"Now! Strike!"
Marco's command reached the ears of the other three through the communicators. Before the voice even faded, four figures erupted from their ambush points simultaneously, pouncing toward the center of the plaza like couched leopards.
Buer, positioned on the north side, was the first to attack. He lunged forward, the chain-blade at his waist roaring to life.
Vroom!
The ear-splitting mechanical grind shattered the silence of the plaza. Deep blue psychic energy swirled around the jagged teeth of the blade. With a sharp whistle that seemed to tear the air apart, Buer swung the weapon toward Lacy's back. Despite his burly frame, Buer's movements were not at all clumsy; in less than half a minute, he had reached Lacy.
Simultaneously, the other three closed in from their respective directions. Sensing the movement behind him, the fanaticism on Lacy's face vanished, replaced by a cold sneer. "Heh. You've finally shown yourselves. You're exactly who I was waiting for."
He showed no panic and didn't even turn to parry. As the chain-blade bore down on him, he pressed the pulsing heart onto the core rune of the pedestal. Then, clamping his hands together, the dark red Chaos energy in his palms surged violently.
"Heart of Soul-Devouring, Open!"
Lacy's roar echoed across the empty plaza, filled with crazed fervor. With the infusion of Chaos energy from his palms, the dark green heart suddenly erupted with a blinding red light, and the rotting stench instantly became more violent.
Buer's chain-blade struck Lacy's back, but the expected cutting sensation never came. The blade was stopped cold by an invisible barrier. No matter how much force Buer applied, he couldn't advance another millimeter.
"How is this possible!"
This chain-blade was augmented with purification runes; ordinary Chaos barriers were usually as fragile as paper before it. Yet, this invisible shield was as hard as forged steel.
Just as Buer was growing frustrated by his failed strike, the grey-robed figure flashed behind him. Perhaps due to the sheer speed, the hood was blown back, revealing a face covered in eerie runes. These runes faintly resonated with the patterns in Lacy's palms. More shockingly, the figure's eyes were a pair of purple-glowing crystals.
It turned out this grey-robed figure was a puppet, not a living person at all.
"Watch out!" Marco shouted. He threw three golden light blades from his palm, aiming precisely at the puppet's back.
However, the grey-robed figure ignored them completely, as if the light blades were mere falling leaves.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three golden blades pierced through the figure's body without resistance. But the expected explosion of energy didn't happen. Where the blades passed, only wisps of pale purple mist drifted out before vanishing.
The puppet's movements didn't pause for a second. Its withered palm, carrying a bone-chilling cold, struck directly toward Buer's back. Buer's pupils shrank, and he reacted just in time, rolling instinctively to the side to narrowly avoid the fatal blow.
The palm hit nothing, and the pale purple Chaos energy exploded, blasting a half-meter deep crater into the ground. Shards of stone flew everywhere, carrying a strange aura that seemed to corrode everything it touched.
"Heh. Quick reflexes."
Having missed the first strike, the puppet rose again and lunged at Buer. Its withered fingertips glowed with a purple chill, emitting sharp whistles as they cut through the air, clearly aiming for Buer's vitals.
Buer hurriedly raised his chain-blade to block. The crisp clang of metal on metal made his hand go numb. Immediately after, the puppet's other hand shot out, a purple-black thread condensing at its fingertips, coiling toward Buer like a venomous snake.
The thread moved with incredible speed. Having just blocked the frontal assault, Buer had no time to dodge and was instantly entangled.
"Dammit, what is this thing!"
Buer struggled to break free, but the thread only tightened. The grey-robed puppet sneered, spread its hands, and a massive scythe emerged.
"Heh. Let's take one down first."
The puppet's voice was raspy and dry, devoid of any living warmth, sounding like the friction of rusted iron plates. Its arm, gripping the scythe, tensed with power as it swung toward Buer's neck.
At this critical moment, Marco finally arrived. The golden psychic energy in his palm flared, transforming into a broad sword of light. The blade was surrounded by a holy aura, with Sacred Word incantations flowing across its surface. Carrying the majesty of dispelling all Chaos, he swung it hard against the puppet's scythe.
Clang!
The deafening collision of metal sent a violent shockwave of energy outward, blowing away all the surrounding debris. The puppet was knocked back three steps, its arm holding the scythe trembling slightly—it had clearly taken a significant hit.
Marco wasn't faring much better. His chest felt tight, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. Forcing his psychic energy to manifest the light sword had drained most of what little energy he had recovered.
"Buer, I'll stall this grey-robe! Go deal with Lacy!"
"Right, be careful!"
Buer pivoted, his chain-blade revving as he turned back toward Lacy, who was half-kneeling before the pedestal. This time, he didn't charge recklessly. He slowed his pace, his eyes fixed on the invisible barrier around Lacy, searching for a flaw.
Lacy was currently fully concentrated on controlling the Heart of Soul-Devouring. The dark red energy around him intertwined with the blood-colored light of the sacrificial array, forming a seamless defensive shield. Sensing Buer's approach, he waved a hand without looking back, sending a thick bolt of dark red energy crashing toward Buer.
"Bring it on!"
Buer advanced instead of retreating. His chain-blade slammed into the energy bolt. The deep blue purification energy and the dark red Chaos energy collided violently, producing a piercing screech. The shockwave knocked him back several steps, but his grip on the weapon never faltered. Using the recoil, he charged at Lacy once more.
This time, just as Buer reached Lacy and was about to bring the blade down, Lacy's lips curled into a smile. He whispered a single sentence to Buer:
"Listen to me... you should wake up."
Lacy's voice wasn't loud, but it possessed a bizarre piercing power. Like an invisible thread, it bored into Buer's mind instantly. Buer's chain-blade froze mid-air, and his body locked up on the spot.
A second later, Buer moved. However, he didn't continue his attack on Lacy. Instead, he retracted his blade and turned, charging toward Marco's position.
At that moment, Marco was locked in a fierce struggle with the grey-robed puppet. Hearing footsteps behind him, he glanced back briefly and saw Buer approaching. He turned his attention back to the enemy in front of him and shouted:
"Buer! Your target is Lacy! I don't need—"
Before the words were finished, Buer's chain-blade thrust violently into Marco's back.
"Regrettably, my target is you."