"Titans? Divine Slayers? What is he talking about?" Elder Rooney asked, his gaze fixed on the battle in front of him.
The others continued watching the fight intently. Although they were at a safe distance, Qudsiyah had ensured they could clearly see the battle and hear every word spoken during it.
Just moments ago, Gbághàrám-Moth had mentioned two terms that carried weight—"Titans" and "Divine Slayers." These were words none of them had ever heard used in the evolution world before.
"For someone with the Pendragon Book of Knowledge, you sure lack a lot of knowledge," Qudsiyah said, her tone slightly mocking.
Elder Rooney's brow furrowed as he looked at her.
"While you all were talking, I picked up on a few things," Qudsiyah continued. "It seems like Earth has developed some kind of ranking system for those who use Qi and mana."
The others exchanged glances but stayed silent, waiting for her to elaborate.
"But back in my time on Earth, there was no such thing," Qudsiyah explained. "Those who used Qi were knights of kingdoms. Their strength wasn't ranked by their power but by their position within the kingdom's hierarchy. And not all of them were truly powerful, even if they held high ranks."
She paused, then added, "The only people who had something resembling a power ranking were the mages, who categorized themselves based on stars."
The group listened closely as Qudsiyah shifted her tone slightly, making the topic more serious.
"However, there's another stage—a stage known by people of the past. The Titan Stage," Qudsiyah said.
"Under the Titan Stage, there are three categories: the Demigods, the Gods, and the Divine Slayers."
"Demigods," Qudsiyah began, "are the weakest within the Titan Stage. While they have the potential to evolve into either gods or divine slayers, most of them choose godhood."
She gestured toward Gbághàrám-Moth in the distance. "The Gods are what you're seeing here—a divine being wielding immense divine energy. They are far stronger than the Demigods."
Her voice lowered slightly as she continued, "Then there are the Divine Slayers. These are beings whose powers are on par with the gods but are not considered gods themselves. They are a separate category of immense strength."
"These three make up the Titan Stage: Demigods, Gods, and Divine Slayers," Qudsiyah concluded.
"So, the gods are more like the next level of the demigods?" Peter asked, his voice laced with curiosity.
"Yes," Qudsiyah answered simply.
Hearing this, something clicked in their minds.
'If this is true, then the nine divine beings on Earth aren't gods—they're just demigods.'
The realization hit Peter like a hammer. His fists clenched so tightly that blood began to drip from his palms. A quick glance at the others revealed that they were experiencing the same shock, their faces grim as they processed the truth.
Meanwhile, the fight between Zarathul and Gbághàrám-Moth raged on.
For the first time, it seemed Gbághàrám-Moth had landed a decisive blow. With a powerful strike, he sent Zarathul crashing down to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Gbághàrám-Moth spun his body in the air, generating a vortex of winds and bright blue energy. The whirlwind surrounded him as he descended rapidly toward Zarathul, aiming to finish the fight.
However, as he neared Zarathul, an unexpected phenomenon occurred. A strange, colorless flame began to spread out from Zarathul's body. The winds and energy from Gbághàrám-Moth's attack evaporated upon contact with the flames, disappearing entirely.
Seeing this, Gbághàrám-Moth abruptly halted his attack, flying backward to put distance between himself and Zarathul. His four eyes narrowed, staring at Zarathul with a mixture of shock and rage.
"Those flames… Those are the powers of the undead gods," Gbághàrám-Moth muttered, his voice growing louder. "Is he still alive? Are you his pet?!" he shouted, his tone filled with disbelief.
Zarathul didn't respond. Instead, he rose from the ground slowly, his piercing gaze fixed on Gbághàrám-Moth.
Then, something strange began to happen. Zarathul's head started shaking violently, an unnatural motion that reminded Stan of when he used his phantom body ability—but this felt different.
The shaking intensified, and soon, two sharp horns began to sprout from Zarathul's head. His face started to change, reshaping itself. Within moments, his horse-like features had transformed into the face of a powerful bull, exuding an aura of immense strength and ferocity.
Now, looking at Zarathul, he still resembled a Pegasus, but his form had changed. Instead of a horse-like figure, he now appeared as a buffalo Pegasus.
Steam billowed from his nostrils as he exhaled deeply. Without hesitation, Zarathul flapped his wings and lunged forward, moving faster than ever before.
Gbághàrám-Moth couldn't react in time. Zarathul's powerful charge struck him, lifting his body into the sky. At the same time, the colorless flames surrounding Zarathul began to spread, slowly engulfing Gbághàrám-Moth.
"Aarghhh!" Gbághàrám-Moth screamed in pain as the flames consumed him.
Zarathul carried Gbághàrám-Moth higher and higher, almost reaching the clouds. Then, with a sharp U-turn, Zarathul began a rapid descent, plummeting toward the ground like a meteor while still holding Gbághàrám-Moth.
Boom!
The impact was cataclysmic. The ground shook violently as though a meteorite had struck the planet. Dirt and debris were thrown high into the air, icy mountains began to crack and collapse, and the ground split open, spewing lava into the chaos.
Qudsiyah, standing at a distance, calmly raised her hand. As though responding to her will, the chaotic elements began to settle. The swirling dust fell to the ground, and the spewing lava froze back into solid rock. Even the collapsing ice mountains stabilized, preventing further destruction.
