However, it didn't die.
Just as it looked like every inch of it would be devoured by the ever-expanding rank-6 fire, its body disappeared in a puff of smoke, and at the same time, mist invaded the shore opposite the party of three from the center of the cave, thickening into dense green and black clouds.
Roy was no longer able to see his opponent due to the clouds. The same went for Tevenlor and the Female Siren. They couldn't see the other shore due to the clouds blocking their sight.
However, to them, the Crimson Lord had died because of the fire.
According to Tevenlor and Yulran, the Crimson Lord was a rank-5 spirit. How could it survive the assault of a rank-6 fire? And even if it has somehow advanced to the sixth spirit rank in secret, it still shouldn't be a match for a rank-6 fire. After all, fire and lightning counter anomalies and chaotic elder spirits.
Roy didn't have the same thought as them.
"Don't let your guard down. Although its body has been destroyed, it's still not dead. It's hiding in the dark, waiting to prey on us."
Roy received no confirmation of the Crimson Lord's death from the system.
Thus, he was sure that it was still alive.
"It must be up to something. But I won't let its plan come to fruition."
Shadowless stepped out of the shadow dimension. He was now standing beside them. Roy pushed the Female Siren towards him.
"Look after her. Make sure she doesn't get hurt."
Roy said to his two guards.
Shadowless and Tevenlor gave him a head nod. "We will."
"Where are you going?" The Female Siren asked her hubby.
"To complete the last trial," Roy replied to her.
"You are planning to?" Tevenlor questioned him.
"Cross the pond and go over to it. We don't have time to sit around."
Immediately after uttering that, Roy stepped towards the pond.
"Master!"
Tevenlor called out to him.
"What?"
Roy looked at Tevenlor, asking him what was wrong.
"The Dragon's Pond is made of a single drop of my creator's blood. It might be just that, but it's incredibly hot and ridiculously high in density. I once heard him say that its gravity is a hundred times that of the Far World Major Realm."
"When you go anywhere near it, a strong pressure will act on you. The pressure is strong enough to crush to death a normal person and immobilize aura masters. Even going above it wouldn't help as it will release a suction force to pull you down."
Tevenlor explained to his new master, but the answer he got in return was not what he expected.
"I am not exactly a normal person. Besides, crossing it is the only way to get rid of it and get out of this place."
After saying that to Tevenlor, Roy pushed himself off the ground. Like a rocket, he moved towards the other shore.
"There is still the risk of the Elder Spirit taking advantage of the situation to attack you, and there might be traps in it!!!"
Tevenlor's warning was heard by all but one.
Plop!
Roy planned to cross it with one jump, but as he was moving over it, intense gravity acted on him, resulting in him directly dropping into the pond's depths.
"I already expected that to happen, but it's ridiculous to experience that a drop of his blood can suppress me. My ancestor's too fucking strong!"
He was surrounded by mist. Intense pressure acted on him, destroying his clothes.
His body would have met the same fate if it wasn't tempered to the Sky rank.
Because he had a sky-grade physique, the heat of the pond that could scald skin instantly only warmed him.
Furthermore, the pressure emitting off of it and acting on him failed to bend his body, only making him sink into the pond.
Roy breathed out, and suddenly, he stopped sinking.
The pond wasn't shallow at all. His feet were a hundred meters away from touching the ground.
So how has he stopped himself from sinking?
Well, if one were to carefully look at where he was standing, they would see a black circular platform.
It was solid, didn't crack under the intense draconian pressure, nor sink in the crimson pond.
He was standing on it. That's why he wasn't sinking.
Darkness surged out of it, expanding all the way to the other side.
Instantly, Roy solidified it by infusing it with Force.
As a result, it became a long winding path that directly led to the other shore where the Crimson Lord was last sighted.
"He is so cool!" The Female Siren exclaimed.
Roy waved his hand, and a bridge connecting the center of the pond to the shore with the dragon's tree was created. It was truly a peculiar sight.
"I expected nothing less from my creator." Shadowless cheekily said, "He is a bit lacking compared to me."
Tevenlor, on the other hand, silently gazed ahead and noticed great changes. The mist transformed into hundreds of vicious-looking bats. They looked like a smaller version of the crimson lord's original body.
"It's as I thought. That bastard is using this situation to attack him. He should have heeded my warning." Tevenlor gritted his teeth.
He was about to run into the pond but was stopped by Shadowless.
"As subordinates, we should believe in him and do as he said."
Shadowless pointed out the scene of hundreds of monsters flying towards Roy with murderous intent and spoke.
"That's his battle. Ours is to defend her with our lives."
The voice of the Crimson Lord burst out from within the mist!
"It's crimson' time!"
All the bats moved towards a single target.
Roy couldn't see anything as the thick mist compromised his vision.
It surrounded him like high walls, and he walked through it like a lone God.
Although he couldn't see shit, he could still hear the sound of countless wings fluttering. They were becoming heavier and clearer. It didn't take a genius to think that the sources of the sounds were coming closer and closer to him.
Right when the distance between them and him was no more than 5-meters, Roy spread out his arms and spun in circles, waves of darkness emitting out of his palms and circling him extremely fast, creating a black tornado too sharp. It was coated in Arrow Force. No doubt, it could cut through divine steel, much less soft flesh.
The bats blindly crashed into it.
Shi! Shi! Shish Kebab!
Immediately, they were shredded into pieces.
Roy stopped spinning as he felt a headache coming.
『Ding! Congratulation. You have killed 230 parts of the Crimson Lord's soul.』
『You gained 230 Red Orbs』
『You gained 2300 EXP』
『The Crimson Lord has lost 1/10th of its soul.』
"This is far from over."
