Miia fired an arrow from her bow. It shot out like a star, leaving a trail of light as it pierced through dozens of Demons.
Some were reduced to dust motes, while others lay lifeless on the ground.
Cries of victory, encouragement, and hope erupted from the paladins of the Holy Kingdom as they charged alongside the soldiers of Deorum Regnum, pushing back the weakened wave of Demons.
Metal against metal. Roars and screams. Blood and mud mingling.
And thunder accompanied the devastating rain that came from nowhere.
She considered asking someone to use [Control Weather] or [Clear Weather] to stop the rain. It was annoying, but she concluded that it added drama and epic grandeur to the scene, and would be much more deeply etched in the paladins' memories this way. They would remember it as the battle of their lives, pushing back Demons alongside Deorum Regnum. And that very thing would make them feel grateful, familiar, and united with the nation of the Supreme Beings.
She was certainly very astute~
Even so, she couldn't help but have a question. Where did this rain come from?
She understood the water cycle and the atmospheric logic that shaped the weather, enough to manifest storms, hurricanes, and the like. But, from what she knew, they were far from the coasts, which should be the most susceptible to storms of this magnitude, and there was no information or forecast regarding such weather. And even if it had been summoned through magic, she should have been informed… Right?
Be that as it may, for some reason, this rain gave her a disquieting feeling. Not because it caused her any kind of harm, but because it wasn't normal rain.
Drops of water struck her skin and armor. They didn't do the slightest damage, they didn't make a single one of her defenses or resistances falter. But she felt cold. Not the knowledge that it was cold, but she actually felt the cold of the water.
With her level of resistance, such a temperature shouldn't feel cold in itself. She could understand that it was cold, but she didn't feel it in the same way that, for example, the paladins felt it.
Therefore, by simple calculations, this water should be at a sub-zero temperature, which wouldn't make sense, since at such a temperature, it should be practically hail. But he didn't feel a cold of that magnitude, and it was ordinary water. Not a soldier, not a paladin, not a priest, no one complained about the cold as if it were ice.
It was… An anomaly.
She considered, once again, reporting it, but it wasn't of vital importance. It was a nuisance at most. A phenomenon that, although curious, presented neither danger nor threat. Therefore, she simply shook her mind of such thoughts, drawing back her bow again, as an arrow of light manifested within it, firing and finishing off a level 50 Demon that was one of the heavyweights of this horde.
…
Black Abyss hissed, unleashing a slash of divine fire so powerful it instantly transformed the earth into magma, causing the serpentine monstrosity to roar as the slash grazed it, leaving a surface of soot on its scales.
Water vapor began to rise across the battlefield as the water came into contact with the fire and magma caused by Black Abyss's attacks.
"ROOOAAAAHHHHHHHHHHSSSSHHHH! [FREEZING BLADES]!" The Dragon Lord shrieked, causing water to concentrate into tree-sized icy blades, which were hurled in all directions like arrows.
Siegfried, the eldritch Dragon, was struck by dozens upon dozens of ice blades. However, many of these simply sank into his dark flesh like stones sinking into oil, while others truly pierced his flesh. But even so, he only shook her blades in irritation, letting out another abominable roar with several mental debuffs directed at the scaly eel.
Black Abyss growled… It wasn't the first time she had fought a Dragon. The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had been a true challenge, but this one… It used an element that harmed her… Very partially compared to the 'darkness,' but it was still something. Even so, she should also have the same effect. In short, they were opposites.
"[Heat Up]" She exclaimed, not only with her body temperature suddenly increasing, but it was primarily a speed buff, although it did reduce her strength somewhat. But it was a considerable increase that allowed her to quickly close the gap on the serpent.
It hissed unpleasantly, unleashing another ability that created a wall of ice, no, an entire iceberg, in Black Abyss's path, while simultaneously lashing out at Siegfried, who tried to take advantage of the Dragon Lord's distraction.
However, it was the serpent itself that became distracted, incredulous that the enormous wall of ice hadn't instantly stopped Black Abyss, instead being destroyed by her body, which came to a halt amidst the surprised creature's long limbs.
"[Immolation]!" She unleashed forcefully, the serpent watching as the Angel was engulfed in flames, before suddenly exploding violently.
An explosion of pure divine and solar elements rose and expanded so much that it cleared the sky of dark clouds.
"GIEEEEHHHH! YOU DAMNED, DISGUSTING CREATURE!" The Dragon Lord shrieked, writhing like a vile worm as he backed away. "[WILD MAGIC: MOTHER HYDRA]!" The monster roared violently.
