The Martial Unity

"If you can get your hands on the source of the Mellow Manifold, then…" Kane's eyes lit up with greed and wonder. "That would be insa-"

RUMBLE

A wave of peril washed over them.

The two of them leaped away, catching a hazy glimpse of the threat that surged towards them.

What they saw shook them.

It had six enormous brilliant shining wings that emerged from a humanoid torso. The creature didn't have a head; instead, bearing enormous eyes across the entirety of its body. Eyes that were each in a trance.

"Angel…" Rui whispered, stunned.

The angel species was one of the most bizarre and exotic species of the Beast Domain. It was the least understood species among all apex monster species that resided deep within the Beast Domain, leading extremely solitary lives.

The enlightenment of the Tree of Life

Rui's expression grew grave when he noticed a fourth pair of small baby wings below the three enormous pairs that drew all the attention.

The eyes across its body slowly turned towards Rui, fixing on him.

Within them, an inhuman, malevolent bloodlust palpably shook the air.

"Get out of here." A chilling instruction escaped Rui as his dark eyes sharpened.

Kane gulped, immediately adhering, before taking off.

Unfortunately, the angel had no intention of allowing that. Its wings flapped a single time, generating an enormous wind current that it then manipulated seamlessly to attack Kane.

It was within Rui's prediction.

"Breathing Crucifix." His cold voice cut through the bloodlust of the angel.

The angel froze as the wings that also served as its breathing organs experienced a sudden reduction in its breathing capabilities, halting its offense.

Yet, Rui was far from done.

"Sonic Singularity."

The world screamed.

Heaven and Earth shook as a tsunami of sound converged onto the angel.

BOOOM!

Yet, Rui could only widen his eyes when the creature effortlessly resisted his sound domain.

WHOOOSH!!

With a light flap of its wings, it effortlessly dispelled the sound despite being restricted by Breathing Crucifix. His expression grew grave at the sheer nonchalance the being displayed in the face of his domain.

Yet, he wasn't surprised.

Angels were born as weak as humans. Their wings were the source of their power, and each successive pair of wings was multiplicative in the total power that it supplied to the angel.

The power that they offered was considered to be similar to Martial Realms.

This particular angel had three massive pairs and one small pair.

That most likely meant that its power exceeded that of the Senior Realm considerably.

And it proved him correct.

WHOOOSH!!!

It flapped its wings, generating a million powerful, sharp wind currents that converged onto Rui, ready to turn him into flesh confetti.

Unfortunately, its attempt was too paltry.

THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM THWOOM!

Rui fired off five Mighty Roar Flash Blasts in rapid succession, blunting the incoming wind currents.

BOOOOOM!!!

He emerged from the ensuing explosion with light bruises and wounds, yet his innate healing kicked into action, quickly fixing them.

He never once let Breathing Crucifix off during the entire time.

A fact that clearly irked the angel as it flapped its wings once more, launching it forward at astonishing speeds. The sheer acceleration that its powerful wings were able to generate was well beyond Rui's ability to even perceive.

Such was the power of an angel.

However, there were two angels in this battle.

One that faced Rui.

And one that helped him.

The Angel of Laplace had made it just in time.

His mind expanded into the fourth dimension, reaching the future and past.

WHOOSH!

The tranced eyes of the body of the angel widened with surprise as Rui cleanly evaded its bullrush, sidestepping it.

"Your wings show me the future." A soft whisper escaped him as he focused on the micro and macro patterns of each of the eight wings that emerged from the creature's back.

Because they were so central to the threat that the angel posed to him, he needed only to pay attention to the preparatory movements to know exactly what was to come. After that, it was just a matter of timing his movements after the point of no return before the movements began.

WHOOOSH!

The angel flapped its wings once more, shooting forward at absurdly blinding speeds in the briefest of moments.

Yet, by the time it reached Rui, he was already gone.

No, he was never there to begin with.

THWOOM!

Instead, it was greeted by a cheerful Mighty Roar Flash Blast.

BOOM!

The impact staggered it as the tranced angel grew stunned. The many eyes across its entire body sharpened as rage flickered in their depths.

Unfortunately for Rui, it was not mindless enough to continue with an approach that had failed twice.

It stared at Rui.

Its large and powerful eyes were unnerving.

In their depths, Rui could sense a sophisticated evaluation of him and the best way to approach this battle.

The angel species was one of the most intelligent species in the Beast Domain and certainly the most intelligent species he had encountered now.

That was why he could understand what it conveyed to him.

Outsider. It remarked non-verbally. Submit.

He didn't mind the occasional non-verbal trash talk. However, its words made him pause.

…Submit? He stared at it impassively, quizzical.

Submit. It reaffirmed. Submit to the hive.

Rui's widened with shock. "…What?"

Its stare intensified. Submit.

His eyes narrowed. Fuck off.

A deep-seated rage erupted from the depths of its eyes. Its wings expanded to their full glory, massively dwarfing its torso as it covered an enormous amount of area. They stretched back to the maximum degree possible.

Then die. Bloodlust flickered in the depths of its eyes.

WHOOOOSH!

Its wings flapped, and in just a moment, an enormous, dense tornado was born. The tornado surged forward, rushing towards it with astounding levels of power and speed. It didn't matter if Rui saw it coming from a mile away.

How did one dodge something that was almost everywhere?

BOOOM!!!

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