The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 232: The Only Way To Defeat The Dark Storm Dragon

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Wingspeed led Bing Xue and her group across several corridors. Bing Xue found it hard to teleport across them as these corridors, and the metal itself, were constantly infused with a powerful radiation at the level of the dark dragon, to an extent.

As they followed the superhero as quickly as possible, Athena used her abilities to extract and analyze the energy, finding out its origins were the same as the energy produced through the sealing of the Darkness the Dark Storm Dragon produced.

“Mom, this whole thing is infused with the same energy we generate when the Darkness is sealed!” Athena said. “Was this robot created using that power?”

“Perhaps,” Bing Xue said. “We’ll get to the end of this mystery now, though, so have a little more patience.”

“We’re here!”

Wingspeed opened the door as the entire group entered the large area resembling a control panel. An Asian-looking man rested on the floor, wearing a red suit that looked damaged; half his helmet was broken, revealing his face.

His eyes were closed, and his lifeforce seemed weak. Bing Xue’s eyes shone brightly as she detected several broken bones, especially his ribs, and one punctured lung filled with blood; the man was slowly dying.

“We have to quickly heal him; please get out of the way.”

She stepped forward, and as Wingspeed nodded and moved away, Bing Xue knelt, touching the man’s chest and infusing her energies inside.

She manipulated her Gift of Life, manipulating the Life Ki she infused into his body and then infusing threads made of photon energy.

FLAAASH!

In a second, she transferred tremendous quantities of energy into his body, rapidly helping him recover his broken bones, which went back to their original place and aligned back together.

Then, Kenichi’s eyes widened; his entire body felt revitalized and healed; he coughed out all the blood from his lungs, though.

“Cough, cough…! Agh…! W-What the…?! Where… Ah?!”

He was shocked to see Bing Xue, her tall stature, her beauty, her powerful-looking eyes, and her aura resembling a rising sun behind her back left him utterly flabbergasted.

“W-Who? Who are you? Wingspeed?! What’s going on?”

“Kenichi! You’re okay?!”

“I’m fine, but… Ah, my head… We crashed on something? Hey Zenith! Are you still there?”

“…”

There was no response; whatever Zenith was, he seemed unconscious or dead…

Bing Xue quickly looked back at the man, her eyes analyzing his very existence.

“You’re the one that brought that dragon here, aren’t you?”

“Dragon?”

“You will tell me right now what you are exactly.”

“Huh? Wait, are you the one that—ACK!”

Kenichi screamed as Bing Xue touched his head, rapidly reading through most of his memories and learning a large quantity of information about his past and what had happened.

There wasn’t any time to speak formally either; she also injected into his brain the information he needed to know regarding what was happening, completely skipping a conversation.

“I see what’s going on here,” Bing Xue smiled. “You come from a parallel Earth where there exists something that is only fictional here, some sort of Super Sentai or Power Rangers, as they’re known in the west. And there are many of your kind in your world too? Huh? Magical Girls as well? What a strange world. And it all happens within Japan, for some reason.”

“A-Ah… Yes…” Kenichi finally learned what was happening here. He learned this was a parallel timeline world he ended up landing in by accident through gray portals created by a “God” known as Grandfather of Time. He learned about the Dark Storm Dragon being unsealed thanks to a foe Bing Xue fought that was also the one responsible for stealing the Symbols from his friends, and therefore their powers, and everything else.

“We’ve already reached an understanding of what’s going on, right?” Bing Xue asked. “Good. Now tell me what we must do to fully seal that thing. With my daughter here, we’ve figured out a few things, but… It seems capable of unsealing the Symbols themselves.”

“Yeah, the thing is, without recipients for the Symbols, the original power will continue wearing down any sealing ability,” explained Kenichi. “This is something Deus Ex Machina explained to me once. Although not to this extent, the power of the Dark Storm Dragon once threatened my team. He was able to break the symbols a bit due to the distrust and hatred that was formed by a dispute between my friends… And he created Dark Versions of ourselves. They were invincible, and we couldn’t defeat them alone, but once our powers were unified and we decided to forgive one another, we were able to tap into the Symbol’s powers, which weakened them and were ultimately defeated by our combined robot… Which is impossible to create now.”

“So that’s how it is…” Bing Xue nodded. “We have to use fire against fire. I suppose I was wrong this entire time, Athena. We need to use his same power against him. These alien powers and energies are sure quite confusing for an old cultivator like me; I have to admit it.”

“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ve figured out a way to channel the symbols into more people while you were talking!” Athena suddenly said, summoning a large formation from her hands. “It’ll use this entire robot as a core and the energy it irradiates as fuel!”

“W-Wait a second, you two…! You’re Bing Xue’s children, but you’re also…?!” Kenichi asked. “The Symbols! I feel their powers within you two…! What’s going on in here?”

“They were somewhat chosen by them when they battled the monsters the dragon created,” Bing Xue smiled proudly.

“I really don’t know how I was even chosen or whatever…” Orion muttered, feeling a bit embarrassed. “But my sis has been doing most of the complicated stuff.”

“Kenichi, you’re the only original Gaoranger standing, so I will need to use you as a catalyst as well,” said Athena. “Could you help me out, please?”

Seeing how a small and adorable girl had become a new Gaoranger, Kenichi could hardly believe her words, but it was the truth. He could feel her energies fluctuating within her; the Symbol was growing stronger than ever before thanks to her.

“Fine… I’ve never seen a Gaoranger at your ages, but… If this is the only way, there’s no point in trying to reject your offer,” said Kenichi. “And yes, with the combined power of the Gaorangers, the Dark Storm Dragon’s powers will also become weaker, and he can be defeated. Once defeated, he should be automatically sealed again.”

