(A/N: Friendly reminder! The female lead gets stabbed in this chapter!)
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"
Angry roars echoed throughout the area, deafening. Within this furious voice lay a hint of pain and a trace of fear.
The one making these sounds was Jiangzai, the one fighting Bonanus.
In such a crazed state... to possess emotions that shouldn't exist... truly surprising!
Hearing these sounds, Bonanus frowned slightly. A feeling called reluctance slowly spread through her heart, but only for a moment.
If she wanted to save both of them, the pain along the way was unavoidable. She hoped Jiangzai could endure it.
With this thought, Bonanus's hands moved quickly. Blue elemental scales formed a cage under her control, just large enough to hold one person.
The elemental scales trapped Jiangzai tightly, stripping her of any ability to attack.
In her madness, Jiangzai repeatedly struck the scales restraining her, but no matter how she attacked, she only added more wounds to herself.
It was meaningless, but a madman wouldn't care.
After trapping Jiangzai, Bonanus exhaled deeply. Though this cage would hurt her, at least it wouldn't threaten her life.
Once she subdued Menogias, she would deal with this female Yaksha whose name she didn't know.
With that thought, Bonanus turned and charged toward Menogias, hoping to catch him off guard and subdue him in one strike.
She thrust her giant claws fiercely. To avoid killing Menogias like in the original story, Bonanus held back a little.
Not too much, though. If this strike landed, it would probably cause severe injury. Death wasn't a concern—Bonanus could spend karmic debt on healing items later. Severity of injury didn't matter.
Don't forget, she'd revived Bosacius using medicine. Everyone had seen how badly he was hurt.
Clang!
Bonanus's claws struck a stone shield. Clearly, the sneak attack failed. As expected of the Geo Yaksha—even his reaction speed was that fast.
Truth be told, the reason Menogias noticed the attack despite his madness was that Bonanus was too noisy. She made no effort to conceal her presence.
After blocking Bonanus's attack, Menogias didn't hesitate. He thrust his condensed elemental stone spear viciously at her.
Seeing this, Bonanus inwardly groaned. She'd been too impulsive!
In her current state, dodging such a close-range elemental stone spear was nearly impossible. Her elemental scales couldn't reach her in time to block.
Damn!
Just as Bonanus thought she was about to get several bloody holes punched through her by Menogias's elemental spears, a green polearm flew straight toward them!
This weapon was called the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear, the Conqueror of Demons's signature weapon.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Xiao hurled his spear with force. It shattered the elemental stone spears Menogias had conjured. The broken shards fell weakly to the ground, kicking up faint dust.
The moment he released his spear, Xiao charged forward and kicked Menogias hard in the waist. The force sent Menogias flying over ten meters.
Caught off guard, Menogias tumbled across the ground several times before quickly scrambling back up with a roar.
Bonanus, startled, stumbled and fell to the ground. It all happened so fast she hadn't even processed it.
"Sister Bonanus! Get up!" Xiao quickly helped her to her feet, positioning himself in front of her, watching his second brother warily.
She'd come that close to being pierced. If he hadn't reacted in time... it would have been over.
This sister of his was far too careless! Who knew how much cold sweat Xiao was drenched in? It had been incredibly close.
"Be careful. Even driven mad, Menogias isn't someone we can easily handle."
Xiao spoke gravely. Not that they couldn't win—but they had to consider his life while attacking, whereas Menogias had no such concerns.
He just wanted to kill these two before him.
Snapping back to reality, Bonanus nodded vigorously. Thank goodness Xiao was by her side. A moment later, and she'd be on the ground.
She was also very afraid of pain. Being pierced by elemental stone spears would surely be unbearable. She didn't want to experience such torment!
Thinking of this, Bonanus broke out in a cold sweat. Menogias showed no mercy in his madness... terrifying!
But then again... she hadn't shown much mercy when sneaking up on him either @_@. She probably wasn't in a position to criticize him.
"Thank goodness for you... Alatus." Bonanus's expression was stiff. Bringing Xiao along had been the right choice.
Just as she finished speaking, Menogias launched another wave of attacks—the same elemental stone spears.
"Save the talk for later. Watch out—he's coming again." Xiao gritted his teeth. He quickly reached out, and the thrown Primordial Jade Winged-Spear returned to his hand!
He swung his weapon rapidly, shattering each incoming elemental spear. It looked effortless, but in truth, his hands were nearly numb from the impact.
If you looked closely, you could see his hands trembling slightly. The force behind each swing was also diminishing.
Xiao's condition was deteriorating, and so was Menogias's. His elemental energy was nearly depleted, and the corruption in his body was worsening, pushing him toward collapse.
The only reason Menogias had lasted this long was his powerful physique.
Seeing this, Bonanus didn't just stand by. With someone protecting her, she couldn't remain idle.
With that thought, the blue elemental scales surrounding Bonanus formed a massive pillar, growing larger and larger. It looked enormous.
Using such a large amount of elemental energy exhausted Bonanus. She panted heavily, sweat dripping down, soaking the ground.
But if it meant subduing Menogias quickly, it would be worth it. With Xiao's cooperation, this battle would soon end.
Once Menogias was subdued, she could absorb his karmic debt, restore his consciousness, and take him home.
Take him back to the peaceful era. Take him back to reunite with his family. Take him to experience mortal life.
The idea was beautiful. But reality was cruel...
---
Completely focused on fighting Menogias, neither noticed a sinister figure slowly approaching Bonanus from behind.
That sinister figure held a dark black spear. Not far behind him lay Jiangzai, her heart pierced, dead...
He approached slowly, wearing an eerie smile. Bonanus, entirely focused on gathering elemental energy, didn't notice the danger closing in from behind.
Her only thought was saving her second brother—she had no energy for anything else.
The sinister figure moved almost silently, only a faint whisper of wind. He reached Bonanus with ease, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
In that smile lay hatred, anger, and excitement.
Swish!
The sound of flesh being pierced echoed in everyone's ears. Bonanus was stunned. She looked down in confusion at the spear protruding from her chest, momentarily uncomprehending.
It all happened so fast, in an instant, without any hesitation. The figure said nothing. No one had anticipated this.
The elemental energy gathering in the sky began to dim. The transparent scales dissolved into specks of starlight, vanishing before everyone's eyes.
Pfft!
Bonanus coughed up a mouthful of blood. She wanted to look behind her to see who had stabbed her, but she couldn't. She had no strength left. The pain made it hard to breathe.
Her body grew heavy. She only saw Xiao charging toward her, his shoulder pierced by something.
The wound emitted an unsettling black smoke... and blood...
And for some reason, Menogias clutching his head in agony...
Her chest and entire body throbbed with intense pain, but she hadn't lost consciousness yet...
[Detected host nearing death. Beginning absorption of original body's karmic debt to forcibly sustain host's life. Please seek external help immediately...]
[In case of emergencies, the system will act automatically...]
The system's voice echoed faintly in Bonanus's ear.