Final Battle-III

Boom! Boom! Kwashh! Fierce winds blew, cutting through or blowing holes in everything they passed by. Jiao was battling a crazed Xiao who seemed to be possessed. Xiao was manipulating wind element just how prophet Wyrm was, earlier. And Xiao was in the same crazy state. It definitely had something to do with the warnings on the shaft walls, speaking about dangerous winds lingering in the shadows of this temple. Firstly, the winds possessed Wyrm, & then Xiao. Whether it was a magical entity, a ghost or something else, was unknown. Its very intentions were unknown and ambiguous. But nobody had the bigger picture. Jiao was clueless as to what caused this change in Xiao after bringing her back to life.

Bwoosh! Boom! A wind tornado struck Jiao, blowing him away. His shadow armor turned wispy and dispersed after taking the impact.

"Damn it!" Jiao cussed while retreating. "These winds can directly harm the shadow element!? This is shadow's bane! I need to kill this bitch quickly or get the hell out of here." He thought while scowling and considered his options. There was only one way out of the underground levels, and it was currently stuffed full of warring dwarves and Consulate members. The prophets wouldn't let Jiao leave the battlefield without coughing out the shadow inheritance. So, escape was unlikely.

"Sigh, I guess there' no backing out. Bitch I'm taking you down!" Jiao growled and attacked.

Bwoosh! Another wind tornado came at him.

"Emperor Push!"

Kwoosh! The tornado was dispelled. Jiao lunged at Xiao with a new scythe and swung hard.

"Empyrean Slash!" The energy-clad blade of the scythe struck Xiao's neck and stopped.

Boom! Shockwaves and sparks flew about. There was an invisible wind armor around Xiao's body, protecting even every single hair strand on her body.

Xiao grabbed Jiao's throat and smiled evilly. Jiao shuddered.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Xiao began bashing Jiao with powerful punches. Jiao cocooned himself in shadows but the winds kept thinning it out and he couldn't escape Xiao's grip despite his best effort. Xiao was currently displaying superhuman strength!

Jiao hacked at Xiao speedily with his scythe but could not cut through. He was panting and sweating.

"Emperor Push!" He used a signature move but got pulled along with Xiao. It was the same thing as when he was gripped by Shyaren earlier.

Bam! Bam! Xiao kept punching Jiao on the head and face. Blood splattered! Teeth were shattered, facial bones cracked, wispy black shadows tried desperately to protect Jiao's face, failing repeatedly.

Meanwhile a windstorm began to pick up the pace. Strong winds blew through the entirety of the shadow temple, ripping chunks of black element from the walls. It was the same windstorm that the 1st guardian had created before Xiao killed it.

"Ugh..." Shyaren awoke and was assaulted by great pain. She had a gaping hole in her stomach & had lost much blood. Her vision was blurry. She was quite confused at the windstorm and the two blurred figures at the center of it. Before long, she used an observational technique and understood what was going on.

"What the hell… Xiao got possessed too? But it's seemingly working in our favor as she's killing Jiao heh…" Shyaren thought before looking at shadow cocoon ball floating in the air. It was small and Shyaren could tell that Deodomus had perished inside it. Intense grief surrounded her as her eyes turned teary.

Bwoosh! Bwoosh! The winds grew even stronger. The shadow cocoon ball got thinned swiftly and was soon swept away!

Splsh!! Several liters of water splashed down on the ground and rapidly transformed into Deodomus.

"Deo! You are alive!" Shyaren exclaimed in joy. The pain of her broken ribs stabbing into her lungs made her paused and vomit blood immediately.

"Yes. Careful. Don't move too much ugh…" Deodomus spoke and wobbled. He had used water transformation for too long in order to survive inside the constricted shadow cocoon. He had expended about 98% of the water element traits that he had pluck from Tian Mei. Additionally, his energy was also entirely spent. He fell to his knees beside Shyaren and smiled wearily. Quickly then, he summoned healing pills and energy pills. As they both consumed them and recovered, they gazed at Xiao's battle with Jiao.

"It's already at a level beyond us." Deodomus commented. "What mysterious powers are these shadows and winds?"

"These are powers of two Gods." Shyaren revealed. "Everyone in Order of Chaos knows it. But since you are still rather new and didn't get to read our scriptures, you're ignorant about all of this."

"In the heavens reside two Gods. Or rather, used to." Shyaren continued. "The cruel and evil Shadow God. And the cunning and depraved Wind God. They were both mighty powerful and had no bottom line. Ironically, they were always at odds with one another since their interests were the same. They lusted after the same goddesses and used their influences and powers to acquire the same kind of resources. It led to them battling each other many times. Ultimately Wind God was slain, not by Shadow God but instead an alliance of all Gods who were done with his depraved acts. Following that, Shadow God also fell, due to unknown factors. There isn't enough information about these events though. We are mere mortals, having obtained limited and fixed knowledge from God Chaos whom we worship and serve."

"Hmm, so both of them created an inheritance ground here on the mortal realm?" Deodomus asked.

