Skyfire Avenue

Chapter 839: Deadlocked

The Pharmacist's ethereal sword was set in stark contrast against bleak aura of the aliens. Two opposing beams of light issued forth and collided in space with a blinding flare.

The Pharmacist grunted. Her eyes dulled as she focused on defense, and her dharmic image appeared less corporeal. However, their clash also forced the Violet Prince to be pushed back and set him off balance. The simple fact she wasn't instantly destroyed was an incredible circumstance when one considered the vast gulf in power between them.

The Violet Princess joined the fight. She splayed her arms wide, and her fingers wiggled in a strange rhythmic motion. Strands of light, thin as spider silk, appeared in space around her. They coalesced into a net of light.

Lan Jue appeared within the net, but he seemed unperturbed by the situation. Slowly and without concern he lifted Captus and drew it through the air. Its blade was an unsettling void that flashed with color - the light of five lightnings.

His Boundless Starlight Domain reemerged, cutting a stark boundary between himself and the radiance of the Princess' power. Bolts of lightning fired in quick succession to blast away the net of light that contained him, all while Lan Jue was manipulating the arc of his Banishing Blade.

Pockets of existence began to collapse, creating barren fields that stood out against the starry backdrop. The Princess' net was devoured into nothingness - as well as Lan Jue and the Pharmacist.

They're trying to flee!" The Prince hissed. With a grunt he thrust reached out, and a hand a thousand meters long groped for his prey. Lan Jue and the Pharmacist leapt from the obfuscating fissure in disarray.

A sinister laugh rattled from the Princess' throat. The radius of her domain surged as she attempted to swallow the humans within it.

Lan Jue spun around and lashed out with Captus. In a flare of red light, dozens of images of himself appeared splayed throughout space. Once more his Domain reached out, but instead of lightning its interior was dotted with brilliantly shining stars. Beneath their light each of Lan Jue's mirror images became more real.

Thousands of Lan Jue's sliced the air with thousands of Captus'. Their myriad beams of power coalesced into a single column of light that smashed into the Princess' expanding Domain.

A ripple tore across space and time as the conflicting energies destroyed one another.

Surprise once more revealed itself upon the aliens' faces. Both of them were interested in this human's potential, but until now they didn't consider him a match for their power.

The first time the Princess encountered Lan Jue she thought him weak. Her interest in him came when he tried to diffuse the conflict they found themselves in. She found his approach novel and curious. Through the traits she inherited in consuming human DNA she knew of human emotion, including affection.

Of all the humans she'd encountered Lan Jue was the only one to catch her eye in a way that pleased her. He would be very suitable as a mate, she thought, and from that point forward she was loathe to kill him. At least, not until they had an opportunity to couple.

No matter what creature she devoured, the desire to mate was strong, and came with many pleasant sensations. She found herself fascinated by the concept.

All of the aliens were fragments of the home worlds, but the Prince and Princess were special. They were the only creatures to receive a true inheritance of genetic material. In a way they were the planets' only true children.

The Violet Prince was the result of genetic material from Monarch and Queen. The Princess, on the other hand, was borne from the Queen and Consort. They were the true commanders of the alien army while the home worlds underwent evolution.

His last attack proved Lan Jue as an equal, a fact almost inconceivable in the mind of the Violet Princess. It had taken her millenia to cultivate herself to this point, but it had taken this man only a few short years. If this trend continued he would soon rival Monarch!

The potential of humanity truly was something to behold.

It served to only deepen the Princess' desire to couple with this extraordinary man. She spread her hands and once more the flood of purple light was born, thicker than before. It surged like a flood toward Lan Jue.

A pallor had come over his face. After all, Lan Jue had only just stepped over the threshold into Nirvana and it'd taken his full strength to deflect the Princess' attack. He could feel it already, the pressure of her influence was more than he could contend against.

He flicked his wrist and Captus carved a circle in the air in front of him. Its edges were red but its interior was infinitely black, as though the sword had birthed a miniature black hole. Somehow, small though it was, it forced the wave of violet power to break off.

Lan Jue heaved a sigh of relief, but did not stop. One after the other he drew out circles of all sizes around him, crackling with motley colors. His many copies followed suit and they combined to create layer upon layer of circles.

Captus and the secrets of Taiji sword melded well. Without Qianlin by his side this was Lan Jue's strongest defense. In combination with his Domain, he managed to ward off the Violet Princess' violent attacks once after the other.

As they fought the Princess wracked her mind for whatever human knowledge she'd accumulated. Suddenly a sentence crossed her mind, one that she felt suited this situation.

Every dog had its day!

It felt not so long ago when she first met him, so frail. To have grown to where he can repel her attacks so quickly was more than impressive. How strong would he grow, given more time? If there was a next time they met, she was unsure she'd be his superior. The only option was to capture him now and make him her mate.

As the thought roared in her head the Princess' eyes took on the same violet red as her brother. Her crushing will came at Lan Jue like a deluge, all purple fury.

Nearby the Harbinger Faerie was under fire.

He was too strong. He'd been shaken by the Beheading of Three technique but the gulf in power between them was too great. She valiantly fought against the onslaught of his domain, but she could feel her sword getting heavier. It was like she was caught in a mire that was growing sticker by the minute. Her dharmic image was less effective in defense.

The poison golden light in his eyes darkened, like he saw all. He was always a step ahead of her sword.

She bit her tongue, and her face flushed with an unnatural red. Occisus flared with intense light. As the golden etched into the metal began to flicker a murderous will burst forth, and she was thrust forward.

The Harbinger Faerie's target was the Prince and she launched herself forward with abandon. Her image shrunk, but also became more material. In the moment before she reached the Prince her image was about the size of a normal person.

She, along with Occisus, shrunk so acutely that they slipped passed the enormous hand. Her timing was impeccable. She released the condensed power of her image and allowed its energy to pour into the Prince.

All of a sudden Occisus expanded to twice its size and channeled a beam of golden light from the tip. It was aimed right between the Violet Prince's eyebrows.

Ting! Just as it seemed her attack would land his middle finger knocked the golden ray away. It shattered majestically, hiding the Pharmacist as she followed through. Suddenly she was right in front of him.

The Violet Prince's hands came up with a bestial sort of instinct. He clapped them together in front of his chest as though in prayer. Caught between his palms was the cutting edge of Occisus.

Her murderous qi fought against his control, pushing hard to bring that blade even closer. Yet she failed, the power of the Prince traveled through the black back toward the Pharmacist.

Occisus flickered as it struggle against the invasion. It fought to rid itself of the corrosive power of the Birth and Destruction domain but to no avail. The Prince was more than the Pharmacist could handle. She could only watch as her blade was swallowed up by the cancerous power.

Her ruddy expression drained to pale white. She'd given it all she had but the difference between them was insurmountable.

Lan Ju was fairing slightly better, but not by much.

The Violet Princess' full strength was nothing short of terrifying. After absorbing so much human genetic material she was more like her prey than any other alien. Her crudeness was gone, as was displayed in her alluring form as she fought. Then her body changed.

Lan Jue's transformation summoned pieces of himself in many places to diffuse her attacks and empower his own, yet it proved no use. The pressure of her strength began to close the circles of Taiji energy he'd created. There were few styles more suited for disarming overwhelming strength, but this was almost more than he could deflect.

The Violet Prince grunted. Suddenly the Pharmacist felt a jolt of psychic energy rock through her head like a hammer, strong enough to knock her head back.

Everything went white.