The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

'Will you truly not use me?' Erden asked, squirming under the armor. 'If you went first, I would not have said anything, but you're pitting yourself against their strongest.'

His words fell on Demon like raindrops to an ocean. Indeed, without Erden and the element of metal, he had handicapped himself to a weaker state, a far cry from the days when Oscar clashed against three enemies at once. It was not time yet for him to unleash his full might, not when word of this battle would spread. Slicing his sword once to clear the area, Demon faced the last remaining combatant of the Togros Clan, gesturing for her to hurry up.

She was a stern person, surrounded by a silent, imposing air as she rode atop her tiger beast. Her orange hair sprawled and swayed behind her like they were on fire. Faint black streaks lined down her hair, resembling a tiger's stripes. Unlike the rest of her fellow fighters, she wore a simple top that exposed her muscular abdomens and shoulders, black pants that stretched down to her sandals, and a tiger pelt wrapped around her waist. Her hands gripped a pair of claw weapons, the blade reaching the length of daggers and the silver glove depicting a tiger's maw.

"I am Phoebes Togros!" Her bellowing roar matched Areus's as she raised a claw high, garnering the cheers of the army behind her. She had a rough tone, not a hint of gentleness or nobility, all belligerence carried by her words, quite like Emily's when she was angered. The tiger Exalt Beast under her roared to its master's cry and pounced forward, landing and prowling closer to him, drool leaking from its fangs. Phoebes halted in front of Demon. "Our honor has been lost. The four losses will besmirch our clan's name. However, I will reclaim it!"

Facing the cheers resounding behind her, Demon realized her aim and scoffed at the pathetic attempt to intimidate him. All the people behind her acted as an insidious poison that could unnerve a person or, at least, unsettle them slightly to ruin their concentration. Too bad that he had no care for the voices of the rabble and did not experience anxiety. Her mind seemed to be good, but what about her strength? To test her, Demon slashed once, clanging against her claws. She could not withstand his power and flung back.

"I have no interest in you or the Togros. My view is incomprehensible to the likes of you." He hadn't used a speck of Reis in that attack, or else those arms would have been disintegrated in a splatter of blood. Too much time had already been wasted in the previous battles, and the pool of resources that fueled Auren's protective formation was running out. She glared at him hatefully and leaped off her tiger, spouting nonsense he cared little to hear. Her face darkened, power glowing from her pupils.

'Ignyres, this woman is finally going to be serious. Lend me your fire.' Demon could feel the air changing the moment she seemed to make her resolve instead of shouting. He had some information about the Togros warriors from Charlotte and knew Phoebes had achieved the Integration Stage, the final stage of the anima. There was no chance of matching her with just a blade and fire. As Phoebes manifested her tiger anima, Demon urged Ignyres again. 'Give me as much as you can.'

'Boy, are you sure? I only filled your core halfway in the fight against Orden, but you won't be able to use your metal element if I do this. Your body will also burn slowly. The pain will be unimaginable.' Ignyres warned, emphasizing his last word.

'Pain? And what is pain? I wonder.' Demon beat his chest, gazing into Oscar's lifeless soul. 'Pain is what caused this. And I feel none. That is why I'm here. I can take it.' Ignyres's three orbs flared up, staring intently into him. Flames sprouted from them and intensified the fire of his head. The Ancient of Fire cackled and walked to his blue core, placing his multi-colored flaming hand on it. Red invaded the core, the blue waning before the overwhelming scarlet.

Once the core turned fully red, Demon ignited it all and entered the Guise, but instead of blue antlers, red flaming horns extended from his helmet, and fire constantly spewed from his visor, replacing the bluish moonlight that once shone from the eyes. His entire Guise, represented by fire and Ignyres, not metal and deer, set his body ablaze. The air became dry, sweat instantly evaporating into smoke that steamed from the gaps in his armor. He felt the fire sear his skin and wasted no time, dashing toward Phoebes.

Phoebes had already integrated her anima into herself. White tiger ears popped from her head, her hair changed to white with black streaks, powerful intent gleamed from her slitted pupils, the kind that demanded utter dominance, and a tail whipped around behind her. Her orange tiger had now turned white, the black stripes more distinct, enlarging to twice the size. She smiled and bolted toward him, her claw flashing into a blur of light that rammed into his sword.

Oddly, Demon could see a faint visage of a tiger's paw overlapping her hand. The heavy power of a tiger and the speed brought on by the light element combined into one, but it still fell short of his strength. His sword pushed closer to her face, an inch away from burning her skin. She flinched and fell back, drenched in sweat. Before he could act on it, her tiger leaped across at impossible speeds and showered down a rain of claws created from light. Slashing once, he shattered the claws, his condensed Shattering Wave slicing toward the beast, but it vanished in a bright light and returned to its master's side.

