Chapter 1098: Sides of the Same Coin
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[Stand still and die already! Piercing Sky Feather!]
[Right back at ya! Flames of Acedia!]
The battle between Zhen Liu and Alain looked like something out of a fairy tale.
On one side was an angelic warrior that was wreathed in light and danced in the air as if it was their birthright.
On the other, a demonic warrior in black armor was swinging a pair of hammers while cloaked in the flames of [Vice] and [Virtue].
Hard to believe that the protagonist in this situation was the latter, no?
On top of all this though, both sides just so happened to have very similar backgrounds, albeit, neither side knew or cared at this particular point in time.
Regardless on how this look though, or what circumstances either had, Zhen Liu and Alain had exchanged blows for who knows how many minutes at this point, and had yet to deal anything remotely resembling permanent damage.
While this stalemate could very well be attributed to both sides being equal in terms of strength and [Chaos], those with particularly sharp eyes would notice that both sides were actually holding back.
As for the reason, why…well…one could only speculate.
Or make a really accurate guess.
…
[Executor, am I going crazy or is this guy also holding back as much as we are?]
‘You are not, Blazejudicator,’ Zhen Liu replied while knocking away several more light arrows and retaliating with a burst of orange flames. ‘And I think I know why…he claimed earlier that he wanted to take over my position as Kaijin Lord, right?’
[He did.]
‘Bet ya anything, he doesn’t know how it actually works and needs me alive in order to squeeze out important information….that and he’s probably stalling.’
…
[Having trouble keeping up?,] Alain taunted as he dodged Zhen Liu’s attacks for the umpteenth time. [Why don’t you surrender and you might be spared about what’s to come.]
[Fuck you!,] Zhen Liu roared while going in for another attack.
That little taunt from Alain was all that Zhen Liu needed to hear to know that this entire battle was a giant distraction.
Looming over his head, the [Shadow Sovereign] was still charging up for a massive attack that would annihilate Undertow unless he, or more accurately the kaijin, did something about it.
Unfortunately, this meant that the Fallen and their Grafted warriors had the opposite goal of just…dragging this fight out as long as possible.
They didn’t have to win, they didn’t even have to necessarily survive. They just had to make sure that the big mechanical lizard radiating death had a chance to unleash its payload.
‘Wait…if their win condition is the lizard, then…I have an idea…’
FWIP!
[Huh? Where are you going?!]
‘Blazejudicator, give me a hand?’
[Always, Executor!]
Instead of going in for another attack run, Zhen Liu backed away from Alain while circulating his [Chaos] into his hammers.
As he did, rainbow colored flames that radiated this feeling of [Judgement] began to encapsulate the aformentioned weapons.
Once they were fully saturated, Zhen Liu lashed out.
[Imperial Crusher!]
[Wait a minute-SHIT!]
With a swing of his hammers, Zhen Liu launched a ball of [Chaos] that began to take the shape of a giant gavel made of rainbow colored flames.
Upon closer inspection of the flaming gavel though, one would be able to see scenes depicting crowds of people cheering on the execution of an evil tyrant and the fall of multiple imperial symbols.
This attack was aimed directly at the head of the [Shadow Sovereign], and would’ve given the giant bastard a nasty bonk on the head.
Emphasis on the word, “would”.
[Shield of Sanctity!]
Bang!
[Ha! I knew it!]
Before the gavel could make contact with the [Shadow Sovereign], Alain had intercepted the attack by rushing in front of it and summoning forth a giant shield made of light.
The two [Chaos]-made constructs crashed into each other and exploded into a shower of fire and light that was almost blinding to most observers.
However, like any sudden burst of light, this was a rather revealing moment.
[Well, good to know I don’t have to actually aim for you in order to hit you. I just need to aim for the big ass mechanical knock-off dragon to do damage!]
[You dishonorable cur!,] Alain cursed. [You can’t attack me in a straightforward manner so you have to resort to cheap tricks?]
[Well, you can’t be a Kaijin Lord without being able to play a little dirty. Sorry if it offended your royal sensibilities, you knock-off prince.]
