Impossible.
How could mere contaminated magic shake this body?
No matter what, Astel had absolute confidence in its physique, enough to rival formidable Ancient Dragons and even surpass them. It wasn't easy to cut open its wounds, not even with a +9 Starscourge Greatsword.
This shouldn't be happening. Why do I feel my flesh rotting?
Melina and the Mimic Tear were equally stunned. Just a moment ago, Frieren was injured, and now it was Astel's turn to retreat in alarm?
Hmph!
Suddenly, a Rot Kindred collapsed, its entire body blossoming into flowers, and the surrounding land was dyed scarlet.
More precisely, it was spreading.
Monsters fell one after another, turning into flowers and fertilizer, allowing the underground world to burst forth with a brilliant scarlet, its reflected light illuminating the seemingly bottomless underground world, chillingly eerie.
Astel's face was filled with confusion, as if asking: "What exactly have you done?"
Before it, Frieren strolled casually, her piercing leg wound instantly healed as if new, her powerful healing ability nullifying the battle's outcome.
Silently, she plucked a red flower headpiece.
The gaze of everyone present was captivated; some unknown magic seemed to compel them to salute. Strange, impossible. Scarlet Rot alone couldn't achieve such stature; something else must have been mixed in. And now, an unknown and terrifying power was about to be unleashed:
Whoosh!
The moment the Aeonia flower touched the ground, the entire world was dyed scarlet. Instantly, thousands upon thousands of Aeonia flowers bloomed, exponentially proliferating across all directions.
Not just the ground, but pools, walls, waterfalls, and even the false starry sky reflected the sea of flowers.
Frieren smiled faintly:
"The new magic succeeded. Go forth, Scarlet Aeonian Sea of Flowers."
With a distant flick of her staff, the Scarlet Rot across the entire space surged forth, with an overwhelming, mountain-toppling force.
Even a formidable being like Astel immediately sensed something was amiss. Its two pairs of clear star-wings flapped violently, and it suddenly ascended, dodging a flurry of petals, only for them to twist into a flying python.
Even it had to dart left and right to evade.
Because the erosion from the tail wound earlier continued to penetrate deep into its marrow, bringing with it a sensation of madness and frenzy. Why?
It looked at Frieren's meaningful expression, and alarm bells rang in its heart.
A trap!
While stabbing her, it must have unwittingly taken something with it. That strike was her deliberate calculation; she feigned an opening to seize a weakness, but in reality, she turned the tables.
"Was the Old God's Blood not effective enough?"
Originally, she had intended for the Old God's contamination and Scarlet Rot to together break Astel's defenses, but unfortunately, the opponent was still holding on.
Since that was the case, she brandished the Sword of Night and Flame, conjuring a gust of wind that carried the scarlet pollen, continuing her dance.
Wait a minute! Do Aeonia flowers produce so much pollen? Seeing this, Astel was indignant. This was more than just Scarlet Rot. It had been transformed into a more contaminating, more widespread, and more efficient negative status effect magic.
The pollen drifting in the air spread like maggots clinging to bone, already infecting the body of Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, steadily weakening the magical armor on its surface.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, pollen flew past the tail wound, and an Aeonia flower blossomed within it.
These horrifying plant roots coiled around its blood vessels, tearing open flesh, and even wounds that could naturally heal were prevented from doing so.
In its shock, Astel's flight became unstable.
Damn it.
As if it never rains but it pours, Frieren, sensing the opportune moment, trod upon the swirling petal-rain to reach the same altitude, then brought down a vertical slash with the Carian Greatsword, exerting a crushing pressure.
In the nick of time, it hastily activated Spatial Movement, narrowly dodging the unadorned attack.
But before it could breathe a sigh of relief, the silver-haired girl spun in mid-air, her greatsword transforming into a rapier, a long glintstone blade striking directly at its face.
Astel awkwardly dodged, its movements slowing.
The pursuer showed no signs of discouragement, drawing a bow with both hands: Loretta's Greatbow.
A glintstone meteor shot forth, striking the very same spot, shattering the iconic skull fragments of Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, and spilling magic. It was the first time it had been so dishevelled since the battle began, filled with both shock and rage.
Gravity Wave.
