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At the Bottom of the Dark Pit – Part 02

As soon as Hikaru broke into a run, Lavia began her incantation. She had Imperceptibility, but not Mana Cloaking. The decision to not let her fight and instead conserve her mana had backfired. Her Soul Rank had not increased, giving her zero available points to use.

Nevertheless, there was a possibility that Ranna did not have Mana Detection. Thus, as long as Imperceptibility remained in effect, Lavia could remain hidden until the crucial moment when she cast her magic.

What do I do? Ranna has gotten a lot stronger than expected, Hikaru pondered as he dashed forward. If engaging her directly doesn’t work, should we target the source of evil instead? Ranna is clearly drawing power from there.

Ranna was lumbering towards Paula, who was using her healing on the wounded. Hikaru lunged at her from behind.

You’re mine!

Hikaru thrust his sword coated in holy water through Ranna’s back. He had managed to conceal his location to perfection, and Ranna remained completely unaware of his approach. His Assassination skill activated, allowing the straight sword to penetrate deep into Ranna’s back.

“Gah!”

“…Kuh.”

Or so he thought. To his surprise, only the tip of the sword pierced through. As Ranna writhed in discomfort, the sword slipped out, and Hikaru hurtled through the air.

Seriously?

Like a rubber ball, his body traced a parabola before slamming onto the ground. Ranna’s sheer power beggared his imagination. Stars filled his vision. But Hikaru swiftly regained his posture.

He had endured this level of pain and damage numerous times before. Meanwhile, Lavia, channeling mana in the distance, clenched her teeth to prevent her agitation from disrupting her magic. She believed her spell would be effective against Ranna.

I need to create an opening.

The distance between Lavia and Ranna was about thirty meters. If Ranna detected the spell’s invocation and evaded before it struck, all their efforts would be in vain. Ranna would most likely target Lavia first. Hikaru had immense faith in the potency of Lavia’s magic.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar.

“Damn it. I blacked out for a second there.” Gerhardt rose back to his feet, glaring at Ranna.

“Little kitty looks tough.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

“Milord!”

Jillarte’s cry was warranted. Gerhardt’s greatsword had landed some distance away, and he was charging toward Ranna unarmed.

“Hmph.”

Ranna dodged Gerhardt’s punch and followed it up with a kick from behind. But Gerhardt, vastly more experienced in close combat, grabbed Ranna’s leg and pulled it—or so it seemed. Instead, he relaxed his grip, throwing Ranna off her footing in the process.

As Ranna tumbled backward, Gerhardt mounted her and launched a barrage of punches. A series of heavy thuds resounded throughout the place. Gerhardt’s body hair stood on end, his complexion turned an unnatural shade of red, and his veins pulsed with an astonishing rush of blood. He entered a frenzied state, pumping adrenaline through his entire being.

The Beastmen witnessing this scene erupted into joyous cheers, believing victory was already theirs.

“Weak.”

A single strike from Ranna sent Gerhardt flying backward.

“Phew. Did you really think barehanded attacks would wo—” Ranna, rising to her feet, suddenly drew herself back.

An enormous surge of white flames was hurtling toward her. A direct hit.

Hikaru had never believed that Gerhardt alone could defeat Ranna entirely. Her body had been enhanced to such an overwhelming extent that significant damage seemed unlikely.

But he knew they could create an opportunity. An opening for Lavia to unleash the spell Atonement Flame, a hybrid of holy and fire magic.

“Grraaah?!”

The white flames made contact with Ranna’s upper body. The initial touch felt soft, almost as if they weren’t there at all. After all, Atonement Flame produced no heat. Even when it burned upon the ground, it left no scorch marks.

But this was different. The moment the flames touched Ranna, the air exploded with a deafening blast, engulfing her colossal form. The flames swirled and roared, forming a huge pillar of fire.

“Gyaaaaahh!”

Ranna’s scream rent the air, a pitiful cry that you wouldn’t hear even if someone was ripped apart from head to toe.

