Following all that pressure and the injuries inflicted upon her,
Tony collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. Hikiri and Aconé helped her up before placing her in a more comfortable position.
But the two soon noticed that Tony's gaze never left Rieze.
As soon as Rieze departed, Simone had rushed to the ship's control station and started the boat.
Now, all they could do was watch and wait until they were far enough away to no longer see the city.
In the city, it was a completely different situation unfolding: the giant lion was amusing itself by tearing apart anything unfortunate enough to cross its path. It wasn't doing it to eat, but rather for pleasure, for fun.
At the center of the city, Ulturion had just arrived. And he saw Rieze flying in the sky, signaling to him.
Rieze approached the blood-covered lion and opened his mouth:
"Little creature... I don't know if you understand me, but I need you to spit out the orb that's in the bottom of your belly."
As if in response, the lion roared at him and gave him the evil eye while crushing people under its paws.
"So that's how you want to play it?" Spreading his arms, "Anyway, it's to fight you that I had to reach rank nine so quickly!"
The circles of light with which he had destroyed Tony's dragon reappeared behind him.
"You and that monkey aren't even from this planet, and that orb is my ticket out of here, so..." Rieze launched himself at full speed toward the lion. "THEN I'LL TURN YOU INTO MY SLAVE!"
Rieze brandished one of the circles of light and brought it down on the lion.
And as expected, the lion leaped into the air, dodging Rieze's attack,
and attacked him with its gigantic claws that shredded the air with their speed.
Orienting the circles around himself, Rieze managed to protect himself, but the lion continued its assault.
With its massive body, it was only a matter of time before it shattered the circles of light.
Looking toward the north, Rieze shouted: "NOW!"
In the next second, the lion turned its head north, but it was too late: a chain had already wrapped around its neck.
"Lord Lion," flashing a smile, "I hope you enjoy water flavored with poison," declared Dono, holding a gigantic chain in one hand and a scythe in the other.
The chain, originally silver in color, turned black until it reached the lion's neck.
Feeling the pressure, the lion tried to remove the chain from its neck, but before it could touch it,
it felt water flowing down its throat, and it began to convulse. But the problem was, it wasn't drinking anything at the moment.
"Hahahahahaha! Hahahahahaha!" laughing like a madman, Dono looked at it with disdain.
"The power to create water and introduce it into people's bodies with just a touch... What a sensation!... If you don't come up with an escape plan fast, you're going to die, little lion."
Convulsing, the lion hadn't stopped tracing the chain with its eyes to find its attacker, and it spotted him: him, flashing a mocking smile and a look of disdain.
Seeing that, the lion prepared to leap toward Dono, when it felt its organs being attacked, which made it collapse to the ground.
"Specially for you, a poison that attacks the organs but activates if you try to attack me... Isn't it magnificent?"
A part of the city lay in ruins. Every movement or fall of the lion caused more damage than Dola's tsunami.
In the midst of it all, Rieze looked at the convulsing lion on the ground and stared straight into its eyes with a certain coldness to make it understand what he had demanded.
But against all expectations, the lion started to laugh. Some who were still alive were terrified: an animal laughing like a human was a disturbing situation.
But unbeknownst to Rieze and Dono, the lion was still acting.
After all, it too was at rank nine and possessed aura.
It had only taken three gestures.
In an instant, the lion was behind Rieze and crushed him mercilessly.
Seeing that, Dono tried to increase the amount of water entering the lion.
But before he could, he saw a massive paw coming down on him.
He hadn't taken his eyes off the lion, and the lion hadn't moved, yet it was attacking Dono.
And Dono realized:
"That fucking animal can use aura!"
A crater followed by an explosion erupted right where Dono had been.
Stone houses destroyed like paper, the ground torn open.
And still standing, the lion roared toward the sky.
Before taking a massive right hook that sent it flying through the air.
The man who had just struck looked at the spots where Rieze and Dono had been and said:
"Don't tell me you're dead, seriously."
From under the debris, Rieze stood up, shirtless, his skin riddled with holes and his face bloody.
"Shut your mouth, Ulturion! I just underestimated it, but now I'm going to kill that bastard!"
Soaked in water, Dono joined them.
"How are you alive, you?" asked Rieze.
"What a question! You think I blocked it with a water barrier reinforced with aether! But that fucker really put insane force into it, huh!" replied Dono.
The lion got back up and fixed its gaze on the three in front of it as if they were the only ones in the entire city.
Their showdown was just beginning.