not come off. Even with all his might, the rings remained in their place without moving a centimetre. “Ha…! Why aren’t they coming off?” he asked in a puzzled voice. “Besides, what are these? I don’t remember seeing them before.” The unknown six rings were purple in the colour which he had never seen before. However, a vague suspicion brought itself into his mind as he continued to think about what they are. Erza sighed unhappily and said “Those are the Suppression Rings which are used to supress your power and strength by a great deal per ring.” At her words, his eyes widened in shock and he exclaimed “Suppression Rings?! Are you certain?” When she nodded her head at him, he looked shocked as he stared at the rings in alarm. “Damn…! I’ve heard of the Suppression Rings and their capabilities, but this is the first time I’ve had the displeasure of setting my eyes on it. On top of that, it’s said to be really, really rare to find!” He just realised something else. Time Crystals were also super rare to find, yet the Demon Dragon King seemed to have a lot of them in his passion. “How the heck does he have all these?” he asked quietly, to which Erza only shrugged her shoulders. “Isn’t not that hard to find if you know the right place to look in,” the Decisive Player told him. “Since ancient times, the location of these super rare items have been hidden, but they often find themselves into the hands of strangers. The reason they remained super rare and hard to find was because many could not interpret the language of the ancients.” “You mean the Demon Dragon King can read the ancient language?” “That is very likely, yes. It is hardly surprising since the Dragon Clan came into this world around the time Phoenix Clan became known around the world as the mightiest. That was around the time when the first Phoenix Titan and the Dragon Emperor of that era crossed blades.”
“They fought?! Why?” “I’m not actually sure either, but the two clans had dispute being that their techniques and knowledge make them two of the strongest warriors in the world. The Phoenix Titan wanted to spread that knowledge to help society, but the Dragon Emperor refused it. Thus, the two clans separated and began living on different continents.” “I know the Dragon Clan are not traceable due to their advanced magic in cloaking themselves, but I think they aren’t in the Human Continent.” “Yes. I doubt they are in the Human Continent, but they aren’t the only ones using cloaking magic to hide their location.” “That’s right. The Phoenix Clan also does it which is why Felix was forced to move home to that small office in the castle to work in.” At the joke, Lakshman chuckled to himself which surprised Erza. “What’s the matter?” she asked him curiously. “Oh. I just thought of something and it was quite funny, so I couldn’t help, but laugh,” he told her with a smiling face. “Ah…” she said and she nodded in understanding. “Well, anyway… This is problematic,” he said with a sigh when he looked at the rings on his arms. “According to what I read from books, these rings do a heavy job in supressing the wearer of his strength and power. On top of that, the person wearing these rings cannot take them off.” Erza nodded and said “That’s right. I and those people, over there, attempted many times to take them off, but they just wouldn’t come off.” “Which means the only people capable of removing these are the people that are holding us here…” he said and sighed heavily. “What a troublesome situation we’re all in.” Erza looked puzzled at his words and said “I’m sorry, but I don’t know the circumstances for you being here, but they are all hostages to make their parents behave.” Now he was really surprised when she gestured towards the huddle on the other side of the room.
“Hostages? All of them?” “That’s correct. The new king, Adebola Gramstone, took them hostage to make their noble family obey him. They are all students of Minstral Academy, but the new king took them hostage before the nobles could start a rebellion on him.” “Curse him…!” Lakshman muttered menacingly. “He’s bent on revenge and even went as far as to kill his own father, the previous king. Now he’s preparing for an invasion by having the Demon Dragon King work for him.” “Yes, but you see. Those two don’t seem to get along well,” Erza said in a whisper when she leaned in to speak to him. “I heard the guards talking about it when they brought us here, although I bet they act professionally when they are outside. Adebola is still a king, so it’s understandable that they behave professionally outside, but don’t get along once they are out of it.” Lakshman chuckled and said “One is after to obtain the strongest weapon while the other is planning on ruling the world through the power of fear. Talk about the weird partnership between those two unlikely allies.” “That’s true, but they seem to be working together for now.” “Because both have similar goals,” Lakshman said as he thought about it. “I suspect, the Demon Dragon King is assisting Adebola for the preparation by proving him with some enhancements. In return, Razzel gets all the materials he needs to perform his experiments.” “An equal trade off,” Erza said with displeasure. Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said “Whatever it is, I don’t like it, but I can’t do much with these on,” and he gestured at the Suppression Rings on his arms. “Yes. It is strange that you have six on you when the rest of us only have two or three rings. Seems like you’re overwhelming strength and power was calculated for him to put so many on you,” Erza said with a smile on her face. “I wish I can take pride in it, but right now I’m in a bind,” he said while looking disgruntled. “Is there a possible way we can get rid of these? Maybe overload it with energy by powering up?”
“Not possible. The chances of blowing yourself up are more likely than you being capable of destroying these rings. These rings don’t just supress your power and strength, but they supress your energy as well. I highly doubt you are able to power up even if you wanted to.” “Damn…! I’m definitely in a bind. I could try forcefully break using bursting energy—” “No use. Your energy will get dispersed into air and become wasted. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about here.” “I know you are, but you aren’t giving me one helpful advice on how to get out of this jam! You know what will happen if I stay like this, right? I might get killed with one of those crazy experiment that Razzel’s going to use on me.” “Are you afraid of the unknown?” “Not in the slightest. I’ve just been beaten into a pulp without being able to defend myself and I’m fine with that. However! Being subjugated to experiments that could leave me worse off than how I am now is something I highly dislike!” Lakshman heard the Decisive Player laugh and say “I see. Unfortunately, these rings cannot be taken off by you or anyone else wearing the same sort of rings.” “Goddammit!” He was really unhappy with how much of a trouble he was in. With every possible idea he thought of, the Decisive Player threw it aside as useless. With how powerful these rings were, he cursed the ancients for ever making them in the first place. “Don’t curse the ancients. They would often use these rings on their young when they possessed uncontrollable power. This was used to let their children slowly control their powers over the course of time and training.” “Yet, that simple tool is now being used to bind us down like this! This is incredibly frustrating to say the least.” “I know… I know…” Lakshman was not the only one feeling unhappy. The Decisive Player was also feeling unhappy at how things turned into. Without Lakshman’s knowledge, he was cursing himself for not being prepared for this situation. In the past, even without his godly powers, he was able to predict what was happening almost accurately. Now, however, he suddenly was having difficulty predicting how things will play out.
Just then, the sound of footsteps could be heard headed their way. Erza quickly deactivated her magic and caused the balls of light to vanish in an instant. The footsteps drew closer until they stopped right outside their room door. With scrapping noise, the doors were swung open and an infinite ray of light was shone into the room. Two people came in wearing strange masks that were very different to the ones the Phintex Rajas wore. “Lakshman Reddy! The king, Adebola Gramstone, wants to see you. Come!” they ordered him while standing in the door way. “Oh really…? Then why don’t you come here and make me?” Lakshman told them fiercely. The two of men looked at each other for a moment. Once they came to an agreement, they turned around and began to walk towards him while cracking their knuckles. As they drew closer, Lakshman remained sitting, but he was preparing to spring on them when they got close enough. Then he made his move right when they were within arm’s reach. “AAAAAHH!!!” Lakshman lunged at the two of them as hard as he could with the amount of strength he currently possessed. The next moment, he was in a world of hurt as the two men punched him in the face and smashed him to the ground. “No! Don’t hurt him!” Erza shouted and tried to stop them, but she slapped her aside. “Stop it! Don’t hurt her!” he shouted at them only to receive two blows to his back. Finally unable to fight back, they lifted him by the shoulders and dragged him out of the room. Erza watched in desperation, with tears streaming down her face, as the two men walked out of the room while dragging Lakshman by the shoulders. Then they closed the doors shut and threw the room into total darkness once again.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 214 Berserker Crusher An hour later, Lakshman stood in a corridor with two men standing behind him. Earlier, they dragged him out of his holding room and made him put on the provided armour. Lakshman was not sure why they were making him do it, but he suspected Adebola has some plans for him. “Come on,” one of the men told him and the other shoved him forward. “Okay, okay,” he said in exasperation and walked forward. Lakshman walked in front while the two men walked right behind them. Both of them were big and strong with muscles stretching their already tight shirts. With the way things are, Lakshman knew he has no chance in defeating even one of them. “You should be happy the Gravity Rings were deactivated. Otherwise, you’d have become a perfect pancake!” the Decisive Player told him before laughing. Lakshman shuddered at the imagination of what might have happened if the rings were not deactivated. He would only activate and set the Gravity Rings to thousand times gravity while he trained. At other times like attending classes or within his room, he would deactivate the rings. It is also handy the Gravity Rings automatically deactivate once they sensed him become unconscious. “I’m glad the Gravity Rings deactivated when I got knocked out!” he thought in relief. “Thank the Death Titan if ever you meet him the next time.” “Why does your advice sound like I’ll never meet him again in this life time? Hmm? Are you perhaps thinking I won’t make it alive out of this?” “Oh, come on! Stop being so negative! Be positive!” “Yeah right!” At that moment, the two men said “Stop right here!”
Lakshman was abruptly brought back to reality and he came to a stop. The men walked to the front and opened a door by touching it. As if it was not there, the door vanished and a new path appeared. At the end of it, Lakshman could see day light. “Freedom!” he thought happily. This time, it was the Decisive Player’s turn to say “Yeah right!” The two men gestured for him to walk through it. Without any choice, but to follow their instructions, Lakshman walked passed them and entered the new path. Once he entered, there was a loud bang behind him. Quickly turning around, he was startled to suddenly find himself facing a dead end. “Ah! Those bastards trapped me!” he exclaimed and began banging on the wall. “Hey! Open up!” “Calm down. We’re not exactly trapped. Look over there and you’ll see light up ahead.” “I know, but they went as far as to trap me in here… I have a very bad feeling about this!” Lakshman said nervously. “You’re not alone. Now let’s go.” Lakshman clenched his fists, walked forward. As he drew closer to the exit, he could hear a lot of noise forming from outside. Then, as he exited, he flinched when a loud roar erupted from high above him. For a moment, he was confused because of all the sudden light and the loud noise reverberating around him. “Now that’s a crowd!” Lakshman exclaimed once he managed to adjust his eyes to the sunlight. He found himself in a very large arena, like the one located in his home town in Rodfox region. The arena was really big with high walls all around. He squinted when he tried to look up and saw a large crowd gathered there and they were roaring and yelling. “They sure are mad with energy,” he said quietly. Just then, loud trumpeting noise could be heard from the opposite end of where he stood. The trumpeting sounded grand with the way the player was blowing into it. Then a man appeared in the space that looked like a place reserved only for a certain special person.
Adebola Gramstone, the new king of Mardana Kingdom, appeared and when he did, cheers and loud clapping ensued. It seemed the people were very enthusiastic for their new king to appear in front of them like that. “What a load of rubbish!” he said angrily. He clenched his fists tightly and glared at the man that imprisoned him there. Watching Adebola waving at the audience made him feel really sick to the stomach. That was the guy who, only recently, murdered the previous king, who was his father. Now he stood in the central area and waved at everyone with the airs of a proud man. “Now, now. Stop worrying about things you can do nothing about.” “I know… I know…” Lakshman said through gritted teeth. Adebola began speaking and his voice boomed around the arena for everyone to hear, causing the crowd to go silent in an instant. Lakshman was surprised to see that he had a strong grip on the people to make them go silent so quickly. “My dear people! I welcome you on this wonderful day!” he said and the crowd went cheering loudly. After he silenced them with a wave of his hand, he said “Today! I have planned something special to entertain all of you on the day that I am crowned the king! That even is the Berserker Crusher!” Hearing his announcement, the crowd went wild with loud cheers and clapping. Lakshman, on the other hand, felt dread fill his heart. In the past two years, he and his father went adventuring outside Rodfox for a while. During those travels, they heard of an event that was newly invented by the king of Mardana Kingdom, which he called the Berserker Crusher. Berserker Crusher was an event that pits captured prisoners against really strong monsters. It is a battle of kill or be killed between prisoners and monsters. The crowd loved it and many paid to come and watch as prisoners and monsters tear each other apart. “A gruesome event that got invented to encourage death and destruction!” Lakshman said in a disgusted voice. Then the crowd fell silent as Adebola said “Down below, you see a prisoner whom I personally chose for this wonderful day! Now for his opponent… Let us see… Ah. The monster he shall face in battle will be Chamatex Lagrator!” The crowd erupted into cheers and they clapped for their king’s brilliant idea.
“That’s not a brilliant idea!” Lakshman said in a shocked voice. “Of all the things for me to fight, he just had to make it the Chamatex Lagrator.” Chamatex Lagrator was a three headed lion and was as large as a human. It had agility and speed which enabled it to catch it’s pray in a quick amount of time. The monster was also capable of firing three different attacks out of three of its heads; thunder from the left head, fire from the middle head and icy wind from the right head. Additionally, it was said the monster can regenerate from all damage to its body. Lakshman was shocked at knowing the kind of monsters he was about to face. Then he saw the gates being swung inward from the other side of the arena, causing him to become very nervous. “Calm down. Calm down. You won’t do any good with the way you are right now.” “Easy for you to say! I’m the one that’s going to have to fight that thing!” Lakshman said nervously. “I have these Suppression Rings on my arms and When the gates were finally opened to the fullest, there was a loud roar that erupted out of it. The crowd went crazy when a three headed, four legged, three tailed beast walked out of the darkness. Three of the monster’s face had mane all around it which gave an impressive look to the monster. Lakshman, however, was not impressed as he stared at the monster. It was indeed a big monster, powerful built from years of hunting its prey in the wilderness. Under normal circumstances, with his full powers and all, it would only take him a few seconds to take this monster out, even with its large attack power. Now, with the six Suppression Rings tying him down, he was not sure what to do. He believed himself to be around Intermediate to Advanced ranked, judging from the amount of energy and strength he was able to use. This instantly made it clear that he does not have the capacity to defeat that monster on his own. Then he sighed and said “Oh well. If I’m going to fail, I might as well put my fullest effort into killing that thing!” The monster turned its three heads towards him and growled menacingly. Then it slowly crawled forward as if it was staking it’s pray. Lakshman knew that he was the pray in the eyes of the monster and he prepared himself. Slowly, the two of them moved to encircle each other while intently staring at one another. Sweat slowly seeped through Lakshman’s skin as he was on high tension, constantly thinking
what the monster will do next. He did not dare look away or blink because he knew that was the deciding matter between him and the monster. Suddenly, the wind picked up and cause dust to rise into the air. As the dust was picked up by the wind, some of it flew around Lakshman and he immediately was forced to close his eyes. This was the chance the monster had been waiting for. Roaring triumphantly, it charged at him with its strong and powerful body making loud thudding noise on the ground. Lakshman turned to face the monster, but he still could not see due to the dust near his eyes. Then, just as the monster leaped into the air and at him with his mouth open. Just before it could sink its claws into him, Lakshman instantly ducked beneath it, letting the monster fly harmlessly above him. He then got away from where the monster was by running as he could while clearing his eyes. “Finally! I can see again!” he exclaimed happily only to see the monster charge at him again. After that, Lakshman desperately evaded the monster each time it charged at him. Soon, he was beginning to run in circles with the monster constantly chasing after him. It also did not help when the people above kept shouting and jeering at him. “What the hell is there problem?! Can’t they see that I’m desperately trying to live?!” Lakshman yelled angrily as he dodged yet another attack from the monster. “Madness has a way of making people behave like that. Anyway, I think you need a weapon if you intend to kill it and live.” “My thoughts exactly, but where…? They just sent me out here with nothing, but this armour. It’s like that bastard was wishing I really did die here!” While escaping from the monster, he looked up to see where Adebola sat on a high chair. He was indeed grinning broadly as he watched Lakshman’s feeble attempts at dodging and escaping from the monster while enjoying the crowd boo and jeer at Lakshman. While looking around, Lakshman finally saw a holding place at the side of the arena. On there, he saw four spears, a broadsword and a shield. Earlier, he did not notice them, but he assumed he missed them because of the threat of a large monster trying to eat him for lunch. Lakshman thought of a plan and shared it with the Decisive Player who said “It’s reckless, but a good plan. I hope it works.”
“I’m hoping the same,” he said as he breathed quickly. He was beginning to breathe quickly, which mean that he was running out of energy. Realising the imminent danger it posed, he decided to act on his plan immediately. So he began running towards the wall as hard as he could while the monster chased after him. Once he reached the wall, he turned around and waited patiently for it come charging at him. Then, he charged towards the monster as hard as he could. The two charged towards each other while glaring fiercely at each other. The monster roared and this time, it charged directly at him instead of leaping into the air. It clearly remembered what happened the last time it had charged at him, only or him to duck and escape. This time, it wanted to make sure there was no way he could escape from him. When they finally came close, the monster let out a mighty roar and attacked him with its claws. Then its eyes widened in shock when it realised its claws had gone straight through him. Surprised by what happened, the monster tried to stop, but it was no use because it was running at full charge. Now the monster tumbled and crashed before finally coming to a stop. As it roared in pain and the people shocked by what happened, someone smiled triumphantly. “Stupid mutt!” Lakshman said as raced away from where the monster crashed. Just before the monster could sink its claws into him, he activated his magic and created an illusion of himself running towards the monster. Meanwhile, he jumped over the monster and landed before continuing to run towards where the weapons were. The monster looked around and saw him running towards the far end. Realising it had been tricked, the monster roared and gave chase after him. Very soon, it was hot on his heels, but he was smiling because he saw the weapons up ahead. Realising he will not have the time to leisurely take the weapons out, he activated his Magic Force and said “Attachment!” Attachment is an Advanced Ranked Gravity Magic Spell which he was glad he learnt because of how useful it was. Using this, he managed to jump and run on the side walls much to the surprise of everyone watching. “Look! He’s running on the wall!” “Wow! He’s unreal!”
“How’s it doing it?!” The crowd above were shouting such questions while expressing their disbelief. It seemed, to them, being able to walk on the side of the walls was unnatural. Lakshman ignored them and kept running towards the weapons while hearing the monster right behind him. When he reached the weapons, he grabbed three of the spears with his right hand. Then he passed one of the spears to his left hand and held the third spear with his teeth. Hearing the monster approaching him from behind, he jumped off the wall while turning his body. As he turned in mid-air to face the monster, he launched one spear he held in his right hand. Then he performed air aerobics by turning his body and launching the second spear at the monster. Finally, he grabbed the spear that he held with his mouth and also launched it at the monster. All three of the spears were embedded with Weapon Force, which he momentarily had the chance to apply before launching. The monster looked surprised when it saw the three spears soaring straight at it. A moment later, all three spears struck each of the monster’s heads. The monster roared in shock and came to a crashing stop with all three spears lodged into each of its heads. For a moment, everyone went silent in shock. They could not believe the previously running around scaredy cat, which was referring to Lakshman, managed to kill the monster. Everyone were speechless and as the entire arena gone silent from the shock. Lakshman landed back on his feet and deactivated his magic. Everyone was thinking he had killed it, but he knew better. With his improved ability to sense energy and life force, he immediately knew the monster’s life force did not diminish. Sure enough, the Chamatex Lagrator began making low moaning sound. The next instance, the spears were lifted off the three of the monster’s heads and they landed on the ground. A moment later, the monster stood up and let out a mighty roar that sent a shocking wind and force everywhere. Lakshman’s eyes widened in shock as he got buffeted by the wind. “Mmm… Looks like stabbing its heads didn’t work out the way you expected,” the Decisive Player told him in his mind. “You don’t say…” he said quietly as he stared at the monster. “I guess this leaves me with only one choice; kill that thing right through its heart located near its belly.” “H-How did you know that?” the Decisive Player asked in a surprised voice.
Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said “How is that hard to not to know? Every creature’s main weak point is their head and if that doesn’t work, the next to go is the heart! I think demons have two hearts, but that’s a different matter altogether.” For a moment, the Decisive Player did not speak because he was that surprised. Then he energetically said “Alright then. Go for the heart!” “On it!” Lakshman said cheerfully. The monster shook its mane and turned to look at him. Looking at the glare in its eyes, Lakshman knew exactly what the monster had in mind. The monster proceeded to open the mouth of its middle mouth as wide as possible and blasted a jet of fire in his direction. Just before the jet of fire reached him, he jumped out of the way, but the monster simply turned its head and swung the jet of fire at him. Lakshman ran towards the holding place, grabbed the shield and swung around just in time to protect himself against the jet of fire. As he held the shield in place, he felt it getting hotter and hotter, but the fire did not penetrate. Seeing the shield, the monster stopped firing the jet of fire at him and turned around before releasing a stream of lightning in his direction. Lakshman was not in its target range, but the lightning curved and headed straight for him. “Wow! The lightning is curving!” Lakshman shouted in surprise. He instantly reacted by putting down his shield. Then, with his bare hands, he stopped the lightning from coming near him. The violent sparks, the violent zaps and crazy feeling it gave off, Lakshman felt for sure this was the kind of lightning that was similar to the one shot down during electric storms. “I don’t mean to distract you, but you better disperse it or sent it back. Otherwise, you’ll end up becoming one amazing lightning rod!” the Decisive Player warned him. “I got it!” Lakshman shouted as he fought desperately to keep the lightning away from him. As the intensity shot up, he screamed “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!” With great force, he shot the lightning back at the monster, which roared in pain from its own attack. As the attack stopped, Lakshman grabbed a spare spear and charged at the monster.
Then he realised, too late, that he had forgotten the shield behind because the monster turned its third head at him. As the monster’s mouth opened and shot icy wind at him, Lakshman shouted “Burning Spirit!” His entire body went up in flames as he charged directly at the monster, but the flames did not seem to be harming him in any way. In fact, the icy wind barely phased him as he ran as fast as he could at the monster with the spear in hand. “So long as I have the desire to live, these flames of my life won’t evaporate! This is my burning spirit!” he shouted as he ran towards the monster. The monster stopped firing its attack at him and charged at him before letting out a loud roar. Just as it reached him, Lakshman held his spear out and instantly skewered its middle head into it. With great strength and energy, that made him feel dizzy, he pushed the monsters off its feet. Then he freed the spear and stabbed it straight the monster’s body. For a moment, he thought he had done it, when the Chamatex Lagrator suddenly let out an ear piercing roar. It started to struggle and Lakshman was forced to let go of the spear as the monster landed on its four legs. The monster roared and turned around to glare at him. Seeing those deadly eyes made Lakshman feel his blood drained from his face. He took tentative steps back as the monster slowly walked towards him. Then the Chamatex Lagrator suddenly stumbled on its front legs and finally collapsed on the ground. Lakshman breathed heavily as he stared into the eyes of the beast. He could see the light in those eyes and feel its burning desire to kill him, but it was over. The light in those eyes faded and the monster finally died.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 215 War Signs Meanwhile, in Floria Kingdom, people have gathered in the caste. The people gathered there were: Bernard IV Sargold King of Floria Kingdom Floria Sargold Queen of the Floria Kingdom Venezuela Sargon Princess of Floria Kingdom Felix Phoron Phoenix Emperor Sevedant Death Titan Ondine Monahasara Water Spirit Lakshman Reddy’s Slave Spirit Ashtetra Blazkin Jenes Forin Sekinat, also known as Tetra Phoenix Blade Lakshman Reddy’s Contract Spirit Cantia Camdra Beast Race – Camdra Clan (Camdra Beast Clan) Emilia Serabell Hybrid: Half human and half Seprad Demon Clan They were all sitting on comfortable chairs that had cushions on the base of their seats. This was a private meeting that they were all present for due to the events that occurred when the Demon Dragon King, Razzel assaulted Astral Academy and kidnapped Lakshman Reddy.
“As you know, Lucky got take away by Razzel, the Demon Dragon King, three days ago. So far, we haven’t been able to find out his whereabouts,” Felix said in an unhappy voice. “It’s already been three days since Lucky got taken away and there hasn’t been any news regarding his location or his safety! What is everyone doing?! Napping?!” Venezuela demanded angrily as she banged on the table. “Vena! Please stop this. We’re here to discuss; not throw tantrums!” Bernard told his daughter sternly. “But, father! The Phintex Rajas have been out searching for days and still haven’t returning with any news! How can I calm myself when my future husband could be in real danger?” “Venezuela, I know how you feel, but you need to calm down. Constantly worrying about him will not solve matters. In fact, we will also lose our cool by getting influenced by your emotions.” She got irritated with her father’s words and gestured towards the other girls, apart from the queen, sitting beside her. “He’s not my own lover; they are also his lovers! They are all very worried about him, but they just aren’t showing it.” Then she looked at them and said “It’s not right to hide your feelings so blatantly!” Tetra smiled and said, “Vena, showing our feelings won’t do us any good. Anyway, Lucky will not tolerate it if we worry about him like this.” “Tetra is right, Vena. Lucky will certainly get annoyed at us for worrying about him so much. Besides, is that what you want to tell him once you finally meet him again? That ‘Princess Venezuela had a breakdown because of worrying too much’? Is that what you want?” Her words penetrated the veil of stress surrounding Venezuela. Their words made her realise that worrying like that will only cause her health problems in the future. She also realised, in horror that her beauty will deplete if she continued to stressing about it. “You’re right, Ondine. I’ll take your advice to heart,” she said hastily. Ondine nodded in satisfaction while Tetra smiled and Emilia sighed in relief. More than worrying about the safety of their loved interest, they were more worried that Venezuela might hurt herself with her worries. With her words, they were relieved and felt they can return to quietly worry about Lakshman.
Felix watched the unity of Lakshman’s loves and nodded. He had wondered how Lakshman could handle having five lovers at the same time and was impressed with the behaviour of the girls. They were kind, caring and understanding of the situation and readily accepted it so as to be with their loved one. “You are really lucky, Lucky,” he said quietly before smiling slightly. He turned to look at Sevedant and saw that he had his skeleton hands interconnected as if he was thinking. Felix immediately understood that the Death Titan was trying his hardest to find where Lakshman was taken to. On the day that Lakshman disappeared, Felix had blamed himself severely for letting that happen. His wife, Rasha Phoron, and their daughter, Sasha Phoron, were the ones that eventually calmed him down. Only later did he discover that Sevedant had blamed himself a lot more than Felix did. Because of that guilt, he was putting his full efforts into finding Lakshman. “Have you been able to find anything yet, Sevedant?” Felix asked him. Sevedant slowly shook his head and said “No. Having trouble. Unable to sense. Disrupting World Sensor.” World Sensor was a King ranked Sensor Magic Spell that enables users to be able to sense all around the world and enables them to locate where there are at. The spell becomes stronger when they are only attempting to sense certain individuals around the world. Felix knew this and also knew the spell was really powerful, especially when it was applied by the Death Titan. Even so, that spell was having difficulty sensing the Lakshman’s location, which could only mean that Lakshman was either placed in a place that repelled World Sensor or that he unfortunately died. Felix clapped his cheeks several times with his hands to clear away negative thoughts. Those are not the kind of thoughts one must have right now, however, a lingering uncertainty lingered and it made him feel anxious. As if he could sense this, Sevedant quietly said “Rest assured. He is alive. Feeling life force. Just unable to locate.” “Oh! That’s good!” Felix said and he reflexively sighed in relief. Then he thought about what Sevedant said and asked “Do you think the Demon Dragon King is using a Barrier Magic Spell is similar to the Phoenix Sanctuary?”
Phoenix Sanctuary was an Emperor ranked Barrier Magic Spell which protects and hides individuals inside it while making it difficult to locate. It is such a powerful barrier that, even if it was traced and found, people would find it extremely difficult to enter. That is how the Phoenix Clan had been able to stay hidden for so many years from the prying eyes of many people. Sevedant nodded and simply said “Dragon Sanctuary.” Felix widened his eyes in surprise at hearing the spell name. Dragon Sanctuary was also an Emperor ranked Barrier Magic Spell and it was also the spell the Dragon Clan were using to cloak their whereabouts. “What?! How is that possible? Are you saying Razzel also knows how to use that spell?!” Felix exclaimed in disbelief. Sevedant nodded and said “Most likely, but not completely. Only replicated.” “Ah. He must be using something to improvise to such a powerful spell!” Felix said and Sevedant nodded at him. Bernard coughed and said “Good thing I hushed up all the nobles attempting to score against me while my future son-in-law is gone, but I don’t know how long that will last. Eventually, rumours will start to spread about the disappearance of his disappearance and people will start thinking it in different ways.” Felix snorted in annoyance and said “Don’t give a damn what the people have to say! You shouldn’t have to worry about what people say when they aren’t aware of the bigger picture!” Bernard nodded in agreement with Felix’s words. As a king, he had to deal with a lot of nonsense and annoyance from the nobles. However, he was known as a good king because of the choices he made by taking the consideration of the people as his first priority. Unlike the nobles, he was a king with integrity to uphold the promise of being a king that cares for his subjects. At that moment, six Phintex Rajas warped into the room. They immediately knelt with his heads bowed. Felix immediately turned his chair around and asked “Right! Give me your report!” The Phintex Raja, at the front, looked up at him and said “Sir! There appears to be a powerful barrier erected around Mardana Kingdom and is not enabling us to enter.”
Everyone was surprised to hear that and Felix said “What? An entire kingdom is surrounded by a barrier?” Then he quickly looked at Sevedant and asked “Hey! You don’t think it’s… that?” Sevedant nodded and said “I believe so. Replicated Dragon Sanctuary.” “I see,” Felix said and he nodded in understanding, however, the Phintex Raja was not finished. “Sir, there is more,” he said to notify that there was more to say. “Oh. Sorry! Please go ahead,” Felix said quickly and urged the man to continue speaking. “Sir! It seems the new king of Mardana Kingdom, Adebola Gramstone, seems to be preparing an army. We discovered this when we questioned several people secretly leaving the kingdom. It seemed they were afraid of getting involved in war and are taking the chance to escape from the kingdom.” “War?!” Bernard exclaimed and he looked alarmed. “Yes, sir. It seems the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, is providing the Mardana Kingdom’s army the armours which were notably known to be worn by the Dragon Clan.” Hearing that, Felix said “Curses…! So that’s what that bastard is doing by hiding behind that protective barrier of his! Raising an army and equipping them with the Dragon Armours that are on par with the Phoenix Armours! Are you able to know what quality they are? The Phintex Raja hesitated for a few seconds before he said “I’m sorry, but I was unable to get much information on them. Please forgive us!” Felix waved his hand and said “No. It’s alright. It’s not your fault that you couldn’t obtain that information. After all, the entire kingdom has been surrounded by an extremely powerful barrier! Anyway, go and get rest for a job well done!” “Thank you, sir!” the Phintex Rajas said in unison before they warped out of there. Once they were done, Felix turned to the Decisive Player and said “I’m guessing those Dragon Armours that Razzel made are not like the originals. What do you think?” “Most likely. Duplicated Dragon Armours. Second-rate,” Sevedant told him.
“I see. As I thought, but that still is a problem to deal with! Even if they are probably secondrate, Dragon Armours really go a long way in boosting the wearer’s power and strength. We will find ourselves in a real pinch if it came down to the actual battle!” Venezuela, with a worried expression on her face, asked “What will you do, Felix? Will you fight back?” “I… I don’t know…” Felix suddenly said hesitantly. “I don’t want to have to leave the capital unprotected while I lead the entire Phoenix Clan against the Mardana Kingdom! After all, it is our duty to keep peace between races and that also includes conflicts within the same race.” Bernard understood the situation Felix was in and smiled as he said “Don’t worry about us, Felix. Even if something were to happen, I’ll be here to take care of things. Three years ago, the Demon Emperor and his army took us by surprise, but not this time! We are prepared to mobilise our own army if something happens!” “You sure? I mean… We’ll be away for a while and I’m worried Adebola will pull some sort of dirty trick from right under our noses! Maybe I should leave a few here and—!” “Take the whole Phoenix Clan! How do you plan on winning with only a few with you? I mean, you are strong and all, but how do you think you will win against an army that are powered by the Dragon Armours? You think you can with yourself and the Death Titan with you?” “But—!” “Felix! It my duty to protect my kingdom with my own powers. My role as the king of Floria Kingdom entitles me to do so!” Bernard thundered and caused everyone to flinch. “Now stop letting your personal feelings destroy that well judgement you’ve obtained over your thirtyseven years of life!” Bernard suddenly snorted and said “I know that’s a short amount of lifespan since you Phoenixes life for almost 200 years! However I, as the king of Floria Kingdom, am telling you to go and defeat the enemy who will, one day, become a threat to the rest of the world!” Felix looked astonished at the powerful words spoken by Bernard. He and Bernard had known each other since Felix was just a kid and Felix had great respect for the king for being pure hearted and for always being true to his words. That very man was now telling him to go fight an enemy by reminding him of the bigger picture. Then he chuckled and got off his chair as he said “You don’t have to remind me about my own job. I’m the Phoenix Emperor and my role is to stop this kind of madness that is being made by the king of Mardana Kingdom!”
“You better do a good job or I will penalise you for failed effort!” Bernard warned him sternly. “Oh yeah? Then you better watch out for my penalty when I return and find out the kingdom looks like a big dump!” Felix warned him with a wave of his forefinger. With that, Felix took his leave and Sevedant followed right behind him. Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Cantia and Venezuela quickly rose to their feet and went after him. “Sevedant, make sure you are ready! We will depart for Mardana Kingdom in two days!” Felix told the Death Titan. “Will do,” Sevedant said with a nod of his head. “Um…! Felix! We’re coming as well!” Emilia said, a little nervously. Without looking at them, he said “Of course, you’re coming.” For a moment, the girls looked surprised. Then Felix looked back at them and smiled as he said “What do you think you would do by staying here and worrying constantly? I think that lovers should be the ones who should go and rescue their loved one. While you five do that, the rest of us will take care of the trouble warriors!” The girls smiled happily and energetically replied “Yes!” With that, the plans were set for the Phoenix Clan to take the battle to the Mardana Kingdom army that their king, Adebola Gramstone, was preparing.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 216 Horrifying Torture It had been two days since the Berserker Crusher event that Adebola Gramstone, the king of Mardana Kingdom, had organised. After defeating the monster, Lakshman was led away by the guards only to get experimented upon by the Demon Dragon King, Razzel. The experiments involved Lakshman being electrocuted, which created a chain reaction in releasing his energy. Razzel used this to analyse the structure of Lakshman’s energy while putting him through more and more painful experimental processes. After all this, Lakshman felt exhausted and was taken back to the dark room where he, Erza Flameheart and twenty-seven people were placed in. Unlike Lakshman, who was just there as an experiment toy, the rest of them had political backgrounds and were being used as hostages to make their parents behave. Lakshman was in the darkness of the room with everyone asleep, except for Erza and him. Then he sighed and looked to the right where Erza was. Naturally, he could not see in the dark, but he could tell she was staring at him. “Erza? Why are you looking at me?” he asked curiously. “Oh… I’m just thinking of how resistant you were to the torture that Razzel is making you go through!” Erza told him. Hearing her words made him sigh. ‘Torture’ was indeed the term most appropriate for what was happening to him. He was amazed at himself for not breaking from how intense the electrocution was. In the end, he only thanked his power for being as strong as they were. However, he was not concerned about that electrocution at this present time. He was curious as to why Erza kept staring at him with upturned eyes all the time. He knew this because one time, when it was really dark and they were eating their meals, he noticed her watching him constantly. Since then he had been curious and given the matter a lot of thought. It seemed that Erza appeared to have known him for a long time even though he does not remember her at all. At first, he thought she was simply looking at him because she mistook him for somebody else, but this feeling soon got dashed by how constantly she looked at him.
Unable to bear her staring anymore, he asked “Erza, please tell me why you know me? I mean, you know my eating habits, seem to understand how I’m feeling and even take great care for me! Seriously! Why to go to such lengths when I’m nothing, but a stranger to you?” In the dark, Erza shook her head and said “I know it’s unbelievable, but I know you, Lakshman. I know that you have five lovers and their names are Venezuela, Emilia, Tetra, Ondine and Cantia. You haven’t shown it properly yet, but you dearly love them to the point that you’d beat the crap out of anyone who’s dumb enough to hit on them.” Lakshman’s eyes widened in alarm and he and “A-A-Ah…! Stalker! You’re a stalker!” Erza laughed softly and said “No. You told me when I confessed my love for you.” This time, Lakshman was really shocked and he quickly said “What?! Huh?! When did I tell you that? When did you confess to me? Did I miss something or do I have that bad of a memory even though I’m confident in my memory.” Erza chuckled and then she lifted her hand before placing it on his cheek, surprising him in the process. “I know things are confusing right now, but everything will make itself known to you. Even the fact about why you’ve been pretty stupid your whole life will make itself clear to you soon enough.” Lakshman simply stared at her in amazement after hearing her words. He was already aware that he had been stupid in his younger days and only reasoned that he was really slow in growing up. Even now, he was aware he was still stupid in certain areas, but was unable to explain as to why. He quietly asked “Who are you?” In the darkness, he thought he saw her smile. Then she said “I’m Erza Flameheart and I’m—!” At that moment, they heard the sound of footsteps getting closer to them. After sending five days in that place, Lakshman knew these footsteps belonged to the people that either brought them their food or came to escort him to another one of Demon Dragon King’s experiment sessions. When the door opened, two people Lakshman had gotten to know walked in. “The Demon Dragon King is calling you! Come!” they ordered him roughly.
Lakshman sighed and told Erza “Let’s talk more on this later.” “Sure and be safe,” she told him in a worried voice. He shrugged his shoulders and said “I’ll try to be safe.” With that, he got to his feet and walked towards the two big men standing on either side of the door. One of them went in the front and another one went from the rear once they closed the door. They chose this formation so as to keep him from escaping, but they should not have bothered. With the six Suppression Rings on him, Lakshman was just an ordinary man that they could easy take down. “You’ve come!” the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, said when Lakshman entered into his laboratory. “Do I have a choice?” Lakshman asked wearily and it made Razzel laugh. After being ushered into the chair in the experiment room, Lakshman sat down on the only chair in the room. He could feel the rust of the wooden chair after taking many electric strikes because of this ruthless experiment. On the other side of the room, he could see people moving around through a large glass. The assistants of Razzel were preparing their magic and the paper for the readings. The magic activates by analysing the energy released by Lakshman’s torture, which is then processed and written down by a magic pen on the papers they have laid out. “Magic Activate! Restraint!” one of them said when he aimed his hand at Lakshman. In an instant, Lakshman felt his body attach itself to the chair. No matter how hard he tried, he would not budge and knew he was stuck to the chair for good. Now the only thing left was to activate the electric magic to conduct the experiment. “We’re ready, sir,” them told Razzel and he nodded at them. He turned to look at Lakshman through the glass and said “Just so you know, this is the last time we’ll be conducting this experiment on you!” Hearing that, Lakshman groaned. Without knowing it, he knew this was going to be intense. It seemed like he was unable to get used to constantly getting electrocuted on a daily basis. So he did not feel surprised that he will not be able to get used to it. Then Razzel turned to his assistants and said “Proceed.”
Nodding once at him, the assistants activated their magic. Energy began forming around Lakshman, which he knew was the electric field charging up. The next instant, electricity burst out and began to electrocute him. “UUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHH!!!!” he screamed from the pain of getting electrocuted while being unable to do anything to stop it. The assistants were monitoring him constantly while checking the paper. The magic pen began to drawn lines that swung up and down rhythmically as each second passed. They were checking for something unique, but only found the repeated pattern as always. “Sir, it’s the same pattern as last time,” the assistant told Razzel. The Demon Dragon King got very agitated and said “Increase the output of the electricity!” “But, sir! He might not survive—!” “I don’t care! My goal is important than that puny human’s life! Now do as I said or suffer my wrath!” Razzel said and he glared at them fiercely. “Y-Yes, sir!” they said quickly. The assistant, who conjured the electric magic, said “Multitude Lightning.” In an instant, the lightning strikes increased and horrified Lakshman. This was nothing like what he had felt until now. His pain sensors were going off like crazy as his the nerves, in his body, screamed in pain. Lakshman was screaming wildly while struggling while being stuck to the chair. The assistants checked the magic paper and saw a change. They were finally able to see what they had expected to see. “Sir! There’s a change!” the assistant said quickly. Razzel nodded and said “Maximise the lightning.” The magic assistant looked at him in shock. Then he quietly nodded and said “Maximum Lightning.”
With the lightning maximised, Lakshman began to move on the chair. His body was be frozen in place on the chair, but the magic began to strain to keep him in place from his many struggles. “UUUUUUUUHHUUHUHUUHUUUUHHUHUUHUUUHHUUHU!!!!!!” As he screamed, Lakshman thought “D-Decisive Player! I don’t think my body can take this anymore!” He heard the Decisive Player curse and say “Dammit! Those bastards are seriously trying to perform their experiment while really torturing you!” “Stop stating the obvious and think of something! I seriously can’t take any more of this torture!” “I… I don’t know! With those Suppression Rings, we’re limited to what we could do and this lightning is slowly draining of us our—!” “Then I have something that could possibly—!” At that moment, Lakshman was distracted as his body suddenly twinged in pain. His nerves were at the breaking point from all the pain and suffering he was enduring. Never in his life did he imagine he would be put through such nightmarish torture. Inside the recording room, the assistants were sweating profusely while they analysed the data streaming down their papers, which were being drawn by the magic pen. “Sir! Please look at this!” the assistants said and they showed him the long line of paper. After analysing it for a few seconds, Razzel nodded with a smile spreading on his face. He was happy because his experiment was producing the desired results. This pleased him and he turned to smile as he watched Lakshman writhe on the chair with pain coursing through every part of his body. Unable to take it anymore, Lakshman came to a drastic decision and he shared his idea with the Decisive Player. The man with a lot of wisdom quickly disagreed with him. “No, no, no! I will not approve of this!” the Decisive Player told him. “We’ve got no choice! It’s do or die at this point in time! Don’t you see?! That bastard doesn’t care if I live or die so long as his experiment succeeds!”
“B-But if you do it according to your plan, you will most certainly die! Think about the girls that love you right now! Do you really plan on dying and abandoning them?” “I will survive! I have to! Please, Decisive Player! Help me…!” With that, it was finally decided. The Decisive Player did not like it, but he knew time was running out. It was finally time to act. At that moment, Lakshman began to glow dimly. The Demon Dragon King and his assistants did not understand why he was suddenly glowing like that. Then the glow expanded and covered Lakshman completed, which caused the lightning to bounce off as if it was some sort of visible barrier. Lakshman continued to scream in pain, but he narrowed his eyes and put his full might into focusing on the people on the other side of the glass. The repelled lighting began striking everything within the room with its unstoppable might. “UUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHH!!!” Lakshman screamed as he focused his energy. The next instance, the glass window got smashed and the lightning erupted through it. Razzel and his assistants were screaming as it began electrocuting them. Lakshman watched with a smile of satisfaction before beginning to scream as well since he was still being electrocuted. Razzel, with a struggle, raised his hand and shouted “Magic Cancel!” In an instant, the lightning eruptions stopped as the magic that conjured them was cancelled. Magic Cancel is a King ranked was a Defence Magic Spell that overloaded the magic and automatically destroyed it. As a result, the magic is gone, but its effects will still remain. As things soon calmed down, Razzel slowly got to his feet and said “N-Nicely done, test subject.” He smiled as he looked at Lakshman, who was still seated in that chair. For the first time in his life, he was exhausted in an unbelievable way. With no strength to remain sitting, he tilted sideways and fell off the chair. “Damn…! You’re seriously lucky to be alive!” the Decisive Player told him angrily. Lakshman smiled and thought “What did you expect from a guy who is called Lucky?” Just then, the door to the experimentation room opened and Adebola Gramstone entered the room. He was surprised to find the room in ruins. Destroyed fragments of furniture and
equipment, broken glass lying everywhere and two assistants of the Demon Dragon King lying motionless on the ground. “What the hell happened here?” Adebola asked aloud as he looked around. Razzel laughed and said “The test subject raised a powerful barrier and repelled the lighting back at us. Although he had six Suppression Rings on him, it looked like he still found the energy to produce such a powerful reflecting barrier!” Hearing this, Lakshman thought “He’s an idiot. Of course, I didn’t have the power to raise a barrier!” The fact was that the Decisive Player reversed the Divine Protection of the Sun and the Divine Protection of the Moon. They were originally intended to protect the owner from the heat and the cold. However, when they are reversed and are put together, they form an extremely powerful barrier that reflects all forms of energy attacks. This was why the Decisive Player did not want to follow with Lakshman’s plan because it left him vulnerable. During this time, the lightning coursing through his body began to hurt him more than before because it was suddenly blocked in. The solidified barriers created an impenetrable wall that did reflected anything from the outside and the inside. “I see!” Adebola said and he turned to glare at the collapsed form of Lakshman. He quickly walked over to Lakshman and bent down. The next instant, he grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. Lakshman dangled by his throat as he was extremely drained to put up a fight. “Are you done with your experiments?” Adebola asked Razzel while continuing to glare at Lakshman. Razzel breathed out heavily and said “With that little stunt he just pulled, I got all the information I need. So yeah… Do what you want with him.” He smiled just as a guard rushed into the room. He was breathless as if he ran a lot of distance to get there. “Your majesty, we just received word from a spy. He states that the Phoenix Clan are aware of our invasion plan and are on their way here to deal with us!” the guard said hurriedly in a panicked voice.
Hearing those words, Lakshman slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look down at Adebola. Seeing the shocked expression on his face pleased him greatly. “Looks like you’re finished!” he told Adebola and form a smile on his face. Adebola turned and looked up at him with a fowl expression on his face, which clearly stated how he was feeling. “Yes. You’re right, but you’re finished as well!” he told Lakshman. “Huh?” Lakshman asked in a puzzled voice. Adebola suddenly smiled and, without hesitation, Adebola pierced through Lakshman’s chest. “Gah!” Lakshman let out a yelp of surprise which soon turned into shock as he realised what the mad king did. With a mad expression on his face, Adebola pulled his hand out and also the beating heart of Lakshman in his hand as he dropped Lakshman to the ground. As he lay there bleed from his mortal wound, he heard Adebola say “Ah… I guess you’re just like the rest of us… Oh well!” With pure strength, he crushed the Lakshman’s beating heart and blood flowed out of it. He dropped it to the ground and turned to speak to Razzel. “Take his soul or whatever! I’m done here and I have a war to win!” With that, Adebola quickly left the room with the guard following right behind him. Once he was gone, Razzel walked over and said “It’s such a pity to do this after all I’ve done, but a soul is still as good as any soul I’ve absorbed. Soul Absorption!” He stretched his hand out and applied energy to it. For a moment, a blue orb slowly appeared at the back of Lakshman’s body when, all of a sudden, it went back in. Razzel was shocked and suddenly realised something was interfering with his Soul Absorption technique to steal Lakshman’s soul. “I’m not letting you have his soul!” the Decisive Player said as he hampered in Razzel’s magic. After struggling for a few seconds, he said “Ah! It doesn’t matter if I can’t absorb him anyway! He’s already served his purpose to me. Now…”
He turned around and walked to a wall before touching it with his hand. The place that he touched began glowing and opened up. A box was there which contained the Demon Slayer that he stole from the Astral Academy grounds. As he took the box out, he said “Magic Impersonation.” Magic Impersonation enables him to be able to use the same kind of magic as somebody else. He did not know Lakshman, but was able to understand him through the release of his magic. Thus, it appeared that he was mimicking Lakshman’s energy as he opened the box and pulled the Demon Slayer out. It was a magnificent black sword with yellow markings on the side of its blade. This was the Sacred Spirit said to be stronger than the Phoenix Blade. Currently, it looked like a fancy sword with strange carvings on it. Razzel smiled and said “Now…! Demon Slayer! I command you to obey me!” For a moment, nothing happened. Then the sword began to radiate in purple energy as he gripped it tightly with his hand. He smiled thinking the sword had accepted him, but was shocked when his hand suddenly got crystallised. Very soon, his body began to crystallise with him wearing horrified expression on his face. “W-What’s happening to me?!” he screamed as his body continued to crystallise. Lakshman, who as face down on the ground, heard none of his cries. He had a shocked expression on his face with his eyes wide open. Blood gushed out of a gaping hole in his chest where his heart used to be. All he knew was a strange sensation as his life slowly faded from this world.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 217 War Commences On the outskirts of Mardana’s capital, two large magic circle appeared in a clearing within a forest; one magic circle was hovering several centimetres above the magic circle glowing on the ground. Then the top circle slowly lowered to the ground. As the top magic circle slowly went down, people began to materialise on the spot. Eventually, both magic circles joined together and disappeared, leaving behind over 200 armoured warriors. Standing in the front, with the Legendary Sword of Justice in hand, was none other than the Phoenix Emperor, Felix Phoron. After breathing in the air, he coughed and said “I just got here and I already have a headache.” Then he turned around bad addressed the army of warriors standing behind him. “Now remember! We’re here to take down Mardana Kingdom’s army, but not to slaughter them! They would be wearing their second-rate Dragon Armours, but we will fight only to defeat them! Got that?” At that, the many men and women roared in ascent with his words. They were initially surprised when he told them about the war that the king of Mardana Kingdom, Adebola Gramstone, was planning. So they powered up their equipment, charged up their powers and were set to fight. Sevedant, the Death Titan, looked around and said “I sense evil intent.” As a follow up, Felix heard the Legendary Sword of Justice, Justina, speak in his mind “I can feel a lot of Fighting Force coming from within the barrier.” “Mmm! I can feel it too!” Felix said in agreement to both of their words. They may not know the exact location of the kingdom due to their barrier, but they can still feel them. It was an intense presence that made them grip their weapons tightly. Most of them were wielding swords, but others had spears and lances. Felix looked around for a bit to decide on the path. Being unable to locate them was really difficult, especially when the barrier works in a way that tricks them into going away from it. “This way,” Sevedant said shortly and he began walking forward.
Felix nodded and let the Death Titan to guide them to the location. He followed behind and the rest of his army followed right after them. For a few minutes, they walked in silence while making noises on leafy ground with each step they took. “Here!” Sevedant said when he finally came to a stop. Felix stopped right behind him and raised his hand high into the air to indicate to everyone to stop. As they came to a stop, he looked at each of them. Understanding the indirect message he was sending them, they nodded at him and quickly passed the message to activate their powers. There was a suddenly loud shout of “Phoenix Drive!” In an instant, all members of the Phoenix Clan were covered in a golden aura. They were all set and were ready to do battle at moment’s notice. They gulped as they gripped their weapons tightly and waited for the signal to charge forward. Felix nodded in satisfaction at seeing how alert everyone and turned back to look Sevedant in the face. “Do it!” With a simple nod of the head, Sevedant took two steps forward before stopping again. Then he rasied his skeleton hand and easily waved his wrist in empty air. There was a sudden sound of something cracking followed by a loud bang. Then a radiating barrier suddenly became visible for all of them to see. From where Sevedant swept his hand, a hole was smashed open in the barrier. Since the barrier had failed in its purpose to hide, it slowly turned into particles and vanished by each second. “Forward!” Felix shouted and he charged forward. Following his lead, the 200 army of Phoenixes ran after him. As they charged into the heart of the capital, they saw a large crowd had gathered way ahead of them. Standing in front of them, with a wide grin on his face, was Adebola Gramstone. Once they were several meters away, Felix came to a stop and held his hand up. With the halt signal, his army came to a halt and stood very closely to him. If anything were to happen to their leader, they would move immediately to his defence and Felix knew it.
Adebola continued to smile, undaunted by the presence of the Phoenix Emperor, Death Titan and 200 members of the Phoenix Clan. “I’m glad you made it! Now it’s really going to get interesting!” Felix took a deep breath and said “Adebola! As the Phoenix Emperor, I command you and your army to lay down your weapons and surrender peacefully! We do not want war!” “You don’t, but I do! Only though war can the true victory be decided!” Adebola said to him with a wide grin on his face. “Unlike you fools, I have a bigger goal in mind that I want to achieve!” Felix narrowed his eyes and asked “What goal would that be?” Adebola spread his arms out and said “”World domination!” Felix’s eyes twitched as he slowly said “World… domination…” “Yes! Imagine me, controlling the entire world with fear, like the Ruler of the World! He ruled over every being with an iron grip that never faltered! He was a monster beyond monsters that cannot be compared to any of the Nine Pillars of Power! Now imagine how it would feel when I succeed him with my grand scheme to rule as he did so long ago!” “You are crazy,” Felix said simply. “That sort of dream will never come true because you are the Ruler of the World are nothing alike! You’re ruthless, reckless, twisted in the brain and evil minded! Such a person will only plunge this world into the depths of destruction until there was nothing left!” Once he finished speaking, Adebola began to cackle with laughter. He laughed and laughed with all his might along with the rest of his army. Then he pointed at Felix and wore a crooked smile on his face. “You’re too weak to be called the Phoenix Emperor! With all the might and strength at your disposal, the entire Phoenix Clan obeying your every word, you would definitely be able to pull it off! In this world, only your clan has the power and the ability to change things! Even with all that, you still choose only to serve your purpose like a blind man!” Adebola narrowed his eyes maliciously and said “You’re a fiery birdbrained coward and the same goes for your clan for blindly following a leader who doesn’t use his might to do anything, but protect something as ridiculous as peace! Don’t you realise that warriors, like your clan, are bread to fight in wars! Without wars, they lose their purpose for ever becoming strong in the first place!”
