Death... and me

There was a reason that Rean thought he would find the right moment, the formations prepared for the demon beasts. As mentioned before, the Soul Rulers organization had prepared formations to help deal with Phex's group, but they haven't been used yet. That being said, they had been deactivated since formations capable of holding Stage Nine Demon Beasts just consumed way too much energy. They would only be turned on when Fikin's group needed it. Obviously, that would be at the moment they gave up fighting and decided to run away.

Of course, there was no guarantee that it would work, but Rean thought it to be the best chance. Sister Orb kept an eye on those deactivated formations during the entire extent of the battle, and she just noticed those formations starting to activate. Since that was the case, Rean immediately used his connection with his Light Element to release Roan's Dark Element into the bodies of the Divine Demon Beasts.

Naturally, Phex and the others felt the pain and instantly eliminated that tiny amount of Dark Element from their bodies. In any case, they knew that it was the signal.

In the end, Rean was right. Fikin spread his Spiritual Sense and used it to activate the formations back on the Zasfins' side. At the same time, he issued the order to all the Transition Realm Zasfins in his group through a Spiritual Sense Message. 'Retreat!'

All the Zasfins' demeanors changed as they released several strong attacks at the same time, trying to force the demon beasts back so that they could run. Of course, Fikin did the same thing. However, it was at this moment that Frin and Xaon disappeared from their areas, completely ignoring the Zasfins they had been fighting.

Usually, this kind of movement would have been caught by the other Zasfins battling them. However, because the order was to run, they ignored Frin and Xaon, placing their retreat as main priority.

Understanding why Fikin suddenly released such a strong attack that consumed a lot of energy, Phex didn't try to step back as the other demon beasts did. Instead, he also released his own skill to match Fikin's power.

'Dawn of the Sun God!'

His feathers spread out once again as the enormous Sun appeared. Not holding back, Phex slammed his attack right on Fikin's strike.

*Boom!*

Fikin was taken aback, thinking it to be ridiculous. In normal circumstances, such an action would only cause Phex a lot of damage with no return. However, this time, Phex's actions severely delayed Fikin's pace, making him, the leader of the Soul Rulers, fall far behind the other Zasfins running away. 'Shit!'

At the same time, his Spiritual Sense caught the presence of two more Divine Demon Beasts right on his flanks. This had been something planned a long time ago. Although they were quite far, both Frin and Xaon kept fighting on the right and left sides of Phex and Fikin's battlefield. Now that the moment had arrived and they ignored their Zasfin opponents, they flanked Fikin from both sides.

How could Fikin not understand what they were trying to do? They wished to take him down while the others ran for their lives. Once behind the formations, they wouldn't have anything to fear. But at this moment, that was definitely not the case.

Nevertheless, Fikin didn't panic. "Hmph! Don't get ahead of yourselves!"

Fikin gathered Wind and Fire Element while Yang Energy burst out of his body. Not only that, but his Rank Ten Soul Mark poured Soul Power into it nonstop. Soon after, he closed himself as if trying to compress all the energy into himself.

'World Destruction Blast!'

*Boom!*

In a fraction of a second, Fikin released an extremely powerful Fire Element attack in all directions, obliterating everything in a several-kilometer radius around him. It was so strong that it looked like a meteor had created a crater on the ground below.

What Fikin didn't expect was that Frin and Xaon weren't afraid of receiving that explosion. They were Divine Demon Beasts, and each one of them was capable of fighting Fikin head-on. Naturally, they had their own skills with enough power to match Fikin's skill.

'Silver World Ascension!'

'Primordial Poison Blast!'

*Boom! Boom!*

Both attacks slammed against Fikin's World Destruction Blast, not thinking of retreat at all. Be it Fikin, Xaon, or Frin, all three of them had suffered severe injuries from being at the center of those attacks.

However, neither of them held back, pouring even more energy into their attacks.

It was then that Fikin noticed a problem. 'Where's Phex?!'

Immediately, he focused on his Spiritual Sense, just in time to see a Phoenix covered in golden fire descending from the skies. Although all the fire made it hard to see, Phex also had many injuries from taking Fikin's first attack head-on. Nevertheless, he completely ignored it as he burnt his Phoenix Bloodline.

Unlike common demon beast, a Divine Demon Beast's blood took much longer to recover. In exchange, using it to attack gave them a lot more strength.

'Phoenix Dive!'

Fikin, seeing his own predicament, immediately poured all his Spiritual Energy without reservation into his World Destruction Blast, trying to force Frin and Xaon back, even if just for a moment.

Unfortunately for him, Xaon and Frin knew that this was an opportune moment, so both of them also used their own Divine Bloodlines to increase the power of their attacks. That helped so much that Fikin's World Destruction Blast stopped expanding and was forced back by Frin and Xaon's assault.

"For the demon beasts!" Phex screamed as his Phoenix Dive descended from the skies like a spear, piercing right through Fikin's World Destruction Blast!

*Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz!*

However, it was at that moment that Fikin's Soul Mark detached from his forehead! Fikin had finally been cornered to the point where he had to use the Soul Mark Immolation Art.

"I'll! Kill! You! All!"

Fikin's strength skyrocketed as Frin, Xaon, and even Phex's attacks were pushed back once again! At this point, no one knew who would end up on top anymore.