Douglas desperately wanted to help, but the moment he took a step forward, his legs buckled beneath him, forcing him to one knee. The previous attack had drained him of too much energy, leaving him in a temporary state of exhaustion.
Now, only Aria and the Giant Child remained locked in their standoff. Golden light converged in the Giant Child's palm, while icy blue energy swirled around Aria's sword blade.
They stood approximately twenty meters apart—a classic "beam clash" formation. Unleashing their final attacks in this manner to determine the victor seemed like a fitting choice.
Cipher deliberately scrutinized their positions, sighing in relief when she saw Aria standing on the right and the Giant Child on the left.
It was common knowledge that, since ancient times, the left side always lost in beam clashes. While there was no scientific basis for this belief, being on the right side was always considered advantageous.
Boom!!!
In the next instant, golden light erupted from the Giant Child's palm, surging toward Aria in a concentrated beam. Strangely, Aria made no move to counter, remaining motionless as if still gathering energy.
Just as the golden beam was about to strike Aria, a seemingly paper-thin shield materialized about a meter in front of her. It was Feidric, who had channeled every last drop of magic power from his spell into this fragile-looking barrier.
Buzz—!
The golden beam slammed into the shield. Outside the battlefield, Feidric clenched his jaw, his expression grim. This was, after all, the enemy's final strike—and as anyone knew, a dying beast's counterattack was always the most ferocious. The situation was no different now.
In less than three seconds, a web of cracks spiderwebbed across the shield's surface before it shattered with a brittle snap. Yet the beam hadn't advanced even a centimeter before striking another identical shield!
Upon closer inspection, ten such shields stood layered before Aria!
Crack—!
Crack—!
Crack—!
After shattering the seventh shield, the golden beam's power noticeably diminished. At that moment, Aria completed her energy buildup. With a downward swing of her azure blade, Feidric instantly retracted his shields.
Was there any question which was stronger: a fully charged blue beam or a golden beam with its power already depleted by more than half?
There was no suspense whatsoever. The blue beam surged forward, obliterating everything in its path as it slammed into the Giant Child. Not a single trace of its contained chill leaked outward; instead, all of its frigid energy was channeled directly into the Outer God's avatar.
Initially, Aria had planned to engage the enemy in a direct energy clash. But then Feidric's voice suddenly echoed in her mind, offering to help deplete the enemy's attack power in advance.
When facing evil adversaries, fairness was irrelevant. Aria immediately agreed to the revised strategy, and the results were astonishing. With a piercing scream, the Giant Child's body was riddled with countless holes.
BOOM!!!
Then, all the concentrated energy erupted in a colossal blue explosion, unleashing a bone-chilling gale. In mere moments, Cipher could feel frost crystallizing in her hair.
"I... is it over?" Douglas asked nervously, his voice a mix of apprehension and anticipation as he watched the scene unfold.
As the aftershocks of the explosion subsided, the Giant Child had vanished. In the massive, ice-filled crater blasted into existence moments before, the original Glasses Man Druid lay battered and bruised. For a Druid, being forced out of their transformed state back into their human form signified they had lost all combat capability.
Without a doubt, they had won this battle!
Aria, Douglas, Feidric in the distance, and all the Warlocks who had witnessed the scene wore expressions of relief, as if they had narrowly escaped death. Daphne, though utterly exhausted, couldn't help the triumphant curve of her lips. "Did... did we actually succeed?"
"Cough... cough..." Just then, the Glasses Man Druid suddenly coughed. His body twitched slightly as he slowly raised his right hand, his voice weak and raspy. "Ha... you think you've won? No, I'm the one who succeeded!"
As he spoke, a crisp, glass-shattering sound erupted from the air roughly one or two meters above him.
First a single crack appeared, then two, and soon countless fissures webbed across the very fabric of space itself.
Bang!
Before anyone could react, this section of space suddenly shattered, revealing a pitch-black void behind it, as dark as ink.
It turned out the Glasses Man Druid never intended to engage in a proper clash of energy beams. His primary target wasn't Aria at all, but the very fabric of this space!
His own attacks alone wouldn't have been sufficient to break through. He needed another energy source to clash with his own.
That's why the Light Beams he initially fired weren't at full power. He had been conserving his strength, waiting for Aria to strike. When their attacks collided, and her blue beam was about to hit him, he unleashed his full reserves in a single burst!
This was the main cause of the final massive explosion. Beyond the shattered space lay the World Barrier, and a pulse that made everyone's hearts tremble emanated from it.
If they had just faced a newborn, still-growing infant, beyond this shattered space stood a fully grown Giant!
The Mother of Flesh herself was likely watching them from beyond the Barrier!
"We're... done for..." Daphne couldn't help but wear a look of despair. They had struggled so much to defeat a mere avatar of the Mother of Flesh, a mere infant. Now that everyone's strength was completely depleted, facing the true Outer God would be utterly hopeless.
A wisp of black shadow drifted out of the spatial rift first, coalescing into the form of a pitch-black panther—the Child of Flesh. The rift was too small for the Mother of Flesh to intervene directly, but sending a vanguard was well within her capabilities.
The moment it materialized, the Child of Flesh lunged at Aria without hesitation, transforming into a shadow as it pounced.
"No!" Feidric's eyes widened, and he reached out to cast a spell. But his Magic Power had been completely drained just moments before. Yet, the white-haired man who had remained motionless beside him suddenly moved.
No one saw his movement clearly—it was as if he had teleported. Phainon materialized beside Aria, gently patting her shoulder with one hand while his other hand was clamped around the Child of Flesh's neck.
His cheerful voice rang out, "You've all done exceptionally well. Your journey to save the world has reached a perfect conclusion. Now, it's my turn."