Incredibly strong.
This was Frieren's first impression of Astel: the strongest foe she had encountered since arriving in The Lands Between.
It truly lived up to its title as a punishment from the Greater Will, an avatar of destruction; it was likely the most devastating entity she had faced so far, and its battle record was even more illustrious. She couldn't believe that even demigod-level combatants from the former Eternal City had tragically perished here.
The silver-haired girl stood ready, the Sword of Night and Flame poised for action.
As was her custom, she didn't initiate an attack, awaiting a counter-opportunity. Yet, she wasn't idle; right in front of her enemy, she applied a series of buffs: Golden Vow, Words of Retribution, and Fire's Blessing.
Astel, too, was preparing.
Around it, gravity vortexes ceaselessly swirled, disrupting all magical currents.
Even the powerful Mimic Tear couldn't help but glance sideways, feeling a wave of discomfort. The Gravity magic it usually employed had lost its effect.
"So, 'Mother' had already anticipated this," the Mimic Tear mused. "My petty tricks won't work."
Both sides openly enhanced their powers, displaying clear openings, yet neither was in a hurry to strike. At their level, the margin for error was high, and victory couldn't be achieved easily. Instead, it demanded overall control of the battle's tempo; the gains and losses of individual moves were secondary.
Thwip!
Suddenly, Astel's tail stinger lashed out directly, the weapon, longer than its own body, arriving before her with astonishing speed, aimed precisely at her throat.
Frieren dodged, leaning sideways.
But her gaze darkened, and she immediately shifted into a roll. Almost simultaneously, several fragments of stone were drawn to the tail stinger's tip and crushed, turning to dust and leaving no trace.
"Every attack is imbued with gravity. What you believe to be an evasion isn't truly escaping it."
Thus, conventional close-quarters combat was impossible.
Failing to land a hit, Astel, slightly impatient, lashed out again with its stinger. Meeting the tail stinger was a flash of Comet Azur. The two surges of light clashed with a thunderous roar, intertwined, then separated, neither side gaining an advantage as both recoiled.
"It used that kind of magic right from the start!" The Mimic Tear, currently dispatching a group of monsters, frowned.
Finger Piercer!
Suddenly, an unfamiliar spell struck, which she precisely parried. To her surprise, it had concealed a hidden assailant.
"Don't lose focus, it's harboring the Two Fingers' minions," Melina warned. "They've been planning for a long time to eliminate Frieren and Ranni in one fell swoop. We absolutely cannot let unstable elements into the main battlefield, or the consequences will be dire."
"I will completely seal off this area. No one shall pass."
The Mimic Tear unleashed a torrent of Night Mist. Unlike the techniques of the Nox, it focused more on the sharp ice crystal blades concealed within the mist.
A defensive line separated the battlefield's interior from the exterior.
She wholeheartedly sealed off the area, treating Astel as if it didn't exist, for she trusted Frieren to guard her back, trusting her with her life.
Comet Azur Barrage!
Frieren immediately unleashed dozens of Comet Azur assaults, only for the slender, iridescent monster to deftly evade them.
"No, they were deflected," Frieren realized. "Even legendary magic can be interfered with. Its power level is extremely high, and it's not stagnant; it quickly recognized the new magic and countered with gravitational shifts. Ordinary means aren't even worthy of striking it."
Similarly, Astel continued its tail stinger sweeps, gouging deep craters into the ground, yet it couldn't even graze her garment.
It was clearly a battle between vastly disparate sizes, yet both sides' movements were incredibly refined.
Their footwork, movements, reactions, and perception were all flawless. No one would have expected a display of fundamental martial prowess before the dazzling magical confrontation. Both were watertight, exchanging blows with minimal effect.
On the surface, it seemed strange, but in reality, magic within a several-kilometer radius was continuously being siphoned and aggregated.
The calm before the storm.
Centered around Astel, a colossal magic vortex gradually formed, its outer perimeter extending for several kilometers, siphoning the energy of the entire underground world and leaving living beings trembling in fear.
The inner circle, the main battlefield, was where Astel held the advantage.
Frieren abandoned the struggle for ambient magic. Instead, she focused on extreme internal control of her power; outwardly, no magical fluctuations were visible. From this point on, she would rely entirely on her own internal magic reserves for battle.
"Rather than wasting energy fighting for control, she chose to trust herself."
This was bad.
Melina's watchful gaze flickered with concern at this unprecedented disadvantage.
A smirk appeared on Astel's monstrous face. It concluded that this opponent's strength was waning; a demigod perhaps, but with weak fighting will and only mediocre magical talent.
It roared, charging forward proactively. This was no reckless move; it was firing solidified magic like cannonballs.
Its great mandibles snapped down on the silver-haired girl's staff. Against such absolute mass, parrying was impossible.
With a loud thud.
Frieren first used Carian Retaliation to seize a momentary opening, then stomped off Astel's head to leap. In mid-air, she switched to two Starscourge Greatswords, imbued them with the Ash of War: Cragblade, and, gathering all her strength, performed a dual-wielding jumping attack.
