"Domain!"

Instantly, the entire stone ruin felt as though it had shifted into a different world. Diru’s mind raced; he had to devise a strategy to counter the enemy immediately. Fortunately, there was only one foe. With the support of the five other Asuras, they should have been able to encircle him. Though a Mage’s Domain is lethal, Asuras with their potent regeneration should be able to endure until the Mage’s mana is exhausted.

However, before Diru could bark an order, the Mage continued his incantation.

[2nd God’s Form: Twinkle Little Star]

The Mage’s body erupted in light, flickering like stars in the dead of night. His aura shifted, becoming infinitely more predatory. Twelve spheres of light manifested behind him, blinking as they formed a constellation.

"Damn it!"

It wasn’t the Second Mana God Form itself that made Diru curse, but the intent behind its use. A Mage does not deploy a Domain alongside a Second God Form without cause. Usually, it is to repel the Domain of a superior Mage. But in war, there is a far more strategic reason: they do not want their Domain’s overflow to injure their own allies, nor do they want their Domain to clash with that of their teammates.

Sure enough, from behind Diru’s group, eight other Mages appeared. While not as powerful as the one in front, the weakest was a Level 3 Constellation Mage, with the majority at Level 4. Three had already mastered their Mana God Form, and the rest looked far from being novices.

Diru realized in a flash: they were no longer the ones spring a trap—they had walked into one. How the humans knew their ambush line was a thought for later. Right now, Diru and his squad were in a state of extreme peril.

Should they retreat? No... the real question was: could they?

Before the Asura squad leader could shout the order to fall back, the Mage raised his staff. Thousands of starlight needles formed in the air, streaking forward like a miniature meteor storm that tore through the stone cliffs.

"Gah!"

Diru rolled to the side, narrowly evading a stone pillar that was cleaved in two by the light. The very crags they stood upon began to melt. Diru immediately sent a distress signal through the Pandava to request aid. They no longer had room to retreat; the eight Mages behind them had already moved into a pincer position to block the path.

However, as he connected to the Pandava, Diru found identical distress signals being broadcast by other groups. Even Kuja, their squad captain, was calling for help. This meant the ambush had targeted their entire unit—or perhaps something even larger.

"I’ll handle that Level 5 Constellation Mage! The rest of you, face the Mages at the rear! If you can, break through and report this to headquarters immediately!"

"May we battle together!"

"In The One’s Heaven!"

Death was not something an Asura feared, but Diru did not want his group to die in vain. If even one of them could escape, this news had to reach the base. There should have been Druids nearby, but with the Domain active, no Druid would dare approach. Diru understood that their connection to central command was severed. The only way to deliver the message was to tear through this encirclement. Thus, as the strongest Asura, Diru had to face the enemy’s strongest Mage head-on.

Diru lunged forward with blistering speed. A Biofield enveloped his body, eliminating all friction from the air and the ground beneath his feet. His application of the Padakacarma mantra allowed him to move like a gentle breeze flowing through a narrow crevice. He called this technique: Padakacarma: Gentle Wind. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"My name is Garyu Zilya. Remember that name in your death!" the Mage shouted back.

Hundreds of flickering lights rained down on Diru. Every strike radiated a heat capable of liquefying stone. Yet, Diru drifted through the gaps of every attack like a feather floating beneath a meteor shower.

He managed to close in. But before he reached a five-meter radius, Diru suddenly braked and leaped away. The abrupt change in force sent him crashing into a boulder, shattering it. Diru’s body was too resilient to be injured by mere stone, but his armor made his expression sour.

The armor was melting. Even though it was crafted from a blend of iron and Orichalcum-tier mutated animal hide—materials that a Brajadenta technique couldn’t even dent—it was currently slumping like wax against a flame.

"Hehehe... do you feel it? The heat of a star burning in the midnight sky?" Garyu noted Diru’s frustration. "Don’t be afraid. By the time I’m done with you, every bone in your body will have melted into liquid!"

Garyu raised his right hand. Diru felt a violent gravitational pull. His feet left the ground, and his body drifted helplessly toward Garyu. Hundreds of searing lights rose to greet him. The proximity of death made the hair on Diru’s neck stand on end.

[Brajadenta Rain]

Diru struck out at the empty air; a barrage of energy fists surged forward to collide with the hundreds of lights. A massive, searing explosion erupted, obliterating the surrounding area. Diru was hurled back, his body scorched and charred. His skin blistered and the fatty tissues in his body hissed as they burned. Diru roared in agony before his Dragon Prana reacted, beginning to heal his wounds instantly.

"Ugh!"

Diru rose unsteadily. How was he to fight an enemy that could not be approached? Their power existed on different dimensions. Brajadenta was unable to overcome Garyu’s spheres of light. If he attacked from a distance, Diru would be the one to run out of steam first; his Dragon Prana could not possibly outlast the mana reserves of a Level 5 Constellation Mage.

And what was the meaning of that magic just now? Garyu had merely raised his hand, and Diru felt himself pulled forward. Was the enemy capable of controlling gravity?

The distinct scent of Asura blood filled the air, mingled with the smell of ozone from the star magic. Despair began to tighten its grip. From a distance, he could sense the fierce struggle of the five Asuras against the eight Mages. Though outnumbered, the Asuras attacked without flinching, using their very bodies as shields just to land a blow.

If Garyu intervened there, the fight would turn into a massacre. Diru had to keep Garyu focused on him. No matter the cost!

Diru let out a low growl—a sound more akin to the roar of a wild beast. Beneath his dark skin, his Dragon Prana churned violently, reaching a boiling point. Diru fell to his knees. His thigh bones forcibly elongated, while his shins and ankles snapped, shifted, and fused back together to form the digitigrade rear-leg structure characteristic of a quadrupedal animal. His toes retracted and hardened; his nails thickened drastically and merged into hooves as hard as obsidian steel.