Low-Fantasy Occultist Isekai

What was clearly a Crackler Queen didn't respond well to the blazing hot fireball that was shot its way the moment it fully emerged.

Powerful back legs bent, tensing until the last second as the blue fire was about to hit, before they released all at once.

The massive insect easily cleared the fireball and continued its ascent. Up and up it went until it reached a hundred feet in the air, where its insectile wings unfurled.

"Skreeeee!"

The sound that erupted was less a war cry and more of an attack. Nick's ears were protected thanks to [Wind Armor], but even he stumbled back as he felt the wave travel through the air.

Rhea cried out and dropped to the ground, clutching at her head. Elia, on the other hand, had much more sensitive hearing and was thus hit harder.

She screamed in pain, collapsing and rolling on the grass as the sound overwhelmed her.

The Queen took that moment to dive bomb toward her, extending mandibles that were akin to scimitars. Nick didn't doubt they would cut through bone and flesh without pause.

Fortunately, he remained unscathed, and what should have been a remarkably effective crowd control skill failed to hold everyone down long enough for the Queen to sink her fangs into them.

A [Jet Stream] formed and shot forward with barely a thought, striking the massive cricket midway through its descent and blowing it backward. Nick felt air rush through the new hole in its front legs and was prepared to cast as many times as necessary to ensure it stayed down permanently.

"NO!" Elia shouted hoarsely, standing up despite her shaking legs. Her fluffy ears were flat against her head, and her tail twitched erratically. Despite all that, Nick could sense the air around her heat up even more. White-hot fire licked at her, and her eyes were focused on the cricket, almost glowing with the amount of mana she was generating.

ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novèlfire.net

Shrugging, Nick decided to let her take charge. He wouldn't allow anything to happen if she became overwhelmed, and now that he had an idea of what to expect, he wasn't particularly concerned.

The Queen was likely in the low thirties, strong enough to pose a mortal threat to even D-rank adventurers. When combined with the swarm, she was probably considered a C-rank threat.

A second tail materialized beside Elia's physical one, becoming increasingly real as the temperature rose. Her nails lengthened, and her hair appeared to lighten a few shades.

More importantly, fire swirled around her legs, and when she leaped, she effortlessly crossed the distance and descended upon the Queen with an outstretched claw wreathed in flames.

Of course, a single hole in a non-lethal area wasn't enough to take down the monster. It regained its balance remarkably quickly, and when it noticed Elia almost flying in its direction, it released another powerful screech, this time more concentrated.

Nick was worried for a moment that Elia wouldn't be able to withstand the sensory assault, but the wave rippled over her and didn't slow her down. Instead, she fell upon the Queen like an avenging angel, screaming in fury as fire exploded from her form.

"Gods, she's been holding back on us," Rhea muttered as she picked herself up, woozily stumbling. Nick was there to steady her before she could fall back down, and she murmured a thanks but didn't take her eyes off the fight.

"We've all grown," Nick answered, though he felt that was an understatement. Elia had always been talented with her innate abilities, but what she was showing now was leaps and bounds beyond what he had seen last.

He had known about the second tail, of course, and she had told him it came with a power increase, but hearing it and seeing it were two different things. She must have gained quite a few levels from convincing so many people that she's a Seer or Prophet.

The ground shook as the Queen released a pulse into it, breaking up chunks of soil and forcing Elia to pull back for a moment, revealing a scorched and mangled cricket. Its antennas were gone, burned to a stub, and its left pincer had been torn off.

"She's certainly aggressive," he chuckled. Not that he could cast stones, given how brutal his battles often were, but at least he didn't physically tear his enemies apart. No, I just reduce them to paste with [Vacuum Sphere]…

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Despite needing to create some distance, Elia didn't let up on her assault and instead redoubled her efforts to burn the insect to a cinder, slamming her hands together and screaming, "[Ghost-lights]."

Blue light momentarily overshadowed the sun, giving the grassland an eerie, unnatural appearance. Shadows warped and twisted, forming images of foxes and humanoids with vulpine features for brief moments before smoothing out once more. Where Elia's fire had burned hot before, Nick could sense no change in the air temperature around him, but that didn't mean it wasn't burning.

The Crackler Queen's exoskeleton was quite resistant, having managed to withstand most of Elia's attempts so far. It had fallen to [Jet Stream], but the disparity of power was to blame there, and even then, while the spell had carved through it, the exoskeleton hadn't shattered around the hole.

The beam of ghostly blue fire that Elia summoned didn't char the exoskeleton nor damage it; it incinerated it.

Where once there had been a battered but still fighting-fit monster, only a hunk of carbon that had once constituted its lower body remained as the attack faded away.

Read ahead and get updates at M*V*L*E*M*P*Y*R.