Chapter 523: The Curtain Falls...
(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)
(Training Field No.12- Special Arena)
"I must commend you..." the mysterious man hoarsely spoke as he continued to bow respectfully in Sophie's direction.
"There are few who truly appreciate my art... those who survive this long... will be treated to my grand finale..."
"Doesn't that sound exciting? Doesn't it make your heart race?"
"Doesn't it make you tremble and shiver in anticipation?"
The man threw back his head and laughed madly. His laughter was course and guttural as if there was something inhuman beyond the white mask that covered his face.
Sophie crushed a vial in her right hand and allowed the foul liquid to coat her palm.
She closed her eyes and focused on the qi flowing through her body.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl...
Everything faded away... the mysterious man... the colossal dragon... they were all nothing but distractions...
She had faced worse... compared to what she had endured in the Unovan Syndicate... this was child's play.
Sophie reopened her eyes that were fully crimson and activated her most dangerous poison cultivation technique.
Poison Art- Eternal Sleep!
The hybrid girl stretched out her palm and the toxic liquid coating her fingertips was instantly turned into a gas.
This gas quickly filled the arena and slammed into the dragon directly. The dragon shrieked loudly in pain as horrific pus-filled boils appeared on its skin.
It opened its mouth to breathe out another tidal wave of fire at Sophie, but its eyelids began to droop downwards.
The dragon tried its best to fight the strange feeling but gradually the drowsiness proved too much for it to handle.
A small piece of the gaseous cloud shot towards the much smaller figure of the man who made no attempts to avoid it.
The gaseous spear penetrated the man's white mask, and he began to breathe in the toxic air which filled his lungs.
"Oh... darling..." the man's voice dropped to a whisper as he reached into his pocket to pull out an oddly shaped pistol.
"You will have to do better than that... art cannot be stopped with mere fumes..."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four shots one after the other echoed through the arena and Sophie could only stare in shock as four holes appeared in the dragon's chest.
The man had killed his own creature without hesitation or remorse.
The white mask on his face trembled and Sophie got the feeling that he was chuckling quietly.
"How about another piece of my work?" the man suggested calmly as he dropped the gun and picked up a paintbrush.
Cloud Treading Dragon!
Sophie's figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared just a few meters away from the man and used her bladed appendages to stab at him.
The barbed end of her hybrid appendages directly penetrated the man's flesh and exited the other side.
She followed up the attack by pulling in the man closer and biting his neck with her enlarged fangs.
Sophie injected all the venom that was stored in her glands and roughly shoved his body away once she finished her assault.
Wait... why... did...
Sophie bent over and vomited as a foul taste spread inside her mouth. She crouched down in pain as her body felt as though it was now on fire.
The man rose up from the ground and black ooze filled the wounds that instantly healed as if Sophie's attacks had done no damage.
"I'm afraid... poison has little effect... on a synthetic lifeform..." the man admitted casually as he began to draw a new picture.
Sophie's body trembled but she rose up from the ground and lunged at the man with her fingernails extending outwards into claws.
But she was too late...
"Behold! My masterpiece!" the man shouted in rapture as sparks of madness danced in his exposed eyes.
An enormous bird composed entirely of ice was summoned onto the battlefield and the temperature instantly dropped to below freezing.
Sophie could see a faint white cloud as she gently exhaled.
The bird resembled a phoenix but instead of fire... it was a creature of ice and snow.
The bird flapped its wings and heavy gusts of wind slammed into Sophie's body and sent her flying across the field.
She used her bladed appendages to stab into the ground and barely managed to stabilise herself before the next attack came.
Screech!
The bird opened its mouth and a piercing cry echoed through the arena that was so loud that Sophie's ear drums instantly ruptured.
Blood trickled down Sophie's ears and the hybrid girl was briefly disoriented.
The mysterious man looked down at his body in morbid fascination as he realised that he was gradually melting away.
Sophie's venom was so potent that it completely destroyed the biological molecules that made up part of his body structure.
Impressive... she was truly impressive...
Her venom has surpassed his initial calculations...
The man laughed one final time as his body turned into a puddle of black ooze which fell to the ground.
Screech!
The bird cried out in rage and flew towards Sophie with hundreds of ice spears surrounding its massive frame.
Sophie appeared to be a mere insect compared to the vastness of the ice phoenix and yet there was not a single trace of hesitation or fear on her face.
She cocked back her fist and mustered up all the strength that she had left.
Fire Style- Flame fist!
Sophie punched outwards and an enormous illusory fist travelled towards the phoenix at a startlingly high speed.
The flames surrounding her attack clashed with the icy aura surrounding the bird and white steam was produced.
The bird was hit directly by the attack, and it faltered in shock.
The icy spears disappeared, and Sophie knew that this was her opportunity to finish it off.
Sophie reached into her storage bag and flung as many explosives as she could find in the direction of the bird.
Her crimson eyes could easily see through the white fog so she was able to accurately toss every explosive device.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Loud explosions erupted in massive fiery balls of destruction and directly detonated on top of the creature's body.
Screech!
This time the phoenix cried out in pain but unfortunately...
Sophie had no mercy.
The hybrid girl dashed forward and used her claws to tear open the phoenix's flesh.
Her body was splattered with blood, but Sophie kept furiously ripping the monster apart piece by piece until its cries faded away to mere whimpers.
No... she wanted more... more...
Sophie froze in place and took in several deep breaths in order to calm herself down.
It was easy to lose control in her bloodlust state, but she was determined to keep her sanity intact.
"Relax... the fight is over... just relax..." Sophie whispered softly as she focused on her breathing.
She was so occupied by chanting out loud that she did not notice that a holographic screen had appeared in the middle of the field.
[Second Stage Completed!]
[Teleportation To The Next Stage Will Occur In... 5... 4... 3... 2...]