Black Abyss suspected boredom.
It was true that she had just fought an Infernal Hero… But, again, it was an Infernal Hero, a level 60 summon. Nothing impressive, really, and all Black Abyss did was an over-the-top performance.
In the end, she needed to stall for time to make it seem believable; her performance was essential, as she needed to cause some destruction in the area to make it seem real, and it had to be a fight against the summon so that anyone nearby could see it.
Even so, it wasn't a fight to wear her down; they didn't use any daily skills or spells, nor summons, except for those necessary for something else. In fact, it served as a warm-up.
But… Even considering all that… She was bored.
While acting had a certain thrill, in the end, she was just holding back. She was far from her precious and beloved Dont, in a foreign country, practically alone, in a ruined city.
What was fun about that?
She paused once more… She seriously considered leaving. Saying something like… 'I've already cleared the city, so I went ahead.' Or that the fighting drove her away, something like that… I mean… It's not like the situation isn't 100% under control.
Literally, the 'enemies' were invocations of Dont's invocation, and therefore, servants of Titania, while the Deorum Regnum Army were… Also servants of Titania.
Both sides were actually from the same faction, with the Holy Kingdom caught in the middle as a victim of… Not even something like a civil war, it was simply an accident they came to resolve in a way that didn't link the Demons to Deorum Regnum as enemies, and that served to enhance the image of said kingdom.
While it was somewhat amusing, aside from the sheer horror of essentially pretending to be the saviors of a nation massacred and decimated by their own indirect subordinates, once she was separated from Dont and had to simply 'fight,' it ceased to be… Entertaining.
She grimaced, looking up… The clear, beautiful sky… Ha… At least she could enjoy that in silence.
Though it was quickly obscured by dark clouds, followed by rain… Wah…
Not that it bothered her. On Earth, one could only expect dirty or acidic water when it rained. So this cold but pure rain was… Pleasant~ And it wasn't as if the Paladin's temperature couldn't ignore that.
But doing it for… How long would she have to wait? Hours? It didn't sound very pleasant.
So, instead, she'd be useful for something else~
What…? Well…
"Eyesight." She called.
Naturally, there was no vocal response, but she knew the cute Gorgon was watching her~
"Is there anywhere I can go and help without ruining the plan?" She asked, holding a doll.
And as before, there was absolute silence… But, a portal, a [Gate], opened in front of her.
Ah~ Good~ Although a [Message] from the Seer would have been more expressive and detailed, at least it seemed the Gorgon had something for her~
Unless, of course, the little one misinterpreted something, like wanting to return to Deorum Regnum for a moment and help with the paperwork or something…
She stepped through the reddish-skinned [Gate], extremely lively and curious to see what awaited her to kill her boredom~
Her smile froze.
A terrifying, dark, tar-like vomit shot out like a waterfall.
In response, a jet of deep blue water crashed against the attack, a clash of 'breaths' that unleashed trails of water and dark, carnivorous worms in all directions.
Consequently, some unfortunate Wyverns and Dragons were injured, losing wings, limbs, and in the worst cases, decapitated. The worms merely collided with their scales, but the jets of water acted like blades, decimating the weaker beasts.
"[DOWNWARD FIRE CUT]!" Roared a voice, Black Abyss looking toward it.
Then she saw her… Stepdaughter? Suryt, Dont's NPC, brandishing her two fire swords attached to her legendary equipment, descending at full speed beside her, both weapons bathed in violent flames as they sliced at a… Superficial level the scales of the… What was it? A giant eel…?
How… Disgusting.
She didn't much like aquatic animals… Only orcas, whales, and penguins, if they could even be considered aquatic. And of course, Miku.
Black Abyss recoiled instantly upon noticing the serpentine, bluish figure. She wasn't afraid, she'd grown somewhat accustomed to snakes thanks to those on Titania, but it certainly made her uneasy and, utterly disgusted.
She looked up at the sky. It was practically night. Not because the sun had set, but because black clouds covered everything to the horizon and beyond, pouring rain as if the sky were falling. This spoke to the intensity of the battle, as the sounds of it were loud enough to drown out the noise of the rain.