Felix’s eyes flashed as he said “So you are planning to plunge the world back into the war! The great Phoenix Titan sacrificed his life to summon the World Guardians to save our world and you’re going to waste it! I will not let you do as you please; not on my watch!” In a swift movement, he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Adebola with a dangerous look on his face. “By the Order of the Phoenix, I will apprehend you and judge you for all your crimes!” Felix shouted and there was a roar of ascent from those standing behind him. Adebola wore an evil grin on his face and said “Then I and my army will slay every last one of you until you are no longer a torn in our sights for world domination!” With his words, there was a mighty roar from his army. Both armies stared at each other fiercely while charging their weapons with attacks. Adebola and Felix glared at each other fiercely; Felix had his swords out while Adebola had his hands tucked into the pocket of his pants. There was a sudden silence, which was soon broken by the sound of a twig breaking. “CHARGE!!!” Felix and Adebola screamed at the same time to their respective armies. With a rumble and a roar, the two sides charged forward and soon clashes their weapons against each other; sword against sword, spear against spear and lance against lance. A fierce battle began to rage and it erupted into the different districts of the capital. Both land and buildings were destroyed by their fierce battle. As the battle raged, Felix began to battle several of the warriors that attacked him in a group. He was impressed just how strong each of them were with the power boost they received from wearing the Dragon Armours. Felix could clearly see the dragon insignia on the sides of the shoulders of the armours. “Felix! Felix!” Hearing someone calling for him, he jumped away and blasted his attackers away. Then he turned around to see Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Cantia and Venezuela running towards him with Sevedant following right behind them. “What are you still doing here for?! Hurry up and search for Lakshman!” he told them as elbowed and punched two people consecutively.
His punches packed a lot of power and the two went flying into the distance before smashing through several buildings. Because the attackers were wearing Dragon Armours, he was not holding back his power. With great surge of energy, he began energy blasting the enemies from all around them. “Will you be fine here by yourself?!” Venezuela asked him quickly. Felix, while firing the energy blasts, nodded and said “I most certainly will be! Sevedant will also be with me so there is no worries!” She nodded at him in understanding with a smile on her face. She was amazed at the rapid speed of his attacks and reactions. At that moment, Tetra brightly said “I can sense master nearby! He’s alive!” “Good!” Ondine exclaimed and they exchanged looks of relief with each other. Then she looked at Sevedant and asked “Can you point us in the direction that he is at, Sevedant?” Sevedant instantly nodded and pointed in a certain direction as he said “Over there, but hurry. Life force is rapidly diminishing!” Emilia looked extremely worried and said “Master’s in danger!” Then she turned to Cantia and said “Cantia!” “On it-nyaa!” Cantia said brightly with her cat ears and tail out. Cantia immediately placed the palm of her hand on her chest and said “Beast Shift!” In an instant, she was covered in a bright glow of light that caused everyone to cover their eyes. The next moment, the glow faded and they were able to see again. Standing in front of them was a very large cat, around ten meters high, and several times wide as it survived the surroundings through its beastly eyes. Several of the attackers broke away and jumped at the large cat. In an instant, the cat swished its tail and smacked some of them away while uses its paws to beat the rest away. Then it lowered itself to the ground so that Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Venezuela could climb on board. “Let’s quickly get on and get going!” Emilia told them in a firm voice. Then she noticed Venezuela hesitating and said “Vena! It’s alright! This is Cantia’s Beast Form when he transforms.” “Wow…! It’s a large cat…!” Venezuela said in awe as she was helped up by the girls.
Once they were all sitting and holding onto her fur, Cantia rose up to stand on her four legs. Then she roared “RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!” In an instant, everyone got out of the way as Cantia began to run in the direction that Sevedant indicated. Whenever someone got in their way, she blasted energy balls out of her mouth at them as Ondine and Tetra fought them with their sword skills while Emilia and Venezuela fought with their magic skills. “Quickly, Cantia! We must hurry!” Emilia shouted hurriedly. “RRRRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!” Cantia roared and she sped off through the mass of fighting warriors. The battle continued to wage for almost thirty minutes, with nighter side willing to back down or give up. Felix and Sevedant fought alongside each other as the warriors continued to head towards them. Sevedant had used his Death by Destruction technique it caused most of them to stay away from him due to fear. However, it soon started to wear off and the warriors continued to charge towards them. Felix had already used Phoenix Drive and Power Charge and was fighting at an incredible speed. At that moment, Sevedant turned to him and asked “Hey! Where is Adebola?” “Huh?” Felix asked in a surprised voice. “Adebola! Where is he?” “I saw him a while ago, but now I don’t know where he had gone!” Just then, five warriors surrounded them and blasted a wave of energy towards them. Felix and Sevedant quickly looked at each other and nodded. Then they created an energy barrier around each other and sent it straight at the warriors. With a mighty impact, all of them and the incoming enemies were blasted before crashing into more buildings. Felix was smiling at their good teamwork. Then his smile faded when Sevedant said “I don’t sense him.” “What?!” Felix exclaimed in a surprised voice.
He focused his energy and began to sense. This proved to be more difficult than it normal would be because of all the tension he was feeling. He had just been fighting more than hundred warriors and more kept coming at them from all directions. After focusing his energy, Felix finally realised that Sevedant was right. He indeed was unable to sense that presence of Adebola Gramstone among the warriors. In fact, he could not sense that man’s life force within the area at all. In a shocked voice, he asked “What the hell happened to him? Where did he disappear to? Is he masking his presence or is he not even here at all?” To his numerous questions, Sevedant only shook his head. Nighter of them understood why they were unable to “More coming!” Sevedant said and he summoned his Death Sword and held it firmly in his skeleton hands. “Ah…! Give me a break!” Felix said and sighed heavily as he firmly clutched the Legendary Sword of Justice. The two of them prepared as more and more enemy warriors charged at them from who knows where. They were all screaming and roaring like wild beasts out of control as they charged towards them.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 218 The Truth Lakshman felt himself not moving at all and lying still and silent. The last he remembered, Adebola Gramstone stabbed through his chest and ripped his heart out. That was the last thing he remembered seeing before he had blacked out as his life force slowly faded away. Now he did not know where he was, what he was doing or what was happening to him. All he was aware of was this strange sensation and emptiness surrounding him. Just then, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. “Lakshman… Hey, Lakshman!” Hearing someone calling out to him, Lakshman slowly opened his eyes and was amazed by what he saw. Everything around him was surrounded in complete darkness; the sky, the ground and the surroundings. Then he looked at himself and noticed that he was dimly glowing in a bright light. “What the? Where am I? And what is this place?” he asked as he stared around. Then a voice, from behind him, chuckled and said “I’m glad to see you’re using your brains.” Lakshman quickly turned around and saw a bit confused. Although the man had the voice of the Decisive Player, he did not recognise the man’s appearance. The man wore plan white robes draped all around him. He had white eyes that can see through Lakshman. There was also a triangular star shape on the man’s forehead which he did not recognise. The man smiled and said “What’s wrong?” “You… Who are you?” Lakshman asked curiously while pointing at him. The man chuckled and smiled as he said “I am the Decisive Player, except now I’m in my actual form.” “That’s your actual form? Wow! You certainly look majestic!” Lakshman said honestly.
“Thank you for the compliment, but we have something else to discuss now that you’re here,” the Decisive Player told him. Then he gestured around and asked “Do you know where we are?” “Uh…” Lakshman hesitated for a moment as he looked around. Then he asked “Is this the Soul Transition?” The Decisive Player shook his head and said “No. Think back to what happened just before you arrived here.” Lakshman thought back to the most recent events to when Adebola ripped his heart out and crushed it without remorse. With the realisation, his widened automatically. “I’m dead… I’m dead? Ha…” he said and he suddenly looked utterly shocked at it. The Decisive Player nodded and said “Yes and that’s how you came to the Border Plane.” “The what?” Lakshman asked with a confused look on his face. “Border Plane. It’s were those who died can make a choice; whether to return to the living as a ghost or move on to the next realm.” As he spoke, he pointed upward with his hand. Lakshman looked up, but saw only darkness high above. Lakshman looked back at the Decisive Player with a sad expression on his face as he said “I’m really dead this time…” He was surprised when the Decisive Player shook his head and said “You’re in the process of dying. Look at your clothes.” Lakshman looked down at himself and was surprised to see the colour slowing draining from him. His clothes were losing their colour and were becoming pure white by the second. “When you turn completely white, then you really are dead. That’s why my appearance is completely like this and so is the appearance of Spectra. Remember?” Lakshman nodded as he understood what he meant. Spectra, the ghost that lived in his dormitory, was murdered there by a surprise attack from behind. She was the previous owner of the Demon Slayer and felt guilt that her Sacred Spirit sealed herself beneath Astral Academy grounds. So she came back as a ghost in order to try and get someone to become the Demon Slayer’s new master.
“I see. So that’s why she looks all white with no colour at all,” Lakshman said the Decisive Player nodded at him. “Technically silver, but it’s hard to tell the difference unless you put silver and white together to compare,” the Decisive Player said with a sigh. He quickly shook his head and said “Anyway! I need to tell you a lot of things before I can let you return to the Physical Plane!” When Lakshman nodded at him, the Decisive Player took a deep breath and said “Up until now, I’ve been called as the Decisive Player, the Voice of the Phoenix and the Wisdom Giver. However! Before I became known by those names, I was known as the God of Wisdom, Whamana!” For a moment, there was a silence where Lakshman only looked at him. Once those words sunk in, he exclaimed “You’re a god?! Ha?! God?!” The Decisive Player nodded and said “I used to be, but then I was destroyed by the God of Destruction for apparently shaming the gods when I lost to the first Phoenix Titan. This was back when the first Phoenix Titan, challenged the gods for reasons unknown. I was his first opponent and he easily defeated me without using any of his special skills he developed over the years!” “I’ve always though the first Phoenix Titan was insane,” Lakshman said quietly and the Decisive Player smiled. “He was then defeated by the God of Justice and was should have been punished. However, the Gods of Freedom and Justice were impressed by his desire to seek them out for the greater good. Together, the God of Sun, God of Moon, God of Elements and God of Darkness, they gave him Divine Protections, Eternal Power and the power to reincarnate.” “Ah! So that’s how I received my awesome powers and Divine Protection of the Sun and Divine Protection of the Moon from.” “However! After the Phoenix Titan’s deaths, a problem arose that shook the foundations of the world!” the Decisive Player said to him with a fierce look in his eyes. “Um… What happened?” Lakshman asked curiously.
The Decisive Player sighed and asked “Have you wondered why you lacked common sense? Why you were so stupid from a very early age? Even now, you are still a bit stupid? Have you ever questioned anything about it?” Lakshman looked unhappily at his feet and said “I just thought I was slow at developing.” The Decisive Player shook his head and said “No! You weren’t slow at developing. In fact, the fault is not even yours because I did it!” “Eh?” “I took away your common sense. I made you look really stupid and idiotic because of how much sense you lacked! Anytime I believed something would upset the balance you were headed towards, I immediately absorbed it from your system without your knowledge!” “Eh?!” “I did a lot of things for your sake without your knowledge so you end up being pure hearted, innocent minded and calm spirited when you finally take over the role of the Phoenix Titan!” “B-But why?! Why did you do that to me?! Because of that, I was completely oblivious to the feelings of the girls around me! Because of that, I didn’t know a lot of things and felt really stupid about it! Why?!” Lakshman demanded the Decisive Player in a desperate voice. “I did it so that you wouldn’t become like the past Phoenix Titans that came after the first one!” the Decisive Player told him in a firm voice. Lakshman looked surprised and said “What?!” The Decisive Player began pacing around as he spoke to Lakshman in a powerful voice. “Yes! I did it in order to not turn you into those Phoenix Titan bastards! In the past, every one of them gave in to their inner feelings and did a lot of stupid things! They were lecherous, perverted, greedy, and selfish, had a great lust for power, always looking down on society and hated normality! Each and every one of them were nothing, but losers that tainted the Phoenix Titan title. Each time a Phoenix Titan was born, they were either soft hearted or cold hearted. They were either taken advantage of or take advantages from others without ever considering their role in the world!
Eventually, this repeating cycle made me really mad and I decided to tell the God of Creation to stop reincarnating the Phoenix Titan! However… I remembered the Phoenix Titan’s words when he saved my life. As such, I wanted to try one last attempt at the reincarnation so I can personally make sure you don’t become like the rest of them.” “I see… So that’s why I was born 8000 years after the last Phoenix Titan’s death,” Lakshman said in an understanding voice after listening to the Decisive Player speak for several minutes in silence. Then he looked concerned as he asked “Still, you don’t have the hate all the Phoenix Titans. I mean, look at the Phoenix Titan that died before me. He died by saving the world and everyone treats him like a legend.” He was alarmed when the Decisive Player said “Ha! A legend? A hero? What a load of crap! Seriously! The people have no idea the kind of lecherous, lustful, prideful and glorious bastard he was! He kept going around the world with false identities and doing a lot of things that would make any man proud! In fact, the reason all the races around the world waged war was also his fault!” Lakshman’s eyes widened in horror when the Decisive Player listed the kind of things the previous Phoenix Titan had done. He clenched his fists tightly and felt horrendous at knowing the dreadful history the past Phoenix Titans lead. Now he clearly understood why the Phoenix Clan erased all recorded history of each of the Phoenix Titans because it would create a global problem if word were to get out about the Phoenix Titan’s credibility. That would undermine the power and authority of the Phoenix Clan as they are the sole peace keepers of races from sparking conflict with one another. “So that’s why you wanted me to grow up knowing none of these. You wanted me to only show love and respect without wanting anything more than that. I always had this urge to be strong to protect those around me without asking for anything in return was all you’re doing, right?” The Decisive Player shook his head and said “No. I had nothing to do with those things. I simply absorbed the negatives that would’ve swallowed you like the rest of the Phoenix Titans. I am glad your father was really against you learning magic because that gave me time to prepare myself. When you learnt you could do magic, you had this strange feeling of superiority which I quickly absorbed. Then the time when you were able to use both Energy Force and Weapon Force against Ondine, I absorbed the feelings of superiority and the inferiority complex that began to develop within you. Finally, when you accidentally opened the bathroom door and saw Ondine naked, I absorbed the feeling of lust from you before you realised it.”
Lakshman looked horrified at the Decisive Player’s words and he said “What?! I-I saw Ondine… n-n-naked?!” “Yes, you did, but everyone thought you simply forgot about it because of the strong kick she gave you to the chest. Luckily, you and none of them were ever realised my presence within you, which enabled me to quietly absorb all the negatives before they gripped you.” Lakshman looked wide eyed and said “Oh man…! Is that why I panicked when I was seen by the girls back at Astral Academy when I accidentally stumbled upon their Holy Bath? I think that’s also why I had a hard time getting used to having all the girls together with me.” The Decisive Player nodded and said “I absorbed the feeling of lust and replaced it with a fear of lust. Due to that, you were very scared of such things.” Lakshman finally sighed heavily and said “So the reason I became like this was really your fault.” At those words, the Decisive Player laughed before he said “Aren’t you glad you are this way right now? You’re treating girls with great respect and dignity, you show a great temperance when it comes to handling troublesome matters and you are now far better at controlling your powers without me having to tell you anything anymore.” Lakshman nodded in understand and said “I understand, but why did you tell me all this right now? You know that I could’ve blamed you, hated you and did a lot of things to you with my anger, right?” The Decisive Player looked thoughtful for a moment before he said “I did think that might happen, but I was confident in your belief in me. I knew you wouldn’t get that angry at me, knowing that I did all this for your sake. Understanding the reason and forgiving them is also a great quality you possess so I didn’t worry.” Lakshman only smiled at him and then looked down at himself. His colours were almost gone and everything had turned pure white. If this continued, he knew he will end up dying and all of Decisive Player’s efforts would have been for nothing. He quickly looked at the Decisive Player and said “What now? My colours are getting replaced by this white colour. Quickly or I will die!” The Decisive Player nodded and said “The other reason I told you everything was because it’s time that you and I became one and the same.”
“Eh?!” Lakshman looked startled by his words. “What do you mean ‘become one and the same’? You don’t mean…?” He had a horrible inclination of the Decisive Player had in mind and his suspicions were proven right when the Decisive Player said “Yes. I will hand over everything that I have to you; knowledge, wisdom, power and strength. I just can’t give you my memories because they are not yours to take.” As he said, his whole body began to glow brightly as energy surged around him. “Wait! WE can think of something else!” “There is no time to hesitate. Besides, my time is over. It’s time for you to take the reins and move forward,” the Decisive Player said with a smile on his face. The next moment, he shot a white beam of energy directly at him. Lakshman tried to get out of the way when he suddenly found that he could not move his body. The white beam of energy hit him in the chest and surrounded him in a bright glow of light. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” As the energy warped around him, Lakshman screamed as he surged with power. The Decisive Player continued to figure the beam of light and soon began to groan which made him quickly place his hand on his chest. He began to turn into particles and disappear as the beam of light continued to be fired at Lakshman, who absorbed it while screaming out loud. Then the beam disappeared and the Decisive Player was left standing there wearily. He breathed a great sigh and looked at himself. Every part of his body was slowly turning into particles and vanished. He knew he was going to disappear soon and he looked, with pride, as Lakshman was surrounded by a great amount of energy warping around him. A few seconds later, the warping energy vanished and disappeared. Lakshman stood there with his head down as he dimly radiated in golden-red aura. The Decisive Player took a deep breath and shouted “Lakshman Reddy! You are the Phoenix Titan and you have a job to do! Go! Your world is waiting!” At these words, Lakshman straightened up to look at him. The Decisive Player saw that he had red eyes and a strong glint in them. This suddenly made him realise he was looking directly at the shadow of the first Phoenix Titan. Lakshman then nodded his head and said “Understood.”
In an instant, the golden-red aura covered him completely as a powerful surge of energy was released. Then he disappeared in a flash as he returned to the Physical Plane, leaving the Decisive Player standing there while his body slowly disintegrated. Just then, he heard a voice from behind say “Are you sure it’s that time already?” The Decisive Player turned around and saw the God of Energy, Engraut, standing there with a frown on his face. “Yes. I’m satisfied with all that I’ve done. Now it’s time for him to take the stage and show his stuff!” Engraut, seeing the Decisive Player disappearing, asked him “One final thing… What makes you be so confident in him?” With his body completely disappearing, the Decisive Player smiled one last time and said “Because he is the reincarnation of the first Phoenix Titan, Asura Rangavardan.” The Decisive Player was completely disappeared and was gone from existence itself. However, his parting words left a great impression on the God of Energy, who had raised his eyes in shock. “Asura?! The Phoenix Titan?! Wow…! So that’s why I thought Lakshman looked familiar. Looks like I have to go and meet him soon.” With that, the God of Energy transformed into a flowing stream of energy and disappeared from the Border Plane.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 219 Shocking Trap In the laboratory room, the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, continued to scream and rage as he desperately attempted to free himself from the sword he held with his crystallised hand. His body was almost crystallised due to it being that she did not perceive him as worthy. Lakshman’s body lay on the floor with blood flowing all around him. He had his eyes wide open with a shocked expression on his face as he lay there still and silent. Suddenly, he closed his eyes as his hands began switching while making moaning noises. Then he abruptly rose up from the ground to stand with his arms dangling at his side and head hung down. For a moment, there was only the noise of Razzel’s struggle as he fought desperately to free himself from the Demon Slayer. The hole in Lakshman’s chest magically closed itself as his heart was instantly repaired. He began taking deep breaths and slowly breathing out, which he did several times. He quickly clenched his fists and began to scream “UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” As he screamed, he began surging with power that rocketed the entire room with wild blowing wind. The Suppression Rings on his arms continued to apply their pressure, but they soon began to crack as they were unable to hold back his power. A few seconds later, they were finally smashed into pieces as the sleeping power within Lakshman raged to the surface. “UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” As he continued to scream, he was covered in a bright glow of light as the energy surged all around him. Then he tilted his head and let out one final ear splitting scream. “UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” There was a sudden flash of light, which was followed by a mighty explosion as a blast of light erupted from where he stood. It soared straight through the building and escaped into the open. The blinding light shone brightly in the sky and caused a wild force of wind and energy to travel in all directions.
Running towards the building that he was in, Cantia came to a stop. All battles came to an abrupt halt as they felt the ground shaking and heart frightening power released from that flash of light in the sky. “Oh my god! What is this?!” Venezuela exclaimed in a shocked voice. “I’ve never felt this kind of power before!” Emilia exclaimed as she and the girls held onto Cantia’s firm as the shocking wind buffeted them. “What the?!” Felix shouted as he and everyone around him stopped fighting. He looked up at the flash of light in the sky and said “What the hell is that?! An enemy?!” Sevedant, however, turned to him and said “Not enemy. An ally!” “Seriously?! But then…?! Who?! It’s not the kind of power that Lakshman can release; it’s too darn powerful!” Felix shouted as he and everyone else fought hard to keep their ground from the shocking wind that hit them. The flashing light lit the whole area brightly and caused all eyes to turn towards it. But then, the flashing light slowly dimmed and vanished from the skyline. For a moment, everyone just stared at where it disappeared at before resuming their battle against each other. Inside the building, Lakshman was standing as he radiated in golden-red aura, his black hair became blonde and seemed to have gotten longer and spikier. Then he flashed his eyes open and caused another fast wind to blow around him. He looked up and as he jumped, he rocketed up into the sky at high speed. After reaching a certain height, he stopped and hovered there while he looked around at the ground. He could see the destruction that was being caused to the capital as the Phoenix Clan Army and the Mardana Kingdom Army desperately fought each other. “Elemental Sight!” When he shouted the technique name, everything lost its normal colours and got replaced by the colour grey. Down below, he could see the colours that indicated who is who; red for enemies, blue for allies and purple for dark spirits. As he looked around using the Elemental Sight, he saw all red marked people had a purple colour attached to them. He instantly knew the Mardana Kingdom Army were all being controlled by a Dark Spirit and deactivated Elemental Sight. He raised his right hand in front of him and said “Spiritual Fireball! Target Dark Spirit!”
Blue flames erupted within his outstretched hand and the flames quickly formed into a ball, which he threw into the air. The ball of blue flames soared into the air and hovered there as it spun round and round at incredible sped. Then it launched several dozens of blue energy shots and aimed at the people that got a Dark Spirit within them. “Followed by Dragon Crusher!” Lakshman said firmly. He clapped his hands together hard and then swung them wide. As his arms spread wide, a powerful wave of energy was sent in all directions. This energy passed straight through and caused the Dragon Armours to instant dismantle. Then the fired blue shots hit the people hard in the back and instantly knocked them out. One by one, all the Mardana Kingdom Army warriors fell before the mighty purifying attack of the Spiritual Fireball that instantly decimated the Dark Spirit controlling them. “Demon Dragon King, Razzel. You should’ve spent more time trying to fix the weaknesses of your replicated Dragon Armours instead of worrying about trying to figure out how to control the Demon Slayer!” As Lakshman nodded in satisfaction at seeing them all collapse on the ground, his eyes widened when he nothing something odd. Realising the problem, he charged through the air and headed towards where Felix and Sevedant were. The two warriors were looking around in surprise as each of their enemies Dragon Armours were dismantled and the warriors falling to the ground, unconscious. “Sir! It seems all of them have been knocked out!” a Phoenix Clan member told him. “Wow…! Their armours got dismantled and they suddenly feel? Were they running on some sort of magic power or something?” Felix asked curiously while he looked around. At that moment, one of them pointed to the sky as he shouted “Phoenix Emperor! Something is headed this way!” Following their gaze, they looked up and they looked up into the sky. There was indeed something flying towards them at high speed from the stream of energy that it left behind. “Damn! The sky’s too bright; I can’t see!” Felix said in annoyed voice. He turned to Sevedant and asked “Is it an enemy?”
Sevedant shook his head with his red eyes gleaming in the sunlight. Then he said “Not enemy. An ally.” The person in the air rocketed down and landed with a great tremor and caused dust to surround them. Then Lakshman walked out of the cloud of dust much to the surprise of everyone that stood there and watched him appear out of the smoke. “Lucky! You’re alive!” Felix shouted cheerfully and they walked forward. “Yes, but there’s no time!” Lakshman said to him with a serious expression on his face. “You, Sevedant and the rest of the Phoenix Clan must immediately return to Floria Kingdom!” “What’s the hurry? We’ve defeated the army and now just need to find Adebola Gramstine,” Felix said with a startled expression on his face. “That’s the problem! These people that you and your mend fought are not the real army! They are the civilians and adventurers that were being controlled by Dark Spirits!” Felix’s eyes widened in shock and he slowly said “Wait…! You don’t mean?!” “Yes. The real army is currently attacking Floria Kingdom as we speak and I am certain Adebola is with them! Now quickly go!” “Oh no…! What a blunder…! It was a trap all along, but Lucky! I saw him standing in front of these people! How could he have managed to be here and be there at the same time?” Felix asked him desperately. “It’s easy. He was using an Image Message Stream from the other side while he was in a safe place. He basically sent an image of himself speaking to you while he was safely over there! So you thought he was here and fell into his trap of believing these people were his actual army,” Lakshman explained to him quickly. “I-Is such a thing possible?!” one of the Phoenix Clan members asked doubtfully. Lakshman turned and glared at him fiercely as he said “Of course, it is possible with the right amount of magic and the correct methods in using it. Now hurry up and get yourself ready for departure!” Then he turned back to Felix and said “Felix, hurry up and go! Otherwise, there won’t be a Floria Kingdom when we return home!” Felix quickly realised by Lakshman’s words and said “You’re right!” Then he turned around and shouted “Summoners! Prepare for a transport spell back to Floria Kingdom immediately!”
“Yes, sir!” six of the members said with a nod and they began casting a large magic spell. A few seconds later, the magic circle was ready and active. Felix ordered his clansmen to get in and head off to the Floria Kingdom. One by one, they stepped into the Teleportation Magic Circle and got ready to head back to their home kingdom. At that moment, Lakshman thought he sensed the presence of several people. It was the presence of Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Cantia and Venezuela, which he found strange. He knew they should not be here, but he still sensed them and wondered if his sensing ability took a hit from assimilating so many Dark Spirits at the same time. “By the way, Felix. Why is it that I’m sensing the presence of Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Cantia and Venezuela here?” Lakshman asked him. Felix turned around and looked at him with a surprised look on his face. He had assumed that Lakshman had met them and knew to find them there. “I thought you already met them when they were searching to rescue you,” Felix told him with a surprised look on his face. “What did you say? They are here?” Lakshman asked in a disbelief. He quickly swung around and began to sense the location of where the girls were. It took him a moment, but when he discovered their location, he was shocked. “Oh no! The place they are at… He’s also there…!” Lakshman said in alarmed voice. He quickly kicked off the ground and shot into the air as he soared towards the laboratory building. Felix watched him go and shouted “Hey! Lucky?!” He did not quite understand why he shot away in such a hurry, but he knew it must be fairly important. Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he looked around to see Sevedant looking at him through his mask. “Let us leave. He will come later,” Sevedant told him in a calm voice. “I know. Let’s go!” Felix said The two of them joined everyone else within the Teleportation Magic Circle. There was a moment of blinding flash of yellow before the light, the magic and everyone in it disappeared.
Meanwhile, Cantia came to a stop at the location where the flashing light erupted from earlier. Once Cantia lowered herself to the ground, everyone jumped off her and she transformed back into her humanoid form with cat ears and tail. “What now-nyaa?” she asked them curiously while burning with energy. “This is where that large energy burst out of so he must be around here somewhere,” Venezuela quietly as they observed the destroyed building. “How about we split up and search? That would be faster, right?” Ondine asked curiously, but Emilia immediately shook her head at such suggestion. “We need to stay together as a group so we can defend themselves in case there are any more of these people around,” Emilia said while nervously looking around her. “I second Emilia’s suggestion. It’s easier to pick us apart when we are separated and isolated,” Tetra said. “I agree with Emilia,” Venezuela said quietly. Ondine shrugged her shoulders and said “Alright. Let’s go already.” “Don’t be impatient, Ondine!” Tetra said coolly. Together, the five girls walked together inside with their weapons at the ready; Venezuela with her wand, Emilia with her staff, Cantia with her beastly hands, Ondine with her two swords and Tetra with her one sword.” They carefully entered the destroyed building and saw dead bodies lying everywhere. At the sight, the girls quickly turned away and tried to ignore the horrific sight. These were the people that Adebola had killed them to stop them from blabbing after their completed conducting the experiment on Lakshman. After walking for a while, they found a door that looked badly broken. Ondine, who was at the front, slowly pushed the door open. They were all startled when the door suddenly fell forward and crashed on the floor. “Shh!” The girls whispered to each other quickly while looking around. When they did not see any immediate danger, they slowly walked into the room and saw a gaping hole in the ceiling.
“Yup! This was the place!” Venezuela said and the other girls agreed. At that moment, they heard a soft moaning sound from the corner of the room. They quickly turned and were on guard when they saw something entirely covered in crystals. It was moaning and groaning with pain as its entire body had been crystallised. “What the?” Ondine said as she frowned at the crystallised body. At that moment, the body turned around and looked at them. The girls were instantly frozen with fear at seeing the horrible face crystallised face of the monster. “RRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!” As the monster screamed, it darted forward and reached them before they could at incredible speed. The girls let out screams of fright as the monster charged forward with its arms out stretched towards them. For some reason, something about the monster stopped them from attacking it. At that moment, something flew through the open space in the ceiling and landed heavily on the ground. This caused dust to rise into the air and cover the space which slowed down the monster, but not stop it completely. In an instant, the dust got cleared as Lakshman surged with power and punched the monster in the face. The force of impact was so powerful, some of the crystals got destroyed as the monster flew backwards. It smashed through this and several more buildings before finally coming to a crashing stop. Lakshman straightened up and said “Don’t you dare lay a hand on my women, you freak!” “Lakshman!” Venezuela cried out. “Lucky!” Emilia and Cantia said together. “Master!” Tetra said happily. The girls were saved at the last moment from the monster’s assault from the timely arrival of Lakshman, the Phoenix Titan.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 220 Lakshman vs. Crystallised Monster “Lakshman!” Venezuela cried out. “Lucky!” Emilia and Cantia said together. “Master!” Tetra said happily. As soon as he turned around, he found himself being hugged by multiple bodies as the girls threw themselves at him. Luckily, he was far stronger than them and it enabled him to keep himself from falling back. “I’m glad you girls are safe,” he said in relief as he wrapped his arms around and hugged them back. “Eh?!” The girls widened their eyes in surprise by his words. They quickly broke free from the hug and stepped back with incredulous expressions on their faces. “Wait, master. How did our roles suddenly switch?” Tetra asked him. “What roles?” “You know… You were a hostage and we came to rescue you… Suddenly, it feels like you came to rescue us!” “Ah,” he said and laughed lightly before saying “It is dangerous for you girls to suddenly come, unprepared, to such a dangerous location. Anyway, I have something important to speak to you about.” “You might want to hold that thought,” Ondine said as she pointed to something behind him. “He’s coming back!” In the distance, where the monster had crashed, it suddenly got to its feet and turned around. It let out a mighty roar and charged towards him through the smashed buildings. Lakshman continued to face the girls so they thought he did not know, but they could see the bloodthirstiness in the eyes of the monster.
“Lucky! Behind you! Behind!” Emilia shouted as she also pointed. “Relax. It’ll be fine,” Lakshman said calmly and he smiled at her. At that moment, the monster let out one mighty roar as it reached them. It raised the Demon Slayer in its hands and brought it down at them. “Oh no! We’re going to die-nyaa!” Cantia cried out and they all ducked their heads with their eyes closed. For a moment, nothing happened and the girls slowly opened their eyes to look. They were astonished to see the monster hit some sort of energy barrier that formed around them. The monster attempted to enter the barrier, but it was no use as it kept repelling it back. Then the monster began attacking the barrier all around with all its might, but it proved to be useless. “What…?” the girls said faintly as they saw the monster was stopped right outside the barrier. Venezuela turned to Lakshman and asked “Did you form an energy barrier around us without telling us?” “I told you its fine, didn’t I?” he told her with a small smile on his face. “Honestly…!” she said and she shook her head unhappily. “Nyaa!” Cantia said angrily and she vented her anger by hitting his chest. “That hurts, Cantia,” he said and he gently stroked her head which, somewhat, calmed her dowm. “Anyway, I have something important to speak to you all.” “What about that?” Emilia asked and she pointed at the monster trying to smash the barrier. Lakshman narrowed his eyes and glanced at the monster as he said “Don’t worry. He won’t be able to break through.” “Okay. So what is it that you want to tell us?” Venezuela asked in a business-like tone. “I want to acquire the Demon Slayer, that Sacred Spirit that he is holding in his hands.” For a moment, there was silence within the room except for the monster’s roars. Then the girls nodded their heads as they looked at each other.
“We thought this might happen,” Venezuela said with a sigh. “Honestly, I don’t have a problem so long as Lucky doesn’t leave us out-nyaa,” Cantia said cheerfully. The rest of the girls nodded their consent while smiling at him. “I’m fine with your decision, master, however,” Tetra said and she pointed at the sword, “isn’t it a bit dangerous to obtain her right now?” “Right now, she has gone mad due to rage. The Demon Dragon King, Razzel, was foolish to attempt to impersonate someone’s energy to obtain what he wanted and paid the price by being crystallised. Now, she is on a rampage of destruction and is using his body to achieve it.” “Well…! Do what you must, but don’t forget about us!” “Yeah! I won’t approve if master ignored us after this!” “Don’t worry, I won’t,” he said and he smiled at them. Then he became serious and said “Alright, listen. I want you girls to go down there and life up the door on the floor. It’s a trapdoor leading to the bottom where a dungeon is located. There are people being held inside each of those rooms, so please make sure they are safe and healthy when you free them.” “You got it!” the girls said. “Tetra, I need you right now,” he said and he held out his right hand. She gladly placed her hand in his hand and he gripped it tightly. With a smile on her face, she was surrounded by a brightly light before she transformed into the Phoenix Blade. He held onto her firmly and closed his eyes. “Thank you, Decisive Player, for your noble sacrifice to make me into who I am right now. I swear on my life, my blood and my soul that I will never stray from the path of freedom and justice!” He instantly flashed his eyes open and the Phoenix Blade began to glow brightly. Then he swung around as he dropped the barrier around them. There was a loud clanging sound as metal smashed into crystal and power erupted within the room. The next moment, the monster was blasted away by the sheer force of the swing that Lakshman delivered.
As he charged jumped into the air and followed after the monster, the girls nodded at each other. Their job had been given and now they quickly go the specified location that he indicated. Once they got there, they saw a trap down on the floor. Once they opened it, they saw stairs leading down into semi-lit ground made of walls. “Alright! Let’s go!” Venezuela said and nodded before going into the dungeon. Meanwhile, Lakshman caught up to the monster in mid-flight and they began exchanging rapid sword blows at each other. Lakshman noted that the Demon Slayer was indeed controlling the crystallised body of the Demon Dragon King, but was using his strength and sword skills to fight him. “Unfortunately for you, I am faster!” Lakshman yelled. He ducked a sword swing before kicked the monster in the chest. The impact was so power, the crystal got shattered and the monster was smashed to the ground. The monster crash landed and got dragged for several meters before it came to a stop with Lakshman landing meters from him. “How do you plan on acquiring her, master? Right now, she’s gone mad and if a Sacred Spirit continues to fight like that—!” “I know! If the Demon Slayer continued to fight like that, it will end up overexerting itself which will eventually cause it to self-destruct and destroy everything around it,” he said irritably as he watched the monster straighten up to face him. “H-How do you know that, master? I don’t remember telling that to you before.” “A lot has happened, but let’s talk about that later. Right now, we have this battle to win!” With those words, Lakshman charged forward at incredible speed and slashed through the monster. As he did, he cut the monster’s right arm clear off, which had been holding the sword. It was for only a moment before crystals formed from the shoulder and grabbed the right arm. In an instant, it brought the broken arm back and reattached itself to the monster’s body once more. Moving very quickly, Lakshman darted around before attacking the monster. Each time he attacked, he made sure to apply powerful force to cut through its crystallised body. In several moves, he cut off both of the monster’s arms, legs and head, however, they quickly reattached themselves to the monster’s body in a high speed recovery.
The monster roared at him and charged towards him before they began they began their intense sword battles. Swords were clashing like crazy with incredible speeds that normal eyes could not see as both the monster and the warrior fought each other. The two of them began inflicting damage onto each other with each blow they delivered. Blood spurted out of Lakshman’s body with each of his wounds, but the monster continued to reattach or regrow destroyed crystal on its body. “One Man Army!” Lakshman shouted and instantly, multiple copies of him appeared. As the multiple copies darted around, the monster roared at them. It began swinging wildly at them since it was unable to locate the original. Since all the copied looked the same, the monster cannot tell which the real one was anymore. “What’s wrong? Can’t tell which the real one is?” the multiple Lakshman’s said in a chorus. The monster roared and it fired crystals at them, but they were easily dodged by the fast moving copies of Lakshman. “Master, we can’t do anything to it so long as that regeneration continues to keep its body intact.” “Yes and that leaves me only one option. I have to use Flash Blast!” Tetra was shocked by his plan and said “Eh?! Master, you can’t! You know that technique puts a heavy burden on your body!” “It’s worth the shot because that sword is beginning to glow in red. The more frequent it glows red, the faster it is reaching the destruction point. I have no time to—!” At that moment, the monster raised its sword and swung it in a circle. Something began to form there and it quickly became crystallised while glowing dimly in yellow colour. For a moment, the large crystal ring hung in mid-air over the monster’s head. The next moment, multiple spears of crystals were fired in all directions and they pierced through all the Lakshman copies. “Impressive!” Lakshman said in a praising as all of his copies were easily taken out. Lakshman began to move faster to avoid the rapid rain of crystallised spears that were being fired at him.
“I have no choice! Tetra! I’m going to use you to create an opening!” Lakshman said as he continued to dodge the crystallised spears that were being blasted straight at him. “As you wish, master.” Lakshman stopped running around and faced the monster with a serious expression on his face. Then he began instantaneously dodge the raining spears by dodging each and every one of them. From the way he was moving, it looked like he was disappearing, reappearing, disappearing again and reappearing again in a continuous cycle. As he dodged the rain of spears, he aimed his left hand and fired off a mighty energy blast. It soared through the air and destroyed the crystal ring hovering above the monster. With the ring destroyed, the spears also stopped and this allowed Lakshman to charge directly at the monster. “ARGH!” he yelled and he launched his glowing Phoenix Blade directly at the monster. The monster roared in surprise at him suddenly launching the Phoenix Blade at it. Then the monster’s left arm slowly changed shape to that of a shield. With its crystallised shield made, it brought the shield to the front and allowed Phoenix Blade to stab into. For a moment, there was a violent surge of power from the Phoenix Blade as it pushed the monster back, which was protected by its shield. The next, the monster swung its shield aside and caused the Phoenix Blade to fly off into the side. It roared triumphantly at seeing the Phoenix Blade fly away before it pierced the ground, upright. “AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!” Its gleaming eyes widened in shock and it slowly turned around, in a slow motion, to see Lakshman soaring straight at it. The monster saw the rage in his eyes and the great power that he carried with him in his right fist. “AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!” screamed as he delivered the extremely powerful punch on the monster’s body. In an instant, the monster roared in pain from the sheer blow and caused its body to get dragged back for a bit. The blow that Lakshman delivered caused that part of the body to crack to break into pieces. Then the crystal quickly returned and covered the space that got broken apart.
Not relenting one bit, Lakshman brought his left fist and slammed it into the monster’s body. With the second power punch, that part was destroyed as well before it quickly covered it up. Lakshman smile and quietly said “Flash Blast!” The next instant, Lakshman landed a blow with his right fist and drew it back before following through with his left fist. Then he continued to repeat this cycle at extreme speed and the monster’s body was riddled with blow to the body that Lakshman delivered with sheer brute force. As the blows got stronger, they got even faster and caused the monster’s body to slowly get dragged back. The monster had no way of retaliating to this relentless hyper speed punches that Lakshman was delivering to its body. The shock from the attack was making it unable to make any moves to counter. While delivering those hyper speed blows on the monster’s body, Lakshman was muttering only one thing which he muttered faster and faster with each blow that he delivered. “Faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster…!” After delivering countless blows, he held both of his fists at his side and glared at the monster. “Dynamite Punch!” With the shout of the technique name, he delivered the final blow by smashed his two fists into the monster’s body. In an instant, there was an explosion of crystals as they were all destroyed with great force. They were shattered as energy erupted from within the body of the monster to break the mall. As the crystals were shattered, the Demon Dragon King’s body materialised. He tilted his head back from the shock, but instantly groaned when Lakshman quickly put him in an arm lock. While trying to pry the Demon Slayer free, Lakshman said “Let go of the sword, dammit! Let go of it! Let go!” Weak from the battle and being possessed by the Demon Slayer, Razzel muttered “You think… I can? AAAHH!”
He suddenly yelled in pain as his hand began to be crystallised. The crystallisation down and covered his entire arm and soon began to crystallise his entire body. “I guess I have no choice! Energy Sword!” Lakshman shouted. His right arm suddenly began to glow and it started to shimmer with energy. Then, without hesitation, he cut off Razze’s right arm with it, thus allowing him to permanently disconnect with the Demon Slayer. For a moment, the arm that continued to crystallise, when, all of a sudden, the crystallised arm fell away. “Oh no!” Lakshman exclaimed in surprise when he arm suddenly got dismantled in his hand. Now that it was free, the Demon Slayer soared high into the air before Lakshman could grab hold of it. As it soared through the air, he was about to set chase when he had a strange inclination that escape was not in the Demon Slayer’s mind. He looked up and saw the Demon Slayer hover in mid-air while doing nothing. Then it turned around, pointed its bladed tip and dived. As it dived, it rocketed down at high speed as it headed straight for him. Tetra, a few meters away from him, saw this and shouted “Master! It’s coming straight at you!” “I know!” Lakshman shouted back as he stared at the sword with a serious expression on his face. As the Demon Slayer gathered energy as it plummeted straight towards him, he suddenly smiled and said “I guess this is it.” He then rained his left hand and held it up above him as he gathered energy into it. The next moment, the Demon Slayer flew down and smashed into his left hand. There was a sudden shock from the impact and Lakshman felt the ground sink beneath him. The wild winds began to glow all around them from the clashing forces of him and the Demon Slayer. Tetra watched as the struggle between the two forces sent a shockwave in all directions. This forced her to desperately stab the ground with a sword and hold onto as the wind threatened to carry her away. “AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!” Lakshman screamed as his left hand began to be pierced by the force of the Demon Slayer. Then his Phoenix Titan Eyes began glowing fiercely and he
screamed “Sacred Spirit of Darkness! Demon Slayer of Destruction! I urge you! I make you! I command you! I rule you! Astral Contract!� There was a massive eruption of energy from all around them as Lakshman and the Demon Slayer fought each other with their energies. Then there was a sudden blinding flash of light, which erupted from where the sword and hand connected, and it became extremely difficult to see anything anymore.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 221 Suicidal Attack Lakshman felt himself floating in an empty space and slowly opened his eyes. He was quite surprised to be surrounded by nothing, but darkness. Only a shining light from high above, illuminated everything around him by a few meters. “Is this inside the mind of the Demon Slayer?” he asked curiously while he looked around. Just then, he felt a strange presence from nearby, He quickly turned to look in that direction and saw a shadowy figure standing there. Feeling curious about who it was, he slowly walked towards where the shadowy figure stood while being surrounded by a strange swirling darkness. After several minutes of slow walking, he finally stopped when he was a few meters from the person. The light, shining brightly onto him, moved along with him to illuminate his way so he knew where he was going. As he came to a stop, another light dimly appeared and brought the shadowy figure into full light. Lakshman was surprised to see that she was a girl; around 167cm tall with silver waist length hair and slim body. Currently, she had her back to him so he was unable to get a glimpse of her face, however, the girl tilted her head slightly and he noticed the unhappy expression on the visible part of her face. “Why are you here?” she asked him quietly. He was slightly startled, not from the voice, but from the fact that the Demon Slayer Sacred Spirit was a girl. From Spectra, the ghost that haunts his room, he knew the Demon Slayer was a female Sacred Spirit. Even so, he could not help, but wonder why he kept meeting only female Spirits. He steeled himself and said “I came to claim you. I want you.” “How arrogant,” she said and looked away again. “I tried to connect with you before, but you completely ignored my call.” “Uh...” he said hesitantly.
He understood what she meant by her words. It was during the Astral Academy incident where the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, attacked to obtain the Demon Slayer. In the process of getting closer to her, she deemed that he was worthy of her connecting with him, but he was completely oblivious until now. He cursed himself for letting this happen, but it could not be helped. The reason he was able to activate the Astral Contract spell was due to the large quantity of knowledge and wisdom he gained from the past God of Wisdom, Whamana, also known as the Decisive Player. “You come calling for me now after so long and expect me to quietly accept it?” “I'm sorry for not being able to sense you, but lacked the knowledge of the spirits. With my improved knowledge, I am capable of sensing these things and all. That's why I came to get you.” “You say that, but do you even know my name?” He sighed and said “Look! That name is too darn evil for one that lives in the darkness! I'd rather give you a new name after forming the Contract Seal with you. Now please come.” For a few seconds, there was only silence when he finished speaking. The Demon Slayer did nothing, but stand there with her back to him. He waited patiently while the lights surrounded their respective owner. Then she turned around to finally look at him. He was surprised to see the girl had a cute face and silver eyes. However, there was something else that he noticed on her face; red markings that glowed brighter by each second. He immediately knew there was something seriously wrong with those markings. With a sinking heart, he said “No way... Those markings are...” She nodded at him and said “I am at the breaking point. I will soon die and kill everyone around here. So please hurry up and kill me before I make one more reversible mistake.” Shocked by her words, he said “No! I came to help save you; not kill you just because you asked for it!” She suddenly narrowed her eyes and she looked really angry as she shouted “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!”
A sudden powerful wave of energy was released and swept towards him. The strong force caused him to fight his hardest to stand his ground. Then his consciousness was blasted away by a strong force of energy, unleashed by the Demon Slayer. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!” As his consciousness returned to reality, he screamed in great pain as the Demon Slayer cut his left arm. Blood gushed out immediately as he clutched his left arm and immediately knew the left arm was disabled. He gritted his teeth as he forced himself to not cry due to the deep wound and pain the Demon Slayer left him with. While he desperately clutched his arm, the Demon Slayer flew past and crashed into the ground. It travelled some distance while creating a groove on the ground before soaring back into the air. Then, with great force, the sword swirled around and soared straight at him. “Ah!” Lakshman cried out in shock as he quickly dodged the sword. The Demon Slayer did not stop and it quickly turned around before soaring at him again. It began a barrage of stabs and slashes at him, which he desperately dodged while clutching his disabled left arm. Due to the pain, he was having difficulty focusing his energy as he continued dodging the Demon Slayer's attacks. Unable to take this anymore, he dodged yet another attack and jumped to a safe distance. Then he held his right hand out and shouted “Tetra!” Hearing him, Tetra shouted “Coming, Master!” She immediately transformed into a ball of light and soared towards him. When the ball of light and his arm made contact, it instantly transformed into the Phoenix Blade. He immediately gripped the sword handle firmly and began to block the attacks of the Demon Slayer. “Master, what happened? Did Astral Contract fail to work?” he heard Tetra ask him in his mind. While doing his best at dodging the attacks, Lakshman thought “It partially worked and I connected, but the problem is that she's at the breaking point. If this continues, she will most certainly self-destruct and destroy a large portion of this area and kill the people!” “Then we have no choice, but to destroy her!” “No! I need the Demon Slayer no matter what!”
“But-!” “No buts! There is a reason I want her which I-!” At that moment, he was suddenly forced to focus on the Demon Slayer once again as she continuously attacked him. He noticed how the blade of the Demon Slayer kept glowing redder more frequently than before. This was becoming dangerous and he knew it, but with a disabled arm, he got little options to deal with her. The sword pulled back and the blade glowed bright red, which alarmed him. Then, with a powerful force, she aimed for his head. Lakshman quickly brought the Phoenix Blade up and blocked the attack. He was shocked as the force of impact cause the ground to crack and cave in. The strong surge of wind caused the dust to rise up and pebbles to fly around. Several hit Lakshman's body, which did not phase him until some hit his disabled and bleeding left arm. In an instant, his eyes widened with shock and pain from his injured left arm. “ARGH!” he yelled out loud as he was unable to contain the pain. “Master!” Tetra said in a worried voice. Due to the pain, his grip on the Phoenix Blade slackened, which the Demon Slayer noticed. The sword quickly swung around and, with great force, smashed the Phoenix Blade out of his hand. As the Phoenix Blade flew into the distance and pierced into the ground, Lakshman looked up to see the pointed edge of the Demon Slayer. “Dammit...! I can easily defeat her, even with my bleeding left arm, but that's not what I want! I want to conquer her, not destroy her! What do I do...? Most of my techniques are too powerful and they will definitely destroy her! No! I can't take that chance! Dammit...! Now I feel I'm too strong...!” As he finished his thoughts, he saw the Demon Slayer just hovering there for a moment as if it was waiting for something. This caused him to look puzzled as to why the sword was giving him time to think, but not taking the chance to finish him off. Then he realised the Demon Slayer was having conflicted thoughts about killing him. This meant that there was still the chance that he could change her mind. Lakshman's eyes widened in shock as the Demon Slayer suddenly dived towards him. It looked like it had given up reasoning and decided to go with the action anyway.
Lakshman inwardly smiled and thought “How typical of everything to throw away reason at the last second just because it hurts the head. Mmm... I could use this and... yeah... that'll work...!” As the Demon Slayer dived towards him, he quickly gathered energy into his right hand. Lakshman was intending to blast the Demon Slayer away to give him enough time to heal his left arm. In order to perform whatever his plan was, he needed both his arms for the job. So he waited for the chance to deliver the gathered energy in his arm at the sword. There was a sudden change in his plan when three different techniques were called out by three different familiar voices. “Wind Blast!” “Earth Drill!” “Fire Cannon!” The Wind Blast smashed into the Demon Slayer and threw her a few meters away. The Earth Drill, spinning at high speed, smashed into her and sent her flying into several more meters. Then the Fire Cannon, a fiery red ball of energy, smashed into her and sent her flying into the distance. “Huh?” Lakshman said out loud in surprise. He looked around and saw Emilia, Venezuela and Erza standing there. Standing behind the three girls was Ondine, who was looking extremely angry as she stared at the Demon Slayer. Seeing them running towards him made him feel very angry. “What the hell are you doing here?!” he shouted at them when they reached him. “I specifically told you to escort the people out of the dungeon safely and to look after their wellbeing!” For a moment, the girls looked surprised by how angry he looked. Then Emilia turned around and pointed into the distance as she spoke. “We've already taken care of healing them and now Cantia is escorting them away from here.” Lakshman narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance, where he saw Cantia leading the severely weak looking people away. She had the sense to keep the innocent people far away from where the battle was taking place.