The water seemed to stop in midair, and suddenly, it concentrated at a point beside the Dragon Lord.
Black Abyss really wanted to attack while the creature's ability charged, but she had no idea what she was doing.
She didn't know its timing. And so far, there were no reinforcements.
Siegfried, on the other hand, acting as he should, attacked, unleashing a breath of dark, carnivorous worms.
The Paladin recoiled slightly at the sight. Siegfried's abilities were, admittedly, a bit dubious.
But it seemed to have the desired effect, confusing the serpentine Dragon with the strange attack, causing it to writhe to avoid the jet of worm-laden liquid.
However, the worms leaped like piranhas from the breath, swarming onto the Dragon's scales.
The sight of the Deep Worms burning as they 'touched reality,' leaving deep gashes in the scales with their bites, was truly gruesome.
On the other hand, the attack had a secondary purpose. Passing by the Dragon Lord, it crashed head-on into the swarm of amphibious abominations that swarmed against the only thing they could.
A few minutes ago, the serpent had summoned a freaking monster wave. And while it didn't end up doing much because of how far they were from the shore, it did bring 'reinforcements' from the Dragon Lord.
An army of ugly fish-frogmen and other sea monsters attacked Suryt with everything they had.
Even so, they were weak, and the most they managed was to hold her back.
But considering they didn't hesitate to form pillars upon themselves to try and hinder the Paladin, the NPC didn't hesitate either, and focused on containing them, tearing them apart with fire, swords, and fists, since she wasn't strong enough to do anything against the sea serpent.
Worms swarmed at the creatures vaguely similar to the Deep Ones, an amphibious race from Yggdrasil, leaving a small group of them occupied, and giving the NPC a brief respite.
Even so, Black Abyss's eyes widened in shock, flapping her wings and avoiding enormous icy jaws.
She looked toward the attacker…
She clicked her tongue.
The concentrated water turned to ice, and that ice formed a kind of frozen copy of the snake, making there were now two.
She looked toward the 'main body,' which was lunging at Siegfried.
The Dragon roared, tentacles and tar from its body causing noticeable damage to the snake, but the snake clung to it like a boa constrictor, restraining its movements while delivering violent bites.
Tch… As powerful as Siegfried was, not to mention the strongest on all of Titania, he was still a level 95 being, and therefore vulnerable to being at a disadvantage in almost every solo scenario if the Dragon Lord was level 100.
The distraction was enough to force her to raise her shield, blocking an icy tail swipe from the clone.
Thanks to her equipment, she wasn't thrown backward, but she still felt the force of the blow.
Tch…
But… If there was a difference between the main creature and the clone, it was that the ice-formed creature didn't seem to be using any abilities, nor was it roaring or shrieking.
Black Abyss reminded her of a very powerful ultimate ability of Miia's, a trump card that a comrade also possessed, [Einherjar]. Miia could take this creature down on her own, she was currently the most powerful level 100 creature in the Guild. But she wasn't here… Dont could deal massive damage while covering it, but she didn't want to expose her when this thing was still displaying such strong abilities. She had to bring her in at the right moment…
The ice serpent tried to bite her, but the Paladin swatted it away with a shield blow, breaking several teeth with the sheer force of the strike.
"Suryt! Retreat with Siegfried!" She commanded the NPC, who stopped abruptly.
The Homunculus froze for a moment, though the golden arms wielding swords did not, slicing through monster after monster that tried to lunge at her.
But she glanced at Black Abyss, and though she wore a doubtful expression, she nodded with a quick bow.
In a burst of fire, she soared into the sky.
"Siegfried, retreat!" She shouted, unleashing flames at the sea monsters.
The Dragon roared in response, as if trying to say, 'In a moment' as it battled the serpentine Dragon Lord in a vicious fight, like a badger against a cobra.
The Paladin gripped her halberd, dodging the clone's second bite, and struck again with all her might, blasting shards of ice from the creature.
"Tch, it's pretty tough," She had to admit. Most likely, based on its toughness, it had also copied the HP and defense of the main body.
While the ice clone's attack pattern was simple, bites and tail swipes, it was still a decent tank that couldn't be ignored.
Even so, a request from [Message] popped into her head, and she accepted it instantly.
(Supreme Black Abyss. Lady Miia, Lord Bulldoger, Lord Alucard, and Gandolfo are unavailable. Supreme Don't-Say-My-Name is also unavailable.) Eyesight's voice was serious and tinged with concern.