Astel violently swept a hand, sending out ripples of gravity that instantly caused the small target to plummet rapidly through the wind. This was The Lands Between's foremost Gravity Sorcerer's counterattack.
However, a White Spirit appeared in mid-air, a heroic spirit briefly materialized by soul magic.
Frieren had used them during the Battle of Four Gods; now they had a simpler task. Two souls each lifted their hands, pushing against the silver-haired girl's feet, vigorously propelling her upward. Her light stance transformed from falling into an active assault.
Multiple Soul Torrents!
The moment it entered range, six streams of light locked on. Astel had no time to marvel at the opponent's mobility; it immediately prepared for Spatial Transfer.
Unfortunately, the Scarlet Rot's erosion caused it a sudden pang of pain, costing it the opportunity.
Boom!
Multiple soul attacks struck directly.
There was no strong physical destructive effect, but the enemy's heart-wrenching roar was the best proof.
The formidable Civilization Destroyer howled, clutching its head with its two front arms, a tearing pain in its heart, a feeling of being ripped and trampled from within, a large chunk of its soul annihilated. There existed such destructive magic in the world, with terrifying single-target effect.
It faintly felt a King bathed in fire grabbing its soul, savagely tearing off a large piece.
It was Frieren.
The essence of this technique was likely to forcefully make the target's soul burn and tear apart, and the caster possessed an absolute advantage, directly bypassing the impenetrable physical defense to strike at the soul's core.
Astel stumbled, grabbing the rock face to keep from falling.
After one strike, it was dizzy and significantly wounded. A few more hits and it might die without external injuries, existing as a mere shell...
It cast an inquiring look at its enemy.
On the other side, Frieren, stepping on the flying petals, nodded and declared: "The Mimic Tear suggested turning you into a specimen, and I've promised everyone, so I'll continue with soul attacks. You should bring out some new tricks, or this is the end."
Roar!
The heavily wounded Astel roared sharply, unleashing Glintstone Rain once more.
However, this time Frieren's response changed from her usual approach.
Then, Glintstone Phalanx, Ancient Death-Spirits, Chaos Great Fireball, and Iridescent Meteor, among others, poured forth in bewildering succession.
The magical projectiles sparkled like stars, outshining the false starry sky underground, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Melina and the Mimic Tear, watching from a distance, were dumbfounded. It turned out Frieren wasn't incapable of casting many different types of spells in a short time; it was purely because previous enemies weren't high-tier enough or their elemental compatibility was poor. Only now was she using her true abilities.
Rumble!
The colorful magic effortlessly shattered the Rock Rain, intercepting it while heading directly for its target. Astel, in contrast, could only continuously scramble and dodge along the rock face.
No, it absolutely cannot fall onto the increasingly dense Scarlet Rot on the ground.
Otherwise, it would be difficult to recover.
The battle situation suddenly shifted; now Astel was the one awkwardly fleeing.
The terrifying Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, was forced to act like a gecko, constantly climbing and leaping around the vertical, sheer rock face to evade the rain-like assault.
Is her magic infinite?
Despite having already plundered the free-floating magic that could be mobilized within the underground area, Frieren showed no concern for consumption. The silver-haired girl moved with shifting forms amidst the guarding flowers, each action accompanied by massive magical bombardment.
Unable to use Spatial Movement, yet she fought it so it couldn't freely open Gravity Vortices.
Logically, otherworldly creations should excel at aerial combat, especially when holding a dominant position that makes it difficult for the opponent to use gravity magic.
Yet, true strong never complain about their environment.
They create their environment.
At this moment, the Aeonian Sea of Flowers throughout the underground cavern aided Frieren's movements, pressing relentlessly, slowly eroding its defenses through pollen. The longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it became.
The silver-haired girl moved across the three-dimensional rock-face battlefield, yet the power of her attacks was entirely unaffected.
Astel saw the sword flash with cold light, sweeping in all directions, striking its pincer-like mandibles with a resounding thrum.
It saw Frieren, with all her buffs stacked, block its tail stinger with raw power.
It saw its opponent adapting to the rhythm.
No need for combat-type Great Runes, no need for armies to guard her. All great power stemmed from herself, all will from her own heart, and all skill from arduous training.
Too strong.
As this thought flashed through its mind, Astel shivered all over. When did its own heart waver, becoming timid? It was just a mere demi-human bastard. The emotion that replaced it was rage, blood rushing to its head.
