I Can Purify Corruption Through Intimacy in the Apocalypse

"Hey, Ava... do you think you could rush the high elf and stab her without using your shadow abilities? You're fast, after all."

Ava didn't even need to think about it.

"You're underestimating bearkin. They may look bulky, but they're significantly faster than humans."

"I see..."

Lucien couldn't quite hide the flicker of disappointment that crossed his face.

He still had one Hollowed Disruption Compound left, but he had no intention of using it here. That vial was meant for the Hollow Knight later.

As the Inferni recovered and stepped back into the fight, Lucien's gaze drifted once more to the high elf sheltered behind the towering bearkin.

Think...

There has to be something...

He watched the battlefield in silence, tracing every movement, every exchange, until an idea slowly began to take shape.

"...Maybe we can bait the bearkin into committing to an attack," he murmured. "If it shifts far enough, we'll have an opening on the high elf."

Ava glanced sideways.

"How?"

Lucien immediately looked toward Kira.

"Kira! Can you hold out on your own for a little while?!"

The Wolfkin knocked the Inferni's broadsword aside with a loud clang before shouting back, "I-I'll try!"

"Good!"

Lucien turned to Thane without missing a beat.

"Thane, move to the northeast. I'll circle around to the northwest, and Ava, take the southwest."

"Hey," Ava said dryly as she was already moving into position, "I don't remember agreeing to this."

"Sorry, but we don't have time to explain," Lucien replied. "Just get to the very edge of its attack range. I think you can judge where that is."

For a brief moment, Ava studied both him and the towering bearkin, silently measuring the battlefield before the corner of her mouth curled into a faint smile.

"It'd better work."

"Well, if it doesn't, we'll think of something else."

Without another word, they split apart.

Lucien sprinted toward the northwest, his boots scraping over the stone with a sharp skrrt before he eased into a more cautious pace. From his new angle, he immediately noticed a subtle change in the bearkin's posture.

Its massive head swept left, shifted right, and drifted back again, broad shoulders making small adjustments as it struggled to keep track of three opponents spreading farther apart. Powerful as it was, the Hollow could only focus on so many threats at once. Its movements weren't guided by tactics or careful judgment, but by instinct, and instinct naturally gravitated toward the first opponent who forced a decision.

Thane.

Because the half-dwarf had moved first, the bearkin instinctively pivoted toward him, raising its massive shield to meet the approaching threat. The movement left its broad back exposed to Ava while the high elf behind it became completely visible for her.

Ava noticed the opening, of course, but she chose not to rush toward the high elf.

Her gaze dropped briefly to the stone pavement around the elf's feet. The black threads that had erupted from the ground earlier were still fresh in her memory, and she wasn't about to gamble that the spell couldn't be repeated. Charging in recklessly would only invite another trap, especially if it disrupted her Shadow Merge before the bearkin even had a chance to react.

A faint grin spread across her face.

"Isolde!" she shouted instead, deliberately raising her voice as she strode forward.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Each measured step echoed across the plaza, loud enough to announce exactly where she was. She stopped only after reaching the very edge of both the bearkin's striking range and the high elf's casting range, lowering her rapier into a poised guard.

"Get your spell ready!"

"...I was waiting for this."

Already frustrated that her Frost Bind had done little to the Inferni earlier, Isolde reacted without the slightest hesitation.

Her expression sharpened. With one smooth motion, she swept her staff through the air, its polished tip tracing an intricate sigil that shimmered before her. Wisps of Azure Thread streamed toward it from the surroundings, while thin strands of Obsidian naturally intertwined with the spell, binding themselves into its structure as the magic rapidly took form.

The moment Ava closed the distance, the bearkin sensed the threat.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled from its chest.

Fwooom!

Its massive club carved a brutal arc through the air as the creature spun around, powerful shoulders twisting with explosive force while the tower shield swung wide beside it. Every instinct screamed at the Hollow to intercept the approaching danger, and it committed completely, turning its entire body toward Ava like a beast shielding its vulnerable young.

That single instinctive movement was all Isolde needed.

The broad wall of fur, iron, and muscle that had been protecting the high elf shifted enough to expose her completely.

Isolde's eyes narrowed.

Now.

The glowing sigil suspended before her contracted to a single brilliant point.

She drove her staff forward.

Fshhh!

A tightly compressed lance of water burst from the sigil and screamed across the plaza.

Crack!

The spell struck the high elf square in the head with devastating force. Her body snapped backward before crumpling lifelessly onto the stone, the gnarled staff slipping from her fingers and clattering across the plaza with a sharp clack-clack.

It happened so quickly—and so cleanly—that the victory felt anticlimactic.

The bearkin went still.

Its shield dipped ever so slightly as its dull, lifeless gaze lingered on the fallen elf. Slowly, its massive head turned toward Thane's group.

A violent plume of hot white mist blasted from its nostrils.

Fwooosh!

Its broad chest swelled as a low, rumbling growl vibrated through the plaza.

Grrrr...

Isolde’s eyes narrowed.

What's it about to do...?