With the dust cleared, Zarathul and Gbághàrám-Moth became visible again. Both were covered in dirt, their bodies battered from the collision.
Zarathul bore light wounds and scratches across his muscular form, inflicted by Gbághàrám-Moth during their struggle in the air. Despite this, he stood tall and ready.
Gbághàrám-Moth, however, was in far worse shape. His entire body was covered in glowing blue blood, shimmering like a fractured diamond. He struggled to stay upright, standing only a few meters away from Zarathul—a dangerously close range given his weakened state.
Seeing Gbághàrám-Moth's condition, Peter spoke up. "Can you capture him? He might be more useful alive than dead."
His tone was calm but firm. It was clear to everyone that Gbághàrám-Moth was in no condition to fight back, at least not in his current state.
"I know what you're thinking, but trust me, it isn't possible," Qudsiyah said, her voice calm yet firm. "Of course, I can capture him, but you won't be able to get him to tell you anything, no matter how much pain you inflict on him."
She already knew Peter's reasoning. He wanted Gbághàrám-Moth alive to interrogate him, but Qudsiyah had dealt with many gods before. She understood their ways far better than anyone in the group.
"It's best if I kill him now," she continued. "That way, we can avoid him alerting the other gods."
Meanwhile, Gbághàrám-Moth was having similar thoughts.
'At this rate, I can't win... I'm going to be killed. I need to get out of here and warn the others about the dragons I've found,' Gbághàrám-Moth decided.
This was not an action he wanted to take. Normally, he would have preferred to defeat the dragons and bring their corpses-or even them alive-back to the gods cycle. Such a feat would elevate his prestige among them. But now, survival took priority. He had to call for help before it was too late.
With his decision made, a bright light enveloped Gbághàrám-Moth's entire body. Moments later, the light shot upward into the sky, streaking toward the clouds.
The others recognized this phenomenon immediately. It was the same process he used to arrive on the planet. Seeing it again, they knew he was trying to escape.
Qudsiyah didn't panic. Instead, she muttered, "Not so fast," and raised her hands.
As the light reached the clouds, it began creating a small hole, as if tearing through the sky itself. However, the clouds suddenly started swirling, forming a massive tornado. The vortex gathered energy, and after a few moments, a long column of swirling clouds shot down from the sky.
The tornado struck the ground silently, dispersing upon impact. When the dust settled, Gbághàrám-Moth was back on the ground, standing in utter confusion.
"Nooo...!!" he shouted in frustration.
Before he could recover, Zarathul moved in again with incredible speed. With a powerful charge, Zarathul slammed into Gbághàrám-Moth, lifting him off the ground with ease. Together, they disappeared into the distance.
As Zarathul flew, Gbághàrám-Moth's body collided with several trees and small mountains along the way, the force of the impacts leaving destruction in their wake. Soon, the colorless flames began emerging from Zarathul's body again.
This time, the flames encased Gbághàrám-Moth in a glowing ball. Strangely, the flames didn't harm him- they simply surrounded him, isolating him within the sphere.
Zarathul made a sharp U-turn, still carrying Gbághàrám-Moth, and raced back toward the others.
His speed increased dramatically, reaching an almost impossible pace as he closed the distance.
Gbághàrám-Moth, realizing the immense danger he was in, began attacking the flames surrounding him. However, every strike he made only caused him more pain. His energy attacks were completely ineffective against the colorless flames, which remained intact, unharmed by his desperate efforts.
Meanwhile, Zarathul and Gbághàrám-Moth came back into view.
Seeing them approaching, Qudsiyah transformed back into her unicorn form. Her elegant human figure shifted into the radiant, powerful form of a unicorn, her horn glowing brightly as she started running toward the incoming duo. Her hooves hit the ground with a steady rhythm, the energy radiating from her building with each stride.
In no time, Zarathul and Qudsiyah closed the gap. Their heads collided with Gbághàrám-Moth trapped in the middle of their combined assault.
A brilliant light exploded from the point of impact. It was not an explosion in the traditional sense—there was no sound, no shockwave—just a blinding, all-encompassing light that obscured everything around them.
For a while, no one could see anything. The light dominated the entire area, leaving the others watching in stunned silence.
When the light finally faded, the scene before them had completely changed. Zarathul and Qudsiyah were nowhere to be seen. Gbághàrám-Moth had also vanished.
In their place stood a single, gigantic figure.
The creature was humanoid in form but far from human. Its gray skin glistened faintly, stretched over an impossibly muscular body. It resembled what one might imagine a humanoid horse to look like. A spiraling horn jutted from its forehead, and massive wings extended from its back, their sheer size dwarfing everything around it.
The creature's hands, though human-like in shape, were enormous and covered in coarse gray fur. Resting in one of its hands was a massive crystal gem. Its rough surface shimmered faintly, and its shape resembled a crude diamond.
"What... what is that?" Stan asked, his voice trembling slightly as he looked at the massive figure, expecting someone to answer.
When no one responded, it became clear that something was wrong. It was then the group realized that the copy of Qudsiyah, who had been standing with them moments ago, was no longer there.
"When did she leave?" Peter asked, scanning their surroundings. No one had noticed her disappearance until now.
As the group stood frozen, uncertain of what to do, the giant creature slowly turned its gaze toward them. Its massive, glowing eyes locked onto their group, radiating an aura of overwhelming power and intent.