A tail swipe from behind made Black Abyss stagger slightly, though the damage wasn't too severe.
But it forced her to position her halberd and shield so that the ice serpent's jaws wouldn't crush her.
Her plasma wings and fiery aura slowly evaporated the teeth and jaws, creating an annoying vapor, but still not enough to leave the massive monster mouthless.
Black Abyss growled…
Not only did she need concentrated, massive damage to finish off one of them, but she also had to reduce this thing's power over water…
"Tch. Who's available…? According to a level above 95."
(Available reinforcements are on their way. Lo-) The message didn't finish before the ice serpent received a powerful punch, enough to send its head crashing to the ground.
The Paladin looked at the one who caused it and sighed in relief.
"Moth- Ahem, Lady Black Abyss. I apologize for my slowness." Achernar, her son, apologized~
"Ha… It's alright, you arrived just in time." She sighed more calmly, watching the Dragonoid floating above the ice serpent, arms crossed. Did he like farming aura? Well, she supposed that's how she created him. And he looked cool.
(Ujum, excuse my hesitation.) Eyesight's message continued. (Lord Achernar was sent by the Supreme Dont. Along with Lady Superbia.)
Superbia?
Then she noticed powerful and violent roars and blows coming from two directions.
One, from the army of sea monsters, fighting tooth and nail against giant monstrous elephants, knights worthy of legends, and stewards armored to the teeth.
On the other side, she saw maids covered in iron blades dancing along the serpent, slicing its scales, while humanoid dragons with a majestic presence violently attacked the snake, biting and shooting silver beams at its skin.
Superbia, her beautiful wings spread in their full splendor, summoned high-level creatures, one after another, wielding her scepter as she cast buffs upon several and commanded them… She also had a white umbrella… As one would expect from her~
Taking advantage of the snake's weakened state from the sudden blows, Siegfried broke free from the Dragon Lord's grasp, biting its throat and hurling it violently to the ground as the summons retreated.
And as ordered, instead of tearing the eel apart with his teeth and claws, Siegfried took flight, moving away with Suryt in another direction.
The Paladin breathed a sigh of relief. She had been genuinely worried about the damage the two NPCs had sustained.
Good. The situation had turned in their favor.
"[Body Destruction Whirlpool]!" The Dragon Lord roared brutally, his body glowing azure, spinning in all directions like a runaway hose, but with razor-sharp scales that sliced through anything they touched, and a weight of thousands of tons moving at tremendous speed with the full intention of destroying everything in its path.
Several of the Dragons, as well as summoned knights, were caught in the sharp onslaught, suffering severe damage.
Superbia, faced with the enormous range of the sea serpent's attack, had to retreat while clicking her tongue, feeling several of her summons die as they were caught in such a relentless onslaught.
The disadvantages of not having instant movement abilities or spells.
"My Lady." Achernar called, delivering another powerful punch to the ice serpent, forcing it back from its attempted attack from behind. "What should we do?" she asked for orders.
Black Abyss, seeing the two creatures so close…
"Retreat!" She exclaimed, pulling out a scroll, which burned, causing her to vanish and reappear above the Dragons. Curling up over them, a large amount of mana burned away. "[Nova]!" She shouted, and suddenly, another massive explosion occurred.
A massive white explosion erupted from nowhere before the two creatures, leaving such an intense flash that Black Abyss nearly covered her ears against the shrieks of the now-blind monsters to one side, thrown back by the colossal force of the attack.
Nova was a very powerful level 10 spell, her most powerful. Second only to the strongest mass attack spell, Supernova, which was itself second only to [Hypernova], a super-level attack that was an exclusive ability of a special pyromancer class she had only seen once. But being a tank, she couldn't fully utilize such destructive power, even offensively, but it was still immensely high damage for something like her.
"YOU DAMNED BASTARDS! I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL! DIE DIE DIE!" Roared the Dragon Lord, unleashing his high-pressure water breath as a huge chunk of his body burned, his flesh exposed and charred. But it was still clear that he had no shortage of strength.
Certainly, Black Abyss could say that. Victory was assured. There were real losses, like Suryt's Dragons, and a level 10 scroll… But otherwise, only the Archarchaeologist's Demons and Superbia's temporary summons.
But just because victory was assured didn't mean they were safe until they achieved it. This thing was still capable of using that rare magic, 'Wild Magic', surely something local, with effects as powerful as level 10 magic, or even Superlevel.