And naturally, the darkness was no problem for Black Abyss. While she didn't have night vision like Dont, she could see better in the dark. And with the lightning and thunder appearing quite frequently, she could easily assess the situation… She saw various Dragons and Wyverns ranging from levels 30 to 70. There weren't many, maybe… 12, excluding the weaker ones, of which there were perhaps 50.
But… W-What part of the plan was this…?
She racked her brain, trying to recall when they had spoken about Suryt and her army of Dragons, including Siegfried, the level 95 Dragon, fighting a giant sea serpent…
"ROAAAAHHH! ENOUGH! DIE! [WILD MAGIC: DEEPEST COLD WITHIN]!" Suddenly, she heard the snake roar, speaking more like an ethereal voice accompanying its gestures, as if it weren't speaking with its mouth, yet simultaneously was. It was strange, but she certainly heard it as if it were a voice, not a thought.
Regardless, the snake spoke, and faced with its strange ability, with a kind of 'modifier' that sent chills down Black Abyss's spine.
After all, she'd heard that before, and it wasn't pleasant.
Something… Happened.
She noticed it instantly. The raindrops suddenly turned to ice. From thick accumulations that became practically icicles, to pieces of ice so thin they could barely be considered hail.
Even so, the largest of those pieces didn't even tickle the Paladin.
It wasn't magic damage, it wasn't anything. It was simple, mundane ice. While it might be lethal to a normal person, for a level 100 tank, it was nothing.
And in itself, even the weak level 30 Wyverns and Dragons shouldn't have been greatly affected by this effect.
Even so, the rain wasn't the only thing that turned to ice.
What primarily caught Black Abyss's attention was seeing how, Wyvern after Dragon after Wyvern, exploded, becoming murky shapes of spiky red ice, falling like bricks from the sky.
From the weakling level 30s that served as mere cannon fodder, to the level 75 Dragons. They simply died.
And although it was extremely sudden, Black Abyss more or less theorized what had happened, in a way that was utterly terrifying.
But what truly chilled her to the bone was seeing Suryt.
The Homunculus, controlled by Dont's other NPC, Brynhildr, suddenly froze in place, her skin pierced by shards of red ice. Not piercing inwards, but bursting forth from beneath her skin.
Suryt groaned, shrieking in pain as her skin became coated in frost, her blood instantly freezing solid, practically exploding from the inside out. Regardless of how lethal it was to have frozen organs and fluids, when a liquid freezes, its mass increases upon solidification; therefore, body cavities, designed to hold liquids, not solids, simply couldn't withstand it.
In short, just as Black Abyss surmised in that brief moment when Dragons turned into blocks of red ice, the eel had somehow… Frozen all the liquids around her. For some reason, Siegfried, the monstrous eldritch dragon, was completely unaffected, and a quick inspection revealed that the Black Abyss itself was also unharmed.
But that mattered little at that moment.
Immediately, as soon as she heard the first cry of pain, the ice around her, whether on the ground or still falling like a violent hailstorm, was struck by a wave of heat.
Not to the point of melting into water. It simply evaporated, while the ground, covered in frosted grass or damaged by breaths and abilities, instantly burned to ash.
"[Divine Heal]" She chanted, feeling pure rage burn throughout her body.
The falling NPC, Suryt, and consequently, Brynhildr within her, were bathed in a brilliant golden light that pierced the darkness of the blackened sky.
The violent wounds around the Homunculus's body, caused by exploding organs and blood spurting into sharp ice, healed, shattering within the ice as everything returned to normal, breaking the frozen mass and regenerating the organic material to its original state.
The eyes, turned into ice cubes, also healed, though they remained milky and blind.
Having regained sensation, Suryt immediately seemed to cast [Phoenix Flight], with a swirl of flames appearing around her feet and thin wings of fire sprouting from her back.
It was an equivalent of [Fly], but unique to fire elementalists. It was superior to the simple level 3 spell, allowing her to deal passive fire damage in melee and increasing her resistance to water and ice.
