Even with Feidric's Light spell and Darkvision, Aria felt her visibility was still limited to no more than five meters. As soon as she entered the darkness, an eerie silence descended, as if the entire world had been muted, leaving only the sound of her own footsteps and breathing.
This absolute silence was unnerving until the rest of the team entered the darkness and joined her, bringing a small measure of comfort.
Aria turned to her teammates and asked, "So, which way should we go next?"
Olivia immediately adopted a thoughtful expression, as if after deep contemplation, she pointed to the left and declared, "This way!"
At the same moment, Douglas pointed to the right. "I think we should go this way instead?"
With the team divided, the decision fell to Aria. Her gaze flickered between Olivia and Douglas before she finally pointed to the left. "Let's listen to Sister Olivia!"
For Douglas, it was just a casual choice of direction. Completely unaware of the gravity of the situation, he said, "Then let's go with the majority. Left it is."
With that, the trio officially set off, slowly advancing leftward. Given the unknown conditions in the darkness, they couldn't afford to move too quickly, lest they stumble into some unforeseen danger.
Meanwhile, Cipher and Evernight, hidden in the shadows beside the Child of Flesh, watched the group receding into the distance, their expressions tinged with resignation.
There's no choice now, Cipher thought. We'll have to relocate ourselves. Otherwise, waiting for Olivia to lead them to the Boss will take forever. By then, Feidric might starve to death out there.
Evernight stood up, brushing the dust off her rear, and sighed. "Who's ever heard of a Boss being so conscientious? Delivering itself right to our doorstep, no less."
The perspective shifted back to Aria's group. After the trio had been cautiously advancing for about fifteen minutes—roughly the time it took Evernight to relocate—a black panther suddenly leaped from the darkness without warning, pouncing on Olivia, who was closest.
Faced with this sudden attack, Olivia reacted with lightning speed. Her blade erupted in a blazing inferno as she swung it upward. The Black Panther was instantly engulfed in flames, consumed completely, and vanished from this world in a single breath.
Although Olivia's Divine Smite didn't possess any special attributes, the Child of Flesh was inherently vulnerable to light, which weakened its combat prowess. Since Olivia's Divine Smite emitted intensely bright flames, it arguably amplified the damage. Still, its raw power couldn't compare to Aria's Divine Smite.
The Black Panther had merely been a signal. Soon, more Child of Flesh Derivatives surged from all directions like an overwhelming tide, pressing in on the trio.
Olivia: "Divine Smite!"
Aria: "Divine Smite!"
Douglas watched his two teammates, his lips twitching slightly, then raised his weapon and shouted, "D-downward slash!"
"Horizontal slash!"
"Diagonal strike!"
Douglas seemed to be shouting incantations with each attack, as if to amplify his power. Unsurprisingly, his clearing speed lagged far behind his two companions.
Even before the buffs, the minor creatures posed little threat. Now, clearing them was effortless. Olivia even had time to excitedly exclaim, "Hey, with so many of these little guys around, does that mean the Child of Flesh's True Body is nearby? I really chose the right direction this time!?"
Aria nodded vigorously, her tiny brain churning. "Mhm~! It seems so!"
Douglas, however, raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled by Olivia's excitement. So what if she picked the right path? What's so remarkable about that? Little did he know, this was likely... possibly... probably the first time in Olivia's entire life she hadn't gotten lost.
"Divine Smite!"
A torrent of flames erupted in the darkness, like a small missile detonating, blasting a white clearing through the gloom. There, at the center of the light, stood their true target: the massive Child of Flesh, its True Body looming before them, its back bristling with countless tentacles.
After defeating the minor monsters, the boss battle was next—a standard part of the progression.
Upon seeing the trio arrive, the Child of Flesh slowly rose from its crouching position, baring its teeth and glaring at them warily. Aria and the others could clearly see that its right hind leg was limping, black viscous fluid oozing continuously from the wound at its thigh joint.
Aria immediately exclaimed, "It's injured! Did Sister Cipher do this?"
As she spoke, she rapidly turned her head, scanning the surroundings as if searching for Cipher's figure, though of course, she found nothing.
Douglas interjected, "Regardless, we need to stick to the original plan and lure this thing onto Feidric's Magic Circle! We'll deal with the rest later! Trust Cipher—she'll be alright."
The three adopted combat stances. Perhaps due to its injury, the Child of Flesh didn't initiate the attack. Aria moved first, golden light erupting from the Divine Artifact in her hand. Summoning all her strength, she unleashed a full-power Divine Smite right from the start.
Although the current goal was to lure the enemy, wouldn't it be simpler to kill it outright if they could?
Even during the charge-up phase of this attack, the Golden Light spiraled and expanded continuously along the blade, piercing through the darkness above. Feidric, who was preparing the Magic Circle far outside, could clearly see a pillar of Golden Light erupting from the black 'bowl' overhead.
However, the prolonged charging time gave their opponent ample opportunity to react. With a poof, the Child of Flesh dissolved into mist, vanishing from the trio's vision. When it reappeared, it was already behind Aria, a clear demonstration of its Authority to move freely through shadows.
The Child of Flesh opened its jaws, lunging for Aria's defenseless throat. But they hadn't forgotten Douglas's Divine Magic, Rhythm of War. The three had already synchronized their minds, and Douglas himself was already in position. He swung his Great Axe, conjured by Divine Magic, like a shield, intercepting the Child of Flesh's attack.
Crack—
Like shattering glass, a dense network of fissures immediately spiderwebbed across Douglas's Great Axe.