NOVPUBChapter 1325: The Azure Thaid (5)
The heat was intense enough to distort the air, creating quivering mirages across the battlefield. The pungent smell of burning vegetation filled their lungs as more and more of the surrounding area caught fire.
Through the inferno, Erik could see the thaid’s eyes shining with wicked delight at the destruction it had wrought. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
The thaid wasn’t done yet, though. It fired attack after attack, each one powerful enough to level a small town.
Erik matched it blow for blow, drawing on his massive mana reserves to counter each of them.
He also realized the battle could go on forever at this rate. The creature showed no signs of tiring, and while his mana reserves were vast, they weren’t infinite. He needed to end this fight.
she asked through the telepathic link made by his Instability brain crystal power.
Erik paused.
<I’ve been destabilizing it with Instability since the battle started. I’m using illusions to prevent it from focusing on you. I used wind blades, fireballs, and even telekinesis to stop it from moving, but it’s not working. I need to use more mana if I want to stop it, and if I do this, I won’t be able to make an attack strong enough to kill it. You must do it.>
She paused. <I’ll do what I can.> Erik nodded.
Hovering above the battlefield, he faced another deluge of energy blasts from the thaid. Each attack missed as he spun, snaked, and evaded through the attacks using telekinesis. He gathered mana.
Light poured from his body as he channeled mana through his neural links. The surrounding air distorted because of the sheer amount of mana. The thaid sensed the danger and redoubled its attacks, sending blast after blast toward him.
Erik released his power in a single, concentrated surge. The wave of energy tore through the azure thaid and expanded, disintegrating every lesser creature in its path.
[Hostile creature killed: Mana-absorbing process starting.]
[Hostile creature killed: Mana-absorbing process starting.]
[Hostile creature killed: Mana-absorbing process starting.]
[Hostile creature killed: Mana-absorbing process starting.]
[Hostile creature killed: Mana-absorbing process starting.]
[Hostile creature killed: Mana-absorbing process starting.]
[Hostile creature killed: Mana-absorbing process starting.]
However, that wasn’t Erik’s real attack. No, while he channeled mana to create the giant fireball he hurled at the monster, one of his Hydra’s heads focused on the surrounding vegetation. The sparse plants near the lake grew and multiplied. Meanwhile, another of his Hydra’s heads focused his telekinesis on the monster.
The plants then jutted out of the ground and spread toward the monster.
The vines and roots wrapped around the thaid’s towering body like pythons, their grip tightening with each second.
More plants erupted from the ground, some as thick as ancient redwood trunks, weaving themselves around the creature and trapping it like a spider wrapping its prey.
The monster thrashed, its muscles bulging against the restraints, but Erik pumped more and more mana into them while he also used telekinesis to keep the monster at bay.
His mana reserves were depleting. The beast’s tremendous strength and vast mana pool made it hard to kill.
Water jets shot from the thaid’s body, trying to slice through its bindings, but for each vine it severed, three more took its place. Erik altered the composition of the vines, molding them from plants into metals to add to their strength and durability.
The creature’s eyes blazed with fury as it tried to summon another sphere of energy.
<EMILY, NOW!>
Emily channeled mana, time slowing around her as she lifted her rifle. That made it easier for her to aim at the monster. It was fast even for her while she slowed time, so doing all of this was needed. Besides, Emily needed to one-shot it.
She needed to be careful about what she aimed at. The world stretched into a crawl, water droplets suspended in air, flames frozen mid-flicker.
She relaxed her breathing, squared her shoulders, and lined up her sights on the thrashing beast.
The azure thaid thrashed against Erik’s plant-metal restraints. Emily centered her crosshairs on its glowing eye.
<Let’s hope it will be enough.>
She channeled her mana into the rifle chamber.
Then she exhaled, her finger tensing on the trigger. She poured more mana into the rifle, emptying her reserves until it threatened to burst from the sheer power contained within it.
The rifle kicked against her shoulder as she fired. The mana-infused bullet streaked across the battlefield, leaving a trail of shining energy in its wake.
The bullet struck the thaid’s eye and punched through. It was a devastating wound, a mortal one. Inside the creature’s skull, the mana round exploded, the concentrated mana disintegrating the brain tissue in an instant.
The thaid went rigid. Its body tensed, then slackened. The glow faded from its remaining eye as death took it. The creature tumbled sideways. Erik’s restraints were the only thing keeping it from crashing into the water.
“Target eliminated,” Emily said, lowering her rifle.
Erik released his hold on the plants, making the dead monster fall to the ground. Its body struck the ground with a thunderous impact, raising dust and debris around them.
“Good shot,” Erik said, looking through the battlefield to search for the remaining beasts. Indeed, there were more beasts, but the clones, led by the Chimaeric Demon, were taking care of them.
At some point, the lake’s surface calmed. No more creatures rose from its depths. With the death of their leader, the remaining lesser thaids that hadn’t been killed by the clones scattered into the lake, too scared to even approach Erik.
Erik went to the creature. The wound in its eye socket showed little external damage, but he knew the destruction inside was catastrophic.
Emily approached him. “Is it dead?”
Erik nodded. “It is.”
He looked out over the devastated landscape. Trees were uprooted, craters scarred the earth, and debris was scattered everywhere.
“You were right,” Erik said, turning to Emily. “The fight would have destroyed the lab if we’d remained in our previous location.”
Emily nodded. “I’ve never seen power like that before—from you neither.”
Erik looked down at his hands, still glowing faintly with residual mana. He sighed.
“That thing was no ordinary thaid. It must have been another Silverline experiment, like the Thanatocoleoptera queen.”
Emily nodded. “We should head back,” Emily said, worried about Erik’s wounds. “The lab is still intact. We can investigate it now that its guardian is gone.”
