Aria had used the exact same technique—a fully charged Divine Smite—just moments before. This time, however, Olivia's flames served as a perfect cover, obscuring Aria from the Child of Flesh's vision.
Moreover, the aura of Olivia's Divine Smite partially masked Aria's own, preventing the Child of Flesh from detecting it.
Olivia, still locked in combat with the Child of Flesh, silently counted down in her mind. At the precise moment she had calculated, she swiftly dodged to the side. Immediately afterward, a blinding Golden Light cleaved through the flames, descending from above and crashing directly onto the Child of Flesh's position.
"Hraaah—!"
The mere shockwave from the strike extinguished all the flames engulfing Aria and the surrounding area. Caught completely off guard and unable to teleport, the Child of Flesh was struck head-on by the devastating blow.
BOOM—!!!
The earth cracked and shattered, and the already Magic Power-depleted Magic Circle instantly collapsed. The Golden torrent slammed into the Child of Flesh and surged skyward, erupting into a colossal pillar of light over a hundred meters in diameter.
Olivia had barely escaped the attack range, thanks to her early withdrawal and the numerous buffs she had received. She craned her neck to gaze up at the towering pillar of light, her expression grave. "Did it work?"
Feidric and Douglas, observing from afar, were stunned by the spectacle. Douglas, having witnessed Aria use this technique in the darkness before, fared better. Feidric, however, murmured in disbelief, "Aria... has she grown this strong without us even realizing it?"
Although this ultimate attack was unleashed after accumulating power through numerous buffs, these buffs were replicable, making it reasonable to consider this strike a true display of Aria's inherent strength.
Douglas, however, was struck by something else entirely. "How did these two achieve such seamless coordination without any communication whatsoever?"
Aria had endured Olivia's attacks, concealing herself within the flames to charge her ultimate move, while Olivia relentlessly distracted the Child of Flesh, buying time for Aria. At the precise moment Aria unleashed her attack, Olivia swiftly retreated.
"Unbelievable!" Douglas could find no other words to describe their coordination. These two didn't act like they had just met; even comrades who had fought together for decades would struggle to pull off such seamless teamwork.
Rumble—!
The golden pillar of light continued to unleash its energy for a full five minutes before the blinding radiance slowly dissipated. At the center of the pillar, the Child of Flesh lay sprawled in the Deep Pit created by the earlier explosion.
The dense mass of tentacles that had once surged from its back had vanished entirely, leaving its entire body riddled with golden wounds. It lay on the ground, its hind leg twitching weakly as if trying to stand, but the attempt failed. It was clearly breathing heavily, taking in more air than it exhaled.
Huff... huff... Aria, panting heavily, felt her Strength rapidly returning. She stared at the barely alive enemy before her and raised her Divine Artifact once more, clearly intending to repeat the earlier Skill while the creature remained incapacitated.
The Paladin is still too overpowered, Evernight muttered inwardly, watching the battle from her memories. To be able to unleash such a powerful ultimate move multiple times after just a few breaths? What else could you call it but overpowered?
But... is using an ultimate move just to finish off a weakened enemy a bit extravagant?
Evernight pondered for a moment before withdrawing from her memories, effectively ending her Invisibility. The battle had essentially concluded when Aria and Olivia executed their game-changing combination, culminating in the Divine Smite's direct hit.
A true Child of Flesh likely wouldn't have been instantly annihilated by such an attack, but this was merely a memory—a prank, a training exercise. That was enough; everyone had given their all.
Thus, as Aria continued charging her attack, the Child of Flesh in the Deep Pit didn't dissipate into black mist. Instead, it vanished abruptly, as if erased by an eraser, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The others froze in astonishment. Aria, utterly bewildered, asked, "Did... did it run away, or is it dead?"
Olivia, Feidric, and Douglas all shook their heads. The manner of the creature's disappearance was so peculiar that they couldn't quite make sense of it.
Just then, a cool, detached voice spoke from right behind Aria: "It's dead, you succeeded~"
Under normal circumstances, Aria would have happily turned to greet someone who suddenly appeared behind her, eager to strike up a conversation.
But this was a battlefield. Her mind focused entirely on the battle, she hadn't noticed the person approaching from behind. In a reflexive reaction, she swung the Divine Smite she had charged to about half-strength backward.
Boom—!!
The golden sword light sliced through the air like a razor, carving a hundred-meter-long fissure into the ground. Yet Aria felt no sense of having struck her "enemy."
And indeed, she hadn't. Evernight had somehow appeared at the edge of the Deep Pit where the Child of Flesh had died—right between Aria's group. Holding a black umbrella like a tourist visiting a scenic spot, she began strolling leisurely along the pit's edge, saying:
"What a beautiful plan, beautiful teamwork, and... a beautiful strike~♪"
It was only then that the four of them could clearly see the newcomer. Her long, pink hair swayed in the wind behind her, and her exquisitely delicate face was dominated by a pair of blood-red eyes devoid of any highlights, giving off a beautiful yet dangerous aura.
The moment Feidric saw her, he felt a strong sense of impending danger. If what she said was true—that the Child of Flesh was dead—yet they remained trapped in this bizarre space-time, it meant the Child of Flesh was never the true mastermind.
And this enigmatic figure, strolling leisurely and chatting with them, exuded an overwhelming sense of mystery. It was clear she was the true architect of this entire scheme!
At the same moment, even Half emerged, his face taut with alarm as he glared at Evernight. "No! This enemy is beyond your capabilities! Run!"