As Cecily's massive serpent form plummeted toward the ground, trailing streams of golden ichor, Kanoru arrived at the edge of the battlefield, his eyes narrowing with a cold glint.
He saw the two Spirit Lord invaders—the scarlet-haired woman with her thorned energy whip and the grey crocodile phantasm—readying to dive down and strike the fallen Cecily before she could recover.
Without a moment's hesitation, Kanoru thrust both hands forward, his fingers forming a precise sigil, and activated his spell:
"10 Sky Arrow Kill!"
The air shuddered violently, and ten glowing arrows formed above him, their blades shimmering with a brilliant, piercing white light.
The arrows crackled with violent elemental energy, leaving ripples in the sky as they shot forward with terrifying speed.
The woman's eyes widened slightly as she sensed the familiar fluctuation of the spell.
She had fought against Kanoru before, and the memory of being struck by his arrow was still fresh.
Her gaze snapped toward him.
In an instant, her weapon shifted from the spectral umbrella back into her blood-red whip, its thorned length glimmering with dark energy.
With a fierce snap, she sent a crimson wave of power streaking toward the incoming arrows.
The wave expanded in a crescent arc, its surface writhing with dark rose petals that dissolved into energy thorns.
The wave collided with the arrows, destroying eight of them in a brilliant eruption of light and energy.
But she gritted her teeth in frustration when she realized the remaining two arrows were not aimed at her.
Before she could react, the two remaining arrows pierced into the crocodile's massive body.
They exploded violently, sending a blast of fiery light through the beast.
The crocodile let out a pained roar, its phantasm flickering violently as the two fiery explosions tore through its elemental form, disrupting its cohesion.
The massive crocodile stumbled mid-air, its heavy form twisting uncontrollably, falling several meters before it barely managed to stabilize itself.
Its phantasm skin flickered, on the verge of dissipating, but the grey energy slowly solidified again as it regained stability, though far weaker than before.
The scarlet-haired woman's eyes blazed with fury, snapping back to Kanoru.
Her voice was low and venomous as she hissed and her third-eyed widen,
"Today, you are dead."
Kanoru's eyes remained calm and resolute, but his lips curled into a faint, fearless smirk.
Without a trace of fear, he replied evenly,
"I was just thinking the same thing about you."
With a flick of his wrists, Kanoru unsheathed both swords, their blades gleaming with elemental energy.
The right blade crackled with blue Icy energy, swirling with sharp, piercing ice crystals.
The left blade pulsed with crimson fire, flickering with dangerous heat.
With a burst of speed, he launched himself forward, his figure blurring through the air.
The clouds behind him scattered as he charged with terrifying momentum.
The scarlet-haired woman's whip snapped, sending crimson streaks slashing toward him, while the crocodile phantasm roared and lunged with its massive jaws, attempting to devour him whole.
Kanoru's gaze sharpened, his energy flaring with unwavering resolve.
The battle between the three Spirit Lords erupted like a violent storm in the sky.
Kanoru's twin swords danced through the air, his left blade blazing with crimson fire, while his right blade radiated piercing ice energy. His strikes whipped through the battlefield, forcing the scarlet-haired woman on the defensive as she lashed her thorned energy whip toward him in sharp, unpredictable arcs.
Meanwhile, the crocodile phantasm roared, its massive form twisting through the air, jaws snapping shut with enough force to crush boulders. Its sheer size and overwhelming energy were above Kanoru's current strength, and he knew he couldn't afford to clash head-on. Instead, he dodged, moving with the speed of the wind, slipping past the beast's crushing blows and focusing his attacks on the whip-wielding woman.
She flicked her wrist, and the red whip cracked forward, a wave of scarlet energy slicing toward Kanoru's chest.
Kanoru twisted in mid-air, his body blurring, narrowly dodging the strike. His right-hand sword slashed, sending a wave of sharp ice energy toward her, the freezing mist condensing into jagged shards mid-flight.
The woman snapped her whip once more, sending a burst of searing fire to intercept the ice, creating a hissing explosion of steam between them.
Kanoru shot forward, slipping past the steam, his left sword ablaze with fire, aiming to cut her down.
But the crocodile struck at the same time, swinging its giant tail toward Kanoru.
