'Soulweavers are Spirit-Type Mana Beasts, mysterious and elusive beings with the ability to transform into complete human forms, which they use to blend seamlessly into any society; they are very rarely seen in the world. Their true nature is that of soul predators, with a hunger for the vital essence of human beings or other intelligent species. Unlike similar creatures, Soulweavers are much more subtle and calculated in their approach...'
Their weakness was their life essence.
'A Soulweaver's life essence is situated inside its abdominal region, but if it wishes, it can move it anywhere within its torso, making it much harder to deal with, and it can heal completely if not entirely killed.'
What Eric did was directly counter it with its weak Element and burn the entire body by activating the Rune planted on the sword.
The Soulweaver that Eric had just burned started to transform into mist and dispersed into thin air, leaving only a sticky, liquid-like substance behind on the ground.
The sticky liquid left behind by Soulweavers after their demise was called 'Ethereal Residuum'. Ethereal Residuum was a very rare treasure. Despite the rank of the Soulweaver, it was highly sought after, since Soulweavers themselves were very rare in the world. The Ethereal Residuum was much rarer and precious.
Lyria and Livy immediately knew what weapon to use.
Lyria pulled out a long sword with a Light Element Rune inscribed, and Livy pulled out two swords with Thunder Runes inscribed.
'White'-inscribed Runes or Spells usually referred to Light or Fire Elements, but some other Elements were also considered 'white', such as the Thunder Element and a few other unique Elements.
Morrigan, Caoineag, and Aoibheall's faces turned paler. They thought they could still fool these humans into thinking they were still human, but who would have thought that they had already guessed their species? Not only that, all three of them even had weapons which directly countered their entire species as a whole.
They suddenly wanted to back away, feeling they were dealing with veterans who were experts in handling their kind.
Moira was also horrified. She didn't expect that these three young humans would be so hard to deal with. She originally didn't want to use her final card, as it was also their food source, but now she was left with no choice.
Though her trump card would only properly work after these humans were further weakened, and she needed her sisters' help for that. If they left now, she would be left alone to deal with three veterans.
Unlike the remaining three, she was an Elder-stage Rank, while the rest were at Adult-stage. They still had hopes of reaching Rank 2, although that would still be quite difficult. But she, who was an 'Elder', had no hopes unless she could swallow a Rank 1 Mana Wielder's life essence whose capabilities were no less than a Newborn Rank 2.
Since the humans took more than half an hour to kill the Thunder Panther and were also quite beaten up during the process, Moira guessed these three humans' life essence was no less than Newborn Rank 2—perhaps even Young-stage—which only increased her chances of successfully reaching her next evolution. But this also equally raised the difficulty.
Without a doubt, these three were extremely trained and skilled Mystical Knights, and currently, all three were extremely tired, exhausted of Mana, and perhaps internally injured as well. This was a lucky chance that Moira would never find again, thus she couldn't afford to miss it.
And if all failed, she just needed to escape and find a new weak human village to spend her remaining days.
So, the current three humans were of immense importance to Moira. She would need only one, while two would guarantee her passing over 100%, so she had no desire to miss this perfect opportunity, no matter what.
This was her opportunity!
Moira's face and form started to transform. Her skin, once soft and smooth, seemed to melt and recede, revealing bone and the grotesque architecture of muscle beneath. Her eyes, once vibrant, dulled to an empty, cavernous black. Her features sharpened; her jawline elongated into a skeletal grin that exposed teeth far too long and sharp for a human.
Moira transformed into a decaying, skeletal appearance. Her skin was translucent, revealing underlying bone structure, especially in her face, which was a skull-like visage with an open mouth. Her long, flowing hair was light-colored gray and disheveled.
Eric calmly watched the transformation.
Lyria and Livy felt cold chills running throughout their skin, seeing such a ghastly-looking creature right in front of them for the first time. Though after the Ringwood Town's graveyard incident, they could now 'calmly' accept such a new, exotic 'face'.
Moira screeched toward her still-human-form sisters, "This is our only chance in our lifetime, and they are already weakened! Since they know our species, let's kill them with our full capabilities!"
Noticing the three sisters were still hesitating, Moira enticed them further: "I only need one, and today two of you can finally become Newborn Rank 2! A completely new future awaits us—a greatly extended life and capabilities! Imagine the possibilities that will follow!"