"Brynhildr, come here!" Black Abyss quickly commanded before the NPC could even think about attacking what was surely a Dragon Lord, something that could have nearly killed her.
"ROOAAAAAHHHHH!" The serpent hissed into a violent roar, clearly noticing the Angel's presence, glaring at her with fierce, furious eyes. "ANOTHER ONE?! I'LL KILL YOU ALL, YOU FILTHY PLAYERS!" It declared, before choking amidst its foul hiss on Siegfried's jaws, which coiled around the scaly eel's neck, causing both beasts to writhe in a vicious fight.
And Brynhildr, though she felt nothing but contempt for the disgusting, filthy creature, obeyed the Supreme, halting its charge with swords raised and an improvised strategy in hand, quite surprised, in fact, by her Lady's presence, and darting like a missile toward the Paladin, stopping beside her.
"S-Supreme Black Abyss." She spoke, her voice trembling slightly, as if shaken, yet tired and a little nervous, appearing on the verge of kneeling.
"Behind me, now!" The Paladin shouted forcefully, watching the sea creature open its mouth in the direction of the NPCs, raising her shield.
With great speed, Brynhildr flew to Black Abyss, while the blast of water from the Dragon's mouth had an initial explosion that struck Siegfried, knocking the Dragon back as the water at abyssal pressures hurtled toward Black Abyss.
The breath eroded the area beneath it in an instant, creating a gigantic chasm before colliding with the divine shield, causing a massive explosion that sent water flying everywhere, slicing a C-shaped area around the Paladin, as well as water droplets that pierced the ground like bullets, but it wasn't enough force to move the Paladin. Even so, the near-solar heat surrounding the Urielle began to evaporate the water, allowing her to take a step forward. Though to say that was the only reason would be a lie.
The Paladin's strength, combined with her equipment and resilience, even though it wasn't her primary gear, allowed her to easily withstand and even prevail against the Breath.
She gritted her teeth, wings of burning plasma, vaguely shaped like those of a bird, sprouted from her back, bringing a pure and divine light to the darkness of the storm.
"We regret our ineptitude, which should require your intervention, Supreme. We were unable to defeat the Ocean Dragon Lord." Brynhildr apologized from behind her, uncertain of how to proceed.
… Ocean Dragon Lord... She remembered now.
The 'salvation of the Holy Kingdom' wasn't just about giving Deorum Regnum a good image and rectifying Dont's mistake in letting that summoning wreak such havoc, though she didn't know that.
It turned out that, thanks to the Archarchaeologist, a powerful creature was identified in the depths of the sea, and after a scan using Eyesight's abilities, an aquatic dragon was found wreaking havoc… Through this espionage, its… Title was identified. Demonic troops would be sent to weaken it and extract information and… Eventually, destroy it with brute force.
She didn't have all the details; it was mainly a process of constant weakening, as she understood it, until they could properly confront it.
So this eel was the Dragon Lord. And, ironically, Black Abyss arrived in time so that the 'final blow,' which would be carried out by Suryt's army at some point she wasn't sure about, wouldn't end in tragedy… It seems that both Dont and Black Abyss underestimated, or were mistaken about, this… Thing.
"[Solar Flare]!" Black Abyss sang, flapping forward, its wings releasing a large portion of its plasma into the breath, impacting directly and explosively creating a large cloud of vapor, with the two solar storms exploding as they could not continue beyond half the length of the breath, but being an explosion large enough to push and slightly damage the Dragon Lord.
She glanced back.
"Don't apologize. You're not the right opponent for that thing, but don't feel bad about it, you two are splendid." If she hadn't arrived in time, perhaps Suryt and Brynhildr would have died, and she wouldn't even have known… That bothered her greatly. She looked up then… Why hadn't they told her this…? Did Dont even know?
It was possible that… It was something inopportune and sudden, otherwise Suryt wouldn't have been the one fighting something potentially level 100…
"ROOAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! [DESTRUCTIVE WAVES]! [STARVING SWARM]!" The monster roared, the ground trembling slightly, though a beam of pure darkness struck the back of the Dragon's neck, making it hiss in pain as it moved swiftly across the damp grass to reposition itself, now facing only two fronts.