Evidently, that statement got Alain real riled up.
[I’LL BURN OUT YOUR EYES!]
[BRING IT!]
…
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In the airspace of the [Abyssal Lands], an unusual match-up was taking place.
“Alright, the bitch in the dress I get, but how the fuck is an Imperial Dragon Princess here?!”
“Because fuck you, that’s how!”
“Graah!”
On one side was Jin Fang and Jinju Ren, the daughters of the Invulnerable Storm Queen and Pearl Scale Emperor, respectively. By all rights, these two should’ve been enemies that wanted to kill each other on sight due to the bad blood between their respective parents.
“Incoming bident strike!”
“I got it!”
But through twists of fate, and an unexpected shared “interest” that bloomed into an actual friendship, they became allies that would go through hell and back for each other.
Or at the very least, help each other in a fight.
On the other side was the matriarch of the Fallen, Gao Shen Yuan.
Technically speaking, the Fallen’s grudge with the Storm Queen should’ve been deeper and stronger than the one they had with the Pearl Scale Emperor, but in truth, they were about the same.
In other words, and under different circumstances, she should’ve been trying to convince them to turn on each other and work to assist either one of them.
She would’ve either cemented the animosity between the Fallen and the rest of the Pearl Scale Empire, or proved to this royal child that the Fallen deserved redemption and a chance to rejoin greater society.
But alas, that wasn’t possible.
Instead, the Fallen had to fight both of their historical enemies at the same time.
And, in all honesty, Gao Shen Yuan preferred it this way.
[Batter up! Lightning Glamour!]
[Dragon-Otter’s Thunderball!]
In a coordinated manner, Jin Fang and Jinju Ren released lighting attacks made of [Chaos] and Dragon Force respectively, that flew through the air and threatened to turn Gao Shen Yuan into a electrocuted corpse. (Un)fortunately, she was a lot tougher than that…and had a lot more tricks up her sleeve.
“Annoying brats!,”Gao Shen Yuan declared as she pulled out a strange black seal from her person.”Kneel before the [Abyssal Scale Seal]!”
Leveraging the power of her [Icon] and the strange seal in her hand, Gao Shen Yuan used the surrounding aether into a shield of darkness that redirected or outright absorbed the lighting attacks. Not only that, but there were trace amounts of Dragon Force mixed into the shield as well.
“What the what?!”
“Oh, so that’s where it went…”
“Wait, you know what that thing is?!”
The reactions to this revelation though was surprisingly mixed.
“Well, not directly,” Jinju Ren admitted to Jin Fang. “Ages ago, when I was initially given a chance to take a treasure for the Imperial Vaults, I noticed that there was a spot that was strangely empty but had a noticeable imprint. When I asked about it later, I was told it was a lost seal of some kind that was made from the scale of an Abyssal Dragon that my father defeated centuries ago. I guess the Fallen stole it.”
“Stole it? Stole it?!,” Gao Shen Yuan roared with incredulity. “This seal was gifted to us by the Pearl Scale Emperor for years of glorious service until we were unjustly-tsk! Forget it! That is ancient history now.”
Jin Fang and Jinju Ren couldn’t help but to raise their eyebrows at the same time at this unusual outburst, but opted to forget it in the same manner as the matriarch. They could find out more after she was defeated.
“It was debated on multiple occasions but previous leaders and elders on whether we should throw away or outright destroy this reminder of our past, but it was eventually decided that it was better for us to hold on to it. After all, a weapon is a weapon. It doesn’t matter where it came from…”
As these words left her mouth, the air around Gao Shen Yuan became distorted and strange.
“All that matters is if it’s used! [Abyssal Dragon Flow]!”
Leveraging the seal and her [Astra], Gao Shen Yuan released a construct made of aether and Dragon Force that took the form of a coiling dragon of darkness.
The sight of this dragon would cause most people to shudder.
In front of Jin Fang and Jinju Ren though, they were annoyed.
“We take it down together on three?”
“Agreed.”
“Three!”
…
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