The faces of the nearby temple guards had turned ashen due to the intense flames. Upon hearing Ranna’s screams, they covered their ears and huddled.

“Aaaah, aah, gaaaaahhh!”

Ranna clutched her head, staggering as she swung her remaining arm. White flames roared from her body. Hikaru rushed to Lavia, who had channeled every ounce of her mana into unleashing the Atonement Flame, and held her up.

Slowly, the flames subsided. Ranna’s body was charred black, her wing membranes reduced to ashes, leaving only skeletal structures.

Black smoke rose as Ranna’s body crumbled into pieces. Her bright red eyes darted around as if searching for something. Hikaru shielded Lavia behind him, but Ranna wasn’t searching for the enemy.

“You will pay… You will pay for this…”

Like a vengeful spirit, she cursed, dragging herself toward the source of surging malevolence. Her body crumbled into black sand with each step, yet she pressed on without stopping.

Seeing Ranna in this state, everyone believed she had been defeated. After the fiery outburst, they thought there was no way she could survive. Her stumbling steps seemed like the desperate struggles of a fading life.

At that moment, a hunch jolted Hikaru’s entire body.

“No! Stop her!” he shouted, but it was already too late.

“…”

Hikaru’s Mana Detection clearly saw the magical energy flowing from the source onto Ranna’s outstretched hand. He swiftly took evasive action, distancing himself from Ranna and taking Lavia with him behind a huge boulder.

“Haha…”

Sinister energy flowed from Ranna’s fingertips to her arm, seeping into her ravaged body, even covering the partially severed limb.

“Ahahahahahaha!”

As if rewinding a video footage, Ranna’s body began to regenerate. Flesh was returning to her blackened form.

“Ahahaha, hahaha, hahahaha, ahahahahahaha!”

Her red eyes gradually lost focus. Long, forked tongue dangled from her mouth, her drool sizzling as it touched the rocky surface. Her restored wings expanded, and another pair emerged. But that wasn’t all.

Her body had doubled in size.

“Gwwwwooooaaahhh!”

Hikaru couldn’t recognize her anymore. Traces of Ranna’s visage had vanished entirely, replaced by a demonic creature with a contorted face, devoid of rationality.

---

In a chamber in the Tower, Luvain was diligently engaged in his work, guiding his quill pen across a parchment.

“…A quake?”

The inkwell on his desk shifted, and the frame of a saint’s hanging portrait bumped against the wall.

Luvain rose from his seat and looked out the window, which provided a view of the city below. His room was situated on the tenth floor, the highest within the holy city, affording him a commanding view of the metropolis.

It was just past noon, and bright sunlight poured down from the skies. While the night had shrouded the city in dread with its unholy horde of undead creatures, the daytime hours were relatively peaceful. People went about their daily lives, striving to maintain some semblance of normalcy.

However, Luvain’s keen eyes noticed an anomaly. Dark clouds had begun to gather in the skies above the holy city. It was evident to Luvain that these were no ordinary rain clouds, for they were congregating in the same spot—directly above the graveyard.

As thunder crashed above, the clouds expanded like ink poured into clear water.

Luvain, a seasoned clergyman, was sensitive to malevolence. He could feel the evil aura spreading throughout the holy city.

“So you’ve reached the deepest part of the great pit, Silver Face.”

As Luvain moved away from the window and left his room, a priest hastened to bring him news of the disturbance. Those they encountered along the way all followed them, converging towards the cathedral within the Tower.

“At this point, all we can do is pray. Let us offer our prayers to the gods.”

Though this cathedral was smaller than those in the city due to spatial constraints in the Tower, more than a hundred people had gathered around Luvain. They spilled out into the cathedral’s exterior, where they all kneeled together, lowering their heads in solemn prayer.

Luvain, the Pope who led the church, took the initiative, and the others had no reason to doubt or hesitate.

They continued praying silently.