Black Abyss looked around, wanting to identify the threat.
And far in the distance… She spotted a wave.
She quickly calculated the distance, because she couldn't even see the sea from here…
It was a monster wave… But… Even if it was such a thing, it should barely affect the fight here…
She felt a connection prompt in her mind, and instantly accepted the [Message].
(Supreme, monster wave identified 4 kilometers from your location. Voracious creatures appear to be accompanying it.) Eyesight's voice informed her, with a seriousness one wouldn't expect from such a shy girl.
Hm… So she called for reinforcements now that the 'air problems' were reduced…
Considering that its powers seemed to be water-based, it was a good strategy to lure this thing away from the sea. It seemed it had to use combinations or abilities that would only work at sea or on the coast however she could to make them useful.
Indeed, Siegfried was covering the direction toward the sea.
Looking back, this might have been the most opportune moment to launch an attack on this thing. Being an eel, or whatever it was, it could easily retreat to its habitat if not attacked so far away, and if they retreated now, who knew when they'd get another chance like this?
(Eyesight, warn Dont about this, but tell her not to come yet, to be prepared.) Black Abyss exclaimed in her mind. She wanted to maintain the element of surprise against Dont. Being a Shooter, she was easy to target in combat; it was much better if she simply appeared out of nowhere at the most opportune moment.
A moment they would have to create.
(Understood. Should I call the Commanders?)
(If they're in positions where they can't simply disappear, or they'd break the act, no. Bachelory needs to keep organizing the Demons, and neither do those in Deorum Regnum.) If they broke the act now somehow, things could be difficult to fix or explain. Bachelory was organizing half the act, controlling Demon attacks and their deliberately bad strategies against the soldiers, and if Deorum Regnum was left without level 100 beings, it could be ambushed while they were gone. Much less Titania.
Although… Now that she thought about it…
("Eyesight, how difficult would it be to get Miku to the ocean in front of me?") The Paladin asked.
…
Camilla groaned, narrowly dodging the Demon's sword. The blade had literally only grazed a sliver of her precious hair… She braced her leg to avoid falling backward, gritting her teeth in pain from putting so much weight on her still-healing limb.
However, that didn't matter now.
What was a little pain when she could die?
She swung her sword, Temperance, with all her might.
It clashed against the curved blade of the red-armored Demon.
They collided, resonating like metal against metal in a sound that stunned her for a moment.
But unlike Camilla, the Demon felt no pain in his leg, nor did he hastily arm himself.
He took a step forward, hissing like a snake as he raised his sword again.
"[Instant Counter]!" Camilla roared. Her sword, though positioned awkwardly for quick wielding, moved instantly to block the attack, the two weapons clashing once more.
However, expecting the Demon to fight fairly and honorably was asking too much, for he extended his hand, grabbing Camilla's forearm and pulling her toward him.
She barely managed to maintain her balance, avoiding a face-first fall, but was noticeably unsteady.
But horror gripped her when the back of her neck was practically exposed.
She heard the clanking of the Demon's armor as he raised his arm, so Camilla let herself fall with much more control, increasing her reaction time by widening the distance between her neck and the sword.
As her body touched the ground, she rolled as fast as she could, once again avoiding being decapitated by the weapon, which instead plunged into the earth instead of her flesh.
Tch, damn Nyx. She cursed inwardly, remembering that the noblewoman was supposed to deal with these so-called 'soldiers.' But the situation seemed to change when the 'madman' practically prioritized the duchess above everyone else, with the soldiers seeking to abuse the weakest with their swords and claws.
She grabbed a stone that was in her path and threw it with all her might at the Demon once she stood up.
It struck his helmet, causing his head to be pushed slightly back as he charged to dominate the fight with pure offense.
It was enough for Camilla to duck, avoiding the Demon's blade, and retaliate by striking the soldier on the chin with the pommel of her sword.
