2292 2292. Petals

"You have rejected the help of the higher plane by absorbing all the "Breath"," Marcella announced. "Your imagination and knowledge are exceptional, but they remain inferior to an entire world. You can't surprise me."

"It's not about surprises," Divine Demon explained as he spread his arms. "It's about lessons."

A torrent of blood-red energy came out of Divine Demon's figure and pushed the green smoke. A domain expanded inside Marcella's cloud, but it didn't solidify.

Divine Demon kept his influence limited to his energy as he split and condensed his domain to create various giant figures. Roars began to echo through the green cloud as multiple scarlet dragons materialized all around the expert.

The creatures had no fixed shape. Some had horns. Others had additional pairs of wings, and a few even lacked limbs. Yet, even those without a deep knowledge of the magical beasts' field would understand that the pack featured multiple species of dragons.

The scene didn't surprise Marcella. Divine Demon had to use his imagination to give birth to techniques, and everyone knew that he liked dragons. He used those creatures to teach, so they were in line with his previous statement.

Still, Marcella was the only one who could keep a straight face. The amount of energy contained inside the dragons was immense and felt on par with the power radiated by the vegetation.

Divine Demon's energy reserves were also monstrous, and he didn't refrain from pushing himself to his limits. He couldn't be happier to be against an opponent who could take his full power.

"More magical beasts," Marcella sighed as she pointed her arm toward Divine Demon.

The vegetation advanced while the ethereal whips shot forward. Those weapons enlarged and stretched while converging at high speed toward Divine Demon.

Most of the whips abandoned their trajectory to fly in different directions. The space dragon even teleported among them and created big portals that began to float among the cloud.

The scarlet dragons voiced one last roar before charging ahead. Some of them flew toward the portals, while others shot forward without caring about the hindrances on their path.

Divine Demon's creations weren't completely solid. They were almost pure energy that had taken a specific shape, but even that wasn't fixed.

Some ethereal whips managed to get past the hindrances created by the space dragon. However, they found nothing to destroy when they slammed on the scarlet dragons. The weapons flew through the creatures without inflicting any damage.

A few whips managed to cut the scarlet dragons into two halves, but they simply reattached their bodies after flying past them. Divine Demon's creatures appeared untouchable, but that wasn't their only feature.

Some dragons directly slammed on the vegetation and started a violent battle that involved their limbs and teeth. They bit, clawed, and tore apart any plant on their path without dispersing their energy.

<br/>Instead, other dragons halted their flight right before reaching their target and opened their mouths. Flames gathered in their throats until vast scarlet pillars shot out to crash on the magical plants.

Divine Demon's offensive didn't stop there. Some of the dragons that had crossed the portals reappeared behind the vegetation to imitate their companions' attacks. They split themselves into two teams that handled melee and ranged exchanges.

Only three dragons among the entirety of the pack used the portals to appear among the vegetation. The light carried by their bodies intensified while magical plants tried to wrap themselves around them. Their figures shook until they exploded into raging storms of pure energy that destroyed anything in their path.

All of that happened during a single offensive. Marcella's technique was immense, but Divine Demon appeared able to match her prowess and force her into a defensive stance.

The vegetation couldn't do anything against the dragons. Those creatures were everywhere, and their attacks carried Divine Demon's unreasonable power. The magical plants could only crumble, shatter, and burn.

The space dragon used every trick in its power to provide its support. The portals created paths that Marcella couldn't track, and its aura established a space-time array that deflected the whips and suppressed a few magical plants.

The space dragon also seized every shard and broken magical plant that tried to return to Marcella's array to transform it into energy. That power remained inside the portals, in a separate dimension that no one could reach to accumulate and reach a decent level.

The odd dragon tried to do its part too. The blood-red armor and Divine Demon's influence filled its mind with enough confidence to jump into that mess.

The armor also enhanced its innate ability. The odd dragon felt able to generate far more black liquid than usual, and it didn't hesitate to do so. Yet, it didn't immediately pour it on the vegetation. Instead, the creature sent it inside the portals and left the matter to the space dragon.

The scene was spectacular, but Sepunia and Maribel weren't in the mood to remain in a daze. They wanted to help, but they couldn't find the chance to join the battle. Their worlds wouldn't survive if they jumped into that mess.

There was way too much going on inside the green cloud. The giant dragons didn't leave any area unoccupied, while the plants struggled to no end to survive.

Every inch of the vegetation featured a battle at the peak of the ninth rank. Sepunia and Maribel didn't know how to help without dying in the process. Actually, they weren't even sure that their power could affect the fight's outcome.

Divine Demon had already given his orders, so he completely disregarded his two companions and shot forward to join the dragons. His arms darted left and right to launch giant pillars of energy that overwhelmed anything that tried to stop his creations.

A few attacks also flew toward Marcella to prevent her from summoning new techniques, but Divine Demon soon understood that the approach wouldn't work.

New plants always grew in front of Marcella and shielded her from the blood-red energy before the next attack could arrive. Divine Demon's massive offensive couldn't overwhelm her, but it seemed that her vegetation was reaching critical levels.

The various magical plants had never stopped growing and expanding, but the arrival of the scarlet dragons had finally put an end to that process. The cloud even started to shrink after a while, which confirmed how the approach was working.

Marcella honestly wasn't to blame. Anyone would find it hard to deal with so much power. The dragons were untouchable and unstoppable. The space-time array worked against her, and Divine Demon's offensive was relentless.

The plants couldn't even recycle their fabric since the space dragon sucked everything away. Marcella could refill her vegetation through her world without worrying too much about her energy reserves. Yet, the issue involved the speed of her technique.

The destruction was faster than the expansion. The magical plants couldn't compensate for the damage caused by Divine Demon and his dragons, so they retreated to save energy and fabric.

Still, Marcella wasn't a random expert. She wasn't even a mere privileged cultivator who had reached the absolute peak of the journey. She was an elite among elites.

As soon as the vegetation started shrinking, part of the plants above Marcella opened to reveal a giant green flower. The energy contained in its petal was so intense that the entire cloud shook, and those tremors expanded past the green smoke due to how heavy they were.

Sepunia and Maribel didn't even bother to think. They immediately retreated inside one of the portals, and the odd dragon soon joined them. Only Divine Demon, the space dragon, and the scarlet dragons remained in the area, but that was about to change.

"A plant won't remain still when its home is under attack," Marcella declared, and the giant petals exploded. The energy they radiated was so heavy that even Divine Demon lost control of his senses for a few seconds.