"GYASSSHHHHHH!" It shrieked, receiving a punch from Achernar, who had to land to use his full speed.
After all, she was only airborne thanks to a necklace imbued with the [Fly] spell.
"[WILD MAGIC: DEEPEST COLD WITHIN]!" Roared the monster… It was that very same spell…
The rain suddenly turned to ice once more. And…
The Paladin clicked her tongue in a hint of fear, banishing the ice serpent with a divine fireball as it soared into the sky. She prepared to cast quick heals on Achernar and Superbia, but…
They were both unharmed…
She couldn't say the same for Superbia's summons, nor for the army of monsters.
Statues of sharp, red ice, alongside metal shattered by armor ripped from within, appeared alongside sea monsters and summons exploding into ice as all the water in their bodies froze…
The strange lack of effect on the NPCs left her somewhat puzzled… Siegfried wasn't affected either…
Did it only affect those of low level? Considering Suryt's level, below level 75 at the very least… It didn't matter. You could say the Dragon balanced the battlefield a bit.
"I WILL DESTROY YOU! YOU WRETCHED PIECES OF TRASH! YOU SHITTY PLAYERS! ROAAAAHHHHHH!" The Dragon Lord roared, oozing rage and fury… And then it spoke again. "[WILD MAGIC: CONQUEROR OF THE DEPTHS]!" It unleashed, and Black Abyss braced itself for whatever was coming.
She expected some kind of summoning, another clone to appear like the ice serpent, which received another punch from Achernar when it tried to attack Black Abyss. Anything but…
The Ocean Dragon Lord, suddenly… Shrank back. From a massive sea serpent, it shrank to the size of a tall human…
And instead of remaining in her eel form, she took on a… Humanoid… Form. But judging by the deep blue armor and the back formed from the teeth of sea beasts… Hm, it seemed it finally realized that its massive size only made it a much easier target against three.
{Ocean Dragon Lord Armor PNG}
"[WILD HURRICANE]!" It roared to the four winds, the pouring rain clouds swirling as thunder crashed violently… "[SHAPE OF RAIN]! [WILD MAGIC: ABSOLUTE LEVIATHAN]!"
"Tch. Achernar, get ready. It seems the real battle has only just begun." She clicked her tongue, noticing how all the falling water seemed to be becoming more 'controlled'.
It looked like it was going to control all the water around itself.
"Understood, Supreme." The Dragonoid nodded, clenching his fists as he prepared to unleash his full power.
The ice serpent retreated, settling behind the Dragon Lord's armor…
… Okay, she couldn't deny it. That looked cool.
The Paladin's wings shone even brighter, evaporating all the approaching water.
She wouldn't be outdone~
…
Pabel backed away, narrowly avoiding being crushed by a red stinger.
Tch, perhaps approaching to help the noblewoman wasn't such a good idea.
On top of that, he dodged a sword strike from some kind of Demon Knight, doing his best to get away.
However, the giant scorpion and the Demon gave him no respite.
If he climbed a tree, the scorpion would slice it with its pincers, and if he retreated to prepare a bow shot, the knight would swoop down like a missile.
They were much slower than him, but if he couldn't attack, they would only tire him out until they could deliver a fatal blow.
His only option was to wait for Nyx to manage to defeat the scorpions and the mad Demon alongside her own knights, and come to save him.
Having to depend on someone else for that was unpleasant for Pabel, but he had no other choice. Gaining a fleeting moment between the giant scorpion preparing its attack and the knight charging toward Pabel, he hurled a knife at the knight, causing him to pause for a moment to avoid entering his visor. The knife struck the red armor, lifeless.
Taking advantage of the moment, the scorpion's sting was easier to dodge. He quickly moved aside, avoiding being pierced.
Tch… He glanced to the side. Between trees, bushes, and tents, he could barely see Nyx's battle against those things… Just vague bursts of fire and objects being hurled by scorpions or the Mad Demon. It wasn't as if he could really do more than theorize.
Still, his attention returned to his own situation, and…
"Tsk!" He groaned, narrowly avoiding an arrow that came from absolutely nowhere.
This, however, allowed the knight to swing his sword, grazing his thigh and causing an unpleasant burning sensation to spread up his leg. Damn it… Those Imps again… He somersaulted after unleashing a martial art, dodging the scorpion's deadly sting once more… Another arrow came from a different direction, forcing him to duck, but consequently, he received a kick from the knight.