This seemed to disorient the Demon enough, and the paladin swung her sword with all her might.
"[Justice Blade: Power]!" She chanted, her bright blade suddenly glowing and becoming enveloped in literal solid light, slashing toward the soldier's back.
He growled like a wounded beast as the cut sliced through his armor, gnawing at his flesh and leaving a sickening, burning sound.
But the Demon didn't simply freeze in pain. He whirled around, brandishing his sword.
Camilla opened her eyes, finding herself in a gaping position. All she could do was pull back.
She cried out in pain as the curved blade sliced deep into her cheek.
She staggered slightly, but regained her composure, ignoring the merely irritating rather than lethal pain.
The Demon hissed, sounding slightly exhausted and noticeably sore, but he didn't seem to diminish his fighting spirit or his stance, holding the sword with the same strength and skill as before… Camilla could tell.
She was stronger than the Demon. Not only did she have more training and skills that put the Demon at a disadvantage, but even her equipment, although hastily put on, was coated with holy power, reducing the impact of the creature's evil power and increasing the damage the monster received.
But what the Demon seemed to possess, if it could be called that, was apparent youth, an insatiable fighting spirit, an unyielding stance, and the absence of any wounds from the start.
They stared at each other for long seconds. Their breathing almost seemed to synchronize. Camilla's heavy gasps, and the Demon's hoarse sighs.
For a moment, the Paladin even considered… Showing the beast a little respect. Then she remembered the dirty tricks the 'young' Demon had used, and decided against it.
And as if he had read her mind, the Demon lowered his sword, letting out a kind of low growl… And Camilla gasped in pain, feeling a sharp pain in her good ankle.
"G-GUH!" She gasped, staggering as she quickly looked down at her foot.
An arrow was piercing her calf from one end to the other… Amused giggles echoed through the trees and bushes…
"T-Tch… D-Damn cowards…" She growled, an arrow piercing her side from behind. "AGH!" She shrieked, collapsing to the ground and giving way on her back.
D-Damn it… Is this how she was going to die? Against filthy, dishonorable Demons…?
She felt her ponytail being yanked up, forcibly lifted by the Demon soldier, who held his sword firmly in his grip.
The paladin gritted her teeth, glaring at the red-clad creature with hatred and disgust.
The Demon almost seemed to mock her, and in response, Camilla spat saliva and blood into his boot.
The soldier saw this, hissed, and raised his sword.
(Ha… Pabel… Take good care of Neia…) She prayed silently, squeezing her eyes shut.
A sound of flesh and metal being pierced was heard, along with a gurgling noise.
But it didn't come from Camilla being beheaded or anything like that… She opened her eyes, looking at the Demon as she felt the grip on her hair loosen.
He staggered, releasing Camilla, and trembling, his hands reaching for the silver arrow with rune-like inscriptions piercing his throat.
He dropped his sword and grasped the arrow, releasing it at the burning sound that came when he touched it.
And a few moments later, the soldier fell flat on the ground, lifeless.
The laughter stopped, and it was as if dozens of eyes turned toward the source of the arrow.
Standing there, as if nothing were amiss, was… Neia, her… Daughter… With an incredibly well-crafted bow, so finely made that even Camilla could tell… And her posture was as if she had just fired an arrow.
Mother and daughter looked directly into each other's eyes.
Those beautiful, terrifying eyes met hers… And Camilla felt weary, her eyelids begging for a moment of rest… Relief…
Neia seemed to snap out of the daze of seeing her mother and drew another arrow, firing with almost instinctive speed toward a tree. A shriek followed, and an Imp fell like a brick to the ground.
The shieldmaiden swallowed hard and ran to her mother, firing another arrow along the way, hitting another slightly stunned Imp, and grabbed her mother by the collar of her armor.
She blinked, also emerging from the daze, and forced her aching feet to her feet as she gripped her sword, following her daughter.
Annoying hisses and squeals came from the trees, and before a barrage of arrows could reach them, Neia flung her aside, then rolled in the opposite direction, pulling another arrow from her quiver and firing it as soon as it landed.
