readbooksol Chapter 186 : Enemy (3)
Chapter 186 : Enemy (3)
Chapter 186: Enemy (3)
While Serena held Rapir in place with her spirits at the forefront, Aelin dealt with the Monsters that had been summoned around them.
Rapir not only split himself into clones, but alternated between summoning Monsters and casting attack magic.
Fortunately, the level of the Monsters was not particularly threatening, but if she let her guard down even for a moment, they would multiply beyond control and require clearing.
Aelin had no choice but to devote herself to eliminating the Monsters.
Pewpewpew!
After firing three arrows in succession, she fixed her gaze forward.
Sigbard had already taken Rapir down twice, yet he reappeared as if nothing had happened.
There was no way to tell from where or at what moment he had emerged.
“Serena! Above!”
An arrow infused with light shot toward the space above Serena’s head.
A massive insect-type Monster that had been emerging from a magic circle was pierced through and burst apart mid-summon.
Serena, drenched in the insect’s bodily fluids, manifested a Water Spirit.
Kwaaaaaaarrr.
The water that wrapped around her body washed away the Monster’s fluids.
A jellyfish-shaped spirit clung snugly to the crown of her head.
“Kalifri, trap that Demon Tribe.”
The jellyfish-shaped Water Spirit, Kalifri, rose from her head and spun in circles.
Bundles of tentacles stretched long and descended around Rapir, spraying out water.
As if a lid had been closed, water filled the hemispherical space, and Rapir glared at Kalifri.
In the sense that they would die if they did not breathe, the Demon Tribe were no different from humans.
Gurgle. Gurglegurgle.
Even underwater, Rapir opened and closed his mouth, muttering.
“What? I can’t hear a Demon Tribe who’s about to drown.”
Serena broke through the spell Rapir had cast and mocked him.
Rapir attempted to escape by casting four or five spells in succession, but it was useless.
The water prison created by the spirit was dense, and after moving his lips for several minutes, Rapir suffocated and lost consciousness.
Kalifri was withdrawn, and a rock dropped with a thud onto the unconscious Rapir.
Blood seeped out along the ground from beneath the flattened stone.
“As expected, Spirit Mages are troublesome to deal with.”
Rapir, who should have died crushed beneath the rock before their eyes, walked over from the side with steady steps.
Having anticipated this outcome inwardly, Serena did not waver.
“How many lives do you have.”
“Infinite.”
“If you lie, you’ll be punished.”
“Even if I tell the truth, you won’t believe me, so I don’t know why you ask.”
“That’s true.”
How could they completely kill this cunning Demon Tribe?
They were not given long to ponder.
The Demon Tribe who revived no matter how many times he was killed now charged forward, spear in hand.
The Earth Spirit tried to block him, but perhaps because he was wielding a weapon, it was not as easy as before.
“Do you think stepping in yourself is better than summoning Monsters?”
“We’ll see. I’ll skewer that pretty mouth of yours with my spear, so wait for it.”
When she glanced toward Aelin, she saw that she too was engaged in close combat with a clone.
Judging by the corpses scattered around, it seemed she had already taken Rapir down several times.
She managed to create distance and fired arrows, but even when she struck him between the brows, he soon returned in a new body.
“For an Elf, you handle a dagger quite well.”
“Hmph. Do you think a Demon Tribe who only uses magic can keep up?”
Just as Aelin said, Rapir tried to force close combat, but repeatedly failed to catch her.
He sneered provocatively, but they could not relax forever.
Each time he was brought down, Rapir’s clone returned slightly stronger, plunging them into a dilemma.
“Will your arrows run out first? Or will your neck be severed first?”
“The one dying is you.”
Piiiiing!
Aelin’s arrow pierced straight through Rapir’s leg.
His left calf was blown open, and though his balance collapsed, Rapir’s eyes gleamed as he stared at Aelin.
“It seems you finally admit it. You have no chance of winning.”
“Shut up. Unless you want a hole in your head.”
“Go ahead and shoot.”
“…….”
“I thought so. No matter how many times you kill me, I return. At this point, anyone who isn’t a fool would have no choice but to agree.”
