Solar Blood Masters

"He's an unkillable DEMON!" Clamper screamed as he rolled out of the way of a blazing rock.

Gastaroid's rage was a tangible force now. The heat emanating from his molten form had transformed the once-frozen landscape into a vision of hell. Ice melted into steaming pools. Trees crackled and burst into flames. Even the very air itself seemed to warp and shimmer with unbearable heat.

"Muwahahaha! BURN, you INSECTS! BURN!"

The Bull Mountain Demon's laughter was a recipe of destruction.

"This… This is insane!" Pincer couldn't believe his eyes. Their situation was truly hopeless.

The holographic timer above flickered:

THIRTY MINUTES REMAINING!

"Brother! We have to get out of here! We're going to DIE!" He was no longer thinking about Merit Points, not when his own exoskeleton was starting to feel a little too warm for comfort.

But where could they flee?

"We're trapped, brother… TRAPPED!"

Everywhere they turned, flaming debris rained down, molten fissures snaked across the ground, and monstrous Bull Demon Gods rampaged with a gleeful abandon.

Even the skies above were no safe haven, for Gastaroid had transformed the very clouds into burning rain, how terrifying!

Those contestants who'd survived this long were now desperately trying to escape. Their screams were haunting echoes of despair as their forms flickered. Many dissolved into particles of light and vanished along with their ambitions.

"I… I can't move!"

"Help!"

"MERCY!"

Their cries were nothing but fleeting whispers in this arena of annihilation.

Above, Raphael was struggling.

"Wing Slashnado! Wing Slashnado! WING SLASHNADO!"

He unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks with his massive black wings as those crimson blades ripped through the falling debris, but Gastaroid's attacks were endless!

For every boulder Raphael obliterated, two more took its place. The sky was a tempest of fire, constructed by the Bull Mountain Demon's rage.

He could feel his strength waning. He was breathing heavily. His golden hide was now marred with burns and singed fur. Gastaroid's Solar Essence was an endless torrent of power compared to his dwindling reserves.

"Hmph! I commend your efforts, bull, truly, I do. But you are forgetting one crucial truth: This is MY domain! My power is LIMITLESS!

Today I'll make you SUBMIT to me, you damned bull! You are the ONLY 1st Layer Nightmare Calamity to last this LONG against me in direct confrontation! Your Solar Essence… it is meager, pathetic! But your BODY…"

His gaze, burning with avarice, settled on Raphael's struggling form. "It is already an Emperor Calamity! What a WONDERFUL find! I will ABSORB you into MY mountain and BOOST my STRENGTH!"

He then gestured towards his monstrous form.

"These pillars… they will do. They are pieces of the very THING that sustains my BODY. With these THREE 'Demonic Bull Pillars', I will suck you DRY and turn your pathetic form into my FOURTH pillar. NOW… GO!"

From the depths of his molten chest, three pillars, crafted not from flames, but from pure, black obsidian rock, erupted!

They shot towards Raphael with terrifying speed.

"No…!"

Raphael tried to activate another 'Black Pool', but it was futile!

WHOOSH! CRACK! BOOM!

The pillars smashed through his defenses and encased him, forming an impenetrable, rotating formation.

"ARGHHHHHHH!"

The pillars pulsed with a dreadful, draining energy that was ripping away at his very essence, breaking down his golden hide, shattering his bones, and causing a pain he hadn't felt since he was trapped within Kwan Yuu's cauldron!

"It… It burns! MAKE IT STOP!"

He was being cooked alive!

Outside the Marble World, those watching on winced.

"Big Brother…" Lu Jade's voice trembled.

…

Within Raphael's Cosmic Mind Sea, a storm was brewing!

His 'Astro Soul Orbital' rippled wildly, as if about to shatter.

His Solar Consciousness, that brilliant blue sun, began to crack! Golden tendrils, remnants of Shao Jin's ancient essence seeped out. They were pulled relentlessly toward those 'Demonic Bull Pillars'.

"Yes! I can already FEEL it! That body of yours, it's truly remarkable! Soon, it will be MINE!"

Gastaroid laughed triumphantly.

To accelerate the process, he stretched forth a hand. "Feed! GROW STRONGER!"

The energy drain intensified.

Within Raphael's Cosmic Mind Sea, chaos reigned!

His 'Purple Eye Soul Satellite' exploded!

Then the 'Soul Moon' followed suit.

