Chapter 133: Tug of War

The defeat of the first magical beast did not instill fear in its companions; rather, the pure holy light aura of the Light Element Spirit ignited within these demons a hatred deeply etched into their very bones, turning them from cautious observers into aggressive attackers, charging in from all directions!

“Gaa gaa gaa!!!!”

The monsters emitted hoarse sounds like crows mourning. Just then, the crimson markings carved into the cave seemed to activate, suddenly bursting forth with over ten beams of bloodlight, which shot directly into the backs of each magical beast!

Their gray-black eyes filled with the bloodlight, their already robust muscles and outer layers swelled a second time, claws firing out as the bloodlight surged, causing each magical beast’s aura to at least double in intensity!

Their bodies shimmered like blood, with a radiance akin to a shield and flames, clearly beyond their original strength.

“Oh?”

The Priestess paused, her expression shifting slightly in surprise.

These demons, had they gained strength from the power of the blood ritual?

Empowered, the magical beasts grew ferocious, their speed far exceeding before, as they barreled toward the black-haired girl clearly shielded by the glowing sphere, undeterred even as their companions were sliced into pieces.

It seemed even they understood the strategy of targeting the seemingly softer fruit first.

Too bad…

“Die.”

Just as the golden spirit’s light intensified in preparation to unleash a more powerful ability against the relentless foes, a gray-white space suddenly froze every living being in its path, including the brilliantly shining spirit.

In a mere blink, countless golden claw shadows erupted through the air, striking the cave walls in perfect unison…

The dozen magical beasts, frozen in various poses under the influence of opposing black and white colors, even dripping saliva due to their cravings for sweet blood food, were ripped apart like tattered dolls, suddenly exploding into a messy heap of shredded meat.

“Humph…”

The golden-haired girl returned her hands to normal after briefly transforming them into dragon claws, disdainfully curling her lip before turning to the Priestess beside her.

“I apologize, Master; I simply couldn’t tolerate such insignificant ants…”

“Mm-mm, it’s all good, it’s all good~”

If anything, the fact that she could watch a group of insignificant fish flopping around for so long was already a testament to the little Dragon Daughter’s improved temperament and restraint.

After all, compared to these ordinary magical beasts that were easily eliminated, what Vilyric was truly concerned about was the sudden surge of bloodlight that had empowered them earlier, and…

The girl looked up, gazing at the numerous deep claw marks on the distant cave wall.

Those were the slashes made by Xiao Guang using her 【Super · Space Rift】 to immobilize the enemies, and though she hadn’t exerted much power, the attack itself was not an exceptionally powerful skill. Yet with the strength and attributes of the Giant Dragon, it was entirely possible for even the mountains to be breached or suffer minor collapses.

But here…

Vilyric could clearly see that the residual force from those claw strikes barely pierced the stone wall, only carving out a minimal amount of space. While this may sound outrageous, given Xiao Guang’s capabilities, it was utterly unreasonable.

No wonder Yuna said it was impossible to carve tunnels in the Saint Beirgen Mountains; she could only traverse a few rare natural gorges. Why were these mountains so incredibly hard?

Seeing the black-haired girl silently staring at the dragon claw marks high above, the Little Dragon Daughter, familiar with her master’s nature, dared not interrupt her.

However, Vilyric understood the priority; the most important thing right now was still dealing with the cursed spell, 【Blood of the Reverse Cross】. No matter how curious she was about the Saint Beirgen Mountains, this was not the time for slow exploration.

First, she should try to destroy this imprint base using the method Yuna had provided and see how things went.

As for how to destroy the base, it was quite simple.

A long, pure white holy staff appeared in the girl’s palm. With a gentle wave of her weapon, blazing red-golden flames surged forth.

Though this thing should have some mysterious methods that could stop its operation through gentler means, one could easily guess it would be incredibly complicated, and Vilyric had no understanding of these things. Therefore, directly dismantling it was the most convenient approach.

The first thing that the holy flames ignited was the blood-red rays above, within which the victims, almost drained of their blood, were suspended upside down on the crimson cross.

In an instant, the surging golden flames transformed them into burning fireballs, while the blood-red light showed no reaction at all. Soon, the bodies turned to complete ashes in the divine flames, along with the bizarre upside-down crosses, leaving only the charred stone wall behind.

Immediately, the golden tongues of flame surged downwards, racing toward the blood-red pillar’s foundation—the massive magical array illuminated by blood!

But this time, the power representing the cursed spell, 【Blood of the Reverse Cross】, finally chose not to remain passive.

The crimson radiance erupted from the array, transforming into a vibrant barrier that forcefully blocked the attack of the 8th-tier spell 【Roar of Holy Flames】!

“Wow, so this thing is actually alive, huh?”

Feeling the resistance from the other side of the holy flames, the Priestess muttered, yet she didn’t seem overly surprised. After all, during previous battles with those magical beasts, this blood-red array had actively aided them, even timing its interventions quite precisely—enough to indicate many issues.

As one of the cornerstones of the 【cursed spell】, if it could be dismantled so easily, the Saintess wouldn’t be so troubled by it.

“But if it’s only at this level… that’s still far from enough!”

Like someone pulling on one end of a tug-of-war rope, or standing as a rival on the opposing side, the competitive spirit of the Priestess flared up again as she raised her staff, unleashing an even more ferocious and intense surge of holy flames that combined with her prior attack!

“Zzzzzt…”

Visibly, the barrier of bloodlight, constructed of crimson energy, shimmered with densely packed red lightning, retreating under the pressure of the golden holy flames. But, as if equally unwilling to yield, an even denser, surging blood aura burst forth from beneath the magical array and surged into the energy above, causing the latter’s strength to swell continuously!

“Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!”

The two vastly different powers clashed violently in the cramped space, causing subtle cracks to form in the surrounding darkness.

Though 【Roar of Holy Flames】 was merely an 8th-tier spell and significantly lower in rank compared to the spell 【Blood of the Reverse Cross】, deemed a curse by Yuna, the former was personally executed by the Priestess with high attributes, bolstered by the artifact 【Eternal Staff · Heart of the World】. Even against a stronger force, it still held the pressure against the relentless counterattacks of the bloodlight, preventing it from advancing an inch.

However, at a certain moment, the situation…

Experienced a sudden shift.

The power of the cursed spell roared with tumult beneath the bloody sky!

That thunderous roar, even while in a cave, was crystal clear to Vilyric.

   

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