Halochassis

In the nick of time, Lireina arched her body backwards, bending nearly to the ground as the dragon spear screamed past her throat. She felt the weapon’s razor sharp pressure tear through the air only a few inches from her skin, cold sweat immediately breaking across her forehead. A few strands of her hair were sliced loose by the passing blade and fluttered through the air before she quickly sprang backward. Her boots scraped against the dusty ground as she landed, but she barely had time to regain her balance before the rusty house behind her collapsed with a deafening roar. The dragon spear’s air slash tore through the old structure, ripping apart its wooden walls and sending splintered boards, chunks of brick, and clouds of dust flying in every direction. The smell of rust, dry earth, and broken wood filled the air as debris rained down around her.

Lireina narrowed her eyes and wiped a thin line of sweat from her cheek. “If it wasn’t for my Autonomous Evasion, I would’ve been killed by that attack, Qinglong.”

“I don’t fucking care anymore.” Qinglong glared at Lireina, his green eyes slowly changing into a terrifying crimson red. The fury in them seemed almost unnatural, like fire burning behind his pupils. His grip tightened around the dragon spear until his knuckles became pale, and the metal shaft groaned softly beneath his fingers. “If you’re going to prevent me from locating Azazel, then you might as well die!”

With a violent swing, Qinglong swept his dragon spear through the air. Several crescent shaped air slashes erupted from the weapon and tore across the street. Their passage produced sharp, shrieking sounds that made the surrounding windows tremble. Lireina immediately moved. She twisted her body sideways, ducked beneath one slash, then planted one hand against the ground and kicked herself into a tumbling motion to avoid another. A third air slash ripped through the space where her body had been a moment earlier, slicing a wooden cart in half and sending both pieces skidding across the road.

“You can interrogate the Iron Bandits all you want, but leave the innocent bystanders from your madness!” Lireina shouted as she rolled away from another attack. Her gown brushed against the dirt as she came back onto her feet, her breathing becoming heavier with every exchange.

“How could you identify innocent bystanders from the enemy, huh?” Qinglong snapped. “Everyone here has questionable way of life!” His voice echoed through the ruined street as he charged forward. “Are you stupid enough to not know that Zerova might have been killed by these bandits blending along with innocent bystanders!?”

Lireina opened her mouth to answer, but no words came. The accusation struck a nerve because, deep down, she knew there was some truth in what he said. The Iron Bandits had infiltrated the district, and anyone could have been working for them. Yet that did not justify what Qinglong had done. She had seen the destruction with her own eyes. She had heard the screams of terrified civilians and watched helpless people flee through the streets. Pregnant women, children, elderly people, and ordinary citizens had been caught in the chaos simply because they happened to be nearby.

Lireina closed her mouth and continued moving as Qinglong launched another barrage of air slashes. Her eyes remained fixed on him while her body danced between the attacks. Each slash passed dangerously close, stirring her hair and whipping her dress around her legs. She could feel the pressure of every attack against her skin.

Qinglong might have been right about the possibility of enemies hiding among the civilians, but that was not an excuse to slaughter everyone around them. What he had done earlier was unforgivable. He had allowed his anger and desperation to turn him into someone willing to destroy anyone who stood between him and his target. Lireina could not simply walk away and pretend she had not seen it.

She clenched her fists.

She had known Qinglong for a long time. Despite his flaws, he was still her friend. That was precisely why she could not let him continue down this path.

If she had to fight him to bring him back to his senses, then she would.

“Unleashing Third Form!” Lireina shouted.

A violent burst of wind exploded from her body. The surrounding dust spiraled upward as a massive whirlwind formed around her, roaring like a miniature storm. Qinglong’s incoming air slashes collided with the swirling currents and were torn apart, their sharp edges dissolving into harmless gusts before reaching her.

“So you are going serious, huh.” Qinglong’s crimson eyes narrowed, the fury within them burning even brighter.

The wind surrounding Lireina intensified. Her figure rose slightly as swirling currents wrapped around her body, and her appearance began to transform. She became noticeably taller, her presence suddenly carrying an overwhelming elegance that contrasted sharply with the chaos around her. Her dress stretched and reshaped itself into a magnificent white evening gown, its fabric flowing like clouds caught in a gentle breeze. Ornamental wings appeared along her outfit, gleaming brightly as countless strands of wind curled around her.

When the transformation finally settled, the street around her had become almost completely still.

Lireina slowly lowered her arms and looked directly at Qinglong.

“I’ll defeat you if I have to.” Her voice was calm, but there was unmistakable resolve behind it. “Just to protect the innocent.”

