Solar Blood Masters (137)

Chapter 137 - Ignitor Sun Cycle

WHOOSH!

Lu Ruby slithered through the sky while clutching the three crystal tubes; her prize, her key to victory in this stage. She dodged the relentless barrage of lightning bolts with an agility that defied those who’d called her a mere ‘snake’, for she was a princess. A Nightmare Calamity, and she would prove her worth.

But as she weaved and bobbed, a chilling premonition had her scales tingling with an ancient dread she’d only felt once before… back in that scorching, barren wasteland of Fol Ash where she’d almost been roasted alive.

BOOM!

A lightning bolt, thicker and more potent than any she’d encountered, struck before her.

It wasn't a Liu Fuuyi that emerged.

No.

It was a figure. Tall, lanky, and radiating an aura that made her blood run cold.

"Carpus Maximos! 8th Layer Nightmare Calamity?!"

She was outmatched.

She tried to slither around him, to escape his grasp, but an invisible force, potent and heavy, slammed into her.

She was thrown off course.

And then…

BAM!

She crashed into the very stone shrine where she’d battled Pam Long earlier. Rubble rained down upon her, and a wave of dust billowed outward.

“Damn…!”

She quickly emerged from the debris and checked the crystal tubes.

One was cracked.

The blue light within flickered and died.

The Liu Fuuyi inside, deprived of its energy source, vanished into a wisp of smoke.

"Damn that ugly bastard! He destroyed one of my Liu Fuuyi!”

But before she could even formulate a plan of escape or retaliation…

He was there.

Carpus Maximos hovered before her. His skeletal fingers were twitching towards her death.

“Bone Bind!” He whispered.

BOOM!

Hundreds of bone hands erupted from the ground. They snaked around Lu Ruby, those bony fingers intertwined, forming a cage of unimaginable strength.

“Let… me… GO!” She struggled, but her efforts were futile. She was trapped.

Then…

Pam Long materialized beside Carpus Maximos.

“You did well, Carpus. You captured that slippery snake.”

“Hmph. You incompetent fool. To think you couldn’t even annihilate a weak serpent. My summons had to intervene, truly pathetic.” Carpus Maximos’ voice had a chilling, condescending tone that infuriated the Devil Horn Rhino.

“I…!”

“SILENCE!” Carpus Maximos snapped.

He plucked the two remaining crystal tubes from Lu Ruby’s grasp, ignoring her venomous hisses.

“Now then… Let’s return to the platform. These Liu Fuuyi won’t last much longer.”

“WAIT!” Pam Long protested. “Give me those tubes, Carpus. I’ll handle this. Go secure the other three."

“Hmph! You’ve proven your incompetence. I’ll handle this.”

And with that, Carpus Maximos turned to leave.

“Give those… BACK!”

Lu Ruby’s scales shimmered. Intense heat radiated from her form.

The bone hands that bound her…

…began to melt!

“I’m WARNING you… I said… GIVE THOSE BACK!"

"Hmmm…” Carpus Maximos paused. He glanced at the melting bone hands.

“This princess… she’s not so simple. Let me see what you can do.”

He began summoning those dreadful gates once more.

"Carpus, those tubes! They’re going to be useless if you wait any longer! Let me handle this! Those Liu Fuuyi will die if…”

But Carpus Maximos ignored him.

Those gates materialized, and with them…

“Arise, my loyal servants!”

A dozen bone creatures emerged. There were skeletal warriors, a colossal bone dragon that had even Pam Long recoiling, and a grotesque, skeletal spider with a hundred legs. They radiated an aura of undying death.

“Attack.”

The creatures rushed forth to crush the snake princess.

But…

“You BASTARDS! You ASKED for this!”

Lu Ruby’s scales blazed with unimaginable heat!

And then…

Behind her, a terrifying transformation took place. Her 'Sun Cycle', usually a magnificent bronze disc, began to enlarge.

It emitted crimson so bright that even the lightning bolts in the sky seemed to dim. It was no longer bronze… It was a horrifying red, laced with dark cracks!

This Sun Cycle was the epitome of hellfire itself!

The stone shrine melted!

The bone creatures screamed as their forms dissolved!

Even the lightning bolts in the sky fizzled and vanished before they could even touch this infernal heat!

BOOM!

The crystal tubes exploded!

“WHAT?!”

"You… BITCH! You’ve destroyed the crystal tubes!" Pam Long stared in shock. Those precious Liu Fuuyi were gone! "Now NONE of us can get them!"

He glared at Carpus Maximos. "What are you waiting for? KILL her!”

“With pleasure!” He unleashed his bone army, but…

“I’ve WARNED you! Now… you’ll PAY!”

Lu Ruby glared at them with fury that surpassed her fear.

“IGNITOR SUN CYCLE!”

BOOM!

Her Sun Cycle responded!

It exuded even more horrifying heat!

And then, all around them…

…fiery streams erupted from the ground, shooting into the sky like a thousand geysers of lava!