Reacting swiftly, Astel immediately employed Gravity magic and interference, only to discover it had little effect on the Starscourge Greatswords, which were already infused with unshakable power.
"My strength is also something you cannot deflect."
The two +9 enhanced weapons slammed into Astel's head, splashing a liquid that may or may not have been blood.
Splat!
As it reeled back, its tail stinger plunged forward, accurately piercing Frieren's abdomen while she was airborne, her momentum spent. There was no crisp parrying sound, indicating a direct hit.
Miriam's Vanishing! The next moment, Astel found the armored girl, her armor shattered, appearing behind it, delivering another Carian Greatsword strike.
It had no choice but to block with its hand, the two surges of energy canceling each other out and causing mutual destruction.
"Cannot fall into the enemy's rhythm."
Seeing Frieren prepare her next wave of attacks, Astel immediately took to the air, its two pairs of iridescent wings allowing its slender body to fly with ease. In the blink of an eye, it widened the distance to over a hundred meters, avoiding a string of enemy combos that could turn a seized advantage into victory.
"That was close. It had believed it had eliminated the possibility of close-range combat, but unexpectedly, it was counterattacked."
"It needed to be even more careful to kill this demigod."
Another thing that puzzled it was why this entity, possessing a Great Rune, didn't use it?
"Surely no idiot would use a fragment of the Elden Ring for non-combat purposes, right? From a combat perspective, if what I'm facing isn't a Shardbearer, I can completely overwhelm her with sheer strength."
After the enemy retreated, Frieren didn't pursue. Instead, she peeled off her shattered, curling armor, simply discarding it.
Astel's reaction just now was astonishingly fast; it displayed no hitstun and even counterattacked. That tail stinger was so sharp that her armor could only withstand one hit from it. She changed her strategy: once she entered mid-range combat again, she wouldn't rely on defense. Instead, she would rely on her poise to power through, and then look for an opening.
But her opponent wouldn't allow it.
With a low roar, rocky spheres began to float around it, larger and more angular than any gravity magic constructs, veritable meteor hammers.
More than 20 of them at once.
No need for precise aiming; under absolute suppressive fire, only endless annihilation rushed towards the silver-haired girl.
For a moment, a meteor shower streaked across the underground world, propelled by solidified magic. Each sphere could pierce a fortress wall, and now they were aimed solely at a single target.
Frieren didn't dodge or evade, choosing to confront them head-on, summoning pillars of light around her.
Angel's Light Pillars!
Both sides, by unspoken agreement, entered a magical duel.
The flowing light guarding the silver-haired girl extended like a fence, arrayed in a line, forming an excellent defensive formation.
The pillars of light clashed fiercely with the rocky spheres. The former possessed greater penetrative power, capable of splitting open and dismantling a rocky sphere with a single strike. Although the meteor shower appeared to be a dense barrage, all truly threatening projectiles were neutralized.
When used defensively, the Angel's Light Pillars were even more formidable.
It perfectly embodied Frieren's philosophy of defensive counter-attack. The next moment, the flowing light that had shattered the rocky spheres actively extended, surging towards Astel.
"How troublesome."
Astel merely waved its hand, dispersing a mist-like, scattered wave of gravitational energy that disrupted the attack. The magic that could previously blast a series of holes in the ground now felt light and weak, utterly without threat.
Astel's smug, skeletal face seemed to declare: "All energy attacks are useless against me."
Frieren, however, was never short on tactics.
The next moment, Astel's gaze shifted, only then discerning countless Glintstone spells raining down from high above. The shimmering of the Angel's Light Pillars had concealed their attack paths, preventing gravitational interference in time. Spells with physical mass were the true solution; Frieren, therefore, went all in.
Glintstones rained down, impacting Astel's body with a thunderous roar.
This time, they couldn't be deflected. Shockwaves spread, carrying Glintstone shards, and the ground further collapsed and sank.
The silver-haired girl simultaneously defended against the meteor shower, attacked with Glintstone magic, and maintained a series of buffs on herself. Her multi-casting ability was unparalleled in The Lands Between.
Grinding and rumbling sounds!
From the dust, a long tail danced, its afterimages shattering the Glintstone shards.
That tail had become an anti-air net, impenetrable.
Furthermore, the vast majority of Glintstones had no effect on Astel. Its seemingly slender body was actually formed from extraterrestrial matter, nigh indestructible. Apart from the twin jumping attack with the Starscourge Greatswords earlier, it hadn't taken any damage.
"Tough enough to be in a league of its own among all enemies Frieren had ever fought; very few attacks could breach its defense."
"It has an outer shell, doesn't it?"
Careful observation revealed a layer of magical substance swirling around Astel's body, effectively serving as armor.
However, before she could observe further, the opponent vanished into a gravity vortex. In that instant, a tail stinger attacked from behind Frieren's head, fast, accurate, and lethal.
Clang!