“Stop with your stupid sense of justice!” Qinglong roared.

He suddenly thrust his dragon spear forward and launched himself like a missile. The force of his acceleration shattered loose debris beneath his feet, while the ground cracked under the pressure of his first step. In an instant, he crossed the distance between them, his spear aimed directly at Lireina’s chest.

In the nick of time, Lireina twisted her body aside and snapped her leg outward. Her heel struck the shaft of the spear with a powerful impact, redirecting the weapon just enough for it to pass harmlessly beside her. The collision sent a sharp shock through her leg, but she immediately followed up with another movement.

A floating flintlock rifle suddenly manifested beside her.

The weapon hovered in midair, aimed directly at Qinglong before its trigger pulled itself.

Bang!

The gunshot cracked through the street.

The bullet struck Qinglong’s cheek and tore straight through his face. Blood sprayed into the air as the force of the shot knocked his head sideways. Qinglong stumbled backward several steps before instinctively touching his wounded cheek. His fingers came away slick with blood.

For a moment, there was silence.

Qinglong slowly looked at the blood on his hand.

Then he smiled.

“You really have done it…” His crimson eyes burned with renewed fury. “If you’re going serious, then I’ll be serious too!”

He lowered the spear slightly and spread his arms.

“Spirit Cultivation Unleashed!”

A violent explosion of green flames erupted from Qinglong’s body.

The heat rushed through the street like the opening blast of a furnace, forcing dust and debris away from him. His armor began cracking under the pressure before pieces of it were violently ripped apart and thrown across the ground. Metal fragments clattered against the stone road as the green flames continued to rise higher.

Then Qinglong stepped forward.

His body had completely changed.

His once armored figure now revealed a perfectly developed muscular physique, every muscle sharply defined beneath his skin. A massive green dragon tattoo covered his body, its intricate scales winding across his chest, shoulders, and back as though a living dragon had been carved into his flesh. Green flames flickered around the tattoo, making the creature appear almost alive.

A pair of enormous dragon wings burst from his back with a thunderous sound. Their membranes stretched outward as they flexed, sending powerful gusts of wind through the ruined street.

Two sharp dragon horns emerged from the top of his head.

Then, behind him, a long spiky green tail whipped into existence and slammed against the ground hard enough to crack the stone beneath it.

Qinglong slowly raised his dragon spear.

The crimson glow in his eyes intensified as green flames surged around his body.

Lireina stared at him in silence.

He’s going all out. There is no turning back now.

Lireina watched Qinglong through narrowed eyes as the green flames around his body grew hotter and brighter. The air itself seemed to tremble from the pressure of his aura, carrying the sharp smell of ozone and scorched earth. Her hair and the hem of her white gown whipped violently in the turbulent wind, yet she remained suspended in the air with perfect balance.

“Raaaaaaaah!”

Qinglong surged forward.

His roar shook the ruined street as green energy erupted from his body and wrapped around him in the shape of an enormous dragon. The spectral creature twisted around his muscular frame, its serpentine body coiling through the air while its crimson eyes burned with the same murderous intensity as Qinglong’s. Every beat of its ethereal body produced a thunderous shockwave, scattering dust and fragments of broken buildings below.

Lireina immediately flapped her wings and shot upward. Her body became a blur of white as she flew across the sky, narrowly avoiding Qinglong’s charge. The dragon aura followed her like a predator chasing its prey, its enormous jaws snapping shut whenever Qinglong came close enough to strike.

With one hand extended, Lireina summoned several floating muskets around herself. The firearms appeared one after another with flashes of pale light, their barrels automatically adjusting to Qinglong’s trajectory.

“Fire!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The muskets discharged almost simultaneously.

A storm of magical bullets streaked through the sky, leaving glowing trails behind them. They converged on Qinglong from different angles, aimed at his chest, arms, legs, and head. The barrage was dense enough to make escape nearly impossible.

But Qinglong did not slow down.

The moment the bullets entered the green dragon aura surrounding his body, they began to dissolve. Their magical energy evaporated into tiny sparks before they could even touch his skin. Some bullets vanished with faint hissing sounds, while others simply broke apart into glowing dust that was immediately swept away by the force of his movement.

Qinglong continued charging without hesitation.

“Do not underestimate me, Lireina!” he roared, tightening his grip around the dragon spear. “If you really want to stop me, go all out! Unleash your Fourth Form!”

Lireina’s expression tightened.

“I don’t want to kill you, Qinglong.” She continued flying through the skies, her wings beating steadily as she twisted around every thrust of his spear. “You are still my friend.”

