Tower of Heaven

The Blood Moon Phenomenon. It was incredibly rare for it to occur, but it was indeed natural. Atlas knew about it as well, since it was something that took place anywhere under the Heavenly Law.

It was a rare natural disaster that occurred when the levels of a world's blood qi reached a certain point. It was supposed to be impossible to achieve in a neutral zone due to the conditions, but here it was.

The Blood Moon Phenomenon had different effects on different races. Demons under the High Demon rank were driven rabid by its light. Divine Beasts and other bestial species were weakened severely.

Humans were not particularly affected in either direction, however, their minds were altered and it was possible for them to either benefit from or be harmed by the phenomenon depending on their actions.

Atlas could feel it. There was a raging voice in his mind that was telling him to go wild. The pull wasn't severe enough to take him, but it definitely existed.

'This realm is mostly populated by non-human species, and because of the Friendly Exchange Meeting, there are too many demons and beasts in the world.'

The highest forces of the 36th Demon Legion weren't present. That was not a good thing. There wasn't a single force able to completely rid the demons of their frenzy as long as they were not present.

The whole world of Vanatos was in chaos. The "wild beasts" of the realm, entities without spiritual consciousness, could be attacked anywhere as they were meant to be prey for the cultivators.

In the same way, wild beasts were able to attack anywhere, but they were never able to pose a real threat because of the sheer number of cultivators living in Vanatos. Even if they invaded a small town, they'd be promptly executed before they could do anything.

However, the blood moon turned all demons into wild beasts. Because the realm perceived them as such, they could attack no matter where they were.

And, as there were tens of thousands of demons participating in the conference at the very least, the havoc they wreaked was not small.

The things Atlas heard on his way here were concerning, but he wasn't large enough of a person to concern himself with those things. He'd been given a mission by Mireiya.

Her family was not only the strongest but also filled with people who'd aided Atlas greatly, so he was only focused on carrying out the orders she gave.

'If they could be killed, then the problem would be less severe.'

The Tatsuya Clan could just lead its forces to slaughter every demon. That would end everything.

'Only, these are innocent demons. They have done nothing but exist. Though the phenomenon itself is natural, it was clearly not created naturally.'

The timing was too convenient. Atlas refused to believe that anything could be so coincidental.

'I do not need to worry about the overall situation. The Azure Dragons will take care of that. My job…'

Atlas made it to the arena. He jumped and used the features of the architecture to climb up the wall and jump over.

Underneath him was a horde of demons attempting to escape. They were almost at the top, but when they saw him, their tower collapsed as they all tried to jump and grab him.

Atlas didn't need to focus on the demons in the stands. They were mortal demons, so the power they had even while frenzied was not that great.

[Titanfall]

Whoosh!

Atlas raised his arms and brought them down. A great flow of water appeared from the heavens and crashed down into the stands. There were several meters between Atlas and the demons, and by the time the water reached them, it had enough force to knock them down and scatter them.

In the same movement, Atlas grabbed his chain sickles and focused on the scene in the arena.

Artemia had several cuts and gashes on her body. Her blood was dripping onto the ground and exciting the demons that attacked her.

She was doing her best to keep them away, using only attacks that would push them. However, she was only delaying her inevitable end.

'If they manage to land even one good strike, she will fall.'

That wouldn't do.

Two chain sickles were flung into the air. Atlas landed on the edge of the stands, roughly ten feet above the arena floor. Read new adventures at m_v-l'e|m,p| y- r

[Twin Serpents' Dance]

The chain sickles flowed in the air like they were made of silk, twirling around each other like two snakes dancing across a staff.

The attack was fast and unpredictable. The power of each chain sickle reinforced the other, and when they reached the enemy–

Shing!

There was only one sound, but two bodies hit the floor.

'The 36th Demon Legion has enough money. They can heal these injuries.'

He justified cutting off a leg of each demon he struck with such reasoning.

Artemia looked over with widened eyes when she noticed him. Before acknowledging her, however, Atlas crossed the last distance between himself and the arena floor and charged.

The three healers were only a problem because of their frenzy. After Atlas took their legs, they were just thrashing on the ground until they were knocked unconscious.

Barthold had a strong aura around him, making Atlas worry at first, but that was only until he realized that the demon only had one eye remaining.

Half of his body was a blindspot that Artemia created. He only needed to take the opportunity she couldn't.

Bang!

Atlas' fist struck his chest and shattered his ribs.

[Dominating Fist]

Barthold took three steps back and coughed up blood. As he looked up, his eyes regaining just a slight bit of consciousness, Atlas slammed his foot into the ground.

[Three Layered Shockwave]

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three different shockwaves compounded in the ground and struck Barthold as one. His body jolted and shook as several bones broke. Left unable to support his own body weight, he fell to the ground limply.

Atlas surveyed the area again. Artemia had already knocked the three demon healers unconscious, and the demons in the crowd were soon to join them.

However, before that…

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Artemia said with a smile.

"I bet. You were struggling quite a bit before I arrived. I wonder what you would ever do without me."

Artemia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. You say that like you came here on your own. Dad told you to save me, right?"

"Nope, it was actually your mother. She also gave me this."

Atlas threw the amulet at her.

"This is…"

"How am I supposed to know? All I was told is that you are to wear it."

Artemia shrugged and didn't argue. It was an item from her own mother, after all.

Placing the amulet around her neck, she suddenly grinned widely.

"Hahaha, as expected of Mom."

She gripped her fists excitedly. In the next moment…

[Reigning Steps]

Boom!

Artemia arrived in the stands.

[Azure Dragon Tail Whip]

Bang!

A row of twenty demons flew across the stands and onto the arena floor. Naturally, they were no longer conscious after that.

Atlas nodded, understanding completely.

"Your mother truly is an amazing person."

An amulet that gave Artemia access to her suppressed power. The fact that it had been given to him made it obvious that Mireiya had planned for this.

'Then, the talisman…'

Atlas looked down at the small paper talisman on his hip. To his surprise, it was glowing on its own.

'Ah…so that was it.'

Even that had been planned perfectly.

The Blood Moon Phenomenon was a dangerous thing. In this Neutral Zone, it was bound to cause more harm than an ordinary Blood Moon.

However, the pieces were lining up. Now that Artemia was also battle-ready, they could move together to do what they could.

Everything else would be handled by the Azure Dragon Clan.

It was a kind of assurance that only a Great Society could provide.