Rapir stopped abruptly in place and extended his hand.
From the magic circle drawn in midair, dozens of bats poured out and lunged at Aelin.
“Ugh!”
The bats formed of Demonic Energy raked across her entire body with sharp claws as they flew past.
Thanks to the light armor she wore, she avoided fatal wounds, but it stung as though thorns had been driven into her flesh.
As she slashed at the flapping swarm of bats with her dagger, Aelin thought.
They had to avoid killing that Demon Tribe like this any longer.
This was not a situation that could be resolved by killing him recklessly.
“How on earth are we supposed to…….”
Even while entangled by the swarm of bats, she kept her eyes on Rapir, watching for an opening.
Though he faced Sigbard, Serena, and Aelin all at once, he showed no sign of difficulty and did not die.
No—had that Demon Tribe ever truly died to begin with?
The truth behind his claim of dying and then reviving was highly likely to be false.
After all, he was no god—what being in this world could accomplish such a thing?
Even in the long history of the long-lived Elves, she had never heard of anyone who died and then resurrected.
“You never died.”
After driving away the bats, Aelin’s eyes flashed beneath her helmet.
Rapir’s hand movement faltered for the briefest instant.
That moment coincided exactly with the instant Sigbard snapped Rapir’s neck.
“Your main body has been freely moving between the clones.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“Stop playing dumb. That’s why you never died. Even if a clone dies, you can just make another.”
Rapir curled up the corner of his lips and drew a circle with his index finger.
Flies, moths, and grasshoppers, along with other insects, swarmed in a mass.
“Serena! Sigbard!”
An unprecedented power surged up along the hand gripping the bow.
Though Serena and Sigbard had not even looked back at Aelin, they simultaneously retreated.
Instead of the ordinary arrows she had fired until now, an arrow formed of Fighting Spirit was set upon the bowstring.
Aelin whispered briefly to the arrow.
“Chase.”
Zuuuuung!
A single streak of light poured forth like a flash.
The incoming swarm of insects crackled and burned away, and Rapir’s upper body exploded, his mocking expression still frozen in place.
The moment when only her face, hands, and lower body remained floating felt unreal.
The light did not stop there and pierced through even Rapir’s clone standing behind.
All the clones Serena and Sigbard had been facing were struck by the arrow, their upper bodies bursting and vanishing with a dull pop.
“……!”
“Hoo… Shall we see if you still come back to life when killed simultaneously.”
Rapir’s head, fallen to the ground, met Aelin’s eyes.
Had she been hiding such power all along?
For the first time, Rapir felt fear toward Aelin.
“Still not dead? Your eyeballs are moving.”
She drew her dagger and strode forward with the intent to finish him at once.
Is this the end.
Sensing the final moment, he squeezed his eyes shut, when a voice echoed inside his head.
“I have not yet permitted your death.”
“Lord Werther!”
Puk.
Aelin’s dagger pierced into Rapir’s skull.
The sharp blade churned through the pink brain matter and split it cleanly in two.
Rapir’s expression, brightened as if he had seen a savior, froze just like that.
“Not coming back this time.”
Serena crushed Rapir’s head as well.
Only the sound of Robin’s duel filled the surroundings.
Looking at the tide of battle, the evenly matched momentum had tilted ever so slightly toward Robin.
“Then we just need to eliminate that one too.”
She started moving to join Sigbard, but something felt unsettling.
The Demon Tribe called Werther, fighting Robin, kept glancing this way.
Serena tilted her head, wondering if he was looking at her, but soon realized that his gaze was directed at Aelin.
Aelin’s recent attack had targeted not only Rapir but Werther as well.
Had Werther not hurriedly summoned Monsters, he would not have escaped unscathed.
Having witnessed that terrifying power, Werther began to keep watch on Aelin in addition to Robin.
“Interesting.”
Observing Aelin, it seemed she had expended considerable mental strength in that last attack.
Serena raised a wall of rock around Aelin.
She had erected the barrier because Werther’s gaze seemed ominous, and her prediction proved correct.