Qinglong’s crimson eyes widened.

“Are you saying that I am weak!?”

His voice thundered across the battlefield.

He swung his spear in a wide arc, forcing Lireina to roll sideways. The weapon passed so close to her body that the pressure alone tore several strands of her hair loose. She immediately accelerated upward, but Qinglong was already behind her.

“Then take this, you stupid bitch!”

Qinglong abruptly stopped chasing her.

Instead, he spread both arms.

The green aura surrounding his body rushed toward his hands and began gathering into a massive sphere. At first, it was only the size of a person, but it continued growing larger and denser until it became a gigantic ball of swirling green energy. The pressure radiating from it made the surrounding air vibrate, and lightning began crawling across its surface.

Then the aura changed shape.

The enormous sphere stretched outward, its energy forming a long serpentine body. A gigantic Shenlong dragon materialized around Qinglong, its scales formed entirely from blazing green energy. Its enormous head emerged above him, and its crimson eyes opened with an eerie glow that matched Qinglong’s own.

Green lightning began converging toward the dragon’s mouth.

The sound was deafening.

Crackling bolts twisted through the sky and disappeared between its massive jaws. The dragon’s mouth opened wider, revealing an expanding core of blinding green light.

Lireina’s eyes widened.

Qinglong roared.

“Dodge this! Divinity’s Ultimate!”

The dragon fired.

A colossal beam of green energy erupted from its mouth and swallowed everything in its path. The blast was so wide that it covered a huge section of the sky, turning the clouds beneath it bright green. The thunderous sound rolled across the horizon as the beam continued forward, illuminating the entire region for a brief moment like a second sun.

Lireina was completely engulfed.

The massive attack continued past the upper atmosphere, its light becoming visible from miles away. The force of the beam shook the clouds and blasted apart the surrounding mist.

Had that attack been aimed downward, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

The land beneath them would have been reduced to a burning crater.

Yet Qinglong’s attack had not struck the ground.

It remained focused entirely on the sky.

After several long seconds, the enormous beam finally began to fade. The green light receded from the clouds, leaving behind drifting sparks and wisps of smoke that slowly dissolved into the night air.

Qinglong lowered his arms.

He was breathing heavily.

“She’s dead…”

His voice was barely audible.

Then his eyes widened.

Lireina was still there.

She floated quietly in the sky, her white gown fluttering gently around her legs as though nothing had happened. Not a single visible wound covered her body.

Her green eyes stared down at Qinglong.

The disgust in them was unmistakable.

“What… How?” Qinglong asked.

His expression shifted from fury to disbelief.

“Divinity’s Ultimate cannot be dodged. How did you evade it? You did not even move!”

Lireina remained motionless for a moment before calmly answering.

“Quantum tunneling.”

Qinglong’s brow twitched.

“My Autonomous Evasion gave me this skill, to pass through anything that is undodgeable.” Lireina raised one hand slightly. “I can quantize my whole body up to the tiniest atoms to evade any attack.”

For a moment, Qinglong simply stared at her.

His mouth hung open.

Then his face twisted with frustration.

“Fucking shit!” Qinglong roared. “Then you’re biologically invincible, just like me!?”

“No.”

Lireina’s voice was cold.

She slowly narrowed her eyes.

Her gaze remained fixed on Qinglong with an almost clinical disgust, as though she had grown tired of explaining herself to him.

“You are in no way, invincible.”

Qinglong’s expression darkened.

Lireina spread both arms. The weapons floating beside her immediately began changing.

Their long barrels shortened as their bodies became more compact. The individual pistols transformed rapidly, mechanical components shifting and locking into place until they became a pair of submachine guns. Additional firearms appeared around her in a widening formation, hovering beside her like a swarm of metallic predators.

Lireina aimed downward. Then she pulled the triggers. The sky erupted with gunfire.

Hundreds of magical rounds poured from the submachine guns in an endless stream. The barrage sounded like continuous thunder as glowing bullets rained toward Qinglong from above. Each projectile left a thin trail of magical light behind it, creating the appearance of countless falling stars.

Qinglong immediately spun his dragon spear.

The weapon became a circular blur in front of his body as he deflected bullet after bullet. Sparks erupted every time a projectile struck the spinning spear, filling the air with sharp metallic sounds.

But the barrage was too dense. Several bullets slipped through his defense. One struck his shoulder. Another tore through his abdomen. Several more punched into his chest, arms, and legs.

Blood sprayed into the air as holes opened across Qinglong’s body. He staggered slightly, yet his wounds immediately began closing. Flesh knitted together beneath the green flames, and the bleeding stopped almost as soon as it started.

