Chrysanthemum quickly overpowered the Grey Death Cultist and her jaws closed on its neck But it managed to finish its spell and a huge orb of crimson formed around three times the size of those previous orbs and flew forward towards the Stagbat Before Chrysanthemum even crushed its neck it fell back lifeless
Chrysanthemum still bit down of course if just for the satisfying crunch
As the orb rushed forward Annie switched her target her arrows clustered together to destroy the orbs quickly But as the arrows approached the orbs split into a dozen smaller orbs avoiding the clustered arrows
Chain Lightning Clarissa shouted and a bolt shot forward Before it could strike however the orbs split again each becoming twelve smaller orbs once more And although the Chain Lightning destroyed 20 orbs on its own and Annie was able to pierce another 10 or so that only destroyed 20% of that strange healing energy and the rest reached the Stagbat
Immediately the change became obvious not just in the fact that its wounds healed but also because its wings which were more like the arms form that the Death Cultists possessed to this point now spread out to about 30 meters wide really casting a huge shadow
Quickly Annie returned to bombarding it but its wings had regained close to their full ability to move and they smashed arrows away harmlessly Annie cursed The speed at which it cast the grey time beams increased too and the close combat warriors were driven back to about 30 meters which seemed to be the range outside of which the beam’s energy fizzled into nothing
Any ideas Annie asked Alana
Frowning at the monster which was now braying again Alana said Yes but I don’t want to spook it into
A fist sized rock struck the Stagbat on the nose sending it cantering a few steps backward snorting and sneezing Then it glared at Ace who had apparently recovered enough to stand and attack and was grinning at it in a very pleased manner
The bat head on its back tried its best to roar but it only came out as a high pitched whine more bile oozing out of its mouth The wings spread and began to beat driving the Stagbat off the ground and into the air its huge wings buffeting them all with huge gusts of air It rose only about 10 meters but then ascended rapidly higher and higher
As it did so the Raid Dungeon group watched as its wings appeared to grow spreading thinner and thinner until the stag portion of the body was just a tiny speck of dust and its true body was those wings that could cover the sky so much so that if you didn’t look up you could have mistaken the shadow for a malevolent cloud
because I didn’t want to spook it into realizing it could fly Alana finished frowning at Ace’s cackling form
Why not just let it go Ptolemy suggested We can go find the Ghosthound and with him
A beam of energy thick and grey shot downwards towards them Immediately the group scattered leaping and dashing out of the way This time there was a small explosion where the beam hit the ground and in a 10 meter area the soil disintegrated and was blown away by the wind
will it let us Rose asked grimly looking at the Stagbat which now was swooping down towards them another large sphere of grey forming between its antlers
This thing is unnatural Lucifer announced causing Drake to snort Well no shit
We need Rose began but then her eyes widened Move As far away from the city as possible Right
She didn’t need to finish There was only a small rumble and then all at once there was an explosion from the Dintan city buildings and that strange sculpture collapsing almost unwilling refusing to cease to be before it even had a chance to grow
Very quickly the rumbling was unbearable and from the ground of the ruined city a hand shot upwards formed of molten lava waves of heat surrounding it It shot up and up growing larger and larger until it made the Stagbat look like an ant looming above it
Reacting quickly the Stagbat changed direction and shot forward moving more quickly than should be possible but the huge hand of lava pursued falling downwards When it became clear that even with its prodigious speed it couldn’t escape the Stagbat spun around and unleashed a blast of that grey energy
But the hand was simply too large and after discharging its energy the Stagbat was smashed into the ground driven by the hand Luckily the strike had descended a little bit to their east but still there were large fissures formed on the ground from the force of that much mass crashing into the ground
Think its dead Annie asked curiously peering towards the impact zone She was the only one with the nerve to ask that Drake reflected That girl was made of ice
Unfortunately not A voice answered and the group turned to find the Ghosthound looking much the worse for wear His once regal Bone Cloak was ripped to shreds large gashes running through it His feet were bare and Drake could see one of his toes was snapped The area around his mouth and nose was stiff with dried blood as if he had been beaten repeatedly But even so Even so
Drake didn’t doubt that this man was still incredibly dangerous What had he been fighting this whole time Hopefully that opponent was dead because if it wasn’t
Tsk The Ghosthound made an annoyed noise and cracked his neck The two Regalias were fused into its body Their energy is keeping it alive but only just It’s a monster that shouldn’t exist Let’s go put it out of its misery
Chapter 464
Tziech found it ironic that the cold numbness that had been killing him was the only reason that he survived that explosion of energy Whereas that energy was heat and violence the cold in him was stillness and silence acting like an anchor that kept him on track in the midst of a storm
Still his wounds were not mild And the exposure to that violent energy had done him no favors in terms of life expectancy It was a testament to the physical power of his body more than anything else that he maintained even a flickering spot of life after that explosion
The world around him was silent and still and it reminded Tziech of the Sprrigits’ Frozen Globes that were generally landscapes in small glass spheres that you could shake and spread glitter or miniature snow over the scene Around Tziech the ground was oddly cleansed most of the strange mist in the area destroyed The sky was free of the mechanical crows
The large floating crystals had turned into wisps of light like clouds that drifted across the only movement in a dead place
Only 10 seconds after the strange energy reaction ceased there was a flicker from the crimson pillar and the Thief once more appeared her face twisted in too many emotions to understand easily Her face was a marsh of inner conflict but when her eyes located Tziech all that fell away and she gasped softly rushing to his side
Tziech wanted to say something reassure her give her a clue that he wasn’t fine obviously but he was as well as could be expected All things considered Tziech held no unwillingness in his heart towards the Progenitor’s use of them This world had been cleaned out through the process When he was given the powder the Progenitor’s Voice was very clear of the danger
Also she specifically looked Tziech in the eye and informed him he likely wouldn’t return from this mission Tziech said nothing just holding her gaze
To Tziech’s surprise two fat tears ran down the Thief’s face dripping and touching his ripped leather armor
You can’t do this to me The Thief said softly holding onto the edges of his clothing
In his mind Tziech always had a strange suspicion that there was a possibility a possibility only that he and the Thief could be could be something That they could step away from their roles in the larger world and just be themselves let nature take its course perhaps raise a family