Earlier, when they came out, Emilia, Venezuela, Ondine and Cantia heard him scream in pain. Realising he might require their assistance, they quickly went to assist him while leaving Cantia to escort the people to safety. As they were about to leave Erza said she wanted to come and help. With no time to waste, they decided to bring her along. “I see...” Lakshman said quietly when they finished telling him about what happened. At that moment, they heard a loud bang and turned around. A great cloud of dust was released and the Demon Slayer flew high into the air before turning to soar straight towards them. Ondine looked very angry and she quickly unsheathed both of her swords and held them at the ready. Quickly gathering energy into them, she lept straight at the Demon Slayer. “Swords of-!” Lakshman quickly realised that Ondine was going to destroy the Demon Slayer and he shouted “Ondine, no! I need the Demon Slayer alive!” Ondine was startled by his words and momentarily paused in executing her technique. Then she shrugged her shoulders and continued to soar towards the Demon Slayer once again. “Double Edge!” As the Demon Slayer flew towards her, Ondine quickly maneuvered her sword and swung at her. Her first sword strike caused the Demon Slayer to spin uncontrollably in a circle. Then, with the second sword strike, she smashed the Demon Slayer into the ground. The strong impact caused the Demon Slayer to get stuck in the ground after piercing into it. “That's for hurting Lakshman!” Ondine said in satisfaction once she landed back on the ground. Lakshman sighed in relief and quickly winced as his wounded left arm throbbed painfully. Due to the amount of blood he lost, he suddenly felt weak and he knelt down on the ground. Emilia, Venezuela and Erza quickly knelt down to check on him and his wounded arm. “It's a deep cut!” Emilia said unhappily as she held his arm tenderly. Then she looked at him and said “Stay still, Lakshman. We'll heal this wound for you.” He shook his head and said “Thanks for the offer, but I can do it faster,” but he suddenly swayed slightly, making his words go to waste. “Seriously, Lucky! You need to learn to depend on other people!” Venezuela said in an annoyed voice.
“I agree. Please let us heal you,” Erza said as she nodded at him with a smiling face. At that moment, they all felt a sudden shock wave as the Demon Slayer, with great force, pulled itself out of the ground. As it hovered in the air, it suddenly swung and sent a slicing energy in their direction. “Double Ended Blades!” Ondine shouted as she leapt into the air and towards the incoming slicing energy. She brought both of her swords forward and caught the attacks. For a moment, there was a burst of energy as wind was sent everywhere. The next thing they knew, Ondine was blasted backwards and down towards them. Just before she could crash, she pulled herself together and gracefully landed on her feet and got dragged before finally stopping. “Damn! I meant to send the attack back at that demon sword!” Ondine said angrily. Lakshman smiled at her and said “You did well to block that attack.” They suddenly felt a strong surge of power from high above, causing them to look up at the Demon Slayer. The sword was forming a giant circle in mid-air with its blade and was creating a light to appear as it made the circle. Once the circle was formed, the space in the middle turned black and began to swirl around. The next moment, giant rocks rained down on them at great speeds. Ondine charged forward and leapt into the air as she headed straight at them. “Flash Blades!” She began swinging at incredible speeds to destroy the shower of rocks with great skill and strength. One by one, the falling rocks were smashed into pieces and they fell harmlessly to the ground as rubble. This streak did not last as the increasing numbers swept past them. “Oh no!” Ondine cried out, but she was very busy dealing with her own rocks to do anything about the ones she missed. As the falling rocks headed towards them, Tetra suddenly appeared in front of them and shouted “Infinity Blades!” A circular hole appeared in front of her outstretched hand and countless swords burst out. They soared high into the air and smashed straight through all the rocks effortlessly. Tetra directed the flow of the swords with her hand as she cleared all the falling rocks.
Emilia took the momentarily cleared sky as a chance and tapped her staff on the ground before saying “Stone Pillars!” In an instant, a dozen pillars rose up from the ground and soared straight towards where the Demon Slayer and her circular black hole were hovering in mid-air. Just then, several rocks appeared out of the hole and caused nine of the dozen pillars to get destroyed. The last four remaining pillars rose up and reached the Demon Slayer, causing the sword to dodge and get out of the way. Angered by their fighting spirit and actions, the Demon Slayer instantly created several more black circular holes in mid-air. Very soon, the sky was full of falling rocks that were directed towards them. “That's a lot of rocks...!” Erza said with a grinning face. “You don't say!” Emilia said sarcastically. Then she turned to them and said “Change of plans. Venezuela and Erza, concentrate on healing Lucky. Meanwhile, I, Ondine and Tetra will handle this mess!” “Hold on! Who put you in charge all of a sudden?” Venezuela asked while looking surprised. Emilia snorted and said “If you got any problems, state your complaints if we survive through this! Now hurry up and heal him already!” Then she turned around, aimed her hand up into the sky and said “Stone Cannons!” In an instant, multiple cannons, made of stone, materialized out of thin air and flew towards the falling rocks. Ondine continued to destroy the rocks with her incredible speed and strength of her swords while Tetra continued to move her hand as she directed her swords to clear away the falling rocks. The moment that Lakshman, Venezuela and Erza sat down, he hit the ground with the bottom side of his fist as he said “Earth Barricade!” The ground shook for a moment before the ground began to rise up around them and it soon formed into a dome like shape. The earth soon surrounded them and closed with a loud thud, leaving only the people inside in total darkness. “So dark in here...” Lakshman said as he chuckled. Then he said “Burning Spirit!”
In an instant, his entire body erupted in flames and brought light into that dark space. At first, Venezuela and Erza looked surprised, but they got accustomed to the sudden brightness and they quickly aimed their hands on his wounded left arm. Venezuela said “Healing Force!” Erza said “Healing Heart!” Healing Heart subdues the pain so long as the spell is being cast on the victim. The amount of pain, that can be suppressed, depends on the power of each individual. Healing Heart was a Saint ranked Healing Magic Spell and since Lakshman was not feeling pain meant that Erza was above the Sage ranked magician. Venezuela's hand began to glow brightly in green light as she slowly healed his wound. Erza's hand began to glow in a magenta colour as it also helped in healing his arm. As the healing began to take effect, Lakshman moaned softly and said “That feels nice...” Venezuela scowled at him and said “Seriously! You are one reckless man, Lucky! Did you know that?” He smiled at her and said “Vena, didn't you know? This world is full of reckless men, which is why the world is in balance thanks to gentle girls like you.” As Venezuela blushed after hearing his words, Erza smiled and said “You've become quite the flattering person.” He only shrugged his shoulders and said “A lot happened, but I will explain everything later. That reminds me... Erza. You're from the future, correct?” Erza, for a moment, looked surprised at his words. Then she nodded her head at him and said “That's right. I don't know how far from the future I came from, but I did come from the future.” “What?! You're from the future?!” Venezuela said in alarm and she almost deactivated her Healing Magic Spell. “Vena...” he said quietly and she returned to healing him while looking at Erza with a surprised expression on her face. “Still... To come from the future... Are you telling the truth?”
“Yes, but I don't know how far from the future I came from.” While Venezuela looked amazed, Lakshman asked “On top of coming from the future, you're also not from this world, right?” This time, Erza's eyes widened in shock by his words. She slowly asked “H-How do you know that?” “A certain 'someone' knew about it and told me at the right time,” Lakshman said with a shrug of his shoulders. The fact is, that certain 'someone' was none other than the Decisive Player. With the great knowledge and wisdom he gained from the Decisive Player, Lakshman knew many great things and it also included the people of this world. Out of all of them, he immediately knew Erza was from another world, but seemed to not know how she got to this world. “You're from another world?” Venezuela asked curiously. Erza nodded at her and said “Yes. I came from another world called Alzard. Due to... um... circumstances, I ended up coming to this world.” “I see. That explains why I didn't know you, but you knew me,” Lakshman said with a nod of his head. “That brings up another question; the reason you know me so well is because I somehow ended up in your world, correct?” At this, Erza hesitated to answer immediately. She looked nervous for a moment. Noticing this, Venezuela smiled and said “It's fine to speak the truth. The worse that could happen is that I will slap you, but that's only the worst. So go ahead and say it.” Lakshman looked at her indignantly and said “Vena, you don't sound reassuring at all... Anyway, Erza. I assure you nothing will happen to you by telling me.” “Um... Okay,” Erza said and her shoulders slumped in resignation. “You're right in thinking like that. Yes. You did come to my world due to... uh... certain circumstances, which I don't want to say right now due to, you know, the future and all.” “I see. Now it makes sense why you seem to know so much about me,” Lakshman said as he slowly nodded his head at her. “Um... What was the circumstance that Lucky ended up in your world?” Venezuela asked curiously.
“Well...” Erza began hesitantly. Fortunately for her, she did not have the need to say anything more because, at that moment, there was a loud bang as something solid knocked into their Earth Barricade. A moment later, several more slammed into it and shook it, much to their surprise and alarm. “W-What's going on?!” Venezuela cried out in surprise. “We're being bombarded!” Erza said in a panicked voice. Lakshman scowled at them and said “Girls... Will you please hurry up and heal me already?” From his annoyed tone, they were abruptly brought back to reality. Apologizing to him, they quickly concentrated on healing his wounded left arm. While they were doing that, he focused his attention on what was happening outside. “Phoenix Eyes!” he muttered quietly. In an instant, his red crown shaped eyes glowed brightly and his vision zoomed out of the barricade. Outside, he clearly saw a bombardment of rocks raining from the sky. He watched as Ondine continued destroyed all the rocks that she could with her Flash Blades technique, Emilia creating stone pillars that swung around to destroy the rocks and Tetra using her Infinity Blades technique with one hand and Stab Swords with the other. “That's quite the struggle they are facing...” he thought as he witnessed the struggle they were going through. He looked up to where the Demon Slayer was and noticed the techniques she was employing to quickly rain down rocks. “Hmm... I see... She's using Meteor Shower with Meteor Stream; Meteor Shower to rain down the large rocks out of the portals and Meteor Stream to increase the speed at which they were released. Damn... Both are King ranked techniques, no wonder the girls can't get near the sword to strike back.” Just then, he witnessed Emilia aim her staff towards where the Demon Slayer was and shout “Stone Driver!” In an instant, large rocks gathered together to create a large heavily spinning stone. Then, with a pressure of her power, the drilling rock blasted up into the air and destroyed the falling rocks. He watched the drilling rock rocket upward and straight towards where the Demon Slayer was, floating in mid-air next to her many Meteor Shower portals.
His eyes widened when the Demon Slayer pointed its blade towards the incoming attack and glowed slightly. The next moment, a black circular shape opened up in front of her and the drilling rock soared straight into it. Once the black circular thing vanished, he saw a similar black circular shape materialise right near where Emilia stood. It widened and the drilling rock soared out and headed straight towards her. Emilia turned around and he noticed the shock in her face when she saw her own attack soaring back at her. Under normal circumstances, he knew she would immediately activate Earth Blockade to stop and destroy the technique, but he saw her panic and immediately knew she missed her chance to activate the spell. He sighed and muttered “Sorry, War Titan, but I'm going to use one of your techniques.” So he gathered his energy, focused his attention on the drilling rock and said as he clicked his finger “Breaker.” In an instant, there was an explosion of rocks as the drilling rock exploded into pieces. The tiny pieces harmlessly showered onto Emilia, but it left her feeling a little shaky. Seeing her standing there with a lost expression on her face, he knew that being so close to death caused her to lose some will to fight. He closed his eyes and muttered “Telepathy!” Venezuela and Erza heard him and knew he was dealing with things on the outside. So they simply concentrated on healing his arm while feeling reassured that he was concentrating on keeping everyone safe. They also fell silent as they knew he was about to speak telepathically to the intended people. With his attention focused on Emilia, he said “Emilia! Stop goofing off and focus on fighting back! I've got your back!” At the sudden words spoken in her mind, she appeared to be startled. Then she realised to whom the voice belonged to and she spoke aloud and her words were heard in his mind. “S-Sorry, but that quite scared me.” “I know and that's okay. Now go on and fight without fear because I'm here! I've got your back!” he said reassuringly. “Right!”
With a single nod, he focused his attention towards Ondine and said “Ondine! You are doing a really amazing job! Keep at it because, once I'm out, I will make sure to deal with that crazy sword!” Hearing his complementing and reassuring words, she smiled and shouted aloud, but her shout was also heard in his mind. “You got it, Lucky!” With another nod, he turned his attention towards Tetra and said “Tetra! You're doing superb, but don't overexert yourself. I will still need your help once I'm all healed!” He heard her laugh and say “No need to worry, master. I'm the Phoenix Blade! This much is nothing, but a warm up for me!” Lakshman snorted and said “Yeah, right! Stop exaggerating and don't overdo it!” “Understood!” With a final nod, he opened his eyes to look at the two girls in front of him. He could see them concentrating really hard to quicken the healing process. For their effort, he raised his right hand and patted each of their heads for a moment to save his energy; Healing Force only restores wounds back to normal, but does not restore lost energy of the victim. “Almost done, Lucky,” Venezuela said softly without looking at him, but appreciating the pat on her head. “Does it still hurt?” Erza asked in a voice of concern. He smiled at her and said “Being in the hands of two wonderful ladies does indeed make me feel better.” “Again, you've become quite the flattering person,” Venezuela said with a blushing face, which made him grin broadly. It took the two girls nearly three minutes to heal his wound. During that time, Lakshman kept observing the things going on outside and constantly activating his magic spells to defend the girls on the outside. Along with Meteor Shower and Meteor Stream, the Demon Slayer also used techniques such as Dark Blade to cut them with long range, Crystal Shower that rained crystals on top of them, Dark Chaos to unleash dark ghost like apparitions that sucked out the victim's life energy and
Death Scythe that caused an illusionary moment where all victims become frozen with fear upon witnessing the apparition of a blood soaked scythe. The girls easily countered Dark Blade and Crystal Shower with their individual techniques. Only for Dark Chaos and Death Scythe was where Lakshman had to activate his magic to deal with them; he used Flash Glare to destroy the dark ghostly apparitions and Visionary Force to force all focus and attention towards where he was, protected beneath his Earth Barricade, disabling the spell in the process. With the healing finally complete, the girls sat up straight and turned to smile at him. He took this as a hint to mean that they finally completed in healing his wound. So he gently lifted his left arm and checked to see that the deep wound was gone. The skin appeared to be normal and he felt no pain anymore, which meant that they succeeded in healing him. “What's the plan, Lucky? How are you going to obtain the Demon Slayer?” Erza asked curiously. Venezuela made a “Hmph!” noise with her mouth and said “That sword is more trouble than it's worth. If it's going to self-destruct and kill everyone here, then I think it's best you destroy it right here and now! I mean, why bother to go to such lengths just to keep it with you when it's so desperately trying to die?” Lakshman, who had been using his Phoenix Eyes technique to look at how quickly the Demon Slayer was glowing in red light, deactivated the spell and looked at them. He had expected this sort of response from the both of them and already had a reply ready to give them. “There isn't much time so I can't explain about it right now, but I need the Demon Slayer! It is essential for the future and, again, I will explain everything once we get through this!” Lakshman said as he forestalled any further questions from them. Venezuela sighed and asked “Fine, but that still leaves the problem of what you're going to do about our current situation. How are you going to make her yours? Last time I checked, the Astral Contract technique failed.” At those words, he nodded and said “It connected, but she was extremely strong and blasted me back. Now I have the perfect solution to acquire her.” His vague words caused Venezuela to look irritated as she said “Oh please... Stop leaving us with your vague words!” Lakshman laughed and said “You're know soon enough, but first... I will need to use Blasting Shockwave. It will create as much dust, wind and force while also becoming the perfect
distraction to get you girls to safety. From here on, I'm going to have to be as brutal as possible with her to weaken her as much as possible! Right now, she's powering up to self-destruct by using high end techniques on us. So brace yourselves!” Understanding his words and, upon hearing his commanding words, they saw his eyes glow brighter with red light. Realising that he was about to activate his technique, the girls closed their eyes and put their heads down. Lakshman's red crown shaped eyes glowed so bright that his whole eyes looked bright red. The next instance, there was a powerful surge of energy as he began to radiate in golden-red aura. He clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth and began screaming as the power was unleashed. “UUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” There was a sudden flash of light and, with great force, the Earth Barricade was blasted into smithereens as a wave of wind and force was unleashed. It swept through the air and spread everywhere as it raised a cloud of dust that covered everything in sight. The wind began to swirl around and formed into a dome shape around where they were. Everyone, on the outside, could only gape in shock at the rising dome shaped dust as the wind rotated around it.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 222 Lakshman vs. Demon Slayer With the mighty force of the wing, a dome shape took place. The wind rotated around the dome while causing great clouds of dust to fly everywhere. The people, who had been outside, desperately got away from there. “What the hell is this?!” Cantia exclaimed in shock as she stared at the wall of wind and dust. Then she suddenly realized and muttered “What the hell is Lucky thinking?!” Inside the dome of wind, a great cloud of dust was swirling around. This was causing everything to get carried away by the strong winds. On the spot, where the initial explosion originated from, two people were desperately fighting against the wind. It was Venezuela and Erza and they were feeling drained due to the amount of energy they burnt in healing Lakshman. “This is... too strong!” Erza shouted, with her hand protecting her eyes. “Uh...!” Venezuela moaned loudly as she tried her best to keep her ground. Both girls were trying their best to channel their Energy Force on the soles of their shoes, but the large deplete in their energy made it difficult. “Aaah!” With a scream, the girls suddenly got lifted into the air as their Energy Force failed. They were helpless as they got carried away by the wind and they feared they were done for. At that moment, they each felt a strong arm grip their failing hands. With grew strength, they were pulled forward and they felt the strong hands shift position; from their hands to their waists. The forks opened their eyes and saw Lakshman hovering while holding them by their waists. They were still a bit apprehensive, but felt reassured that he was there. “L-Lucky—!”
“Keep your mouths shut and hold your breath! Otherwise, you will breathe the dust in!” Lakshman bellowed and they did as they were told. Gripping their waists tightly, Lakshman soared towards the outside of the dome of wind as fast as he could. When he heard the girls chocking, he screamed angrily and created an Energy Barrier that kept the wind out and let the girls breathe easily again. With a burst of wind and dust, Lakshman and the girls erupted out into fresh air and daylight. He slowly descended and gently let the girls down on the ground. Seeing them land, Cantia rushed over to them with a worried look on her face. “Lucky! Explain to me why you created that wall of dust?” Cantia demanded the moment she reached them. Without looking at her, Lakshman shortly said “Sorry, but no time to explain!” Without delay, he surged with power and was surrounded by a golden-red aura. Then, he kicked off the ground and rocketed upward before soaring back onto the dome of wind and dust. “Mental...” “He's crazy!” “Wild...!” The people, standing a few meters away from them, said quietly when they saw him fly into the dome of wins and dust. Cantia impatiently turned to them and said “He is all that because he is the Phoenix Titan!” At finally being revealed who he was, all the people had widened their eyes on shock. They could not believe they had been on the presence of the Phoenix Titan these few days. A while later, Lakshman returned with Emilia and Ondine while he held the Phoenix Blade with his teeth. In his mind, Tetra indignantly said “Master, this is highly un-dignifying to be held between the teeth as if you are a wild beast!”
Lakshman got annoyed and thought “Stop complaining about that rubbish right now! I have a girl in each arm to hold, I could only spare the teeth to hold you with. You will just have to be patient till we land.” Tetra said nothing, but he felt her dissatisfaction when he felt her activate slightly. He gritted his teeth and pressed on the sword, which immediate caused her to deactivate her powers. Once they landed, Lakshman finally let go of Emilia and Ondine while transferring the Phoenix Blade into his hand. The girls staggered slightly upon feeling the ground after what felt like a while. Venezuela and Erza immediately went to heal them in case they had suffered both physical and mental damage. Lakshman watched them work, when he suddenly a great surge of power from within the dome of wind and dust. He was certain the power surge belonged to the Demon Slayer and knew it was about to vaporize the dome that he created. He quickly turned around and faced the girls with a serious expression on his face. Seeing this, they instantly knew he was about to tell them something they will not like. “Ladies, from here on out, I want you to stay from the battle at all times! I do not want you risking your necks in ab attempt to help me. You've done enough for me, but now it’s now my fight and my fight alone! So get out of here and stay safe!” Ondine scowled and said, “Lucky, now that's something I'm not going to agree with.” He looked intimidating as he said “I don't care if you agree with me or not; I want you ladies to be safe and not become an interference!” All the girls looked hurt by his words and Venezuela looked especially angry as she said, “How can you say that to us? Don't you know how much we love you?” This time, it was Lakshman's turn to get angry and he thundered, “I love you! I love all of you! Which is why I don't want you ladies to join the battle! From here on out, I'm going full force and the battle will become extremely dangerous. You will surely get injured by helping me and I don't want that! So please...! Listen to me and stay safe!” Venezuela, Emilia, Ondine, Cantia and Erza widened their eyes at his remarkable speech. They did not realize that he spoke to them so forcefully was because he was worried about their safety. He wants to keep them safe while he handled the roughness if battles. He knew their honest feelings for him and their desire to help him, but it was extremely dangerous this time.
The girls turned and looked at each other and began to realise the truth of his words. They found themselves helpless when he created that powerful done of wind and dust until he cane to their rescue. Realising this, they wordlessly and unhappily decided to heed his words. At that moment, there was the sound of a violent explosion as the dome of wind and dust got released. Lakshman turned towards and screamed as he surged with power. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” He instantly created a large Energy Wall that protected him, the girls and everybody that were standing around, unaware of the danger that erupting wall of wind and dust posed. The wave of wind and dust came forth and slammed into the energy wall, causing Lakshman to raise a hand to firmly hold his position and keep the barrier up. A few seconds later, everything settled down, but he did not drop the barrier. Instead, he stepped out of the barrier and ensured that no one would be able to follow him, unless they were strong enough to compromise it. “Now then... Switch Mode: Power Drive!” In an instant, he was surrounded by swirling light, which eventually disappeared. Everyone was surprised to see him slightly taller than before. Additional to that, they noticed a great change in his face; red rings appeared around his eyes and his blonde spiky hair turned red as it went back. The overall look gave him a powerful presence. “RUUUAAARRR!!!” With a roar, he launched himself into the air and he flew towards the Demon Slayer, leaving a trail if golden-red stream behind from his aura. Venezuela watched, in astonishment, as he rocketed away. It was the first time she had seen such a change in him. Curious about it, she turned to the girls and was surprised to see that they were not fazed by what they saw. “Um... What was that just now?” she asked them curiously. Emilia turned to her and explained all about that transformation. “Just now, Lucky transformed by switching to Power Mode. Whenever he goes into Power Mode, his blonde hair slowly turns red as it goes to the back and he gets these red rings
around his eyes.” Then, as an afterthought, she added “Oh yeah... He also gets a little bit taller when he is already tall enough.” Looking amazed, Venezuela said, “I've heard the Power Mode causes the users to become extremely powerful, but never one that causes such a transformation.” Emilia shrugged her shoulders and said “I didn't know either until he did it two years ago when we conquered a Labyrinth Tower.” “Wow...!” Venezuela said in awe and turned to see him flying away. Meanwhile, Lakshman was soaring through the air at high speed as he headed towards the Demon Slayer, which was hovering stationary for some reason. The next moment, the Demon Slayer pointed its blade in his direction and flew towards him with great speed. “Good! It’s taken the bait!” Lakshman said in satisfaction. In his mind, he heard Tetra say “Master, is it alright for you to switch directly into Power Mode like that? Aren't you the least bit concerned about your body and the pressure thus mode will put in your body? Please remember what happened two years ago at the Labyrinth Tower.” In an irritated expression on his face, he said “Yes, yes. I remember the events of the past, but that was the and thus id now! I have changed, both physically and mentally.” “But, master...!” “Stop nagging, Tetra! You're being a pest! I'm not some little kid that needs taking care of. I'm the Phoenix Titan!” Tetra was hurt by his harsh words. She was only concerned for his well-being, but he was treating it like it was a nuisance. Lakshman knew this and he smiled as he spoke softly to her. “Tetra, I'm glad that you're concerned for me, but there is no time for it right now. Decisions must be made, actions must be conducted and results must be produced. Feelings and emotions don't matter when reason in your only guidance!” Surprised by his words, she quietly said “You've changed a lot, master. You somehow remind me a lot about the first Phoenix Titan.” At her, he merrily smiled and said “A lot has happened, but that comes later. Now, enough of that and prepare yourself; we have a fight to win!”
“Yes!” Tetra said firmly and confidently in his mind. As the Demon Slayer drew closer, he channelled th Energy Force into the Phoenix Blade and readied her in his hand. When they finally reached each other, hw brought the Phoenix Blade and smashed it against the Demon Slayer. As the two forces clashed, there was a sudden flash of light that was sent in all directions in a wave. As the two blades clashed, lighting began to erupt and a surge if energy and wind got released. Lakshman fought hard to push forward, but the strength of the Demob Slayer kept him from going anywhere. At that moment, the two swords pulled back and were pushed back by the sudden eruption of wind. As it settled, he and the Demon Slayer charged at each other and the battle began. Lakshman swung the Phoenix Blade and the Demon Slayer swung at him, the two of them were swing at each other furiously. Their speeds and power gradually increased with each clash of swords as their power exploded. The two sides began flying around while clashing swords. Each clash sent a shockwave that caused buildings and trees to get uprooted and get blown away by the powerful wind. Some buildings git destroyed by the lighting that erupted between the clashing swords. “RRUUUUAAAAARRRR!!! Slashing Blades!” Lakshman suddenly roared and he got really fast as he swung at the Demon Slayer. The technique increased his speed and he was slashing so fast, the Demon Slayer was unable to retaliate and got hit by the Phoenix Blade multiple times before being smashed away. Not wanting to give the Demon Slayer any rest, he chased after it. The Demon Slayer tried to recover quickly, but his next technique made it impossible. “Hurricane Blades!” Lakshman screamed the technique and charged in to smash the Phoenix Blade into the Demon Slayer. At that moment, a tornado of swords materialized and they began slamming into it while exploding at each contact. “Master, why are you trying to inflict so much damage on her? I thought you wanted her alive, but it looks as though you are trying to destroy her,” Tetra spoke in his mind in a concerned voice. “Tetra, when one's body is plagued by destructive energy, the only solution us to beat it out! Tetra is at the breaking point because her body took in a lot of the energy without releasing it.
That's why I'm forced to beat all of it out before she could use it to self-destruct. See! The red flashing light begun to steadily become lesser.” At that moment, there was a violent explosion that sent the Hurricane Blades flying everywhere. As they disappeared, Lakshman clicked his tongue with an irritated expression on his face. “Maybe, you are underestimating her?” “I'm not, but I don't want to overdo it! I've got to turn things up a notch!” With that, Lakshman charged towards the Demon Slayer at high speed. Then he suddenly came to a stop with a surprised expression on his face as he stared at the Demon Slayer. The swords pointed its bladed end towards him, but did not fly towards him. Instead, it was gathering energy and slowly formed a black coating around it. Then, the Demon Slayer swung the sword upward and the dark costing extended into the sky. “I-Isn't that...?” Tetra said in a worried voice. Lakshman quietly said “Yes... Just as the the Blade of Light signifies the purity, the dark light signifies the Blade of Darkness...” “Master! We need to get away! That power will destroy you utterly! Please, let's run away!” Lakshman slowly smoked as he said, “Running away is not part of my blood!” “No, master! Now isn't the time to think like that! You'll die with that kind of arrogant thinking!” Lakshman made a crazy smile on his face and said, “That's too bad because I'm no bug to get swatted! I'm the Phoenix Titan and I have no death!” “Master!” Lakshman ignored Tetra's pleas and hovered there as he the Blade of Darkness was swung at him. When it reached a certain point, he raised his left hand and held it above his head. The Blade of Darkness, swung down and he caught it with his left hand. There was a great surge of power from where he held the sword, causing a wild force if wind and energy to explode; the dark wing got mixed with his golden-red aura.
After a few seconds of this struggle, Lakshman began to scream and he surged with a great amount of power. “UUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAA!!!!” With great force, he closed his left fist and caused the dark light to bend. There was a sudden eruption of black light that swept everywhere. A moment later, the black light slowly disappeared to reveal Lakshman floating in mid-air and gripping the Phoenix Blade as he stared at the Demon Slayer. “No way... Master... What did you...? How did you...?” He heard Tetra whisper in his mind in a disbelieving voice. To that, he smiled softly. “There is nothing you can't achieve when you put your mind and strength to good use.” Then he looked towards the Demon Slayer, which was glowing on and off in red light, and shouted “Demon Slayer! You have to double your power, triple your power and skyrocket your before you can ever match me!” As he reached the end of his speech, he jabbed at himself with his left hand. At the same time, he made an expression that was both angry and intimidating. Being the witness to this, Tetra quietly said “This crazy recklessness... Yes... You really have become a mirror image of the first Phoenix Titan.” Lakshman surged with power and he rocketed towards the Demon Slayer. Reaching her in an instant, he began to swing the Phoenix Blade with great force and caused the Demon Slayer to become unable to retaliate. He did this for several second before using any techniques. “Banishing Shift!” After saying the technique name out loud, he slammed his sword at the Demon Slayer and sent her flying towards the ground. As it flew, the powerful impact caused the Demon Slayer found itself raking slow time to recover. Just before it hit the ground, Lakshman appeared out of thin air and smashed her into the sky and in another direction. After reaching a certain height, he suddenly appeared and sent het flying in another direction. Like this, he disappeared and reappeared while, at the same time, smashing the Demon Slayer in different directions. All of this was causing a great amount of confusion and dizziness to the sword and was unable to pull itself together. “UUUUUAAAAAA!!!”
With a loud yell, Lakshman smashed her one last time and sent her flying towards the ground. The Demon Slayer flew straight down and pierced into the ground, causing a great deal of wind, dust and rockets to get sent flying away. At the sane tine, the great impact caused the ground to crack and spread for a few meters in different directions. Lakshman slowly descended to the ground and gently landed on his feet. He let out a small sigh and looked towards where the Demon Slayer was, pierced into the ground. Using Banishing Shift, he had delivered countless blows on the sword and felt s bit weary from using it. The ground began to shake slowly beneath his feet. He looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back at the Demon Slayer. He noticed that the ground was shacking violently towards where the Demon Slayer was, stabbed into the ground. There was a sudden explosion of power and the ground erupted into pieces as the Demon Slayer freed itself from this frozen situation. It floated upward and hovered in mid-air for a moment before lowering itself slightly and turning its blade towards him. The next moment, the Demon Slayer began to glow in a bright glow of light. Following this glow of light, the ground began to split and crumble from the amount of power the Demon Slayer was releasing. Lakshman stared at the glowing Demon Slayer and quietly said “Sword Drive... Looks like its getting serious.” In anticipation of the next battle, he gripped the Phoenix Blade tightly and readied himself for it. The Demon Slayer stopped glowing and the ground stopped shacking, but it continued to radiate black energy like smoke from its gleaming blade. “Get ready, Tetra!” he said to Tetra as he realized the sword was done powering up. “Yes!” For a moment, the Demon Slayer just hovered above the ground. The next instance, it zoomed towards him at high speed, making him duck and get out of the way quickly. He turned around and saw the sword flying back at him with an incredible speed. The two forces finally began clashing swords and the Demon Slayer's increase in speed caused Lakshman to widen his eyes slightly in amazement.
“Fast!” Tetra said Ina voice of disbelief. “Super-fast!” Lakshman commented in agreement. The speed at which the Demon Slayer was flying towards him was so fast, he was having trouble getting his momentum right. The surprise if the sword's speed came as a surprise and he found himself desperately defending the best he could while avoiding other slashes, he was unable to block with the Phoenix Blade. “Ugh...! Mirage Effect!” Lakshman cried out in an irritated voice. He pulled back, thinking he was in the clear, but the sword zoomed forward and cut him. To its surprise, uts blade passed straight through an illusion, which vanished instantly. To its surprise, it was hit from the side by the Phoenix Blade and it quickly turned around to see Lakshman stranding there. It zooned forward and was surprised, once again, when it cut through another illusion. The Demon Slayer continued its relentless assault on him, but kept cutting through his illusions. It soon began, however, began to anticipate his moves and it soon became difficult for him to strike back without being quickly countered. “Che! One Man Army!” Lakshman said once he deactivated Mirage Effect for how useless it became. With the One Man Army, a hundred if Lakshmans appeared and this caused the Demon Slayer to get totally confused. It struck a few times, but those Lakshmans turned out to be just illusions. “Stone Bombardment!” The many Lakshmans said at the same time and portals appeared around the Demon Slayer and it got bombarded by large stones that appeared out of them “Fire Rocket!” “Wind Cutter!” “Earth Crash!”
The Fire Rocket was a fireball that was launched at high speed and dud a lot of damage. The Wind Cutter was the wind acting like many blades as it attacked. The Earth Crash was the ruse of earth and slammed into the Demon Slayer. Lakshman used these three techniques in random times while he shifted between the multiple copies if himself. This enabled him to land a lot of damage on the Demon Slayer and get noticed the red glow of its blade slowly diminishing. “It's working! Your plan is working, master!” Tetra said brightly. “Yes, but don't get so complacent, Tetra. This is far from over.” He was right because, at that moment, the Demon Slayer let out a strong surge of power. The next moment, a black ball of energy was unleashed and it instantly destroyed the illusions of Lakshman upon contact. “Damn! Dark Energy!” Lakshman said while looking startled. Before he could react, he was hit by the Dark Energy and he found himself getting dragged while being hit by it. Fir a few second, he was unable to do anything due to the amount of energy the thing absorbed from him. “AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!” With a loud scream, he pulled his left fist back and quickly gathered great amount of energy before punching the black ball of energy. There was a struggle between his power and its power. Eventually, however, his power won the struggle and his energy slammed into it. There was a moment of pause in which the ball stopped pushing him back. Then it erupted into an explosion of wind and it carried dust and ricks in all directions. As everything cleared, Lakshman appeared and he was breathing quickly due to the amount of energy he lost because of that Dark Energy technique the Demon Slayer used. Taking his lack if focus as an advantage, the Demon Slayer flew towards him and aimed for his head. It had a clear vision of killing him, which would automatically activate the Death Spirit punishment for killing its master or one it recognized as its monster. Thinking if this, the Demon Slayer flew as fast as it could towards him. “AAARRGGGHHH!!”
To its surprise, Lakshman quickly reacted by screaming and held his sword firmly. Once it got close, Lakshman swung the Phoenix Blade around and hit the Demon Slayer, sending het flying away in the process. As he turned in the direction he sent the Demon Slayer flying away, he heard a small voice speak in his mind. It was a rough, but a powerful voice and it kept repeatedly saying the sane word over and over again. “Destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy...” Feeding to those, he straightened up, but his head hung Dow. He raised his left hand up and aimed at the Demon Slayer and began to surge with power to ready his technique. It only took him seconds and he gathered the required amount for one if his powerful techniques. “Positron Cannon-!” At that moment, Tetra shouted in his mind. “Master! What are you doing?!” “H-Huh?” Lakshman said groggily as he brought his head up and he looked like he had been snapped out of a trance like state. “Huh?!” he suddenly exclaimed when he saw the energy gathers in his left hand and realized it was the Positron Cannon. Instead of asking questions, he quickly reacted by aiming the technique up at the sky. With a surge if power, he released the energy and it harmlessly flew into the sky. Even so, he was alarmed by the amount it had contained; the amount was enough to destroy that area three times over. Once the energy vanished, he breathed a sigh and asked “What the...? Why was i charged to fire Positron Cannon? I don't remember charging it in the first place.” H heard Tetra say in his mind, “Master, you've been affected by the Voice of the Phoenix.” At hearing that, he cursed and said “Dammit! So I was put in a trance like state and was forced to do its bidding when I was distracted.” “Yes...”
“I hate the Voice of the Phoenix! It makes sense why the Decisive Player adamantly told me not to unlock the final seal. It is also the reason he made sure I would not become like the past Phoenix Titans because they were influenced by the Voice of the Phoenix's desire fir selfpreservation. Dammit...!” “Much of the past is shrouded in mystery, master. I, myself, am unable to remember a lot if the past.” “Yeah. I always thought the Decisive Player was the Voice of the Phoenix, but he was a separate entity that gad been suppressing it and keeping me from getting affected by the way of the world.” “Which why you turned out to be really stupid and ignorant for a while.” “Enough of that! It's clear I have further training ahead if me, but that will have to wait! It's up to me to take responsibility of this and others matter.” “If you would like, I could help you out?” Tetra asked hopefully. Lakshman shook his head and said, “Thank you for the offer, but it won't do you any good, Tetra. You are nit a match for the powers of the Voice if the Phoenix. Mmm... I must find a way to suppress it without showing any sign of weakness...” “Yes, but master... Be careful... If you show another sign of weakness...” “Tetra, stop it or I will be forced to punish you severely for being a nagging Sacred Spirit!” He heard Tetra laugh and he shook his head in exasperation. Then he suddenly felt a great surge of power from further up ahead, which shocked him. Up ahead, he saw the Demon Slayer rise slowly into the air while being completely surrounded by a great glow of red light. This caused his eyes to widen as the thing he had been trying to avoid was about to happen. He quietly cursed and said, “Damn... What a blunder...? When I was in the trance like state, I must have struck at her without bothering to mask my power so she does not absorb from it directly. Uh…! What a blunder to make, even by mistake!” The Demon Slayer was poised to self-destruct with the way it was glowing so brightly in red light. His mistake was about to cause a wide destruction; the Mardana capital will be destroyed, all the people killed and the ultimate death of the Demon Slayer.
He had his head down, which made it difficult to see the expression on his face. Strangely, however, when he looked back up at the brightly glowing Demon Slayer, the frown on his face slowly disappeared and was soon replaced by a smile. “Why are you smiling, master?” Tetra asked curiously, but it appeared as though he did not hear her. “Just joking. When I decided to beat the negative energy building inside her, I was also prepared for the worst case scenario. Yes... The beating has become a release...!” Lakshman said as he eyed the Demon Slayer with a crazy smile on his face.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 223 Bursting Forces The red ball of light hovered in the sky and sent an immense wave of dust and wind in all directions. On the ground, Lakshman braced himself as the dust and wind, hit him. In his right hand, he held the Phoenix Blade firmly as he stared up at the glowing Demon Slayer. For some strange reason, he was wearing a crazy smile on his face as he stared up at the red glow of light. All around him, buildings were destroyed by the wind and flew away like tiny rocks while trees got uprooted out of the ground to get carried away by the wind. He did not pay attention to any of this, including when the ground, beneath him, began to make large cracks and spread everywhere. All the while, he just stood there with wide eyes and wore an expression of craziness as he stared up into the sky. “Master, I don’t understand what’s so funny about this situation that makes you smile like that!” Tetra said in his mind as he stood firmly against the force of the wind. Lakshman chuckled and said “It’s a simple case of knowing when you’re pushed to the last resort, although I believe its good fortune for me.” “Good fortune?! You’re calling this ‘good fortune’?!” “Yes! It’s a good fortune the Demon Slayer’s finally decided to self-destruct! Now I can smoothly proceed with my plan without having to worry about what the hell it’s going to do!” “Please explain because I’m lost…!” “Look! Under normal conditions, the Demon Slayer is a powerful opponent and such an opponent is hard to deal with, even with my amazingness. All I had to do was push her to the edge to get more and more riled up! When the Demon Slayer has built up so much negative energy and readies to self-destruct, it will have a difficult time to resist when I proceed with my Phase B plan.” “That… doesn’t… make any sense! I thought your plan was to beat the energy out of her!” “Yes. The original plan, I’m calling it Phase A, was to beat the hell out of the Demon Slayer and release all the negative energy she’s gathered within her for self-destruction. However, it was just a rouse to prepare for Phase B!”
“Phase A… Phase B… Are you saying that, in order to get her to self-destruct, you did your best in making her use more and more powerful techniques?” “Precisely!” Lakshman said with a smile and nodded his head. Tetra could not believe his crazy plan and also was shocked that she did not see his true intentions. She did not clearly understand his original plan about beating the energy out of the Demon Slayer, but it turned out to be just a ruse. The real intention was to push her into selfdestructing while gathering great amounts of energy. “This is one hell of a complex plan that would blow so many minds!” she finally told him with a sigh. Lakshman laughed and said “So what? I’m not expecting anyone to understand my plans. It’s fine so long as I understand it, that’s all!” She sighed again and asked “So then, mind telling me what Phase B is?” “Ah. Phase B is–!” He began, but abruptly stopped in an instant. His eyes narrowed and he looked around. There was a building there as pieces of its foundation slowly broke away. The next moment, the whole buildings got lifted into the air and it got destroyed into many pieces. A large chunk, that did not get destroyed, headed towards him as he stared at him. Lakshman casually extended his left hand out and stopped the large chunk from hitting him. Instead of throwing it aside, he held it in place and used it as a shield to avoid being hit by the rocks and pebbles that flew towards him. Once it was over and they were carried away, he let the wall drop to the ground and it crumbled into multiple pieces due to the impact. He started looking all around him with narrowed eyes and a shrewd expression on his face. He did not mind the wind and used the technique, Phoenix Eyes, to protect his eyes against the dust. The way he was looking around, it was as if he was expecting to see something, but was unable to find what it was he was searching for. The reason to this was because he felt something strange. With all the destruction and wild power levels the Demon Slayer was emitting, it was not easy to detect any other power levels nearby. Yet, he was certain he had felt two hostile power levels nearby and he was searching for where they were. “What’s the matter, master? Why are you looking around so sharply?”
“Tetra, did you sense two power levels nearby?” “I’m sorry, master, but no. With all the debris and wind blowing around, I doubt it is possible to sense such things.” “I know, but I sensed them. It was for only a moment, but I sensed two power levels and both were really strong!” “Maybe you were mistaken, master? I mean, with the amount of power the Demon Slayer is emitting around us, I am pretty sure you just sensed them because of high alert you were.” “Yes… It’s most likely just have been my imagination…” Lakshman said slowly, but he sounded unconvinced. There was a sudden burst of energy from the Demon Slayer, which made him focus on her instead. With a small eruption, the red glow of light got bigger and sent a wild force of wind and dust in all directions. Lakshman fully turned around and faced a huge wave of wind and dust that was headed his way. It was approaching him at a fast pace and he could see the swirling dust as it quickly covered distance that separated him and it. Instead of defending or getting out of the way, he chose to stand his ground and fold his arms while holding onto the Phoenix Blade. As the fast travelling wind and dust reached him, he showed the slits of his eyes as he stared at the wind with a serious expression on his face. The next moment, he took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his voice. “RRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!” His wild roar sent a wave of wind of his own towards the incoming force. The two forces collided as he continued to roar while exerting energy without flinching. Eventually, his force gained victory and the incoming wind and dust was forced to move away from him as he screamed his lungs out. Once the dust was gone and things began to settle, except for the Demon Slayer pulsating in a red glow of light high up in the sky. Lakshman breathed a little quickly from how much he screamed a moment ago. “Master, are you a wild beast to scream like that?!” Tetra asked him in a disbelieving voice.
“I’m not going to step aside for a stupid wind and dust as if they are above me!” Lakshman retorted angrily. “Anyway, I’ve wasted enough time talking and looking around! It’s time I focus on the real problem here and solve it once and for all!” As he spoke, he looked up at the sky and noticed the red glow slowly turning crimson. He knew the Demon Slayer will self-destruct once that crimson color changes to purple color. Knowing this, he suddenly realized he was running out of time for him to activate his Phase B plan. “But first, Tetra… I’m leaving you here! I’m going to go alone from here on.” “Wait, what?! What do you mean ‘leaving me here’?” “Like I said, I’m leaving you here because you’ll only become an obstruction. In order to deal with the Demon Slayer and follow through with my Phase B plan, I’m going to have to get close and personal to her. In this process, I will not have the time to protect you and use you! You’ll only become a burden from here on.” “No… I do not accept this, master! I’m coming with you!” Tetra said stubbornly. Lakshman sighed as he waved his head at her words. He knew she would say that and was prepared to forcibly maker her stay. Without saying another word, he raised the Phoenix Blade and pierced it hard into the ground. Then he followed through with a technique to keep her there until he returned. “Lightning Chains!” In an instant, chains of lightning appeared near where he held the sword and quickly covered the entire body of the sword. Then they erupted out and chained themselves to the ground while creating a paralyzing affect that causes the Phoenix Blade, Tetra, to become unable to do anything, but stay pierced into the ground. “Sorry, Tetra, but you left me with no choice! This is my battle from here on, but don’t fear! I will return with my prize, the Demon Slayer!” “No, master! Please, don’t–!” Tetra began to shout in his mind, but he completely blocked her. Now, he walked towards the location where the Demon Slayer was hovering high up in the sky. It took him a few seconds due to him not wanting to fly there and waste precious energy and the wind that buffeted him as he got closer.
Once he reached the location, he looked up and saw the glow of light become red violet as it surrounded the Demon Slayer. From just that, he knew the self-destruction was nearing the completion and it meant that he finally cane jump into action. He closed his eyes and placed his right fist against his left palm. He followed this up by placing his head against it in a sort of prayer position. “Story Titan, please pardon my rudeness, but I will be borrowing some of your techniques.” He remained standing there for a moment, but he quickly withdrew his hands and let him drop to his side. The next moment, he began to surge with power while radiating a golden-red aura. He looked up to where the Demon Slayer was and kicked off the ground. He soared like a rocket as he flew through the air and headed towards the Demon Slayer. The Demon Slayer sensed him approaching and surged her power to send a violent amount of energy at him. She did not realize that it had become weak due to the self-destruction sequence and energy, sent towards him, was not powerful as she thought it would be. Lakshman easily smashed through the waves of energy she sent towards him and he kept rocketing up to reach her. He suddenly widened his eyes in surprise when a black wave of energy was sent in his direction, causing him to punch at it and got pushed back due to the explosion. “Wow! It still got energy to fire Dark Shot at me?” he said aloud in amazement. Without hesitation, he rocketed up and flew as fast as he could because the glowing color was changing. The red violent color finally changed and the glow was now pure purple in color which meant only one thing; the Demon Slayer was ready for self-destruction. “I won’t let you die, not while I’m here!” Lakshman bellowed and he fired an energy beam towards the ground and it propelled him even faster forwards. In a few seconds, he covered the distance separating him and the glowing energy ball of light. The moment he reached it, he punched through the ball of light and soared inside. He was amazed to see the inside of the ball to be full of energy circuits that were connecting the Demon Slayer. “AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” He began screaming as the energy circuits began to hit him with a load of lightning. For a moment, he was hit by lighting from all around, but he quickly recovered and moved to where the Demon Slayer was, pinned into a slot inside the ball.
“Sorry, but you’re not dying today!” he told in a firm voice. Ignoring the lightning attacks, he held both of his hands up in front of him. Then he shouted “Thunder Blades!” Using the lighting sent at him, he formed two lightning swords in a matter of seconds. With each hand, he gripped the lightning handle of the lightning energy swords and surged it with his energy. In an instant, both lightning swords glowed brightly and extended their blades out and pierced through the ball of energy that they were inside. He began swinging them around and, as he did, the pierced end of the blades tore up the ball of energy. In seconds, he completely split the ball of energy from the inside with his lightning blades. As soon as his two swords vanished, he saw the circuits disconnect from the Demon Slayer and knew he successfully separated her from the ball of energy. The ball suddenly started to glow and he realized it was about to explode. He quickly moved forward and placed his hands on the handle of the Demon Slayer. In an instant, he sensed a great surge of power from the Demon Slayer and felt an intense pain when he was hit by a technique the Demon Slayer used on him without him preparing himself for it. “Ugh! Dark Pulsation! Damn…!” he said in a pained voice. “Even so… This isn’t enough to knock me down!” He began to scream from the intense pain he was feeling as he gripped the handle of the Demon Slayer tightly. With a great surge of his power and, he began to pull the Demon Slayer out of the slot while enduring the pain his body was going through. Finally, with sheer force, he pulled the Demon Slayer was pulled out of its socket. “Finally!” With a shout, Lakshman held onto the sword tightly and blasted upward and flew away from the fast radiating energy ball. A moment later, it exploded and lit up the sky as it created a wild blowing wind that was sent in all directions. Lakshman, flying through the air, got buffeted by the wind and it only caused him to flip around a few times. As he sighed in relief, he immediately winced as he, once again, felt the pain of having been hit by the Dark Pulsation, the technique the Demon Slayer used on him. “Let go!”
He heard the Demon Slayer speak to him in his mind and felt pain once again when she hit him with the same technique. Although she had weakened due to trying to self-destruct, all the negative power she gathered was still stored inside her. “Gah…! I got rid of that destructive thing and now I’ll get rid of all that negativity of yours!” Lakshman shouted fiercely. While surging with power, he rocketed towards the ground at high speed while gripping the sword as hard as he could so it would not get blown away by the wind. The fast blowing wind blew his spiky blonde-red hair wildly as he plummeted to the ground at incredible speed. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!” With a loud scream, he landed on the ground and pierced the sword into the ground. The impact of landing on the ground was so strong, it caused the ground to shake violently. Huge cracks appeared in the ground and spread to several place after he slammed the sword into the ground. “Let go!” Hearing the Demon Slayer shout in his mind, he began to feel the sword struggle in his hands. He gritted his teeth as he fought to hold her there by using all his strength. Finally, having had enough of the struggle, he shouted “AH! This is annoying! Lightning Blockade!” Lightning Blockade is a technique that blocks the movement of the victim by constantly zapping them with lighting shots. It is a very different technique to the Lightning Chains, that chain down the victim and stops all their movement and the use of their techniques along with their abilities. Lightning Blockade simply stops the movement of the victim. In an instant, lightning erupted out of his hands and began to zap the sword into submission. The lightning surrounded the Demon Slayer and zapped it so much that she was having trouble fighting back. Still, it put up a valiant fight and activated Sword Drive and began to surge with power. “Now then! Time to release you off that negativity!” Lakshman shouted as he watched the Demon Slayer surging with power by using the Sword Drive technique. He quickly made some hand gestures and then placed his right hand on the handle of the Demon Slayer. She immediately activated her power and he was instantly hit by intense pain.
Even so, he concentrated on the task at hand while ignoring the pain his body was going through. “Lightning Channel!” Lightning Channel is a technique that allows one body to connect with another body, which allows for the flow of energy to connect. The connected energies do not mix or merge, but it allows them to borrow each other’s energies, except for when the user makes it so their energy cannot be used, but can be borrowed from the victim. Lakshman planned to release all the negative power that the Demon Slayer stored up inside her. In order to do this, he first had to make connection with her using the borrowed technique, belonging to the Storm Titan. The fact is, Lightning Blades, Lightning Blockade and Lightning Channel are techniques mainly used by the Storm Titan, but he was using it because he had the knowledge on how to use them from the Decisive Player’s vast amount of knowledge and wisdom. Using the force of his energy and the technique, he began to draw upon the negative energy from within her. His next move was to raise his left hand high up into the air and extended only it middle and fire fingers out while closing the rest of his fingers. Then he channeled the negative energy through his body and winced as he felt how terrible it was. “AAAAAAAHHH!!!! Energy Release!” With his shout, he released the negative energy in a destructive beam of energy and it sailed into the sky. For a moment, the sky was lit up in purple light as the beam of energy soared into the sky and parted the dark clouds that formed up in the sky. After a few seconds of painstaking release of the negative energy, he dropped his left hand and let go of the Demon Slayer. Feeling a little weak, he took a few steps back while breathing a little quickly. It was a lot of energy that he released and it was not perfect, which was why he was slightly drained due to using his energy to protect himself from the corruptive force of that power. “You… What did you just do?” He chuckled and said “Come on, Demon Slayer! You should at least know what I just did from seeing me do it. You might have memory loss, but not the stupidity that I endured since the time I was born!” “You… You release all the power I gathered up? No…!”