Sensing the incoming danger, he pulled back, abandoning his strike, and twisted in the air just in time to dodge the tail's crushing impact. The force of the swing sent a shockwave ripping through the sky, distorting the air itself.
Kanoru gritted his teeth. The crocodile was too strong—he had to keep avoiding it unless necessary.
He redirected his focus on the scarlet-haired woman, charging at her once more, his twin swords leaving trails of fire and ice as they sliced through the air.
The woman responded, spinning mid-air, her third eye opening, glowing with a dark crimson light. In an instant, her whip expanded, turning into a massive serpent-like coil of energy, snapping toward Kanoru with deadly force.
Kanoru parried the attack, his blades moving in a blur, deflecting the strikes while maneuvering closer to strike back. His movements were relentless, his attacks pushing the woman backward as their battle intensified.
Then, below them, the crocodile's massive jaws opened wide, and a grey energy ball began forming within its mouth.
Kanoru's eyes widened—the attack was aimed at the camp below. If it hit, the devastation would be catastrophic.
At the same moment, the woman smirked, sensing his distraction. In her left palm, a rose-shaped flame ignited, glowing deep crimson, its petals flickering with chaotic energy. She reeled back, preparing to hurl the flaming rose at Kanoru while he was forced to deal with the crocodile's energy blast.
Kanoru cursed silently. He had no defensive spell strong enough to block both attacks.
There was only one option.
He reached within himself, pulling at the alien wind source he had refined earlier. A strange orange glow flickered at his core, spiraling outward as his energy surged.
With a swift motion, Kanoru extended his palm, and a swirling orange sphere of unstable energy formed in his hand—a condensed ball of alien wind energy.
The moment he activated it, the energy within pulsed wildly, reacting to the forces around it.
Before the crocodile could unleash its energy ball, a golden beam of light suddenly erupted from below, streaking upward with blinding force.
Kanoru's eyes flickered in surprise.
Cecily.
The golden serpent-shaped energy blast struck the crocodile's throat, piercing through its scales.
The energy ball in its mouth detonated prematurely, sending a violent shockwave rippling through the battlefield. The crocodile let out a gargled roar, its body recoiling in pain.
At the same time, Kanoru thrust his palm forward, sending the orange alien wind sphere into the woman's incoming rose flame attack.
The moment the two collided, the alien wind source violently reacted with the surrounding energy—
BOOOOM!
A massive explosion erupted in the sky, sending all three fighters flying backward.
The force of the blast ripped through the battlefield, shaking the forest below, uprooting trees, and sending debris raining down. The camp walls trembled, and several undead skeletons exploded into dust from the shockwave.
On the ground, Kanoru's team members in 0-tier clutched their ears in pain, struggling against the intense vibrations that tore through the air.
As the dust and flames settled, the battlefield stood silent for just a moment.
Kanoru steadied himself mid-air, his breath sharp, his eyes locking onto the two Spirit Lord invaders, who had also been pushed back.
The battle was far from over.
As the smoke and flames slowly dispersed, Kanoru hovered mid-air, his gaze sharp and unyielding. He steadied his breath, his body still vibrating from the force of the previous explosion.
Below him, Cecily rose from the ground, her golden serpent phantasm shimmering, though its scales bore visible cracks from her earlier injuries. Despite this, her amber eyes burned with unwavering determination as she locked onto the crocodile spirit lord, who now struggled to remain airborne.
The giant beast let out a guttural snarl, its body riddled with scorch marks and open wounds, especially where Cecily's golden beam had struck. The spirit lord inside was forcing it to remain stable, but its movements were sluggish, and Kanoru could tell—the crocodile was losing power.
In contrast, the woman with the whip was in better shape, but not by much. Her third eye pulsed, her scarlet hair disheveled, and her burnt robes fluttered in the wind. Her lips curled in frustration as she flicked her thorned whip, the crimson energy crackling violently as she turned toward Kanoru.
Kanoru tightened his grip on his twin swords. The last explosion had drained a significant portion of his alien wind source, and he couldn't afford to use it recklessly again.
But he didn't need to.
Now, the battle was in their favor.
Cecily would handle the crocodile.
Kanoru would finish the woman.
—---
Without hesitation, Cecily launched forward, her massive golden serpent form coiling through the sky as she barreled toward the crocodile.
