As poor Sucuria flew out of the Jade-Faced Academy, Akamana got cooking, unlocking the gates of the Paradise of Malice.
Like all Divine Fantasies, Ahriman's Darkness in Paradise sucked those who failed to escape the mantra's range into a replica of its paradise: the Paradise of Malice.
There, hope, empathy, compassion, kindness and the like vanished, snuffed out by a world of darkness. Ahriman's devotees would instantly ascend to the true Paradise, becoming Demon Nobles of the Antigod's court.
For the non-believer, despair became the norm, with the depressive, hopeless and unstable quickly sinking into madness.
So while Hakim was no doubt one with the monster in his soul, he also met the criteria for Ahriman's favorite prey so well that the genderfluid Antigod now thirsted for his broken ass!
As a result, legions of bloodthirsty demons emerged from the Gates of Malice, flooding Springtime City as they aimed for Hakim's neck!
Still, the huntmaster didn't lose his composure—his slasher smile stretching wide as his hands moved in a series of arcane gestures. The Fractal Blood Field expanded, sucking in the demonic titans racing towards Hakim.
Some perished on the spot, breaking into blood particles before reforming as Hakim's undead subordinates. The majority, however, kept pushing through, forcing their way towards Hakim with the sheer force of their monstrous bodies!
"Hahahaha!" Akamana's world of darkness locked the Fractal Blood Field from all sides, not only preventing its expansion but forcing it to shrink as a chorus of diabolic laughs boomed all around.
Sixteen bizarre demons surrounded Hakim, forming circles as they launched into a dance of claws and fangs!
"Hell nah." Hakim whispered, conjuring five blood shields that met the fiends' onslaught without much effort. The Blood Shields didn't need Hakim's directives, moving with a will of their own to block and suppress all attempts at his life.
Here, Hakim turned into a flaming red meteor, carrying the Fractal Blood Field with him as he lunged towards Akamana. The Grand Priestess didn't fall back, a sinister glow shining in her eyes as she blitzed the Prince of the Rashukan.
*BANG*
The two met in a deafening blast, trading a flurry of elbows and kicks as they sought gaps in the opponent's guard. Akamana's darkness didn't lose ground, enabling her to ignore the disastrous effects of Hakim's Blood Field. Her demons, however, didn't have the same fortitude, breaking one after the other as they lingered in Hakim's Field.
But as the Huntmaster's undead count blew up, colossal dark-purple claws emerged from the void, collecting the demons and returning them to Akamana's side!
Hakim's face twisted for the first time. But before he had time to figure out how the Grand Priestess had managed to pull this off…the growls of formless beasts surrounded him from all sides, and for the first time in his Fylkir life, Hakim became convinced, that if he didn't come up with a countermeasure ASAP, his life ended here.
[Fractal Inversion]
Without hesitation, Hakim unleashed the strongest version of his Blood Field, making his domain shrink while its might shot through the roof! The Blood Field morphed into odd, sinuous shapes—the edges looking like coiling tendrils of infernal blood.
Akamana's demons all burst instantly, the blinding rays of Hakim's Blood Field ripping through her darkness!
Over one hundred knife wounds tore through Akamana's bones, instantly healed by her Inversion Skill but followed by another wave of formless slashes. Still, the Grand Priestess stayed unfazed—calmly phasing out of Hakim's restricted range.
The Fylkirs were speechless, unable to accept that the crude and dishonorable Hakim's mastery of the blood was so far above their own. Only Trajan stayed calm. But as Akamana studied Hakim's Blood Field, her eyes narrowing at a little discovery, Trajan's eyes trembled, and he lowered his face, heaving a long sigh.
'So that's how it is.' Akamana thought, and as her lips curled into a mischievous smile, the Grand Priestess did the unthinkable, rushing head-first into Hakim's Blood Field!
"Mad lass!" The Huntmaster burst into laughter, a million scarlet bolts firing out of his domain to tear Akamana to shreds! They hit home, reducing the Grand Priestess into a cluster of Blood Particles.
But the moment next, another Akamana appeared right in Hakim's Blood Field, perishing instantly! Three more followed, breaking down as well. But then ten more, a hundred more! A thousand! An infinity!
Akamanas left, right, front and back, all forcing their way towards Hakim. The Rashukan Prince couldn't understand the thought process. What exactly was Akamana hoping to accomplish with this?
He didn't know, and he didn't have to find out, because inside his Fractal Blood Field…a Fylkir…is untouchable!
Hakim's lips curved into a sneer, and he clenched his fists, making the myriad Akamanas burst instantly. But in that very instant, the real one returned—now standing at Hakim's back!