“Blazing Hell Roach!”

From those streams of fire, countless monstrous, fiery cockroaches materialized.

They swarmed around the bone army!

“HISS! HISS! HISS!”

Their chittering was a dreadful melody.

Even though the bone creatures were at the 8th Layer Nightmare Calamity, just like Carpus Maximos, they were powerless against the ‘Ignitor Sun Cycle’s’ heat.

They melted!

They screamed!

They vanished!

Within seconds, they were reduced to ash!

Pam Long and Carpus Maximos stared, speechless. This power…

It was beyond anything they'd ever encountered!

…

The audience watching this unfold on the massive screens gasped.

“WHAT is that?!”

“How… How can a mere 2nd Layer Nightmare Calamity… be so POWERFUL?!

And that HEAT! It’s melting those lightning bolts!”

…

On the Emperor’s platform, whispers of suspicion had the very air trembling.

"That… Sun Cycle…" Silk Yune’s icy gaze settled on Lu Ignis. She could sense it. "It is no ordinary artifact."

“Lu Ignis… you GIFTED your daughter a divine artifact, didn’t you?!”

The other Emperors also glared at Lu Ignis with a mixture of disapproval and a touch of amusement.

“That’s… Lu Ignis’s ‘Ignitor Sun Cycle’! The very weapon that turned the ‘Mountain of a Thousand Dreams’ into a barren wasteland a millennia ago!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Lu Ignis. Such hypocrisy. You dared to berate Qi Hawk for gifting his champion a palace when YOU’RE guilty of the SAME thing?! That Sun Cycle, it’s capable of melting lightning and incinerating an entire mountain! And you gave it to your daughter? Shameless!”

They all voiced their condemnations.

Even Anakin Vader chimed in. “Dishonorable."

Lu Ignis, however, was unfazed by their accusations.

“ENOUGH! Which LOVING father wouldn’t want to PROTECT their precious daughter? You are ALL guilty of the same thing. Don’t deny it!”

He glared at them, daring them to challenge him, but they all knew…

He was right.

“Hmph! Very well, consider this a warning, Lu Ignis. Should you EVER bring up the matter of Qi Hawk’s ‘cheating’ again… we’ll be forced to take… drastic measures. Remember that!” Mermaid Merlando’s voice was calm, but Lu Ignis understood the threat.

He grumbled, “Fine… Fine…”

He'd have his revenge later.

But for now…

He watched as his daughter unleashed a torrent of fiery devastation upon those who’d dared to steal her prize.

…

“SCREECH!”

The bone creatures swarmed, unleashing a barrage of attacks from multiple angles. Skeletal warriors thrust their swords, bone spiders spat venomous webs, and the colossal bone dragon unleashed a torrent of icy flames. It was a terrifying display of necrotic might and a hormonic of death.

But Lu Ruby was unfazed.

Her 'Ignitor Sun Cycle' blazed with a fury that made even the air itself rippled. The bone creatures’ attacks turned to ash before they could even get close to her. They screamed as their forms dissolved. Their cries were fleeting whispers in this infernal heat.

Pam Long and Carpus Maximos, however, were struggling. They dodged and weaved, desperately trying to stay out of her range while swatting those pesky, fiery cockroaches.

"Damn those roaches! They're EVERYWHERE!” Pam Long roared.

“Even the air is BURNING! I can’t breathe!” Carpus Maximos coughed while waving his skeletal hand before his face. The heat was unbearable. His very soul was succumbing to its hellish might.

He glared at Lu Ruby. “That princess… her power is far greater than mine, at least with that infernal Sun Cycle of hers. That thing, it's a monstrous relic!”

“It has to be Lu Ignis's 'Ignitor Sun Cycle', right?” Pam Long guessed. He recalled those tales he’d heard about Lu Ignis’s legendary weapon, a weapon capable of melting mountains and incinerating entire armies.

“It is.” Carpus Maximos nodded grimly. “But she won’t be able to maintain it for much longer. We just have to stay out of her range. Avoid those cockroaches. And WAIT. She’ll exhaust herself soon.”

But as they spoke…

BOOM!

A blazing cockroach crashed into Pam Long.

And in a flash of blinding light…

He was reduced to bones!

His skeletal form, devoid of flesh and blood, clattered to the ground.

“Carpus! HELP ME!”

His plea, however, was a waste of breath. Carpus Maximos watched in horror as the roaches swarmed around him with their fiery bodies buzzing with a bloodthirsty glee. He summoned more bone creatures, forming a wall of necrotic flesh and bone between himself and Lu Ruby’s fury.

“Hold them off while I escape this heat! She can’t keep this up for much longer!”

…

Lu Ruby was sweating. Her scales were dripping lava, mirroring her father's own fiery temperament when angered. She felt the strain of the ‘Ignitor Sun Cycle’s’ power. It was a monstrous force, a divine artifact that amplified her Solar Essence, but it came at a cost.