The injured beast tried to retaliate, swinging its heavy tail, but Cecily was faster. She dodged, then lunged, her enormous fangs sinking into the crocodile's shoulder, her golden energy pulsing into its body.
The crocodile howled in agony, its phantasm flickering violently as cracks began to spread further across its scaly hide.
Below, its sheer size and weight caused the wind to howl, sending waves of pressure crashing toward the battlefield, knocking some weaker cultivators off balance.
Kanoru didn't spare them a glance. His focus was only on the woman before him.
—---
She moved first, whipping her arm forward, sending her thorned energy whip snapping toward him.
Kanoru leaned to the side, the barbed tip barely missing his cheek as he twisted his right-hand sword, launching a piercing wave of ice toward her midsection.
The woman spun, her whip coiling around the ice wave, shattering it in an instant. But she had no time to recover—Kanoru was already upon her.
He swung his left sword, flames roaring to life along its edge.
She barely managed to raise her whip, using it to block the strike, but the moment their weapons clashed, Kanoru's fire surged forward, forcing her to stagger backward, her robe catching fire at the edges.
She hissed in irritation, extinguishing the flames, her third eye glowing fiercely as she retaliated.
Kanoru dodged again, using his superior speed and agility to stay just out of her reach.
The woman was losing ground.
Her attacks were becoming predictable, her movements slower than before.
Kanoru could feel it—he was stronger than her.
—---
Below them, Cecily continued her relentless assault against the crocodile.
The massive beast lashed out, but Cecily evaded with precision, her golden form weaving through the air like a phantasmal mirage.
Then, she struck again, her serpent tail wrapping around the crocodile's midsection. She squeezed, golden energy flooding into its body, forcing the crocodile spirit lord to convulse violently as its phantasm weakened further.
The beast roared, thrashing, but it was clear—Cecily was winning.
—---
Kanoru pressed his advantage, his attacks fierce and unrelenting.
The woman gritted her teeth, her frustration clear. She swung her whip wildly, trying to force him back, but Kanoru read her movements with ease.
He sidestepped, then closed the distance, his right sword flashing upward—
A direct strike to her shoulder.
His blade cut through her flesh, a burst of freezing energy exploding upon impact, forcing her to stumble backward, her breath ragged.
Blood seeped through her torn robes, and she glared at Kanoru, her expression twisted with rage.
Kanoru remained still, his stance unwavering, his gaze sharp and calculating.
The battle shifted in an instant.
Kanoru and Cecily, who had been pressing their advantage, suddenly halted their attacks, their instincts screaming at them to retreat. Without hesitation, Cecily raised her golden serpent head, and with a flicker of her energy, a radiant golden shield materialized, expanding outward to intercept an incoming black arrow.
At the same time, Kanoru let out a deafening lion's roar, his battle-honed senses warning him of the hidden danger before the attack even arrived.
The dark arrow collided against Cecily's shield, the impact sending shockwaves rippling through the sky.
Both of them turned their eyes toward the source of the attack.
And then they saw him.
A white skeleton, tall and eerily composed, stepped into view from the shadows. It wore nothing but a cracked clown mask, its empty eye sockets hollow yet filled with something far worse than mere darkness.
The battlefield fell silent.
Every single invader, from the weakest undead soldier to the wounded Spirit Lords, immediately dropped to their knees.
Even the crocodile spirit lord, barely able to stay afloat, bowed his massive head in submission.
A chilling, unified chorus rang through the air.
"Welcome, Clown!"
Kanoru's heart pounded, not from fear, but from sheer, cold awareness.
There was only one reason this figure had appeared.
The Bone Clown.
One of the leaders of the Greyrose Circus.
And he hadn't come for the battle.
He had come for Kanoru.
Kanoru's jaw tightened. His grip on his twin swords remained steady, but his mind was already calculating every possible escape route, every potential counterattack, every single move that might keep his people alive.
Then the Bone Clown spoke.
His voice was hollow, yet carried a weight so immense it felt like it could crush the sky itself.
"You, boy… You should already understand why I'm here."
A slow pause, as if giving Kanoru a chance to let the words sink in.
Then—
"Kill yourself, and I will spare everyone else."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.