The Strange beasts encircling Rulu continued to hurl themselves at him and the others. To protect himself and Nana, Rulu was forced to pour every ounce of his energy into fending off their attacks, leaving him no time at all to focus on reviving Shari where she lay on the ground. Then suddenly, a look of agony crossed Rulu's face. He broke into a violent coughing fit, and blood began to seep from the corner of his mouth.
"This is bad — I'm running out of time…" Rulu felt a searing pain tearing through his head. His vision was beginning to blur. Though C.C. had broken the seal and granted him access to an enormous reserve of power and knowledge, the strain on his body had been immense. Rulu could feel it — in just a few more minutes, his mind would collapse entirely.
W.W. noticed Rulu's condition and called out to him at once: "Mr. Rulu, focus on what you need to do. Leave everything else to me."
Rulu fought through the pain in his head and said to W.W., "But — how can you hold back this many Strange beasts on your own?"
"I have a way. Give me just a little time." W.W. said, her expression becoming intensely serious. She hovered motionless in the air as a faint yellow luminescence began to radiate from her body. The surrounding air formed a vortex and poured into her, absorbed through every inch of her skin.
As the air rushed in, W.W.'s teal serpent body began to lengthen at a visible rate. In just half a minute, her body — originally around ten meters long — had stretched to nearly fifteen. A minute more, and it had grown to over twenty meters, and it was still growing.
A beast's roar sounded in the distance. A white Strange beast nearly two meters tall — more than twice the size of a tiger — appeared far off and came charging toward Rulu at speed. Rulu assumed a new enemy had appeared and quickly turned his gaze toward the white creature.
What he saw was a massive white fox-like creature hurtling toward him, knocking aside any Strange beast it encountered along the way. As it drew closer, Rulu noticed its shape bore a striking resemblance to Six-Tail — only several times larger. And on the creature's back sat a woman clutching a spear. Rulu recognized her immediately — it was Kallen.
"It's Six-Tail and Kallen — we're saved!" C.C. cried out with relief at the sight of the enormous fox.
"So it is Six-Tail and Kallen." Rulu let out a breath. He figured the giant white fox must be Six-Tail transformed — just as W.W. had transformed herself.
The giant Six-Tail came to a stop near Rulu and W.W. Kallen leapt down from its back. She looked at Shari lying on the ground covered in blood, then at Nana trembling with fright, then at the group of people standing on the stone slab suspended in the distant sky — and finally her gaze settled on Rulu. "Rulu, what is going on?" she asked with deep bewilderment. "How did Shari and Nana end up here? Why is Shari covered in blood? And who are all those people standing on that slab in the sky? What happened?"
Rulu said, "No time to explain. Kallen, work with W.W. and Six-Tail to protect me. Whether we make it out of here alive is entirely up to you all."
"Things have gotten this serious?" Kallen tensed immediately. She tightened her grip on her spear and fixed her eyes on the Strange beasts nearby.
"There's only one chance at this. I have to succeed." Rulu drew a deep breath and pushed aside the ever-intensifying pain in his head, focusing every last shred of his attention on Shari. Her body slowly began to rise, floating upward until it hung suspended roughly five meters above the ground. A soft golden luminescence began to radiate from her entire body as the surrounding air poured continuously into her, making the light she emitted grow brighter and brighter.
Meanwhile, the Strange beasts nearby continued to charge at Rulu without relent. The now-gigantic W.W. whipped her enormous body — some thirty meters long and half a meter thick — toward four of the nearby creatures, lashing them like a colossal whip. The sheer force sent all four beasts flying more than ten meters through the air.
The gigantic Six-Tail lunged in the opposite direction at another cluster of Strange beasts. Its massive jaws clamped down on the spine of a tiger-like creature, snapping it instantly. Six-Tail's long tails then shot outward with speed, coiling around the bodies of several nearby beasts like pythons and hurling them far away.
Both the gigantic Six-Tail and W.W. were devastatingly powerful — each capable of engaging five or six Strange beasts simultaneously. With Kallen's support as well, none of the surrounding creatures could get anywhere near Rulu. This allowed him to pour his complete concentration into using his Magic and Psionic power to revive Shari.
The luminescence emanating from Shari as she floated in midair grew stronger and stronger. Her entire body was now enveloped in a blinding golden radiance, making it impossible for those nearby to make out her shape or face.
Then, suddenly, the lashes of Shari's eyes began to tremble rapidly — as though she were trying to open them. Her hands stirred as well: her fingers, which had been spread open, began to curl slowly inward as if forming a fist.
"Shari — she… she moved!" Nana spotted the movement of Shari's hands as she hung suspended in the air and let out a cry of astonished joy.
"Almost there — just a little more…" Rulu's expression was one of absolute intensity. He understood better than anyone that this was the most critical moment. Whether Shari could be brought back now would be decided in this final minute.
"No — I cannot let him do this…" The Emperor stared down at Rulu below, shaking his head repeatedly. As he realized Rulu was on the verge of succeeding in his revival, a fierce and overwhelming jealousy welled up inside him. "No — this cannot be allowed," he muttered. "This power can only belong to me. Only I have the right to control the lives of others. He must be stopped!"
A streak of crimson tore across the sky. A massive bird engulfed in roaring flames plummeted from above, diving at breakneck speed toward Rulu below. W.W. spotted the Flame Bird the instant it appeared and immediately flew up to intercept it, lashing out at it with her enormous serpent body.
A dull, heavy impact rang out as W.W.'s massive body struck the Flame Bird and sent it hurtling far away. The Flame Bird beat its wings and climbed back into the sky, then dove again, angling in from a different direction and streaking toward Rulu.
W.W. swiftly positioned her body between Rulu and the incoming Flame Bird, trying to shield him from the attack — but at that moment the Flame Bird twisted in midair, changing course. Instead of targeting Rulu, it veered and plunged directly toward Shari, who was still suspended in the air.
The Flame Bird moved with blinding speed. By the time W.W. grasped its intention, it was already too late to stop it. The Flame Bird tore past W.W. in a flash and slammed into Shari, driving its razor-sharp talons deep into her body.
Shari struck the ground with the force of a high-velocity cannonball. The tremendous impact inflicted catastrophic damage to her body — and with a sickening crack, the violent collision with the earth split her body in two at the waist. The Flame Bird fared little better from the impact; its neck, talons, and wings all snapped from the force of the crash. It collapsed to the ground near Shari, unable to take flight again.