"Silence!" Imu's voice cut through the darkness, putting an end to the whispers. They massaged their temples, a hint of a headache forming.
Gya gya gya...
The shadows in the dark suddenly froze, turning their gazes directly upon Imu, their intent unclear.
The Room of Flowers fell into an eerie silence once more.
At that moment, Ryuuto hovered five thousand meters above Mary Geoise.
"You have your pentagrams, so try my lightning!" As Ryuuto spoke, innumerable golden bolts erupted from his body, instantly shattering the outer layer of island clouds and coalescing into a colossal golden sphere of lightning, five thousand meters in diameter.
"Raigo!"
With a great shout, Ryuuto hurled the golden sphere downward.
BOOM!
Boundless lightning arced outwards, its terrifying golden light piercing the very air. The sound of thunder rolled across the sky as the attack descended upon Mary Geoise like an eclipse.
The lightning was so fast...
...that in an instant, its reflection appeared in the eyes of the Celestial Dragons within Pangea Castle.
"What is that thing in the sky? Guards, protect me!" The Celestial Dragons, with their distinctive bubble helmets, descended into a panic, shouting at their guards.
For a moment, chaos reigned in Pangea Castle.
The Five Elders and the God's Knights appeared on the rooftop at once.
"How utterly arrogant!" Saint Saturn stood leaning on his cane, his expression exceptionally grim.
"This technique looks familiar!" Saint Nusjuro stood with his hand on the Shodai Kitetsu, his eyes filled with gravity. He had long since reviewed the intelligence reports from the Summit War; he knew that Ryuuto's final Raigo had required a coalition of powerful forces to stop.
"It's been a long time since someone dared to invade Mary Geoise alone!" Saint Garling sneered, a hint of disdain on his lips. Behind him, his black cloak billowed as if caught in an unseen wind.
Beside him, the other members of the God's Knights watched with cold indifference.
As they spoke, the massive sphere of lightning drew ever closer. The overwhelming aura of destruction began to scorch their skin.
In unison, their right hands went to their weapons, ready for battle.
"Gurururu..."
Suddenly, countless shadows began to creep up the walls of Mary Geoise, and a powerful presence surged forth!
A dark figure materialized in the air before them.
"Lord Imu!"
Instantly, everyone on the roof bowed their heads in reverence.
And at that moment... the golden sphere of lightning arrived.
BOOM!!
The intense flash illuminated all of Mary Geoise. Countless bolts of lightning lashed out, gouging deep craters in the ground and triggering violent explosions in the air!!
"It's over! We're going to die!"
"This place is going to be destroyed!"
"Quick, we have to run for our lives!"
Whether it was the Celestial Dragons in Pangea Castle or the slaves within, all were terrified by the horrifying spectacle. Many collapsed to the ground, utterly helpless.
"This power?" Imu watched as their shadow clone began to flicker, slowly disintegrating under the destructive aura of the Divine Thunder of Annihilation. "How curious," they mused.
"Guruguru!!"
The shadow clinging to the building let out a sound of displeasure, as if to remind Imu of the task at hand.
"Go," Imu commanded mentally. The shadow clinging to Mary Geoise rapidly converged, forming a mass of darkness that shot straight toward the golden sphere in the sky.
In its flight, the shadow's form became faintly visible: it had the face of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the limbs of a tiger, and the tail of a snake.
"Gurururu!!"
As the two forces neared each other, the shadow grew larger and larger...
Its form soon reached a terrifying scale of several thousand meters, casting all of Mary Geoise into darkness. It then opened its massive maw and swallowed Ryuuto's Raigo whole.
"What...?" Saint Garling's face was a mask of shock. This was the first time he had ever seen Lord Imu attack in such a manner.
It was so... primal!
Sweat beaded on Saint Saturn's forehead as he recalled the terrifying sight of Lord Imu's rampages. That same grotesque monster had once filled the entire Room of Flowers!!