Lakshman laughed as he staggered and said “Yes! I did exactly just that and now, you no longer have the power necessary to self-destruct or do anything foolish!” “URAGH!” the Demon Slayer raged in anger. The sword surged with a massive load of power and instantly broke itself free from the Lightning Blockade technique. The force of the release, caused a wave of wind to get blown around and pushed Lakshman back as it hit him. He stumbled back, but quickly recovered and straightened up to see the Demon Slayer fly high into the air. The Demon Slayer flew high into the air before stopping and turning around to point its bladed end at him. It was obvious as to what the Demon Slayer had in mind; killing him. Lakshman also realized this and smiled fearlessly as the Demon Slayer plummeted towards him at incredible speed. The speed it flew at was so great, flames began to form around the sword. Seeing this, Lakshman slowly nodded his head and said “I see… Using Dark Meteor and yourself as its core, you plan on destroying yourself, me and the all surroundings? Good plan, if it weren’t for the fact that I’m a Phoenix Titan and death is not the end for me!” He pulled back his hand and prepared to launch a powerful technique at her. “Positron–!” he began, but suddenly stopped before he could complete the technique name. “Wait, wait, wait! Stop! What the hell am I doing? Positron Cannon? Positron Laser? Positron Lancer? What the hell am I thinking!? Those three are too darn powerful and will definitely destroy her and that’s not what I want to do. I need a technique that will hit her hard, but not knock her out; a technique with the potential to rattle her into distraction. That should buy me the time to prepare for my final plan, Phase C!” He looked up at the plummeting Demon Slayer and a smile slowly formed on his face. “Yes… I have one technique, which was used so many times by the previous Phoenix Titans, but it was learnt. I’m now basically going have to do ‘trial and error’ the technique and hope, like hell, that it works! On the other hand, there is the chance that I’ll be the one who will end up getting fried by it if it backfires! Mmm… Chances of failure look fifty-fifty, but I’m a guy that doesn’t care about the odds! The more the odds, the more fun it gets!” Lakshman laughed out loud and said “Haha! Let’s do this!” Taking a firing stance, he pulled his hands back and put them together. Then he began gathering energy into the joined palms of his hands and aimed up at the sky. The burning force in the sky was as bright as the sun and it bathed the darkened surroundings, because of the
dark clouds, with a great shine of light. This, in literal meaning, takes form of the ‘calm before the storm’ and it was something Lakshman also felt at that moment. “AAAH! Ready!” he shouted once the technique was ready. In the palm of his hand, there was a bright orange ball of energy gathered. He looked back to where the Demon Slayer was as it neared him and the sheer brightness made him strain his eyes, even while using the Phoenix Eyes technique. He hesitated slightly and shifted positions to get a better shot at her with his orange swirling energy ball. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Lakshman began to scream as he surged with power and brought his hands forward to unleash the ball of energy. “Solar Starburst Cannon!” With the pressure of his power, the orange swirling ball of energy was unleashed in a mighty beam cannon. The beam of light, erupted out of his gathered hands and soared straight into the sky at an amazing speed. A few seconds later, the plummeting Demon Slayer and his attack collided and a struggle ensued, making Lakshman feed more energy into his attack. The colliding forces, created a wave of wind and energy, which was sent in all directions. The ground began to crack and split away, rocks were throw into the wind and buildings were destroyed. The whole area was alight with power as the Dark Meteor and the Solar Starburst Cannon fought with their strengths. “UUUUURRRRRRRAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!” With a powerful scream, Lakshman used more power and pumped his technique with more energy, causing the Solar Starburst Cannon to finally push the Dark Meteor back. Then, all of a sudden, there was a violent flash of light at the colliding forces and an enormous explosion erupted. Lakshman covered his face and tried to keep standing, but the strong winds finally blew him off his feet. “Heavy Gravity!” He sailed through the air before forcibly increasing his personal gravity. With the strong gravity pulling him down, he stood a chance against the powerful winds, but he was still showered by pebbles and rocks as they got blown away by the strong winds. After a while, everything began to settle down and calm down. Lakshman had minor scratches, which he was slightly bleeding from, but he did not care. His released his hands from covering his face and looked around, only to see the destroyed layout of the surroundings. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief to know that his pressure to get the people to safety worked well for him. Otherwise, he would have had to punish himself for his careless behavior.
“Still… I didn’t think the explosion from Solar Starburst Cannon and Dark Meteor would create such a mess. I guess it goes to show how well the forces of light and darkness don’t get along…” Sighing once again, he rose into the air and flew towards a certain direction, where he felt an energy; it was the energy signal of the Demon Slayer. Realizing the Demon Slayer was weakened dramatically due to that last attack, he flew there as fast as possible and arrived several seconds later. He landed and saw the Demon Slayer sword, lying on the ground without any sign of movement. Although he had won against it, he did not deem it as his victory since he had the power to destroy her several times by now, but the only reason he kept her alive was to acquire her for the future. In the vast knowledge and wisdom he obtained from the sacrifice of the Decisive Player, he had learnt several things and wishes to follow with a certain plan the Decisive Player had been following until now. Lakshman breathed a sigh and bent down to pick up the sword by firmly gripping the handle. He expected an immediate painful sensation of the Dark Pulsation, but felt nothing instead. The Demon Slayer was in a weakened state and could not use her commonly used techniques. He looked at the sword and asked “So hey… Will you accept Astral Contact with me?” There was a pause of silence, after which the Demon Slayer spoke to him in his mind. “F-Forget it…! You failed to reach out to me when I did and now you expect me to reach out when you want to? Go to hell!” Lakshman sighed and looked up at the sky, where the clouds were parted to let the sunlight shine through. “Ah… I knew it… Why did I even bother asking that question in the first place? Maybe, I was hopeful that you might’ve changed your mind after all this… Guess I was wrong… Ha…” Then he looked back at the Demon Slayer and said “Still… I’m not giving up on you!” “W-What?!” the Demon Slayer exclaimed in surprise. He quickly grabbed the handle of the sword and forcefully slammed her bladed tip into the ground. Then he shifted the position of his hands to the top of the handle and placed his hands on top of each other. In an instant, he began to surge with power and his eyes gleamed with power as he made a serious expression.
“W-What are you doing? What are you going to do to me?” the Demon Slayer asked desperately, as it was unable to do against his power. “I know you will not listen to me, my lovers or anybody else because of a certain matter that happened in the past. However, there is still one person who you will listen to and I’m going to have her convince you to partner up with me with Astral Contract! You can deny me, but you can’t deny it! I know it because you constantly blamed yourself for her death!” “Wait… You don’t mean…!” As the surge of his power became strong, he pushed down on the handle of the sword and said “Spirit Connection, followed by Spirit Transition–!” At that moment, he heard several familiar voices shout “Lucky!” At hearing his nickname being called, he turned around to see who it was. To his astonishment, he saw Ondine, Tetra, Venezuela, Emilia, Erza and Cantia running towards him with worried expressions on their faces. It seemed the barriers were brought down due to him losing his concentration and the recent battle that took place and made him focus all his energy on it. Due to the distracted state he was in, his senses did not alert him when they were so close to reading him. “What the?!” he exclaimed in shock at seeing them. Then he shouted “Why the hell are you here?! Get away!” “Lucky…!” “Stop!” “Don’t do it!” Without caring about what he shouted at them, the girls screamed at him with desperation in their voices. “Ha?” Lakshman was momentarily confused by the desperate voices and the worried expressions on their faces. Then he realized, just from holding down the Demon Slayer sword, he must have looked like he was about to destroy her. He told them his goal was to acquire her and they agreed to it, but they became worried the recent battle might have made him want to destroy it instead. With this realization, he sigh and shook his head in exasperation.
“Why did I forget? Girls do tend to worry often about stuff, especially when they involve their loves ones. It’s often a good thing to worry, but letting it get to their heads and then barging in like this is so… how do I put it… annoying! Ha… I’ll have to have a word with the ladies after this.” At that moment, he saw a light appeared at his hands and it made him remember what he was doing a moment ago; activating Spirit Connection and Spirit Transition. He widened his eyes in realization that those spells were delayed in activation due to him semi-activating before he got distracted by the shout from the girls. He turned to the incoming girls and bellowed “Stop! Don’t come!” Unable to hear him due to the howling wind in their ears, the girls kept running towards him. Unable to do anything, he closed his eyes and only thought of one thing before it happened. “Oh crap…!” There was a sudden violent flash of light that erupted out of his hands that were placed upon the top of the Demon Slayer sword. The flash of light suddenly became a bright dome of light that surrounded the area, including where the girls were moments ago before getting enveloped by the light. As the dust slowly flowed away from the earlier battle, two mysterious figures appeared. Their appearance was unknown because the dust was masking them and their appearance. Up until this time, these two figures had been masking their presence while observing the goings on as they waited for their chance. “He did it.” “Yeah.” “This light… Looks like the Spirit Connection and Spirit Transition.” “Yeah.” “Now’s the chance. Let’s go.” “Yeah.” With that, the two figures, masked by the dust that seemed to come with them, walked the few meters and stepped in, disappearing into the dome of light.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 224 Sensibility Lakshman felt that he was standing in an empty space and knew where he was before he opened his eyes. A bright light surrounded him while darkness was swirling outside the light. He tried to look up to see where the light was coming from, but could not due to the light being very bright. Instead, he focused on the present situation and about what just happened. “Looks like Spirit Connection and Spirit Transition worked, but… where is everyone?” he asked aloud. Just as he finished asking that question, a light was sudden lit from high above. The light rained down the million rays of light and brought a single person into visible sight. Looking closer, Lakshman realized it was the materialized form of the Demon Slayer; a girl that is 167cm tall with silver hair and a cute face, however, that cute face wore an angry expression. “She’s angry,” he thought while he smiled slightly. She opened her mouth and shouted, “Why are you here? Leave!” The girl just stood there in the light and did nothing, but glare at him fiercely with her fists clenched. It was obvious she was totally unhappy to see him so directly, especially in this space. Lakshman simply waved his hands at her and said, “Unfortunately, this isn’t your space. This is the Spirit Plane, where all spirits are connected.” She narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything, there was a sudden shout from somewhere behind. “Lucky!” “Lakshman!” “Master!” Lakshman recognized to whom the familiar voices belonged to and sighed. From having spent his time with them, he did not need the time to turn around to see who it was. Instead, he looked at the Demon Slayer with an exasperated expression on his face.
“Before I talk with you, I have some things to tell my dear loving ladies!” “H-Huh?” the Demon Slayer said in astonishment. The Demon Slayer was surprised by his words and was even more surprised when he suddenly turned around and began to walk away from her. She raised her expression and tilted her head to see where he was heading for, only to see several girls running towards him. Ondine, Tetra, Venezuela, Emilia, Erza and Cantia ran towards him with an expressions of relief on their faces. They were so relieved to see him okay, they completely forgot to ask themselves the question of where they were. As they reached him, Lakshman came to a stop and shouted, “What the hell are you ladies doing here?!” The six girls were startled by his loud shouting voice and they quickly stopped, only meters away from him. Each of them, looked at him with a puzzled expressions on their faces because they did not understand his question. “Um… What do you mean, Lucky?” Emilia asked uncertainly. “I’m asking you why you are here when I specifically told you to not come for me!” he told them severely. Ondine, Venezuela, Erza and Cantia looked surprised by how angry he looked. “Aren’t you glad we’re here?” Ondine asked with an eyebrow raised. “Under normal circumstances, I would be glad that you’re here, but your presence could cause troubles for my plans! Didn’t you think about that?” he asked sternly. “I… Well…” Ondine said hesitantly with an unhappy expression on her face. Venezuela stepped forward and face him with an irritated expression on her face. She was not happy that he was angry with them when she believed he should be pleased that they were there for him. “Lucky, you are being very rude to us. We came into this danger for your sake! I think you should be more grateful that we’re here for you,” she told him in a firm voice.
“Grateful?” he thundered, much to her surprise. “Why should I be grateful for you girls to barge in here while risking your lives? Why can I be grateful, knowing that you girls are risking your necks to come to my aide! Do you know how I would feel because of your reckless actions? Have you ever considered the torment I would be go through because of your stupidity?” “S-S-Stupidity?” Venezuela asked slowly with her eyebrows raised. “Y-You’re calling our actions… stupid?” “Yes! What else would your reckless actions be called?” he asked them fiercely while looking at each of them in turn. “Seriously! I specifically told you girls that I will return to you in one piece and my prize! Don’t you have the trust in me to believe that I can return? Did you ever consider how I would feel, knowing that you girls don’t have that kind of trust in me?” “Ah,” Venezuela said slowly and she held her head down. She, Ondine, Emilia and Cantia were looking unhappy because they suddenly realized, at his words, their actions were indeed making him unhappy. They knew he would return to them with his prize, but their lingering doubt and worry for his safety caused them to throw caution to the wind and charge in to help him out. They never suspected their honest feelings would backfire in such a painful way. The four girls held their heads down in shame and closed their eyes in sadness while trying hard to avoid sniffing from the tears that appeared in their faces. Only Tetra and Erza continued to look at him with resolute expressions on their faces. Unlike the other girls, these two were looking pretty serious with the way they stared at him. “Why are you two looking at me like that?” he asked them cautiously. Tetra sniffed and said “Master, I feel you’re wrong with how harsh you are with us. I believe you are being overprotective of us.” “Yes, Lakshman. Even in my world, you were very overprotective of the people close to you to the point of guarding them with your life. That’s a good trait in any man to have, but that is also an unreasonable trait to possess in great quantities. You will slowly lose the very people you protect like that by letting your own emotions mix with your reasons.” “But… I can’t let you ladies getting injured because of the battles I face! I can’t stand it!” he told her in a firm voice.
“And? What will happen if the day comes when you finally are in need of our help and we’re not there because of your overprotectiveness? What are you going to do to get out of such a situation?” Lakshman looked surprised by her words, which made him realize. All this time, he had been putting himself in danger, but never once considered the feelings of the people around him. His achievements in becoming unbelievably strong, obtaining and becoming the Phoenix Titan encouraged him to put himself in mortal danger while keeping everyone he loved, safe. He never once considered. “Master, do you remember my words from when I first spoke to you before the monster attack?” Tetra asked him. Lakshman nodded at her and said “Yeah… Fight to protect without dying.” She slowly nodded back at him and said “Yes… Those were the first Phoenix Titan’s words, who fought alongside all the people he loved and cared for. He always fought alongside his comrades and family, without once thinking of their safety because he had a firm belief that they can protect each other through all sorts of danger.” “Ah,” he said slowly. At that moment, flashes of images began passing through his mind. These were memories from a long time ago and these memories included the many battles and the destruction they reigned. Through those memories, the images clearly depicted a man, who looked just like him, fighting while being back up by people that looked like the girls standing around him. Then a strong memory surge occurred, where the first Phoenix Titan stood in front while surrounded by many people as he looked at the great darkness that was heading towards him. He pulled his sword out, which was the Phoenix Blade, and held her high in the air before shouting “FIGHT TO PROTECT WITHOUT DYING! The next moment, he swung the sword down and sent a blinding slicing energy towards the darkness and there was a suddenly flash of light that caused the memory to come to an abrupt end. “Uh…” Lakshman moaned and he clutched his head as the memory flashes finished. The memory images flashed past so quickly, he did not have time to grasp everything. He did, however, take notice of the faces of the girls from the past; their faces girls were very similar to the girls that love him so much in the present.
“Lakshman!” Emilia and Erza said in worried voices. “Master!” Tetra said quickly. “Lucky!” Venezuela and Cantia said in voices of concern. Ondine quickly came forward and supported him by holding him up from the left side. Normally, the girls would have become indignant at her sudden advancement in helping him, but they did not care in the face of him looking slightly unbalanced. While reeling from the shock, he thought “Wow…! Just now, did I have a memory flash? Damn, that hurt! Still… What were all those images? Who was that guy; he looked so familiar to me? Plus, the girls standing behind him… They, somehow, looked like the girls that surround me today. There’s even a girl that I don’t know or am I going to meet her in the future? Why is Miss. Sumara also there? I don’t believe she lived so long ago…? What the heck is up with that memory flash; it doesn’t make any sense!” He continued to clutch his head as his mind began to torment itself due to the numerous questions he was asking himself. “Master, are you alright?” Tetra demanded in a loud voice. Startled by her voice, he looked at her and blinked in surprise. Then he slowly nodded and his mind quickly calmed down. “Mmm… Now isn’t the time to think about stuff like that. For now, I’ll put it to the back of my mind to tackle later because I have a Demon Slayer to obtain,” he thought finally before letting out a sigh. “I… I’m fine. Really… I’m okay,” he told them quickly as he straightened up. Ondine did not listen and continued to hold onto his left side to support him in case he staggered again. “Are you sure? Why don’t you sit down and rest a bit?” Emilia asked while looking worried. “Yeah! You just fought really hard, Lucky! You need to rest!” Cantia said quickly. “You need to stop putting on the tough guy act and relax!” Venezuela said sternly, but she only spoke worriedly.
He looked at them in surprise. These three girls were hurt a moment ago because of the hard words he said to them, yet they put all that aside and chose to try and help him. This made him realize how much he was putting them down instead of making their talents bloom and show their true strength. “I don’t know why I had such a memory flash, but I understand the message it left me with. These are my girls for eternity and I cannot push them away, no matter what! They are not babies and I’m not their care taker. In the future, I will be forming a family with them and the last thing I should be doing is pushing them away in the name of protecting loved ones. In the end, we need each other because this isn’t a relationship; it’s a bond for life.” In that instant, he smiled as he made up his mind to advance things when they get out of this mess. For now, he had to concentrate on something he must do for the future, which was to obtain the Demon Slayer. “Alright then. If you girls are still up for it, then you can help me to the best of your abilities!” he told them in a firm voice while he smiled at them. The girls widened their eyes as they realized he had changed his mind. Happy for his mind change, they rushed forward to hug him tightly and he almost toppled. This was the Spirit Plane, not the Physical Plane where he had his physical strength at the advantage. Here, those with the strongest spirit has the edge in being the strongest. Luckily, his spirit was strong and that kept them standing from toppling to the ground. Together, he and the girls walked to where the Demon Slayer was. She was wearing a slightly dumbfounded expression on her face because she did not understand what she just witnessed; first he yelled at them, then the girls spoke softly to him, then he began swaying on the spot and needed their assistance before he changed his mind about letting them go along with him. “I know I have no right to comment about you and your girls, but I just want to say that is one of the bizarre things I have ever seen in my life.” Her words, made the girls chuckle heartily. It was the first time that anyone had the nerve to say such a thing in front of them. Lakshman also smiled, but he was really thinking of the way to convince her into making an Astral Contract with him. For the mistake of not being able to obtain her previously, he planned to acquire her with true grit. “Yes. I’m sure this does seem bizarre to a Demon Slayer that’s holed herself underground for a hundred years. However, I can assure you that becoming my companion,” he told her smoothly.
The Demon Slayer narrowed her eyes slightly and said “No. I will not become your Contracted Spirit! I no longer have the desire to live in this pathetic world with selfish bastards and chaos everywhere!” “Oh my, oh my…! I see why you gave such a trouble to Lucky. You really are a troublesome spirit, Demon Slayer!” Venezuela said cheerfully, but the glare in her eyes said the opposite. “With that attitude, it’s no wonder you chose to die rather than live.” The Demon Slayer suddenly looked sad and said “Yes… I have no desire to live.” For a moment, she closed her eyes and seemed to be in deep thought. Then she opened her eyes and looked at them before saying “That’s why… LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” She bellowed the last three words at them and began to surge with energy. Her energy swirled around her and quickly formed into a dome like shape. She surged her power and made the dome expand in her attempt to blast them out of the Spirit Plane. “I know you want to die and I know you want us to leave you alone, but those are things I will not do!” Lakshman bellowed before surging with power. To her surprise, an identical dome like shape, full of energy, formed around him and the girls and he made it expand. The two dome shaped energies expanded and collided against one another. The Demon Slayer and Lakshman were using their spiritual energies to fuel their energies to conquer the other. “Wow! This is so much like the clash of energies!” Cantia said excitedly. Emilia turned to her and said, “Stop getting excited over something like this, Cantia! Can’t you see that master is trying to acquire her?” “Yeah, but what’s so wrong about cheering for them to butt it heads with their powers?” Cantia asked curiously. “You really do take things light, don’t you, Cantia?” “With Lucky by our side, is there a need to feel worried, Emilia?” Unable to respond, Emilia shrugged her shoulders and turned to face the front. Lakshman had gritted his teeth as he used more energy to push his energy forward. Eventually, the clashes was decided by a sudden light that resulted in a release of fast blowing winds. Once they calmed down, Lakshman moved very quickly forward and grabbed the hand of the Demon Slayer.
“Let me go!” the Demon Slayer said firmly. “I won’t!” Lakshman said firmly in his turn. For a moment, they just stood there and looked fiercely at each other. Then the Demon Slayer smiled slightly, which puzzled him. “Why are you smiling?” he asked cautiously, realizing the Demon Slayer was about to do something. “I just realized that we’re in our spirit forms, which means that we can die easily if we were hit by an extremely powerful technique and since you’re saying you won’t let go, we might as well die together!” she told him in a firm declaration. “Huh? Do you know what you’re saying?” Lakshman said in disbelief. “Yes…! I tried dying physically, but it was fruitless with your constantly stopping me at every step! Now, I can finally die spiritually die and there’s no way you can stop me!” Then, before he could do anything, she said “Spirit Thunder!” In an instant, the two of them were riddled by a fierce burst of lightning that hit them with unbelievable amounts of lightning. The lightning was dark in color and surrounded them, making it difficult for any assistance to reach them without suffering the safe fate as them. “AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Lakshman and the Demon Slayer began screaming from the sheer pain of being hit while being unable to defend against any of it. ”Lucky!” “Lakshman!” “Master!” Ondine, Tetra, Venezuela, Emilia, Erza and Cantia all rushed forward to quickly assist, but Lakshman knew there was no hope for them because of how powerful this technique was. “Stay back! I… I got this!” he shouted at them while being riddled with lighting and pain. “Yeah! You got it, alright! You’re being hit by loads of thunder attacks like hell!” Venezuela said sarcastically. “We’re coming to help!”
“No, d-dammit! I told you…! I…I g-got this!” Lakshman thundered at them. “Venezuela, stop,” Tetra said quickly and stopped her in her tracks. “That’s Dark Thunder. It’s something, not even I am capable of fighting against due to how it feeds on the negative emotions of the victim as it lands the attacks!” “Are you saying we just leave him there?!” Ondine demanded in a shocked voice. “All I’m saying is to let master handle this! Admit it! He’s more capable than the rest of us in this situation!” “How can we be sure he is capable of this? He’s never done it before!” Tetra sighed and said “If he is so blatantly shouting at us, then he is obviously capable of it! Now, hush before I’m forced to hush you personally!” Ondine widened her eyes in surprise as she noticed the glint in Tetra’s eyes. She was very angry at her own powerlessness as she and the rest of them watch Lakshman and the Demon Slayer getting zapped by the Dark Lightning technique. Lakshman griped the Demon Slayer’s hand tightly with his right hand and said “Phoenix Burst!” In an instant, a massive amount of energy was released and it surrounded them and made it difficult to see what was happening on the inside. Then, in a burst of light, a wave of energy rocketed up into the light and darkness high above. There was a moment of blinding flash of light, before it slowly disappeared and returned everything to normal. As the wind slowly settled, the girls straightened up to see Lakshman and the Demon Slayer standing while looking unhurt. It was amazing with the technique that Lakshman just unleashed to destroy the effects of the Dark Thunder. “W-What did you just do?” the Demon Slayer asked with a shocked expression on her face. Lakshman let out a sigh and said “I released my energy in a ball of energy that created an opposite effect to the Dark Thunder. After absorbing its effects and energy, I released all of it high into the air.” “No…! Why do you keep on interfering in my desire to die?” the Demon Slayer said to him while trying to free her hand.
“Oh geez…! It’s like you’ve been ignoring the past few battles of mine in your stupid quest to die! Here’s a move to put some sense back into you!” Lakshman said fiercely and he let go of her hand. “What?” she said in a surprised voice. “Back Hand Slap!” Lakshman said and, with the back of his hand, he delivered a slap on the right side of her cheek. For a moment, time stood still as the noise from the slap echoed around the dark space around them. The Demon Slayer, clutched the spot where his hand slapped her and she slowly turned to look at him with wide eyes. “It may not be an original technique, bit it always works on idiots like you!” he told her in an irritated voice. At that moment, he heard the sounds of whispering of the girls as they exchanged about what he just did. “He slapped her…” “Yeah, he slapped her…” “He slapped a girl…” “A girl… “Back handed slap…” “On top of that, he made it into some sort of original technique...” “So original…” Getting annoyed by their whispering, he looked over his shoulder and snapped, “Stop whispering as I can’t hear you!” The girls stopped whispering and quickly straightened up while wearing straight faces. However, when he turned around to face the Demon Slayer again, he heard them begin to whisper again. Inwardly, he sighed because he knew there was nothing wrong with them whispering, but it still annoyed him at how boldly they whispered behind his back.
“These girls… Ha… Looks like I’ve got a lot of disciplinary stuff to take care of once we return home,” he thought to himself grimly. He looked down and saw the tears forming in the Demon Slayer’s eyes and sighed heavily. “Now, I have to face the problem of slapping a girl, let alone a Sacred Spirit, but what was I supposed to do? It seemed that no amount of attack did any good, so I was left with the only choice of slapping some sense into her! Geez… I hate idiots that are too pig headed to listen to reason. Mmm… I know I’m going to hate it, but I’ll have to behave like the bad person here!” “You stop crying right this instance!” he suddenly bellowed and caused the girls to jump in fright. “Stop crying! Clear away those tears!” “Y-You’re speaking like that after making me, a girl cry?” the Demon Slayer asked in a sad voice. “I’m sorry, but I’m currently speaking to the Demon Slayer, a Sacred Spirit that’s stupidly attempting to end its life as if there’s no tomorrow! Honestly, that’s just plain stupid! To make matters worse, you’re only doing this because of a stupid failure a hundred years ago as if that’s worse thing you’ve ever done!” She looked surprised by his words and asked “Y-You… How do you know that…?” “I heard it from a ghost called Spectra! Seriously! When she told me you wanted to end your life, I wondered if you knew what ‘common sense’ meant because I felt you lacked it! People, around the world, are trying their hardest to live, yet here’s someone that’s trying to die over something that’s really silly! Sure, some can argue that I lacked common sense for a thirteen year old, but who cares about crap like perverted-ness, prideful-ness and the annoying ego that one develops with as much caliber as me? That reminds me, if anyone dares to test me by bringing up that nonsense, I’m going to string them up by their tongues!” “Um… I don’t mean to be rude, but who exactly are you saying that to?” Tetra asked him curiously from behind. Lakshman looked over his shoulder and said, “To anyone that’s listening to me, right now, because I’m really and seriously annoyed about it! Seriously! It was for my development and I appreciate what the Decisive Player did for me, but anyone mocking his sacrifice will get a Phoenix Burst Fist in their gut!” “Uh… Okay,” Tetra said apprehensively as he turned back to look at the Demon Slayer. “Y-You knew… Spectra?” the Demon Slayer said asked slowly in disbelief.
Lakshman nodded and said “Oh, yes! I spent two months in a room haunted by that, who is supposedly your previous master, as far as you can remember, right? It seems you failed in being alert and it led to her death due to ‘certain’ event. After that, you became angry and went underground to spend your time in isolation while ignoring her pleas find yourself another master!” The Demon Slayer looked astonished by the information that he possessed. He naturally would, considering how friendly he and Spectra became over the two months that he stayed in that room with her during his stay at Astral Academy. Lakshman looked at her with a serious expression on his face as he said “Now, the only people who can convince you into understanding will be her! I’ll bring her here! I’ll make you talk to her and you will only listen only to her because I’m not in the mood to force you into submission. Plus, my girlfriends won’t be pleased with me if I force a girl to do something she doesn’t want to do.” “We certainly won’t be pleased if you did that!” Venezuela said fiercely from behind him and the other girls nodded in agreement with her words while wearing serious expressions on their faces. The Demon Slayer glanced at her as he gestured to her behind his back as he said, “See. My girlfriends can be a handful if that happened, which I’m not going to take. That’s why, I am now initiating my final plan, Phase C!” Without another word, he lifted his right hand and aimed to the right of him while still facing the Demon Slayer. He gathered energy there as he prepared to activate a spell with a specific purpose in mind for it. “Spirit Connect: Spectra!” he said loudly and clearly. As soon as he finished speaking, he shot a white ball of light out of the open palm of his hand. It flew a few meters before stopping in mid-air and expanded to create some sort of portal. This was a portal that connected the Spirit Plane and its end point was his room in Astral Academy. “Spectra! I need you to come through the portal and speak to the Demon Slayer because she’s too stupid and idiotic to listen to me, please!” he said loudly as the portal created a w opening for a spirit to come through.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 225 Arriving Danger In the room that Lakshman stayed in Astral Academy, a ghost haunted it. The ghost’s name was called Spectra and she was killed within that room during an investigation as part of the Phintex Rajas. At that time, she was partnered up with a Sacred Spirit called the Demon Slayer and upon her death, the sword went underground and secluded herself from the rest of the world. Since then, Spectra had attempted countless times to attract the attention of men because, as it turned out, the next master of the Demon Slayer must be a male. She discovered this when she made an Astral Contract with the Demon Slayer when she discovered the Demon Slayer did not know of its origin. Now, Spectra floated in mid-air while doing absolutely nothing. This was because she was unhappy with what had happened at the kidnapping of the Demon Slayer and Lakshman, conducted by the mighty Demon Dragon King, Razzel. She attempted to interfere in that kidnapping, but proved to be useless as being a spirit meant she was powerless against the power of strong opponents. Ever since then, she had tormented herself for being such a useless spirit that is bound to that room. She was quite pleased to discover that she was able to leave the building when Lakshman was there,. However, without him, she was forcibly pulled back into the room by unknown forces. Since then, she remained silent and alone in that room. Currently, she had half open eyes with a glazed look in them. She was not paying much attention to anything because her mind was far away from the present. With no word or news of what transpired after she got stuck in that room again, she lost all motivation to do anything constructive. “Ah… Zemitra… Lakshman…” she muttered absentminded. At that moment, a small ball of light materialised out of thin air in the room. It slowly started to expand and caused the wind to blow quicker. All the doors and windows were closed, making the wind circulate the room and blow really hard again the walls. Spectra was taken by surprise when she suddenly felt herself being blown along by something hard. She was forced back to reality when the expanding ball turned into some sort of portal that connected that room to an unknown destination.
“What the heck is this?!” she exclaimed in a shocked voice. The strong blowing wind caught her and began to swirl her around. Before she could get sick of this crazy movement, she applied her spiritual energy and steadied herself against the wind. As she turned to look at the source, her eyes widened in alarm when she noticed the portal. “Ah! No!” she said desperately and attempted to get away from it. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to leave the Physical Plane just yet! Please, leave me be!” As she attempted her best at escaping from the room she was stuck in, she heard a familiar voice speaking from within the portal. It was the voice of the person that lived within this room before his abduction at the hands of the Demon Dragon King. “Spectra! I need you to come through the portal and speak to the Demon Slayer because she’s too stupid and idiotic to listen to me, please!” “Lakshman!” she exclaimed excitedly. She quickly turned around and she saw that his spoken words came from within the portal. That was when she recognised the colour of the portal, which was bluish-light in colour, was a Spirit Portal. “I see… Using Spirit Connection, he activated a Spirit Portal that connected this room and wherever he is,” she said and a smile formed on her face with happiness. “He said something about Demon Slayer, which means they are together and he needs my help!” Then, as she flew towards the portal, she shouted, “I’m coming, Lakshman! Just wait for me!” Initially, she thought she should simply go into it, but wondered if there was the chance that it might collapse part-way. That was when she decided to do this at a charging speed and flew back before zooming at the portal with increasing speed. Spectra entered the portal and disappeared in an instant. After which, the portal slowly shrunk and disappeared completely as the wind slowly settled down within the room. On the other side of the portal was the Spirit Plane where Lakshman, the Demon Slayer and the rest of the girls waited. For a few seconds, the portal simply remained swirling as it made the wind blow faster. At that moment, there was a glimmering light as the portal shined brightly before Spectra burst out of the portal. At first, the girls thought she was human, that was until they saw the ghostly tail trailing behind instead of the legs that normal people have.
“Ah! It’s a ghost!” Emilia exclaimed and she immediately clung to Ondine in fright. Ondine did not say anything and simply stared at the ghost with a surprised expression on her face. “A ghost?” Venezuela asked with raised eyebrows. “So, this is the ghost called Spectra,” Erza said curiously. Spectra flew through the air with an excited expression on her face. This expression was quickly replaced by an expression of surprise when she realised where they were. “The Spirit Plane?” she asked curiously as she looked around at the surrounding darkness within the light that she was under. The Demon Slayer, seeing her previous owner was in the same place as her, she cried out, “Spectra! Spectra!” Spectra, hearing the calls of the Demon Slayer, looked down and saw her frantically waving towards her. Not caring about anything else, she dived down and instantly hugged the Demon Slayer tightly. For a moment, the two girls hugged each other while the Demon Slayer continued to cry openly. “There, there… You don’t need to cry so much just because I’m here, you know,” Spectra said softly with a sweet smile. The Demon Slayer wiped the tears off her face and said, “I-I’m not crying because you’re here… I’m crying because that guy s-s-slapped me!” Spectra widened her eyes slightly and turned to look at Lakshman. Then she curiously asked, “Lakshman, you slapped her? Why?” Lakshman looked irritated and said, “I did it because she was being extremely stupid! Constantly attempting to commit suicide by self-destruction, which could’ve destroyed the rest of us. Then, when that failed, she attempted to kill herself and take me along several times. I beat her more than once and even went to great lengths to keep her alive while weakening myself in the process, but did she learn? No…! Unable to die in the Physical Plane, she attempted to kill us both by torturing us with Dark Thunder!” He was breathing a little quickly by the time he finished speaking because he was furious with her. Over the course of the events that led them to being in the Spirit Plane, he had constantly
tried to communicate with the Demon Slayer in his way of telling her to trust him. Instead, she rejected all of it and insistently tried to die that could have led to great number of casualties. With a quick breath, he said, “I finally lost my patience and gave her a sensible response; a big slap to the side of her face! Seriously!” “I-It was my choice to die! I never asked for any of your help!” the Demon Slayer said angrily. “I don’t remember needing permission to save someone, especially someone that I need for the future!” Lakshman retorted angrily. The Demon Slayer angrily wiped the tears off her face and glared at him angrily. Then she said, “Yes! You’ve been seeking me only for this future you constantly keep talking about! Meaning, you feel nothing for me and only see me as a tool for use!” Lakshman’s eyes flashed angrily at her words and he said, “Really…? Is that how you interpreted my actions, so far? You saw a brutish weapon slaver when I risked my neck to save yours, especially after chaining my Phoenix Blade with a powerful lightning technique that I only hypothesised? You saw a slave dealer in me when I constantly tried to reason with you while trying my best to not hurt you by much? Is that how I was framed in your eyes, Demon Slayer?” The Demon Slayer avoided making eye contact and simply looked away. She was purposefully avoiding making eye contact with him due to him looking at her so fiercely. The truth was that she said those things out of unrest emotions than anything else because she wanted to do anything to get her way. Spectra looked between the two of them with a curious expression on her face. She did not quite understand what was going on and she did not care because she was thinking of something else. Even after all this mess, Lakshman was showing interest in wanting to acquire the Demon Slayer and she saw it as a chance to finally rid the final responsibility that was weighing heavily on her shoulders; find a master for the Demon Slayer. Spectra quickly made eye contact with Tetra, the Phoenix Blade and winked once. Tetra, noticing the wink, quickly understood that she had a plan in mind. Then she noticed how Spectra gestured upward at Lakshman standing in front of them. Tetra nodded in understanding to mean that she wanted Lakshman to not be there with what she wanted to do. Tetra stepped forward and grabbed him by the right arm affectionately. He looked at her in surprise at her sudden change in behaviour as she smiled warmly up at him.
“Master, I think it’s better if you walked away for a bit and leave this to us girls,” she told him before thinking so that he could hear her thought. “Master, Spectra has a plan of convincing the Demon Slayer.” “Are you saying I’m a hindrance?” he thought indignantly. “Certainly not, but your very presence is agitating the Demon Slayer and she’s not listening to reason. This requires a different kind of powers that you don’t have, master.” Lakshman rolled his eyes and thought “The power of the girls… Damn… I can’t believe you hit me with that…!” “Master… You need the Demon Slayer, right? Please, just walk away for a bit and calm down. You need it. Meanwhile, we girls will do what we’re best at when it comes to handling girls, okay?” Lakshman knew she was right, but hesitated for a moment. Realising he needed a push, Tetra grabbed his arm tightly and began to escort him away from them. As she passed the other girls, she nodded at them while telepathically communicating with them with a simple eye contact. The girls were surprised by suddenly hearing her voice in their heads, but understood it was necessary. “Stay here, master until I telepathically call for you again,” Tetra said once they reached the outer edge of the light. “It somehow feels lonely to be left out like this,” Lakshman said “You can’t have everything…” Tetra told him smoothly and walked back to where the girls were standing around. Lakshman watched her go with a perplexed expression on his face. Then, he turned around and faced the darkness as he put both of his hands into the pockets of his pants. “I can’t believe the day finally came for me to step aside and leave it to the girls,” he thought as he slowly calmed down. “The Demon Slayer is necessary for the future, according to the knowledge and wisdom the Decisive Player left me with, but that isn’t the only thing that’s making me so desperately try to conquer her. I feel this… strange sensation in my body whenever she put herself in danger; it was the same kind of sensation that I always feel whenever Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Vena and Cantia did reckless things that might’ve hurt them badly. It’s a very strange sensation as if a part of me
was injured whenever I feel that they got hurt. It’s a really unpleasant feeling that grips my heart and makes me fear for them. Yes… Originally, the Demon Slayer was indeed meant for something great, but I feel very attracted by her. Not only that, but she was there in my memory flash from my past-self. I now realise that person was me in the past, but that brings up so many questions that I want to avoid right now. That’s important, right now, is to obtain the Demon Slayer and safely end this conflict.” He quietly stood there and watched the swirling darkness while standing within the radius of the light. It did not last for long because, a few minutes later, he heard the chatter of the girls from behind him, causing him to turn around in surprise. Looking closer, he was startled to see them laughing and what amazed him the most was the Demon Slayer’s smiling face. Her cuteness was that much more amplified by the simply action of her smiling happily. “What are they talking about?” he asked out loud in a low voice. The girls were clearly having a relaxing talk and there was no trace of the tension from earlier. It made him curious as to whether his departure from the midst was the reason. He felt a little depressed at such a reason, but it somehow felt like it. “Hmm…” he thought wonderingly. “Maybe I’ll try hearing what they have to say. I mean, sure it’s not polite to hear what the girls have to say, but I’m burning with curiosity here as to why they are so cheerful all of a sudden.” So, he turned around and pretended to be seeing the swirling darkness outside the light. Then, he closed his eyes and put his hands together before activating the technique that would let him hear what they are saying the technique name in his mind. “Tempathy.” In an instant, he began to hear the voices of the girls in his mind as if he was with them. The girls were energetically talking about anything and everything that came to their mind to talk about. However, he quickly realised they were actually talking about him while using an interesting strategy to talk to the Demon Slayer in their mission to convince her. “I know Lakshman is a bit of an idiot and slapped you, but he’s just being an idiot and everything.” “Lucky is a troublesome child, even though he’s sixteen years of age because he keeps thinking like a kid. We could’ve believe he sucked at naming stuff just for a random test.”
“Since a child, master has been pretty stupid and his obliviousness was super great.” Lakshman coughed in surprise and stumbled from the shock of hearing some of what the girls were saying about him. He glanced over his shoulder with wide eyes and an expression of disbelief. “What the heck are they doing? Are they trying to convince her or make her dislike me even more?” he thought hopelessly. He glanced once more and was surprised to see the Demon Slayer chuckle at their words. With this confirmation, he immediately understood the girls were making his mistakes sound like a joke and that he was nice deep beneath as if he was made of hard shell. This made him feel bad, but he understood it was one of the greatest strategies in making a conversation that loosens up the opposite person to speak openly with you. “Still, I have a nasty feeling the girls are turning me into a nasty person with a bad character. I’m a human with flaws… In fact, everyone is, but being labelled as such, especially by the girls whom I deeply care for, is an unhappy experience that is beyond words… Mmm… My list of disciplinary things that I need to do upon returning home is slowly growing…” Lakshman sighed and glanced once more over his shoulder. Seeing the happy expression on the Demon Slayer made him feel guilty of hitting her. He believed himself to be a gentlemen and such men do not do things like slapping a girl, but he was left with no alternatives in the situation he was in. With a finality, he praised the girls for being there as his support when he failed in doing something. “I guess, this is the drawback of being a warrior that I tend to forget about the niceties of life. Well, I desperately fought my hardest to keep a raging, out of control, destructive Demon Slayer from killing herself and everyone around her. I know that isn’t a good excuse for my conduct, but I do believe it was necessary to stay firm and strong to clearly state my force.” At that exact moment, he felt an extremely powerful presence and he opened his eyes in shock. There was the presence of two really powerful being and they were getting closer to them. “This feeling… Yes! As I thought! I wasn’t mistaken when I thought I had felt the presence of these two before, but Tetra could not feel them. This means they are masking their presence, but such attempts do not work in the Spirit Plane as every spiritual thing is connected and all can easily be sensed. Even so, how did they enter the Spirit Dome that I erected with the activation of Spirit Connection and Spirit Transition? The ladies got in because they were within the radius of the
initial activation of the spell, unless… these people are really strong to come in here! Which means, these people are above the Sage rank!” With the conclusion made, he straightened up and pulled his hands out of his pant pockets and clenched them into fists. He briefly wondered if they were allies, but quickly ruled that out. Currently, all the Phoenix Clan members, including Felix and Sevedant, were transported back to Floria Kingdom to deal with the army of the Mardana Kingdom. “If they are not allies, then they must be enemies! There could be the possibility of someone accidentally entering this plane, but I believe they would want to stay clear of something as powerful as the Spirit Done! I must assume these two are enemies because chances can run the risk of walking straight into danger!” With that thought, he kicked off the ground and soared back while appearing to be horizontal. As he sailed through the air, he saw the darkness shift slight as if someone had cleared a pathway to walk towards the light. A moment later, Lakshman landed on the ground next to Emilia, startling the girls in the process. “Lakshman! Where did you come from?” Emilia asked him reflexively. He shrugged his shoulders and without looking at them, he said, “I jumped here from over there. Anyway, be on guard ladies because we have company.” The girls looked surprised by his words and before they could expression their surprise, they heard voices coming from outside the range of the light they were bathed under. One voice was cheerful, but strong while the other only responded with one word and that word only. “Ah… Would you look at all this darkness? I think this might’ve turned into a maze if we weren’t careful.” “Yeah.” “Mmm… I can see a faint glimmer of light ahead. Can you see it too?” “Yeah.” “I wonder what they are doing, don’t you?” “Yeah.” The cheerful voice suddenly coughed and said, “Ah! Damn this dark stuff! Are you okay there, bro?”
His brother, in a monotone voice, replied by simply saying, “Yeah.” “That’s good. Well, I see the light and the way out is in front of us!” The next instance, the shadowy figures of two people appeared out of the swirling darkness from beyond the light. For a few seconds, they were hidden by the darkness until they finally stepped into the light. “Wha…?” “Huh…?” “Eh…?” Ondine, Tetra, Venezuela, Emilia, Erza, Cantia, Spectra and the Demon Slayer were all stunned when the light brought the full picture of the men to life. Both men were as tall as Lakshman with strongly built bodies and keen features, but that was not the most surprising part. Their skin were made up of hard scales that seem to protect their bodies and their colours were different; the person on the left had red scales while the person on the right had green scales. However, both of them had golden eyes that seemed to shine in the light. It was safe to say the men were handsome and impressive looking due to how amazing their appearances were. Looking at them closely, Lakshman realised their skin was made up of dragon scales, deeming them to be from the Dragon Clan. He also noted that the left person was looking quite cheerful while the right person looked as if he was bored. Both of these men were radiating powerful energies that made Lakshman put his hands in his pockets to hide his clenched fists. “Damn… They’re strong…!” he thought quietly to himself. The left person smiled at them and said “Greetings to the Phoenix Titan and the lovely ladies that surround you. How are you doing today in this wonderful place?” Lakshman was surprised by how friendly the man spoke to him, but he responded while being cautious of both of the men. “I’m doing fine, but would you mine introducing yourself telling us why you came at such an important time?”
The man looked surprised and said, “Ah. My apologies. I am called Fizard, also known as the Fire Dragon King.” He gestured at his companion and said, “This person is called Gurret, also known as the Earth Dragon King.” “Yeah,” Gurret, the Earth Dragon King, said with a nod of his head at them in greeting. “Two of the five Dragon Kings of the Dragon Clan?” Emilia asked in amazement. The other girls showed similar expression, all except Erza. She was eying the two men curiously and did not recognise their names and she certainly did not understand the impact of their titles. Erza was from a world called Alzard and would definitely not know most of the things of this world. Lakshman looked calmly at the two men and asked, “So then… What brings the two of the five Dragon Kings to the Spirit Plane? Do you have business with me or something?” Fizard shook his head and smiled before he said, “I’m sorry, but it’s not you that we have business with. Rather, it is the Demon Slayer that we have real business with.”
Phoenix Rising Chapter 226 Reassuring Feelings “What?” Lakshman asked while looking surprised. “You have business with the Demon Slayer?” “That’s correct,” the Fire Dragon King, Fizard, said with a single nod. “Yeah,” the Earth Dragon King, Gurret, said shortly. The Demon Slayer, not knowing who they are or what business they have with herm simply said, “I… I don’t know who they are. Honest!” “Wait! Why do you sound like we’re suspecting you of anything?” Spectra asked incredulously. “Are you forgetting? I was your only master a hundred years ago and you’ve been underground this whole time.” “Y-Yeah…” the Demon Slayer said nervously and she watched the two men. Lakshman narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Explain.” Hearing that single one, Fizard took that to mean Lakshman wanted an explanation of why they had business with the Demon Slayer. While looking at the group, they caught her eye and she edged back to be with Spectra while looking at them fearfully. “Very well. I understand,” he said and nodded at them again. “Since the time of the ancients, the Demon Slayer has been used to do evil things that would’ve proven to be fatal to both people and the world. You must understand, Phoenix Titan that you are dealing with a highly dangerous weapon of mass destruction.” Spectra got angry by their words and said, “Who’re you calling a weapon?! Zemitra is not like the weapons that you’re carrying! She’s a Sacred Spirit with feelings and emotions like the rest of us!” “Yes, I am well aware of that fact, but you are speaking like that because you do not know the horrors this Demon Slayer conducted in the past times!” Fizard said in a serious voice. “Hmph! If you believe the Demon Slayer was indeed such a weapon, then why didn’t you come when I first discovered her a hundred years back? What about the time that she
remained underground and in seclusion in these hundred years after my death? Why didn’t you try and take her then?” Spectra asked scornfully. Fizard sighed and said, “We believed the Demon Slayer to be no harm so as long as she remained there, but the situation changed when the Demon Dragon King, Razzel arrived to claim what was not meant for him. It’s because of him, we feared the Demon Slayer will be used for destruction once more!” “Yeah,” Gurret said shortly. “I see. That’s why, the two of the five Dragon Kings were sent here to pick her up,” Lakshman said slowly as he quickly understood. Then he looked at them curiously and asked, “So then, what’s your plan for her once you return to your clan’s home location?” “We want to seal her away for good.” “Yeah.” At those words, the Demon Slayer’s eyes widened in shock. This meant that she would spend an eternity in loneliness and despair with the desire to die, but being unable to do anything instead. In the end, she was allowed to live only in with a sealed containment for eternity. Thinking of this, the Demon Slayer suddenly had a memory flash of certain events in the past. There was destruction and chaos throughout the landscape while the disembodied bodies of people lay everywhere. “No! I don’t want to be sealed! I don’t want to go there!” she shouted desperately and clung to Spectra for dear life. “It is okay, Spectra! We won’t let that happen,” Spectra told her reassuringly while holding her firmly. Then she turned to Lakshman and asked, “Right, Lakshman?” Lakshman, however, did not respond and simple stared at the two men with his hands tucked inside his pockets. At that moment, he was contemplating about what the Fire Dragon King had said. “Thinking logically, that is the right decision to make considering her destructive nature. On the other hand, she just wanted to end her life due to her guilty consciousness of letting Spectra die without supporting her. That, in itself, does not mean she is evil or anything; it proves that she really does feel for her mistakes, but ends up creating a mess in the process of self-destructing. Mmm… This is most likely caused by events of her past, which I still know nothing about.”
Lakshman looked at Fizard and asked, “Would you mind telling me a bit about her past since you seem to know her so much?” Fizard shook his head and said, “I can’t believe you’re asking me that silly question. Phoenix Titan, why are you pretending you don’t know anything about her? After all, along with the Phoenix Blade, the Demon Slayer was also the Contracted Spirit of the first Phoenix Titan!” “What?!” “Huh?!” “No way!” Lakshman and the rest of the girls exclaimed their disbelief in their own way. None of them could believe the world the Fire Dragon King had just told them. Even the Demon Slayer was looking really shocked by this unbelievable revelation. “I… was a contracted spirit of the first Phoenix Titan?” she asked slowly. Fizard raised an eyebrow and said, “That’s right. You were his Contracted Spirit, along with the Phoenix Blade before his death. Then you ended up going into wrong hands and the history is marked with the destruction you left behind!” The Demon Slayer widened her eyes in shock and slowly said, “No… I don’t… remember any of this. I don’t remember… I… Uh…!” She suddenly clutched her head and swayed a little, but was caught quickly by Spectra. Feeling a little dizzy, she leaned on Spectra for support while digesting everything she just heard. As far as she could remember, “Don’t tell me you have amnesia?” Fizard asked in a disbelieving voice. Then he looked at the Earth Dragon King and said, “Can you believe this, bro? She has amnesia! Unbelievable!” “Yeah,” the Earth Dragon King said with a single nod of the head. Lakshman, thinking of distracting them, asked, “By the way, why is the Earth Dragon King only saying one word ‘yeah’, ‘yeah’ and ‘yeah’ as if that’s the only word he knows to say?” “Yeah,” Gurret replied and he nodded his head at him, causing Lakshman to widen his eyes.
Fizard breathed a sigh and said, “You see, Gurret was born with a defect that doesn’t enable him to speak properly. All he could manage was that one word, but he can speak telepathically.” “Hmm… I don’t hear his voice inside my head,” Lakshman said slowly as he tried to hear his voice. “He doesn’t telepathically speak to other people! Just me and a few others that he wants to talk to,” Fizard said and he chuckled a little. “Uh… It would be so much nicer to hear what he has to say.” “Yes, but that’s his choice.” “Mmm!” Gurret made a sound of annoyance from his mouth and pointed at Fizard before pointing towards the Demon Slayer. “Oh, right! Sorry! I got side tracked because the topic was about you and your speechlessness,” Fizard said brightly. Gurrent slapped his hand on his face and shook his head in exasperation. Fizard, hearing what he had to say telepathically, laughed heartily and gave him a thumps-up gesture. Then, the two of them turned to face Lakshman and the girls once more. “Anyway, please hand over the Demon Slayer so that we may return and seal her for good. I’m sure you understand, Phoenix Titan. We, the Dragon Clan, also want peace in the world and that peace will just not remain with her presence.” Lakshman finally pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed them on his chest before closing his head to contemplate about everything. “They do have a good point in wanting to seal her away. The Demon Dragon King, Razzel, created a lot of mess in his quest to obtain the strongest weapon, but that’s a different issue completely. On the other hand, if what they said is to be trusted, the Demon Slayer was also a Contracted Spirit of the first Phoenix Titan. That means, she once belonged to the past me or the old me or whatever that identical person was from my memory. Wait! Does Tetra remember this?” Feeling a little agitated, he telepathically began communicating with Tetra due to the connection of their contract.
“Tetra, do you remember the Demon Slayer as being another Contracted Spirit of the first Phoenix Titan?” “Um… Actually, I don’t remember a lot of the past, master.” “What?” “I’m sorry, but I seem to be missing a lot of my past memories. It seems the unknown events of 8000 years ago have caused this issue. Unfortunately, I do not know if what Fizard is true or not, but I do believe a sensation of closeness whenever I am near her. Normally, I dislike darkness, but for some reason, I like to be with her. It’s a, how do I put it? Hmm… Ah! A Comforting feeling to be with her.” He did not know what to think of all this and it was creating a great confusion for him. While feeling really annoyed with all the confusing mess, he heard Tetra speak to him in his mind. “However, I believe you should choose to do what is right according to how you think and feel. Those people have already made their decision to seal her, but you said you want to obtain her for the future. So, in my opinion, you should follow with your beliefs rather than allow the thoughts of somebody else to redirect you. Remember, you’re the Phoenix Titan.” Lakshman was surprised to hear her speak to him in such a manner. It had been a long time since she spoke to him with such words of wisdom. At the same time, he also realised she spoke like this because she realised the confusion his mind was going through and wanted to ease him up. Other than that, she, like the rest, do not know his actual reason for wanting to obtain the Demon Slayer. “Thanks for your wonderful words of wisdom, Tetra. I’m fine now and I know what to do. Besides, I fought really hard against the Demon Slayer to suddenly throw her away because of what they said. I made my decision to claim her and I don’t care what these idiots have to say about it!” “Right, but what if they choose to fight you for it?" “Screw them to hell! I’ll just beat them up!” Tetra chuckled and said, “Really, master. You’re sounding so much like the first Phoenix Titan.” He quietly smiled and corrected her by saying, “Whether it is the past, present or the future; I am the Phoenix Titan of all time. So, stop comparing me to the past me because it’s starting to bore me.”