[Dark Crest of Paradise: Palace of Indulgence]
Shutting her eyes close, the Grand Priestess threw her head back, releasing a torrential blast of obsidian flames that fired in all directions, becoming tides of infinite darkness!
In those tides, the scenes of various duels, conflicts, wars and battlefields replayed nonstop, with a mountain of dancing corpses emerging from the currents and forming circles around the Grand Priestess.
Dark-purple wings sprouted at her back, folding over her shoulders as she became one with the darkness.
And as Trajan closed his eyes, already expecting this result, Hakim was shocked to find out…that Akamana's Palace of Indulgence…had not only opened from inside his Blood Field but devoured it completely!
"Truth be told. To have mastered the Fractal Blood Field as a second-generation Fylkir is already a legendary achievement. Hakim…I miscalculated your worth.
Alas…genetics is not on your side. The Fractal Blood Field needs a divine-class Blood Flame. Without…it is full of flaws. Flaws that the world's number one master of Sid Manipulation and Space Control…can exploit at will," Trajan said, his words followed by the tearing sounds of Hakim's flesh getting sliced and shredded by Akamana's bare hands!
Spleen!
Liver!
Entrails!
Bones!
One by one, piece by piece, the Grand Priestess ripped Hakim apart, his immortality becoming his worst enemy as he entered a living hell!
Akamana's foot came crashing down, smashing open Hakim's skull and sending him cratering down below!
The dust, smoke and rubble settled, revealing a gored Hakim lying lifeless in a pool of his own blood. Akamana appeared at his back, heel pressing into his neck. "You lost." The Grand Priestess said, and snapped her fingers, setting Hakim ablaze with a horrid shroud of dark flames!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH…haha…arrgh!" From scream to laugh, back to mournful cries, Hakim squealed his guts out, his flesh and soul torn beyond recognition!
'Some gangsta shit right there. You really can't mess with a Queen Bee without getting stung. Grand Priestess Akamana, if I were a man of culture…I'd fall in love with you.' But in that instant, Hakim's voice echoed in Akamana's mind, and as he stopped struggling, seemingly accepting his fate…
"Huh?" Akamana's skin took a bluish shade, blood dripping from her eyes, ears and mouth as Hakim turned into a charred mess.
The huntmaster's remains lay there, but Akamana reeled back, devastating headaches ripping through her brain as her body turned sluggish.
"Though his Fractal Blood Field was no doubt imperfect, Hakim's mastery of the blood is the real deal. There is no scenario where you can face his Blood Field head-on without suffering heavy backlash. Grand Priestess, you won the fight...but it cost you the war," Trajan said and stepped forward, crossing space to reform by Hakim's side.
"The Blood Aristocracy cannot lose a master of the Fractal Blood Field. And you, Grand Priestess, have become a threat I must eradicate at all costs so my brother's ambitions and future are not compromised." Trajan declared, and as his words trailed off, a torrential tide of sanguine flames far beyond anything Hakim had shown so far formed around the Fylkir, crushing Akamana's momentum.
"Heal," Trajan ordered, and to Akamana's shock, the mysterious saint-class poison in her blood...healed in a heartbeat!
Akamana couldn't believe it. But to Trajan and the Fylkirs, this was standard practice.
"The King of Majesty will not take advantage of a woman's weakness. My pride as a noble and monarch will not allow it. Fight me at your best, I will crush you still, and bury you in the city you tried so hard to protect.
That the world remembers and never dares to forget the words:
Emphyria...za'hak...muk'bak!" Trajan's voice rumbled throughout the heavens and earth, imposing themselves on the souls of all creatures! So long as blood flowed in their veins—no, Trajan's Majesty had already transcended the limits of the blood, able to overwhelm all living organisms not sheltered by divine powers.
With no other choice, Akamana fused with Cruel Genesis, becoming a dark-purple Flame Elemental with gigantic demonic wings that blotted out the sky.
Trajan wasn't impressed, only four people in the Spiritual World could resist or defeat him. With time, Akamana could no doubt surpass him. But as the saying goes...she was a thousand years too early!
"Kneel." The King of Majesty ordered, his authority over life contending with Cruel Genesis and making the Grand Priestess shake from head to toe!
Her knees buckled, but as her body betrayed her, trying to follow Trajan's order, Akaman's soul refused to give in, contending with Trajan's Majesty.
But in that instant...as all focused on Akamana's struggle, a purple-eyed figure emerged from Trajan's shadow, literally climbing out of the Fylkir's shadow to peek over his shoulder.
"Boo," Mithras said, and by the time Trajan had registered the words, Mithras' draconic fangs had ripped through his neck, draining his blood and soul to the last drop!