Solar Blood Masters (156)

Chapter 156 - Tears For My Grandson

THUD!

Lingshi flipped back onto his feet with a groan. His gaze shifted towards Lu Ruby’s crumpled form, her pained howls and those tears rushing down her face had a chilling truth blooming.

"Mental Discipline has fried her cerebral cortex. This is bad. Very bad. I failed my duty as protector. The only way for her to be saved is for me to retrieve what that bull has stolen. If Lu Ignis’s daughter dies… then I, Lord Lingshi, will also join her in death. I can't allow that to happen. That bull… he MUST die… FIRST.”

His aura flared. It was a wave of potent Solar Essence that had those nearest contenders scrambling for cover. With a terrifying intensity, he snatched his ‘Lucid Dream’ brush and leaped into the air. He aimed the brush downwards at Raphael, who hovered motionless in mid-air.

“DIE!”

A black sword shot forth from the tip of ‘Lucid Dream’. It rushed straight for Raphael’s heart!

But…

Thienika appeared.

“Regal Counter!”

She slammed her staff against the air, creating a ripple that shifted the very fabric of reality itself.

And the black sword was flung back towards Lingshi. Its trajectory reversed! It was now aimed straight for his face.

“You… again!”

Lingshi snarled.

Before the sword could impale him, he turned the blade into a stream of black ink, which was swiftly absorbed by his Lucid Dream brush.

He then backhanded Thienika!

She was sent flying like a broken doll!

She crashed through several pillars and slammed into the stage below.

Lingshi then materialized before Raphael, and plunged the tip of his paintbrush into his chest!

“Inkblade Sever!"

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A barrage of black slashes exploded outwards, tearing into Raphael’s body with a horrifying might.

His left arm was severed! It landed with a sickening thud beside Lu Jade.

His legs, his wings, they were sliced apart, falling like broken branches!

His torso, ripped and torn, lay in a pool of blood.

Only his head remained, staring up at Lingshi with wide, bloodshot eyes.

Just as the final blow was about to descend, severing his head from his body…

Thienika appeared!

“Natural Phenomenon - Damage Reflect!”

She tossed a shimmering ‘Leaf Orb’ which she took from Raphael towards Lingshi.

BOOM!

The orb struck his shell, and exploded!

Lingshi screamed in agony as his shell cracked, and his bamboo grove was decimated! The force of the reflected damage had him flying backward into the stage with a force that had the arena shaking! He landed with a bone-jarring thud.

A massive crater formed.

He groaned and looked up.

And his eyes widened in disbelief.

Raphael’s injuries… were gone!

He was fully restored! His golden hide glowed!

“That damn tree… again?! How… how can a 1st Layer Calamity delay my plans?!”

Then Lu Ruby’s screams had his focus shifting. He saw her frothing at the mouth, writhing in pain. Her single eye rolled back into her head.

“Not good! Her body is becoming retarded! I… I have to retrieve that gem NOW! Whatever it takes!”

With a terrifying roar, Lingshi unleashed his full might!

He reached into his World Canvas and withdrew Carpus Maximos’s Solar Consciousness!

It was a massive, swirling orb of purple and black energy, radiating a potent aura that had even the spectators gasping.

“That’s… Carpus Maximos’s soul?!”

“What’s he doing?!”

“Is he…?”

Before their questions could even form, Lingshi consumed the soul!

His body shuddered.

His shell glowed with a menacing red light. His eyes blazed with a newfound power. His Solar Essence skyrocketed!

He was now… an Emperor Calamity, 1st Layer.

The crowd erupted!

“He ASCENDED! During the battle?!”

“An Emperor Calamity! What a twist!”

“That power… It’s terrifying!”

“The bull’s DONE for!”

On the Black Wind platform.

“That damned turtle…” Gastaroid’s molten eyes narrowed as he stared at Lingshi’s transformed form. “He consumed Carpus Maximos’s Solar Consciousness! He became an Emperor Calamity!”

He clenched his fists.

“If I’d absorbed Hao Tien Hue’s soul… I too, would be an Emperor Calamity! We could have battled as EQUALS! Damn it!”