The arrow flew with such power and speed that even Camilla barely saw a blur.
Camilla shook her head, processing the scene, quickly coming to a conclusion. This wasn't right. She couldn't let her daughter fight alone, let her save her. Camilla was supposed to protect her!
She grunted in irritation, looked at her ankle, grasped the arrow lodged there, and yanked it out forcefully after making sure it wouldn't damage the tissue too much.
She took one of the few bluish potions she could manage and poured it over the wound.
It closed slowly, and it still hurt, but she could walk without any problem.
The pain in the side of her torso still lingered, so she gritted her teeth and sang.
"[Paladin Word: Temperance]" She chanted. The pain, the confusion, her dazed state, and her nervousness vanished. It was one of her trump cards, though it was mainly meant to be used in serious moments or before combat. It nullified all sensations and emotions.
It was also a double-edged sword, it would leave her without her sense of touch and smell, but she was never good at smelling things anyway. And considering she no longer felt pain, it was fine.
She gripped her sword tightly and ran. There was a slight slowness to her gait due to the lingering damage in her legs, but not enough to be a nuisance.
And with precision, she sliced an arrow.
It was stopped in its tracks toward Neia, who watched uneasily, seeing that she was clearly outnumbered.
The shieldmaiden looked at her mother, standing before her like… Like a tower of strength and power…
"What are you waiting for? I can't hit them from a distance. Use your bow." With a cool demeanor born of her unique martial art, she charged at Neia, blocking another arrow while maintaining her stance like an unyielding guardian.
Neia blinked a few times, but smiled, nodding, even though her mother wasn't looking at her, and stood up, clutching an arrow.
…
"[Fire Ball]" Dont declared with feigned seriousness and concern, an intense and powerful sphere of fire shooting toward the Gladiator of Wrath.
He took the hit and paused for a moment, but due to the overall weakness of the level 3 spell, the Demon only roared, charging violently at Dont.
A Fairy Knight intercepted the Gladiator, not strong enough to shatter him into a tangle of broken bones, but simply pushing him against his companion, who swung his sword slowly enough for the Gladiator to grab the blade by the edge and pull it away, throwing an aggressive punch at the knight.
Dont certainly had it easy.
Although Dont said she would fight the two Infernal Soldiers, she sent a message to the Gladiator to attack her. She also secretly summoned a pair of Purgatory Stingers, red scorpions roughly the size of trucks.
{Purgatory Stinger PNG}
Why? Simple. She had a party of 20 Fairy Knights, each level 50, though two were level 60. Against a single Infernal Gladiator, unless she wanted to make Black Abyss's 'elite soldiers' look weak, or exaggerate the power of a level 40 summon, Dont added two level 50 summons to keep the remaining 18 soldiers, beyond the two fighting alongside Dont, contained some activity.
They were somewhere in the forest, who knows where.
But that left the 'powerful mage Nyx' and her two Deorum Regnum soldiers fighting the 'mighty and furious Demon'.
And naturally, she had to keep up the act.
They also couldn't make themselves look too powerful. Otherwise, this attack she hadn't been informed about, or had forgotten, would lose its impact. While it would be good to finish off the Demons quickly and demonstrate superiority, she also wanted to test these 'Colors' a bit. Black and Purple were in this camp after all. And she supposed Neia might have some experience. She wasn't really sure it would work, though.
Worst case scenario, all three of them would die, and she'd be furious with herself.
She certainly couldn't be in control of everything.
She had an act to keep up!
She cast another fire spell, this time a level 5, sending the Demon flying in flames toward a tree, though it wasn't strong enough to kill it.
She made sure to use low-damage fire spells to avoid killing the Demon too quickly.
Even so, she frowned slightly, feeling a [Message] request in her mind…
Ugh… I hope nothing happened…
She glanced around, noticing that she was practically alone with the knights and the Gladiator…
She shrugged and accepted the connection.
(Supreme.) And starting the message with Eyesight's serious voice wasn't a good omen.
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Name: Camilla Castillo
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