"Huff!" He gasped, crashing into a tree… He tried to get up, but an arrow came from another tree, piercing his palm and pinning it to the ground.
He could pull out the arrow and get out, but it was too late… He practically saw the stinger in his chest when he looked up… Tch… This is it… Damned Demons… He glared at the infernal creatures with hatred until the very last moment, waiting for the final pain.
However, he opened his eyes as he saw a sword strike the stinger, deflecting it enough to pierce Pabel's hat, but barely grazing his hair.
He felt thick beads of sweat trickle down his face. And she looked at her savior…
"Get up… Huf. You don't look cute all dirty." Camilla gasped, her hands trembling from the force she had to exert to deflect the blow.
Even so, she slashed to the side, blocking an arrow as her sword clashed with the knight's, who tried to take advantage of the brief moment.
Pabel blinked, but shook off the confusion and slight blush. This was no time to be confused or embarrassed.
He forgot his hat, simply leaving it there before the scorpion pulled its stinger.
With the force of the sting, he uprooted the entire tree.
Even so, the creature noticed the 'decoration' on his weapon and began to thrash its tail, trying to dislodge the tree.
It was a brief moment, but it gave Pabel just enough time to draw his bow and quickly fire at a tree, causing a shriek to be heard as an Imp fell, turning to dust with an arrow in its forehead.
He fired another arrow, this one piercing the knight's knee, causing him to groan as he was forced back by Camilla.
An arrow flew at full speed from another direction, so fast that Pabel himself barely saw a blur…
However, it wasn't aimed at him.
The shot, instead, pierced the Demon Knight's chest, passing through to his back and freezing him.
Pabel himself froze at the scene, staring in disbelief at the knight, who took a step back… Camilla didn't waste her opportunity, and she swung her sword violently.
And with all her might… She beheaded the Demon.
Pabel admired the headless corpse, but his instincts took over, and he lunged toward his wife, pushing her away.
"Gh!"
"Pabel!"
Camilla quickly got back to her feet, grabbing the Ranger with an arrow in his side.
"Tch, you damn fool. I have armor!" The paladin growled, carefully examining the wound.
"I couldn't let you get hurt." Pabel retorted, frowning as he saw another arrow, this one heading for a tree and striking an Imp…
Even so, the emotional moment didn't last long, as the scorpion seemed to rage, grabbing the tree with its pincers, splitting it in two, and releasing its stinger.
An unpleasant hissing sound came from the arachnid demon, only for an arrow to pierce one of its eight eyes, making it shriek.
Pabel, unable to resist his curiosity, looked toward the source of the attack… And among the bushes, he could see…
"Neia…" He gasped, his eyes wide.
"Stay here. Let the ladies handle this." His wife joked, gently pulling him out of his disbelief as she easily lifted him and tossed him into a pile of bushes.
The dazed and slightly sore Pabel could only debate whether to feel happy to see his daughter use a bow so well, overwhelmed by everything that had happened, worried about his wife and daughter exposing themselves to such an opponent, or excited by how strong his wife was.
On the other hand, Camilla vowed to herself to teach Pabel a lesson for trying to play the hero, one that would require leaving him unable to walk for a few days.
Though now, she had more important things to worry about, like the enormous Demon Scorpion charging furiously toward her.
She glanced at her daughter, nodding.
Ha… Maybe I won't make it out of this.
She gripped her sword, preparing to fight with all the strength she had left…
But the scorpion stopped. She froze… And hissed as she backed away…
"What…?" Camilla blinked.
"H-Hello? Do you need help?" A familiar voice, one that had previously commanded her respect, came from some bushes.
"Custodio?" The Purple One frowned, watching Remedios approach, her hand trembling slightly as she clutched the sacred sword, looking somewhat lost.
"Y-Yes, sorry I'm late." She shrank back a little, embarrassed, glancing at the battlefield… "Uh… I may have been a bit late…" She blushed slightly.
"On the contrary. You're right on time, insect." A second, unfamiliar voice appeared.
"Ugh, can you two stop running around?" the mother complained, freezing when she saw who owned that voice.
And Remedios froze too.
A humanoid being, covered in dark and red robes, with glowing red eyes and a macabre smile flashing from the darkness cast by its hood…
"That Her Majesty sent me to personally finish you off, you scum. Oh, well. An order is an order~" The Infernal Archarchaeologist hummed.
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Name: Neia Baraja
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