Faced with the sudden ambush, Saphir was already prepared. In a flash, a golden-glowing cross materialized in her hand. She swung it forcefully, ready to deflect the incoming arrow.
But to her surprise, this arrow was nothing like the ones before. The moment it touched her cross, the arrow exploded with violent Anemo energy, enveloping the area around her in a three-meter whirlwind.
Caught off guard, Saphir took a hit. Before she could recover, another piercing sound came—another arrow was already on its way.
She realized then: she was facing a truly tough opponent. With her vision restricted, she had barely had time to take in her surroundings before she was pinned at the door under overwhelming pressure. She had to find a way out.
There was no time to dodge. In Seraph mode, she had immense survivability and regeneration but at the cost of agility. If she was pinned down, breaking free was nearly impossible.
The arrow's elemental power reminded her of Ganyu's Frostflake Arrow, but far stronger. Unless Ganyu tapped into her adeptal power, she couldn't suppress Saphir with sheer force alone like this.
Left with no choice, Saphir activated Holy Light Barrier to tank the incoming shot. As soon as the shield went up, the arrow hit it like a meteor, the gale shaking her golden barrier. Another arrow was already being charged.
Switching immediately to Assassin mode, she activated Shadow Step, leaving a decoy behind as her real body vanished into the darkness.
Once outside the wind zone, she finally got a clear look at her surroundings.
The room was vast and empty—no decorations, nothing but a massive throne at the far end. Upon it sat a vaguely humanoid figure—though calling it "human" was generous. It had a humanoid upper body, but it was translucent blue, and its lower half ended in a swirling vortex of wind.
Saphir quickly realized this was the wraith of Decarabian. Standing beside it was a transparent figure, indistinct in gender, wielding a silver bow aimed at her decoy.
Boom!
The arrow fired. The decoy exploded in a gust of wind.
"Target eliminated... Intrusion neutralized…"
The transparent archer returned to stillness.
Saphir narrowed her eyes. It was clear now: Decarabian was in an unstable state, while the archer was like a guardian—hostile, unthinking, and programmed to eliminate.
Her best move now was to take out the archer and then try to communicate with Decarabian.
She flung a silver dagger straight at the transparent archer. The bow it held was unmistakable—Amos' Bow, the legendary 5-star weapon sealing the leyline here. That made the identity of the spirit very intriguing.
As the dagger flew, Saphir revealed herself. The transparent figure reacted immediately, ignoring the dagger and drawing its bow again.
The raging Anemo element surged as the bowstring drew back. But Saphir had no intention of taking the shot head-on. She darted away—but then came the surprise.
The dagger didn't strike. It didn't miss either. It passed through the spirit entirely, as if it didn't exist.
Another arrow shot out like lightning, landing where Saphir had been—but she had already activated the second cast of Deathblade, reappearing behind the figure and dodging just in time.
Before she could counterattack, Decarabian suddenly turned toward her.
"Betrayer! Are you here to destroy me too?!"
His mind snapped. The God of Storms had gone mad.
Violent wind howled through the chamber.
"Tch, so it really won't be that easy," Saphir clicked her tongue and retreated. The transparent figure also turned and began charging its next shot.
As she repositioned, she activated Analyze & Appraise to scan the two entities. The results shocked her:
Entity: Shadow of Amos
State: Remnant Spirit
Intelligence: None
Special Status: Cannot be targeted, untouchable, indestructible.
Entity: Decarabian
State: Remnant Spirit
Special Status: Frenzied, cannot be reasoned with.
Saphir frowned. She had guessed something was off, but never imagined Amos' spirit had become a guardian, and one that couldn't even be harmed.
This meant she'd have to battle Decarabian while constantly dodging Amos' attacks. A huge headache.
Two quick dashes put her at a distance. She switched back into Seraph mode and activated her buffs:
Blessing of Courage
Blessing of Protection
Holy Light Barrier
Divine Edict
Her boots glowed, and she dashed forward like wind, closing the distance between her and the sluggish Decarabian.
BOOM!
An arrow slammed into her shield like a cannonball, dimming the golden glow. Still, she pressed on.
"Hurricane, heed my call!"
Decarabian raised his arms, summoning a massive wind vortex aimed straight at her.
Saphir knew even she wouldn't survive a direct hit. She placed her hand to her chest, chanting softly.
A pair of silver wings burst from her back.
Wings of Sanctity: Channel the power of a Seraph to grant allies enhanced attack, movement, and casting speed, as well as the ability to fly. While active, skills build up Seraphic Grace. Recasting causes a light-element explosion based on accumulated Grace.
With her wings unfurled, she soared upward, dodging Amos' arrow and Decarabian's vortex with ease. She circled behind them.
Another arrow came. She folded her wings, drew her cross, and dove at an unnatural speed.
Aerial Slam: Dive from mid-air to smash the ground, dealing area damage.
The golden cross slammed into the ground, shaking Decarabian and interrupting his attack. Crouching low, Saphir pressed her palm to the ground.
A blue magic circle expanded from beneath her feet.
Sanctified Aegis: Erects a Seraphic barrier that deals heavy light-element damage and grants invincibility, movement/casting/attack buffs, and super armor. Only lasts 5 seconds. Does not stack with Holy Light Barrier.
Five seconds. That was all she had.
She switched to Assassin mode. Her dagger, No-Grief: Sky Rend, gleamed in her hand.
An arrow flew—but she ignored it.
She flung her dagger into Decarabian's body, activating Shadow Step and vanishing.
Reappearing behind him, she slashed across his lower back.
Eightfold Shadow Slash: Strikes the enemy to inflict stagger, then summons clones to slash from eight directions. Bonus finisher if the enemy is backstabbed.
Before the shadows even landed their blows, Saphir used another skill—Heart Rend.
Crimson energy burst from Decarabian's chest as she tore out his elemental core.
Her voice whispered in his ear, and she blinked behind him again, dragging her dagger through his wounds.
Only then did her shadow clones land their strikes, plunging their blades in a perfect rhythm. Dozens of Saphirs seemed to fill the chamber, each one contributing to a deadly dance.
Decarabian staggered—barely hanging on. Even as a wraith, the Wind God had tenacious resilience.
But he wouldn't last much longer.
Two seconds had already passed—only three seconds of her invincibility remained.
She couldn't waste a moment.
While Decarabian was stunned, she twisted her dagger toward his neck.
Dance of Death: Grabs the target and unleashes a flurry of fatal strikes. Bonus finisher from behind.
But she didn't finish it. Instead—
Shadow Step: Afterimage: Cancels current skill to summon a clone to finish it.
Saphir left the clone to complete the combo and went for the kill.
Silent Execution: Instantly moves behind the target for a silent assassination. Damage scales with missing HP. If backstabbed, target is cleaved into four pieces.
She slashed an enormous X across his back and stood before him.
Everything froze.
Decarabian stood still.
The Shadow of Amos ceased fire.
The Sanctified Aegis faded.
Saphir stood quietly.
The hall fell silent.
"Die."
~~~----------------------
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