Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 763

Chapter 763

Chapter 763: Separate Action

An enormous purple hand a thousand meters across came down from above to try and swat the Pharmacist from the sky . She fearlessly advanced with her weapon leading the way . There was a flash of white, a pained scream, and suddenly the Pharmacist was through the hand like it was nothing .

Lan Jue, holding tight to Qianlin’s hand, lifted into the air as well . They were almost immediately surrounded by the light of their swords; Captus red, and Demortus blue . They were both inspired by the power of their brother Occisus, and pulsed with stifling power . With their swords held high they joined the Pharmacist in her charge toward the Monarch’s doppelganger .

Waves of energy surged from the alien like an angry tide . It punched at the Pharmacist, forcing her to retreat before turning on Lan Jue and Qianlin . It reached out to grab them .

It was Lan Jue’s first time fighting a creature like this . All of a sudden he felt as though everything around them was their enemy . The world wanted them dead . An unspeakable pressure pressed in from all sides, pure energy suppression – the same method he’d used to seal the Wine Master’s Domain .

He leapt to the side to block Qianlin . With a flick of the wrist he carved out an angry red circle with Captus and everything within it imploded . A burst of energy shot out with enough force to catapult Lan Jue and Qianlin from the battlefield . They were gone, the pressure that assailed them collapsed on empty space .

This was the joining of Captus and Taiji .

In the next instant Qianlin sprang up from behind Lan Jue . She swiped her weapon, birthing a hail of blue barbs that filled the air . A hundred thousand bursts of Demortus’ cutting bite raced for their target . Lan Jue was not idle and thrust his sword into the circular patch he’d carved in the sky . Though the movement was simple, the strength of the power it exuded had the weight of a thousand pounds behind it . Like roaring waves it burst forth, sweeping through the pressure that had threatened to crush them .

A column of white light descended from above them, bearing the murderous aura of Occisus . Through the aid of her Righteous Slaughter Domain the woman had never encountered a battle she couldn’t overcome . She was harder to fight the longer it took . Now that she was a Paragon the power of her sword was amplified greatly, and even the doppelganger’s mighty capabilities couldn’t deny her . For every onslaught that was rebuffed she returned with something stronger .

All of a sudden the alien shrunk, dramatically reduced to the size of a normal man once again . It stretched out its right hand to brazenly deflect the Pharmacist .

It was going to use its own body to contend against Occisus?

Ting! The Harbinger Fairy was violently thrust backward, the monster’s puissance was simply too great . Yet it did not escape unscathed . A deep cleft had been cut into its fist which leaked poison vapor .

Occisus was truly a legendary weapon! It was foolish for any living thing to try and stand in its path .

Lan Jue and Qianlin linked hands and advanced . He cut toward the beast, focused flow! Behind him another river of blue power emerged – ten thousand blades as one!

Though the two lovers could employ the Harmonious Swords, their individual styles still complimented each other . Calm, graceful, strong . The emulsions from the two Banishing Blades flickered as they surrounded the Monarch’s copy .

“Be careful!” The Wine Master shouted . Lan Jue had no time to react before an inexplicable power rammed into him, sending both he and Qianlin several kilometers away . As he flailed through the air he saw the spot they’d just occupied collapsed into a void of purple energy . IF the Wine Master hadn’t acted they would have been killed .

He scowled . Impotence in this crucial fight was unacceptable . He decided it was time .

Though he commanded the power of a Paragon, he was not one . It put him at an insurmountable disadvantage against a foe this powerful, he simply didn’t have the energy to face him! They were worlds apart and no special weapon or substance could close that gap . After all, the enemy they faced was at least equivalent to Nirvana .

Comparatively the Pharmacist was doing much better, relying on none but herself and the strength of her weapon . Despite the alien’s superior abilities it feared Occisus and had learned the dangers of getting too close . The Pharmacist and the blade were as one, and together they restrained the destructive power of the doppelganger to where his advantages could not overcome her .

The Wine Master leapt into action, joining her in the life or death struggle .