"Only one of them. How could the two of them work together? They were enemies." Shyaren replied. "This is Shadow God's inheritance. His followers the dwarves were stationed here as guards. They protected it for centuries and used its resources, never taking the inheritance for themselves out of respect for their Shadow god. Wind God I presume much have infiltrated it at some point and made his own arrangements to sabotage this inheritance. Earlier Ayla and I fought Wyrm who was also seemingly possessed by Wind God's… 'will' I guess. We jumped to fighting without enquiring anything. We were utterly defeated, sigh."

"Hmm, I noticed." Deodomus nodded.

"Now that Wyrm is dead somehow, the Wind has possessed Xiao and is trying to kill the Shadow God's inheritor." Shyaren spoke.

"Do you think Xiao will succeed?" Deodomus frowned.

"No." Shyaren spoke gloomily. "Small arrangements cannot rival a properly established inheritance ground. Shadow element may be weak against wind element but it's adaptive. Look, Jiao's armor is now able to maintain its state for several seconds longer."

Bam! Bam! Bam! Xiao was still punching and kicking Jiao. The shadow armor would take multiple hits before turning into wisps and retransforming itself into the armor shape. Jiao's face was now unrecognizable. He had sustained heavy injuries on the head as well and was seemingly unconscious. Now it was just a fight between wind and shadow elements.

Kwoosh! Kwoosh! Whoosh! The windstorm consolidated speedily in response to shadow element's adaptive stance. The winds grew faster, their pressure increased and countless wind blades formed inside, slashing at Jiao.

Swish-swish-Swish! Kwoosh! Blood splattered as Jiao was sliced into many pieces! The windstorm ended immediately afterwards while Xiao hovered a while before falling down.

Swoosh! Deodomus leapt and caught Xiao in his arms. Xiao was alive and breathing but unconscious.

"Well…" Deodomus uttered, looking back at Shyaren. They hadn't expected that Xiao would win so abruptly. Jiao was actually finally dead!

Or was he? The shadowy wisps needled into Jiao's chopped up body parts and sewed them back together! Jiao's eyes turned fully black as he returned to life!

"What the…" It was others' turn to be dumbfounded as Jiao's revival. For sure the two Gods had left reviving methods in place. Jiao hovered up while shadow element surrounded him in a slow wispy tornado. It took form of seemingly Shadow God with Jiao at its center. Shadow God form had a battle helmet on the face with spiky crown on the forehead. It had four pillar-thick arms carrying different weapons. One hand held a large scythe, the other a long sword, one held a large bow and the other created a shadow arrow and nocked it on the bow.

Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh! At this time dozens of cultivators flew into the cave.

"What the fuck have you all done to this temple!?" A dwarf roared.

"Yeah! What the fuck have you done!" A prophet roared. "Where is Shadow God's inheritance!?"

"Hand it over! Is it you who has it, Shyaren!?" A prophet asked but didn't wait for her reply. He attacked right away! Other charged on too. Shyaren summoned a Blackshell Shield to protect herself, Deodomus and Xiao while everyone hurled several attacks on her.

"It's mine!"

"Mine!"

"Don't even think about it, puny humans!"

"Kill! Kill everyone!"

These cultivators ended up fighting each other chaotically.

Boom! Boom! Swish! Kroom! Lightning crackled, fire licked the air, chi blasts occurred wantonly. Shyaren looked at Deodomus in frustration. Deodomus looked at Jiao who seemed to be gathering even more shadow element. The shadow god form was increasing in size by the minute. It was ridiculous how everyone was not seeing the elephant in the room.

"Tch, greedy retards…" Deodomus scowled. If everyone joined forces, they could take Jiao down, but they were too hungry for the inheritance!

"Take Xiao and retreat." Shyaren spoke to Deodomus while straining to maintain the Blackshell Shield.

"You're coming along." Deodomus demanded.

"No I'm not. It's my duty to destroy Shadow God's inheritance and take down his inheritor Jiao." Shyrean said resolutely. "We the Order of Chaos always fulfil our duties!"

"Fucking religious bitch!" Deodomus cussed. "Your Chaos God is not here! He's not looking! Leave this place with me!"

"And then what!" Shyaren snapped. "Then what Deo? Where do I go after that? How do I live with the shame of having run away?"

"Fuck that. Be with me!" Deodomus urged.

"You don't even love me. Fuck, you don't even love Xiao!" Shyaren jabbed a finger at him.

"I am willing to die for her…" Deodomus snarled.

"Yes I saw that. Love is not about dying for each other, it's about living for each other." Shyaren berated. "You are a horrible man. Xiao is as good as fish on chopping board if she marries you. You're a cuck!"

Deodomus rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'll ravish you until you lose your mind in pleasure. You won't feel a tinge of the guilt that you're fearing."

"Get lost." Shyaren sighed. "We all have our roles in this world. Let me fulfil mine."

"…What did you name our son?" Deodomus asked after a pause.