Junzi's small face was hidden behind her bandages, her expression unreadable.
"How boring. It seems to be over already!" Saint Ju Peter scoffed, his two great whiskers twitching.
High above, Ryuuto watched this unfold.
"Interesting! Is this Imu's countermeasure?"
"If so, you've made a grave mistake. It's time you witnessed a power that does not belong to this world!"
A smile spread across Ryuuto's face, a plan already forming in his mind.
"The lightning... it was eaten?"
"Does that mean... we're saved?"
The Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise were stunned by the shadow's power, but their shock quickly turned to elation.
Imu looked up at the sky, and a series of blue rings appeared in their eyes.
Guruguru!!
The shadow in the sky let out a low growl.
"Not good!!"
Suddenly, the blue rings in Imu's eyes constricted. They realized something was wrong. The Nue seemed to be in distress.
"Hahahahahaha...!" Ryuuto burst into laughter. He then roared, "Divine Thunder of Annihilation... Detonate!"
In an instant, a powerful shockwave pulsed outwards.
Before everyone's eyes, the Nue's form began to swell, and golden cracks spread across its shadowy body.
Gulu!!
The shadow—the Nue—let out a bloodcurdling scream.
BOOM!!
An earth-shattering explosion followed. The dark entity was instantly blown to pieces, and the ensuing golden light vaporized its fragments into nothingness. The massive body was gone.
But it wasn't over. The aftershock of the explosion blasted downward toward Mary Geoise.
The powerful shockwave shook the holy land, causing widespread architectural collapse and sending countless pieces of debris flying.
The God's Knights and the Five Elders rushed down from Pangea Castle to protect the Celestial Dragons below.
Only Ryuuto and Imu remained in the sky.
Just then, an intense violet light flared around Imu. A massive pentagram, thousands of meters in diameter, materialized before them.
And then... a colossal right arm, covered in black scales, emerged from within.
Countless black-and-red bolts of lightning erupted from it!
The powerful fluctuations threw the weather above the Red Line into turmoil.
"Lord Imu is getting serious!" Saint Nusjuro stared, transfixed.
"This is the true power of Lord Imu!" Saint Garling watched in awe.
Choux, on the other hand, was wondering when Lord Imu might bestow such incredible power upon him. He glanced at his own sword, feeling it was rather pathetic in comparison.
BOOM!! As the giant hand swatted toward Ryuuto, the surrounding space seemed unable to bear its presence, warping and distorting.
Furthermore, Ryuuto found himself locked in place, unable to move.
"So this is Imu's power?"
A sense of dread washed over Ryuuto. His body tensed, and golden lightning surged forth. At the same time, his heart began to beat in a fixed, powerful rhythm...
Thump!
A faint drumbeat sounded... The golden lightning began to envelop Ryuuto, rapidly coalescing around him.
"I have never seen this power before. It doesn't originate from the Lunarians, either. And that destructive aura... the Nue couldn't even withstand it for a moment before being annihilated!" Imu thought, their gaze fixed on Ryuuto.
Having witnessed Ryuuto's Divine Thunder of Annihilation, Imu had only one thought: eliminate him as quickly as possible. They could sense the immense potential within that lightning.
That was why they had immediately unleashed a killing blow.
If all went according to plan, this one attack would be enough to finish Ryuuto. After all, even the great Rocks had only managed to escape heavily wounded.
Below, the Celestial Dragons in Pangea Castle were utterly stunned. In all their long lives, they had never witnessed such a terrifying sight.
Ryuuto felt a profound sense of mortal danger...
"One wrong move, and I'll really die here..."
"Then let's test it! This new technique I've just mastered... let me see its true power!"
Ryuuto's heart beat faster and faster, and the drumming in the air grew louder and more distinct!
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The powerful drumming echoed through the heavens!
The golden lightning around Ryuuto solidified, forming a massive war drum.