"Don't hesitate further and transform before they attack us in our weaker human form!"
Morrigan, Caoineag, and Aoibheall's expressions changed, and they quickly started to transform before these veterans took the opportunity to attack them. Only in their true form could they unleash their full capabilities.
At most, they only needed to escape if these humans were too tough to deal with. And as long as they could dodge these humans' lethal weapons, they would be safe. If they could kill them from a long-distance attack with their abilities, then this could become a dream come true for them!
Eric, Lyria, and Livy stood quietly and calmly listened to the 'touching' moment of Mana Beasts.
Eric was especially deeply touched. If not for having a soul much darker and rotten than these 'cute,' female-only species, he would have already started cheering these little girls up for the emotions they were expressing.
This was a battle they must fight for their future! For their growth! This was the power of youth!
Eric, Lyria, and Livy had no interest in attacking in a rush. They could even sit back and have some tea before these girls fully transformed into their final form—and only then would they fight.
After the remaining three had fully transformed, they turned to stare at the humans and didn't know what to say…
All three of them were observing them with deep curiosity and amusement in their eyes. They even felt the human male had an encouraging glint in his striking blue eyes.
Just who—and what—was he encouraging?
They had killed countless humans in their lives—even many Mana Wielders—but this was the first time they had seen such easygoing humans.
Whenever they had fully transformed into a feature that humans considered terrifying, they would always tremble in horror or run wildly. But these three young humans were so calm with their current visage…
They didn't know why, but they felt touched…
Caoineag snorted, "You fools have missed your perfect opportunity to attack us—now die!"
She raised her hand, and a sharp Ice Shard manifested and shoot straight toward Livy.
Livy recalled the skill that the Soulweaver had just used.
Ice Manifestation Shard: Soulweavers can create sharp, crystalline shards of ice from their semi-spectral form and hurl them at enemies with deadly precision.
'Deadly precision, huh…'
Livy decided to dodge the Ice Shard normally instead of using her 'Mudskipper' ability. Though her abilities were as familiar as her own limbs—if not more—if there was no need to use them, why should she? These abilities should be their trump cards. It was better not to use them if unnecessary.
Just as the Ice Shard was a few feet away, Livy smoothly sidestepped and let the shard pass beside her without even touching her tattered cloak.
All the Soulweavers frowned internally. They thought the humans were extremely exhausted after such a long fight. Just how could they dodge such a fast-moving attack?
Normally, a mid-stage Rank 1 Mana Wielder should be frozen stiff from their chilling presence and the psychological pressure they were exerting upon these three.
Suddenly, all four of them realized that judging these three by their mid-stage Rank 1 was stupid—a habit they had kept from their past.
These humans had already killed an Elemental-type Elder-stage Rank 1, so their minds must be very stable. Perhaps they had been raised fighting Mana Beasts from a young age—that was why they were so calm.
"Let's transform this area first!" Moira quickly commanded.
The rest of the three knew what Moira meant, and so they opened their jaws wide enough to swallow a human head whole and shrieked.
The scream of three 'Adult' Rank 1 Mana Beasts and one 'Elder' was deafening for Eric, Lyria, and Livy. They quickly covered their ears with Mana. Even then, their heads were buzzing—but it wasn't enough for them to lose their balance. They weren't just stats-based warriors, after all; they had been bullied far worse during their training days with Bella Noll.
Following the scream, the temperature inside the cave dropped rapidly. The cave floor started to freeze rapidly. Eric, Lyria, and Livy's constitutions could easily handle that much. They knew what skill the Soulweavers had used.
Chilling Scream: A terrifying howl that not only deafens but also drops the temperature significantly, potentially freezing objects and beings in its vicinity.
After noticing that the humans were still fine and calmly waiting for them to show their next move, even Moira felt a bit of horror rising within her.
They didn't dare to stop and used their next skill immediately—a skill that favored them by transforming the area completely.
They all raised their hands above, and suddenly, vast snow-and-ice tornado vortices formed from their entire bodies, spreading out everywhere and covering the visibility of the three humans.
Blizzard Form: Soulweavers can create a swirling maelstrom of snow and ice, increasing their speed and damage output while reducing the visibility of their enemies.