"Noxus." Shyaren replied.

"That's a bloody good name." Deodomus nodded.

"I know right? Now get lost. Take care of your woman, the way you're supposed to." Shyaren said, revving up her chi, preparing her ultimate move.

"There's going to be big bang. The sage strategy will perish. Get out quick." Shyaren warned.

Deodomus sighed and warped Xiao into his spatial ring. And off he went.

"Catch him! He's running away!" Someone shouted amidst the chaos.

"He has the inheritance! Kill him!"

Many cultivators chased after Deodomus.

Swoosh! A giant scythe cleaved through air and cut them into halves. At once, everyone had a rude awakening as they stared at the massive Shadow God form.

"Bloody hell… Jiao has the inheritance…" A prophet mutterd.

"Hmph, you're realizing that only now?" Shyaren snorted and then rose her voice.

"Everyone listen! Jiao is possessed by Shadow God's will. He is also the shadow inheritor! Kill him and the inheritance will be yours! Defend me while I prepare my ultimate move!"

"…"

"KILL!!!!"

Birds die for food, people die for benefits. Humans and dwarves alike; everyone charged at Jiao. They fiercely attacked with everything they had. Jiao struck back.

Swoosh! One swing of his shadow scythe destroyed most of the incoming attacks.

Swish! One swing of his shadow sword claimed many lives.

Swoosh! Boom! Each arrow stabbed through many cultivators and destroyed the walls in the distance. Long ranged, mid ranged, close ranged; Jiao had all sorts of divine moves. His opponents betted their lives.

Shyaren's body was trembling and the ground beneath her feet cracked, soon forming a crater. Her energy was boiling through her meridians, her dantian going overboard.

Deodomus flew madly past the warring armies. He killed humans and dwarves alike. Nobody could stand in his path. Ankita noticed him and decided to retreat as well. Deodomus was infamous for running away from battles but he always carried a smug smile when fleeing. This time; he looked frantic!

In the shadow temple, battle reached its peak. Heads rolled, bodies burst, walls broke and debris fell from above. Shyaren kept charging up. She wanted to get Deodomus as much time as possible to get out of the sage strategy.

"Huff huff…" Deodomus panted once he was out by a longshot. A cruel reality dawned upon him.

There was no gate to exit.

The sole gate of sage strategy was manipulated by Ayla alone as she had the unique grade Abyss technique which manipulated space. She was thus made the gatekeeper before her betrayal. Now that she was gone with all the children, who could summon and open the gate for Deodomus.

"Damn it…" Deodomus had a helpless expression. He flew as far as he could. Ankita was only a mile behind him. Reaching the end of sage strategy, Deodomus stopped and sighed. He fell to his knees as he summoned Xiao out.

"D-deo…" Xiao uttered with a frown. She had awoken just now. "Where… are we? !! What happened of the fight!"

"Xiao…it's over." Deodomus said sadly. "Shyaren will handle things."

"What!? She alone? You… I need to get back there!" Xiao got up and turned around. Deodomus quickly grabbed her hand and stopped her. Xiao looked at him and frowned. She had rarely seen Deodomus so down.

"I'm sorry." Deodomus said with teary eyes. "I should have treated you better when I had you. Instead I turned you into your worst version. I have manipulated you and exploited you endlessly."

"…Glad that you're aware." Xiao scowled. "But I am what I am now. People change throughout their lives. If this is what my life has led me to become, then so be it. You'll pay for your sins eventually. But until then, just be with me. As I still love you."

"…" Deodomus smiled wearily as he locked gaze with Xiao's. He stood up slowly and held Xiao's waist.

"And I love you too." He said and leaned forth. Xiao sighed and met his lips with hers.

And as they kissed, the world went down into chaos' mouth. The ground was flipped and destroyed; the fake sun and the stars shattered, the strategy blew up everywhere; the space warped.

"Wh-what's going on!" Ankita shouted as she turned around only to realize that only her head had remained. Her body was atomized along with everything around her.

BOOOM!!!!! A deafening explosion occurred and chaotic energy enveloped everything, killing everyone and atomizing everyone.

Outside the strategy, it was an ordinary day for everyone. Suddenly the space warped and contorted, sucking in everything. Before people could even react, half of Nyoru had vanished, imploding around the sage strategy dimension.

As the sun reached the horizon, dyeing the clouds red, screams and wails echoed from the entire city. Consulate had perished, so had dwarf tribe, and the sage strategy was no more. Shyaren had fulfilled her mission. She destroyed the shadow inheritance.

----

Two cultivators landed on a rooftop. One of them striking red hair, a handsome visage with battle armor on; while the other cultivator was a bold brown woman who wore next to nothing. They were Ryuga and Lyra. Their jaws dropped at the destruction in front of their eyes. A massive crater that had swallowed half of Nyoru was staring at them coldly.

"Oh no…" Lyra uttered.

"We were too late!" Ryuga exclaimed. Winds blew past them, carrying faint screams and a tinge of chaotic energy.