231 Chapter 231: Reinforcements

The Vermillion Phoenix screeched before it unleashed another hail of fire that incinerated the warriors guarding the innermost segments of the temple. The minor Assassins, those who had not yet reached the level of the more professional, elite ones, were instantly obliterated by the overwhelming firepower of Michael Porter's Soul Beast.

"Amazing."

Shun Yin inwardly agreed with Glen's overawed remark. The both of them had single-handedly witnessed the Vermillion Phoenix incinerate another two Frenzor Assassins in an instant before single-handedly sweeping away any opposition that stood between them and the temple. Michael had then proceeded unimpeded into the temple, mercilessly burning the enemies into ash.

He was clearly furious.

"We have to hurry," he told both Shun Yin and Glen, his brow furrowed in a vicious scowl. "Or we'll be too late."

"What's happening, Mike?" Glen asked as the two high school students caught up with Michael. He had summoned White Tiger, and his Soul Beast proceeded to cast an electrifying barrier over the two young teenagers to protect them from Pavlichenko snipers, the specialized rounds getting fried by lightning. "Too late for what?"

"The Assassins Guild's clients…we've received information that they plan to artificially trigger an Emergence event right here in Vermillion City. We've to stop them before they succeed."

"That's not good." Glen gulped. "We should hurry then."

"It gets worse." Michael's expression was grim. "They plan to summon Surtr, a fire demon with the power to engulf the whole world in flames and annihilate humanity. If our intelligence is correct, then the ones behind this whole thing is…the Dark Church."

"Seriously?! They want to destroy the world?!" Glen groaned. Then he frowned. "Huh? And the Assassins are okay with that?"

"Apparently." Michael's features were set in cold fury. "They don't care if the world is destroyed. Being Assassins, they will probably survive and thrive in such an apocalyptic world. Well, some of them, anyway. Even without that, their Grand Master is clinging to some stupid Assassin's Pride that prevents them from reneging on their contract."

"Well, Assassin's Pride was quite the…cliché and not-exactly-good anime," Shun Yin muttered. "I didn't really like the plot or the characters. Maybe the anime adaptation screwed up the original source material. I heard they had a lot more character development in both the manga and light novel, but the anime rushed things and left those out."

Michael turned to glare at him. "Are you seriously talking about anime in a situation like this?"

"If you're right and the world is going to end, this will be my last chance to talk about anime, right?" Shun Yin pointed out dryly.

"Ha!" Glen guffawed, his White Tiger bounding beside him. "Shun Yin has a point there!"

Arcs of electricity blasted out of his Soul Beast and struck the stealthily hiding Assassins, electrocuting the Pavlichenko snipers and sending them toppling onto the ground. Michael finished the rest of them with a meteoric bombardment of fireballs from above, destroying cover and burning them to ash.

"But if we can clean up all the bastards here and save the world, then you can go home and watch whatever anime you want. Deal?"

"Yeah, whatever." Shun Yin shook his head, and continued forward. He glanced at Michael. "Where exactly are they holding the ritual? We're already in the main hall, and I don't see anything…"

"Underground," Michael grunted. "And don't lower your guard. Those aren't the only Assassins they have…"

He had barely finished speaking when figures darted out of the shadows, effortlessly evading the fireballs and lightning before slashing at Michael and Glen.

The enemies' strategy was clear. They knew the one weakness of summoning magic once it had been cast. Take out the summoner and the Soul Beast would disappear along with its master's death. As such, the most effective way of dealing with the overwhelmingly powerful Vermillion Phoenix and deadly White Tiger was to assassinate the mages who had summoned them in the first place.

And assassination was precisely the sort of task they specialized in.

"!!!"

Clang!

That was where Shun Yin came in. Even though both Michael and Glen were perfectly capable of protecting themselves, they left their backs to Shun Yin. Drawing his sword, the dark-haired fire mage parried a few dark blades from the charging Umbra Assassins and repelled them with a flaming swing. An explosion engulfed them temporarily, forcing them back.

"Kuh!"

Even though they had borne the full brunt of Shun Yin's fire spell, the Umbra Assassins were little more than singed. Twirling their short swords and lethal blades, they came in for another attack, but Shun Yin stubbornly stood in their way.

