Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix-Chapter 1518: Equal footing

After Rain listened to those words and stood within the core of the red star, he felt a sudden tremor ripple through its immense form. At first, it was subtle, like the faint rumble of distant thunder, but soon, the vibrations intensified, causing the entire star to convulse with increasing violence.

The surface of the red star began to quake and heave, massive waves of fire and plasma roiling across its surface. The once stable sphere of energy now seemed to teeter on the brink of collapse, its very essence pulsating with chaotic energy.

Then, with a deafening roar, the red star began to expand once again, its fiery tendrils stretching outwards into the void. But this time, something was different. As the star expanded, it fragmented into countless smaller spheres of fire and radiation, each one still many times larger than Rain himself.

These new spheres spun and twirled through the void, casting trails of light in their wake. But amidst the beauty of their celestial ballet, Rain could sense the danger that they posed. Each of these smaller spheres was a seething cauldron of unimaginable heat and energy, capable of incinerating anything in their path.

And there were not just a few of them. No, there were billions, if not trillions, of these fiery orbs scattered throughout the vast expanse of space. It was as if the very fabric of the universe itself had been set ablaze, consumed by the unstoppable fury of the red star’s fragmentation.

"Fuck... this I wasn’t expecting," Rain said.

Arel was able to control the whole red star. Controlling the entire thing as a single object was probably impossible for her, but she could split it into smaller parts and control those parts, even if their numbers were insane.

"Behold my true power and form. You have underestimated me for far too long, even though I was just trying to kill time while dealing with you."

Arel voice came from all directions and as she said that, the spheres of heat and radiation took shape of giant female bodies that were fifty meters tall... while the bodies didn’t have many details, Rain could feel Arel presence in each one of them, so it seemed that she successfully separated her core and added them to each one of those bodies.

Rain didn’t wait for Arel to start the final phase of the battle... he used Origin Punch level five on several of the creatures and completely erased them... the flames of their bodies disappeared in the cosmos, and that signaled their end... but Rain didn’t get any experience from it...

"Shit..." Rain thought.

The level one of Origin Punch was just a charged attack, the level two used space magic to make the skill impossible to dodge, the level three used light speed to make the charge almost instantaneous, and the level four also used Matter Compression on whatever type of glove Rain was currently using. With level five, Rain used Data Extraction or Data mining... but since he didn’t get any of that... It seemed that Arel was able to counter Rain’s best level of his best skill.

While Rain was thinking of what he should do, countless giants of fire bombarded Rain with solar flare beams from all directions... he clapped his hands to disperse the attacks, but even so, several of them began to hit him... such was the high number of their attacks.

"Fire Nullification has gotten two times better, and it is almost reaching level max again... but my skin still is burning... how?" Rain thought.

The answer was simple... just like Rain could use more energy to power up his skills beyond their limits, so could Arel.

Rain tried to absorb as much energy as possible, but the rate of absorption decreased a lot... just as a bunch of the fire giants were attacking him, a bunch of others were absorbing the remaining heat and radiation at the moment of the impact.

"I won’t make things easier for you..."

As Rain stood his ground within the area, he couldn’t help but notice a subtle shift in Arel’s demeanor. Her tone, usually composed and confident, now carried an unmistakable edge of anger and frustration. It wasn’t the first time Rain had witnessed Arel in such a state, but this time, it felt different. This time, she was truly pissed.

The signs were there, subtle yet unmistakable. Arel’s usually calm voice now crackled with barely contained fury, her words laced with an icy venom that sent a chill down Rain’s spine. Gone was the facade of detached indifference; in its place stood a woman consumed by rage, her every word dripping with malice and contempt.

But it wasn’t just Arel’s tone that betrayed her anger. As Rain glanced around, he noticed a subtle change in their surroundings. The nearest suns, once distant specks of light in the vast expanse of space, now seemed to draw closer with every passing moment.

And then, Rain saw it. The fire giants now began to stir with renewed vigor. As the suns drew closer, their energy seemed to infuse the giants with newfound strength, causing them to swell and grow in size. Slowly but surely, they began to tower over the battlefield, their fiery forms pulsating with raw power.

"Shit... how can I dispose of so many of them at the same time?" Rain thought. "I have a response at the tip of my tongue, but it never comes out... it is almost like I am forgetting something important..."

Amidst the craziness of the situation... A single idea came to Rain’s mind, and with that one, he began to level up Magic Boost, and he put his hands together.

Arel waited for a palm strike to repel a bunch of the attacks, but nothing happened... Rain didn’t even try to hit his palms several times... he didn’t activate his Rain technique either... Rain was bombarded by the solar flares and endured the pain while his face grimaced.

Eventually, Rain opened his eyes and then put his plan into action...