Frieren immediately blocked with the Sword of Night and Flame, yet the stinger still left a gash on her shoulder. It was too fast; true spatial movement, not comparable to mere stealth or teleportation magic.
Immediately after, Astel reappeared in front of her, its pincer-like mandibles snapping shut, attacking from both blind spots. But the silver-haired girl surprisingly dodged with a low stance, opening an opportunity.
Night and Flame Comet.
As her counter-attack was launched, she saw the great enemy vanish into a spatial vortex.
She couldn't concede the advantage of mobility. With that thought, Frieren also employed Miriam's Vanishing, combining it with Unseen Form.
On one side, phantom-like spatial movements.
On the other, traceless magical concealment, always appearing in unexpected locations.
It had become exceedingly difficult for either side to detect the other's movements. Often, only fleeting glimpses appeared before silence descended again. Rather than painstakingly search, it was better to broaden the offensive. Since that was the case, they would increase their magic output and ensure hits through sheer volume.
Rumble!
The same philosophy gave rise to Glintstone Cometshard and Rock Rain clashing, exploding into a colossal cloud of fire in the air.
The profound silence of eternal night became a thing of the past. Tranquility was utterly shattered. All phenomena succumbed to chaos and destruction beneath Frieren and Astel's full-power clash: rivers ran dry, the ground collapsed. In the eyes of weaker beings, only flickering afterimages and violent magical strikes remained.
The pools of water transmitted shockwaves, sending the underground monsters tumbling in disarray.
"A bunch of tedious trash."
The Mimic Tear didn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, harvesting the disoriented foes. Its sharp blades of Night magic tore through them like a storm, cutting them down with ease.
Even the relatively powerful miniature 'Astel, Stars of Darkness' iridescent monsters couldn't survive a single strike. A mere graze meant instant death.
The range of its magic attacks extended far beyond its blade's tip.
She reveled in the slaughter but didn't forget to keep an eye on the main battlefield, where a subtle shift seemed to be occurring:
And it was for the worse.
Astel, continuously performing spatial shifts, gradually gained the upper hand, using its mobility to unleash more magical explosions upon Frieren. In short order, she was covered in scorch marks and wounds.
Although the buffs and constant healing ensured her status remained stable – healing instantly upon taking damage – this couldn't go on indefinitely.
The most threatening element was undoubtedly the tail stinger.
Gradually, Astel began to split its teleportation, fighting with its head at one end of the spatial vortex while its tail delivered sneak attacks from the other.
This monster was actually improving, learning, experimenting; it was mastering its skills through practice. Several times, the tail stinger scored bloody gashes on Frieren's body. If she hadn't reacted in time to avoid a direct hit, it would have pierced her armor instantly.
Astel's offense was swift and fierce, its attacks growing stronger with each wave as it figured out the rhythm.
It felt a rush of adrenaline, a burning fighting spirit. The demigod powerhouses of the former Eternal City hadn't even been enough to warm it up. Afterwards, it was just a long, boring slumber in The Lands Between.
"Now, such a special, demi-human hybrid had appeared."
Thus, Astel's magical power continuously intensified.
Its techniques of spatial teleportation, tail sweeps, and Rock Rain accelerated at a visible rate.
So, Astel was growing stronger.
In contrast, the petite silver-haired girl seemed like a small boat in a storm, swaying uncontrollably, liable to sink into the vast ocean at any moment. This boundless Abyss would become her grave; another rebellious soul who dared challenge the Greater Will's proxy would be slain.
Clang!
The decisive blow came: Frieren's Carian Greatsword struck Astel's face, but its pincer-like mandibles clamped down, holding it fast, preventing it from advancing.
Meanwhile, its tail stinger pierced her thigh, leaving her drenched in blood.
"Quickly, help Frieren!"
Melina urged the Mimic Tear, which instinctively began to move but then halted.
"Yes, I must protect 'Mother'," the Mimic Tear thought. "But she also commanded me never to interfere with her battles, or she would dislike me."
Crack!
Suddenly, the silver-haired girl forcefully pulled her injured leg free, and a Storm Stomp summoned an ice formation that froze its tail. It would shatter in an instant, but that instant was all she needed. Immediately, a Soul Stream shot forth.
A soul-damaging sorcery, reserved until now for a guaranteed hit, brutally blasted Astel's skeletal head.
This hit was devastating, making it cry out in continuous pain.
Yet, one had to once again admire the resilience of the extraterrestrial creation. Like Frieren, it remained unshaken by superficial injuries, and it was clearly about to regain its composure and resume spatial teleportation, maintaining its mobility advantage.
However, Astel froze, realizing its opponent had used a Starscourge Greatsword to pin its tail to the ground.
"The opportunity I truly meant to create was this very moment."
A strange energy surged from the tail's wound and spread throughout its entire body. Unbeknownst to Astel, the pool of water had begun to tinge crimson, and the surrounding organisms bloomed into bizarre, grotesque growths.
Scarlet Rot?
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