Lu Jade and Qi Fenwei huddled in a corner, their Solar Essences flickered nervously, they were trapped within Lingshi’s barrier. It was a chilling reminder of their precarious situation.

“What do we do now, princess?” Lu Jade trembled. His emerald scales were dull.

Qi Fenwei glared at the barrier. “That barrier… It’s reinforced with Lingshi’s Emperor Calamity essence. We can’t break through it. We’re trapped like rats.”

She looked at Lu Jade.

“We have two options, snake: We fight back, and hope Lingshi spares us… Or… we die trying.”

“Those are… not very good options. If only Gastaroid didn’t make that foolish decision, we would have won those 500,000 years already!“

Lu Jade’s words died in his throat. He could feel it.

A monstrous Solar Pressure descended upon them.

It was Lingshi.

He was hovering before them like an almighty god.

His form seemed even more colossal, more menacing. His eyes blazed with a terrifying green light.

Raphael saw Lingshi’s approach and tried to warn his teammates.

“Grandma, Little Lu, Qi Fenwei… BE CAREFUL! He’s an Emperor Calamity! That Solar Pressure alone is enough…”

But his words were cut short.

WHOOSH!

Lingshi’s massive tail swung like a colossal club! It slammed into Thienika’s frail form and she crashed into the ground very hard!

She coughed blood.

Another crater appeared.

Raphael couldn’t move. He felt as if he was shackled by an invisible force. Lingshi’s Solar Pressure was overwhelming and had his very being resisting his will.

"Damn it! I have to… MOVE! Ignitor Sun Cycle…!” He urged his stolen relic to respond but it was as if the very energies within his grasp were frozen.

Lingshi’s power had completely suppressed him, and nullified his abilities.

‘Is this the end… for me…?’

As if sensing Raphael’s thought, Lingshi answered, “Yes.”

And then it happened.

In a blink.

Raphael was sliced in half!

A diagonal cut, from his left shoulder blade straight to his right hoof, split his massive form in two!

“ARGHHHHHH!”

A scream escaped his mouth. It was a sound of pure agony, a bellow that overshadowed even Lu Ruby’s pained howls.

Thienika burst out of the crater. She flew toward Lingshi as salty droplets trickled down her weathered face.

“You… MONSTER! You killed my GRANDSON!”

“Hmmm? You… again? How many times do I have to knock you down, old woman? This time… I’ll KILL you! World Palm!”

Lingshi’s hand glowed with a brilliant, azure light. A massive, spectral palm materialized above Thienika. It descended with a speed and force that would flatten even a mountain!

But…

Thienika didn't flinch. She raised her staff.

“Regal Counter!”

BOOM!

The spectral palm was smashed back towards Lingshi!

The impact was devastating. He was sent hurtling backward, crashing into Lu Ruby, burying her beneath his massive form.

He groaned, then looked up with his ancient eyes, “How… how is this possible? Even with my Emperor Calamity strength, she can still force me back? Just who the hell IS that tree?!”

Lu Ruby’s screams snapped Lingshi back to the present, “AHHHHH! Get… OFF…!”

He quickly rolled off her.

…

Above, Thienika hovered. Her starlight leaves spun rapidly, forming a vortex of energy around her.

“Natural Phenomenon!”

She extended her hands towards Raphael’s severed form. She drew the energy from his wounds, gathering it into a translucent orb. Her ‘Leaf Orbs’. Which she absorbed into herself to suffer the damages.

But it was no use.

Raphael’s body remained broken.

She could feel it. Her technique wasn’t working!

“No… No! Why…?! WHY won’t it heal?!”

She cried. Her tears mingled with the blood trickling from her lips.

She was injured, exhausted, her ancient core was screaming in protest. But she didn’t care.

Raphael… her grandson… he was her only concern.

With trembling hands, she extended her roots, weaving them around his severed form, desperately trying to stitch him back together, to mend his shattered body.

“Raphael… please… don’t die… Don’t leave me…”

Her voice was choked with despair.

It was a raw sound of pure anguish, a lament that echoed through the arena, and silenced the crowd.

Even the Emperors on their platform paused their bickering.

They’d witnessed countless deaths, countless battles, countless displays of power and cruelty… but this… this raw, untamed grief, this love… It was something different.

It was… unsettling.