Qinglong looked down at the damaged areas and laughed.

“What are you saying, Lireina?” he said. “No matter what you do, I will continue to regenerate.”

“I know.”

Lireina’s firing ceased.

The sudden silence felt almost unnatural after the storm of gunfire.

Then she smiled. It was not a warm smile. It was the confident smile of someone who had already prepared for exactly this moment.

“That is why I have created magical bullets just for your regeneration.”

Qinglong’s smile faded.

Lireina tilted her head slightly.

“Well, it’s not bullets.”

Her floating weapons vanished one by one.

“It’s seeds.”

Soon, Qinglong noticed something strange.

The wounds across his body were beginning to close. His flesh slowly knitted itself together, sealing the holes left by Lireina’s magical bullets. The bleeding stopped, and the torn muscles beneath his skin began regenerating just as they had countless times before.

At first, Qinglong smiled.

His regeneration was working.

Then he noticed that something felt wrong.

His fingertips tingled.

A strange numbness spread through his hands and slowly traveled up his arms. Qinglong flexed his fingers, expecting them to respond normally, but his movements felt sluggish and distant, as though his hands no longer completely belonged to him.

“What the hell...?”

His smile disappeared.

Qinglong immediately looked down at the wounds scattered across his body.

His eyes widened.

Tiny green seedlings had begun growing from the freshly regenerated wounds.

They were impossibly small at first, barely more than tiny shoots emerging from his skin. But within moments, they grew larger, sprouting delicate leaves that trembled in the wind. Their thin roots had burrowed deep into his flesh, twisting through his muscles and wrapping themselves around his nerves.

Qinglong’s expression became horrified.

“No...”

He tried to move his arm.

Nothing happened.

The seedlings continued growing.

Their roots spread deeper into his body, interfering with the signals traveling through his nervous system. The numbness quickly spread from his hands to his shoulders, then down his chest and into his legs. His muscles were still intact. His regeneration was still functioning perfectly.

But his body was no longer responding to his commands.

Qinglong clenched his teeth and tried to force himself upright.

His leg twitched once.

Then it became completely numb.

His balance vanished.

“Damn it!”

Qinglong stumbled forward before collapsing heavily onto the ground.

The impact sent dust into the air, and the loose stones beneath his body rattled from the force. His dragon wings fell limply against the ground while his massive tail dragged through the dirt. He tried to push himself up with his arms.

Nothing.

His fingers would not move. His legs would not respond. Even his wings remained completely still.

The terrifying realization finally struck him. He was completely paralyzed.

Qinglong could regenerate from wounds that would kill an ordinary person, but Lireina had never intended to destroy his body.

She had simply found a way to stop it from obeying him.

He fell back onto the ground in the middle of the slums, staring helplessly at the broken buildings surrounding him. Dust settled over his skin while the tiny seedlings continued to sway from his wounds.

Then a rushing sound came from above.

Lireina flapped her wings and descended from the sky.

Her white gown fluttered around her as she dove toward Qinglong, moving with far more grace than the brutal fight moments earlier. She slowed just before reaching the ground and caught him by the midriff belt of his clothes.

Despite Qinglong’s enormous muscular body, Lireina handled him with surprising ease.

She gently lowered him onto the ground and carefully adjusted his position so that his head would not strike the broken stones.

Qinglong could do nothing but stare at her.

His entire body remained motionless. Only his eyes could move.

“You fucking bitch!” Qinglong said through clenched teeth.

Lireina blinked. Then she smiled.

“It’s five times now that you called me a bitch, Qinglong.”

She crouched beside him and calmly patted his green hair. The gesture was almost affectionate.

That somehow made Qinglong even more uncomfortable.

“That’s not nice to call your Big Sis like that.” Lireina continued smiling as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. “So, I’ll keep those seeds on your body until you turn back into a good boy and learn your lesson.”

Qinglong’s expression froze.

The woman who had effortlessly avoided his strongest attacks, survived his Divinity’s Ultimate, and completely paralyzed his body was now treating him like a misbehaving child.

For the first time since defeating the Demon King, Qinglong truly understood something he had forgotten.

Lireina was terrifying. She had always been terrifying.

But beneath that frightening power was the same person who genuinely cared about him, even when he became violent, reckless, and blinded by anger.

She had not killed him. She had simply stopped him. And somehow, that realization made her seem even more frightening.

Qinglong stared at the smiling Lireina as she continued patting his hair. For the first time in years, he found himself completely helpless before someone he knew he could trust.

Terrifying. Caring. And still very much the same Big Sis Lireina he had known all along.