Chapter 193: Rhodes and Serie Brave the Demon King's Castle
"The teleportation circle is ready. We just need to pour in the mana."
"Do we have to be so careful?" she asked, a little confused. With their combined strength, she was sure there was not a single demon who could stand against them, not even their so-called "Demon King." She had faced a god, after all. The elven miss... she was getting a little full of herself.
He, of course, had noticed. Shurahat's little pawns had, in their own way, greatly boosted her confidence. He didn't bother to correct her. She had the right to be confident. "It's always better to be safe than sorry. We can't be sure what other tricks they have up their sleeves."
He raised his hand, and the thread of light that connected him to the 'Light of Ersten' was now shining brightly. The holy sword was right below them.
"Let's go, Serie."
He was the first to move. His form became a falling star, a streak of light in the sky as he plunged towards the Demon King's castle. He made no attempt to conceal his presence. He had unleashed his full power, a clear and undeniable challenge.
She was right behind him, her own mana now condensed into a single, deadly point at her fingertip, a simple, yet practical, spell they had created in their battle with the goddess. And her target was the same as his: the massive and annoying magic barrier that surrounded the castle.
The moment their auras flared, the castle was on high alert. A shrill, piercing alarm echoed through the air, and the barrier, a creation of Beze the Immortal, now glowed with an ominous light. A thousand runes lit up on its surface as the mages below poured their power into it, trying to reinforce it.
"Enemy attack!"
"Alert the Sages of Destruction!"
"Such a terrifying aura! Quick! Activate all defenses!"
On the walls, the demons, having recovered from their initial shock, were now in a frenzy of activity. Figures took to the sky, demons on their own wings, and a swarm of flying monsters. And dozens of mages began to cast their spells, a desperate attempt to stop the two invaders. But against their speed, it was all for naught.
He was the first to hit the barrier. There was no great explosion, just a sickening screeching sound. He didn't even slow down. He didn't even draw Org. It looked as if he was just plowing through it with his own body, but on closer inspection, one would have seen the thin, almost invisible, magic shield that surrounded him. And the barrier, a barrier that could have withstood the most powerful of magical attacks, was torn open like a piece of paper, a gaping hole now in its once-impenetrable surface.
She was right behind him, and the point of light at her fingertip now struck the edge of the hole. And then... it exploded.
CRACK!
CRACKLE!
Like a pane of glass that has been struck by a hammer, a web of cracks spread across the entire barrier. And then, before the horrified eyes of a thousand demons, it shattered, dissolving into a shower of magical light.
"NO!"
The mages who had been maintaining the barrier all cried out in pain as the backlash of their own spell washed over them, and they fell from the sky.
The two of them were now inside.
"STOP THEM!"
The demons, now in a complete and utter panic, swarmed towards them from all sides. The warriors, with their most powerful attacks, and the mages, with their most destructive spells... the very sky was now a maelstrom of death and destruction.
And against it, they struck as one.
She didn't even break her stride. She just held out her left hand, and with a clench of her fist, a massive silver shield appeared before them, and all of the attacks that came their way were simply absorbed by it, not even leaving a scratch. It was a new and improved version of her shield spell. Even the petrification magic of that other demon would not be able to pierce it.
And then, he drew Org.
A torrent of a silver-white light shot from its blade, a wave of a pure and holy energy that was so powerful it made the very space around it scream in protest. The demons who were in its path, all except for a few who were quick enough to get out of the way, were instantly consumed by it.
"You used it," she said, and with a casual flick of her wrist, she sent a monster crashing to the ground in a shower of blood and gore. "I thought you were saving it."
"Time is of the essence. We have to find Shurahat before he can escape again."
"Hmph. Then let me show you a new spell I just learned," she said with a small smile as a new wave of demons appeared before them. A cold, blue aura now surrounded her, and a massive magic circle appeared in front of her, and from it, a blue torrent, a tsunami of a pure and unadulterated ice, rushed forward and, in a single, terrifying instant, a hundred demons and monsters were all frozen in a single, massive block of ice, an ice that then shattered into a million tiny, glittering fragments.
In a single blow, she had cleared a path, a path that led straight to the heart of the Demon King's castle. "Come on," she said. "There are too many of them here."
He nodded, and with a wall of vines to hold back the monsters that were now swarming in from behind, he shot forward, a streak of light and shadow, his own shield now up to deflect the stray attacks that came from the sides, his gaze fixed on the center of the castle, where he could feel it, the familiar and unmistakable aura of the 'Light of Ersten'.
But there was another aura there as well, a much larger one, a strange and unsettling one.
"Shurahat... I'm coming for you."
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