Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

As Rain continued his relentless pursuit of the winged creature, their encounter evolved into a long game of cat and mouse. Despite the enemy's swift movements and evasive maneuvers, Rain persisted in his pursuit, determined to confront and neutralize the threat posed by the adversary.

However, as time passed, the enemy began to realize the staggering extent of Rain's mana reserves. Despite their attacks' intensity and movement speed, Rain showed no signs of fatigue or depletion of magical energy. This realization dawned upon the enemy, casting doubt on the efficacy of their strategy and raising concerns about the sustainability of their efforts.

The calm demeanor of the enemy changed to a frown as the enemy suddenly stopped flying away… Rain raised his guard and stopped chasing the creature as well, and then he saw the enemy touching its light crossbow and then increasing its size just like that.

"This could be a problem…" Rain thought.

"Just use me with the gems, and it will be fine," Elisabetha said. "Kill the bitch."

"Phrasing… It won't work if the enemy is using light magic as well; the effect of the chimera gem and their power will nullify each other if they are on the same level," Rain explained. "If they aren't, which I highly assume the enemy has the upperhand, it is clear that the gem will lose."

Rain was certain that the enemy was using light magic to move that fast and to attack… as such, the damage that the enemy was causing was almost equal to the mana the creature was using. However, while he might have more mana, Rain was certain that the enemy's mana pool was still at maximum because something or someone else, probably one of the machine gods, was feeding them with mana.

As the enemy's demeanor shifted, they raised the enlarged crossbow, aiming its glowing tip directly at Rain. With a swift motion, the enemy unleashed a colossal bolt of light that streaked through the air instantly and with lethal precision. The bolt struck Rain in the forehead, sending him spiraling through the air as the impact stopped his senses.

As Rain came to a halt, blood fell down from the wound, blurring his vision momentarily. Despite the disorientation and pain, Rain's resolve remained unbroken as he glared fiercely at the enemy…

"The enemy acts like the machine gods… considering efficiency above anything else," Rain thought. "However, they aren't completely machine like them… I can sense some emotions from that guy… was this person someone who was captured and brainwashed to become their minion?"

Meanwhile, the enemy wasted no time in charging another attack, their movements calculated and deliberate. Each successive assault seemed to serve as a measure of the power required to overcome Rain's defenses and achieve their objective. With each attack, the enemy sought to gauge Rain's resilience and determine the threshold of force necessary to defeat him.

When the next bolt was fired, Rain raised his hand and protected his forehead… his hand was pierced, but he ignored the wound and kept glaring at the enemy… in the end, it didn't matter the situation of the enemy. All of them were going down…

When the enemy was about to attack again, Rain put his hands together… and thanks to that, the enemy flinched for a second… he was completely wide open for a counterattack, but so was the enemy… it would be hard to understand going for a dual exchange of blows right now. No sane person would think that, even more so when the enemy could move as fast as light.

Despite that… the enemy hesitated for some reason.

Usually, the enemy would be fine in buying time by letting the situation last for a while longer since the machine gods would have time to bombard them with another mana cannon, but since the group survived several of those shots, it was hard to imagine that they wouldn't survive the next. In any case, the enemy attacked, and so did Rain…

Both techniques hit both of them… Rain's head was covered in blood, and his body shook a bit while he tried to heal himself, but the enemy was also bleeding from his pores… the dark rain technique pierced the enemy's body, and despite their defenses, it looked like it had been very effective.

The pain shook the enemy as well, but soon, the creature realized what Rain was planning… a very quick war of attrition. Rain's wounds began to heal, but the wounds of the enemy weren't healing at all… one of the effects of corrupt magic was nullifying healing magic, after all.

"Ready for the next round?" Rain asked with his face still covered in blood.

That didn't make any sense… Rain was suffering a lot. Usually, one would find better ways to win a fight without paying such a high price, but it looked like Rain didn't care about that. He also wanted to win very efficiently, even if he had to pay a price by shedding a lot of blood.

When Rain put his hands together, the enemy decided to run away to the other side of the world before pointing their crossbow… However, Rain immediately appeared behind and grabbed the wings of the creature.

"Try to run away now," Rain asked while smiling.

The enemy tried to become a sphere of light, but that didn't work… Rain was using a light touch with both of his hands and nullified the activating of that spell. Without any other choice, the enemy fired another bolt of light that hit Rain's forehead, but at the same time, Rain put his legs on the back of the enemy…

The impact of the conditions of both of them made them spin in the air for quite a while... the enemy also grunted in pain as they felt their wings being pulled thanks to Rain's grip strength… when the enemy moved the crossbow to fire again, Rain suddenly kicked their left side…