The enraged Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, suddenly burst out, seizing an opening and fiercely pouncing on the silver-haired girl.
Her expression darkened, and she swiftly dodged.
Then, her eyes darted around, her footwork slowing slightly, and Astel, without a second thought, bit down.
Crunch!
Its massive stag beetle-like mouthparts closed, but they couldn't budge the diminutive Frieren in the slightest. At that moment, Ash of War: Endure, Iron Flesh, and a series of buffs were actively unleashed, allowing her to physically withstand the attack with her flesh and blood body. This forced Astel to calm down.
If so, then why? Damn it, something bad is about to happen.
The next moment, Frieren plucked another Aeonia flower from her head. It surged with the wind, blooming to over 10 meters and slamming directly towards it.
Caught off guard, there was no way Astel could dodge!
An inevitable scene unfolded: the furiously blooming scarlet petals violently slammed into the slender body of Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. The power of rot and erosion instantly spread, causing petals to bloom across the target's surface.
Its body decaying uncontrollably, it still struggled, tearing at its skin to rip off the petals, ripping flesh along with them, only for them to grow back from the wounds immediately.
"I've made a slight modification: as long as there's life energy, it will continuously bloom."
"Life's cycle, transforming into another form, like corrupted beings—it's a new interpretation, isn't it?"
Frieren, from her superior vantage point, switched to the Starscourge Greatsword and performed a double jump.
A swift clang.
The monster, its skull-head suffering a heavy blow, could no longer hold onto the rock face, and its massive body plummeted with a thunderous crash. The densely packed Aeonia flowers on the ground immediately swarmed forward, infecting the target with all their might, moving at an incredible speed.
The caster wasn't idle either, using the high-tier enhanced Sword of Night and Flame to perform a side-jump, all killing intent condensing into a single point in an instant.
Then, it erupted from Frieren's blade.
She suddenly dashed forward, her dance-like movements creating white patterns swirling around Astel.
Waterfowl Dance.
Where the blade pointed, blood immediately splattered. Its once-proud physique, weakened several times over, finally had its defenses broken, and the wounds became perfect entry points for the Aeonia flowers.
Scarlet roots burrowed into its flesh, striving to induce this life mutation.
Following closely was a Soul Torrent from Frieren, but at the crucial moment, it reacted, unleashing a long-unseen Gravity Deflection, thus avoiding successive attacks and finally gaining a moment's reprieve.
It forcibly endured the pain, slamming its hands onto the ground.
Ripples of gravity waves undulated, sinking the ground's rocks, turning the Aeonia flowers into dust. Even Frieren stumbled.
It was an all-encompassing gravity crushing all things, with no exceptions. Only now did it finally unleash a new magic.
That's more like it!
Frieren, delighted by the hunt, retreated instead of advancing, creating some distance to re-engage in ranged combat. Not eager for victory, she was happy to probe for a while whenever the enemy introduced an unexpected variable.
On the surface, both sides returned to exchanging magical bombardments, but in reality, it was a white-hot battle.
The two energies of gravity and glintstone clashed without reservation, their shockwaves powerful enough to scatter the remaining monsters.
It proved that the Two Fingers' elaborately summoned spies, assassins, and monsters were irrelevant; they couldn't even survive the battle between Frieren and Astel, turning into dust upon contact, leaving no corpses, utterly insignificant.
Top-tier beings cannot be overwhelmed by numbers; there's no hope of harvesting them even after a mutual defeat.
"Conspirators simply don't understand the realm of true power."
The Mimic Tear coldly snorted, devouring dozens of enemies with Sorcery: Eternal Darkness, sweeping the surroundings clear. They were no match for it, their bodies annihilated in an instant.
Alas, it still couldn't compare to those in the supreme tier. Looking back, only silver and blue figures interwove repeatedly, moving through the sea of flowers, stirring up colorful petals with every gesture—beautiful and yet deadly.
This scene didn't resemble a battle, yet unbeknownst to them, it was on the verge of life and death.
"Even after taking Mother's Scarlet Rot and Soul Torrent attacks, it still retains its combat capability. Truly tough."
"It's still hard to make a judgment about the situation."
"Are you going to intervene?"
