Chapter 650: Approaching the showdown

The Demi-Gods, who were still on the ground, managed to protect themselves by using every last drop of their Soulforce. Their robes were torn, and their hair hung in wet, tangled strands.

"J-just the aftermath of that attack was enough to kill a Demi-God," Kharos muttered, tightening his fists. "Is there really no end to the power of the dragons?"

On the other side, Vyaghra, Riksharaja and Mriga remained unharmed thanks to Mriga’s shields. He was already working on healing their twisted limbs. They were equally baffled by the scale of this battle. They had been fighting against humans for several decades, yet if they combined all the powerful techniques that had been unleashed in the war until now, it still might not match the destruction caused by this single attack from Maximilian.

The land had turned into a vast crater spreading hundreds of kilometres in every direction, as though a part of the earth had been chewed off. Muddy water was already streaming down its slopes from the edges.

The retreating cultivators in the distance who had been swept up in the attack somehow survived, though with terrible injuries. It was as if the attack had been deliberately concentrated at the centre to avoid harming them.

Shatter!

The shield covering Vincent and Felix, formed by life-saving treasures at the last moment, crumbled away. The duo lay on the ground with their blood pooling beneath them, mingling with the rain. Their injuries weren’t life-threatening, but they were enough to render them motionless.

Gumiho’s six tails, which had been shielding Maximilian, slowly moved away, revealing the duo hovering in the air above the place where the land used to be.

Maximilian’s golden eyes turned to the centre of the crater, where the four dragons who had suffered the full force of the Limit Breaker Vajra had slammed into the ground.

Several of their once impenetrable scales had fallen off, revealing the wounded skin beneath, from which blood flowed freely. The rain washed it down their long bodies in crimson streams.

The first dragon had lost one hand and an eye. The second elder’s purple horns had both been destroyed. The third and fourth dragons suffered severe burns across their thick skin, and even their once mighty white whiskers had been burnt away.

Yet all four of them had still managed to survive.

"At my current realm, I can’t unleash the final form of the Vajra at its true power," Maximilian muttered as the dark blade returned to him from the sky.

He raised his hand and warmly scratched Gumiho’s chin at his side. "So Gumiho has grown strong enough to protect her master now?" he asked in a warm voice.

"Ume Kitsune..." Gumiho murmured. "My true name is Ume Kitsune, Master."

The moment Maximilian heard that name, his irises shrank and his hands trembled at his sides. His heartbeat rose unnecessarily high again. His heart hadn’t beaten this loudly even when he was facing the four Celestial Dragons at once.

Several memories that he never knew were there, threatened to come out and overwhelm his mind but before he could be affected by the feeling again, he turned his focus to the dragon elders, who were already rising into the sky, preparing to fight.

"My name is Maximilian éclair Valcyrian Bane," Maximilian introduced himself to Ume. "Let’s catch up once I deal with these pests."

He was about to move forward, but Ume caught the hem of his robe between her teeth from behind.

"I also wish to fight with you, Master Max," Ume requested.

"What do you mean, wish?" Maximilian’s brows furrowed. "You are coming with me. What’s the point of raising you if I have to do everything by myself?"

Ume released his robe and turned back into her human form. Her scarred face carried a bright smile that made Maximilian’s heart skip a beat. Petals of plum blossoms swirled around her body, forming an elegant silken robe that the rain slid off like silk over glass.

Maximilian’s eyes shifted to the ground, where most of Vyaghra’s injuries had already been healed by Mriga.

With a sway of Maximilian’s hand, Vyaghra’s body flew upward, his brows rising in confusion.

Upon reaching beside him, Vyaghra murmured, "Master?"

"Come with me," Maximilian ordered, moving his sword beside him and letting Vyaghra stand upon it.

On the other side, the four dragons had already prepared for the final showdown. Their gigantic bodies began glowing as they spoke through their injuries, their breaths coming out in heavy clouds of steam.

"I admit it," the First Elder muttered. "You are truly powerful, perhaps the strongest at the Early Stage of the Celestial Realm."

"No wonder you are the son of the Almighty Sovereign," the Second Elder added. "A genius among geniuses."

"However, you can’t simply overpower the difference between realms," the Third Elder said. "What separates an Early-Stage Celestial Dragon from a Middle-Stage one is the understanding of their concept."

"We have been in the Celestial Realm for more years than you have lived," the Fourth Elder declared. "Our understanding of our concept has already reached ten percent. You will never be able to surpass that difference."

With that declaration, they roared,

"Soul Domain: Celestial Worldtree!"

"Soul Domain: Astral Garden!"

"Soul Domain: Heavenly Glacier!"

"Soul Domain: Frozen Starsea!"

The world around them began to change as their domains engulfed Maximilian and his two disciples. The rain stopped as if cut by a blade, and the dark clouds above melted into unfamiliar skies.

Their domains were still forming when Maximilian spoke to Ume and Vyaghra. "Today, I will give you two my final teachings."

With that declaration, his body began expanding, the obsidian scales on his arms and chest spreading across his whole body.

His hands curled into massive claws, a long tail uncoiled behind him, and his horns grew longer, curving backward. His face elongated into a draconic snout lined with sharp teeth.

The wide wings on his back unfolded with a thunderous snap, their shadow swallowing everything below.

At the centre of his chest, the golden gem stretched into a vertical shape, pulsing slowly like a second heart.