The earth beneath Nesbeth groaned before it finally surrendered.
CRACK-BOOM!
A massive section of the earth collapsed inward. Dust and stones cascaded into the abyss, and three figures plummeted into the darkness. Hindar hit the cavern floor first with a heavy thud, but she barely had time to register the impact before a heavy weight slammed into her back. Then another weight landed on top of the first.
"Oof!"
"Get off me!"
Hindar shrieked.
"Get off me this instant, you heavy oafs!"
Meldov rolled to the side and groaned while rubbing his spine. "It wasn't my idea to use gravity as an elevator."
Targellan scrambled to his feet. Since he had left his massive cross weapon above ground to block the entrance, he lacked his primary source of holy light. Instead, he clenched his fists and channelled his Gospel through his skin.
"Divine Shining."
His entire body illuminated the cavern with a brilliant white glow. The shadows retreated to reveal their target.
Suspended from the ceiling of the cavern hung the inverted Sarx Effigy. It was a grotesque mirror of the one they had destroyed above; a pulsating heart of flesh and veins that dripped dark ichor into a subterranean pool.
"There it is."
Hindar wiped the dust from her eyes. "Aim everything you have at that thing. If we don't destroy it now, the Boss won't be able to kill the Beast Tumor."
"With pleasure."
Meldov hefted his axe.
SWISH! SWISH!
Before they could strike, the ground around the pool erupted. Dozens of thick, fleshy roots lashed out like angry vipers. They wove together to form a protective wall around the Effigy.
"Damn roots!" Meldov swung his axe and severed a tendril that aimed for his throat. "They're protecting the host!"
…
High above the city, the air grew thin and cold.
Kirill landed heavily on the back of a scripture bird. He stumbled, and half of the shadow-hood that masked his face tore away. The rips in his spectral raiment revealed a young face painted with deep exhaustion and worry.
'Damn. That thing is going to kill everyone.'
He looked up. The sky had cracked open to reveal the abyss, and from it descended the Gravity Star.
It was a nightmare of physics. The dark sphere distorted the light around it and cast a wide, invisible field over the city center. Inside that field, gravity reversed and intensified. Civilians trapped within the barrier floated helplessly upward, kicking in the empty air.
Kirill analyzed.
'Gravity Star. A rare ability unlocked only when a Tumor approaches the Dreadnought tier. It paralyzes the victims and draws them to the center.'
He scanned the perimeter of the distortion field. Three massive spheres of dark energy had already formed at the cardinal points. A fourth sphere was coalescing rapidly.
'Once the four spheres complete materialization, the field collapses. Everyone inside will be crushed into a singularity.'
Kirill gripped his sickles tightly. He could escape the field because his Gospel power was immense, but the civilians and his subordinates were trapped. If he didn't stop this now, Church Number Nine would be nothing but a memory.
WHOOSH!
Kirill shot upward like a black comet. He reached the event horizon of the Gravity Star and crossed his blades.
"X-Slash!"
He unleashed a cross-shaped wave of dark energy. The attack struck the surface of the Gravity Star and carved deep gouges into its form. But the star simply rotated, and the damage dissipated like smoke in the wind.
Kirill cursed internally.
'As expected. Hard to destroy. Our only hope is to kill the caster.'
He switched his focus to the Beast Tumor. The monster hovered below the star, and the half-halo above its head shimmered with near-completion. Kirill glanced at the border of the gravity field again. The third sphere was solid. The fourth was halfway done.
'Tsk. I can't delay any longer. I must end this.'
He looked down at the street where the tunnel had opened.
'Hindar… I'm putting my fate in you guys.'
Kirill decided to trust that his Apostles would destroy the anchor. He created distance from the Beast Tumor and raised his hands.
"Gather."
Every remaining bird in his swarm answered the call.
Yohan, Fennalin, Joseph, and the floating civilians watched in awe. Even the lesser Tumors paused their rampage to stare at the sky.
Thousands of black birds with red eyes converged. They did not form a flock; they locked together like bricks in a wall. They built a gigantic shape in the heavens, a looped cross of black scripture.
"Abaddon Ankh."
Kirill thrust his palms forward.
VZZZTT!
Countless red beams erupted from the mouths of the birds that made up the Ankh. The lasers converged into a single, devastating column of ruin that crashed down toward the Beast Tumor.
The monster sensed the annihilation. It roared and drew upon the energy of its unfinished halo. A barrier of violet light materialized around it.
BOOOOOOM!
The Abaddon Ankh clashed with the barrier. The sky turned white with the discharge of opposing energies.
…
Underground, the battle had descended into a brawl.
"Divine Standing!"
Targellan threw his glowing body in front of Hindar. A massive root slammed into his chest, but he did not budge. The impact shook the cavern, yet his defence held firm against the fatal blow.
"We can't keep this up!" Meldov chopped a root in half, but two more grew in its place. "They regenerate too fast!"
They couldn't cast the blessing of healing because the spell required stillness, and stillness meant death in this pit.