“Sure.” With his resolve made, he opened his eyes and looked towards the two Dragon Kings. He smiled at them before he said, “I’m sorry, boys, but you’ll have to go home empty handed.” The Fire Dragon King, Fizard, looked surprised and said, “Huh?” “You see, I fought desperately to keep the Demon Slayer alive while you two were skulking around while waiting for the right opportunity. I risked my neck several times, even to the point of fully draining myself, to bring her to this point and I’m not going to just hand her over. Besides, you may not realise, but she hates me because of my continuous attempts at saying her life when she is so desperate to die. Even so, I’ll do what I have to do because that’s what makes me who I am!” The smile on Fizard’s face slowly vanished and was replaced by a serious expression. Even Gurrent’s face became grim with seriousness. Fizard sighed and muttered, “No wonder the Demon Emperor decided to send us instead of the usual lot.” Then, aloud, he said, “Phoenix Titan! Hand over the Demon Slayer because we don’t want to fight you.” Lakshman grinned and said, “Oh, really? Does that mean you’ll fight me if I don’t hand her over? Is that what you’re implying?” Fizard saw Lakshman grinning, but he noticed the glare in his eyes. In that instant, he knew Lakshman would never hand her over without a fight. He sighed once more and thought, “How foolish of him? I wanted to end this peacefully, but he turned this into a fight.” At that moment, he heard the voice of Gurrent, the Earth Dragon King, speak to him in his mind. “The Demon Emperor was right; the Phoenix Titan is a stubborn headed warrior.” Both Dragon Kings activated their energies and began to surge with power. Both of them radiated in pure red aura that surrounded them like radiating energy as they stared at the group. The girls backed away and stepped behind Lakshman while he remained standing with the same grin on his face. “Let’s go!” Fizard said and he leapt forward with great force.
“Yeah!” Gurrent said as he also did the same. The two Dragon Kings rocketed forward and suddenly slapped, head first, into an invisible barrier. As the two warriors stepped away, disoriented from the sudden impact, a physical materialised that was sending lightning bolts through the edges of the barrier. “No way… This is... Power Barrier!” Fizard said in a surprised voice. “Yeah,” Gurret said in agreement. They heard Lakshman laugh and say, “You’re right! It’s the Power Barrier! It’s the next level from the normal Energy Barrier, something I just recently learnt and I used you as my testing pawns to test its might. How does your heads feel after slamming, head first, into it?” Lakshman then grinned and said, “On second thought, don’t answer that question because your very presence is starting to annoy me! Get lost!” With a surge of his power, Lakshman caused the Power Barrier to expand quickly and hit the two warriors with shocking force. Unable to fight back, the two Dragon Kings were hurled into the darkness, where they disappeared and their presence immediately disappeared. “Are they… gone?” Emilia asked in a worried voice. “For now, but not for long. Those guys are almost as strong as me and will certainly come back. That’s why, I have to get this over with before that happens!” Lakshman said and he turned around and knelt before the Demon Slayer, much to her and everyone’s surprise. “W-What?” she asked nervously. “I’m sure you heard from the girls about me being stupid, an idiot and an oblivious person with a lot of heart, but only meat for a head.” The girls made surprised expressions as they realised he must have heard their conversation with her earlier when they talked to her. This made them feel embarrassed and they covertly looked at each other and made wild gestures at each other that made no sense. Lakshman ignored this and continued speaking to the Demon Slayer. “I am sorry for slapping you earlier, but I was feeling very irritated with your behaviour. I don’t blame you for trying to die because of being lonely and everything, but your attempt to die and take others with you is wrong! That’s just the kind of behaviour that causes people like the
Dragon Clan to want to seal you away permanently! That is the worst thing that can happen to you and you will not want it; unable to do anything, but watch the world go by while knowing you are stuck there forever. It will be an eternal sleep with nightmarish dreams haunting you!” The Demon Slayer nodded in understanding to his words. She knew the kind of dreadful experience she will experience while being sealed away and she completely does not want to go there. Any many with brains would immediately cart her away due to everything she did, even stuff she does not remember about. However, she was intrigued by how determined Lakshman was when he did not want to hand her over. “I’m saying this clearly; I want you. Both as a tool and a companion for the future. I do not want to say anything here because there are eyes and ears of beings that may interfere with the goings. However, I will not treat you like a salve or the otherwise you might expect from people with low morals. I’m a Phoenix Titan and like the title states, I am a man with great honour and respect. I will treat you like I have always treated these girls, whom I love very much!” “Yes, but he’s never said when he’ll marry us,” Venezuela muttered in annoyance. Lakshman turned to her and seriously said, “When we go home, we will decide on it.” “Eh?!” The girls were startled by his words. This meant that he was indeed prepared to marry them all. This came as a surprise to them because he had constantly avoided the topic due to him being just sixteen years of age, even though he was already considered a young adult within society at that age. Lakshman turned back to the Demon Slayer and said, “These girls came loving me and I am attracted to them, but I am also attracted to you. Do not believe I am lying to you because I don’t gain anything by lying. I believe a straightforward honesty to do the job better than beating around the bush. That would often make people think I’m an idiot, but I don’t give a damn about what they think about me.” The Demon Slayer could not believe his words and blushed in embarrassment. Spectra also blushed slightly, but smiled happily for her. In her life, she had always dreamt about what it felt like to be loved and such, but she unfortunately died before she could taste any of that. Now, watching the scene of romance unfold in front of her suddenly made her feel regret dying. Lakshman held his hand out and said, “I’m sorry for causing you distress and hurting you, but I
meant no harm. All I was trying to do was to get you to forget about dying and to live. So… Will you be my companion… team member… support...a Contracted Spirit?” The Demon Slayer hesitated as she stared at his outstretched left hand. She was taken aback when he told her how he felt about her and she saw the honest in his eyes. With just one look, she knew those eyes never knew deceit and could only tell the truth. She suddenly remembered the numerous times she caused him pain and suffering in her desperation to commit suicide by destruction. “I… I hurt you badly, I hurt you severely and I caused you so much pain. Yet, you keep on trying your best to get through to me and make me understand. I ignored everything you tried to do for me and only did my best to kill you with all of my effort. So… I don’t think I am worthy of– !” Spectra suddenly got annoyed and said, “Seriously? Zemitra, are you forgetting you did the same thing to me in our first encounter? You went wild and nearly caused the entire ruin to collapse. Luckily, I knocked you out with brute force and saved myself the trouble of killing you. I saw that you were in pain and I decided then to help you out. Didn’t we become best friends after that?” “B-But, Spectra… I did more than just hurt him… I… I tried to…” The Demon Slayer was losing her words due to feeling overwhelming emotions, but everyone understood. She was a lonely Sacred Spirit with no memory of her origins and only wanted to live without hurting others. The shock of losing Spectra caused her to deny the reasons of everything and secluded herself to eventually die out from not receiving energy from a master. Lakshman sighed and said, “The past is the past. Nobody can change the past, unless you go through time travel,” and he curiously looked at Erza, who smiled without saying anything. Then he said, “Anyway, I hurt you and you hurt me. We’ve evened out each other so there really isn’t anything that puts us against one another anymore.” “B-But—!” “No, buts! I’m certain, in the future, those kinds of people will appear and I promise I will protect you while you also protect me. We need to support each other because we are more than just master and spirit; our bond as lovers is stronger than that of master and servant!” “Eh?! L-L-Lover?!” the Demon Slayer exclaimed in a shocked voice. Lakshman turned to his lovers and asked, “I take it you don’t have a problem with this arrangement?”
“If we did, we would’ve told you,” Tetra said with a smile. “Yes, by slapping you!” Venezuela said. “By blasting you!” Ondine said. “By h-hurting you!” Emilia said, a little hesitantly. “By torturing you-nyaa!” Cantia said brightly as she transformed into her humanoid form with cat ears and tail. “By killing you,” Erza said quietly. Everyone looked at Erza in alarm and she quickly said, “Just joking… But seriously, by killing you.” Lakshman shook his head and thought, “My responsibility is a bit unfair, but whatever. I’m going to have to bear with this for the rest of my life” Coming out of his thoughts, he looked at the Demon Slayer and asked, “What will it be, Demon Slayer?” The Demon Slayer hesitated for a moment when Spectra seriously said, “Zemitra, you’re an idiot if you let this opportunity slip by! You’re going to be together with the Phoenix Titan and that’s something super great! I missed out on my chance to fall in love with someone, but you don’t make the same mistake as me by stupidly wanting to die!” Finally, convinced by their words, the Demon Slayer nodded in understanding. She breathed out a sigh of relief and so did the rest of the girls. They did not realise how much tension they built up over the course of this conversation because they knew they did not have the luxury of time. The worry of wondering when the Dragon Kings would return kept them on edge. “Alright. I understand my mistakes and while I know I cannot fix any of them, I believe it is right to turn over a new leaf and start again,” the Demon Slayer finally said and she smiled at them. “Good words!” Lakshman said and he also smiled. Together, they raised their left arms and placed them against one another. All the girls stepped away to not get in their way. Lakshman smiled at the Demon Slayer and activated his
energy, which created a magic circle to appear at their feat. The process to making the Astral Contract has begun. Holding firmly in his position, Lakshman said, “Astral Contract!” The Demon Slayer felt a twinge of pain and closed her eyes momentarily. A moment later, she reopened them and said, “I accept.” As the two smiled at one another, there was an instantaneous flash of light that blinded everyone. The next moment, the light vanished and the two of them came into view. To their surprise, the Demon Slayer appeared to have grown a few centimetres in height and her facial features have changed slightly. This made them question whether it was the same Demon Slayer or not. “Um… You changed,” Emilia said as she pointed it out. The Demon Slayer nodded and, in a slightly balanced voice, said, “That’s right. My master is sixteen years of age and as such, I decided to make my appearance match his age.” “Wow… I wish I could do that-nyaa,” Cantia said unhappy because she was nineteen years of age, slightly older than Lakshman. He smiled at her and said, “It’s alright, Cantia. Age doesn’t matter and we will live longer, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” “Really? I’m so happy-nyaa!” Cantia said and she flung herself at Lakshman, causing the girls to stare at them with unhappiness on their faces. The Demon Slayer chuckled happily and looked at Spectra, only to widen her eyes to see that she was turning into particles of light. As she watched, Spectra slowly became transparent and began to disappear. “Spectra! You’re disappearing!” the Demon Slayer exclaimed in a shocked voice. Spectra looked at her hands in surprise and sighed before saying, “Looks like it’s time for me to go. I’ve been holding this off for a hundred years after all.” “Wait…! You don’t mean…?” Spectra nodded at her and said, “That’s right. When I died and went to the Boarder Plane, I didn’t want to leave just yet because I still had one more task I had to complete; finding you a
new master. Due to my death, you holed yourself underground and refused to listen to me at all. Now, with a new master found, it’s time I leave.” “B-But… Spectra!” the Demon Slayer said as she began crying. “Hey, now! You’re not a little kid anymore to cry like that!” Spectra said sternly with an incredulous expression on her face. Then she turned to Lakshman and said, “Now, you better be careful, Lakshman. If she ever cries because of you, I swear I’ll forcibly return and give you a beating like you’ve never experienced before!” Lakshman smiled slightly and said, “I’ll keep that in mind.” Spectra nodded and said, “So then, what will you name her?” “Name? You’re going to change my name?” the Demon Slayer asked in a puzzled voice as she slowly wiped the tears off her face. “Of course! Otherwise, I won’t rest in peace because Lakshman constantly kept saying how evil your current name is,” Spectra said and she gave Lakshman a quizzical look. “Well? What’s it going to be?” As everyone turned to look at him, he smiled and said, “I think the suitable name should be Silvera.” “Silvera…” the Demon Slayer said slowly. “Why, Silvera?” Spectra asked curiously. Lakshman sighed and said, “Unlike Tetra’s ridiculously long name, I believe Silvera is nice for the Demon Slayer. For one thing, she has beautiful silver hair and attractive silver eyes that match with it.” “Ah. Good choice then,” Spectra said and she gave him a wink. By this time, her torso had vanished and her upper body was rapidly vanishing by the second. She looked at them once more and smiled happily, the happiest smile she ever had because she was happy. The contentment that came from knowing that her successes in completing the one task she was left with, finally relieved all the hundred years of stress that she accumulated. With her whole body disappearing into particles of light, Spectra said, “Looks like my time’s up, but your time’s just getting started! Now, remember, make sure to have fun lives without
wasting it on silly arguments and complaints. Try to adjust while accepting that a little bit of sacrifice is necessary for a living.” “Thanks for your wisdom, Spectra. I will keep it in mind,” Lakshman said with a single nod of the head. “Spectra…!” the Demon Slayer, now being called Silvera, said tearfully. “Oh, silly. Crying again? Learn to be strong and brave like the girls you’ll soon be living together with. You’ve got yourself a wonderful companion and beautiful friends to be happy together with.” Then, with a cheeky smile, she said, “Besides, this isn’t the end of me. I’m sure you’ll see me soon… Sometime in the future, I guess.” “R-Really?” Silvera asked curiously. Spectra nodded and firmly said, “You can bet on it! Until then, be happy, everyone!” With the last shout and a bright grin on her face, Spectra completely disappear into particles of light. They slowly rose high into the air and disappeared above. Lakshman looked up to where they disappeared to in the darkness and knew Spectra was headed for the Boarder Plane. He did not tell the others that Spectra will not return as a ghost because the Border Plane only gives a dead person only one chance to finish something they have yet to complete. Still, he smiled and thought, “Thank you, Spectra. I hope you will rest in peace.” He straightened up and turned to Silvera, who was silently crying while the other girls consoled her. He smiled, knowing that she will recover soon from this lose. “Let’s go,” he said quietly. She sniffed and cleared the tears off her face before she said, “Yes.” “Ready?” he asked the others. “Set!” Tetra said firmly. “I’m ready,” Venezuela said with a smile. “Yes!” Ondine said energetically. “I am,” Emilia said quietly.
“Nyaa!” Cantia said with a wide grin on her face. He grinned at them all and said, “Spirit Connected: Break!” There was the sound of shattering noise before a flash light erupted, making everything go blind with a dazzling amount of white light.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 227 Contract in Danger “Ugh… That was a powerful barrier he constructed,” the Fire Dragon King, Fizard said with a slight moan. “Yeah,” the Earth Dragon King, Gurret said with a single nod of the head. “Damn… I think we probably should’ve attacked before talking with him. Feels like a waste of my energy and effort.” Gurrent looked at Fizard and slowly shook his head. Then, in their mind, he telepathically began speaking to him. “You did the right thing in speaking to him first. At least, this way we know the Phoenix Titan was also after the Demon Slayer, but it did not appear to be for destruction.” “You’re right. Seems like he’s determined to acquire her for something in the future. Still, it’s a bummer because we have our orders to carry out.” “Indeed and the Dragon Emperor will not be pleased if we return in failure. On the other hand, we could leave her here and return with a false story? Wouldn’t that benefit both of us?” Fizard looked exasperated and said, “Oh, hell no! The Dragon Emperor will most likely use his mind reading ability on us and you know we suck at concealing our thoughts.” “Mmm… You’re right. It really doesn’t leave us with any choice, but to acquire her.” “Yes. That’s why, we must succeed!” Fizard said firmly. With that, the two of them nodded at each other. Just then, the Spirit Dome began to glow breather than before and it surprised them into looking at it. For a moment, the brightness just increased steadily until they were forced to squint to look without losing focus. There was a loud sound of something cracking from the top of the dome. The cracking sounds quickly grew louder as the entire Spirit Dome began to make large cracks in its structure like a giant egg. The next moment, there was a brilliant flash of light that blinded their eyesight and forced them to cover their eyes.
“Ah! Finally, out of that total darkness!” said a familiar voice from somewhere nearby. The two Dragon Kings uncovered their eyes and looked to see the brilliant flash to have disappeared. Instead, they saw the shadows of several people standing where the Spirit Dome was a moment ago. They soon began to take the shape of Lakshman, Ondine, Tetra, Silvera, Emilia, Venezuela, Cantia and Erza. “Really, master? I think you’re forgetting that we were in a well light space,” said Tetra in a stern voice. Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said, “Yeah, but everything on the outside was pretty dark. In fact, it makes me wonder why the Spirit Plane and Border Plane look so similar.” “Wait-nyaa! Border Plane-nyaa? Are you saying you died and came back as a ghost-nyaa?” asked Cantia with a shocked expression on her face. Lakshman contemplated for a moment before saying, “Well… I suppose I did die, but I’m now alive. Anyway, all of this can wait since those two are here.” He meant the two Dragon Kings as he gestured in their direction. The Fire Dragon King and Earth Dragon King were quite confused with how happily they were talking. They were surprised when the Spirit Dome suddenly disappeared in a flash of light and then brought them back to the Physical Plane. The other thing that surprised them was the presence of the Demon Slayer among them. Fizard held his hand up in the air and asked, “Hold on… Why is the Demon Slayer with you?” “Hey! Who’re you calling a Demon Slayer! I now have a name I can proudly go by! It’s Silvera!” the Demon Slayer, now being known as Silvera, said to them in a proud voice. Fizard blinked in confusion as his quickly began to think in one direction. It turned out Gurret was also thinking along the same lines as he telepathically communicated his thoughts to his partner. “Hey… Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “I think so,” Fizard told him quietly. Then, in a loud voice, asked, “Hey! Seeing Dem– uh… Silvera with you, does this mean you’ve made a contract?” Lakshman nodded and revealed the back of his left hand. Using the extra focusing ability of their dragon powers, Fizard and Gurret zoomed their vision to see the contract seal. It was a
contract seal that glowed in dark light with a similarly drawn design as that of the Phoenix Blade’s contract. “This, here, is the proof that Silvera, also known as the Demon Slayer, is now my Contracted Spirit and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Lakshman told them firmly. “Mmm…” Fizard looked slightly confused for a moment and he looked towards his partner for some help. Gurret nodded at him, which Fizard took to mean he was referring to what they talked about earlier. They were aware of the conditions of a Contract Seal and they knew the time limit before the seal becomes permanent. Fizard breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his shoulders. Easing his muscles and releasing the tension from his shoulders eased his mind. He began to think of the alternative, which he was not happy about, but their mission and order called for it. “I see that you’ve formed the Contract Seal with the Demon Slayer, but I think you forgot something very crucial about it,” Fizard told them confidently. “What? I forgot something?” Lakshman asked and he looked confused. As far as he knew, the Contract Seal was a bound connection between the caster and the Sacred Spirit. There was no way of breaking it except for the unfortunate death of either of the contracted members. He knew the Dragon Kings would not go to the length of killing him, which confused him because he did not understand why Fizard looked so confident. “Still don’t get it?” Fizard asked before laughing slightly. “It’s the simplest things that most people often forget due to their eagerness in making contracts. You see, after the establishment of a Contract Seal with a Sacred Spirit, twenty-four hours must be passed before that seal becomes permanent. Until then, the seal is like a trial contract where anyone can break it using the Contract Canceller.” Lakshman appeared to be frozen in surprise from what the Fire Dragon King had just said. Then, he thought, “Crap! That’s what I was forgetting! The original use of the Contract Seal was to give the Sacred Spirit to see if their master was their desirable one or not. The cause of this was due to an ancient event where the Sacred Spirit was tormented by its master, but was unable to break free of the contract Dammit it! How could I forget something so simple?!” Beside him, the girls suddenly looked worried as they also realised by what Fizard had told them. This proved to be a problem because the two Dragon Kings would definitely use this as an opportunity to forcibly cancel the Contract Seal and take the Demon Slayer away.
Outwardly, Lakshman kept his normal expression, but he was worried deep down as he continued thinking about it. “Twenty-four hours is a long time and it hasn’t even been an hour yet! Goddammit!” Just then, Tetra grabbed his right hand and telepathically said, “Master, relax. If you worry like that, you’ll make obvious blunders and that’s no acceptable.” “Mmm! You’re right!” Lakshman thought in agreement. Then, aloud, he said, “I may have forgotten that small detail, but I’m not going to let you break this seal or the bond we’ve just forged with each other!” “We shall see about that!” Fizard said with him and Gurret beginning to surge with power. “Tetra. Silvera,” Lakshman said and he extended his right hand to Tetra while he extended his left hand to Silvera. The two girls looked at each other for a moment and nodded with firm expressions on their faces. The next moment, there was a flash of light and the two of them transformed into their respective weapon and Lakshman grabbed the two of them before beginning to dual wield. To him, it was a strange sensation to hold the Demon Slayer sword with his left hand and the shape of the sword was quite interesting with a curved blade. Meanwhile, the two Dragon Kings also pulled out their swords and prepared for battle. Before the battle could start, Lakshman quietly said, “Ladies, don’t interfere in this battle. Get to safety first.” “Huh?!” Venezuela exclaimed incredulously. “Are you underestimating us-nyaa?” Cantia asked angrily. “It’s nothing to do with that!” he told them firmly. “Think about it. These guys are above king ranked and they both are so strong, I don’t believe you girl will stand a chance against them. I would’ve happily taken your assistance, but this is where you need to keep yourself safe before worrying about me.” “Lakshman, I won’t accept this!” Ondine said stubbornly. Lakshman looked at her seriously and said, “Please understand! They will focus all their energies on me and will most likely knock me out to take Silvera from me. If that isn’t possible, they’ll probably try to use the Contract Canceller in mid-battle, which I have to be very careful
on. While doing that, I won’t have the chance to protect you from the dangerous attacks they will throw at you! Seriously! It’s better for you girls to stay out of this for now.” Ondine looked really angry and went to argue, but Emilia placed a firm hand on her shoulder. Ondine turned and looked incredulously at Emilia, but she simply shook her head without saying anything. These two had become really friendly over the years of knowing each other and can easily pass messages to one another without having to speak them aloud. “Although I feel you’re babying us, I can understand the reason behind us needing to stay out of your way. Ondine, this is the only logical choice to make considering what’s at stake,” Erza said in support of his choice. Then she added, “Unless… You want to suggest that we run away?” “No!” Ondine said firmly and glared at her for a moment. Then, she looked at Lakshman and said, “Okay, I’ll withdraw for now, but don’t you dare lose!” Lakshman made a small smile and said, “Losing is not an option for me right now. Don’t worry; I won’t lose!” With a nod at him, Ondine, Emilia, Venezuela, Erza and Cantia quickly moved away from them. They moved to a safe location that would put them away from where the battle was going to take place. “The wise decision would be to surrender peacefully and hand the Demon Slayer over to us,” Fizard said in a firm confident voice. “Yeah,” Gurret said firmly with a single nod of his head at them. Lakshman smiled and smoothly said, “Wise decisions aren’t always correct, but so is rash decisions. Mmm… That’s contradicting, isn’t it?” “Yes, but let’s see whether your rash decision to fight instead of wisely surrounding was a good idea or not!” Fizard said in a firm voice as he and his partner made their move. Both Dragon Kings kicked off the ground and disappeared from visible sight. This startled Lakshman because he could not see them. He began looking around, but there was no sign of the two Dragon Kings. However, he could hear the small sounds of movement the two Dragon Kings were making to get near him. There was a sudden burst of energy from near him and Lakshman noticed the two Dragon Kings materialise out of the dust, which was swirling around each of them. In a slow motion,
Lakshman saw that the Fire Dragon King was on his right side while the Earth Dragon King was on his left, making this a two versus one battle. Lakshman smiled slightly and quickly reacted by moving his swords to intercept their blades. He raised the Phoenix Blade in his right hand and intercepted the sword strike from the Fire Dragon King. At the same time, he moved the Demon Slayer in his left hand and intercepted the Earth Dragon King’s sword strike. The impact of sword on sword by two of them sent a powerful force towards Lakshman. The impact force was so strong that it threatened to push Lakshman down for good, but he kept on his feet while gritting his teeth tightly. “I feel like you should give up before you get seriously hurt!” Fizard said loudly. Lakshman glared at him and said, “Watch what you’re saying to whom!” With astonishing speed, he moved by swinging his body around. As he did, he shifted his body around and moved his arms until he slammed the sword against the other. The two Dragon Kings were taken by surprise by the sudden change in his position and the force of impact. Unable to push forward, they were blasted backward and they sailed through the air and landed a few meters away. “Wow! Strong!” Fizard said as he straightened up. He was suddenly surprised when he saw Lakshman rushing towards him with a serious expression on his face. Instantly reacting, Fizard pointed his bladed sword in his direction and used a technique to attack him. “Dragon Fire Blast!” As the energy gathered at the tip of his sword, it quickly formed into a ball of fire that began to burn fiercely as it rotated around. Then, he unleashed it into a fiery beam of energy that travelled towards him at high speed. Seeing the attacking soaring towards him, Lakshman came to a dragging stop and said, “Spiral Blade!” He began rotating his right arm, which held the Phoenix Blade, and he eventually made the beam of fire to vaporise into thin air. The next moment, he sensed the presence from behind and he whipped around with his sword at the ready.
Looking up, he saw the Earth Dragon King soaring down really fast with a clear attack technique in mind. The moment he landed a few meters away, Lakshman felt the ground shake violently from the impact for a moment before the ground suddenly rose up and took him high into the air. “Earth Slam?!” Lakshman exclaimed out loud in a shocked voice. “No, master. I believe this is a diversion!” Tetra told him in his mind. “Master! Down below!” Silvera suddenly said in a sharp voice in his mind. He looked down and saw that Fire Dragon King held his sword high in the air. At the tip, he saw a large burning ball of energy gathering and quickly realised what it was. “Oh, dear me...! That’s the Fire Dragon Ball and can back a wallop if I don’t return fire quickly!” “What will you do, master?” Tetra asked curiously. Before he could respond, the Fire Dragon King had finished preparing his magic attack. With it ready to be launched, he screamed out its technique as he released it. “Fire Dragon Ball!” The large ball of fire hurtled into the air with incredible force and travelled at great speed. In less than a few seconds, it covered the distance separating it from him as he floating in midair. Lakshman saw the ball of fire hurtling towards him and saw how hot it was without having to feel it up close. “Yup! It’s quite unhealthy for me to be near that thing, even if I’m the Phoenix Titan! I’ll end up with scratches and burns if I dare to use my bare fist on it without protective gloves or something to protect me.” Instead, he pulled his arms back and held his sword at the ready. He channelled Weapon Force through them and gathered a large quantity of energy and swung the sword towards him. As he swung, he released a powerful cutting wave of energy that had both the powers of light and darkness. The cutting wave of energy hurtled down and made contact with the large burning ball of energy. There was a momentary explosion that sent a wild blowing wind and energy in all directions. The force of the wind pushed Lakshman through the air and forced him into landing several meters away from where the explosion occurred. Once the explosion was over and everything began to settle down as the view cleared.
“Phew. Diverted one big attack,” Lakshman thought in relief. “Compared to the massive attacks we’ve endured, I think that’s one’s puny, master,” Tetra said in an unimpressed voice. “Oh, geez.” “Um… I don’t mean to butt in, but I believe they are attacking us again,” Silvera informed them nervously. Lakshman saw the two Dragon Kings charging towards them while surging with power and radiating in red aura. He noticed the expressions on their faces, which was very determined, and he realised this was going to be a difficult fight. “Heh! They don’t learn from simple demonstrations. I’ve going to have to knock them a bunch!” Lakshman thought fiercely. “Yes, but please be careful because you’re not alone,” Silvera said with concern. “Don’t worry because I’m well aware. After all, we’re connected! Now, let’s go and get ourselves a dragon blast!” To that, both Tetra and Silvera replied in his mind by saying, “Yes!” Without a further ado, Lakshman charged up his energy and rocketed towards the incoming two Dragon Kings. The earlier fight was nothing more than a warm up because the real battle was about begin between them. Meanwhile, watching them from afar, were golden rimmed eyes and the youthful face of a young man. He was smiling as he used Phantom Eyes to see the battle between the two Dragon Kings and the Phoenix Titan without being caught for observing. “Looks like my ally is engaged in battle, but his energy levels aren’t high enough. Seems like he will need my help soon enough,” he said softly before widening the smile on his face. “Do not fear, my friend, because I, the Alloy of Justice, will be there to help you.” With that, he went quiet and watched the three warriors charge towards each other with their energies blazing and powers surging.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 228 Lakshman vs. Two Dragon Kings Lakshman charged towards the Fire Dragon King and the Earth Dragon King with surging power. While he raced towards them, he thought up a plan and he shared it with Tetra and Silvera. “These two are working together and that’s creating a problem for me. I thought I would be able to handle them both at the same time, but I was wrong. With the amount of energy that I lost in my battle against Silvera, I doubt I can keep going forever like this and I doubt those two will give me the opportunity to use Healing Harmony on myself.” Silvera, shocked at his words, began to apologise frantically, “I’m sorry, master! I’m truly sorry for causing you so much trouble! I was such an impudent stupid being that caused you so much trouble! Please, punish me, curse me hate me for all you like, because I deserve—!” “Ah…! Stop apologising! Also, stop attacking yourself! Seriously, it won’t do us any good if you go into such a panic right now,” Lakshman told her sternly. “Master’s right, Silvera. What is the past, is the past and there’s no point worrying about what’s been done in the past right now. Instead, let’s focus on working together in the present and in the future.” Silvera, snorted slightly before saying, “Y-Yes… I shall obey your will, Tetra and master.” “How the heck did ‘working together’ imply you obey our will?” Lakshman thought in exasperation. “She’ll get used to it in time, master. In the meantime, focus on the attack,” Tetra told him firmly. “Right, but first: I’ll knock the Fire Dragon King away to give me room. Then, I can freely attack the Earth Dragon King when their teamwork is broken.” “Good, but be careful, master. Although the Fire Dragon King certainly looks like the leader here, I get the feeling the Earth Dragon King is wiser than him and that makes him a tough opponent.”
“Yes, I’m aware of it as well and I understand your concern, but don’t worry. I’ll tread cautiously with my battle against them.” As he reached them, he charged up both of his blades with strong Energy Force. Then, as he ducked and avoided the sword swings of the two Dragon Kings, he landed a heavy blow on the Fire Dragon King and sent him flying into the distance. The Fire Dragon King flew away and Lakshman turned around to do battle against the Earth Dragon King. Gurret widened his eyes slightly when he saw his partner get sent flying into the distance. He instantly narrowed his eyes and quickly went on to attack the Phoenix Titan. “Wow!” Lakshman let out a word aloud in surprise when he quickly dodged the sword attacks from the Earth Dragon King. After quickly avoiding several of the strikes, Lakshman went on the attack and they began their speedy sword battles against each other. Each clash caused an eruption of sparks to exhibit from their swords as they made contact against one another. Gurret suddenly leapt back and landed a few meters away. Then, he raised his leg and stomped the ground as he mentally activated a magic spell. “Smashing Grounds!” In an instant, the ground began erupt into pieces from beneath as a powerful shockwave occurred. This caused Lakshman to stumble from the ground that was destroying itself. “Damn! Did he use Smashing Grounds? I can’t stand here then because the ground’s suddenly become difficult to fight on!” Lakshman thought as he realised the fact. With no choice, he leapt into the air and charged towards the Earth Dragon King, who was looking at him with his swords raised. Then, with another tap on the ground with his leg, he activated another spell in his mind. “Stone Edge!” In an instant, a gigantic stone wall grew out of the ground from behind him. It came out at an angle and it increased its length as it headed straight towards Lakshman. With quick reflexes, Lakshman set his foot on the pillar and jumped over it before it could do him any harm. Sailing through the air, he safely landed behind where the Earth Dragon King stood.
Gurret saw that he avoided the Stone Edge technique and he simply placed his right hand on the flat surface of the stone wall. With a simple push, the stone wall was pushed into a complete ninety-degree angle before it began falling down on Lakshman. “Crap!” Lakshman yelled and he jumped out of the way, just in time to avoid the impact. Lakshman stared at the fallen stone wall in shock and turned to look menacingly at the Earth Dragon King. His eyes widened when he saw Gurret holding his sword in his direction while several small missiles, made totally of rock, hovered next him. Then, with a surge of his power and the missiles sped away towards Lakshman at high speed. “Gah! Now he’s using Stone Rockets!” Lakshman said out loud in shock. “Master! Defence!” Silvera said quickly in a worried voice. “I know!” Lakshman replied and he readied his swords for the attack. The small missiles of rock headed straight towards him and as soon as they reached him, began destroying them with his swords. One by one, Lakshman smashed the rocks into pieces as he moved at incredible speeds to destroy them all without getting injured. Once they were all destroyed, Lakshman activated a magic technique of his own to fire at the Earth Dragon King. “Dark Blast!” he shouted as he prepared to use the Demon Slayer. He pointed the Demon Slayer in the direction of the Earth Dragon King and fired a jet of black energy. As it soared towards Gurret, he instantly reacted by raised his right hand and aiming it towards the incoming attack. The next moment, walls of stone grew out of the ground in front of him like a shield. Seven stone walls rose out of the ground and shielded the Earth Dragon King from the attack. Lakshman’s Dark Blast soared straight through four of the seven stone walls. As it smashed through them, the attack gradually became weaker until it could not penetrate through the fifth wall. This surprised Lakshman because he believed them to be ordinary stone walls, which would have been easily destroyed by his attack. “Don’t tell me he used… Majestic Walls? Stone walls in structure, but have magic properties that weaken the strength of an attack upon impact. Then, there’s also the additional barrier that it creates to defend against imminent danger. Dang… I really am facing trouble if he can use that technique,” he thought unhappily.
“Don’t give up hope, master. I’m sure we can still win if we put our full efforts in defeating him,” Silvera said encouragingly. “We just need to smash them up.” Lakshman smiled and said, “Haha. Smash them up. Thanks, Silvera. That’s just the thing I was looking for.” “You’re welcome,” she told him without understanding what he meant. Lakshman straightened up as Gurret walked out from behind the stone walls he created. With a wave of his hand, he disabled the technique and the walls crumbled into small pieces. Lakshman began to slowly walk towards him with his head down to avoid showing him his expression. He slowly increased his pace and eventually it turned a run as he prepared the next technique. “Earth Blasting Wave!” he shouted aloud. As he shouted, he raised his swords above his head and swung them down to smash the ground with them. With a powerful force and the slicing wave that he generated, he created a wave of devastating force that rocketed towards while destroying the ground as it travelled. Anything in its path was destroyed as a wave of wind, force, energy and rocks. Gurret simply stood there without using any technique. Then, he pulled his arm back and delivered a powerful punch at the destructive wave as it reached him. For a moment, there was a struggle, but it was over in an instant as the wave exploded into a wide spread dust and debris as rocks flew in all directions. “What was he thinking in using that Sage ranked attack? Did he not know our dragon scales empower us in beating such a small attack?” Gurret thought curiously as the dust slowly cleared. At that moment, he saw the shadow of Lakshman as he erupted out of the dust and headed straight for him. Reacting quickly, Gurret raised his hand and began rocks off the ground in Lakshman’s direction. Lakshman quickly dodged them by releasing a wave of wind out of his mouth. He soared past Gurret and landed before quickly turning around and aiming his sword at Gurret’s body. There was a clanging sound as his sword hit Gurret’s hard dragon scales, but did not penetrate. As it turned out, his dragon scales were well equipped to handle simple sword cuts like that. Without hesitation, Gurret swung his sword at Lakshman’s body and cut Lakshman down from the shoulders.
At first, Gurret thought he succeeded in defeating the Phoenix Titan, when Lakshman’s body suddenly exploded into smoke. Raising his eyes in surprise, he looked around as he sensed the presence of numerous opponents around him. It became clear once the dust cleared and he saw, to his surprise, more than a hundred Lakshman’s standing around. There were a hundred of Lakshman and they were standing around while wielding both the Phoenix Blade and Demon Slayer. They were also smiling with confidence as they confused Gurret before speaking to him. “What’s wrong, Earth Dragon King? Can’t tell who’s the real one among us?” all of them asked at the same time. Gurret had widened in his eyes in surprise, but he quickly shook his head to clear away all doubts. He knew that doubts, in this situation, would be fatal as the army of Lakshmans charged towards him. Without hesitation, he began cutting down each and every one of them, only for them to explode in a puff of smoke. He quickly gathered that they might look real, but they were all just illusions of the original that Lakshman had created to disorient him. “Must be the One Man Army magic technique. I hear, he’s famous for constantly relying on illusionary techniques to win his battles. Well then, it’s time I show him how wrong he is to rely on such a stupid method of fighting,” Gurret thought confidently. As a wave of Lakshmans charged towards him, he raised his sword high in the air and brought it down at great force. This created a slicing wave of energy that was sent in a certain direction and the wave destroyed almost all the illusionary copies of Lakshman. Lakshman watched Gurret sending wave after wave of slicing energy in all directions, he thought, “I can see what he’s got in mind, but he’s going to have to learn quickly to not leave himself so wide open!” “Yes, but be careful, master,” Tetra warned him. “I know.” The army of Lakshmans charged forward and began attacking the Earth Dragon King. Gurret cut down the illusionary copies of Lakshman, but received sword strikes in other places on his body as Lakshman attacked him in waves. At each cut, he realised he was unable to do much damage due to how strong those scales were.
“Damn. Seems like those scales are not just for decoration of skin and I always thought dragon scales were just for show. From how hard they are, they might as well be well developed armouring that protects their owners. Mmm… I’ve got no choice! Time to attack with magic!” With that, he began using Earth Rockets at the Earth Dragon King. It did a bit of damage as he saw trails of blood slowly flowing out of Gurret’s body. Lakshman soon began to feel drained from the amount of energy he was using up. He had been in the Power Mode for a while and was using strong techniques to hurt the Earth Dragon King, but to no avail. He realised he was losing the necessary energy to continue fighting like this. “Master, I believe you should switch back to normal mode. Power Mode is simply rapidly sucking up your energy,” Tetra told him warningly. “I know, but I was able to repel them this long only because I was in Power Mode. If I was in Normal Mode, it would’ve turned deadly with the kind of attacks they are using against me,” Lakshman told her while he continued attacking. “Even so, you should listen to reason–!” Tetra’s voice was suddenly cut off as Lakshman was suddenly hurled into the air by a shocking attack. Getting frustrated by the attacks and waves of illusions, Gurret stomped his feet on the ground. There was a moment where the ground shook slightly. Then, large spikes of earth erupted out of the ground and hit all the illusion copies of Lakshman. Hit by the sudden spikes of earth from the ground, Lakshman saw all of his illusions disappear to reveal where he was. In an instant, he realised what had happened and felt annoyed about it. “Damn! He used Earth Spikes and it certainly has a really damaging effect on anyone it hurts. What’s more was how quickly he activated it and instantly had it attack us without delays. Normally, it would take a few seconds before activation and if it had, I would’ve had the chance to evade it.” “Damn… He’s seriously skilled in Wordless Incantation,” Silvera said in his mind in an unhappy voice. “Yeah, but he’s not able to speak. It’s only obvious that he masters the difficult process of using spells without words, which is naturally to execute them in your mind completely,” Lakshman informed her.
Just then, he sensed something strange heading in his direction. He turned in mid-air and saw, to his shock, a bright red fireball. Widening his eyes in shock, he said, “Oh no! Nova Ball! Crap!” Before he could do anything, he was hit by a heavy ball of burning flames. “AAAAAAAAHHH!!!” he screamed from the intense pain he felt as it seared his skin. The force of the ball propelled itself towards the ground several meters away. Then, as it landed, there was a mighty explosion that sent a force of wild wind and energy in all directions. Gurret, the Earth Dragon King, got buffeted by the strong winds, but he held his ground with sheer force and strength. Then, as the wind settled, he sensed someone land near him. “Where were you this whole time?” Gurret demanded telepathically as he spoke to his partner, the Fire Dragon King, Fizard. Fizard looked unhappy as he said, “Sorry, but the Phoenix Titan blasted me into a faraway place. As it turned out, I went sailing out of Mardana’s capital before crashing. That was painful because I landed on my head, but luckily my scales protected. After that, it took me a while to recover from the shock to come assist you.” Gurret looked at his partner with a raised eyebrow and telepathically said, “Seriously. You were taking a nap while I was busily fighting the Phoenix Titan,” Fizard quickly waved his hands in indignation and said, “No! I wasn’t sleeping or anything. I just needed some time to recover from the impact to get back here. That’s why, I launched my powerful Nova Ball at him, which worked like a charm.” “Nova Ball… Remind me again what we’re supposed to be doing?” “Huh? What do you mean?” “We’re trying to acquire the Demon Slayer, correct?” “Uh… Yes.” “Then… Didn’t you consider what Nova Ball might do if you released it with full power?” “Oh… Oops.”
“’Oops’ doesn’t cut it, idiot! Damn! Your carefreeness is what worries me because you do this!” “Sorry, but I’m sure the Demon Slayer would be fine from just that.” “You better hope so because the Demon Emperor told us specifically to capture her, not destroy her.” “Y-Yeah…” Fizard said and he suddenly looked nervous. At that moment, they felt the ground beneath them beginning to shake. The shaking slowly became violent as pebbles and rocks began dancing on the shaking ground all around them. “W-What’s going on?” Fizard asked as he looked around. Suddenly, the both of them felt a surging of power as it sky rocketed. It was the kind of power they were familiar with as they were put under submission by the power of the Demon Emperor. For one fear moment, they thought the Demon Emperor was there when they immediately realised that was a foolish thought. The Demon Emperor would be very busy with the work he had to handle back at the Dragon Clan’s home. Just then, there was a violent explosion and a burst of energy as Lakshman came out while screaming wildly. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! ” He was surging with power and was sending a great shocking force in all directions. The force of the wind and energy buffeted against the two Dragon Kings. The entire area was being shaken violently by the great energy that Lakshman was releasing and the power he was surging with. “What the hell?!” Fizard shouted as he and Gurret were forced to fight against the powerful force of the winds. Lakshman, scream as loud as he could with the great power that he was unleashing. He was very angry from the last attack because it not only seared him, but also caused pain to both Tetra and Silvera. This angered him very much and it was in that instant that he chose to destroy the two Dragon Kings. He flashed his eyes open and instantly disappeared as he sped towards where the two Dragon Kings were standing. They saw him coming and immediately prepared themselves for a battle, however, a battle was not what Lakshman had in mind.
With powerful force, he punched the Fire Dragon King in the gut, causing him to feel intense pain and widen his eyes in surprise. Then, with the force of impact, he was sent flying away, but Lakshman raced after him at great speed. Catching up to him, Lakshman began beating the black and blue out of the Fire Dragon King in a nonstop close combat fighting style. This was because he was employing Blazing Fists and Fighting Frenzy in a nonstop attack. Fizard became riddled with the powerful blows on his body that Lakshman inflicted with each blow and was unable to retaliate against it. After landing the final blow on Fizard, Lakshman grabbed the Fire Dragon King by the legs and lifted him into the air before swinging him down to slam him hard on the ground. Fizard let out a groan from the force of impact, but it was not finished because Lakshman lifted him into the air again by his left. Then, with even more force, slammed him hard into the ground. The force of impact was so strong that Fizard sunk into the ground. Fizard moaned painfully, but Lakshman did not stop there. He bent down and grabbed the Fire Dragon King by the neck tightly. While struggling under the chocking sensation, Lakshman lifted him until Fizard was in a standing position. Fizard opened his eyes barely and saw the great anger in Lakshman’s eyes. With great strength, Lakshman tossed him into the air and Fizard flew through the air like a flailing doll that had no will of its own. Then, as the Fire Dragon King slowly came back down, Lakshman took a fighting stance and unleashed his right fist as he shouted out the magic technique he was about to use. “Fire Dragon’s Blast Force!” When Lakshman’s fist made contact on the Fire Dragon King’s body, his entire body exploded in a blaze of flames of destruction. Then, a powerful force was applied to the punch and it blasted the flaming Fizard into the air. The Fire Dragon King screamed in agony as the scorching flames of destruction began to cook him alive. Through all the pain, Fizard could only think of one thing as he flew through the air. “How does he know my technique?” Lakshman watched the Fire Dragon King flailing wildly as he was blasted away and then turned around. He saw the Earth Dragon King charging towards him as he rushed to the rescue of his partner.
Seeing him coming towards him, Lakshman began nodding his head as he roughly said, “Yes, yes. I’m coming for you. You’re next!” He kicked off the ground and soared over the ground before instantly appearing in front of Gurret. Shocked at seeing the Phoenix Titan suddenly in front of him, he tried up put up his defence, but Lakshman was faster than him. He extended his right hand out and firmly grabbed the face of the Earth Dragon King. Then, with great force, he pushed Gurret back while propelling himself with him. Lakshman swung Gurret down and smashed his head against the ground, which got dragged for several meters due to the speed of their movement. Once they finally came to a stop, Lakshman lifted the shocked Earth Dragon King and began beating him up as he did to the Fire Dragon King. As he punched him, Gurret realised Lakshman was using a special technique called the Dragon Piercing. It was a technique that was originally used by the dragon clan to destroy defences of armours and equipment, but it was also be used to pierce through their armour like scaly skin to deal damage. While getting beaten up badly without being able to retaliate, Gurret thought, “How… How does he know that technique? We’ve never shared that information with anyone and I doubt the Razzel shared it either since that would expose one of his own weaknesses.” After delivering strong punches to Gurret’s body, Lakshman began swinging him around and smashing him on the ground. He did this several times and Gurret began to bleed from the multiple wounds that Lakshman had inflicted on him. Gurret suddenly reversed the grip on Lakshman’s hand and got away. He quickly raised his hand and pointed it in Lakshman’s direction, as the Phoenix Titan slowly turned around. “Stone Dragon Cannon!” Multiple rocks quickly formed in front of him to form a lethal looking stone cannon. Then, with pressure from his power, he launched it and sent it directly at Lakshman. As Lakshman turned around, he took the stone cannon directly in the face, which exploded into rocks and dust and fell everywhere. “Did it work?” he thought nervously as the dust slowly cleared. As the dust cleared to bring the view back to normal, he widened his eyes in shock. Lakshman was glaring at him angrily as blood slowly trickled down his face from taking the full force of the magic attack. However, it did not seem to have done any more damage than just make Lakshman angrier.
“Impressive… Stone Dragon Cannon…” Lakshman said slowly, which surprised Gurret because he did not know how Lakshman had known the name of that technique. “Since you went to the length of using one of your strongest, I’ll retaliate with one of your strongest techniques!” “What?!” Gurret thought in shock. “What does he mean ‘one of my own strongest techniques,’ meaning he knows about my other techniques? How? How does he know them?!” Gurret did not back away, but he became fearful and he immediately tried to use another attack. Unfortunately for him, Lakshman got to there and used one on him instead. Lakshman quickly moved towards Gurret and began beating him up again to rattle him. Once he hit him several times, Lakshman pulled the two of his arms back with his fists clenched. Then, he launched them and landed his two fists into the Earth Dragon King’s scaly body as he shouted the technique aloud. “Earth Dragon’s Blast Force!” There was a shocking impact that made Gurret’s eyes to widen in shock. Then he screamed in as he was blasted by an immense force into the distance. As he sailed away, he thought, “Ah! My technique! He does know my techniques!” Gurret sailed a lot of meters before finally hitting the ground, but did not stop there. He continued to sail backwards while bouncing several times on the ground before finally crashing to a stop. For a moment, he was in a daze and pain as he slowly looked around where he was. He was surprised to find that he had landed only meters away from where his partner, the Fire Dragon King, had landed. Telepathically, he asked his partner, “Hey… Can you get up?” “S-Sure can…” Fizard said roughly. It took them several minutes to get back to their feet, but were unsteady due to the amount of damage they took. In less than five minutes, Lakshman had delivered so many blows and used their own powerful techniques against them to hurt them this badly. Straightening up, they looked around and saw that Lakshman was breathing heavily as he was quickly running low on energy due to the sudden release of a lot of his energy in a bursting force. “Wow! He’s certainly the Phoenix Titan!” Fizard said appraisingly. “Even though he is running low on energy and bleeding from the damage he took from the battle, he still hasn’t given up.”
“I doubt he will give up now that it’s come down to this,” Gurret told him in his mind. “You’re right,” Fizard said and the two of them prepared for battle. Lakshman pulled out the sword of Phoenix Blade and Demon Slayer from the belt that he had attached them to. Charging them up with strong Energy Force, he rocketed towards the two Dragon Kings. They were surprised when he suddenly disappeared and reappeared directly in front of them. “What the?!” Fizard shouted in a shocked voice. Fizard and Gurret desperately began defending themselves against the relentless attacks that Lakshman delivered with his swords. Although he running low on energy and strength, his dual wielding did not suffer and he fought them with brilliant precision. Several times, Fizard attempted to activate the Contract Canceller, but Lakshman instantly used Infinity Step to get away from him as Gurret moved to attack him. Numerous times, the three of them used magic techniques at each other while dodging each other, but were unable to inflict anymore damage on each other. It seemed the two Dragon Kings have recovered from the initial shock of being attack by Lakshman. Now, the tidal of the battle turned in their favour as Lakshman began to lose focus. His mind began to drift and it needed the support of both Tetra and Silvera to make him constantly concentrate on the battle. Finally, realising he was going to lose, he thought, “I’ve only got one more shot at using my energy. I’ll use the only powerful technique that I know right now. I’m certainly it won’t kill those two idiotic dragons, but I’m left with no choice!” “Master, please stop fighting recklessly! Your health will get affected by pushing yourself so much!” Tetra told him in a concerned voice. “She’s right. You need to calm down and get out of the Power Mode because it’s draining you very quickly!” Silvera told him in a worried voice. He smiled inwardly and thought, “I appreciate the concern, but let’s deal with that once I do this!” Lakshman quickly increased the speed of his swings and surprised the two Dragon Kings. They were pushed back momentarily and that as when Lakshman pulled his swords back and tossed them high into the air. As expected, both Fizard and Gurret’s attention was diverted as they looked up at the thrown swords.
Seeing this, Lakshman smiled and muttered, “Fools always get distracted by the simplest things.” Taking advantage of their sudden distraction, he moved forward and placed a hand on each of them; his right hand on Fizard’s waist while he placed his left hand on Gurret’s waist. Feeling the sensation of something touching them, they looked down and saw Lakshman’s smiling face as he prepared to blast them away. “Position Cannon! UUUUUURRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!” In a slow motion, both Dragon Kings widened their eyes in shock and Fizard opened his mouth to shout. At that moment, a blue light quickly gathered in the palms of Lakshman’s hands and unleashed the mighty power at them. The energy was released in a mighty beam cannon that engulfed the two Dragon Kings. It soared in the opposite directions of each other and travelled several meters while creating a deep groove on the ground. Then, as it reached a certain point, the energy erupted in a mighty explosion. The shockwave that was created by the explosion sent a wild force of wind and dust in all directions, buffeting everyone and everything in its path. A few seconds later, the wind slowly began to settle down, but the dust remained floating in the air and blurred everything in sight. Lakshman was seen standing with his arms outstretched in either directions of releasing his powerful attack. He was also breathing rapidly while trying to stay standing, but his depleted energy defeated him. Finally giving in to his weakened state, he heavily knelt down while continuing to breathe heavily. Just then, there his two swords came soaring down while spinning periodically in a circular motion. They hit the surface and pierced their blades into the ground, just in front of him. At that same time, he closed his eyes as he immediately switched from Power Mode to Normal Mode. Lakshman sighed and weakly said, “That’s much better… I can breathe a little more easily now…” “Good,” Tetra said shortly in a relieved voice in his mind. “By the way, what happened to the two of them?” Silvera asked curiously in his mind. “Well… I know they aren’t dead because I feel their life force, however, I don’t believe they are—!”
