Chapter 1119: Chapter 1118: Bloodletter (4)
Chapter 1119: Chapter 1118: Bloodletter (4)
Ripping the sword out of its back, I snarled softly as I plunged it straight back down onto an undamaged portion of its flesh, cutting through its defenses and dealing an absurd amount of damage as I pulled the blade down and opened up a giant gash across its back.
As it tried to turn around and bring those monstrous six arms to bare against me, I decided to get a step ahead as I growled "[Ice Blossom]!", summoning another flower of frost on its upper back as I carved open the lower side.
When the crystalline flower exploded the Fiend roared again as the shards dug deep into its flesh, burrowing inside and slipping past its thick ribcage as I sought to deal as much damage as I possibly could while it was at its weakest point so far.
Twisting the blade and yanking it in a new direction, I bathed myself and the area around me in Fiendish blood as I opened up a new jagged gash across the rippling canvas that I had begun to make into art, revealing the reddish gold bones beneath and finding out that there were indeed limits to what I could easily cut through.
The spine, for one, was a bone I wasn't able to just cut through with ease, which halted me and gave the Fiend a moment of 'respite' as it only had to deal with the three incisions that had only gotten worse with its moving, and that brief moment forced me to make a decision.
Did I continue to carve away until I was easily smacked aside and likely dealt another severe blow, or did I make out like a bandit on this surprise attack of mine and use the remaining time I had to begin preparing for the next round to begin?
There were benefits to both, but I needed to make a split second decision, and it would seem that my more cautious nature won out as I yanked my blade free and leapt back, though that didn't mean I couldn't make use of my new skill to cast magic with only my voice...
"[Chains of Chione]! [Priming Showers]!"
Two spells cast back to back caused the Fiend to let out another roar, though this one was of anger as six thick chains made from ice impaled themselves into it's arms, wrapping around the bones and making it hard to break free without risking severe injury to itself once more, and that gave me the freedom to douse this hothead with a nice cold shower.
Water poured across its flesh and formed a puddle around its knees, and while I could tell the Bloodletter was confused as to why that water was just water and not some kind of attack, it didn't think too much on it as it tried to stand up and break free, using that red energy to chew away at the ice binding its arms.
"I will take great pleasure in breaking you, whelp!"
The tusked and fanged face that swung around to stare at me was rather intimidating, but since I had it where I wanted it, I wasn't going to be spooked off even as it tried to growl something else at me.
With the Fiend properly primed and awaiting the real reason it had been bathed, I raised my hand and began to tune together my runic spell with an incantation as I stared back into its red and gold eyes without too much fear.
"[Desolate Prison]."
Taking a large chunk of my available mana, I once more fought against the environment itself as I cast a wide area of effect spell that surrounded the Fiend, summoning out a pillar of ice and freezing the Fiend within it; both the area around the Fiend and the skin of the Fiend were frozen as it was plunged into pure ice, not allowed to continue enjoying the damnable heat of the desert sun.
I could have gone with a pure attack, but this allowed me to both damage and contain the Fiend as I instead turned and rushed towards Jahi, the bond between us allowing me to locate her instantly as I began to heal the unconscious Demoness; perhaps I could have killed the Fiend now on my own, but considering it hadn't seemed all that bothered by the wounds on its back...
If a blade made from the bones of one of its peers was able to be healed, I had a feeling this Fiend was still being healed at an impossibly high rate, and if that was the case... I wanted to have the weakness to Fiends standing beside me ready to deal that finishing blow instead.
After all, it had been able to come back from an attack that had apparently sapped it of most of its own life force and nutrients in almost a minute, so who knows how strong that healing factor was, and if it reached a certain state while still being healed, it might just reaffirm my belief that it was a tenacious cockroach instead of a Fiend.
So I poured my remaining mana into healing Jahi, and as the Demoness' eyes fluttered open I turned back to study the pillar of ice I had summoned, cursing slightly at the sight of the blood trying to burrow into the ice and reach the Fiend inside.
It wasn't making fast progress, but considering the Bloodletter's eyes were still glowing and seemingly tracking me, this Fiend was still very much in control of itself as it fought against the prison.
Doubling my efforts, I eventually managed to get Jahi to sit up and groan as she held her head, the pain still effecting her deeply as she cradled herself as best she could without moving too much, but with each passing second she got better and more put together.
"What..?"
"The short of it is that the red Fiend hit you really damn hard, and it caused the entire square to explode. I need your help to kill the thing reliably, and right now it's trapped, so... get up already and get ready to swing your sword as hard as you can!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Pulling her to her feet, I pursed my lips as I realized just how heavy she was before I scooped up her sword and shield, handing them to her and searching through both my potions and hers as I looked for one that wasn't currently shattered and wasted.
Finding just one mana potion, I uncorked it and gave it to her, forcing the Demoness to drink it so that she could have even more mana to hit the Fiend with, and that influx of artificial mana was enough to give her a hearty jolt of energy to do just that.
Handing the vial back to me, she clenched her fist around her masterfully crafted sword and rolled her jaw as she began to trudge forwards, making her way to the pillar of ice and slowly channeling the Light Mana from her Core into her blade in a controlled way.
"Tell me when you're ready, and I will drop the barrier a little in... that place."
I made use of the bond between us to indicate where I meant, and the Demoness nodded as she too noticed how the Fiend was still fully sentient and waiting for the chance to strike; the ice was holding up though, and while it had managed to exhibit an astronomical amount of power earlier, it wasn't doing so now.
Others began to stumble forwards, looking very worse for wear thanks to the Fiend's earlier attack, and as Leone stumbled to join us, the Vampire looked paler than usual while her eyes
were slightly distant.
Before I could ask anything, she just raised her hand and showed me what was left of the red glass ring on her finger, causing my blood to run even colder than before; it was shattered, and just a look at her told me all I needed to know.
She... would have been dead, or at least very, very close to it without the ring I had bought for her, and that realization was almost enough to make my heart stop completely, let alone hers; she blinked a few times and swallowed hard as she lowered her hand and turned to look at the Fiend, those crimson orbs holding a bit more fear than before as she studied the thing that had almost killed her.
It was also that realization that made the golden glow surrounding the Demoness' blade all the harsher as she stepped forwards, and I didn't need to see her face to know that it was a mask of unadulterated fury as she glared at the Fiend, preparing to end its life for what it had
done.
Even though it was trapped inside that prison, the Fiend's lips almost seemed to curl into a condescending smirk as it stared back at her, though when it felt the barrier drop around its shoulders, it wasn't able to do anything at all as her blade cleaved through its body, separating its neck and head from its torso.
And then, as the top half of the prison fell down, Jahi stabbed her blade straight through the Fiend's skull and snuffed its life, only to then yank her sword free again and stab it into the
Fiend's chest, ensuring it was dead.
Before she could deal anymore damage to it, I stepped forwards and grabbed her arm when I saw the notification in the System pop up, though even though the number was big and it should have brought some joy with it, I was just... a bit empty.