Hindar stood in the back. Blood streamed from her eyes and stained her cheeks red. Her Visual Gospel remained active, pushing her brain to the breaking point as she synchronized with the battle above.
"Kirill is going in for the decisive blow! We can't waste time! The Sarx Effigy must be destroyed now!"
She tried to summon her Leith Blades, but her vision blurred. Her knees buckled.
Flicker.
Her Gospel deactivated. She faltered.
The roots sensed the weakness. Three thick tendrils swooped in to impale her.
"Hindar!"
"Divine Shining: Nova!"
Targellan released all his stored light in a single, explosive pulse. The brilliance obliterated the surrounding roots and blinded the subterranean guardians. He scooped Hindar up and leaped back.
"Meldov! Do it!" Targellan shouted.
"I'm on it!"
Meldov stepped forward. He ran the blade of his axe across his own palm.
Ssssss.
The weapon drank his blood. It pulsed with a deep, hungry crimson light and began to enlarge until the head of the axe was the size of a man.
"Fenpire: Blood Thirsty Monarch!"
…
Above, the stalemate broke.
CRACK.
The barrier protecting the Beast Tumor splintered under the relentless pressure of the Abaddon Ankh.
Kirill saw the fourth sphere of the Gravity Star taking its final shape. Desperation fuelled his rage.
"BREAK!"
He opened his mouth and vomited hundreds more birds into the beam. The added mass tipped the scales.
SHATTER!
The violet barrier disintegrated. The Abaddon Ankh formation broke apart, and Kirill commanded the individual birds to become kamikaze missiles. They crashed into the Beast Tumor. The monster raised a wall of meat to defend itself, but the explosions tore it apart.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
While the fire consumed the beast's defences, Kirill charged his sickles with dark energy. The blades grew long and jagged, comprised of shadows and screams.
"Kusarigama: Thousandth Ghost Tyrant!"
He unleashed a flurry of motion. Myriads of dark slashes rushed their target like a storm of razors. The Beast Tumor's meat shield was already gone, consumed by the birds. The slashes connected with the creature's main body.
Simultaneously, deep beneath the earth, Meldov swung his giant axe.
"Devour!"
A spectre of blood; a red, demonic monarch rose from the swing. It soared toward the Sarx Effigy. The roots tried to intercept it, but the blood spectre opened its maw and began to consume them.
"It's useless! Blood Thirsty Monarch will devour you!" Meldov screamed.
Above, Kirill's attack reached its zenith.
SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!
Hundreds of cutting sounds echoed across Nesbeth. The Beast Tumor was being minced. Kirill did not stop. He slashed wildly, screaming in exertion, using every ounce of power he had left to slaughter the abomination.
He slashed until his muscles burned. He slashed until his vision went black.
After a full minute of unrelenting violence, Kirill's arms fell limp. The bird beneath his feet vanished into smoke.
He fell.
"Lord Provost!"
Vornak leaped into the air. He caught Kirill's falling body before he hit the rooftops and landed safely on a spire.
Kirill lay in Vornak's arms. He stared weakly at the cloud of blood and meat that remained of the Beast Tumor.
'Did that do it…?'
He looked up. The Gravity Star still spun. The halo still loomed.
His heart sank.
Squish.
From the mist of blood, the severed flesh of the Beast Tumor began to knit back together. The meat reconnected. The bone reformed.
"No…" Kirill sighed in pain.
He had failed. Death was about to take them home.
"Sir! Look!" Vornak pointed.
Kirill forced his eyes open.
In the center of the regenerating chest cavity, a red light pulsed. The core had materialized.
It was a good sign. It meant the underground team had succeeded. The connection was severed. The beast could be killed.
But it was too late.
Kirill tried to lift his hand, but his fingers would not obey. He had no strength left. The meat slabs were already closing over the core to hide it once more.
Hope was lost.
ZOOOM!
Suddenly, a golden blur shot overhead.
"What's that?" Vornak gasped.
Someone was flying toward the core. But who?
Before the meat slabs could seal the weakness, a figure clad in white burst through the smoke. Yohan Creed's silver hair streamed behind him. He held his sword with both hands.
"Gladius Mille Vultuum: Tsurugi Index!"
Space distorted. Countless spectral broadswords appeared in a halo around him. They did not slash; they thrust.
THUNK-THUNK-THUNK-THUNK!
Every single blade slammed into the exposed core.
CRACK!
The red orb shattered.
A shockwave of silence swept the city.
The halo above the beast vanished instantly. The Gravity Star flickered once, then collapsed in on itself just as the last sphere completed its form. The civilians drifted gently back to the ground.
Below, the Sarx Effigy burst into pieces, and the roots withered into dust.
"We did it!" Meldov cheered. He slapped Targellan on the back.
"Damn right we did!"
But Hindar slumped against Targellan. She touched her bleeding eyes.
"Did we make it in time?"
Her Gospel was dead, and she could not see if Kirill had survived the fall, or if the Beast Tumor was truly gone.