"Heh, how arrogant. Sure, most of my power is sealed, but with that injured body of yours, how do you expect to fight me?"
"Oh, right! My body is still quite fragile right now. If you could actually land a hit on me, you might just win."
Pheroth wore a mocking expression, openly revealing all his weaknesses, as if he had already won.
If this guy were in a novel from her previous life, he'd be the brainless kind of villain—the talkative type.
Still, some of what he said was true.
Xiao's condition was indeed worrying. Setting aside his pierced shoulder, his strength was already depleted. This really was troublesome...
Pheroth was counting on exactly that when he taunted him so loudly.
How can you fight me? Do you really have some great power left? You're not that old monster Morax!
Xiao gripped his weapon tightly and stepped forward, his expression dark, teeth clenched, his heart burning with endless rage.
Seeing this, Pheroth found it amusing. This guy really wasn't afraid to die, walking right up to him.
"Looking at that face, was the woman I killed your lover? How wonderful. I'll send you to reunite with her right now!"
With those words, Pheroth thrust his dark spear into the ground. The moment it pierced the earth, a torrent of ghostly, vengeful spirits surged up from below.
They seemed to be the souls of his kin...
What kind of vile art Pheroth used to conjure such a thing, no one knew. It looked truly sinister. An ordinary person would have doubled over at the sight.
After soaring into the air, those wraith-like things transformed into countless tiny spikes. Though each spike was small, their density was such that an ordinary person could never dodge them all.
The spikes were identical in shape to the ones on Pheroth's body—disgusting, enough to make anyone with trypophobia shut down.
"See this? This is the gap between you and me." Pheroth kept up his manic laughter.
Truth be told, he could only use this ability once or twice at most. His weakened body wouldn't allow more, not to mention his sealed power.
If Xiao could dodge these spikes, Pheroth's frail body would give out immediately, leaving him a lamb for the slaughter.
The reason he used this ability without hesitation was his confidence in killing the Yaksha before him.
Seeing the fury and darkness on Xiao's face, Pheroth grew even more excited, already planning how to torment him.
But dodging those attacks was easier said than done.
Xiao was indeed fast, but that was at his peak. In his current state, anyone could see his condition.
An adeptus's power wasn't infinite. This would clearly slow him down, but there was no other choice.
"Die!" Pheroth launched his attack with that manic grin. Under the command of his dark spear, the spikes shot toward Xiao.
Xiao frowned deeply. Enduring the pain from his wound and his body's fatigue, he darted through the dense black spikes with all his speed.
This was an attack pattern he had never seen before—so dense, and so fast. He had never heard of this creature in the past.
But one thing was certain: this was no adeptal art or elemental power. It was better described as black magic.
The spikes accelerated. Xiao pushed himself to move faster. He couldn't close in on Pheroth at all.
If this dragged on any longer, Sister Bonanus wouldn't hold out.
I have to end this quickly!
Having such a thought was good, but Xiao had made a critical mistake in battle—he had lost focus.
Because of that, his rhythm broke instantly. Spikes pierced his flesh. Not many, but enough to cause excruciating pain.
Damn it!
Xiao cursed inwardly. This monster is too hard to deal with! In his current state, he was at a severe disadvantage.
If this continued, forget finding Rex Lapis to save Bonanus—he would die here, killed by this freak.
He had to find an opening soon.
The battle between Xiao and Pheroth had become completely one-sided, while Bonanus could do nothing. Perhaps due to the intense pain, she had fully lost consciousness.
Her dedicated system was still frantically absorbing the karmic debt within her to keep her alive. If Bonanus could complain, she would have shouted:
"You useless system! Why can't you just repair my body or feed me some medicine?! Like when I first transmigrated, when you fixed me up from my coma!"
But those complaints would have to wait until she survived and woke up...
The chance was slim, though. Xiao was barely holding on. The air itself seemed thick with death, suffocating.
"AAAAHHHH!"
Nearby, Menogias screamed. He was in agony. In his crazed state, seeing Bonanus pierced had stirred something called "emotion" deep within him.
Perhaps the shock had triggered a struggle against the corrupting force. He had tried to resist before, but never this fiercely.
Menogias went from completely mad to a semi-conscious state. But this semi-consciousness wouldn't last long.
Soon, the corruption would overwhelm him again.
In his semi-conscious state, he was disoriented, his memories hazy. He didn't know what to do, yet he could feel his own grief.
He clutched his head. The mask on his face began to crack. His life was spiraling toward collapse, with no sign of stopping.
Menogias lost his balance and fell. His last shred of consciousness guided him to crawl slowly toward Bonanus.
That remaining awareness told him he had to reach that place.
Since they weren't far apart—only about ten meters—he quickly made it to Bonanus's side.
Instinctively, he took her hand. The moment he did, the mask on his face shattered into pieces.
His consciousness fading, Menogias spoke in an extremely weak, slurred voice:
"I'm... sorry... Second brother... couldn't... protect you..."
Those were the last words of his consciousness before the corruption overtook him again.
Despair.
Despair blanketed the entire area. The sky itself seemed to wail, mourning these Yakshas about to die...
Jiangzai lay on the ground, long devoid of life. She had gone quiet, no longer the raging madwoman. With her heart pierced, her life had ended.
Just when everyone thought this ending was sealed, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out—one that only Bonanus could hear.
But Bonanus was unconscious and couldn't hear anything.
[Detected host in contact with a karmic-debt-afflicted individual. Name: Menogias. Status: Resisting corruption.]
[Absorbing target's karmic debt. Please wait...]
[Detected host near death without external aid. Host unable to act. Automatically initiating spatial extraction...]
[Error. Error. Enemy detected nearby. Extraction impossible. Host unconscious and unable to act personally. Scanning for able-bodied individual...]
[Detected Menogias beside host. System providing assistance. Please wait... Accelerating karmic debt absorption. Forcibly awakening target's consciousness. Restoring small portion of target's power.]
[Mandatory cost: Induced coma (not exceeding five days).]
After delivering these messages, the system fell silent. It had done its duty. Now it all depended on whether Menogias could be trusted.
Within seconds...
Menogias, who had been writhing in agony, received the system's help. With part of his karmic debt absorbed, his condition gradually improved.
Due to the forced awakening, he came to his senses instantly—clearer than ever before, at least for now.
Menogias stood up unsteadily. Though awake, he hadn't yet processed what was happening. His memories were still fuzzy, as if he didn't know what he was doing.
But after a moment, seeing his little sister at his feet and Alatus fighting an enemy not far away, it all came rushing back.
Rage mixed with sorrow surged in his heart once more. He had only one thought now: Kill that thing, then take them and leave this place!