A prickling sense of danger ran across her skin, but Thane reacted before she could voice it.

"Girls!" he barked, never taking his eyes off the Hollow. "The moment I give the word, scatter! It's about to charge!"

"Please don't push yourself too far," Sylphie said softly, tightening her grip on her staff. "Can you really stop it safely?"

A crooked grin spread across Thane's face.

"Don't underestimate me." He rolled one shoulder before planting his feet firmly against the stone. "I may only be a half-dwarf, but the worst that'll happen is a few broken bones and getting launched halfway across the plaza."

Thunk.

His tower shield slammed into the ground at an angle as he settled into a rock-solid stance.

"You’re here to patch me up afterward, aren’t you?"

Just then, the bearkin exploded into motion.

BOOM!

Its enormous frame surged forward with shocking speed, lowering its shoulder behind the massive tower shield as it barreled straight toward them like an avalanche of iron and muscle.

Thane answered with a charge of his own.

"Now!"

The instant the command left his mouth, Isolde and Sylphie sprang in opposite directions without hesitation.

At the very last moment, Thane twisted his body aside as well.

He simply wasn't fast enough to clear the path completely.

BAM!

The edge of the bearkin's shield clipped him hard, hurling his massive frame sideways.

"Ngh!"

The bearkin didn't stop there.

A deep, furious growl rumbled from its throat as its massive body pivoted, the iron club swinging toward Sylphie. She had twisted her ankle while dodging the charge moments earlier, and the slight stumble was all the Hollow needed to recognize her as the easiest target.

"Lucien!" Ava shouted.

Of course, Lucien didn’t just stay silent the entire time.

His boots scraped sharply across the stone as he lunged forward, teeth clenched hard enough to make his jaw ache. One hand plunged into the darkness pooled beneath him, and the shadows answered at once.

Fshhk!

A pitch-black arm burst from the ground beside the bearkin, its elongated, clawed fingers snapping around the creature's thick wrist. The Shadow Tendril shuddered violently as it struggled against the Hollow's monstrous strength, veins of darkness rippling across its surface while it fought to keep the weapon arm in place.

The restraint lasted only an instant—but it was enough.

With a muted fwoosh, Ava dissolved into the shadow before reappearing beside Sylphie in the blink of an eye. Without breaking her momentum, she slipped one arm beneath the Nephilim's knees and the other around her back, lifting her effortlessly into a princess carry just as the bearkin tore free from Lucien's restraint.

BOOM!

The iron club smashed into the plaza where Sylphie had been standing only an instant before. Stone burst apart beneath the impact, sending jagged fragments skittering across the square while a cloud of dust billowed upward with a deafening roar.

"L-Let me go," Sylphie said quietly, sounding more urgent than embarrassed as she looked toward the others.

Ava only let out a light laugh, the corners of her lips curling upward.

"A little gratitude would be nice."

Sylphie ignored the remark completely.

The moment Ava set her down beside Isolde and the groaning Thane, she immediately knelt despite the pain in her ankle. Her expression settled into calm concentration as she raised both hands over the half-dwarf's battered torso and began chanting in a soft, melodic language unlike anything Lucien had ever heard.

As Lucien closed the distance, a sharp irritation suddenly bloomed inside his skull. It felt as though invisible fingers had reached into his mind and stirred everything within, sending an unpleasant pressure radiating through his head.

...This... is the Nephilim language?

His expression tightened.

Just as the Inferni possessed a language capable of affecting other races, the Nephilim apparently did as well. Whatever power lingered within those elegant syllables seemed to resonate directly with the Inferni blood flowing through his veins, leaving an uncomfortable pressure that made him grit his teeth.

While Lucien struggled against the lingering discomfort, Ava was already shouting new orders.

"Hey, Wolf Kid!" she shouted. "I'll use Shadow Step to switch places with you. Trade me the Inferni, then get over here and help the half-dwarf deal with the bearkin once he's back on his feet!"

"Okay!"

She immediately pointed her rapier toward Lucien without even looking his way.

"You’re with me, Lucien!"

A muted fwoosh swept across the plaza as darkness swallowed her whole. An instant later, she burst from another patch of shadow directly behind the Inferni.

The Hollow reacted the moment she materialized.

With a violent shove, it knocked Kira backward before wrenching its broadsword around in a savage horizontal sweep.

FWOOM!

"Tch—!"

Rather than forcing his way back into the exchange, Kira immediately took advantage of the opening Ava had created. His boots dug into the stone as he pivoted away and sprinted toward the bearkin.

Everything's happening so fast...

Lucien couldn't help tightening his grip on his daggers.

He had spent most of his life fighting alone. Coordinating with so many people at once—tracking allies, enemies, positioning, and shifting plans in the span of seconds—was more demanding than he had expected, and he found himself struggling just to keep pace.

He pushed the thought aside with a quiet exhale.

There wasn't time to fall behind.

Lowering his center of gravity, Lucien accelerated toward Ava, his eyes already fixed on the Inferni ahead.

Whatever happens next, this fight should be much simpler now that their healer is gone!