Imu's summoned arm reached Ryuuto, swinging down with an absurd display of black-and-red lightning.
KRA-KOOM!!
The two energies collided violently.
The sky was instantly split in two: one side, the brilliant golden light of heavenly judgment; the other, the sinister and terrifying black-and-red lightning.
A powerful shockwave erupted from the point of impact, clearing all the clouds from the sky.
But the black arm was superior. It pressed down on Ryuuto's golden lightning, bearing down on his body.
"Take this!" Ryuuto roared. "Drum of Annihilation!!"
As he shouted, all the golden Divine Thunder of Annihilation in the sky converged onto the face of the golden war drum, compressing into a single point before exploding outwards.
DOOOOM!!
Countless golden, serpentine patterns of lightning erupted. A single, heaven-shaking drumbeat was all that remained in the sky.
The golden war drum, its purpose fulfilled, vanished without a trace!
An invisible wave of energy swept outwards. The giant black arm shattered instantly, its scales exploding as blood rained down. The flesh sloughed away to reveal the bones within, which then fell limply toward the ground.
In that moment, the clouds broke, the wind died, and all sound in the world vanished.
Every person on the Red Line froze in place!
It was as if Ryuuto was the only thing left in existence.
The beat of the drum had shattered both space and time in this entire region.
This was Ryuuto's ultimate killing technique: the Drum of Annihilation. When it sounds, it can sever the flow of time. Of course, the technique came at a great cost, consuming nearly all his stamina and spiritual energy.
But it was worth it.
Crackle...
With a faint flash of lightning, Ryuuto instantly appeared beside Imu's clone.
Although Imu's figure was frozen, a faint purple light had begun to flicker around it, as if some form of magic was resisting the Drum of Annihilation.
"Thunder Kill!!"
Ryuuto's eyes narrowed. He moved faster, instantly drawing the Kui Dragon Blade from his right hand and slashing outwards.
A powerful slash of golden lightning shot forth...
BANG!! As expected, the lightning clashed with the purple light flaring from Imu's body. But the defensive magic had not yet fully formed. Ryuuto's attack held the advantage, slicing the clone in two.
BOOM!! The slash of lightning continued on, disappearing over the horizon.
Having done all this in two breaths' time, Ryuuto transformed into a bolt of lightning and vanished.
The Drum of Annihilation's effect would only last for three breaths. Moreover, an incomparably terrifying aura was awakening in Mary Geoise below.
BOOM!! Just as Ryuuto left, a boundless darkness surged up from below. It blotted out the sky, filled with dozens, perhaps hundreds, of terrifying entities roaring with savage fury.
And among them... was the Nue that Ryuuto had just destroyed.
Though its form was much smaller now.
"Damn you! Ryuuto, next time, I will not spare you!" As the darkness lunged at empty air, Imu's true body appeared in the sky. Their eyes were crimson, their aura turbulent, and they were utterly enraged.
Three breaths had passed.
A breeze stirred...
...and space-time returned to normal. The God's Knights and the Five Elders looked up to see that Ryuuto had vanished.
Only Imu remained, wreathed in countless shadows.
This filled them with trepidation, as they had no idea what had just transpired.
After a moment, Imu's black robes shuddered, and they returned to the Room of Flowers, taking the endless darkness with them. The God's Knights and the Five Elders breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Did... Lord Imu seem angry?" Choux muttered under his breath, only to receive a sharp, warning glare from Saint Garling.
Their minds were filled with questions.
"What just happened? Where is Ryuuto?"
It was a question that would likely remain unanswered until the next time they met him.
Meanwhile, Ryuuto was already hundreds of thousands of miles away. After using the Drum of Annihilation, he had been utterly exhausted, and flying such a great distance had completely drained his reserves.
"Hah... I can't fly anymore. The cost was just too great!"
Ryuuto cursed inwardly as his strength gave out. He could hold on no longer and began to plummet toward an island below.