All of the humans together couldn’t equal the strength of the alien . For this moment their focus was to restrain the beast . To this end the natural constraints of human vitality, and Occisus power, created a stalemate .

“We’ve got this handled, continue with the mission . I’ll get us out when you’re finished . ” The Wine Master’s voice spoke directly into Lan Jue’s ear .

“Alright . ” Lan Jue made the decision, following the Wine Master’s suggestion . Right now they served no purpose here, and would only get in the way . They could use the Harmonious Sword technique, but it would be draining and best saved as a last resort .

Lan Jue and Qianlin disappeared into Thor’s cockpit once more . The mecha lurched forward at incredible speed . The doppelganger turned as though to follow but was quickly cut off by the Pharmacist . Indeed she was becoming harder to manage as the fight continued, and the light from her and her weapon was unlike anything they’d seen before . Every strike was possessed of indomitable power and righteous intent, leaving the beast with no chance to catch its breath . Frightening as the sword was, the Monarch’s copy didn’t dare disregard its lethality . If the human bearer struck it in the vital crystal, it would be no more .

He could also sense that the Wine Master and Pharmacist were beginning to flag . They were relying on their strongest abilities to defend themselves, but that could not be maintained for long . Soon they would tire .

Once it fled the battle, Thor darted through the sky like a fish in a stream . In a blink it was moving at top speed . The violet royal’s appearance had scared off the other aliens giving it space to maneuver . A clash of Paragons was destructive enough to cause real danger simply by getting too close .

This was their chance . With Lan Jue at the controls Thor quickly covered ground toward the far side of the planet . With every kilometer that passed he was more astonished by what he saw; ground nearly black from poison and buildings on the verge of collapse . Not a single living human was anywhere within radar range .

More striking were the thick tentacles that served as the progenitor’s arteries . They were writhing and prominent like varicose veins that all pointed in the same directions . If he didn’t know better he could confuse them for the meridians of the planet itself .

Of course a planet didn’t have meridians . It was obvious what these arteries belonged to .

He continued to race forward, eventually crossing over to the back side of the former human world . Immediately he saw that it was dark and gloomy, and his mind was invaded with a strange sensation .

Something, he didn’t know what, wasn’t right . Something he should be noticing but wasn’t .

The gloom was an unnatural violet in color that hung over everything like a mist . He could feel within it a lurking presence, potent and all-pervasive .

Ah! Suddenly he understood . Something felt off ever since he’d come to the planet but he hadn’t been able to put his finger on it until this moment . This planet wasn’t rotating .

Every cosmic body had its own rotational properties, even stars . Something that had no rotation whatsoever was exceedingly odd . Because some planets were slower than others to make one circuit it was sometimes hard to tell .

“Thor, access planetary data . Check to see if any of the other planets we’ve encountered have a rotation . ” Lan Jue ordered the on-board AI to check the scouting data they’d accumulated up to this point .

“Yes,” the suit responded .

A few moments later Thor confirmed Lan Jue’s guess, none of the planets were moving . They were perfectly still .

One of the dangers of a planet losing its rotation was forcing it out of orbit . It would go from a stable path to an enormous asteroid . That was a disaster both for the planet itself and all of its neighbors .

The aliens were capable of more than just destroying planets, they could stop them dead in their tracks . But why?

Thor continued on, and when it reached the far side of the planet, in that world of gloom and violet, Lan Jue could see far into the distance . His mouth fell open .

What he saw, he would remember for the rest of his life .

What was it?

The veins that slithered across the planet’s surface gathered all together at a single point, and rose into the sky as a single column . It was similar to what they’d witnessed on Monteux, but this artery was at least a hundred times larger! It was like a straw rising from the world out into space that squirmed and wriggled .  1

“Thor, rise!” Lan Jue shouted the order and Thor reacted immediately . He ascended with no concern for hiding, and no concern for the myriad aliens that waited in space . He was somewhat surprised that he didn’t encounter any of the beasts as he rose . Soon he peaked over the clouds, through the atmosphere, and into space .