Chapter 112: The Tales of Cinder [6]
When it came to group fights in a world with magic, the best option was always to target the support, since they held their allies’ survival in the palm of their hand. That’s why the Lady of Cinder wasn’t foolish when choosing Monar as her next target.
The dark elf felt cornered the moment that specter’s gaze fell on him. He was defenseless while empowering his companions, as that spell required immense concentration; otherwise, it wouldn’t work.
’I’m still here!’ Mitsuki shouted inwardly.
A trail of ash surged upward toward the specter’s face. Midair, before landing, Mitsuki positioned himself and fired. The result was the same as before, but it was enough to keep Monar from becoming the target.
At the same time, a large number of wind arrows exploded against the specter’s face, pushing her back a few more centimeters. Of course, that wasn’t all—Marco finally rejoined the fight, since the earlier blow had taken him out of combat for a few seconds.
Running near the Lady of Cinder’s legs, Marco maneuvered his sword and sliced the tendon in her left foot.
She dropped to her knees, yet showed no pain—only stared at him in silence. If "stared" was even the right word, since her other two hands still covered her eyes. Even so, she managed to strike at the perfect moment every time.
This time, she didn’t hesitate. Still on her knees, she swung a downward slash at Marco.
Instead of dodging, he put all his strength into it and—surprisingly—managed to block the attack. The clash of unbreakable crystal against metal echoed through the entire area, accompanied by a powerful shockwave that blasted outward.
The ground beneath his feet cracked into a crater, and the bones in his arms creaked painfully. Marco clenched his teeth, casting a fierce, defiant glare at the Lady of Ash.
"We’re not weak," he said.
At that exact moment, arrows of light tore through the air, while Mitsuki fired at the specter’s head from behind. Flames and arrows exploded at the same time, masking the sound of roots slithering across the ground toward the Lady of Cinder’s limbs.
Like snakes, the roots coiled around her arms and legs, even more constricting than the chains hanging from the ceiling and floor.
"It’s still not enough. We need more," Monar whispered. A small drop of blood slid from his nose to his lips.
"No..." the Lady said. "Weak... False heroes."
The force she exerted on the sword increased dramatically.
Marco groaned—the ground beneath him shattered. Suddenly, a brief but violent pulse of invisible energy burst from the blade, manifesting as a crushing wave of air that slammed him into the ground and completely shut down the strength in his muscles, knocking him unconscious.
He fell onto the broken remains of the floor, but Mitsuki appeared beside him and caught him in his arms.
’Why can’t we even scratch her?!’ he thought as he started running the moment he felt the blade chasing him. ’This wasn’t supposed to go like this!’
The Lady unleashed a double slash into the ground. The earth split open, spewing flames, and the entire basement structure trembled. Ash dust rained down from above along with chunks of debris.
Mitsuki tried to activate Ash Propulsion while carrying Marco, but realized something terrifying.
’It’s not activating?’
It turned out only he could move while using that skill.
Desperate, he looked at Monar, who extended his hand. The roots climbing the walls surged forward to grab Marco while Mitsuki regrouped with Azel on the broken pillar.
Once regrouped, they fully realized how impossible this battle was.
The Lady of Cinder watched them closely.
"False heroes cannot save or free anyone..."
She drove one of her swords into the ground and raised her palm as if holding an invisible sphere of wind. Then, the surrounding ash began to move, crawling along walls and floor to fill the cracks left behind—but also climbing upward.
’What is that...? What is she doing?’
The ash on the ceiling rotated and formed a perfect ring in an instant, like a lens held up by columns of ash shaped like the bony fingers of a chilling hand—eerily similar to what the dragon had done in the village.
She gently clenched her fist. Her decaying ash body faintly glowed in dying fire hues, cracks spreading across her brittle gray skin.
"Legends die... heroes become corrupted... pretenders fall. Let the truth of our Goddess of Light deliver divine judgment upon those who dare lay their hands upon her domain."
The ash ring emitted a faint, mysterious glow. The group stared, unsure of what would happen—until Monar understood.
In desperation, he canceled all his spells, lifted Marco with a current of wind, and flew toward Azel and Mitsuki.
"Behind me! Now!" the dark elf shouted.
The sun, perfectly aligned with the ash ring, flashed—and instantly, a massive pillar of light materialized inside the basement, incinerating everything in its path.
Monar enhanced himself with his spells, then enclosed them all within a sphere of branches, pouring all his mana into it to form an impenetrable fortress.
At the last possible moment, he managed to shield them—but it wouldn’t be that simple.
Blood poured from him like tears. From his nose, his ears, his mouth... it fell along with the last of his strength, focused entirely on a single absolute defense against a god-level spell.
"Azel... Mitsuki... I think we’re going to die."
There had never been a chance from the start. Mitsuki looked at the elf, standing before them, invoking his grand elven magic, and felt a knot tighten in his throat.
’So this is where it all ends...’
It was strangely depressing. They had given everything from the very beginning, and it still wasn’t enough. What else could they possibly do?
"That’s why I’ll wake Marco. Once he’s up, I’ll gouge out my eyes and invoke a witchcraft spell. I’ll call upon the essence of a primordial demon to aid us by offering my eyes as a sacrifice. The power of the Lord of Green won’t help us here, so I need you to give everything you have in a combined attack."
"But Monar, that would mean you—" Azel started.
The dark elf smiled.
"I’m not so weak that I’d let a demon’s madness consume me. So I need you to fight. Because even though I think we’re going to die... I also think we might live. The downside is we might lose a limb or two."
Mitsuki felt powerless. Nothing he had done so far had been enough, and he had to rely on others every time just to survive.
’Then... it’s all or nothing from the very start of the fight.’
Live or die. Everything depended on teamwork...