Each detonation sent a wave of agony through Raphael's being, both mentally and physically.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He screamed. And as those remnants of his stolen powers flickered, his 'Shadow Blood Soul Planet' was about to meet the same fate…

But then…

A brilliant white light, small yet impossibly potent, materialized! It was the mysterious white Solar Consciousness that belonged to Raphael, the human essence he'd once been.

It darted across the chaotic expanse with a speed that defied comprehension.

It reached the shattered 'Soul Moon', and in a flash of blinding brilliance…

It was whole again!

And the 'Purple Eye Soul Satellite'? Restored!

"What…?!"

Even Shao Jin's essence paused, as if in awe.

Then that little white sun, buzzing softly, did the unthinkable… It shot towards Raphael's Solar Consciousness and began repairing its fractured form!

"This… This essence! Impossible! IT'S mending his SOLAR CONSCIOUSNESS?! But HOW?! HOW?!"

…

On the outside, the 'Demonic Bull Pillars', which were glowing with a malevolent energy, dulled.

The energy flow reversed.

Gastaroid watched in horror.

"What the… It's not working! My pillars! They're… being absorbed!?"

The pillars' essences, meant to drain Raphael, were now flowing back into him, revitalizing him, empowering him!

"Damn it! NOOOO!"

He felt his cultivation level dropping. From 9th Layer Nightmare Calamity to 8th Layer!

"I have to stop this, now!"

He tried to recall the pillars, but they were no longer under his control.

"They're… defying ME?!"

Desperate, Gastaroid unleashed another attack.

"DIE, BULL!"

Hundreds of molten meteors came raining down upon Raphael. They struck those demonic pillars.

BOOM!

The explosion was devastating! The very earth itself trembled!

"That bull! He's… he's been OBLITERATED!"

Smoke and dust obscured the scene, but as those who'd witnessed it from afar waited for the chaos to settle, a blinding light began to emanate from the heart of that devastation.

The light grew!

And then it burst! It expanded outwards in a wave of millions upon millions of glittering particles that rose to the very heavens above!

"What…?!"

The spectators looked up, shielding their eyes, their jaws dropped, as within those particles, they saw it…

An entity of unimaginable splendor.

…

The blinding light particles began to settle.

A hush fell upon the crowd.

First, a massive, golden leg, ending in a cloven hoof, materialized. Then, with a burst of potent energy, the rest of the entity took form.

He stood tall, towering like a beacon of golden might. It was Raphael. But this… this was no simple bull. This was something else entirely.

He was now bipedal, standing upright like a man, with massive bull's legs ending in hooves that radiated a faint golden glow. His arms, however, were humanoid, each ending in a hand with five, razor-sharp claws. In his right hand, he gripped a colossal hammer sparkling with azure lightning. Around the hammer's shaft, a yellow dragon, Rai Shen Long, coiled while discharging electricity as if eager for battle.

Two magnificent golden horns, larger and more imposing than before, adorned his head, the segments along their length were spinning rapidly with a chilling hum. His long golden mane billowed in the wind. Steam oozed from his nostrils, and his blood-red eyes blazed with a primal intensity. His massive black wings spread outwards, laced with bronze scales, and from their edges billowed a translucent fabric that was both beautiful and menacing.

This was 'Abyss Nylon', woven from his potent blood essence and shadow magic. It was a crimson-black material that shifted and moved with a life of its own. It swirled around him, forming a loose covering for his lower body and those explosive privates that now throbbed with a terrible heat! Another length of Abyss Nylon was wrapped around his bulging left arm; a crimson vortex of blood essence swirled around it.

His tail, tipped with a wickedly sharp, golden point, crackled with electricity.

Most striking of all, however, was the gaping hole in his chest. Within it, three 'Demonic Bull Pillars', now compressed into a sphere of translucent gold, pulsated. Then, as if guided by an unseen hand, the sphere emerged. His chest began to mend, leaving behind smooth, unblemished golden hide as the sphere floated upwards towards his snout. The pillars, swirling within, transformed, condensed, and with a final click…

They formed a solid black nose ring that slotted perfectly into place.

He snorted, and a plume of steam shot outwards, incinerating a few unlucky snowflakes in his path.

His transformation was complete.

This new form, the 'Golden Bull Thork – Evolved Form – Shen Shao Jin', was a fusion of Raphael's essence and Gastaroid's 'Demonic Bull Pillars'. It was a powerful blend of ancient bloodlines. Their shared bull lineage had amplified the transformation, granting him unimaginable might.