However, he was just one person. Against a dozen Assassins, he could only hold off a handful at a time. A couple of them got past him and lunged at Michael, determined to finish him off before the Vermillion Phoenix eradicated every last one of them.

Unfortunately, they found themselves repulsed effortlessly. Michael had drawn his sword and deflected their attacks before kicking one of them. Spinning around, he blocked a blade before unleashing a flaming spell at pointblank range. The third Umbra Assassin managed to fire off a series of shadowy spikes, which grazed Michael and left a cut on his face and arm. Fortunately, Michael had moved to avoid getting struck in his vitals.

Spinning around, he swung his sword forcefully to knock the last Assassin back, but his opponent gracefully flipped backward and out of his range. The two of them then traded a shadow ball and fireball, the two magical projectiles colliding and exploding in crimson and black flames.

"Tch!"

Clicking his tongue, Michael had his Vermillion Phoenix bombard the area. He sent a glance at Shun Yin and Glen, the both of them still engaged in a furious melee with the other Assassins. They caught his look and immediately retreated, with White Tiger pouncing in to swipe at them with its lightning claws. One of them went down in a spray of blood, his body unable to withstand the lethal strike, but the rest managed to withdraw to safety.

Exactly where Michael planned for them to retreat to.

His Vermillion Phoenix screeched as it launched another fiery hail of meteors upon the Umbra Assassins. They glanced up, and then scattered, melting into the shadows. Even so, there was at least two or three of them unable to escape in time. Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things, but every Assassin lost was another blow to their chances of victory.

Fortunately for them, they didn't have to dodge.

"!!!!"

Tremendous tendrils of shadows swept out and flicked the flaming meteors away, sending them crashing into the walls and ceilings and demolishing the already ravaged temple.

"You…!"

Shun Yin recognized the solitary figure who was stepping out of the shadows, accompanied with something…so horrifying and eldritch that he was almost driven mad from the sheer sight of it. Waving tentacles and a gelatinous, shifting organic body with countless blinking demonic red eyes. A gigantic Shaggrowth, or at least something that resembled a Shaggrowth, but had many more eyes and tentacles. With a gargled roar, it struck out, its many tentacles whipping out to ensnare the hovering Vermillion Phoenix above.

The fiery Soul Beast responded by incinerating the tentacles with its fire spells, bathing the entire area in flames. Stirring within the inferno, the immense Shaggrowth continued to launch shadow spells, hurling dark projectiles at the soaring phoenix. Vermillion Phoenix then swooped and dove, weaving through the storm of shadowy spikes before launching a colossal fireball into the misshapen mass of the writhing creature.

"What the fuck is that?!" Glen cried out, his eyes bulging from witnessing the sheer horror of the thing.

"Hey, language." Ying Bu Si made a tutting sound and wagged his finger at him. "And that baby is my Soul Beast. You didn't think you were the only summoners around here, did you? We are pretty rare among Assassins because the summoning spells take too much time to cast, but there are among us a few who went and learned it anyway."

"Your Soul Beast." Shun Yin was gaping at him in disbelief. "That monster?"

"I would appreciate it if you don't call my little pal a monster. You'll hurt his feelings, you know." Ying Bu Si feigned a pained look. Then he raised a hand and blocked a sword strike from Michael, a mass of shadows wrapping around his arm to protect it from the latter's flaming blade. "Hey, don't you know it's rude to interrupt a person when he's talking?"

"Are you really an Assassin?" Shun Yin felt as if he was getting a headache. "You talk too much and are too showy. Most of your brethren just do the job quickly and quietly, with us almost not realizing we're under attack until it's too late."

Just like the Umbra Assassin capable of using Shadow Ball. While Michael was distracted by Ying Bu Si, the other Umbra Assassin launched a sneak attack from behind, his shadowy dagger stealthily snaking toward his back.

"!!!"

Michael spun around on instinct and deflected the dagger before ducking under the short sword that the Umbra Assassin swung at his unprotected neck. He clenched his free hand into a fist and ignited a fire blast that combusted against his opponent, only for the Umbra Assassin to counter the spell with another Shadow Ball.

