2194. Small
Noah and Divine Demon went silent as they divided their attention among the battlefields and the sky. They trusted their companions, but Heaven and Earth could cause problems even in their dormant state, so they had to be ready.
Meanwhile, June's battlefield evolved as Noah predicted. Steven sent a wave of dark energy through the rain of blood that turned into a tunnel that he could cross to stand above the fight.
The old woman didn't hesitate to tear apart another chunk of her skin and throw it toward Steven. The gory item transformed into a series of bloody arrows that converged toward Steven, but he disregarded them as he closed his eyes to focus.
The giant arrows pierced Steven's body and left him with nothing more than half a torso, his head, and an arm. His world also suffered injuries, but his eyes remained closed.
A wave of darkness expanded above Steven's maimed figure when he opened his eyes. The whiteness in the area screeched in disdain, but he barely noticed that noise as he lowered his arm and sent that energy toward his opponent.
The old woman wanted to launch another attack, but a heartbeat suddenly resounded in the area and pulled her body closer to June. A lightning bolt also pierced the rain of blood at her side and hit her directly, leaving her stunned for a few seconds.
The wave of darkness fell on the privileged cultivator at that point. The attack passed right through the old woman without causing any apparent effect, but her cultivation level eventually shook and made her puke blood.
The odd dragon used that chance to fly above the old woman and released as much dark liquid it could produce. A waterfall engulfed the privileged cultivator and limited the effectiveness of her abilities, preventing her from dodging the attack.
Maribel followed the dragon's example and teleported above the old woman. She pointed her arm at her opponent as energy flowed calmly toward her palm. Then, she heaved a sigh, and the entirety of her power transformed into a violent, dark torrent that crashed on the privileged cultivator.
June didn't wait for the attacks to disperse. She shouted as her entire figure released lightning bolts that spread in the area before converging toward her opponent.
The sky seemed to react to the crackling noises released by June's lightning bolts. Her attacks alerted Heaven and Earth, but the latter remained silent and let the offensive unfold.
The impact of the lightning bolts on the old woman dispersed the black waterfall and the dark energy that was assaulting her body.
Silence finally fell on that battlefield. June, Steven, the odd dragon, and Maribel took four different positions as they waited to see what their offensive had caused. They could still sense their opponent's aura, but they could also confirm that their offensive had damaged her.
"Do you think you can come inside the sky and do as you wish without facing repercussions?" A cold voice resounded from the mass of sparks that still crackled where June's lightning bolts had landed.
"We did that multiple times already," Steven mocked.
"Some of you paid the price for that," The cold voice resounded again as the sparks began to disperse.
"You aren't worthy of talking about him," Steven declared as he pointed his hand forward and gave birth to a pointy black structure that fell toward the sparks.
The attack didn't affect the sparks, but a grunt resounded from inside them. It was clear that the old woman had suffered another injury, and her cry triggered another series of techniques from her opponents.
"Let's just continue until she is dead," Steven ordered. "I wanted to enjoy the death of a privileged cultivator a bit longer, but I've lost interest."
"Don't give me orders," June snorted, but she proceeded to launch more lightning bolts toward her target.
Maribel and the odd dragon unleashed a silent offensive, and the old woman's aura continued to lose power as more attacks fell on her. It really seemed that she would die at that pace, but a burst of energy suddenly exploded from her spot and destroyed the incoming blows.
The explosion was different from the previous attacks. The old woman had used rain and arrows made of her own blood before, but the detonation had the shape of an expanding pale-red sphere that engulfed anything it touched.
Maribel and the odd dragon felt forced to deploy evasive maneuvers to escape the sphere, but the latter turned out to be too slow. Luckily for the creature, a black light flashed behind it and pulled it away. Steven had saved its life.
The sphere expanded until reaching the breaking point and crumbling into waves of blood. The gory spectacle attracted the experts' gazes, but the figure standing at its center eventually claimed the entirety of their attention.
The old woman was still relatively in one piece. She had lost her skin and layers of muscles and had become nothing more than a skeleton that contained shiny organs. However, her world felt intact, as if the previous attacks didn't hurt her at all.
"You are entire eras too early to wage war against the sky," The old woman announced in her cold voice before stabbing her skeletal hand inside her abdomen.
The privileged cultivator took out her intestine and threw it forward. The organ enlarged as the old woman's countless experiences flowed inside it and filled it with a new purpose.
The intestine quickly transformed into a massive worm-like creature that twisted its body to encircle the whole battlefield. Steven wanted to throw the odd dragon outside that structure, but he was one step too late. The organ created an almost perfect cage that prevented everyone from escaping.
Noah and Divine Demon moved almost at the same time. They shot toward the battlefield and mustered their energy to prepare attacks that could pierce that gory structure, but a loud warning interrupted them.
"Noah, don't you even think about it," June shouted from inside the structure. "This is my battle."
"We have to be quick," Noah roared.
"I'll be quick then!" June responded.
Divine Demon glanced at Noah before exploding into a loud laugh when he noticed the helplessness in his expression. Two cups of wine quickly materialized in front of them, and Divine Demon didn't even hesitate to pat Noah's shoulder.
"We are a bunch of maniacs," Noah sighed as he seized a cup and crossed his legs to hover mid-air.
"You should have chosen dragons instead of women," Divine Demon teased.
"I've literally chosen both," Noah complained.
"Your desire wasn't pure," Divine Demon joked, trying to imitate Sword Saint's serious tone.
"Should I remind you that we have a dragon woman in the organization?" Noah decided to turn the tables. "I'm afraid you were too forgetful to notice her back then."
"Jordan is a fine dragon," Divine Demon commented, "But this demon can't indulge in such activities. They are a waste of time when I have the universe to seize."
"So, you want to conquer it," Noah hinted.
"I never know what I want until I want it," Divine Demon scoffed. "What about you?"
"I know that the universe will eventually become too small for me," Noah stated.. "I'll tell you what I'll do when that happens."