Kwaaaaaang!
The triple-layered wall collapsed, revealing Aelin.
The source of the attack was not Werther, but Rapir.
With a punch of power incomparable to before, he shattered the wall.
“I shall release the restriction on your power, Rapir. Rampage to your heart’s content.”
“Yes, Lord Werther.”
After finishing the brief exchange with Werther, Rapir looked down at Aelin.
Floating in the air with bat-like wings fluttering, her presence felt entirely different.
“Serena, we must defeat the Demon Tribe fighting Robin first.”
“You noticed too?”
“Yes. That bastard is supplying power to the female Demon Tribe.”
“Go help Robin.”
“Understo—”
Sigbard could not finish his words and instead dashed toward Aelin.
Rapir was about to unleash indiscriminate magic upon her.
Though Serena had anticipated this and spread a defensive barrier.
Pupupupupung.
Rapir’s magic ultimately pierced through the walls of water and rock.
Perhaps because she had just unleashed a major attack, Aelin’s movements were slower than before.
Sigbard intervened, deflecting Rapir’s magic.
“Demon Tribe, not summoning clones anymore?”
“Lord Werther has graciously lifted my restriction, so this one body is sufficient.”
“Then that means this body is your main one.”
“Correct. Unfortunate for you.”
While Sigbard swung Beivolg.
Aelin continued to fire arrows, but breaking through the magic proved difficult.
They could barely manage to defend.
Compared to the clones they had fought until now, Rapir’s true body was overwhelmingly stronger.
“Can’t be helped. The three of us will handle this side.”
Swaaaaaaang!
A Wind Blade grazed near Rapir’s ankle.
After deliberating whether to confront Werther or Rapir, Serena made her decision.
Rather than assisting Robin, it was better to cover Aelin.
If Aelin could use once more the technique that had killed the clones in a single blow, it would greatly aid Robin as well.
“Spirit Mage! You are quite the nuisance.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Before worrying about helping your comrades, perhaps you should check whether you can protect yourself first.”
Rapir’s body vanished from sight in an instant.
As though he had used teleportation magic.
Startled, she glanced left and right, but by the time she sensed his presence, it was too late.
Just as Rapir appeared behind her and threw a punch.
Jjeoeoong!
Sigbard hurled Beivolg and knocked aside Rapir’s fist.
Of course, the Demon Tribe was not one to retreat obediently after being blocked once.
While Serena stepped out of the attack’s range, the fist came flying again.
Beivolg spun rapidly, deflecting the strike like a circular shield.
“If you wish to strike my comrade, you’ll have to deal with me first.”
With several leaps, Sigbard closed the distance and met Rapir’s fist head-on.
“Sigbard, just hold him off appropriately. The longer this drags on, the more disadvantageous it is for the Demon Tribe.”
“Understood.”
Hearing their exchange, Rapir flew into a rage and stomped the ground violently.
The earth split apart, and Demonic Energy surged upward, engulfing the two of them.
“Your arrogance is excessive. Against whom do you think you can afford to stall for time.”
“Didn’t you hear? You, that’s who. Don’t think we didn’t notice how you flinched at Aelin’s arrow earlier.”
“You insolent bitch……!”
Serena’s provocation was effective.
The attacks that had been aimed at Aelin were withdrawn and redirected entirely toward Sigbard and Serena.
She had only tested the waters, but it seemed she had struck his pride.
“Aelin! Stretch your legs and rest! We’ll handle this incompetent here, just the two of us!”
Though she spoke to Aelin, Serena’s eyes remained fixed on Rapir.
Perhaps trembling with fury at the insult spoken right before him, Rapir ground his teeth.
“Very well, you insolent wretches. Let us see.”
Kigiiiiing.
Numerous magic circles rose around Rapir, each one emanating an ominous aura.
She wondered if she had provoked him too much, but the water was already spilled.
When something could not be undone, the best option was to enjoy it.
“Just try not to die too quickly, Demon Tribe. No, incompetent.”
As Serena curled one corner of her lips upward in a smirk, the spells shot forth in succession.