Before he could finish, he heard voices of the one Dragon Kings as he slowly grew closer to him. Along with him, his partner also came closer to where Lakshman was kneeling on the ground, exhausted from the prolonged battle of using a lot of his energy. “Dang! That was a heavy attack he used on us! Don’t you agree, Gurret?” “Yeah.” “On top of that, he distracted us by throwing his swords high into the air. Seriously! It’s stupid of us to look away for something so simple!” “Yeah.” “By the way, you okay after receiving such a powerful attack?” “Yeah.” The dust cleared and brought the two Dragon Kings into view. The both of them were covered from head to feet in dust while bleeding from the several wounds on their bodies. However, it seemed they were unaffected by it as they stopped to look down at the weakened state that Lakshman was in. “Damn…! They’re still awake?” Lakshman asked in a low voice in disbelief. “That was Position Cannon for crying out loud! Geez! Just how strong is their armoured bodies? No wonder everyone above the Sage ranked don’t wear armours in the Dragon Clan.” “They are ridiculously strong!” Silvera exclaimed in his mind. “Yeah, but I think it might’ve been the other way around with them saying how ridiculously strong I was,” Lakshman thought before chuckling unhappily. “Well, then. Phoenix Titan. I believe it’s about time you surrendered peacefully. You’re drained of your energy and you don’t have the strength to continue to fight with us. We’re not taking anything you did to us personally because this was a battle, but we will seriously beat you down and take what we came for if it comes to it,” Fizard told him in a confident voice. Tetra got angry and said, “How arrogant of him to speak like that!” “He’s confident that I won’t retaliate and that’s where he’s getting the confidence from,” Lakshman thought in exasperation. Then, aloud, he said, “If you’re so strong, come down here and try me!”
Fizard snorted and said, “Seriously… The Dragon Emperor was right about you. You’re so stubborn to the point you won’t go down without a fight! Then, to his Gurret, he said, “Let’s finish this!” Gurret nodded at him and the two Dragon Kings charged towards where Lakshman was. While kneeling, Lakshman tried to activate a magic spell, but suddenly felt extremely dizzy and threatened to fall over. He realised he was so depleted of all the necessary energy that he would risk leaving himself to death if he used anymore. “Stuck…! For once, I am seriously stuck…!” he muttered angrily and he gripped the ground in sheer anger. Just as the two Dragon Kings charged towards him to attack, he heard a loud voice shout, “Storm Blades!” In an instant, he heard the clanging sound of multiple blades swarming through the air. The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by a wall of swords that created a circular protective wall against the attack of the Fire Dragon King and Earth Dragon King. “Huh? What’s this?” Lakshman asked as he looked around. The swords continued to rotate around him, which created a wall of swords. He looked up and was astonished to see the wall of swords towered over everything and seemed to go as far as the eye could see. “Um… Tetra, is this you’re doing?” In his mind, he heard Tetra said, “No, mater. Storm Blades is not one of my techniques. I only have Infinity Blades and I am unable to perfectly use them like this. However, this technique does belong to another Sacred Spirit and she belongs to another member of Nine Pillars of Power.” “T-Then… Does this mean…?” Lakshman said slowly. He suddenly felt the presence of someone standing behind him and he quickly looked around to see a young man standing there. The young man was around his mid-twenties and appeared to be really strong, judging from the well-shaped body. He was standing there while wearing casual wear and was smiling as he looked down at Lakshman. “Greeting, my friend. I, the Allay of Justice, have come to save you,” the man said in an energetic voice.
Lakshman raised an eyebrow and said, “Sure… but that doesn’t explain anything about you. I think greeting someone with your true name, instead of going by the title you gave yourself, is a good idea.” The young man, proclaiming himself as the Allay of Justice, chuckled and extended his hand out for Lakshman as he introduced himself to him. “My name is Dominic Rutherford. I bear the title of the Sword Titan. I have come to help you, Phoenix Titan, my friend.”
Phoenix Rising Chapter 229 Sword Titan “Huh?” Lakshman said while looking surprised. “You’re the Sword Titan?” “That’s right, Phoenix Titan,” Dominic Rutherford, the Sword Titan, said as he extended his hand towards Lakshman. Lakshman looked at his extended hand and realised the Sword Titan wanted to help him up. He gently shook his head to reject his kind offer. “I’m sorry, but I’m in no shape to stand properly,” Lakshman said in a slightly weak voice. “I see,” Dominic said and he withdrew his hand back to rest it by his side. In his mind, he sensed the power of Dominic Rutherford and realised the man was telling the truth. Additionally, he sensed an intense power radiating from the sword that the Sword Titan had sheathed. It matched the sensation that the knowledge he had, which he obtained from the Decisive Player. This was confirmed by Tetra as she said in his mind, “Master, I know it is unbelievable, but he is the Sword Titan. He is in possession of the Destiny Sword to prove that.” “I see…” he thought and accepted her words of confidence without question. Lakshman sighed and looked up at the Sword Titan before asking, “More importantly, where did you spring from? Also, why couldn’t I sense you at all?” Dominic smiled and said, “I flew here. As for you not being able to sense my presence, it is most likely that you lost concentration in sensing things during the heat of the battle.” “Ah? You flew here?” Dominic nodded and said, “That’s right. Several days ago, I had heard the news of how troublesome the new king of Mardana Kingdom was. So, I set out immediately from my home to reign justice down on him. However, I saw a great battle taking place upon my arrival; you, the Phoenix Titan, was fighting against the two Dragon Kings.”
“I see. I take it you recognised me to be the Phoenix Titan from identifying the Phoenix Blade,” Lakshman said as he nodded in understanding. Then, he suddenly thought of something and he asked, “That reminds me, you say you arrived just as I and the two Dragon Kings began out fight. Does that mean? You had been watching the battle this whole time?” When Dominic nodded once, Lakshman raised an eyebrow in exasperation and asked, “And you, the so called Allay of Justice and Sword Titan, didn’t think of maybe lending me a hand in a two on one battle?” Dominic shook his head and said, “I did not wish to interfere in a battle between the Dragon Kings and the Phoenix Titan.” “Why? Did you not realise that I might have lost?” “No because you are the Phoenix Titan. You stand above the rest of the Nine Pillars of Power and as such, you shouldn’t need assistance in taking out two Dragon Kings of the Dragon Clan.” “Ah…” Lakshman said in realisation and nodded in understand. “You do have a point there.” “Yes, but I did wonder why you were fighting with only your swords, energy and strength? Why didn’t you consider wearing your Phoenix Armour to become the Sacred Armoured Phoenix Titan? Did you, perhaps, forget about it?” Dominic asked curiously. “Oh, that…” Lakshman said slowly. “Actually, I did thought of donning the armour when I remembered the twenty-four hour trail time of the Contract Seal. It certainly would have boosted my greatly depleted energy and I might’ve had the chance to defeat them.” “Then…?” Lakshman shook his head and said, “I didn’t want to have a power boost against opponents that were not using their own power boost. Along those lines, I was already in Power Mode when I fought them and I believed a fair and square battle with no holding back was the way to go.” This time, it was the Sword Titan’s turn to raise an eyebrow in exasperation as he said, “That is an honourable decision, but do you not realise that you would have lost if it weren’t for my decision to assist you?” Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said, “Possibly, but I was already prepared to use a technique that would’ve given me enough time to use Healing Harmony of myself.”
“What would that technique be?” “Electron Driver.” Dominic’s eye widened in surprise and he said, “Really? You are referring to the Emperor ranked technique that paralysis all life forms for thirty seconds within fifty meters?” When Lakshman nodded, Dominic narrowed his eyes and suspiciously asked, “In the state you are in, were you seriously capable of using that spell when they got within fifty meters? “Since I came out of Power Mode, I had enough to use it before I collapse from utter drainage. That’s when, I would borrow the energy from my two Sacred Spirit swords and activate Healing Harmony. Within thirty seconds, I would have regained the enough energy to defeat them for good.” “Ah. That is indeed a good plan. It seems that I unnecessarily interfered,” Dominic said and he looked unhappy, “Bummer… It seems I have thwarted your plan to recover and defeat them.” Lakshman chuckled and said, “Oh well. At least, you came in time to save my life. Now, is it possible for you to assist in my healing, Dominic?” Dominic smiled and said, “Please call me Dom. Everyone does, actually.” Lakshman smiled slightly and said, “Alright… Dom. Perhaps, you can help me with my healing?” “I would like to assist, but I do not know any magic techniques. In fact, I don’t even know how to use magic except the sword techniques I learnt and the magical techniques that my Destiny Sword possesses. On the other hand, there is one technique that I could possibly use to heal— !” At that moment, there was a heavy smashing sound as something solid made impact against the wall of swords surrounding them. The wall of swords were bent out of shape for a moment and attempted to return back to a circular shape, but were immediately smashed as another something smashed into them. The sword went flying everywhere from the impact and they vaporised in thin air. Lakshman and Dominic quickly looked around to see the two Dragon Kings standing on either side. Fizard, the Fire Dragon King was smiling while Gurret, the Earth Dragon King, wore an expressionless face as the two of them looked down at them.
“I was surprised when Storm Blades was suddenly used. Little did we know that we’d be visited by the Sword Titan in the flesh,” Fizard said with a smiling face. “Yeah,” Gurrent said with a single nod of the head. Dominic looked from one to the other before he said, “I see. Fire Dragon King, Fizard and the Earth Dragon King, Gurret. So, you were the opponents of the Phoenix Titan.” “You are right, but let me ask you one thing: Were you here the whole time?” Fizard asked curiously. Dominic nodded and his eyes were filled with anger as he said, “I have been here for a while and I have witnessed the destruction you have wrought to this place. Do you not have any shame, calling yourselves the Dragon Kings of the Dragon Clan? What happened to the so called Honour of the Dragons?” Fizard spread his arms out and looked innocent as he said, “Dominic Rutherford, we did not cause this out of liking for destruction. It was the Phoenix Titan’s fault for dragging our simple request into creating this messy outcome.” Dominic narrowed his eyes suspiciously and said, “Explain.” “Well, you see, I and Gurret were sent on a mission to capture the Demon Slayer. Our intentions were honest as he wanted to seal away that instrument of destruction that had been the cause of much calamity in the past. However, the Phoenix Titan disregarded our intentions and went to the length of obtaining the Demon Slayer for himself. Since there was still the chance of undoing the contract, we requested that he peacefully hand her over, but he refused and it led to this us battling each other.” As Dominic nodded his head in understanding, Fizard said, “You should know about the Demon Slayer and must also be aware of what it is capable of doing.” Dominic did not respond because he was thinking about what Fizard had said. He had learnt about the historical past and learnt many great things that included the great wars between races and the power struggles to keep balance together. During this time, the Demon Slayer was always used to cause great destruction that swept through the land and wiped out an entire populace. “The Fire Dragon King is not lying,” he suddenly heard the voice of his Sacred Spirit, the Destiny Sword speak in his mind. “A very long time ago, that sword had caused a great wave of destruction that left the land baked in fire and blood until it suddenly disappeared.”
“I know about that old tale, Seta. You told me when I was learning about the past and I am aware of what that sword is capable of doing. Yet, the Phoenix Titan fought this desperately to obtain and keep her…” “The Phoenix Titan is young and inexperienced. He may be just out looking for tools to make himself stronger like the so many Phoenix Titans before him,” Seta told him scornfully. Dominic was not sure and he slowly turned to look intently at Lakshman. Realising what the Sword Titan was thinking, Lakshman nodded and spoke firmly to him. “It’s none of your or their business as to why I want the Demon Sword, but rest assured that I have no schemes of using her for destruction. The past is the past that can only be used as a reference to make the necessary changes that affect today and tomorrow.” Lakshman knew he was at the mercy of the Sword Titan, but he was well aware of his personality. All holders of the Sword Titan rank and title were all those were seekers of justice. They fought to their fullest in preserving peace and balance throughout the world while fighting alongside the Phoenix Titan. If Lakshman managed to convince Dominic of his honesty, the two Dragon Kings will immediately give up their mission. He heard Tetra say in his mind, “Master, I don’t know if that’s a good enough reason to make him believe you.” “I know, but I have to try. All Sword Titans were honest and courageous people that gave more value to reason than to feelings. If I can make him believe this is for the greater good, then it’ll be fine for us.” He heard Silvera say in his mind, “I hope he believes in your honesty master, because I don’t want to leave and get sealed away. I don’t know how I was in the past, but I want to make a difference that lets me be of use to you and the world in a good way.” “That’s good, Silvera. I believe fate and justice will be on our side,” Tetra told her in a reassuring voice. Looking firmly into Dominic’s eyes, Lakshman said, “Please believe me, Dom. I do not gain anything by lying to you.” They looked into each other’s eyes intently for a few seconds. Then Dominic closed his eyes and nodded as he made a decision. “I understand, Phoenix Titan,” he said finally. Then, he turned to the two Dragon Kings and declared, “I believe in the Phoenix Titan and since he does not have intentions of handing the
Demon Slayer over, I deem your mission to be impossible to succeed. Besides, he is the head of the Nine Pillars of Power and I do not believe the Phoenix Titan will ever do evil when the rest of us fight for good.” Gurret sighed in resignation, but Fizard looked shocked by the Sword Titan’s decision. He believed the Sword Titan was being fooled by the clever acting of the Phoenix Titan. “Sword Titan, please reconsider your decision. He could be lying to you for a different reason!” Fizard told him in a firm voice. At his words, Dominic turned and started intently at Lakshman, who stared resolutely back. Then, he smiled and shook his head much to the surprise of Fizard. “I do not feel the dishonesty in those eyes and I can sense the strength of justice as it’s siding by his side. With such undeniable proof, I don’t believe there is any doubt the Phoenix Titan’s intentions of using the Demon Slayer for a negative purpose.” “B-But he could be. “Are you doubting my sense of judgement?” Dominic thundered in a frightening voice and he looked sharply at Fizard. Fizard was startled to see such an expression on the Sword Titan’s face. Unable to say anything back, looked down at his feet in a silent disbelief. He still continued to believe that the Sword Titan was being fooled. At that moment, he heard the voice of his partner speaking in his mind. “I also feel the Phoenix Titan is not lying about his desire to not use the Demon Slayer for evil.” Fizard inwardly sighed and thought, “I see, but does that mean the battle that we just fought and all our efforts were wasted?” “No. Rather, we learnt something valuable from our encounter with the Phoenix Titan. We learnt the way he fights and that can come in handy to use to take him out quickly if we ever have to deal with him again.” “Ha…” Fizard sighed heavily and instantly became worried as he was struck by a question. He looked up at the Earth Dragon King and asked, “What about our mission?” “Ah. Your mission,” Dominic said and two of them looked towards him. He smiled slightly and said, “Tell your Dragon Emperor that I, Dominic Rutherford, have issued that the Fire Dragon
King and the Earth Dragon King to withdraw from this area immediately. The reason to this is my full trust in the Phoenix Titan.” Fizard and Gurret were surprised to see the confidence in the Sword Titan as he told them this. Even though he was a Titan ranked warrior, they never truly saw him in battle. Yet, his demeanour and his innate ability to stay on guard while being casual was most impressive. They realised, while Sword Titan is at the bottom of the Nine Pillars of Power, he was a warrior that should not be underestimated. With the decision made, the two Dragon Kings stood at attention and bowed down to both the Phoenix Titan and the Sword Titan. “We understand and will carry your message to the Dragon Emperor,” Fizard said in a firm voice. “Good,” Dominic said and he nodded once in satisfaction. “Phew,” Lakshman said as he closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad that’s taken care of.” He suddenly flashed his eyes open in surprise because he felt something strange. It was a surging power level and it was on the rise from above. At the same time, Sword Titan and the two Dragon Kings also sensed the power level and they all looked up at the sky. “What is that?” Lakshman asked slowly. Then he muttered, “Phoenix Eyes.” In an instant, his eyes gleamed brightly and he was able to zoom his vision forward. After zooming several times, he was startled when he saw what the black shape. As he focused more on it, the black thing quickly took on the shape of a very large hand. “What the hell? Is that a giant hand in the sky?” he asked in a disbelieving voice. Then, in a worried voice, he asked, “Don’t tell me this is some sort of religious outbreak?” Dominic quickly looked in his direction and asked, “Do you believe in religion, Phoenix Titan?” Lakshman instantly reacted by waving his hands while saying, “Ah! That was just a joke, just now. I didn’t mean any offense to any believers or nonbelievers.” “That’s fine, but I also see a giant hand up above, but I believe it’s descending though at a fast rate,” Dominic told him and Lakshman nodded in agreement with him.
They watched as the giant shaped hand descended rapidly to the ground. It eventually became clear, to the two Dragon Kings that it was a hand, but all of them noticed that it was not getting any larger than before. Instead, it just seemed like a hand that was several times bigger and larger than a normal hand. Lakshman’s eyes widened slightly as he realised the hand was not heading towards him, Dominic or Gurret. Instead, it soared straight down and headed straight towards where Fizard stood. “It’s not heading towards us. It’s heading towards you, Fizard!” Lakshman informed him in an alarmed voice. “Huh? Towards me? What do you…?” Fizard asked slowly. He looked up and squinted to avoid the sunlight from blinding him. Then, his eyes widened in surprise as the hand quickened and roared through the air as it descended towards him. “Oh crap!” he shouted and he quickly managed to raise both of his hands over his head to defend himself. With a crushing force, the giant hand slammed down, exactly Fizard was standing a moment ago. It appeared the hand had crushed the killed the Dragon King with a mighty slam. Lakshman was shocked by seeing it happen and that was when he noticed the strange dark swirling and the pulsation of the large hand. “That’s not a hand… It’s a Shadow Hand! Then, the user must be…?” Just as he was about to finish the sentence, a man came down from the sky and heavily landed with his feet on the ground. He straightened up and looked at where his Shadow Hand had crushed the Fire Dragon King. The Demon Dragon King, Razzel, snorted and said, “Seriously? With all your boastings of being powerful, you go down with a single crush of my hand? How lame…!” “Demon Dragon King, Razzel…” Dominic said slowly in a surprised voice. Razzel looked towards Dominic and said, “Ah. Greeting, Sword Titan Dominic Rutherford, but would you wait for a bit? I have a dragon hunt to perform and you’re also in the list, Gurret.” Razzel finished speaking as he turned and looked menacingly towards the Earth Dragon King. Gurret sharpened his eyes and quickly took on a fighting stance as he sheathed his sword. He
realised a battle against Razzel would mean a battle that would not involve weapons due to the energy and magic attacks Razzel can perform. There was a sudden eruption of flames from beneath the shadow hand, causing Razzel to withdraw his shadow hand. As it retracted, it quickly became normal sized and appeared to be his right hand, where the arm was cut off from his earlier battle with Lakshman. “You’re using the shadow hand as your right hand?” Lakshman asked him curiously. “Naturally since you ripped my original arm off,” Razzel told him as he flexed his shadow hand. The ground suddenly exploded from beneath as a fiery ball of energy made an opening. From out of the opening, a furious Fire Dragon King emerged as he radiated with red flames that surrounded his body. He looked towards Razzel and let out a roar like that of a real dragon, making Lakshman cover his left ear to stop his ear drum from exploding. “Well, well, well…! The Fire Dragon King’s finally decided to crawl out of his underground slumber,” Razzel said sarcastically. Fizard became extremely furious and shouted, “Damn you, Razzel!” “Ah. Come now. I didn’t say anything bad, did I? I mean, I did think you were a fragile dragon king and I wondered if I should start calling you that. Well? Should I?” Razzel asked him curiously with an innocent expression on his face. Fizard looked as if he was going to explode with rage. He looked towards his partner and asked, “Gurret! Is our mission to kill this bastard still active?” “Yeah,” Gurret replied with a firm voice as he stared sharply at Razzel. “Great! Then let’s kill this—!” Before he could finish speaking, his face was suddenly grabbed by a large shadow hand. As he struggled to break free, Razzel smirked before he spoke to them. “Now, hold you’re flaming breathe, silly dragon. This is my dragon hunt and all you have to do is just sit back and enjoy getting beaten by me while I enjoy myself, alright?” As he finished, he grabbed Fizard tightly by the face with his shadow hand. Then, with a strong force, he lifted Fizard and swung him into the distance like a whip. Razzel quickly kicked off the ground with great force and chased after him through the air. Gurret, quickly activated Stone Edge and it propelled him high into the air before he soared after them.”
“Damn! We need to stop them from their senseless battle!” Lakshman said before he groaned from how weak he felt when he tried to get up. “Well then. I think your recover is the number one priority right now,” Dominic told him firmly. “Just wait because I’m going to heal you.” Lakshman looked up at him with a perplexed expression on his face. “Heal me? How? Like all the typical Sword Titans, you don’t know how to use magic.” “That is true, but my Destiny Sword has the means of healing me and the people I choose to heal,” Dominic said with a single nod of the head. Then, he smiled and said, “Rest assured, it will only take fifteen seconds to heal you completely.” “Wait, Dom… You don’t mean…?” Lakshman slowly asked apprehensively. Dominic nodded wordlessly and pulled out his sword. It was a well-shaped sword with strange letters engraved on the blade’s surface. He then proceeded to hold it vertically like a knight and close his eyes to activate the technique. As the blade of the Destiny Sword began to glow with green light, Dominic opened his eyes. “Ready.” Realising what he was about to do, Lakshman quickly raised his hand and said, “Hold on! Wait! We can just use my method of healing. Seriously!” “It’s fine. Trust me, my friend. It won’t harm you,” Dominic said with a smiling face. Before Lakshman could do anything, Dominic quickly stabbed his chest with the green glowing blade of the Destiny Sword. Lakshman instantly closed his eyes and waited for pain as his chest was pierced. Then, to his surprise, he opened his eyes and found that his entire body was covered in a green glow of light. What was more surprising was that his wounds began to quickly be healed and his vitality was being restored. “So… This is the so called Healing Blade?” Lakshman asked curiously as he looked at the green glowing sword that was sticking out of his chest. “That’s right,” Dominic said and he nodded his head at him. “I can make multiple swords and activate Healing Blade so they heal people upon going into them.”
Lakshman shook his head in exasperation and said, “Dom… This is an unhealthy way of healing anyone. Seriously.” Dominic chuckled and said, “Its safe, doesn’t hurt you one bit and acts like an object that cannot touch physical objects. Plus, this is the quickest way of healing someone since it doesn’t take too long like those magic spells that you magicians constantly use.” “Yeah, but what if the Healing Blade deactivates during the healing process? Wouldn’t it get lodged into that person’s chest for good?” Lakshman asked nervously. Then he sighed and said, “At least, from what I know, there’s a safety mechanism that immediately removes the sword from the person’s body as the technique deactivates. I think it was something of a safety measure the Destiny Sword developed for that technique from past experience.” As Lakshman looked shrewdly at the Sword Titan, Dominic chuckled in embracement and said, “I can’t say no to that.” At that moment, there was a violent blast of energy, which was following by a large explosion in the distance. The two of them turned to look in that direction where the battle between Razzel, Fizard and Gurret was taking place. That was when Dominic began speaking about Razzel. “I hear that Razzel was more of an experimentalist than a real warrior, but he was good with his energy and magic skills. Sadly, he wasted his talent by mixing up with the dark forces and ended up becoming who he is today. Originally, Razzel held the title of Shadow Dragon King as the one of the five Dragon Kings, but soon became known as the Demon Dragon King due to him walking out on his clan.” Lakshman nodded and said, “Yes. I know of that story as well and I am certain now as to why he is waging war on the two of them.” Once the fifteen second time was up, Dominic pulled the Destiny Sword out and deactivated the Healing Blade technique. Lakshman breathed a sigh of relief and finally got to his feet. He felt fine without any strange sensations or disorientation to make him feel unsteady. He walked over to his sword pieced into the ground and pulled them out before sheathing them into the side of his belt. In his mind, he heard Tetra and Silvera speak to him in worried voices. “Are you alright, master?” “You’re not hurt, master?”
“Did that sword stab hurt you just now?” “Was it painful to be healed by a sword like that?” “Should we attack Sword Titan for his recklessness?” “Maybe if we beat some sense into him, he’ll start doing the sensible thing by learning some magic techniques.” Lakshman sighed and thought, “Girls, stop that. I’m perfectly fine and that was a Healing Blade and it’s supposed to be stabbed into someone’s chest to work. I’m back in full health and in full power!” “Thank goodness,” Silvera said with a sigh of relief. “Yeah, but it looked as if the Sword Titan stabbed you to death, master,” Tetra said nervously. Hearing that made Lakshman chuckle and made Dominic curious about why he chuckled. Seeing this, Lakshman smiled and explained about what his Sacred Spirits told him. Dominic understood their concern for their master and apologetically said, “Yes. Unfortunately, with my lack of ability with magic, this was the only way to heal you. I’m sorry.” Lakshman waved his apology away and said, “Never mind. It’s not like you were to be blamed for not being capable of using magic skills. Even I struggled to use much of magic skills and I mostly relied on using energy attacks until I recently discovered it was actually not my fault that I wasn’t good at using magic.” “Right. Now, shall we go and stop their battle?” Dominic asked for confirmation. Lakshman nodded firmly with a seriously expression on his face as he said, “Yes. Let’s stop them before it gets out of hand.” He and Dominic began to surge with power; Lakshman’s Elemental Glow was golden-red while Dominic’s Elemental Glow was pure gold. They began charging up their energies and simultaneously kicked off the ground before they flew towards where the battle between Razzel, Fizard and Gurret was taking place.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 230 End of Razzel Lakshman and Dominic Ruther, the Sword Titan, flew through the air while radiating in their respective Elemental Glow; Lakshman radiated golden-red aura and Dominic radiated golden aura. They were flying towards the battle location of the three Dragon Kings, where the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, was waging a full on battle against the Fire Dragon King, Fizard, and the Earth Dragon King, Gurret. As they flew through the air, Lakshman looked ahead and saw bursts of energies and explosions from time to time. The sound of the battle was also heard as the wind carried it while making howling sounds in their ears. Dominic looked towards where the battle was taking place and hear how severe the situation was. All three Dragon Kings were battling it out with great intensity and it made him feel worried. He was confident in his skills to take on all three of them, but he was lost as to what Lakshman wanted to do with them. “I wonder what the Phoenix Titan wants to do to them once we get there?” he wondered curiously. He curiously turned his head and looked at Lakshman, who was flying slightly ahead of him. Lakshman, for his part was wearing a serious expression as he sensed the battle ahead. It angered him, not because the Dragon Kings were fighting each other, but the fact that Razzel did not appear to have repented. “Damn, bastard! He hasn’t learnt his lesson, even after being turned into a crystallised monster!” he thought angrily. Silvera sighed and said in his mind, “I wouldn’t destroyed him when I had the chance. Now, he is being a nuisance to everyone.” “I believe we should sympathise with Razzel’s feelings. I mean, he did everything to become the strongest and to make the Dragon Clan recognise his obtained strength,” Tetra said in a wondering voice. Lakshman was shocked by what Tetra said and he asked, “Tetra… Are you, by any chance, supporting him? Is that what makes you think of him by his actions?”
Tetra sensed the anger in his voice and said, “Master, I don’t believe using our feelings is the right decision in matters such as these. We should see the wider picture than the closed in information that we have of him.” Lakshman understood the point Tetra was making, but he simply could not bring himself to feel the way she was feeling about Razzel. “I’m sorry, Tetra, but I just can’t think that way and it’s nothing to do with feelings. I simply cannot accept the atrocities that man has conducted for the sake of his revenge. He killed people and used their souls to recover the permanently lost energy from the constant use of Time Crystals. He was responsible for the destruction of Sevedant’s entire family and many death. Imagine how furious Sevedant would be if he had heard what you just told me, Tetra! He’d be so furious that he’d want to destroy you, thinking you are Razze’s supporter.” Tetra did not respond because there was no need for it. She felt unhappy from “Anyway, he used me like a test subject to experiment on by allying himself with Adebola. Do you know the kind of torture I had to endure these days that I was kidnapped and held up here while wearing Suppression Rings? How helpless I felt when I had to slaughter monsters that I had nothing against in the name of Adebola’s sick sense of entertainment? He didn’t even bother to save me when Adebola pulled my heart out and crushed it in front of us!” At this, Tetra was shocked and she exclaimed, “What?! Adebola did that to you?!” Silvera, horrified by his words, said, “Oh, no…! Now I wish I really had killed that bastard when I had the chance! Dammit!” Lakshman sighed and thought, “It’s alright, Silvera. You did your best in attempting to kill him, but his resilience held up and kept him alive by turning him into a crystallised monster. No. It wasn’t your place to bring down the iron fist of judgement on him. It’s my job because of everything he’s done, not just to be, but to everyone that ever crossed paths with him and never survived. I will take him out myself!” “Master… Please… don’t let yourself wallow in your anger…” Tetra told him in a concerned voice. Realising what she meant, he smiled and thought, “No need to worry. I won’t let the Voice of the Phoenix take control of me again, but that required special training that I will do later. For
now, I have you girls keep me in check and that’s all that matters to me now. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to speak with Dom.” “Yes, master,” both Tetra and Silvera said together. Lakshman nodded and he closed his eyes to concentrate while also shutting away the noise of the wind in his ears. Due to the difficult meditation training that he undertook in the past, he became capable of filtering out the sound just by exerting his energy and concentration. “Telepathy,” he muttered and he focused his mind towards Dominic, whom he wanted to speak to. Then, once the connection was established, he began speaking to him through his thoughts. “Dom, can you hear me?” Dominic was so surprised by hearing his voice that he suddenly veered away from the intended direction. Quickly correcting his mistake, he was still surprised as he respond using his thoughts. “What? There’s a voice in my head…?” “That’s right. I’m speaking to you through telepathy. I could fly closer to you and talk, but then I run the risk of accidentally swallowing bugs.” “Oh! That must be you, Phoenix Titan!” “Yes, it’s me, however, you’ve been constantly calling me by my title. My name’s Lakshman Reddy. Either call me Lakshman or Lucky. Being constantly called by my title is making me feel embarrassed.” “Ah. My apologies. Well then, Lakshman… Why are you suddenly speaking to me through telepathy?” “You see… I want you to go and handle the Fire Dragon King and Earth Dragon King. That’ll leave me free to deal with the Demon Dragon King.” “Are you sure? You’ve only been healed not too long ago, so shouldn’t you need my assistance?” “I like to, Dom, but this is something that I must take care of personally.”
Dominic heard the seriousness in his voice and questioned no more. Instead, he focused on the task he was given by Lakshman with firmness. “Very well. I will make sure the Fire Dragon King and Earth Dragon King do not interfere with your matters, Lakshman.” “Thank you, Dom. I appreciate it.” With that, the two fell silent as Lakshman deactivated the Telepathy technique. As they flew closer to the battle sight, the visibility became clear as they burst through a think veil of clouds. Lakshman squinted and witnessed the battle taking place. The three Dragon Kings were in a furious battle between each other. They were using their fists and energies to deal damage onto each other instead of using weapons. Razzel was using his shadow arm into a shape shifting magic tool to defend himself against each of Fizard’s and Gurret’s attacks. Fizard, angered by the way Razzel was using his shadow arm, quickly increased his speed and tried to land a blow to his face. It carried a lot of force that could have sent Razzel flying into the distance, but he quickly ducked the punch and it sailed harmlessly over his head. At the same time, Gurret attempted to deliver a similar attack on him, but Razzel quickly grabbed Gurret by enlarging his shadow arm. With a shout of anger, Razzel delivered a powerful uppercut that sent Fizard flying into the air. As he sent Fizard flying, he raised his shadow arm and lifted Gurret into the air before taking him several meters away before slamming him down onto the ground. “ARGH!” Fizard yelled in anger. He quickly recovered and did several flips in mid-air and landed firmly on the ground. Then, he quickly followed up by bringing his hands together and began charging energy into it. His red eyes suddenly gleamed dangerously as he launched his attack by shouting out its name. “Fire Dragon Cannon!” The attack was released into a large red beam cannon that sailed over the ground and soared straight towards Razzel. Seeing the attacking coming, Razzel did not make any move to get out of the way. Instead, he smiled as he raised his left hand and aimed in the direction the attack was coming from. “Shadow Ball!” he shouted.
With a burst of energy, he quickly created a large black ball and released it. While rotating in a random rotation, the black ball of energy sailed over the ground and headed straight at the red beam cannon. When the two of them, there was a brief struggle that ensued between their respective attacks. Razzel used his force to push the ball forward, but it did not budge due to the amount of pressure Fizard was putting into his red beam cannon. The result of their clashing attacks was an explosion that sent a wild blowing wind and dust in all directions. Razzel stayed firmly on his spot as the wind buffeted him when he suddenly sensed an incoming attack from the other direction. He quickly turned and saw a beam of rocks soaring towards him at high speed and the one who fired it was the Earth Dragon King, Gurret. Quickly reacting, he converted his shadow arm into a shadow shield and defended himself against the surprise attack. When the beam of rocks slammed into the shield, it caused Razzel to get dragged back several meters from the sheer force of impact. Angry from the assault, Razzel strengthened the shadow arm and sent it soaring towards Gurret while splitting up the beam of rocks. Gurret quickly deactivated his beam of rocks and immediately activated his magic to create several stone walls that rose out of the ground in front of him. Then, applying force against them, he prepared himself for the incoming attack from Razzels’ shadow arm. Razzel’s shadow arm blasted through all, but the last stone wall. The shadow arm slammed hard into it and although cracks appeared on the surface, it did not break. The immense pressure from Gurret’s power made it nearly impossible for the shadow arm to penetrate. “Heh! Break already, dammit!” Razzel shouted and he pushed forward. Finally, unable to take much more of the pressure from the shadow arm, the stone wall was blasted into pieces. The shadow arm soared straight towards Gurret with deadly force, but Gurret saved himself at the last second by using Stone Edge to propel himself into the air and out of the way. Lakshman, using the power of the Phoenix Eyes, saw the destruction the Demon Dragon King was causing to both the area and to the two Dragon Kings. He saw how furiously they fought, but what caught his attention was the expression on Razzels’ face as he continued his attack on them; it was a cold merciless expression with no worry about the consequences. “Damn… Not a single sign of mercy or regret in those eyes…” he thought furiously. He used Telepathy to connect with Dominic before he started speaking through his thoughts.
“Dom, can you please go ahead and separate them for me? I feel that their battle as made both Fizard and Gurret really angry to listen to me. I think a show of force and misdirection will help.” Dominic did not know the names of the Fire Dragon King and Earth Dragon King, but he was aware of whom Lakshman was referring to. “Understood, Lakshman. Leave it to me,” Dominic told him firmly through his thoughts. With a burst of energy, Dominic rocketed ahead of Lakshman and soared towards the ground. He was headed to land between the three Dragon Kings to ensure that they do not fight. While he flew towards the ground, Lakshman came to a stop in mid-air and watched as he waited for his opportunity to fly towards Razzel. The dust clearly and it brought the vision back to normal. Razzel was advancing towards the two Dragon Kings, who were glaring at him fiercely. Just from looking, it obvious the two Dragon Kings were furious with Razzel, but were being cautious due to the shadow arm that Razzel had been transforming into many things at his convenience. Seeing them behaviour so cautiously towards him made Razzel smile mercilessly. “Ha! The so called Dragon Kings are afraid to fight back?” Razzel asked before letting out cold laughter. Once he calmed down, he glared at them fiercely and made a cold smile before he said, “Now, no one can stop me from killing you!” At that moment, Dominic soared down and landed heavily on his feet once he hit the ground. As Dominic straightened up, Razzel was startled to suddenly meet face to face with the Sword Titan. All this time, he had been so focused on the two Dragon Kings that he had completely forgotten to use his sensing ability to sense danger. Now, danger was right in front of him and all he could do was stare at him in amazement. Dominic looked Razzel straight in the eyes and said, “You hold that thought!” “Huh?” Razzel said and he looked confused. Dominic reacted instantly by pulled his body back and lashing out his fist. Razzel also reacted instantly by using his shadow arm like a shield to protect himself. Upon impact from the fist, a great force was unleashed and it sent Razzel back while his feet got dragged on the ground. “Wow!” Lakshman exclaimed in surprise as he floated up in the air. “As I thought, he’s a straightforward person.”
He watched as Dominic pulled out the Destiny Sword and activate it. Then, he hit the ground with the bladed end of the sword. As he lifted it back up, rocks shaped swords rose from the ground and hovered around him. “Attack,” Dominic said shortly and the swords flew towards Razzel. Razzel recovered from the powerful punch that Dominic had delivered and shifted the shadow arm. He was shocked to see an army of rock shaped swords flying towards him at great speed. He quickly covered himself from the rain of rock swords. However, the swords all hit at the exact same time and pushed the shadow shield out of the way, leaving him wide open. Dominic instantly raised his sword high in the air and activated it. In an instant, a large portal opened up above Razzel. He looked up, just in time to see numerous swords erupt out of the portal and fly towards him. Then, he disappeared as a rain of swords plummeted down and struck him and everything near where Razzel stood. “Wow…! Raining Blades…!” Lakshman said in a surprised voice. “He seriously knows how to summon lots of swords. Mmm! I think you can get together well, Tetra.” “Stop joking, master. I don’t like the Destiny Sword. She’s too proud of her power and stature that she ignores anything around her.” As Lakshman chuckled at her words, Silvera said, “Um… Is it okay that the Sword Titan is unleashing such an attack? What if he accidentally kills the Demon Dragon King?” Lakshman shook his head and said, “Although that technique is powerful, it actually causes damage to a certain degree. So, it basically weakens the opponent to the point that they are unable to concentrate. Also, I believe it also has some other side effects like prolonged pain and stuff like that.” “Sheesh! I’m sure glad we’re not his opponents!” Silvera said in relief. Lakshman nodded and watched as Dominic conjured up more and more swords out of thin air by simply waving his sword around. By now, countless swords have formed and they all continuously assaulted Razzel, who was hidden by the veil of flying swords. “AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!” There was a sudden scream and, all of sudden, there was a burst of energy and the swords of sent flying everywhere. Razzel appeared into clear view as he screamed while creating a wave of energy that sent the swords flying away.
“DAAAMMMNNNN YYYOOOUUUUUUU!!!!” Razzel screamed wildly at Dominic. Unfazed by his scream, Dominic simply stood firmly in his place as he rested his sword at his side. Razzel, becoming extremely furious at his rain of sword attacks, quickly gathered large quantities of energy into his left hand and aimed it directly towards the Sword Titan. “Shadow Drive Cannon!” Razzel shouted as he launched it. The black swirling ball of energy, which was formed in the palm of his hand was released in a powerful black beam of energy. It soared over the ground with lethal force and headed straight towards Dominic. Seeing the attack soaring straight towards him, Dominic simply sighed and shook his head as if he could not believe what Razzel just did. Seeing Dominic shaking his head like that surprised Lakshman because the Sword Titan did not have any intention of getting out of its way or deflecting it either. Instead, Dominic raised his sword and aimed it towards the incoming attack. “Blade Blast!” With a single shout, Dominic activated an attack and launched it. The blast erupted from out of the blade and rocketed towards the incoming black beam of energy. When they two met, Dominic’s attack effortlessly cut through the black beam and continued soaring towards Razzel. The Demon Dragon King was shocked at seeing his attack get cut into half by a simple blast. He quickly brought his shadow arm to defend himself against it. What he did not expect was that Dominic’s attack easily pierced through the shadow and slammed hard into his chest. “ARGH!” Razzel yelled in pain of the attack. The attack exploded upon contact and sent him flying several meters back. Dominic nodded in satisfaction and turned around to face the two Dragon Kings. Fizard and Gurret rose to their feet and were prepared to chase after Razzel, but they suddenly stopped when Dominic stepped in front of them. “Please, move aside, Sword Titan. The Demon Dragon King will escape!” Fizard said urgently. “No need because I’m going to keep your company,” Dominic said quietly. “Huh?” Fizard said and he looked confused.
Dominic raised his sword and activated it. In an instant, the fallen swords began to flying around them until they formed a wall of swords while enclosing them on the inside. Fizard and Gurret were surprised to find themselves barricaded inside a wall of swords that was as high as their eyes could see. “What’s the meaning of this, Sword Titan?” Fizard demanded. “The Phoenix Titan shall deal with the Demon Dragon King while I make sure you do not interfere,” Dominic told them in a firm voice. “What? He wants to?” Fizard asked and he exchanged looks with his partner. “But… That’s our mission.” “Yes and the Phoenix Titan thought you will interfere. That’s why, I was ordered to keep you two at bay.” Dominic told them. Then, he telepathically said, “Lakshman, I’ve enclosed myself and the two Dragon Kings inside the Wall of Blades. Please, proceed with dealing with the Demon Dragon King.” “You got it!” Lakshman said with a single nod of the head. Once he deactivated Telepathy, he rocketed downward and flew towards Razzel. Being slammed hard in the chest by a powerful blast attack, Razzel slowly got to his feet. He suddenly sensed an incoming power and he turned to see Lakshman swooping down towards him. “ARGH!” Lakshman screamed in anger. The moment he got near Razzel, he grabbed his face and lifted him off his feet. Then, he shifted Razzel and planted his head onto the ground, which got dragged by Lakshman’s flight. Razzel struggled to break free from Lakshman’s strong grip on his face, but he managed to use his shadow arm to pushed Lakshman away. As Lakshman was pushed back, Razzel was finally free and he sat upright and clutched his head where it hurt. While wincing in pain, he looked up and saw Lakshman floating in mid-air and had his hands together as he gathered energy into them. “Solar Starburst Attack!” As he shouted out the technique name, be brought his hands forward and released it. The attack was launched in a powerful beam of light that soared down towards where Razzel sat.
Instantly reacting, Razzel brought his shadow arm and surrounded himself into a ball to defend. There was a mighty explosion of energy and wind, as the attack exploded upon impact. Once the dust settled, the view became clear and Lakshman saw that Razzel was still being shielded by the shadow arm. Narrowing his eyes, he rocketed down, flew towards Razzel and obliterated the shadow arm with just one powerful punch. “What?!” Razzel exclaimed in a shocked voice as his shadow arm was dismantled with a mere punch. Without pausing, Lakshman stepped forward and hit Razzel’s chest with his left fist. The power punch sent Razzel dragging back, but Lakshman did not stop his attack there. He chased after the Demon Dragon King and began beating him with rapid punches to the face and stomach. Caught off guard and struggling to retaliate, Razzel could only take on the onslaught of fists and kicks from Lakshman. After finally delivering one powerful punch to the gut, Razzel coughed out blood and glared at Lakshman through fierce eyes. Lakshman stepped forward and glared back at him with unshakable firmness. “Are you enjoying the pain that I am dealing to you? I suppose you are since its nothing like the torture you put me through!” Lakshman shouted at him. He placed his right hand on Razzel’s shoulders and said, “Thunder!” Razzel began to scream as an unimaginable amount of thunder began to course through his body. It was not enough to kill him, but the amount was satisfying enough to make it feel like torture. Razzel could not believe he was being put through this, which was exactly the sort of thing he did to Lakshman while he experimented on him to try and control the Demon Slayer. “L-Let go… t-test subject!” Razzel finally said with a struggle. Lakshman took his hand off Razel’s shoulder and deactivated the technique, but he continued to glare at him fiercely. Razzel stumbled back a few paces, but he continued to stand despite the intense pain he just endured. “Still calling me that…?” Lakshman asked with a sigh and a shake of the head. Then, in a loud firm voice, he said, “I’m the Phoenix Titan, you imbecilic!” Razzel was momentarily surprised for a second. Then, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “So what if you’re the Phoenix Titan? You’re still a test subject!”
Lakshman widened his eyes and he got really made. He quickly walked forward and kneed Razzel in the stomach, causing him to widen his eyes. Then he delivered even more crushing blows to his body, which Razzel was unable to defend himself from. “So! You don’t care about the lives of the people that you hurt, the people that you killed, the people that absorbed!” Lakshman shouted angrily with each crushing blow to Razzel. Razzel quickly reacted and delivered powerful punch to Lakshman’s face. Surprised by the attack, Lakshman took a few steps back while rubbing his face where he was hit. Razzel was breathing heavily, but he suddenly spat and looked very angrily at Lakshman. “So what?! It’s the result that matters more than anything else!” Razzel shouted at him. Lakshman was momentarily taken aback by the words Razzel had shouted at him. He straightened up and looked at him with a firm expression on his face. “I now understand… People like you will never learn their lesson…” Lakshman said slowly. Then, he sighed and said, “So be it… It’s your funeral.” Razzel could not hear Lakshman’s lard words, but he felt a sudden chill emanating from Lakshman. He looked at the Demon Dragon King with mercilessly eyes and charged forward. Realising he was in danger and knowing he could not dodge, Razzel strengthened his body and lashed out an extremely powerful punch. Lakshman, as if in slow motion, saw the punch flying towards him and he immediately ducked it successfully. He quickly soared underneath the lashed out arm and planted both of his hands on Razzel’s chest and lightly pushed him back. Razzel did not understand what Lakshman had in mind, but he did register the cold eyes that Lakshman had when he looked up at him. “Go to oblivion,” Lakshman said softly. Then, in a firmer voice, he said, “Spirit Burst Cannon!” Light gathered in the palms of his hands that were resting on Razzel’s chest. The Demon Dragon King quickly recognised the danger and he tried to do something. “Ah…!” Razzel said and tried to move his arms, but it was too late. There was a sudden burst of enormous energy that erupted out of Lakshman’s hands. The enormous energy engulfed the Demon Dragon King and vaporised him. Even his scream lasted only for a second before he was utterly obliterated by the massive attack.
As the energy was being released, Lakshman closed his eyes and felt his conscious leave the Physical Plane. The next time he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a brightly lit spot while everything outside it was completely shrouded in darkness. He looked up and standing in front of him was the Demon Dragon King, Razzel. “W-Where am I?” Razzel asked nervously as he looked around. “Welcome to the Spirit Plane, Razzel,” Lakshman told him. Razzel looked at him in surprise and asked, “The Spirit Plane? How is that possible without using Spirit Transition?” Lakshman nodded at him and said, “That’s correct, but I used Spirit Burst Cannon earlier if you didn’t forget.” As Razzel looked at him in shock, Lakshman continued explaining. “By using the Spirit Burst Cannon, I destroyed you utterly in the Physical Plane while shifting your spirit to the Spirit Plane.” Razzel narrowed his eyes suspiciously and said, “You… What are you doing to do to me?” Lakshman just shrugged his shoulders and said, “Nothing, I’m not going to do anything to you.” When Razzel appeared to be relieved by the news, he smiled slightly and said, “Well… I won’t, but it will.” “It?” Razzel asked in confusion. He saw Lakshman looking at something behind him and he turned around to see it as well. For a moment, he saw nothing, but the darkness that seemed to swirl on the outside of the light. Then, he heard something crawling itself slowly through the darkness. As he continued to stare into the darkness, two bright red eyes suddenly materialised in the darkness as it gradually came closer to where they stood in the bright light. As it came closer, Razzel took a step back and wore an expression of disgust on his face. “W-What the hell is that…? Why I do feel so repulsed by its mere presence?!” Razzel exclaimed from the shock of it being there. “Yes… That is an ugly creatures of destruction, the one that people call ‘revenge’; the Serpent of Revenge.” “S-Serpent of Revenge?” Razzel asked in disbelief. “Why is that coming here?”
Lakshman sighed and said, “That’s right. It’s coming here to devour you.” When Razzel looked shocked, he continued explaining. “Yes… The Serpent of Revenge is a mythological creature that roams the dark abyss between the Divine Planes. Its sole job is to seek and utterly destroy those that have died after leading a life full of evil. Originally, it was an old tale that parents told to children to frighten them from doing bad things. Now, that tale is nothing more than an old story that people don’t believe in anymore.” Lakshman pointed at him and said, “You, Razzel, the Demon Dragon King, in your quest to become the strongest in the world, you’ve committed great evil! Now, be destroyed by the countless souls that you’ve killed and absorbed!” Razzel’s eyes were fully wide with horror and he slowly said, “No…! No…! No…!” “Farewell, Razzel. I wish you never rest in peace…” Lakshman said quietly. “No…! Stop!” Razzel shouted, but Lakshman had quickly turned into light and vanished from the spot. Razzel was all alone in the light that shone down on him while a Serpent of Revenge closed in on him. He knew the Serpent of Revenge hates the light and hides from it, which was his safety area. However, to his horror, the light started to retract and the light space began to retract. The circle of light grew smaller and smaller as the Serpent of Revenge grew closer and closer as it slowly crawled its way towards it prey. “Stay away!” Razzel shouted desperately. He attempted to use Shadow Ball, Shadow Strike and Shadow Force, but none of them activated. It appeared that, with the presence of the Serpent of Revenge nearby, he has lost the ability to use his skills. This caused him to move to the centre as the circle of light slowly shrunk. “You can’t do this to me! I’m Razzel! The Demon Dragon King! You can’t!” Razzel shouted desperately, but it had no effect on the snake. Finally, the light of circle shrunk to the point that there was enough space for him to stand without moving. He was seating as his entire body began shaking uncontrollably as he realised he was doomed.
The Serpent of Revenge crawled its way until it finally stopped a meter away from where he stood. Razzel could see the gleaming red eyes and heard its heavy breathing from its large body. As he stared into its eyes, saw no mercy and only his imminent destruction. “RRROOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!” the Serpent of Revenge roared as it reared back to strike. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Razzel screamed desperately in fear. His screams could be heard throughout the darkened space of the Spirit Plane. Then, it was abruptly cut off and only silence remained. The Serpent of Revenge shook its heavy body and looked around a few times before slowly crawling its way back into the darkness and into the depths of the dark abyss.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 231 Chaotic War Lakshman bid his final farewell to Razzel and returned to the Physical Plane. Once he entered his momentarily emptied body, he opened his eyes. He was surprised to find a large groove in front of him while smoke rose from the surface. “Oh yeah, I did use Spirit Burst Cannon just now,” he said as he remembered. At that moment, he heard the panicked voices of his Sacred Spirits speak to him in his mind. “Master, where have you gone? You suddenly disappeared!” Silvera said. “That’s right! Your spirit suddenly disappeared and we couldn’t contact you at all!” Tetra said. Then, the both of them together said, “Where were you?” He chuckled and calmly said, “Calm down, you two. I paid a visit to the Spirit Plane and bid one final farewell to that bastard Razzel.” “You mean… He’s gone for good?” Silvera asked in disbelief. “Yes.” Just then, Lakshman heard his name being called from behind. Looking around, he saw Dominic walking towards him while he was followed by Fizard and Gurret. The two Dragon Kings were wearing curious expressions on their faces while Dominic wore a puzzled expression on his face. “What is it, Dom?” Lakshman asked him once they reached him. “What did you just do?” Dominic asked as he pointed at the deep groove on the ground. “I suddenly felt a tremendous rise of power and opened my wall of blades to see what was going on. I saw you blast him and he suddenly vanished in that light. What did you use to make him suddenly vanish like that?” “I… used Spirit Burst Cannon on him,” Lakshman told him quietly. Fizard and Gurret widened their eyes in shock, but Dominic looked confused.
“Spirit Burst Cannon? You mean you vaporised him with it?” he asked suspiciously. Lakshman was momentarily taken aback by surprise from Dominic’s lack of knowledge of it. He quickly realised the Sword Titan was focused more on the history and learning techniques, but wouldn’t be fully knowledgeable about magical techniques. “Spirit Burst Cannon vaporises the target and connects the target and the user to the Spirit Plane,” Lakshman explained patiently. “Once there, I witnessed Razzel’s demise when the Serpent of Revenge arrived.” At this, all three of them widened their eyes in shock. They could not believe the words that Lakshman just spoke. Fizard and Gurret eyed one another nervously as they wondered whether they should believe him. “I see. So, the Demon Dragon King was destroyed by the Serpent of Revenge.” When Lakshman nodded, he sighed and said, “Mmm… Still, I didn’t think the Serpent of Revenge existed.” “Oh, it exists alright. Although, the story of its utterly destroying people that committed great crimes is forgotten, but the ugly creature of revenge exists as it roams the dark abyss of the Divine Planes.” “So, um… Razzel is gone?” Fizard asked cautiously. Lakshman eyed him sternly and asked, “What? You want to go and check for yourself?” Fizard widened his eyes and he quickly waved his hands desperately while saying, “Please, spare me that! I don’t have any intention of meeting the Serpent of Revenge.” “Hmph,” Lakshman said with a small smile. At that moment, he heard voices from nearby. The voices grew louder as they got closer and Lakshman realised whom the voices belonged to. “Lucky!” “Lakshman!” He turned around and saw Ondine, Emilia and Cantia running towards him with great enthusiasm. They were smiling happily at seeing him unhurt and they were closely followed by Venezuela and Erza.
