426 Closing the Rift, and Finding Sybille!
Beatrice was not there to play, and the Phoenix she conjured flew toward the god, opening its beak and sending flames like a flamethrower. Those were not ordinary flames but from a legendary being known as Phoenix.
Even the god, a powerful mage, feared that creature and those flames. So he removed a flask from his pouch and broke it, creating an instantaneous blue shield covering everything around him. It all happened fast; surprisingly, that blue shield came in touch with the holy flames of the Phoenix and did not break.
Arthur, who was only watching everything after Beatrice took control of his body for a few seconds, was also surprised.
“What is that liquid? How can it form a shield so strong?”
“That is a type of ore we can find in my universe. Pretty rare, and I don’t see him having more of it. So, I have to attack again!”
She was not fooling around and sent another powerful attack toward the god, not allowing him to retaliate. This time, the Phoenix flapped its wings, sending a flaming tornado! The attack was so hot that even the ground, far down from where they were fighting, was set ablaze.
“I don’t think I can defend this, so let’s attack too!”
The god had experience in combat, and after seeing there was no way he could defend the flaming tornado using a magical shield, he decided to send an attack of his own.
He had an arsenal of arrows he could shoot, and the best one for that occasion was a water-type arrow, which he did.
A giant arrow made entirely of mana, with its size akin to a spear, the water essence enveloped the arrow, making it more powerful and adding its element.
It did not end there, as the god aimed his bow up high, and kept shooting more and more arrows, just like the first one.
A barricade of arrows collided with the flaming tornado, and the explosion was so intense the clouds in the sky moved away, and the sky started raining balls of flames!
Everyone in the demon continent and all continents could see the impact of the two attacks, and they wondered what was happening.
Only Nefion guessed it could only be Arthur, who said he would close the rift.
“That brat is powerful,” Nefion thought as he killed the beasts trying to attack the Ouroboros School and Odemore.
Beatrice and Arthur could not see how the god was, as the impact of the spells blocked their vision, but they got hurt.
Arthur’s body had three arrows on it; one pierced the leg, the other at the chest, and one at the shoulder. It was bleeding a lot, and as it was a magical attack, it also hindered his healing speed, making it even worse.
“Did we win?” they thought, and when the particles of fire and water vanished from the air and they saw the other party, they sighed in relief.
The god was all burnt, from head to toe, and pieces of his skin were falling off–a disgusting scene that gave them peace of mind.
“It is only a projection of his main body. Sure he will get hurt, but he will eventually heal, and I am sure he will come after us when he has the chance,” Beatrice said, reminding Arthur it was not a fight they won.
Sure the avatar would not cause them trouble, and they would have a clear path to close the rift, but he would come back in the future, and who knows if Arthur would have the power to stop him when that time comes.
“You, wait for me; I will get you one day,” the god said as his body fell from the sky, dead.
Beatrice returned to the ring, again giving Arthur control of his body. When that happened, he felt the pain from the arrows stuck in his body.
“Ouch! It hurts. Did you do it so that I feel the pain?”
“Me? No, of course not. Why would I do that to my brother?” Beatrice said, chuckling.
Arthur rolled his eyes and pulled the magical arrows from his body. It was incredible that the arrows did not vanish after the god died, as they were created using his mana.
“Maybe because the main body of the god is still fine?” thought Arthur, seeing that as the only explanation for that.
He took them out individually, and the pain was harsh each time.
“Fuck it. Will the Phoenix power heal my wounds?” he asked Beatrice.
“Probably, but be quick. I don’t know how long you will remain at rank five, and you must close that rift before it ends.”
pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m Arthur nodded and flew closer to the rift after taking out the arrows. His wounds were still bleeding, but after a few seconds, the bleeding stopped, and the injuries were healing quickly, visible to the naked eye!
The Phoenix had many extraordinary powers, but its healing and resurrecting capabilities were its signature powers. Arthur saw its power in action, and even he, who had two other bloodlines, a system, and a vampire avatar, was surprised.
“Now, how should I proceed with this?”
He looked at the massive rift before him, with beasts coming out each second. Those beasts looked at him but did not attack, not even the rank four ones. They could sense his power and knew facing someone as powerful as Arthur was stupid.
“Let’s see if it works.”
The only way Arthur could think of was to try to grab both parts of the rift and merge them, so he did! His arms did not have the length for that, but there was nothing that mana could not do. Two massive flaming hands, made with the holy fire of the Phoenix, were enough to close the rift.
Each hand grabbed one part of the rift, and then Arthur used all of his strength to pull both parts toward each other. He gritted his teeth, and his entire body hurt. Some of the beasts saw what he was doing and decided to send their attacks toward him!
But Arthur was quick to react, creating a flame barrier, blocking the upcoming attacks while also trying to close the rift. Each part of the rift was slowly getting closer until, eventually, both parts touched each other, and the rift itself merged without Arthur having to do anything else.
“We did it!”
Arthur rejoiced himself, but when the rift closed, an explosion occurred! It was unlike anything Arthur had ever seen, and all the beasts near the rift turned into ashes, dying on the spot.
The explosion wave hit Arthur on the chest, sending him flying, hitting the ground, and creating a massive hole, but he was severely hurt and lost his conscience.
~~~~
“It is gone, we are saved!”
Everyone around the planet did not know how the rift closed, but it did, giving them hope and happiness. If the beasts kept coming out, there was no way they would survive.
Arthur was inside the Von Stein family, and after breaking the magical formations on that door, he went down a staircase, entering a closed cobblestone room with someone in the middle.
“S-Sybille!”
But before he could try to free her, a voice came from behind his back, “you are right where we needed you. You feel for our trap!”