"I've always been ready, as a safeguard, after all, Astel isn't that easy to defeat."
Melina cradled the miniature sapling of the Golden Order in her hands. Should any danger arise, she would immediately unleash maximum healing energy.
On the surface, it was heavily wounded, but it was best to proceed steadily. No one could underestimate a being summoned by the Greater Will; its sheer resilience alone made it difficult to deal with. Any Demigod other than Frieren would not have been able to endure it.
Astel had met the opponent with the worst compatibility in The Lands Between today.
Whoosh!
Another Sorcery: Collapsing Stars broke through its defense and hit it. Unlike before, its massive body actually suffered a brief stagger, swaying precariously, almost losing its footing.
However, Frieren did not pursue. Instead, she halted her movements and began charging Soul Torrent.
If you're faking it, then not going in is correct. If you're truly staggered, then an extra ranged attack won't hurt.
The strategy of luring the enemy deeper had failed, so she discarded it. Astel suddenly absorbed a surge of gravity to envelop its body, forcefully suppressing the Scarlet Rot's spread. Then, it flapped its wings, propelling itself abruptly upward, covering hundreds of meters in an instant.
It was retreating higher, its target surprisingly being Nokstella, above the waterfall.
"Pursue."
Frieren turned to instruct, and the three reunited, advancing along the aerial path woven by the Aeonia flowers.
The Grand Cloister, a place of ruins.
Moongrum and Thervan's party had just arrived to a scene of utter devastation: countless monster corpses piled together in disarray, and the air was filled with a floral scent.
It was too bizarre; a place rife with plague and evil yet permeated with a refreshing fragrance.
They exchanged glances, seeing tension on each other's faces.
The good news was that the area was filled with Frieren's battle traces, which explained why the monsters had suffered such heavy losses with no survivors. Given the Soul Cinder King's magical mastery, once she got serious, it would be difficult to leave anything alive; her power was simply too overwhelming.
Existing as a mere shell...
It cast an inquiring look at its enemy.
The knights swept the area, finding nothing of value except for a few scattered trinkets; not even enemies remained.
What a pity.
They encountered virtually no significant resistance, needing only to follow behind and pick up what was left, like now.
Moongrum, leading the knights, sought out the dying ones hidden in every nook and cranny to finish them off.
After a thorough sweep, there was no longer any trace of monsters.
He bent down and wiped at a footprint, murmuring: "Strange, by the traces, a large number of monsters should have passed through here recently. Where did they go?"
"Knight Captain, we've found a large number of deposited corpses at the waterfall."
"Are they almost blocking it?"
Following the scout's direction, they saw severed limbs and broken bodies hanging in the river, mutating and lashing out from the Scarlet Rot's wash. True to its nature, it could cause calamity anywhere in The Lands Between, almost like the sights seen in Caelid.
Evidently, some unlucky souls had been swept into the river, carried towards the bottomless abyss, facing certain death.
Thervan said: "The magic traces stop here. Something's definitely happened!"
She was very familiar with her apprentice's aura, especially that unique soul magic reaction. Coupled with the marks deliberately left along the way, it should have been very obvious, so why was there no trace?
Something's wrong.
The group investigated the surroundings but found nothing.
Finally, their gaze fell upon the coffin at the end of the waterfall. A faint magical aura was present; perhaps it was some special mechanism?
But standing at the end of the broken bridge, they only felt the encroaching sense of the abyss. Could they really go down?
"Since Professor Thervan said the traces stopped here, then even the most impossible answer is still an answer," Moongrum asserted. "There's still space further down..."
Roar!
A roaring howl echoed through the empty valley as if in response, followed by an increased wind pressure.
Fortunately, the party reacted in time and retreated; otherwise, they would have certainly been pulled into The Abyss, doomed to eternal damnation.
In an instant, an ultra-gigantic dragonfly-like creature leaped out of the cavern, radiating immense pressure and majesty. The legendary Astel, Naturalborn of the Void! Exactly as recorded in ancient texts, unequivocally a monster capable of destroying civilizations, now looming above them.
"Wait, its condition isn't right."
Even an outsider could see its withered skull-face, covered in wounds, with countless flowers drooping from its eroded, corrupted flesh.
Furthermore, it was tainted with extensive traces of glintstone magic.