“Ah! Ladies!” Lakshman said cheerfully. Running at full pelt, Ondine launched herself and hugged him tightly on the left side. Emilia followed up with hugging him in the centre and Cantia hugged him tightly from the right side. They had jumped at him at full speed and this caused him to stumble backwards and fall on his back. “Ouch!” he winced as his back hit the hard ground. Ondine, Emilia and Cantia were happily hugging him tightly while speaking words of concern. “You’re okay!” “You’re alive!” “You’re safe!” With an exasperated expression on his face, he said, “Yeah… Apart from the little bump I just receive from falling down, I’m totally fine.” The girls laughed and he heard Dominic slowly say in surprise, “My, my.” “Seriously. You girls need to watch where you are to suddenly hug me like this,” Lakshman said and he jumped to his feet while bring the girls up with him. “I told them the same thing, but they were really worried,” Venezuela said as she nodded in agreement with him. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Really? Are you saying you’re weren’t worried for a bit?” Venezuela turned away and said, “Hmph! Why would I be worried about my future husband, who is the Phoenix Titan?” Cantia chuckled and said, “Ah… Don’t be like that-nyaa. I saw you biting your nails nervously when Lucky fought against those idiotic dragon whatever warriors-nyaa.” “No, I did not!” Venezuela said firmly, but her cheeks suddenly turned red. She was not the only one that got annoyed by what Cantia said. Fizard stepped forward and looked annoyed as he stared at Cantia.
“Miss. Camdra Beast Clan lady! We’re two of the five Dragon Kings of the Dragon Clan!” Fizard said with a furrowed brow. “So what? You’re still bad people for attacking my hubby-nyaa!” Cantia said and she glared at them like an angry cat. Fizard sighed heavily and covered his face with a hand. It appeared that he was regretting his actions from earlier, but the girls did not know about this. Ondine quickly placed her hand on the hilt of her sword and glared furiously at them. “If you dare to do anything else to Lakshman, I won’t tolerate it!” she told them menacingly. “Yes, yes. My deepest apologies, ladies of the ladies of the Phoenix Titan!” Fizard said apologetically and bowed with Gurret to express their deepest apologies. “Ah. Well, if you regret it, then it’s okay,” Ondine said and she relaxed. Venezuela looked at the scene of the two Dragon Kings bowing their heads to Ondine and shook her head. “Unbelievable,” he muttered and Erza only nodded in agreement. Erza was from another world and seemed to be very new to this world. Yet, she could tell how important the Dragon Kings were and she found it somewhat a surprise to see them bowing down to the simple warrior like Ondine. Like the girls, she disliked the two Dragon Kings for attacking Lakshman so much to obtain the Demon Slayer. Now they are here and deeply apologising, which made her realise something. “Ah. This must be part of their code to apologise for their bad actions to show that they really do regret them. Mmm… They’re not bad…” Erza thought and she changed her opinion of them. While they were talking, Dominic was looking curiously towards Venezuela. Something about her appearance and stature made him recall someone from the past. “Hmm… Might you be princess Venezuela of the Floria Kingdom?” he asked her curiously. Venezuela turned to him and said, “That’s right. Who’re you?” Dominic placed his right arm on his chest and said, “Greeting, princess Venezuela. I am Dominic Rutherford and I bear the title of the Sword Titan.”
At his introduction, the girls all exclaimed in shock. Ondine widened her eyes in surprise, Emilia raised her staff up to her chest defensively with widened eyes, Cantia looked at him incredulously as if she found it hard to believe and Venezuela was taken aback by his words. “Y-You’re the Sword Titan?” Emilia asked in disbelief. “I thought the Sword Titan was an old man. Well, that’s how I remember him from seven years ago.” Realising what she meant, Dominic smiled and said, “Yes. That would be my predecessor, Jagan Bredrock. Unfortunately, he died of illness three years ago and that’s how I was chosen to be the next Sword Titan by the Destiny Sword.” Erza clapped her hands together and said, “Ah! That makes sense because Lakshman and Dominic are really close friends in the future!” “The future?” Dominic asked in a puzzled voice as he turned to look at her. Lakshman was startled by her words, but he quickly covered them up by saying, “She just means that we’ll be really close friends in the future, right?” “Eh? Oh… Right! That’s what I meant! Close friends in the future!” Erza said quickly while looking anxiously at him. “Telepathy!” Lakshman thought and he began speaking to Erza through his thoughts. “Erza. Please ensure that you do not speak as if you came from the future. Otherwise, people will become suspicious of your behaviour.” Lakshman intended to keep the fact that she was from another world and the future a secret from everyone. “Yes. My mistake. I slipped by accident when Emilia spoke like that about the identity of the Sword Titan.” “That’s alright, but please be extra careful from now on,” Lakshman thought and he deactivated Telepathy before sighing inwardly. “Master, is Erza from the future?” Tetra asked him curiously. “Yes, but we’ll talk about this later. Venezuela also knows, so there’s not much of a problem,” he thought to her firmly. “Okay, master,” Silvera said firmly.
“Alright,” Tetra said in agreement. As he smiled, Dominic turned to him and asked, “Now, what’s your plan, Lakshman?” “Now that we’ve wrapped up our business with Razzel and everything else, we plan to return, just as soon as I restored this place back to what it was before the destruction,” Lakshman told him. Without further ado, Lakshman closed his eyes, clapped his hands together and began to surge with power. He radiated in golden-red aura that surrounded him while giving off a brilliant glow of light. As he gathered large amounts of energy, he put his hands together and clapped them firmly. “Restoration!” he shouted aloud in a firm voice. The ground began to shake and the shaking sensation began to fill the air all around them. Then, the rocks and debris began to slowly fly into the air. The destroyed buildings began to reappear as if an invisible being was quickly contracting them from scratch. Some partially destroyed areas began to fly back to recreate the destroyed sections. The ground with many craters from the battle, began to fill themselves up with rocks and flattened to make solid ground. Even the people, that were watching the restoration of their homes and livelihood, felt energised as their wounds were healed and vitality restored. “Wow… So, this is the power of Restoration…” Fizard said quietly as he watched the restoration. “Within the texts of history, the technique called Restoration works by recreating the destroyed portions of the buildings and healing the injured in its wake,” Dominic informed them. “It’s pretty much turning back time,” Venezuela said quietly and the girls agreed by nodding their heads. Lakshman, who was surging with power, turned his head slightly and said, “The technique uses World Memory to restore the land and buildings back to the way they were before the destruction. As for the people, it heals them by acting like a wide range magic spell by stretching to every corner of the capital.” Then, he suddenly made a grim face and said, “However, it does not revive or resurrect the dead.” “Oh…” said the people at his words and an awkward silent fell.
“Well… It’s a good thing it doesn’t revive people then. Otherwise, Razzel would get revived and we wouldn’t want to deal with him again!” Fizard said and he laughed forcefully. Lakshman snorted and did not say anything, but he silently thought, “Fool…” One the restoration was complete, he let his hands drop to his sides. He let out a sighed deeply in relief from using his energy like that. “Right. We will inform the Dragon Emperor of the events that took place here and explain the situation so he understands,” Fizard said to Lakshman in a firm voice. Lakshman made a small smile as he said, “Even if he isn’t happy, tell him he cannot pressure me into giving up on Silvera; she’s mine and mine alone!” At his words, all the girls blushed brightly while looking embarrassedly at him. Even Silvera was embarrassed by his words as she spoke to him in his mind. “Really… Please, stop embarrassing me like that,” she told him pleadingly. Fizard smiled and nodded as he said, “Yes. I will make sure to pass on your message.” Fizard and Gurret turned and looked at each other before nodding once. Then, they raised their right hands and aimed ahead of them. As their energies gathered, they fired some sort of electric ball of light. The ball few a few meters before coming to a stop and it began to expand by creating a hole in the middle, which made it look like a portal. “Is that the Dragon Portal?” Lakshman asked curiously. As Gurret shook his head in amazement, Fizard said, “Really… You know a lot of our techniques.” Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said, “I had help.” “Well, then. Have a good day, Phoenix Titan and friends,” Fizard said to them. He and Gurret waved at them before they stepped forward and walked into the portal. Once they disappeared into it, the portal quickly shrunk and vanished into thin air. “All ready then?” Emilia asked once she turned to face them all. “Not yet. I need to speak to the people of this kingdom,” Lakshman said and he made a serious face as he spoke.
“If you want to speak, you’ll need to raise the ground-nyaa!” Cantia said energetically. She tapped her feet on the ground as she said, “Earth Rise.” In an instant, the ground suddenly rose up all around them. The girls were caught off guard, but Lakshman silently appreciated Cantia’s effort to make the ground rise. This would put him above the rest of the crowd and allow him to speak easily without having to directly face their angry faces. After reaching a certain height, the ground stopped rising and came to a stop. “Thank you, Cantia,” he told her with a smile. “You’re welcome-nyaa!” Cantia replied happily while the girls glared at her while feeling jealous. Lakshman stepped forward and placed his right forefinger near his neck as he said, “Amplification.” Amplification is a magic spell that amplifies the sound resonance from a vocal organ. Lakshman had used it on his throat, which meant that his voice’s volume was greatly increased. With the increase in his voice, Lakshman began speaking to the people of Mardana Kingdom. “People of Mardana!” he said and his voice boomed across the entire area. “I am the Phoenix Titan, Lakshman Reddy, speaking to you now!” People from all around, turned and looked up to where he was. Some were startled to see the highly raised earth from whence he spoke from. Others were wary of him and feared an attack, especially after their city was magically restored by unknown being and for unknown reasons. “Your destroyed homes, buildings and livelihood has been restored because I did it! I used my amazing phoenix powers to restore this land and heal each and every one of you! I did this, not out of obligation, but out of caring! For your information, I had been the prisoner of Mardana for a while. Yes! I was the warrior that was forced to fight and kill a Chamatex Lagrator during the Berserker Crusher event that was held a while ago! I was a prisoner of Mardana Kingdom, I was a prisoner of Adebola Gramstone and I was a prisoner of the Demon Dragon King, Razzel! Now, I am free with the help of my allies and you
are helpless without your king and his army! I can very well destroy this kingdom and obliterate it from the face of the world right this instance!” “Eh?!” the girls exclaimed in shock by his words. Dominic quickly looked at him in surprise and asked, “Lakshman?” The people, down below, were horrified by what he said and they were filled with fear. Lakshman was very angry with the people, but he forced himself to cool down and speak once more. “I won’t do it because that would break the balance between the four kingdoms of the Human Continent! But still, I have to wonder who the hell would protect you if I and the Sword Titan decided to destroy you all? Still, that makes me wonder where your king is. Where is here? What’s happened to him? What happened to the loyalty of a king to his people?” Lakshman paused and looked around at them. The people were beginning to question themselves by his questions. Once he saw them thinking, he began speaking once more. “Adebola Gramstone does not contain any sort of loyalty in him towards you! He abandoned you for the sake of his glory! In fact, he brain washed you and then used you as disposable pawns to buy time for the Phoenix Army to get distracted when arrived here! Before I restored this land, remember the destruction… remember the chaos… remember the damage…! All of it was the result of your king abandoning you and your foolishness! Your foolish decision to follow a mad king into destruction is beyond what I can describe! Shame on you! Shame on all of you! How can you follow a king that would abandon his subjects? How can you believe any of the nonsense he spoke? He is a lying cruel dirt bag that will use you and throw you away like anything! I am ashamed of you!” Lakshman sighed and witnessed the people bowing their heads with guilt ridden faces. They were riddled with fear and shock of the words Lakshman spoke to them. He did not want to do this, but he had no choice because he was forced to. If the people had chosen the right decision and revolted against their king, it would not have led to the destruction of their homes. “Before I go, here is my advice for you: The next time you elect a leader, make sure to choose one with great calibre. Ensure that he or she is someone that will follow through with the code
of being a king, someone that will care for their subjects and someone that will lead their people towards the direction of peace! That is all!” Lakshman sighed and deactivated Amplification. He used the Phoenix Eyes technique to zoom in on the people down below. He saw the stunned expressions on their faces and knew his words had stuck deep into their hearts. Nodding in satisfaction, he turned to Emilia and said. “Emilia, please open up a teleportation portal back to Floria Kingdom. I’m done talking to these people.” Emilia was startled for a moment by his words. Then, she quickly said, “Yes! It’ll be ready soon.” With that, Emilia began preparing the teleportation spell while she held her staff firmly in her hand. Erza looked at him curiously and asked, “Are you sure this is okay? Will they taken your words to heart?” “From what I could tell, my words hit them deep in the heart, but even if they didn’t… Well…” he said slowly and shrugged his shoulders before he said, “It’s their choice on whom they elect next. I’m not going to force them to do something because I’m not a dictator; I’m the Phoenix Titan.” “Still, I believe you were very harsh with them, Lakshman,” Ondine said unhappily. “I mean, it’s not like it’s their fault that Adebola turned out the way he did.” “What are you talking about, Ondine?” he asked her incredulously. “It is the fault of the people that their homes were destroyed, it is their fault their land was damaged and it is also their fault this kingdom ended up going to war against Floria Kingdom. It’s not that king that rules the land; it’s the people. Without the people, this land is nothing, but a wasteland with no use or purpose. Without the people, there wouldn’t be a kingdom in this kind of place.” He looked firmly into Ondine’s eyes and said, “Always remember that it’s the people that come first.” Ondine looked at him fixedly with an expression of amazement on her face. It was the first time, in her life, did she feel so amazed by someone’s actions. She was amazed by keen interest in becoming strong from the time when he was just a child and his constant drive to protect those around him. Now, she was amazed at how powerful and strong he had become, both physically and mentally. All this happened in the time that he was kidnapped and taken as a prisoner of Mardana Kingdom.
“Wow… I can hardly recognise him now…” she thought quietly to herself. Lakshman turned away from her and faced Dominic before he began to speak to him. “Dom, what will you do now?” Dominic smiled and turned to look at the people down below. “I will stay and protect these people. I cannot leave these people right after taking such a beating from the war.” Then he turned to Lakshman and said, “I am an Allay of Justice and the Sword Titan as well. I cannot abandon the people that need my help.” “I see. That’s quite understandable,” Lakshman said and they smiled at each other. Just then, Emilia said, “Alright. The teleportation circle is complete, Lakshman.” “Alright,” Lakshman said as he looked over his shoulder. Then, he faced Dom and extended his hand before saying, “Let’s meet again later.” “Definitely,” Dominic said firmly and he extended his own hand out. The Phoenix Titan and Sword Titan shook hands firmly for the first time, marking the start of their friendship. The clouds suddenly shifted to let the sun shine its light down on them. The sun bathed the two warriors with its warm light and created an amazing scene of warmth and strength. When they let go, Lakshman smiled and said, “Well then, have a good day.” “You too, my friend,” Dominic replied with a smile. Emilia was the first to step onto the teleportation circle and she was followed by Venezuela, Ondine, Erza, Cantia and Lakshman. He still had the Phoenix Blade and Demon Slayer hooked to his belt. After confirming that they were still attached to his belt, he turned around and waved at Dominic. There was a burst of yellow light as it surrounded them. A few seconds later, the light vanished and they were gone. Meanwhile, a burst of yellow light appeared within a forest and the group appeared out of it. While looking around at the deep forest they were in, Lakshman asked Emilia, “Where did you teleport us, Emilia?”
“I teleported us to a nearby forest near the capital,” Emilia told him. “We shouldn’t be that far away from there.” “Yes,” Lakshman said with a nod of his head. As they began walking towards the exit of the forest, Lakshman heard Silvera speak to him in his mind. “Master, I think you should’ve used your aura to frighten them into submission! Then, they will learn the lessons of their mistakes.” “Seriously…? I was already harsh enough with my words that I doubt I want to look like a total scary person with my aura. Oh… That reminds me, I’ve never used it, have I? Oh well. I’m sure I will get the chance to use it soon…?” “Hmm?!” Lakshman made a sudden exclamation sound with his mouth and his eyes sharpened. At that moment, he was sensing many power levels that were going up and down like the waves of the ocean. He did not understand, but felt danger imminent up ahead. “Lakshman, what’s wrong?” Venezuela called after him as he began running through the forest to quickly reach the exit. A while of running later, he burst out of the trees and he arrived at a location that was atop a cliff. Smoke was rising into the air from the burning buildings and trees as the land was damaged. A war was being waged between factions that Lakshman had never seen before. Magic spells and energy attacks were being used to attack each other and destroy one another. Meanwhile, the people desperately did their best to escape from the destruction of their homes and land while trying their best to stay alive. Seeing the chaos reigning before his eyes, Lakshman widened his eyes and bellowed, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!”
Phoenix Rising Chapter 232 Death by Destruction Lakshman had gone ahead and it took several seconds before the girls finally caught up with him. They were breathless from so suddenly increasing their running speed. “Ha… Ha… What’s the matter-nyaa?” Cantia asked breathlessly. Lakshman was standing in front of them while gazing at the scene with wide eyes filled with shock. The girls did not understand why he was not responding and moved forward to look worriedly at him. “What’s wrong, Lakshman?” Ondine asked worriedly. That was when they had come into clear view of the trees. Finally in the open with a clear view ahead, they were startled to suddenly find the place burning. The buildings were burning up, the land was badly damaged and people running in all directions. As the girls looked on in horror, Venezuela cried out in a shocked voice, “What the heck is happening?!” Lakshman could not believe what was happening before his eyes. Floria Kingdom’s capital was going up in flames with battle being waged in all directions. “Let’s take a closer look, but stay on guard!” Lakshman told them once he pulled himself back together. Nodding silently, they began to walk to the side while also slowly getting closer to the battle. As they got closer to the battle ground, its intensity made the girls gulp with anxiety. It was nothing like they had ever felt before in their lives. While observing with keen eyes, Lakshman realised there were people wearing golden armours, which were the Dragon Armours, and they were fighting against the soldiers of Floria Kingdom while an assortment of werewolves and men in cloaks fought alongside them. Venezuela also realised this and it puzzled her greatly. “Mmm! Those wearers of the golden armours must be Mardana Kingdom’s soldiers. There’s engaged in battle with the army, but why are there werewolves here? Also, who are all those
people in those strange outfits? Just, what is going on here?” Venezuela asked in a puzzled voice because she could not understand the situation. At that moment, Lakshman and the girls suddenly felt the presence of someone nearby. As they turned in the direction they felt the energy from, the person spoke to them in a rough voice. “Just from one look, you should clearly see that there’s war going on here!” “HHHIII!” Emilia exclaimed in shock and she backed away to standing with the girls. Standing in front of them was a werewolf with a large body and just with one glance told them this werewolf was strong. Strangely, its fur was white, unlike its brethren that were deep in combat. It was a strange werewolf that gave off an air of a leader. Along with that, they sensed something strange with its released power; it had the mixed powers of werewolf and vampire. “S-S-Stay away, monster!” Emilia stuttered nervously. “I-I’ll blow you away!” Lakshman, the girls and the werewolf looked at her in surprise. Although she said powerful words, it somehow ended up becoming feeble and the words lost their power. The werewolf looked really amused and it began to chuckle, causing them to quickly turn to face it with serious expressions on their faces. “Haha. I could take offense to being called a monster, but I just can’t help myself to laugh,” the werewolf said lightly. “Mmm?” Lakshman narrowed his eyes and became suspicious of the white werewolf’s behaviour. For some reason, it reminded him of someone he knew. Unfortunately, he was having trouble figuring out whom the werewolf reminded him of. At that moment, they all raised their eyes and turned in the direction of the battle. Several golden armoured warriors broke away from the battle and rushed towards them. Each of them were roaring like wild beasts while wielding heavily bloodied swords. “Here they come!” Lakshman said and he quickly pulled out both the Phoenix Blade and Demon Slayer. The white werewolf clicked its tongue and said, “Impudent fools!”
It turned to face them completed while leaving itself wide open. Then, what it did next completely surprised Lakshman. It pulled back its fists and gathered large quantities of energy into its arm and the arm began to glow brightly. It then swung its arm forward in and in a flowing movement, it released the charged up energy while shouting out the technique. “Wolf Fang Fist!” The energy got released in a mighty force and it went soaring straight at the incoming enemies. As it soared towards them, the head of it transformed into a wolf shaped energy force that bored its energy fangs at them. The next moment, the enemies were tossed high into the air by the impact. The enemies soared in several directions before crashing heavily and did not rise again. “Serves them right!” the werewolf said grimly. Seeing the technique in action and hearing its name clicked in Lakshman’s memory. He immediately remembered the person that had a name that went with being a wolf. He turned to the white werewolf and asked, “Wolfenstine, is that you?” The white werewolf turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Then, it seemed to have formed a smile with its beast mouth and said, “Well, now. How did you figure it out?” Lakshman sighed and said, “You’re the only guy around here that uses ‘Wolf’ at the starting of every technique of yours.” “Huh? How did you know that? I don’t remember sharing that information with you,” Wolfenstine said in a puzzled voice. Lakshman waved his hand and said, “Doesn’t matter right now.” Then, he pointed at the battle and asked, “What’s going here? Why isn’t the battle over yet and what happened to king? Is he alright?” Wolfenstine shrugged his large shoulders and said, “I don’t really know about the king since there’s been heavy combat for a while now. However, there’s been a great battle taking place inside the castle.” As if to prove his words, they suddenly sensed a violent amount of power that came from the direction of the castle. Lakshman turned to look towards the castle in time to see the side wall explode as a bream of energy zoomed out of it. “Elemental Sight!” Lakshman said aloud.
Immediately, his vision of colours disappeared to be replaced by grey space all around. He saw the colours of red and blue, indicating who the enemy and ally were. Additionally, the technique enabled him to see how brightly their colours were to indicate the strength of their life force. Focusing his senses, he confirmed the presence of Felix, the king and several others within the castle, including Adebola. He got momentarily angry, but he focused on observing the scene for a bit longer. The life forces of Felix and Adebola were strong, but there was a dark stream of energy emanating from where the king was. From the way it looked, the king had collapsed and is being supported by several blue people, which was the allying colour. “Damn! Adebola’s at the castle!” Lakshman said angrily. Venezuela immediately got worried and asked, “Dad’s in trouble?” Lakshman saw the dark stream of energy coming from the King, whose blue light was slowly diminishing. At the same, he saw several people in red were racing to support Adebola. He realising something bad happened to the king and Felix needed immediate assistance, but he felt would create unnecessary panic in the girls if he said it outright. So, he deactivated his powers and said, “I don’t know, but he seems to be in trouble. Why don’t you girls head over and help out?” “Eh?” The girls were surprised by his words, causing Ondine to wear a serious expression on her face. “What about you-nyaa?” Cantia asked him suspiciously. “I’ll stay here and work things out,” Lakshman told them firmly. “Now, go!” The girls hesitated for a moment and Ondine took it on herself to lead them. Although she was surprised by his decision to stay there, she knew this was not the time to argue. “Okay! Let’s go!” she said loudly and began pushing them from behind. With her pushing, the girls headed towards the castle. While on the way, they encountered several soldiers, but Ondine blasted them away by using Air Slash while Emilia used Stone Wall to raise a wall and send it hurting towards the people. The enemies tried to destroy it using sheer energy attacks, but it proved useless and they were knocked several meters back.
“NYYAAAA!!” Cantia shouted and she transformed into a large beast cat in a flash of light. Once they were on and trashing its large tail behind it, Cantia began running towards the castle at high speed. On the way, it sent a wave of earthquakes that knocked the enemies off balance and gave the allies the chance to defeat them for good. “Those girls are really something,” Wolfenstine commented as they watched them go. “You’ve got some really good pair of lovers.” “Right,” Lakshman said distractedly. Once the girls disappeared, he turned and looked seriously at Wolfenstien before he asked, “Now, tell me about what’s happened here and start the beginning!” “You’ve become rather firm in your manner of speech.” “Just tell me already.” Wolfenstine looked at him for a moment and sighed before beginning to tell him. “The Phoenix Army left to wage war against the Mardana Kingdom and rescue you at the same time. They left through the teleportation circle and we bid them goodbye, but the moment they disappeared, another teleportation circle appeared. From it, the Mardana Kingdom’s army marched in and they were wearing the Dragon Armours! Damn, I thought we were finished for sure!” “Sounds painful,” Lakshman muttered and Wolfenstine sighed heavily. “Anyway, Adebola was at the front of the army and he launched this attack that froze us to the spot. Luckily, my clan of werewolves and vampires showed up at the right time. Then, a while later, the Phoenix Army returned and the whole thing turned into this mighty mess!” “I see,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. Then, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked, “By the way, explain to me why the vampires are out in broad day light? Shouldn’t they be turning to dust by now?” “Ah!” Wolfenstine said in one of his times when something interesting was brought up. “Well, you see… I had thought about a way to allow vampires to walk in daylight and that’s when I got the inspiration. That gave birth to the cloak they are wearing, which I call the Vampire Solar Cloaks!” Lakshman looked at him with both of his eyebrows raised as he could not believe what he just heard.
“So, you’re saying these cloaks that they’re wearing reduces the effect of the sunlight?” Wolfenstine nodded eagerly and said, “That’s right, but unfortunately the cloaking effect only lasts for two hours.” Lakshman sighed and said, “Oh well… At least, their skin isn’t glittering from the sunlight. Imagine vampire’s skin glittering in sunlight… Uh… That’s bad to imagine!” He shook his head to shake away the nasty feeling, causing Wolfesntine to chuckle heartily. “By the way, how did your clansmen get here? Did you use some sort of telepathically communicating device or something?” Wolfenstine looked surprised and said, “How did you know?” Lakshman lowered his eyes and said flatly, “Just tell me.” “Well… I had been feeling inconvenient with the mailing system. It’s good that we can write and send the mails off, but it takes months before they get it and more months before I get it. Sometimes, the mailing convey gets attacks by the wild creatures of nature and during the scuffle, the letters will sometimes end up getting damaged. That’s why, I invented a prototype device that lets us communicate with each other if we have this device. You simply have to lift it up and hold it near your mouth and speak into it, which automatically gets transmitted to the receiving end of the device. I’m calling this the Vocal Transmission Device!” “I see and let me guess, you used it during my absence to inform them that there might be war up here and to bring in their a-game to beat the crap out of anyone dumb enough to mess with your clansmen.” Wolfenstine smiled and said, “Precisely!” Lakshman sighed and shook his head in exasperation. At that moment, he felt a sudden spike in a power level of someone familiar and an explosion erupted form near the battle ground. Lakshman and Wolfenstine got buffeted by the strong winds and once it steeled down, he looked towards where the high power level emanated from. His eyes widened in shock when he realised whose power he sensed; the Death Titan, Sevedent.
Sevedant was moving between the enemies and was cutting them down with merciless force. His weapon of choice was a large lethal scythe and he was using this to cut down the enemies effortlessly. He knew the inferiority quality of the Dragon Armours, but they were pretty strong enough to strengthen both the attack defence of the wearer. Even so, the scythe was swung easily and it effortlessly cut through the armour and killed the enemies. “S-S-Slicing Death?” Lakshman said out loud in a startled voice. “Oh my god… I doubt even I will survive a swung from that lethal blade, even if I was wearing the Phoenix Armour to become the Sacred Armoured Phoenix Titan.” Watching the enemies getting sliced around like onions made Lakshman shiver. “Lucky, you underestimate yourself. You’re the Phoenix Titan and you stand above the rest of the Nine Pillars of Power!” Wolfenstine told him bracingly. Lakshman only shook his head and said nothing. Instead, he began thinking to himself about it. “You’re right, Wolfenstine. That would be the case, but I’m not at my fullest power. From what I’ve learnt from Decisive Player’s great knowledge and wisdom, it seems that unlocking three of the four seals only allowed me fifty-percent of my full phoenix power. I know I received tenpercent power boost from Decisive Player’s sacrifice, but I’ll consider it as a bonus power than my actual power. This means, the remaining fifty-percent of my power is still locked away by the last seal. This is bad… Very bad… Each of the seals were unlocked when I became desperate to save, protect and live. Well… I did forcibly break the third seal, but I believe I was able to do that because I was desperate to live. The problem with the final seal is the requirement of ‘desperation to destroy,’ which itself sounds really bad. Was I meant to be feeling really desperate to destroy something to unlock that final seal? Why did Decisive Player and Tetra constantly tell me not to unlock the last seal?” At that moment, he suddenly remembered the words that Decisive Player had told him a while back. “Don’t you ever dare to destroy the last seal, otherwise something disastrous will happen. However, you will eventually destroy the final seal by feeling desperate to destroy something.” When he heard those words at that time, Lakshman did not fully understand. “Hmm… What did he mean by that? Did he foresee something in the future? Will I feel the desperate need to destroy something? And, what is this disaster that he kept warning me about?”
It generated more questions that he just did not of any way of answering. On the other hand, he did not feel confident in leaving it up to time and destiny to answer them for him. It made him wonder what he must do to progress further into understanding the world and himself better to solve these mysteries. At that moment, the ground suddenly gave a violent shake and the air became think with tension. Reeled into reality by the shock, Lakshman witnessed a powerful wave of black energy unleashed in the battle ground. The one firing the black wave of destructive energy was none other than Sevedant, the Death Titan. “Uh…! Death Wave!” Lakshman exclaimed in a horrified voice. “Yikes! He’s seriously not sparing anyone, is he?” Wolfenstine asked apprehensively. Lakshman stared in shock as the wave of black energy disappeared, leaving a great destroyed land and buildings. The technique was so powerful that it easily vaporised everyone that were unfortunate enough to stand in its path. There was no defence against it and no protective barrier was strong enough to stop it. He shook his head and said, “Forget about my thoughts! If he keeps attacking like that, he’ll end up destroying the capital! Telepathy!” With the activation of the spell, Lakshman began speaking in his mind while he focused to telepathically speak to the Death Titan. “Sevedant? Hey, Sevedant! Come on… Respond!” he thought desperately, but it appeared that Sevedant did not hear him “Master, there appears to be a magical interference that’s causing disturbance in the telepathically communications,” Tetra informed him. “I believe, it’s to do with the Death by Destruction.” “But, I don’t feel the intimidating sense or anything.” “Probably because the output range has been weakened, but its effect still lingers. There’s no choice, master. You must make direct contact if you to speak with him.” “Direct contact, ha…? Through this mess?” Lakshman asked in exasperation as he looked at the destruction in front of him. “Who are you speaking to?” Wolfenstine asked curiously.
“To Tetra,” he said shortly. Then, he deactivated Telepathy and said, “Alright. There’s no choice! Tetra and Silvera, activate your powers and get ready. We’re going into the heat of the battle.” “Understood!” both Tetra and Silvera said at the same time. Lakshman turned to Wolfenstine and said, “Can you please head over to the castle and be of more assistance to them? I fear that more soldiers of Mardana Kingdom have gone there.” “Okay!” Wolfenstine said and he began running full pelt towards the castle. “Wow… He really moves like a wolf on two legs,” Lakshman thought as he watched him go. As he charged at high speed, he ran into more soldiers fighting ahead. Without pausing or stopping, he rammed straight into them and sent them flying like dolls. The Phoenix Clan warriors saw him charging towards them and quickly got out of the way. The enemy did not budge and stood in in his way while sending attacks. Wolfenstine took the attacks directly and appeared to not have fazed before sending them flying into the air. Lakshman chuckled and said, “Yikes! Although this is my first time seeing him in combat, he’s pretty brutal.” “Mad scientists are brutal, master,” Tetra commented loftily. “Tetra, you don’t want him hearing you say that about him,” he said as he smiled cheerfully. “Anyway, we have our own battle to face,” He suddenly heard someone from behind scream, “AAAAAH!!!” Lakshman realised who it was and ducked to avoid the three swords that flew above him. Quickly recovered, he fully turned around and faced the warriors, who were all wearing angry expressions on their faces. “AAAAH!!” they screamed and charged at him again. Lakshman snorted and said, “Have an early night!” He casually raised his Demon Slayer and Phoenix Blade swords and started using magic spells to knock them out; he hit the first man with a Water Bullet that knocked the man out in an instant by a heavy ball of wall that slammed into his face, the second man went down when a
solid Rock Bullet smashed into his face, knocking him out instantly and the third man was hit by a Wind Blast that sent him tumbling backwards before finally coming to a stop. “Phew. Now then,” Lakshman said and he turned to face towards Sevedant. “Time to finish this mess.” With a firm resolve in his eyes, he charged forward and headed towards where Sevedant was. As he made his way through the battling warriors, several attempted to get in his way and obstructed the path ahead. Roaring wildly they charged towards him with swords blazing and eyes burning with rage. “You’d be a fool to attack—!” Lakshman began to say, but he was forced to dodge quickly as they began swinging at them. “Oi, oi…! What is up with them?” he thought while looking puzzled. While dodging their numerous attempts to cut at him, his sleeve got cut and this surprised him. It was not his cut sleeve that worried him, but the ugly bloodthirstiness these men were emanating that made him feel worried. “Master, I believe there’s no choice, but to kill them,” Silvera told him. “They are clearly men that are after your life and you can’t play the innocent role of a saviour when you have work to do.” “Silvera is right, master. Hesitation will land you into trouble,” Tetra told him. He gritted his teeth and said, “Fine…! I’ll get rid of them!” At that moment, these men stepped back and quickly gathered energy into their swords. With the energy gathered, they released it in a multitude of slicing energy waves in Lakshman’s direction. He stood his ground and firmly gripped his swords and eyed the incoming energy attacks without making any more. There was an eruption of energy as the attacks collided upon impact. For a moment, the enemies were pleased with themselves for their effort when all of a sudden, the wind began to change. It startled to swirl and shifted the cloud of dust that resulted from the explosion. The attackers were shocked when they saw their target was still alive and that he was swirling both of his swords above his head, causing the wind to change dramatically. Lakshman spun his two swords above his head at great speed and was picking up momentum. Finally, once he had spun them countless times, he shifted his gripped the handles tightly and
brought them down to hold them on either side of his body. As he began to surge with power, he swept the swords while simultaneously shouting out the technique name. “Slicing Death Wave!” The energy he released, was sent in all directions from the point of release. It hit the attackers and knocked them so hard into the air that caused them to vomit blood. They were not the only ones to be attacked, as all those around them were taken out in an instant by the slicing energy attack. The only ones that it did not kill were his allies. Lakshman straightened up and looked around. Surrounding him were the dead bodies of the attackers that were foolish enough to attack him. “Phew. Thanks for the technique, Silvera. It’s supposed to have killed everyone regardless of who they were, unless they were super strong! Luckily, I lowered the power and output of the attack while targeting specifically only at at certain types of people by using the power of light from the Phoenix Blade as a collaboration tool,” he thought in relief. Then, in a voice of concern, he asked, “Tetra, are you okay?” “Oww… Seriously, please warn me if you’re going to use my power like that. Being closely connected to the Demon Slayer hurt…” Tetra told him unhappily in his mind. Silvera was also not happy as she said, “Come on, master. Please be more mindful of how we would feel when you go ahead and do it like that. At least, let us know next time and we’ll be prepared.” “I’m really sorry, but it was on the spur of the moment to use it like that,” he thought as he chuckled to himself. With that cleared away, Lakshman continued to run towards the location where Sevedant was as he continued slicing down everyone that attacked him. From a normal point of view, it would be seen that he is killing anything and anyone in sight without care. Lakshman, on the other hand, clearly saw that Sevedant was holding his power back for the sake of his allies. Otherwise, these people should not be a problem for a man of his calibre. Sensing his approach, Sevedant cut down a warrior and turned to face him. Lakshman saw the Death Titan wearing the same old mask to cover up his face, but it did not matter to him. He had gotten accustomed to seeing Sevedant with that mask with holes with gleaming red eyes and a big red smile on the mouth of the mask. The Death Titan gave of a deathly aura while his dark cloak dripping with the blood of his enemies. “Scary…!” Silvera said in his mind.
He chuckled and said, “Relax. He looks scary, but looks can be deceiving.” At that moment, the Mardana Kingdom soldiers and the Phoenix Army soldiers suddenly converged while fighting furiously. Realising this was going to become difficult to deal with, he came to a stop and prepared his magic. “Water Spinner!” In an instant, a small wind occurred beneath his feet, which quickly gathered in a large quantity of water that surrounded him. The connected water rotated around him while spilling none of its contents. Finally ready, he activated another spell that acted like a finisher. “Water Wave!” In an instant, the rotating water expanded and grew to his height from the surface of the ground. Then, with an exertion of his power, the tower of water was sent in all directions. All the warriors were taken by the surprise, as a wave of water slammed into them and washed them away. Sevedant cut down a warrior with his bloodied scythe when saw wave of water coming towards him. He casually raised his left hand and instantly created some sort of black wall, which protect him from the wave. After travelling for some distance, the wave disappeared and left the ground pretty wet. The warriors were disoriented by the sudden impact of water against them and lay on the ground. “Lakshman. You returned,” Sevedant said in his usual manner by using only simple words. Lakshman chuckled and said, “Thanks, but you don’t look so good… covering in so much blood…” “Constantly killing. Never stopping. Never ending,” Sevedant said in a surprisingly bored voice. “If you’re tired of killing, why don’t you just go for disabling them? I understand that they are going after your life and all, but maybe dealing them a powerful knock of the head should solve matters, right?” “Possibly. However, brain damage,” Sevedant said shortly.
“Oh… If that’s the case, I can’t deny that,” Lakshman said as he felt a little stumped by his words. “That’s why, I have a plan that’ll help us knock them out without taking any more lives!” Lakshman went to reply when he suddenly had to duck to avoid the swung of a sword. Then, he activated Power Barrier around himself and Sevedant as numerous energy beams were shot in their direction. Once the beams had disappeared, he surged his powers and expanded the barrier, causing all warriors to get knocked back once they slammed into it. “Damn… I was hoping for a bit more time!” Lakshman said as the attackers began to slowly get back to their feet. Sevedant walked over to him and asked, “Plan?” “Yes! Hit them with your devastating aura by activating your Death by Destruction at full power!” “Death by Destruction? Full Power?” Sevedant asked uncertainly. “AAAAAAHH!!!” “AATTTAAAAAACCKKK!!!” “KKKIIIILLLLLL!!!!” At that moment, the enemy soldiers roared and charged towards them with glowing swords. Once again, Lakshman created a barrier and sent it slamming into them. Unable to repel or fight against it, the warriors were sent flying back once again. Lakshman quickly turned to Sevedant and said, “Their Dragon Armours, even though they are not the legit, still have the ability to supress the power of the aura. Now, I will destroy the armours using Dragon Crusher, which will leave them wide open to be hit directly by your Death by Destruction!” Sevedant did not say anything as he stared at Lakshman through his gleaming red eyes. However, Lakshman sensed the doubt because of how powerful the effects of Death by Destruction would be. “Master, is it worth using it at full power?” Tetra asked curiously. Lakshman shook his head and said aloud, “At normal power, the Death by Destruction is a technique that releases an intimidating aura that paralyses the victims with shock and fear.
But, if it’s used at full power, I’m certain the devastating aura that it unleashes will terrorises the victims until it totally knocked them out! All this time, Sevedant had held back the full impact of it so as to not scare the people.” Sevedant slowly shook his head and said, “No. I can’t. I’m not terror. Messenger of Death. Death Titan.” Lakshman nodded at him and said, “Yes, I understand what you’re feelings of not wanting to look like a terrorising monster, but this isn’t the time for feelings! Sevedant, these people are just normal people with a simple living and families back at Mardana Kingdom. Because of Adebola’s selfish ambitions, they were pulled into this ridiculous war and are now fighting to the death! I know this is war, but war can never take away our feelings for righteousness!” The enemy warriors rose up and charged towards them while roaring fiercely. They rushed towards them, but were suddenly brought to a stop as they slammed into an invisible barrier. Lakshman learnt his lesson and decided to keep up the barrier while he talked to Sevedant about the plan. Lakshman pointed towards the warring men and said, “Look at them! Look at their eyes! Those are the eyes of people that have given up reason to live! Now, they are simply fighting because they are soldiers of war! They have resigned themselves to their fate and are fighting for their king! It’s not right to let them die while fighting for someone like Adebola! Please, Sevedant! You’re the only one capable of taking them out without killing them!” He sighed and inwardly thought, “The other option would be is to take out Adebola directly in front of them, but I feel there will be more needless blood shed before that happens. It’s better to take out the army first to settle the official war. Adebola can wait…!” At that moment, Tetra asked him, “Master, although it is a good plan, I wonder about their hearts. I mean, what if their hearts stop from the overwhelming fear? Wouldn’t that instantly kill them?” Lakshman slowly shook his head and said, “No, Tetra. I can see the fire in the eyes of these men; these are men that will not die by such overwhelming fear! They’re not silly children to die from the shock of their lives after being soldiers that put their lives constantly on the line! These people have seen the light of life and death many times and do not fear death! However, like all living beings, fear exists in all and I’m certain their secretly hidden fears will be their downfall.” “I see. Understood, master,” Tetra replied and said no more.
He looked fiercely into Sevedant’s red gleaming eyes and said, “Sevedant!” Sevedant finally nodded slowly as he said, “Very well. You made your point.” Lakshman smiled a little in triumphant, which was shirt lived due to the roars from the army of soldiers slamming hard against the barrier. Lakshman and Sevedant looked at the men fighting furiously against the barrier, but it could not budge. They tried hitting it with their energy and magic technique, but the Power Barrier remained intact. “I’m dropping the barrier and I will activate Dragon Crusher the moment they start charging at us,” Lakshman informed Sevedant in a muttering voice. Sevedant nodded at him once without saying anything. Lakshman focused his energy and deactivated the barrier. In an instant, a swarm of enemy soldiers rushed towards them with while exerting rage of complete madness. Lakshman instantly clapped his hands together and shouted as he activated the magic spell. “Dragon Crusher!” He swept his arms out and as he did, a powerful wave of energy was released. It swept forward and slammed hard into the raging warriors. In an instant, with the crumbling sounds, the inferior Dragon Armours crumbled into pieces and fell to the ground. With the protection gone, Lakshman turned to Sevedant and shouted at him, “Sevedant! You’re up!” Sevedant placed a skeleton hand on his chest and his gleaming red eyes suddenly went out. The next instance, a black energy erupted from within him and flowed everywhere at high speed. Lakshman his eyes momentarily to avoid getting hit by the black energy. At that moment, he felt an intense surge of power and a strange sensation wash over him. The technique was activated and it began to sweep through the area while affecting everything in its path. Lakshman felt the heavy pressure in the air and the tension that ran like a surgical electrical field. It created a strange sensation in Lakshman as he felt tension rising to the surface from deep within him. Without realising it, he was covered in cold sweat from just feeling the pressure of Sevedan’t power. Unable to bear it, he opened his eyes wide and stared at the figure in front of him.
Sevedant was gone and he was replaced by a wild flowing dark energy as it swept everything in its path. In the midst of that dark energy was a figure with bright red shining eyes. It created a terrifying image of a destructive monster that was about to tear him and everyone apart. “UUUURRRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!” Sevedant began to scream, but it did not belong remotely close to his voice. Instead, it was a wild scream that created a blood curdling terror as it pierced into every man’s heart and had the intensity to turn skin into bones with sheer force. The surging force from Sevedant was so great that it instantly knocked all the warriors, including the allies from all around. The sheer magnitude of the power was so immense that Lakshman sank to his knees and threatened to collapse. He did not feel that his energy was being drained or that his vitality rate had dropped. This was a different sort of feeling that he had never experienced before in his sixteen years of life. “Burning Spirit!” he shouted in a last ditch effort to stay conscious. He erupted in warm flames as it fought furiously against Sevedan’t powerful force. He stabbed his sword into the ground. There, he desperately forced himself to stay conscious and he felt his heart beating faster as his fear of destruction increased. Lakshman glanced towards the place Sevedant was standing. Although he was surrounded by a wild flowing dark energy, he had a terrifying sensation. With the erupting energy all around him and those gleaming red eyes, it suddenly looked like a gigantic black monster of destruction. “I’ve felt intense pressure when I trained at 1000 times gravity, when I trained my mind in absolute silence and when I fought for survival in the intense heat and cold temperatures of the Gravity Chamber. Yes… I take back what I said about him…! H-He truly is… the most… terrifying person!”
Phoenix Rising Chapter 233 Death of a King
“Are you okay?” said a voice from nearby. Lakshman opened his eyes and looked up. Standing about him with gleaming red eyes and a white mask with a red smile was Sevedant. For a moment, Lakshman was puzzled as to why he was kneeling when he remembered what had happened. Unable to cope with the intense pressure that Sevedant unleashed with the Death by Destruction, he had knelt down. “Thanks,” Lakshman said when he was easily lifted up by Sevedant’s helping hand. “Still, I didn’t expect your pressure to me so intense!” “Death Titan. Fifth of Nine Pillars of Power,” Sevedant told him shortly. “I know, I know, but I wasn’t expecting to get affected by that power!” After straightening up, he looked around and saw the warriors lying down, unconscious. Both enemies and allies alike have fallen unconscious on the destroyed battlefield. Using Elemental Sight, he checked to find all of them to be alive and well. It appeared the intense pressure from Sevedant had done its job in knocking them out. “Phew. I may have struggled against it, but it was worth it,” he thought in satisfaction. “How can you say that, master, when you nearly collapsed?” Silvera asked him indignantly. “Silvera, get used to it because it’s one of master’s reckless actions of being a warrior,” Tetra told her in a flat voice. “Oh… If that’s the case, then I won’t worry,” Silvera said flatly. Lakshman clicked his tongue and said, “Seriously… Doesn’t anyone understand how brave I am?” Sevedant looked at him and asked, “Talking to spirits?” “Yeah and they think I’m reckless!” Lakshman said indignantly.
“Funny,” Sevedant said shortly. Then, he turned and faced in the direction of the castle. “Castle in trouble.” Lakshman saw Sevedant’s eyes gleaming rightly and he also turned to look at the castle. Smoke was rising from the castle where the destruction had taken place. Then, they witnessed more destruction and the shaking of the castle as the battle raged inside it. Seeing this, Sevedant raised his right hand and pointed at the castle. In an instant, he amassed a large amount of dark energy into the palm of his skeleton hand. He was about to fire when Lakshman’s shout made him pause. “Sevedant! What are you doing?!” “Attacking.” “Attacking what?” “Adebola.” Lakshman knew it was not an easy task to convince the mighty Death Titan. He looked at the energy in his hands and realised it was the Ballistic Death Wave. With the amount of power that Sevedant had gathered, he realised it would do more than just killing Adebola in one shot. He quickly said, “Hold on, hold on! If you fire that thing, you’ll end up destroying the castle!” Sevedant turned and looked at him before sternly saying, “No choice. Must act now.” “Must act? Mmm…! Fine! Which don’t you launch me with it? After all, I have a bone to pick with Adebola before you decide to kill him!” Lakshman said firmly. Sevedant stared at him for a moment before asking, “Can you handle?” “Can I handle Adebola? Ha!” Lakshman said with a snort. “I’m a complete useless case if I can’t handle that coward!” Sevedant shook his head and said, “No. My power. Can you handle it?” “Oh… Your power huh…” Lakshman said and he looked at the energy gathered in Sevedant’s hand. Then, he smiled and said, “No problems! Silvera will help me out.” “Silvera?” Sevedant asked as he did not understand who it was.
“Ah! It’s the name I gave to my newly acquired Demon Slayer!” Lakshman said and he held the sword up. Sevedant glanced at it once and then nodded in acceptance. He pointed his left hand at Lakshman and made him hover instantly. Then, he moved him to the position directly in front of his hand. The plan was basically to propel Lakshman away while laughing the attack at the same time. “Ready?” Sevedant asked one final time. “Yes!” Lakshman said and he nodded his head. Then, he thought, “Silvera, please provide me a dark barrier so I don’t get pain from being propelled by a dark energy attack.” “Already did it, master,” Silvera told him. “Go,” Sevedant said finally. With the gathered energy in his hand, he aimed it and launched the Ballistic Death Wave. It slammed hard into Lakshman’s back and it pushed him forward at high speed. The speed of the travel was so great, it seemed like seconds before Lakshman reached the castle. He felt pressure coming from the front that kept him in position. Due to his training with Sevedant, he had focused his energy to remain attached to the front of the driving energy wave. As the wind howling loudly in his ears, he bellowed “This has got to be the wildest feeling I’ve ever had!” He laughing hysterically as he passed the ground very quickly and neared the castle. Once the castle was in sight, he sharpened his eyes and smiled. “Wait for me, Adebola! I’m coming for you!” he thought fiercely. Meanwhile, there was a battle taking place inside the castle walls. Dead bodies of soldiers littered the castle grounds and blood was thrown all over the walls. At that moment, there was a powerful force of impact and it came from the second floor. “HAAAAA!!!” Felix shouted. “UUHHHH!!!” Adebola yelled. Both warriors were fighting furiously against each other while wielding their swords. They were moving at incredible speeds at each other and each blow they delivered sent a powerful
shock wave in all directions. Due to their intense battle, the castle walls threatened to collapse at any second, but they continued to fight regardless of the consequences. Away from the battle and protected by the barrier were a group of people. Venezuela, Emilia, Ondine, Cantia and Erza were present, including the king and his wife. Wolfenstine was also present, but he was acting like a lookout in case of emergency. The king was lying down on the queen’s lap with a deep stab wound near his chest. There was a dark energy emanating from the wound, which gave off a powerful negative feeling. “Dad! Dad!” Venezuela was constantly calling for her father, but he was barely conscious. Emilia and Erza were concentrating hard to heal his would, but it was not working. Erza was using Healing Heart, which seemed to have lessened the pain the king was feeling from the wound. Emilia had used Healing, Healing Wave and Healing Force, but they had no effect. Not willing to give up, she forced herself to use the King ranked Healing Magic Spell, Healing Harmony. The magic spell began fixing the cracks in the walls and ground around them, but it did nothing to the wound in his chest. “No...! Why isn’t it working?!” Emilia demanded as she helplessly looked at Erza. “Emilia, calm down. This is a cursed wound and I don’t think these normal healing spells will work on it,” Erza told her firmly. “B-But... We can’t lose king… We have to do something!” Emilia said as tears slowly. Erza looked at her firmly and said, “Let’s just do our best and leave the rest to fate. There’s nothing more we can do.” Ondine got angry and she turned to look at the battle taking place near them. She eyed Adebola furiously and said, “Damn you…!” Felix and Adeboal were fighting furiously and did not seem to care about anymore around them. Their swords moved in a blink of an eye and slammed into each other before following through with their next clash of swords. In the middle of fighting, Adebola smiled at Felix and said, “You’re not bad for a Phoenix Emperor!” “Shut up you foolish brat!” Felix shouted angrily at him.
They delivered a powerful blow at each other and it pushed the both of them back. Their feet got dragged on the castle ground and they eventually came to a stop while glaring at one another. Felix raised the sword with both of his hands and aimed it towards Adebola. “Burning Phoenix!” His sword burst into flames and the fire was launched towards Adebola. As it soared through the air, it transformed into a fiery bird of anger and destruction. It made a loud screeching sound that hurt the ears of all those witnessing the battle. Seeing the attacking soaring towards him, Adebola only laughed. Adebola raised his hand, aimed it at the fiery bird and said, “Water Rings!” Particles of light gathered in front of his light and they quickly became circling rings of water. He fired five of them and they soared straight at the fiery bird. The burning force of the Burning Phoenix was high, but the magical water of the Water Rings did stopped it from evaporating in mid-air. Once the Water Rings soared into and got slimed to the neck of the fiery bird, Adebola closed his hands. In an instant, the five water rings quickly contracted and shrunk in size. With brute force, the fiery bird was compressed out of existence and the burning flames were quickly put out by the water that expelled from the release of the water rings. Felix, undaunted by the destruction of his fiery bird, quickly followed up with another technique. This time, he used his fist and charged it up another powerful technique. He withdrew his right arm back and the arm quickly became surrounded by flames. “Phoenix Fist!” With the shout of the technique name, he brought his right arm forward and launched the attack. The attack got launched in a fiery beam of energy that soared across the ground and quickly took on the shape of a fiery bird and soared toward Adebola at high speed. Like before, it also screeched violently with its fiery rage. Adebola shook head and said, “You and your phoenix techniques… Fine. I’ll try out a dragon technique.” Hearing this, Felix said, “What?”