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However, it failed to dodge in time as a scorched scar cut across its paw. Seeing Phoebes's worry about its condition, Demon felt an idea forming, a horrid one, but he never cared about being clean. Charging him, he clashed with Phoebes, light shining to envelop his flames while his fires sought to engulf her light. The Integration had increased her speed, power, and instincts and granted her an invisible tiger that acted like a guardian spirit, adding its attacks to hers. It suited a straightforward person such as Phoebes. However, that nature was the weakness Demon saw.

Phoebes unleashed chains of light that failed to bind him, melting from the fires blazing from her Guise's natural defenses. Her claws shot out three spears apiece, faster than the wind and brighter than the two suns. Her barrage was endless, countless spears stabbing into him. But Demon endured, for the injuries could not pierce deeper into his flesh.

The tiger rushed at him, and he welcomed its participation, slicing into it again, forcing it to retreat with another seared wound. He noted it could return to its master's side, so he pursued, stamping fire under his feet. He stabbed into his front leg as Phoebes screamed and drove her claw into his arm, three bloody daggers protruding from his forearm. Three larger bloody holes accompanied them, a transparent tiger's claw embedded in them. His sword, however, refused to slow, slashing into her beast, fire spreading from its wound.

"Stop!" Phoebes yelled, worry trembling in her voice.

Enduring more of her lashing, Demon slashed downward, upward, sideways, diagonal, and stabbed. Radiant spears stuck out from his back, no pain. Holes punctured into his flesh, no pain. Light burned into him, no pain. Only his blood splattered down to the cold ocean foaming below, now slightly red. Black stripes were gone, replaced by scars that now decorated the once noble fur of the white tiger. Phoebes seemed to have lost it, trying everything, but Demon shrugged off the attack with Edureisclad, bounced them away with Ripple Shroud, and endured solely on the lack of pain.

The tiger whimpered, losing the fierceness of an apex predator. Fear shivered the whiskers as the tiger tried to retreat. Scoffing, Demon reached out his hand and clenched on the beast's neck, holding his blade to its eye, the tip nearly touching the slitted pupils. He turned to Phoebes, who halted, tears staining her cheeks while her teeth bit into her lips.

"Surrender." He stated. His armor barely hung from his body, shattered into remnants that stuck to him.

"What?!" Phoebes said in a grating tone that clearly wished to tear him to shreds.

"The condition was not to kill each other. But a beast isn't included in the rules. I can kill it without losing the battle. So, I offer you this chance. Surrender, and your precious beast can live. Or you can try to fight and fail. I assure you, you will never be able to save it."

"I-I…." Phoebes stammered, torn by the decision.

"We surrender. It's your victory." Areus interjected, clasping his hand on Phoebes's shoulder.

"Grandfather!" Phoebes shouted.

"Thank you for teaching us a lesson long forgotten. Peace has dulled our claws and numbed our wits. The Togros Clan has been enlightened by your determination. It has been a while since we've fought in such battles." Areus sighed and retrieved the tiger as Demon released it. He bowed slightly. "Thank you for the lesson. Let's go, Phoebes."

"And the matter you came for?" Demon asked.

"We do not renege on our promises. The Lunate Continent is yours. Eh, you won't mind if I pull the Merrinn Clan away, do you?" Areus posed an alternative. "I promised to bring you all down, since that's impossible…."

"Agreed. You have your troubles to handle. But the price for their release is ten million gold." Demon never let go of a chance to make a profit.

"Sure. That's a steep price. It will be given to you a week later. You have my word." Areus sighed, then glanced at each person on the precipice before ending on Demon. "What the hell are you people? Besides the lack of anima, which should be impossible, you all have strange powers. Are you even human?"

Demon remained silent and turned away. "We are renegades, homeless and abandoned. That is all we are."

Landing on the precipice, Demon ordered the others to disperse as the Togros airships departed. The battle had ended, and the news of their victory would surely spread across the nearby lands. Sitting alone on the edge, he drank a low-grade healing elixir, having a long respite. He observed the day change to night, the moon overtaking the two suns.

A strange feeling rose in him. He knew he was alone, not counting Erden in his cloak. Or he should be alone. Glancing around the horizon from where the stars met the ocean to the sprawling junkyard, Demon found nothing, absolutely nothing. Ignyres flared in him and confirmed his suspicions. He called out, "Who is it?"

An intangible voice sighed, unable to be sorted out by his mind, a disjointed chorus of voices, some slow, some fast, some female, some male. A strange feeling descended on Demon, causing him to nearly slump down, but he held on. This unnatural presence that escaped his thoughts, memories, and senses was similar to the one he felt long ago in the Lands of Zeret. Words failed to escape his mouth to describe it, and the thoughts dissipated in his mind. It stood in a completely different plane of existence.

"A Primaere?" Demon asked.

"Brutal. Very brutal to your enemies. Far more brutal to yourself. I have watched you ever since you landed on this continent. For the Ancients to bless you and to earn Solara's approval is a strange human." A chuckle of a thousand echoes shook his ears, nearly toppling him over. "Yes, I am a Primaere, and I have come to you."

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