How could that be?
Astel, an otherworldly creation, was surprisingly in such a disheveled state, its hurried aura almost like a retreat. Could there truly be an enemy in the world worth fleeing from? Perhaps only one remained in The Lands Between.
Although fragrant, the scarlet petals unfurled, forming a bridge in mid-air directly to Astel, and behind it, Frieren was clearly seen pursuing, treading on the petals.
She wasn't alone; colorful magic permeated her surroundings, bombarding Astel simultaneously.
Bang! Bang!
The dazzling fireworks were actually lethal attacks enveloping Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, causing it to emit a series of whimpers and wails.
The enraged monster turned around and launched a retaliatory tail stinger thrust.
However, this time, the skilled Frieren neither dodged nor evaded. She parried with a horizontal slash, creating a sharp clang, and using the vast difference in their sizes, executed a counter-parry that staggered the already weakened Astel.
In an instant, a Soul Torrent hit, accompanied by an even more piercing shriek.
Gradually, it realized many of its moves were ineffective. It couldn't teleport in time, its tail stinger missed, and its gravity crush was dodged, leaving it immensely frustrated.
Infuriating!
It was actually being outmatched by an obscure, suddenly appearing Demigod, and injured in front of these ants. Every one of those astonished gazes wounded Astel, Naturalborn of the Void's dignity—a profound humiliation.
But the more enraged and frustrated it became, the more clumsy its moves, and it couldn't win, so it could only continue flying to create distance.
"Your Majesty is actually hunting Astel?"
"Don't interfere, get far away, return to the surface," Frieren shouted. "This fellow has been ascending continuously; the final battlefield might be in Liurnia."
Hearing this, Moongrum and Thervan no longer cared about their shock and quickly turned around.
They had to evacuate.
Because as soon as she finished speaking, even more intense energy fluctuations arose around Astel, likely brewing a new move.
This battle's intensity was too high, unparalleled in the current age, exceeding the scope of ordinary Demigods. Even spectating was a life-threatening risk. It was conceivable that it would cause disasters both underground and above ground, requiring prior preparation to avoid heavy losses.
"Apprentice, what you're doing is getting more and more incredible."
Unease welled up in Thervan's heart, but looking back at the silver-haired figure fighting amidst blood, she calmed down a little. After all, there was still hope.
"Both Your Majesty and Her Highness will be safe."
At this point, Moongrum could only believe. The mess was already as big as it could get, anyway.
Whoosh!
Astel, flying at full speed, generated wind tunnel pressure around it, almost causing the pursuing Frieren to lose her footing. She simply fired a jet of flame downwards to further boost her speed.
Simultaneously, the power of Scarlet Rot followed, condensing into two Aeonia flowers that returned to her ponytail, no longer emitting that terrifying contamination.
Nearing the surface, she had to retract her dangerous abilities.
The two were not merely racing; they were simultaneously unleashing magic at each other, aiming amidst ultra-high-speed maneuvers.
Spatial vortices flickered around Astel.
Bang!
Instead of teleporting its body, it unexpectedly launched dozens of large meteorites, instantly filling the space, leaving no room for evasion.
This was its long-brewing killing move: a continuous rain of spatial meteors, enough to annihilate any enemy.
At the critical moment, Frieren activated a barrier to forcibly block an attack, then swung her twin Starscourge Greatswords, precisely cleaving the threatening meteorites.
With instantaneous reaction time and precise swordsmanship, she remained unscathed.
How could that be?
The move, confidently expected to severely wound the target, missed, leaving Astel bewildered. But there was no time to think, as the silver-haired girl actively closed the distance by treading on the flying meteorites; anything could become an opportunity for her to launch an attack.
The enraged Astel swept its tail stinger across the deep cavern pit, kicking up rock fragments that plummeted under the influence of gravity.
They completely blocked the passage, hindering Frieren's advance.
Immediately after, Astel charged fiercely, piercing through the barrier of the earth, seeing the light of day again, and soaring straight into the sky.
Bathed in the light of the Golden Order!
The lake beneath its feet was all that was about to be obliterated. It was time to summon meteorites.
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Unfortunately, two of our stories were removed... so I created a new account to post them: MikuDayo.
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I'm counting on your support <3 the director was very sad and scared by what happened...
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