Adebola quickly withdrew his right hand back and gathered energy into it. Then, in a flowing movement, he brought it forward and unleashed the power. “Dragon Fist!” The powerful beam of energy was shot from his right arm and soared straight towards the fiery bird. The energy quickly changed shape and took on the form of a dragon that roared mightily. Soon, the two energies smashed into each other and an energy struggle took place between them. Felix used great pressure on his attack to push it forward, but Adebola’s force kept the two locked in place. Finally, the resulting clashing powers caused an explosion that erupted in the centre of the room. Dust was lifted into the air and covered the view while a wild blowing wind started buffeting everything within the room. For a few seconds, things were hectic until it all finally started to settle down. As the dust cleared, Felix saw that Adebola was perfectly fine. “You…! How do you know about that technique? You’re not part of the Dragon Clan to use it!” Felix said suspiciously. Adeboal grinned broadly and said, “Well, since I’m wearing the Dragon Armours, I’m technically part of their clan and that allows me to use some of their techniques.” “Damn…!” Felix thought angrily. “He’s basically thwarted all of my techniques with evenly powerful techniques. Now, you’re telling me he can use whatever technique he wants from the Dragon Clan, the fiercest rival of the Phoenix Clan?” He knew the rivalry between the two clans, which had lasted for a very long time; from the time of the first Phoenix Titan and the Dragon Emperor of that time. Due to this, the techniques of their respective clans have similarly powerful effects and this had caused their rivalry to increase dramatically. Over time, the clans began distancing themselves from each other and eventually cut off all contacts. “I never thought I’d face the time when their techniques would be used by someone not from their own clan,” Felix thought unhappily. Adebola was smiling confidently when, all of a sudden, there was a violent impact that shook the entire castle. At that moment, the Ballistic Death Wave slammed hard into the castle and shook it violently, causing all occupants to desperately hold on from the violent shaking. Then, the wall next to Adebola erupted and a Lakshman came into the room. “Sorry, but I’m borrowing this bastard!” Lakshman said quickly as he winked at Felix.
He charged forward and before Adebola could react, he grabbed him by the face. With sheer force, he launched himself and smashed through the wall while bringing Adebola with him. Together, they smashed through the walls and exited the castle to land several meters away from the castle. “Lakshman? What?” Felix asked in a surprised voice as he ran to the hole where Lakshman and Adebola exited through. “Always so reckless…” said a familiar voice from behind. He turned around and was startled to see Tetra and an unfamiliar girl standing behind her. “Tetra? Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with him?” Felix asked and he gestured towards the hole. Tetra shook her head and said, “No. Master has some personal business with that guy.” “Oh… So, who’s this? Another addition to the list of f Lakshman’s lovers?” Felix asked curiously when he turned to look at the girl. Silvera was startled by sharpness, Tetra chuckled before she said, “That’s right. He named her Silvera after making an Astral Contract with her.” When he looked puzzled, he added, “She’s the Demon Slayer.” “Huh?!” Felix exclaimed in disbelief. Silvera bowed and said, “Hello. My name is Silvera and I’m master’s Contracted Spirit. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Phoenix Emperor.” Felix quickly recovered and bowed as he said, “Hello, Silvera. I’m Felix Phoron and I am the Phoenix Emperor. It’s also my pleasure to meet you.” Once they straightened up, he looked at her smiling face and thought, “Damn, Lucky… How the heck do you keep ending up with so many girls that just seem to love you so much?” Just then, Wolfenstine, who had transformed back into his human form, stepped out of the barrier and shouted at them. “Hey! Get over here! The king is in critical condition!” Felix, Tetra and Silvera quickly rushed over to where they were. Wolfenstine moved and Felix knelt down next to the king, who was barely alive. His breath was shallow and the light his
eyes was slowly fading away. Felix looked noticed that the stab wound in his chest had not healed. He quickly looked up and saw the expressions on the Emilia and Erza’s faces, which made him understand that they were unsuccessful in healing it. “Tetra, is there a way to seal this cursed wound with your powers?” Felix asked her quickly when he turned to her. Tetra glanced at the wound in the king’s chest and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but my ability of Sealing only seals away the abilities of others. It is incapable of sealing away a cursed would of this calibre. We would require the ability of the Armament Breaker, which has the ability to break this curse for good." “Armament Breaker? Wait! Doesn’t that mean, we just need the help from War Titan, who’s in possession of that Sacred Spirit, right?” Felix asked quickly. When Tetra nodded, he became serious and said, “Alright! I’ll go and get him!” At that moment, the king said, “No… There’s no point…” “There’s no point? What do you mean, your majesty? We have the chance to remove that curse and help with your recovery!” When the king remained resolute, he forcefully said, “If you die, the kingdom will—!” “Felix!” the king said in a firmer voice and caused Felix to stop in midsentence. “Dad, please calm down! You need rest!” Venezuela said The king coughed a little and said, “I’m finished, Felix. There isn’t much time left and you can sense it as well; my regressed life energy is about to be extinguished.” Felix did not say anything, but his mouth was twitching as he forced himself to listen to the king. “While I do rule the people as their elected king, the Phoenix Clan oversee Floria Kingdom. When I’m gone, make sure you help the people select another king that will not make the kind of mistakes I did.” “What are you talking about? Those were silly mistakes that every king makes!!” Felix told him fiercly. The king chuckled and coughed again. Then, he looked up at his daughter and smiled before he said, “Vena, you’ve found yourself a brave future husband, a man that is fighting our enemy
eve as we speak. He’s doing it to most likely not face my dead body with a shameful expression on his face. A very wise decision…” “Dad! Please…!” Venezuela said as tears swarmed her eyes. “Be happy, Vena. I’m dying now, but you have a bright future ahead of you. Keep on living happily with the man you chose as your life partner. I’ll be more than happy to see that from the heavens above.” “Dad…” Venezuela said as tears streamed down her face. The king turned and faced his wife, whom he was resting his head on. They stared at each other for a moment before he said, “I…” She smiled and said, “There’s no problem. I don’t blame you for anything that may or may not have happened during our married life together.” His wife, Floria Sargold was a caring, understanding and helpful queen of the Floria Kingdom. Originally, she was from a poor family that got married when the king, Bernard, who was the prince of Floria at that time, fell in love with her at first sight. Since then, they led an almost happy life, which was somewhat stressed by the royal family. Floria had to quickly grow up to meet the standards of a future queen, but Bernard loved her for what she is and never ignored what other people thought about her. “You are my morning sun and my moon of the night,” was what he told her upon one time. After giving birth, they became busy with taking care of the child, which was when the previous king had passed the crown over to Bernard. Ever since then, Bernard ruled Floria Kingdom for many years to come while also trying to fit time to be a husband and father. There were difficult times and there were happy times, but they all had each other. Now, seeing her husband dying in her lap, caused her to cry endlessly without making a sound. To Bernard, that action alone made him unhappy that he forced himself to raise a hand to wipe the tears off her eyes. Bernard coughed several times and began to rasp for breath. Once it settled, he felt his energy leaving him as an endless sleep began to welcome him with open arms. It was a blissful feeling, much more peaceful than falling asleep in the night. However, he knew he will never awake from this deep sleep. “Wow… It somehow feels nice…” he muttered quietly. “Maybe, this is what the true meaning of death really is… Wonderful…”
He pleasantly closed his eyes with a small smile on his face. Then, without making further sound, he quietly passed away. His wife closed her tear filled eyes and quietly prayed for the resting peace of her husband. Venezuela leaned on his motionless body and cried her heart out. Emilia was also crying quietly as she watched the sentimental scene while Erza, Cantia, Tetra and Silvera watched from the side lines. “Dammit… Dammit!” Felix said in frustration and he banged his fist on the ground as he lost his temper. Wolfenstine watched the scene and finally decided to leave. He felt like he would also end up succumbing to the sad feelings, which was something he could not accept. His firm belief in him being a mad scientist that does not contain any such emotions was something he wanted to keep following with. As such, he rose to his feet and quietly left the room without anyone noticing. Just before he left, he muttered, “Rest in peace, my king,” before finally leaving the room.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 234 End of War
Lakshman, who had been soaring towards the castle while being propelled by a black wave of energy, quickly pulled his hand back and unleashed a mighty energy force at the castle wall. With a bang, he created a hole that he soared through while the attack slammed into the castle wall and shook it violently. Without stopping there, Lakshman kept running forward and smashed another wall to appear directly next to Adebola. “Perfect! The bastard’s right in front of me!” he thought in satisfaction. At that moment, he sensed more people within the room and he turned to the left. There, standing with a stunned expression on his face, was Felix. Behind him and hidden by a barrier that made them invisible, were he sensed the presence of the king, the queen, his lovers and Wolfenstine. Sensing the decreasing life force of the king, he unhappy thought, “Damn… His life force is fading away…” “What do you want to do, master?” Tetra asked him curiously. “There’s nothing I can do for him. Instead, I focus my energy on our primary enemy. Meanwhile, you and Silvera see what you can do for the king. Even if it’s nothing, I want you to be there in my place.” In an instant, he let go of the two swords and spoke loudly to draw their attention away from them. “Sorry, but I’m borrowing this bastard!” Lakshman said quickly as he winked at Felix. He charged forward and grabbed Adebola by the face. With a firm grip on him, Lakshman ran to the other end of the room and quickly used Adebola’s back to forcefully smash through it. Like this, he smashed through several more walls before finally blasting out of the castle. For a moment, he plummeted to the ground while Adebola struggled desperately to break free of his firm grip. With a heavy thud that shook the ground slightly, Lakshman landed. The moment he landed, he removed his hand off Adebola’s face and immediately slammed his fist into the man’s
chest. The powerful impact caused Adebola to groan painfully as he was pushed back several meters while his feet got dragged on the ground. “Yo, Adebola! Surprised to see me?” Lakshman asked him with a wide grin on his face. With a hand placed over his chest where it hurt, Adebola looked at Lakshman. In an instant, there was an expression of disbelief that completely covered Adebola’s face. “Y-Y-You…! I thought I killed you!” Adeboal shouted at him in disbelief. “You must be a ghost!” Lakshman snorted and said, “Ha! Can a ghost do this, ha?!” He quickly gathered energy into the palm of his hand and launched it as he shouted out its name, “Lightning Burst Cannon!” There was a momentary electrical discharge from the energy before it was released in a mighty beam cannon. As it soared towards him, Adebola quickly activated Stone Blockade to immediately create a large wall that rose out of the ground, which was curved at the top like a defensive large stone shield. The beam cannon soared forward and slammed hard into the stone wall and for a moment, there was a brief struggle before an explosion erupted that sent wild wind in all directions. As the dust settled, Lakshman and Adebola saw the stone wall had been mostly destroyed, leaving only a few fragments to show that it had previously existed. Seeing this, Adebola stared at Lakshman with wide eyes of disbelief. “So… You’re still alive?!” Adebola asked him in disbelief. Lakshman chuckled darkly and said, “Yes… After you pulled my heart and crushed it in front of my eyes, I really should’ve died. Thankfully, due to a sacrifice of a noble soul, I had been given a second chance and I’m not planning on wasting it!” In an instant, he kicked off the ground and rocketed towards Adebola. Taken by surprise, Adebola took a hesitant step back as Lakshman smashed his right fist into the man’s face. Next, Lakshman followed up by bringing his left fist forward and slamming it hard into Adebola’s chest, causing the guy to groan painfully and destroying the armour in the process. “My… armour…!” Adebola groaned painfully. “Yeah! You won’t be needing that piece of junk!” Lakshman told him firmly. “Seriously! How the hell did you think you could win with that inferior quality armour?”
Adebola took several hasty steps back while clutching where Lakshman had hit him. He looked up at Lakshman and glared at him fiercely, but Lakshman did not care. “You’ll pay for this!” he said furiously. “Ha! That’s just the warm up to the real deal!” Lakshman told him angrily. The next instance, he charged forward and began furiously beating Adebola up. In an amazingly high speed, he landed his fists on Adebola’s face and chest while using his legs to knee the man in the gut. Adebola was getting beaten up by Lakshman’s rapid attack on his body. He was struggling against the assault because of the damage taken by his body. In an instant, Adebola reacted and brought his fist forward before slamming it hard into Lakshman’s face. Taken by surprise from the attack, Lakshman reeled back and stepped away while he clutched his face. There was not much of a damage, but the impact did cause him pain from where his nose hurt. Adebola quickly straightened up and said, “Don’t think you’re the master of the battle, fool!” He charged forward and began his assault on Lakshman, who quickly reacted in his turn to fight back. The two warriors began fighting each other in a high speed close combat hand to hand fist fight. Several times, they delivered strong blows on each other, but it did not seem to faze each other. “UUUUAAAAAA!!!” Adebola screamed as he delivered a powerful uppercut at Lakshman. The powerful punch sent Lakshman flying high into the air and Adebola quickly gathered energy and activated magic technique, which he aimed at Lakshman. “Stone Edge!” The moment he stomped his foot on the ground, it began to rise up in front of him. It quickly rose higher and higher before reaching Lakshman. Just before the painful impact, Lakshman recovered and avoided it by tapping his foot on his and propelling himself away to safety. “Damn!” Adebola said angrily. Lakshman began to spin in the air and landed lightly on the ground. As he turned around, he gathered energy into the palm of his hand and aimed it directly towards Adebola. “Stone Bullets!”
Multiple particles of light gathered in front of him and quickly formed into several bullets made of stone. He exerted his power and they soared straight at Adebola at high speed. Seeing the multiple stone bullets heading his way, Adebola raised his own hand and gathered energy for an attack of his own. “Stone Drill!” In an instant, a particles of light gathered from everywhere and grew big. It eventually took the shape of a large drill that began to spin at high speed with a whirring sound. With an exertion of his power, he launched the large spinning stone drill and it rocketed away. The stone bullets smashed into the stone drill, but it did not damage the drill the least bit and it continued on its way towards Lakshman. Seeing the large stone drill heading his way, Lakshman began to surge with power. He caught the stone drill’s spinning front with his bare hands, stopping the spinning movement in an instant. However, the force from the movement of the drill continued to push forward as it threated to pierce through him completely. As he struggled to stop it, his feet got dragged on the ground as he got pushed back. “UUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!!!” Lakshman screamed with rage and power. With a mighty force, he applied incredible amount of pressure on the stone drill. In an instant, large cracks began to make its way until it finally exploded in his hands, creating a small amount of dust that blocked the view. Split into pieces, the rubble of the attack hit the ground with thud as Lakshman slapped his hands together to get rid of the dust. Lakshman was about to make his move when he suddenly sensed a great power soaring towards him. It was confirmed it was a magical energy beam that Adebola fired in the cover of the smoke that temporarily blinded Lakshman of everything in front of him. Seeing the attacking coming his way, he put his hands together and stood on his side. Then, with powerful force, he brought his joined hands together and smashed the energy away. He heard Adebola exclaim, “What?!” The successfully deflected magical energy beam rocketed high up into the sky and quickly disappeared. By then, the dust had cleared and Lakshman could see clearly again. Looking closely at his opponent’s face, he smiled slightly in satisfaction. Adebola was wearing an expression of disbelief as he stared at an unharmed Lakshman. “You… How?! How did you deflect my Energy Bane Strike?” he demanded Lakshman.
Lakshman smiled at him and demonstrate as he said, “I just put my hands together, like this, as your stupid attack got near me, I easily whacked it up into the sky.” Adeboal gritted his teeth and said, “You…!” “Ah. Don’t worry. Since you took a shot at me, I’ll take a shot at you,” Lakshman said brightly. He quickly put his hands together and gathered energy into them. In an instant, a small ball of energy formed between the palms of his hands and he prepared to launch it straight at Adebola. “Just see if you can do what I did!” Lakshman bellowed. “UUUUUUURRRRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! Positron Burst Cannon!” With an exertion of his power, he launched the energy as a powerful beam cannon. The mighty energy attack rocketed away from him at high speed as it tore up the ground and the air. Adebola saw the massive attack heading his way and he jumped out of the way as he successfully dodged the attack. It soared away into the distance before disappearing into the horizon. A second later, a massive eruption occurred in the distance and they felt the shockwave sweet through in all directions. The ground shook and the air felt heavy from the pressure of the explosive force. Adebola could not believe that Lakshman had launched such a devastating attack at him. “Ah…! Oops!” Lakshman said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “It created quite an explosion… Actually, I theorised on how to use it, but this is my first time using it on field. Looks like I put too much power into it…” As Lakshman smiled at him in embarrassment, Adebola stared at him in disbelief. “You… bastard!” Adebola said angrily and he glared menacingly at him. Lakshman continued to smile, but he thought, “Mmm… From the third view stand point, I might be the bully and he is the victim. That is so bizarre because I’m the good guy and he’s the bad guy. I mean, I don’t kill people for the sake of conquering the world. I only kill before I am left with no choice and also because I have to live and I have people to protect. While I know that is not a very good reason, I cannot lose my firmness by letting my consciousness feel the heavy burden that comes from killing people.” “At least, I do feel bad and sorry for the people I killed, unlike Adebola,” he muttered as he glared angrily at Adebola.
At that moment, both his and Adebola’s eyes widened in shock. Adebola’s shock expression quickly disappeared and got replaced by a bright expression on his face. He was grinning broadly with sheer happiness, but Lakshman was the complete opposite. He wore a shocked expression on his face as he turned to stare at the castle. “No… The king…” he muttered in disbelief. The two of them had sensed the life force of the king vanish. Realising he was dead, Lakshman felt utterly shocked from his sudden passing while Adebola laughed heartily after sensing his death. “Yes! Finally! That old man’s dead!” Adebola shouted happily. “Now, this kingdom doesn’t have king and it will collapse like I planned. Hahahahahaha!!!” Lakshman was feeling numb from the sudden loss of the king, which left the kingdom vulnerable. Without the king in place, he knew there would be threats from the other two kingdoms. Taking this opportunity, the other kingdoms might attempt to take control of this kingdom. However, he was confident they would not attempt to do such a thing, especially when the kingdom currently is in the presence of the Phoenix Emperor, Death Titan and himself, the Phoenix Titan. “Still… I feel sorry the king had died and I am sure Venezuela is crying her heart out right about now… Damn…! What the hell killed him…?” he thought helplessly. At that moment, he heard the voice of Tetra speaking to him in his mind. “Master, the king has died,” she told him in a sad voice. “Yes, I know!” Lakshman shouted and surprised Adebola into silence. “What I want to know is… how?!” “It appear to be a cursed would, master. A piercing cursed would to the chest that took his life.” At those words, Lakshman’s eyes widened in shock. He could not believe what he just heard and he turned to look at Adebola with a furious expression on his face. Pointing at him, he loudly asked, “You…! You dared to use a cursed weapon on the king?!” “Cursed weapon? Ah…! Do you mean this?” Adebola asked and he pulled out his sword.
It was a black sword that was emanating a sinister energy. Lakshman glanced at it once and he made a terrible expression as he realised what that sword was. “T-That sword…! Isn’t that a cursed blade?” Lakshman asked in disbelief. Then, he looked angry as he demanded, “You! Where did you get that sword?!” Adebola smiled and said, “Razzel.” Upon hearing that name, Lakshman was let out a chocked in breathe in shock. Unable to cope, he quickly placed his hand over his face and closed his eyes. “That damned bastard… Even after death, he still causes trouble… Dammit!” “Mmm… That reminds me, what happened to Razzel? Did that guy quit his job after obtaining the Demon Slayer?” Adebola asked curiously. Lakshman straightened up and removed the hand of his face before staring at him. There was no humour or a trace of a smile on his face, which was filled with seriousness. “Razzel is dead! I killed him!” Lakshman said firmly. For a moment, Adebola rasied his eyebrows in surprise. Then, he burst out laughing as if he found it funny. “Really? Razzel got killed by a guy like you?” he asked as he mocked Lakshman’s ability. “Wow…! That arrogant man always prided himself by constantly calling himself the Demon Dragon King and ordering me around as he pleases. Ha! If you were able to kill him, then I probably shouldn’t have shown him so much luminance.” Lakshman was momentarily taken aback by the tone in which Adebola spoke about Razzel. He knew, from the previous meetings with them, that they did not like each other, but still had enough respect for each other. Now, he finally understood that Adebola simply acted that way to conveniently take Razzel’s help in building his army those inferior Dragon Armours and weapons. “Just so you know, I am the Phoenix Titan!” Lakshman told him firmly. Adebola was taken aback by those words, but he quickly recovered by chuckling easily. “So, you’re the Phoenix Titan! Just because you have blonde spiky hair and red crown shaped eyes, it doesn’t make you a man deserving that title!” Adebola told him loftily.
Lakshman shook his head and said, “I don’t need to do anything to prove myself to you or anyone! Besides, you’re going down for killing a great king of this kingdom, you bastard!” Adebola snorted and with a swung of his sword, he sent a powerful slicing wave of black energy at him. Lakshman saw the energy slicing through the air and he immediately realised he would not be able to stop it. Instead, he pointed at it and fired an evenly matched energy beam that resulted in an explosion upon impact. “What’s wrong? Weren’t you able to deflect it like you deflect my other attack?” Adebola asked sneeringly as he held the sword threateningly. “Now, look at you… Acting the tough guy when you are weapon less and completely defenceless against the power of my sword!” Lakshman narrowed his eyes and said, “You really think you’re puny sword will stop me?! Think again!” He began to surge with power once more and he shouted, “I’ll make you pay for killing the king and for trying to kill me!” Without waiting for a reply, Lakshman kicked off the ground and rocketed towards Adebola. As he soared towards him, the black sword in Adebola’s hand glowed with dark energy. Filled with confidence, Adebola swung the sword several times to as he released multiple powerful slicing energy waves. Lakshman quickly brought his hands forward and fired a large energy beam at the slicing energies. When the two attacks collided, the resulting clashing forces exploded and created a wild blowing wind that swept through the air in all directions. He got buffeted by the wind, but he kept himself from getting blown away by the strong force of the wind. “AAAAAAAHH!!!” Just then, Adeboal burst through the swirling dust and flew towards Lakshman while screaming loudly. He had his sword in his hand and he clearly was ready to use it on Lakshman. Not willing to be the next victim of such a devastating weapon, Lakshman ducked the swung of the sword and got away, but Adebola perused him relentlessly. “What’s wrong? Too scared to fight back?” Adebola asked while laughing madly. Lakshman did not say anything as he quickly dodged each of the speedy swings. The speed of Adebola’s swings were fast, but Lakshman matched the swung with his own amazing dodging speed. Even so, he realised he cannot completely avoid the sword’s dangerous power. Numerous times, the sword passed close to his neck and he thought he sensed the touch of some nasty energy against him.
“This is bad…! I can’t touch that sword directly, or I will become like the king! On the other hand, I can’t keep dodging like this forever! I need to destroy that sword, but how do I do that when he is not giving me a chance to prepare my techniques.” So, he focused on observing the swinging pattern to find an opening. He was not exactly sure what he could do when he found an opening, but he felt sure he could do something. Then, after several seconds of dodging around, he finally saw one and he immediately took the opportunity. Lakshman quickly gathered his energy and formed it into a small ball that he held with his right hand. Next, he brought it up and slammed it on the blade of the cursed sword. There was a small explosion and the cursed blade was knocked aside, but Adebola did not lose his grip on it. Seeing the firm grip on the sword, he thought, “I was hoping that explosion would’ve surprised him into letting go of the sword, but I guess he was careful about it. No matter, because I’m not done yet!” He quickly moved forward and jabbed Adebola’s right arm with the middle and fire finger of his right hand. Adebola was surprised to see him poking his two fingers on his arm and momentarily wondered what he was going to do. He found out soon enough when Lakshman gathered the energy and shouted the technique name. “Shock Wave!” In an instant, Adebola began screaming wildly and his entire body began writing uncontrollably. Adebola had never experienced such intense pain in his life as he thought every nerve in his body was going to explode. The pain caused by the attack caused his hand to slacken its grip on the sword. Lakshman saw this and took the opportunity to knock it out of his hands by smashing it with his fist against Adebola’s hand. The cursed sword spun wildly as it flew high into air and gave Lakshman the opportunity to destroy it for good. “Twisted darkness, be destroyed the purity of light!” Lakshman shouted as he gathered large quantities of energy into his palm. Then, with the energy prepared, he brought his hands upward as he shouted, “Star Burst Cannon!” A powerful wave of energy was unleashed from the palms of his hands and it soared upward at the cursed blade. Lakshman saw the blade momentarily release some sort of dark energy
that seemed to defend itself, but it was no use. Against the mighty power of the light from the energy attack, it was vaporised instantly. “Phew,” Lakshman sighed in relief. “That technique doesn’t do much damage against the pure power of darkness, but the twistedness of that cursed blade simply could not stand a chance against my attack.” At that moment, his sensed triggered alarms in his mind. He quickly reacted, but he suddenly found himself being choked to death by Adebola. His grip was strong and firm as he pinned Lakshman’s arms down while using both of his own arms to chock the life out of him. “U-Uh…!” “You’ve dropped your guard by destroying the cursed sword, but now you’re at my mercy!” Adebola told him gleefully. Lakshman could not respond because the choking sensation was causing his breathing to go out of whack. Soon, he began chocking for air as he struggled to break free of the choke hold. “See…! You might be a Phoenix Titan, but like the rest of rest of them, you also can be killed! Not to might now are you, fool?” Adebola said with an evil smile on his face. “Y-You’re the fool…!” Lakshman stuttered with a struggle. Hearing Adebola’s words made Lakshman very angry and he decided to show that man to not take him lightly. “UUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” Lakshman began screaming and he surged with power as he and Adebola were covered by a golden-red aura. Adebola was shocked by then when Lakshman kicked off the ground to float in the air. In a slow motion, he and Adebola turned in mid-air before they plummeted back to the ground, crushing Adebola behind him. Adebola let go of Lakshman and released him from the choke hold from the intense pain of getting smashed onto the ground. Breathing in great lungs full of air, he grabbed Adebola by the leg and easily lifted him into the air. Then, with tremendous force, he slammed his body on the ground, causing Adebola to groan with pain. He lifted him again and with a mighty punch to the gut, sent him flying into the distance. Lakshman chased after him when he suddenly saw Adebola come to a full stop as he recovered quickly. Then, he began firing energy attacks at Lakshman, causing him to come to a
stop and defend himself. Using Earth Guard, he shielded himself and stepped back before launching his own energy attacks at Adebola. Both of their energy attacks began exploding on contact in mid-air and it was creating a cloud of dust to drop visibility. The two of them stopped firing energy attacks at each other and an eerie silence fell over the battle ground. Adebola narrowed his eyes and concentrated on his senses in anticipation of an attack when, all of a sudden, Lakshman erupted out of the clouds and he rocketed towards him before the two began fighting at incredible speeds. “Why can’t you just give up and surrender?!” Lakshman shouted angrily. “If I do, I’ll never achieve world domination!” Adebola retorted angrily. At that moment, the two of them delivered powerful blows to each other’s faces. From the impact, they reeled back while clutching their faces. “You can more about your conquest than the lives of your people?! Don’t you realise just how many people have died fighting for your stupid cause?!” “Why should I care? They are soldiers and they are meant to throw down their lives for their king!” Lakshman widened his eyes in shock when he heard Adebola’s words. He removed his hand off his face and clenched his fists tightly as rage began to boil itself way to the surface from deep within his heart. “I was thinking killing you outright was wrong and maybe giving you a chance at redemption was the right action, but… Dammit… Yet again, I am reminded that people like you will never change, no matter how many sacrifices and failures you face!” “Huh? Kill me? Are you stupid? Do you think I will be killed by a vermin like you?!” Adeboal said with a chuckle. Lakshman straightened up and looked at him firmly as he seriously said, “Adebola… The innocent heart you crushed would’ve shown your mercy, but this cold heart knows no mercy. You will pay for your crimes and be destroyed utterly by the Serpent of Revenge!” Adebola raised an eyebrow and said, “Huh? Serpent of Revenge? Is it one of your imaginary friends?” Lakshman did not reply, but he began to gather energy into him. He began to surge with power and it created a great force of wind that buffeted Adebola. For a moment, Lakshman
stood still and silent as he stared at his enemy in front of him while being surrounded by golden-red aura. He made his move towards Adebola by charging towards him at high speed. “Die, you fool!” Adebola screamed in rage. “Black Death!” A powerful energy blast was released and it soared straight at Lakshman. It was travelling at high speed, but it appeared to be moving slowly from Lakshman’s perspective. He ducked the attack and it soared ahead and slammed hard into the castle and destroying the walls. Lakshman continued soaring towards him with the energy that he had gathered in his body. Adebola was shocked and he deactivated the energy beam to retaliate, but Lakshman easily pushed his arms aside with his shoulders and placed his own on Adebola’s chest. With a slight push, he pushed Adebola back and surprised him. Just before the launch of his attack, Lakshman looked up into Adebola’s fear filled eyes and said, “Never rest in peace.” Then, he shouted, “Spirit Burst Cannon!” Light formed at the palms of Lakshman’s hands and he began to scream as he unleashed the mighty wave of energy. It engulfed and instantly vaporised Adebola from existence as the wave of energy continued travelling onward while leaving a deep grove on the ground. This time, Lakshman did not close his eyes because he knew what will happen and did not have any wish to witness it a second time. Meanwhile, in the Spirit Plane, the spirit of Adebola appeared to be standing in the middle of a bright light. He blinked in surprise and he liked around as he was not sure where he was. He was inside a circular light while everything outside it was covered in swirling darkness. “Where am I? What is this place?” he asked loudly. There was no answer, except the silence that remained within that space. Then he heard something strange and he concentrated on that sound. It was the sound of something heavy crawling its way on a flat ground, almost like the coiling sound of a snake. “What the hell is that?” he wondered aloud. At that moment, he felt a nasty presence from behind him and he turned around. There was nothing there, but he noticed the sudden appearance of two bright red eyes within the darkness. The space seemed to get cold as the red eyes grew larger and larger as if they were getting closer to him. At that same time, he noticed the bright circle of light was slowly shrinking and eventually, he was left with a tiny space for him to stand in.
“So… You must be the so called Serpent of Revenge?” he asked aloud when he stared at the bright red eyes. He snorted and said, “Ha! You don’t scare me!” He attempted to gather energy to attack the monster, but nothing happened. Then, he attempted to use some basic attack spells, but nothing seemed to be working. It was then that he realised the presence of the monster was disrupting the flow in the force, causing him to fail in using his techniques. “No… No…!” he said fearfully. He began to fear for his for the first time in his life. It was the first time in his life did he ever experience this kind of fear, which did not result from him stupidly injuring himself. At the same time, he knew this light was his only protection against the skin penetrating chill the Serpent of Revenge was creating within the space. “You can’t… You can’t… You can’t!” he kept shouting the same thing over and over as tears kept spilling out of his eyes. “RRRRUUUUUUUUAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!” the Serpent of Revenge roared. “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Adebola scream for the last time in his life. His loud screamed penetrating screamed echoed for a moment when they were abruptly cut off. Silent fell as the Serpent of Revenge took a glance around as if checking if there were more culprits for it to destroy. Seeing none, it shook its body and let out another roar before crawling across the ground as it headed back into the dark abyss between the Divine Planes. Back in the Physical Plane, Lakshman breathed a sigh of relief that the battle was finally over. However, he deeply felt guilty for trying to give that man a chance at redemption, but he also felt it was the right thing to do. “Life is always unpredictable and we never know who will change and who won’t. That’s why, it’s always better to give someone a second chance at redemption. However, people like him will never change and their very existence will create trouble for others, which is why I was forced to bring down the hammer of justice on him. He can hate me, loathe me and curse me, I don’t care because I did it to retain peace in the world because that is my duty as the Phoenix Titan!” He was satisfied with his way of thinking because it did not create any holes in his firmness. If he did not stay firm, he was sure he will not be able to handle the jobs that come by being a Phoenix Titan.
At that moment, he heard loud crumbling noise from behind him and he looked around in shock to see the castle slowly crumbling. The damage that it had sustained from the battle between Felix and Adebola was great and Adebola’s last attack had destroyed the last foundation support that was keeping it standing. Right before Lakshman’s eyes, the castle was slowly crumbling and he heard the screams of the occupants, especially the voices of his lovers that were still inside. “Oh no!” he exclaimed. He quickly raised his hands and shouted, “Levitation Force!” In an instant, the castle crumbling walls stopped in mid-air as if time had stopped it. The fact was that Lakshman had used a magic spell to keep the castle walls from crumbling and kept it hovering. At that moment, he felt slightly dizzy and he knew why. “Damn…! I really pushed by body beyond the limit today…! I sustained the Power Mode for too long and pushed myself to the point of draining all of my energy. Those stupid Dragon Kings… Whatever! I better use Restoration while I can do it!” With that, he clapped his hands together, closed his eyes and shouted, “Restoration!” The castle walls began to quickly flow back to where they once were and in a matter of minutes, the castle was back to normal. When he completed the castle, he staggered, but he quickly regained his posture and expanded the radius of his Restoration magic’s effect range, causing all the fire to go out instantly and the destroyed buildings to fly back and look like they once were before they were destroyed. While he was doing that, Sevedant had appeared behind him without making a sound. Lakshman knew it was him without opening his eyes due to the kind of power that only a Death Titan could exhibit. Finally, every building was restored and the injured were healed, this also included the enemy soldiers, who had slowly regained conciseness to look at the restored buildings in confusion. Lakshman slowly opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, as his consciousness left him, he stumbled sideways and fell into Sevedant’s outstretched hands. “You okay?” he asked him. Lakshman sighed heavily and said, “Yeah… Just… tired... Need… sleep…” Sevedant nodded and said, “Sleep. Take rest. You did well.” Lakshman nodded and closed his eyes as he instantly fell asleep. Sevedant watched him sleeping and then turned to face the ground of people running towards them. They were the
people that Lakshman had fought really hard to protect and save while dealing with the evil people like Razzel and Adebola. “You did well…” Sevedant said quietly and he sounded Like that, the war for conquest to take over the world came to an end. Later, the announcement about the death of Adebola Gramstone, King of Mardana Kingdom, and the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, shocked both the people of Floria Kingdom and Mardana Kingdom. When the Mardana Kingdom learnt it was the Phoenix Titan who had delivered the hand of judgement on those villains, everyone quickly began to work towards the peace that he had preached. The future was looking bright as the sun slowly shoe nits bright sunlight through the darkened clouds to lift the gloom.
Phoenix Rising Chapter 235 Departure for Training
Lakshman found himself standing in a place completed covered in white. He realised he must be inside his mind after the prolonged battle when his exhausted body finally gave in to fatigue. This was caused due to him powering up so many times and pushing the limit of his body by fighting in the Power Mode. The quick drain of his energy left him feeling really weak. “Ha…” he sighed tiredly. “That was one hectic battle.” “You’re right; it was,” said a voice from behind him. Lakshman widened his eyes slightly in surprise when the unknown voice spoke. At first, he did not recognise the voice from the numerous of people he had known for his life. Then, he wondered if it was Decisive Player, but the voice did not belong to him and he knew Decisive Player had gone away for good. “So, you’re the Voice of the Phoenix,” he said with narrowed eyes. The Voice of the Phoenix chuckled and said, “You know, your tendency to give your opponents chances is not good. Finishing them off in one blow is the correct idea.” “I see. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with that. Anyone, whether they are good or evil, deserves chances to redeem themselves and deserves chances to make that happen.” “You say that, but you also were angry that you let that guy have so many chances. If he had used that cursed sword properly, you’d be dead right now.” “Is that why you tried to interfere with my battle with Adebola?” Lakshman asked sternly. “When I launched the Positron Burst Cannon, you jumped in and pushed more power into it. You did it again when I released the Spirit Burst Cannon. Your interference to add more power in seems to me as if you don’t believe I am using enough power.” The Voice of the Phoenix chuckled and said, “Hahahaha…! Yes because you are more concerned about the damage that is done by using that power instead of looking at the result.” Lakshman sharpened his eyes angrily and said, “You sound like Razzel, as if the result matters more than the process. I won’t let you turn me into one like the previous Phoenix Titans!”
“Oh, really? What are you going to do? Lock me away? Seal me away? You fool…! Your guardian had spent the last sixteen years suppressing me, but now he is gone and there’s nothing that stands between me and you!” Lakshman did not say anything, but he looked down at his feet. He was puzzled to see a dark space connecting to the white space and he turned his neck a little. Behind him, stood a man that looked exactly like him, but with his back to him. From the side view point, the two of them stood back to back; one stood in the light and the other stood in the darkness. “I will not fall victim to your mind games,” Lakshman said firmly. “My duty is towards the world and I won’t let you or anyone interfere with my job!” The Voice of the Phoenix chuckled and said, “The last Phoenix Titan said the same thing and look what happened to him? He eventually gave into his feelings and began relying on me. Together, we did good things to the world.” Lakshman stepped away and turned to face him with a disgusted expression on his face. “Good to the world? You controlled the Phoenix Titan into starting a world war between the different races that eventually caused the continents to get destroyed and be split away from each other. Now, the only thing connecting each of the continents are the Teleportation Gates. You brought destruction into this world and turned the once peaceful world into what it is now.” The Voice of the Phoenix snorted as he turned around while being covered by the darkness. Even though the shadows hid his appearance, Lakshman could tell he had the same appearance as him. Then, he was startled to see something strange about the man’s eyes; they were red star shaped eyes. This puzzled Lakshman because knew the Phoenix Titan’s eyes were red crown shaped eyes. “It seems the Decisive Player passed on all the knowledge he had to you… Well then, listen you young fool. For the warriors of this world, war is their means of living. Otherwise, we’d be counting out fingers while waiting for the time when people start fighting again. This world was built to be fought upon, not to compel this ridiculous peace. You gain nothing by peace, except arrogance and hatred.” Hearing those serious words, Lakshman slowly nodded and said, “As I thought… A Phoenix Titan is the embodiment of light and hope, but you are the embodiment of chaos and destruction. The ancient text about you being wise and knowledgeable were actually referring to the Decisive Player.”
“Haha. The ancient text does indeed refer to the Decisive Player, but it was always easy for me to supress him,” the Voice of the Phoenix said and his suddenly gleamed dangerously. “But that stupid ex-god received the support from the God of Life and with that support, he easily suppressed me! That idiotic then took change and because of that, you grew up being a stupid idiotic brat with a brain damage instead of the flashy youngster that you were meant to grow up as. In trying to keep me at bay, he let you grow up like an innocent sheltered guy with the brain of a three year old! How can you defend him with his stupidity?” Lakshman did not reply immediately as he thought about it. Then, he took a deep breath and said, “That sounds bad, even for any sheltered child, but I believe he did the right thing. Unlike the other kids, I had a poisonous creature conscious existing in me. Additionally, I had a role to fulfil when I grow up and he had no choice, but to let me grow up like a child. Although I was angry upon learning the truth, I now fully understand the toughness of his decision. He kept me safe from you and in doing so, gave me the necessary tools required to keep you at bay!” The Voice of the Phoenix made an evil smile and said, “You called me a poisonous existence… Then, shall I corrupt you…?” As he spoke, the darkness began to swirl and creep forward into the light. However, Lakshman’s firmness made the light stay strong and firmly repelled the attempts of conversion by the darkness. “You will never break me!” Lakshman said with a serious expression on his face. The Voice of the Phoenix snorted and said, “We shall see about that.” Just then, the light began to glow brightly and they both realised that Lakshman was waking up. “Fine. I’ll take my leave, but don’t forget my existence. If even for once you let your guard down, I will snatch you and you’ll never escape from my grip!” Lakshman smiled at him and said, “Good luck,” before everything vanished in a bright glow of light. He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, which was he realised he was finally awake. For a moment, he registered that he was lying on top of a comfortable bed inside a grandly
constructed room. It was obvious that this was not his room at Astral Academy, but an unknown place he did not know about. While he was getting accustomed to his situation, he heard the sound of footsteps leave the room hurriedly. “Mmm… Seems like, someone had been watching me sleep,” he thought. He turned slightly and saw the light streaming into the room through the open windows. “Judging from the light, it must be morning, but I don’t have any means of judging the day or time…” he muttered tiredly and he fell back on his pillow. “I wonder how long it’s been…” he muttered before sighing again. Just then, there were the sounds of footsteps coming from the open doors. Then, Venezuela, Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Silvera, Erza and Cantia, who was in her human form, walked into the room. When he saw who it was, he smiled and greeted them casually. “Morning, ladies.” “Kyaa!!!” The girls let out girly cries that surprised Lakshman and they rushed towards him. Without seconds, he found himself being hugged by multiple bodies as the girls hugged him tightly. “Ladies… Stop…” he said weakly as he felt he was being crushed by the hugs. Once they moved away, they began speaking at the same time and confused the heck out of Lakshman. Their voices overlapped each other and everything they said became blurred to the point he had to raise his voice to stop them. “Girls, calm down!” he shouted and stunned them into silence. He sighed when he heard the sound of laughter from the door way. The girls made room for him to see and they saw Felix standing at the door way. The Phoenix Emperor was grinning broadly as he observed the girls surrounding Lakshman’s bed. “Good job, Lucky. You’re learning to be a man of the family,” he said with a smile. “Felix!” Emilia and Venezuela said indignantly at the same time, causing him to chuckle.
“Hey, Felix,” Lakshman said with a small smile on his face. When Felix got to the bed side, he looked down at him and asked, “How are you?” “Ah… I thought I was going to die from the hugging frenzy,” Lakshman muttered and made the girls looked around in embarrassment. Felix chuckled and said, “That’s what happens when you have too many girls loving you.” Lakshman shook his head wearily and asked, “So, mind telling me what’s happened so far?” “Well…” Felix began as he took a seat and sat down on it. “You’ve been out for a weak. The doctors tell me you pushed your body beyond the limit by doing something crazy they did not understand about. Mind telling me what you did for that to happen?” Lakshman smiled and said, “I simply overexerted myself by fighting in the Power Mode for too long. Then, before my body could recover from it, I began fighting again with the Demon Dragon King, Razzel and that bastard, Adebola.” Felix nodded in understanding and said, “Yes and the people are quite impressed that you defeated them both of those evil knuckleheads.” Lakshman sighed and said, “Ha… Yeah, I may have been able to do it, but I realised I am weak. That’s why, I’ve decided to go visit the Phoenix Training Sanctuary to get stronger.” Felix’s eyes widened in surprise and he said, “Huh? You want to go there and train? Why? You’re strong enough as you are right now!” Lakshman shook his head and said, “No, Felix. I’m not as strong as I believed I was. Yes, I know I’m not as powerful as you, but I was strong enough to be proud about it until I struggled to fight against Razzel and Adebola. The battle, which I thought would be easy, turned into a rough battle and I had to fight really hard to win! That’s why… I must go and train.” “If you’re going to go and train, then we’re coming with you, master!” Tetra said immediately. “Yes! You can’t leave us out when you are training!” Ondine told him firmly. The other girls were also thinking the same thing as they nodded with Tetra and Ondine. Lakshman looked at them wearily, but it was Felix who spoke to them sternly. “Sorry girls, but only Lakshman and Tetra are allowed to go there,” Felix told them.
“Huh?!” all the girls, except Tetra, exclaimed in disbelief. “Why her? Why not the rest of us?” Cantia demanded indignantly. “Because I’m a Phoenix Blade related to the Phoenix Clan!” Tetra told them firmly. “Also, master is the recognised Phoenix Titan even if his power is actually nowhere near where a Phoenix Titan should be. So, it’s only natural that he goes and trains his hardest.” “That’s not the only thing,” Felix added as he spoke to them seriously. “Only members of the Phoenix Clan are allowed to go there and train. It’s a sanctuary specially built for the training for the members of the Phoenix Clan.” “B-But master is—!” Silvera began with a puzzled expression voice. “Being a Phoenix Titan, he is technically recognised as part of the Phoenix Clan,” Felix said resolutely. “Then… Um… Why don’t we get permission from you to go there? You’re the Phoenix Emperor!” Venezuela said firmly. Felix shook his head and said, “Like I said, that place was created for the purpose of the Phoenix Clan members. It doesn’t take requests and doesn’t accept permissions because it is not under my control. The Spirits of Nature control its functions and they clearly don’t want anyone other than the Phoenix Clan members going in to train.” “Dammit…!” Venezuela said angrily. Emilia looked at Lakshman and asked, “But master, what about your studies?” Lakshman shook his head and said, “No, Emilia. I don’t have any plans to study anymore, but I want the rest of you studying while I and Tetra leave for two years.” “Two years?!” they all exclaimed in a shocked voice. Lakshman nodded and said, “I have a lot of training ahead of me and I estimate it will take two years before I can complete it. In the meantime, I want the rest of your focusing on finishing your education at Astral Academy in the two years.” “B-But… Master…” Silvera said unhappily.
He smiled at them and said, “I think this is a great opportunity for you to study together. I know you have amnesia, but that isn’t enough to stop you from learning new things about the world and stuff. Unlike me, who’s basically really smart, you girls will need it.” Felix narrowed his eyes and said, “I got the feeling you just surrounded arrogant about it.” “No, I’m not arrogant, but I do have a lot of knowledge,” Lakshman said and he explained everything about the Decisive Player’s sacrifice and the knowledge and wisdom that got passed onto him. “Wow…! That was brave of the ex-god of wisdom,” Felix said in an impressed voice. Lakshman nodded and said, “Yes and that’s why, I don’t want to waste his sacrifice. That reminds me, what happened to the war after I collapsed?” “Yes. That war’s over, but there’s no victor since Mardana’s King had been killed by the Phoenix Titan. Instead, we made connection with their people and are not working together with the Sword Titan to help them recover.” “Ah. Dom must be happy that the Phoenix Clan is helping out!” Lakshman said happily. Felix nodded with a smile and said, “Yes. The Sword Titan was worried when he learnt that you collapsed, but stayed confident that you will recover quickly. Anyway, the Mardana Kingdom will recover soon and then a new king will be elected.” “I hope those people take note from this time’s failure…” Lakshman said quietly. “We can only hope,” Felix said simply. For a few seconds, there was quiet within the room and it was broken by Lakshman asking another question. “So, what happened to… you know… the king? Um…” Lakshman said hesitantly as he turned to look at Venezuela. She was surprised to see the worried expression on his face and she realised he was worried if he was going to hurt her feelings. She reassured him by smiling softly while nodding at him with her eyes closed. “I see… She must’ve gotten accustomed to the fact that he was gone,” he thought sadly.
“Yes. Well, we held his funeral two days ago and we did it grandly. It’s a pity you weren’t there to see it,” Felix said and he shook his head. “Really… If he was alive as a spirit, I’m sure he would’ve yelled at us for making his funeral so grand.” “Yes. Knowing dad, I’m sure he would’ve done exactly that,” Venezuela said with a small smile. Lakshman looked at them and seriously said, “Yes. He died because of a cursed wound that none of us were able to cure. That’s why, I will use these two years of training to master a variety of spells! I promise that, when I return, I will be Emperor ranked!” Felix grinned and clapped him on the shoulder as he said, “That’s the spirit!” “Ouch!” Lakshman winced when the impact from the hard clap on his shoulder hurt him. “But, before that, I think you need to rest and recover,” Felix said and everyone laughed. It took Lakshman two whole weeks to fully recover. During this time, he had trouble moving around, so he was given the luxury of being fed in his bed. The ones to feed him were his lovers and they were more than happy to feed him. Initially, the girls got really jealous when Venezuela was the only one feeding him and so, they arranged a daily rotation where each of them got the chance to feed him. Lakshman did not like being fed like a baby, but he did agree that he liked being fed by the girls he loved. After two weeks, he was finally ready to make his journey to the Phoenix Clan’s home where he will enter the Phoenix Training Sanctuary. He knew the portal to the training dimension was located somewhere up in the mountains, which he knew how to get there due to his knowledge. He and Felix talked about it more alone and the plans were made for his two years of training. In the past two weeks, students from Mardana Kingdom arrived at Floria Kingdom to enrol at Astral Academy. At first, they were dismayed by the really difficult enrolment test they must pass to get enrolled into such an elite academy. That was until Lakshman banged on Felix’s door and demanded the academy to be changed into a normal school. Felix was acting as the temporary king of the Floria Kingdom until the time of the elections to decide the next king. Many people wanted him to be king, but he openly refused the idea. On the other hand, he just could not drop the temporary role while the elections were being conducted. “I don’t want these people going home empty handed when they came all this way to learn!” he told Felix firmly.
Felix’s desk was full of mountain load of paper and he was not looking pleased about it. “Lucky, I understand what you’re saying, but we need to keep a firm appearance,” Felix told him wearily. Lakshman looked at him with an annoyed expression as he said, “Oh, really? So, you’re going to convey that message to the rest of the world that Astral Academy is only for show and it’s a good-for-nothing kind of school?” Felix’s eyes widened in surprise and Lakshman hammered it home by saying, “That’s what those people will say once they go back home.” Felix realised what Lakshman was saying and he immediately acted on changing the rules. Thus, the elite school became a normal school that accepted people, but there was still a minimum requirement of taking a simple test. This was a test that was actually created by Lakshman by using the various knowledge he had acquired from the Decisive Player. Sometimes, he would feel lonely without the constant chatter box of wisdom, but he was still happy to be of help while, at the same time, he made sure the questions on the test would not be really difficult. On the day of the departure, he was outside the gates leading to Astral Academy. Tetra, who had transformed into the Phoenix Blade, said she was going to sleep and he sheathed her into her cover. The girls were not looking happy that he was going to leave them for two years and he knew it. There was little choice there for them and he wanted them to complete their education. “Do we really have to study?” Ondine asked unhappily. “I mean. I’m best suited to the battlefield.” Lakshman shook his head and said, “That’s exactly why you need to learn and acquire the knowledge to live in society peacefully. Okay, I’m aware that danger can spring from any direction, but we need to live a civilised lives until then. When I come back, I’ll get us a home and we’ll start living there.” “R-Really?” Emilia asked with glittering eyes of hope. “Yeah! No problems!” Lakshman said as he gave her a wink. Then, he turned to Venezuela and asked, “Vena, how’s your mother been?”
Venezuela chuckled and said, “Actually, she’s been dull since dad died, but she’s slowly recovering. Now, she keeps pestering me to learn cooking from her and all! Something about ‘being a proper wife that a husband will cherish’ or something.” Lakshman laughed and said, “Well, you better do a good job juggling your studies and cooking lessons.” “I’ll also be helping out, so that’s no big problem,” Emilia said cheerfully. “I’m also going to help!” Ondine quickly said, but Emilia suddenly glared at her sternly. “You focus on studying! Out of all of us, you’re the slowest in getting anything into that think skull of yours!” Emilia said forcefully. “What?!” Ondine said indignantly. “I can study! Just watch me! I’ll get better marks than all of you and Lakshman will praise me for the effort!” “Alright then! Prove it with actions instead of words!” “Yes, I will! I’m going to enjoy watching you burn with jealousy!” Ondine said confidently and Emilia scoffed in disbelief. While they were looking at each other sternly, Cantia moved forward and asked, “How will you eat while you’re away, Lucky? Do you know how to cook?” “Felix offered to have the Phoenix Clan feed me, but I declined the offer because I want to cook. For one thing, I am currently good at fighting and using magic spells to cause damage. That’s why, I want to start doing things that’ll let me start living on my own without constantly relying on somebody else. It’s time I take charge of my life, especially when you I marry you girls later on.” All the girls were stunned into silence by his last words. They could not believe what he just told them. For a moment, they cleared their eyes, pinched themselves and poked each other to test if it was a dream. With them realising it was totally real, they blushed wildly and looked really embarrassed. Lakshman hoisted his bagpack over his shoulders and said, “Alright, girls. Have a good time studying together and I’ll see you in two years.” He waited for a few seconds for them, but they were so embarrassed that they did not hear him speak. Sighing in resignation, he turned around and began walking away. Only when he
was several meters away the girls recovered and saw him leaving. The girls began shouting their farewells to him and he turned around one last time to bid them goodbye. “See you later!� Lakshman shouted with a wide grin on his face. So, Lakshman set off for his training up in the mountains where he was going to train at the Phoenix Training Sanctuary. For the next two years, he was going to train in there and when he returns, he and everyone was confident the powers they have seen today will be nothing compared to the one two years from then.