Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"The others are suffering from something like this as well… not at the same level, though, since they only got hit once by the attacks of those dragons," Terra said while scratching the back of her head. "In any case, I don't know anything about how to treat this kind of poisoning."

"Foods rich in antioxidants, such as berries, citrus fruits, leafy greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, and especially walnuts, can help neutralize free radicals caused by radiation exposure," Sakaki said. "Drinking plenty of water helps flush out toxins and supports overall health, aiding in recovery from radiation exposure.

Depending on the severity of radiation exposure, medical treatments such as blood transfusions may be necessary. So… you should just try to expunge the radiation and the infected tissue while healing the rest."

"Is it going to sting?" Rain asked. "I hate it when it stings."

Everyone rolled their eyes since Rain sounded like a child… even if it was a joke, they didn't find it funny given the circumstances. In any case, considering Sakaki's explanation, Terra kept healing Rain, and Larisa gave her some ideas as well… after a couple of hours, Rain was feeling much better since it seemed that the radiation had been expunged.

"Around fifteen thousand people were knocked out on the fight… around fifty of those are missing," Seara said after she went to Rain's pocket dimension. "Does that mean…"

"Their defenses were too low, and they were killed before the dummies could take their place and suffer critical damage," Rain said. "Inform everyone of that to avoid the same thing happening again. It is time to become a bit tougher."

The gravity of their recent battle weighed heavily on Rain's mind as he contemplated the losses suffered by their group. The enemies they had faced this time possessed an unprecedented level of attack power, far surpassing anything they had encountered before. In the right circumstances, just five of those dragons could have easily overwhelmed and killed Rain.

It was a clear reminder of the dangers they faced.

Given the overwhelming strength of their enemies, it was no surprise that they had suffered such losses. Despite their best efforts, casualties were inevitable in the face of such powerful opposition. However, Rain found solace in the fact that they had achieved their primary objective of destroying the facilities.

Around fifteen of the solar dragons lay dead, their once-mighty forms reduced to nothingness by the relentless onslaught of Rain and his allies. Though the cost had been high, their victory was not without merit. With each enemy slain and each facility destroyed, they took a step forward in their quest to stop the machine gods' plans and secure their own survival.

"Thanks for the help," Rain said after he finished checking his body. "You guys should rest for a while. I am going to analyze the battle and then try to prevent difficult situations like that from happening again."

"Don't work too much," Seara said while yawning.

"It is easier to tell water not to be wet," Terra shrugged.

After Rain was left alone, he didn't have to think much about the situation in order to find some ideas. If he hadn't split the group, and he had used Roar of Command as soon as he got it, everyone would have fought better… then again, they wouldn't have destroyed all the facilities, and all the dragons would have attacked the same spot.

Another thing was the fact that few people could approach the solar dragons… Rain was fine with his punches, thanks to the dark ice, but most people would have a hard time using melee weapons to attack those bodies that were essentially suns in miniature.

"Seadrei killed three of them, and the other groups killed one each… this shows how much difficult the fight had been," Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Heat can also stop most attacks after all… I guess the easiest solution would be to make everyone obtain the dragon slayer path, but the path can't level up without you."

"Using the dark metal, perhaps you can find some roundabout way to do so, but they will lose some other skills," Elisabetha said.

Rain nodded. He could fight back that troublesome effect since he had so much mana and he gained so much experience from the dragons and first dragons, but most people wouldn't have the chance to do so… becoming specialists against dragons would be fine if they knew when they were going to face them.

Rain decided to think about that for a while, but soon he noticed Elisabetha acting up… something had happened, and soon he saw Van approaching him. That was weird… despite the fact that their relationship wasn't as bad as before, he rarely contacted Rain of his own volition.

"He woke up… Victor," Van said.

"Who?" Rain asked.

"The spirit within the crossbow," Elisabetha said.

"Ah, right… I am bad with names and faces, so things are a bit difficult when you don't have a face," Rain said.

"I do have a face. You just can't see it," Victor said. "When I realized that so many of us were on a single place, I thought that our vessel was some reliable, but it seems that I was wrong.

"Woah, dude. You sure know how to make an introduction," Rain said. "Are you certain that you aren't Poseidon instead of Apollo? You sound a bit too salty."

"… Victor had a bit of an unpleasant personality, quite impatient," Sakaki said when he teleported him to the area. "He isn't a bad person, and I decided to call him Apollo and make him assume that role since he is quite the multi-faceted guy as well. Apollo was also associated with knowledge and wisdom. Apollo was the god of prophecy, with his most famous oracle located at Delphi.

People sought his advice and guidance through his oracle, and he was considered a source of divine insight and foresight. He is quite smart, too, so he helped me a lot."