The two of them split apart from the explosion. While Michael's attention was occupied by the other Umbra Assassin, Ying Bu Si sprang his trap. His hands in his pockets, the Assassin in a business suit calmly unleashed several shadowy appendages from behind him, the limbs reaching out to grab Michael.

"Mike! Watch out!"

Glen shouted a warning, but neither he nor Shun Yin were in any position to assist. The two high school students were currently besieged by the remaining Assassins. White Tiger roared and swiped at a couple of Umbra Assassins, who stayed out of reach of its claws, but when it turned to lunge at the Umbra Assassin trying to stab Shun Yin in the back, its two intended victims retaliated with a double shadow ball that struck its flanks and sent it spinning.

The Assassin who was assaulting Shun Yin also threw out a hand and summoned his own Soul Beast. A ghostly demon with two pointed ears, entirely dark purple in color, and had red eyes and a wide mouth that was perpetually twisted into a sinister grin. Spikes lined the back of the humanoid Soul Beast, and a stubby tail complemented short hands and legs.

"What the…?!"

Glen gaped at the newly summoned Soul Beast, but the Ghost-type demon sprang at his White Tiger and punched it with a Shadow Punch, flooring it. Snarling, White Tiger leaped back to its feet and sent lightning arcing crazily across the ground, only for the Ghost-type demon to lazily evade the web of lethal electricity.

Having finished his summoned spell, the Umbra Assassin spun around and kicked Shun Yin, who was busily weaving through the grappling shadowy appendages that Ying Bu Si had conjured. Having used his fiery sword to slash at one of the limbs that were so close to entrapping him, Shun Yin was unable to block the kick to his midriff and was sent tumbling into the nefarious embrace of the shadowy appendages, who closed around him with a crushing grip.

Flames exploded around him, but the shadowy appendages merely extinguished them before turning into somewhat of a writhing sphere that enclosed him. However, before they could pulverize the nearly helpless Michael, someone jumped forward and smashed the shadowy appendages apart with a single punch.

"?!"

Ying Bu Si twisted around to face the new threat, his mouth already opening to yell a command to his Shaggrowth thing. However, even as its numerous tentacles lashed out at the newcomer, a blizzard of vividly colored petals flitted out and sliced them into bits, causing the creature to wail and recoil from the pain.

"You are…!"

"My, what a monster you have there." Lionel Stuart stepped forward, swinging his sword down to send another storm of flowers spiraling into the fleeing giant Shaggrowth. Behind and above him, the ghostly aura of an enormous Green Dragon shimmered, as if lending him power.

Glen and Michael immediately recognized the Green Dragon as the symbol and mascot of the famed Stuart clan.

"You…!"

Ying Bu Si's calm façade broke for a moment, his anger leaking through his mask, as he sent another flurry of shadowy appendages at Lionel Stuart. However, the first newcomer broke in between them and punched them away.

With just a single fist, he obliterated the entire collective of shadowy limbs, disintegrating them and reducing them into nothing.

"Thank you very much, Yue Guang."

"It is my duty to serve, sir."

Yuan Dao Yue Guang bowed his head humbly for a moment, and then he proceeded to charge at Ying Bu Si.

"That technique…destroying my shadows with a single physical punch…you're an expert on Ba Qi, aren't you!?"

Ying Bu Si immediately retreated wearily, recognizing the potent Armament Ba Qi that wrapped around Yuan Dao Yue Guang's heavily muscled body. That figure spoke of decades of harsh training, honing his body into the peak of human capabilities with nothing but mystical martial arts and grueling combat.

Ba Qi…the pinnacle of the mystical martial arts practiced by those mages whose magic was not aligned with any element.

"Sorry for being late, Michael." Lionel stepped forward, unleashing another wood spell that blasted the giant Shaggrowth back with sheer numbers of razor-sharp petals. "We rushed over when we heard about the near annihilation of the Porter Clan. I'm very sorry for your loss."

He then straightened his gleaming sword and infused it with even more mana. Behind him, the shimmering Green Dragon aura roared silently as more petals danced around it.

"But rest assured…the Stuart clan is here to help you avenge the deaths of your family."