He hovered before them.

"What… the?!"

"The BULL! He EVOLVED!"

"He's not DEAD?!"

The spectators stared in awe. The silence was deafening!

Even Gastaroid, who was still regaining his footing after the devastating 'Helios Stream', stumbled back in shock as he watched those pillars that had sustained his mountainous form vanish!

"My… my pillars…?" He couldn't comprehend, and then he felt it.

His Solar Essence, his very life-force, it was weaker!

"8th Layer! I've been reduced to 8th Layer?!"

And before him stood the bull, that damned bull whose essence was now radiating at 2nd Layer Nightmare Calamity.

The irony was not lost on him. The power he'd meant to steal, it had empowered his foe, how pathetic.

His humiliation was evident. He had to regain what had been stolen.

"You… YOU DARE?!"

He roared, gathering those remnants of his molten essences that now bubbled with a dreadful intensity. Then he charged a chaotic blast of lava energy between his horns.

"You will PAY for this! I shall reclaim what is MINE!"

WHOOSH!

The lava blast shot towards Raphael!

But he was ready. He'd tasted this power before, during those agonizing moments within that cauldron, he'd learnt to adapt, to absorb, to evolve!

"CONDENSED BLOOD BARRIER!"

Raphael thrust out his left hand, the crimson vortex swirling around it intensified, and before him, multiple translucent barriers materialized, each displaying potent blood essence.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The lava blast crashed into the barriers! They shattered!

But as the searing energy reached its intended target…

WHOOSH!

Raphael simply… swatted it away with a casual swipe of his new hammer, the 'Heavenly Sky Hammer.'

"Such pathetic flames…" He laughed, feeling those ancient whispers of Shao Jin resonating within.

"Time to end this."

He charged forward!

"Hyunda Blizzard!"

The hammer spun!

Azure lightning crackled!

It became a cyclone of destructive power, blasting those molten meteors Gastaroid was desperately flinging aside with a grace and strength that stunned even the most seasoned warriors watching.

And as he reached his foe…

BOOM!

The hammer slammed into Gastaroid's mountainous backside, sending tremors rippling through the 'Marble World'.

"He actually sent that Bull Mountain Demon flying?!"

"UNBELIEVABLE!"

Gastaroid's massive form, dislodged by the blow, tumbled through the air, those cries of agony shattered the heavens! And within that chaotic descent…

CRASH!

He collided with the fiery wall, shattering it!

The impact sent Raphael reeling backwards, but he steadied himself. His hooves were digging into the frozen earth as he watched the barrier crumble.

A path appeared.

Those who had been trapped had their hopes rekindled. They didn't waste those precious seconds!

"The barrier… it's down!"

"We can get to the finish line! NOW!"

Hundreds of figures dashed through the opening, creating a chaotic stampede of hooves, claws, and wings!

Among them were Pincer and Clamper who had a renewed lust for victory.

"Brother, let's go! Ten minutes remaining! WE have to reach the finish line, NOW!"

They noticed their ally, that golden bull whose strength they'd so readily used to amass points, he was slumped against a rock, wheezing. He was tired.

"Should we help him?" Clamper asked with a flicker of concern.

But his brother scoffed, "Don't be a fool! He's dead weight! We'll only lose precious time! Let him rot!"

And with a final, chilling click of their claws, they sped off. Their ambitions overshadowed any sense of gratitude.

…

"Damn… those bastards…" Gastaroid groaned. He watched as hundreds of figures dashed past him like shooting stars.

"They… think they can CLAIM the NUMBER ONE position?!!!"

He straightened his monstrous form and turned his burning gaze toward Raphael. "You… BULL!"

He wanted to unleash his wrath, to crush him, to absorb his potent essences. But the timer above…

It ticked down mercilessly.

NINE MINUTES!

He'd wasted too much time, and his pride wouldn't let him lose to a mere 2nd Layer Nightmare Calamity, nor those insects, not this time.

With a final, earth-shattering roar, Gastaroid launched into the sky. He was heading towards the finish line!

…

Raphael watched them go. His breaths came in ragged gasps.

"Those scorpions… ungrateful bastards!"

He was exhausted. But his journey wasn't over. He glanced at the timer…

EIGHT MINUTES!

His eyes narrowed. He still had time! He could still win this!

He extended a hand.

"BLACK POOL!"

BOOM!

A black vortex appeared beneath his hooves. He began to sink into its depths.

And vanished.