Bang!
With a sharp crack, the weapon in Douglas's hand shattered under the Child of Flesh's razor-sharp teeth. After all, it was merely a mortal-made weapon, as fragile as paper against a god-level attack.
But immediately, Olivia's flame-wreathed longsword swung into action, seamlessly stepping in to relieve Douglas when he faltered.
However, Olivia's weapon was just an ordinary blade from the Grand Duchy of Augustus, its quality even inferior to the Divine Magic-enhanced weapon Douglas had crafted. A direct clash would undoubtedly shatter it as well.
Yet Olivia had already entered the Flow State. Twisting her blade, she redirected the Child of Flesh's attack, guiding its momentum away from her body.
Their coordinated efforts bought Aria the crucial time she needed. Her fully charged Divine Smite crashed down with unstoppable force, like a Damoclean sword descending from the heavens.
Boom—!!!
The earth-shattering explosion reverberated even to Feidric outside, who felt the ground tremble violently beneath his feet. A grave expression crossed his face. "They've already engaged?"
He glanced down at the nearly completed Magic Circle beneath his feet, murmuring, "I need to pick up the pace."
The perspective shifted back to Aria. Even she had to shield her eyes from the blinding radiance of her own Divine Smite, squinting as she waited for the golden light to fade. When it finally dissipated, the once-flat terrain before her had been transformed into a miniature canyon.
A colossal fissure, nearly a hundred meters wide and of unfathomable depth, yawned open before her.
"What an absurdly powerful strike..." Evernight and Cipher, who had been observing the battle, murmured in awe. The force of this attack surpassed even Olivia's all-out strike against the Seven Heroes, which had nearly cleaved the entire Grand Duchy of Augustus in two.
Normally, such a devastating blow would leave Aria utterly drained, her Strength depleted by seventy or eighty percent. However, thanks to the Divine Artifact, she recovered almost completely in mere moments.
"Did you get him?" Douglas asked, his brow furrowed.
"No, not yet!" Olivia turned to look in another direction as the black mist reformed. Just as Aria's attack was about to strike, the Child of Flesh had suddenly dissolved into a wisp of dark vapor and vanished from its position. Olivia, in her Flow State, had witnessed the maneuver with perfect clarity. "According to the original plan, we need to lure it out of here!"
No matter how powerful an attack is, it's useless if you can't hit the enemy. The Child of Flesh's ability to move freely through shadows made it an exceedingly difficult foe to engage.
Huff... huff... Aria gasped for breath before pivoting and sprinting away. Her decisive action caught Olivia and Douglas off guard, leaving them momentarily stunned.
Immediately afterward, the Child of Flesh surged past Olivia and Douglas at breakneck speed, pursuing Aria relentlessly.
Fueled by countless Divine Artifact buffs, Aria's speed was extraordinary, yet she was still overtaken in the blink of an eye. Razor-sharp teeth, claws, and the writhing mass of tentacles erupting from its back all lunged at her simultaneously.
Aria had long since entered a Flow State, where time seemed to slow to a crawl. She could clearly perceive each attack from the Child of Flesh and swiftly devise countermeasures in her mind.
Dodging with a tilt of her head, parrying with her sword, and continuing to sprint backward to widen the distance.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In a mere second, Aria clashed with the Child of Flesh dozens of times, the crisp, rapid strikes echoing through the chamber. Fortunately, Aria wielded a Divine Artifact; an ordinary weapon would have shattered long ago.
Witnessing this, Douglas couldn't help but remark, "Aria, was this part of your plan all along? First, unleash a devastating attack to draw the enemy's hatred, then lure it away?"
Clearly, the Child of Flesh's animosity was now focused entirely on Aria. Combined with her decisive retreat, fighting while falling back, the entire operation was executed flawlessly!
In reality, Aria hadn't thought through any of this in such detail. Her single-minded brain had simply focused on delivering a powerful blow. When that failed, Olivia had shouted, "Execute the plan!" Aria had initially assumed all three of them would retreat simultaneously.
In her Flow State, Aria's reaction speed and execution were far too rapid. Before Olivia and Douglas could even react, she had already sprinted a considerable distance.
Olivia shouted, "We have to help her!"
Olivia and Douglas immediately sprang into action, chasing after the battling pair. Olivia swung her longsword, aiming for the Child of Flesh's rear—or, more accurately, the tentacles behind it—not to deal damage, but to relieve some of the pressure on Aria.
Douglas hesitated for a split second before charging forward with his fists. "If I'd known this would happen, I would have saved some Divine Magic! Now I'll have to summon some weapons!"
Although Douglas was skilled in unarmed combat, their opponent was an Outer God! Without weapons or armor, he charged into the Child of Flesh's attack range and successfully drew the attention of several tentacles.
In the blink of an eye, the tentacles shattered multiple layers of his protective shields and left several gruesome wounds across his body.
Douglas gritted his teeth, refusing to retreat an inch. Every tentacle attacking him was one less targeting Aria.
Fueled by the Divine Artifact Buff, Douglas's wounds were healing at an astonishing rate. Knowing he couldn't die, he stubbornly pressed forward, bracing himself against the onslaught.
Meanwhile, Olivia's weapon, battered by relentless collisions, had developed a web of cracks. Finally, with another swing, it shattered into countless fragments.
"Tch~" Olivia frowned, but even with a broken blade, her Divine Smite remained potent. The problem was the shattered weapon's inability to effectively block the tentacles' attacks, causing her protective shields to shatter layer by layer.
The trio and their panther continued their desperate battle while moving at breakneck speed. In mere moments, they burst free of the darkness and emerged into the open.
Feidric, who had been waiting anxiously, immediately activated the prepared Magic Circle beneath his feet. A surge of dense magical energy erupted from the ground.
"Ninth-Level Abjuration School! Darkness Nullification Barrier!"