‘Father’s 'Ignitor Sun Cycle’ is powerful… TOO powerful. It’s allowing me to keep those Nightmare Calamities at bay. With this… I can KILL anyone who opposes me! Even that Bull Mountain Demon, Gastaroid… he'd be nothing but ash!

But… this power… It’s TAXING! I can only maintain it for another TEN SECONDS! Any more than that… and IT will turn ME to ASH as well! I have to act quickly! I have to KILL that corpse BASTARD!”

Her ‘Ignitor Sun Cycle’ blazed brighter!

The heat intensified.

The air around her warped and shimmered. Lightning strikes melted away, unable to withstand her infernal fury!

WHOOSH!

One platform, belonging to a team from Jingling Ocean, was obliterated! The contestants screamed as they were vaporized! Even their captured Liu Fuuyi vanished.

“This power… It’s AMAZING!” She laughed menacingly.

“Damn it! Her power… It’s becoming more hellish! At this distance, even my Solar Essence is vaporizing! I can only defend…”

Carpus Maximos was desperate. He extended his bone hands, channeling his potent necrotic energy!

“Bone Wall - Shield of the Damned!”

BOOM!

Hundreds of bone hands intertwined, forming a massive, skeletal shield that surrounded him. It was a grotesque, yet effective defense.

He could still feel the oppressive heat seeping in, but it was bearable.

“She can’t keep this power going for much longer… fifteen seconds at best. I can hold out for fifteen seconds…”

But…

“Think you can HIDE in that little SHELL of yours? DIE!”

Lu Ruby leaped into the air!

She pushed her ‘Ignitor Sun Cycle’ before her and unleashed a blinding solar beam!

“SOLAR BEAM!”

WHOOSH! BOOM!

The beam slammed into his shield!

It shattered on impact!

Carpus Maximos was exposed!

“NO!”

Just as he was about to be incinerated…

A figure appeared before him!

“INVINCIBLE ROAR!”

It was Pam Long, fully restored.

“What?!” Lu Ruby was shocked.

“That damn rhino AGAIN?! HOW many times do I have to KILL him?!”

His 'Invincible Roar' pushed back against her Solar Beam, but he was struggling. The heat was immense!

“Carpus, don’t worry, I got your back. Together we will…” But Carpus Maximos cut him off.

“Good. Hold her OFF.”

And with a blink…

He vanished!

“You… UNGRATEFUL bastard!” Pam Long yelled.

He watched as Carpus Maximos’s form disappeared into the distance. Then… he focused on the task at hand.

“Damn snake! Your flames are POTENT! But I’M… INVINCIBLE!”

He strained against the Solar Beam.

But…

It was too much!

Lu Ruby’s time was running out. She poured all of her remaining energy into the attack.

“ARGH!”

The beam intensified.

It ripped through his flesh! It devoured his organs! And then… his bones!

His skeletal form fought back. It resisted. But the beam was relentless.

Then…

The beam died.

Pam Long’s bones, charred black, crashed onto the ground, and immediately, millions of volts punished him!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“It’s… over.”

Lu Ruby felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Her 'Ignitor Sun Cycle' flickered, and then…

It shrunk. It reverted back to its normal size, its infernal glow vanished.

She collapsed.

She landed amidst the ruined shrine.

She was exposed.

BOOM! BOOM!

Several lightning bolts, as if seeking revenge for her earlier transgression, targeted her.

“Damn…!”

She pushed her Sun Cycle ahead of her, using it as a shield. But a few stray bolts hit her, causing her to scream in pain.

“I can’t stay here… Have to return and recuperate…"

She forced herself up.

But then…

“Where do you think you are GOING, princess?”

A cold, bony hand grasped her tail.

She turned.

“You…?”

A skeleton stood before her. It was clutching her tail. At first, she thought it was one of Carpus Maximos’s summons. But then… she saw it. Blood vessels appeared, they throbbed, wrapping around bone. Then came muscle, sinew, and lastly… flesh.

Pam Long was whole again.

“Our battle isn’t over yet, snake. I’m still STANDING.”

“You… AGAIN?!” She was speechless.

He didn’t give her a chance to recover. He slammed her into a wall.

BOOM!

“ARGH!” She coughed blood, and it splattered his hide.

Pam Long licked the blood and said, “Yes, this is what I like to taste. I’ll have to rip you open so I can have some more!”

“NO! GET AWAY!”

He grinned, “Music to my ears! Scream LOUDER for me, princess. SCREAM! Scream louder so that your DADDY can HEAR you!”

She screamed.

“YES! That’s it! MORE!”

His laughter was a terrifying, guttural sound.

He flung her to the ground, treating it as his operating table. Ignoring the barrage of lightning strikes surrounding them, he pressed his massive hands onto her chest.

And then…

He began to rip her open.

“ARGHHHHH! NOOO!”

She screamed as tears streamed down her face. It mixed with the blood oozing from her very wounds.

“That’s it… princess. SCREAM!”