“That’s convenient!” Merneith said. “Well, so what do we do here, though? We came for nothing, didn’t we?”

“Don’t say that, Merneith; Mom chose us to come here for a reason,” Kenichi said. “Right, Mom?”

“Indeed!” Bing Xue nodded. “And I am sure Kenichi already has an idea.”

“The power of the Symbols is… too weak to create large constructs for now,” Kenichi muttered. “But you already brought your own robots?! Wow, this is sure another world! If we can use them as vessels for the Symbols powers, then recreating the Deus Ex Machine Beasts is possible! Do you happen to have more of them here?”

“Yeah, they’re outside, though!” Said Merneith. “…Wait, really?! We can help somehow?”

“Yes, you can!” Kenichi nodded. “Please come along! I’ll tell you what you must do! We have to get out of here first and wake up Zenith… Then, with Athena’s ability, assign new Gaorangers temporarily. I hope to give the Symbols back to my friends, but right now they’re in a state of coma.”

“Comma, you say?” Bing Xue quickly went to check on them using a Doppelganger.

She used her abilities to heal them, but they wouldn’t wake up.

“I see. Well, they cannot be healed back to normal right now,” she explained. “It seems their coma is related to the loss of their Symbols. They won’t wake up until they’re restored fully, something impossible right now with the Dark Storm Dragon out there.”

“S-So that’s what happened to them! I had no idea…” Kenichi said. ”Bing Xue, you’re incredibly resourceful and strong… I am grateful for your help so far! I will repay it with all my help! Crimson Lion, wake up Zenith right now!”

“ROOOAARR!”

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the entire machine started rumbling and transforming; a large gate opened, where Bing Xue and everyone else stepped out from. As for the other Gaorangers, Bing Xue placed them in the security of her Inner Realm.

As they stepped out of the large spaceship, they saw it rapidly transform, while another, annoyed voice echoed from it. Both machines quickly separated, one resembling a huge, demon-like, black humanoid machine, and the other a shiny, red-colored lion.

“Uggh…! D-Dammit! My head keeps spinning…! I almost died there…!” The voice of Zenith, whom Bing Xue now knew, echoed through the first machine.

“ROOOAR!” Meanwhile, the mighty Crimson Lion, the last standing original Deus Ex Machine Beast, roared, greeting Kenichi, whose suit had been fully restored too.

“Zenith, long story short, we’re joining up with these guys!” Said Kenichi. “Stand still while we get done with what we’re trying to do!”

“A-Ah? What?” Zenith asked, looking rather suspicious. “What are you doing?!”

Bing Xue couldn’t trust this villain, so she quickly waved her hands, releasing a spiraling formation of photonic electromagnetic energies around his body.

“UGH?! W-WHAT THE…?!”

Zenith was enraged as he was unable to free himself from it.

“You stay right there and don’t move. Don’t think that I will easily trust a villain such as you,” she said with fiery eyes. “I know you’re only working with Kenichi out of convenience. You will not deceive me. If you try anything funny while the ritual is happening, you will be disintegrated, understood?”

"W-Wha...?! Who is this damn old hag?!” Zenith groaned furiously. “Kenichi! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Shut up for once, Zenith!” Kenichi roared. “She’s not wrong! I bet you were planning something, right? So stand there. I will do my end of the deal too; don’t think I am dishonorable. But you better not try anything suspicious!”

“Tch…! You better not go back on your word, damned Gaoranger!” Zenith roared angrily.

“Did you seriously promise your enemy you would bring his parts back to him? Are you insane?” Bing Xue asked Kenichi.

“Maybe, but he saved my life, and I saved his own; without his help, I wouldn’t be alive,” Kenichi said. “I feel like I must withhold my promise. What happens afterwards, however, is another thing entirely.”

“Hmph… Sometimes too much kindness can be bad for you, Kenichi; don’t forget these words,” Bing Xue sighed. “Anyway, dear, is everything done by now?”

Kenichi realized Bing Xue’s serious personality instantly changed when talking to her daughter; it was like the difference between day and night!

“Yes, Mama!” Athena nodded; hearing her mother call her “dear” made her happy. “It’s done by now!”

FLASH!

Her formation expanded even further, creating a total of ten layers full of hundreds of runes. Her powers combined both Magic, Spiritual Techniques, Skills, and even Innate Abilities together with her Aura to create something incredible in a matter of seconds.

“Oooh! Dekai!”

Kenichi was shocked as he saw the gigantic formation emerge, zapping with white lightning; it rapidly connected with Kenichi above and the Crimson Lion beneath. The lightning didn’t hurt, but it connected deep into their powers and energy reserves.

“I can see it!” Athena’s eyes shone bright and rainbow-colored. “Mama, would you help me out by regulating the power output? Also, Merneith, Hekita, bring the robots!”

“Yeah! We’re here,” Merneith nodded, as she and Hekita brought the other Spirit God Machines.

“Will this really work, Athena?” Hekita was still a little confused about the whole ordeal.

“Don’t worry, big sis, I got this!” Athena was very excited, her mother perfectly helping her regulate the entire formation’s energy input and influx of power. “Now… Let’s do it together, Mom; I’ll need your help a bit.”

“Of course,” Bing Xue nodded. “Orion, you too, come here and share your Aura with us.”

“Ah! Sure?” Orion quickly touched Athena’s shoulder, his Aura infused into her own, which then moved towards the formation.

Everything was finally ready, and as Athena activated the Formation, she tapped into the sea of darkness where the Symbols had been corrupted. Their faint silhouettes were still visible, and through her powers, she began to rapidly reactivate them.

FLAAASH!

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