A powerful pressure was released from Lilith's body; her presence gained a new edge as more heavenly essence flooded her pathways. A navy blue aura radiated from her, like the misty clouds on a mountain.
She couldn't help but bask in the euphoric feeling that it gave her, but she threw those thoughts to the back of her mind as she had to stay alive.
Boom!
With much more speed than earlier, she turned back and exploded with movement, half that of the speed of sound.
She calculated the trajectory of the javelins and quickly planned the most efficient route to evade them.
Lilith continued her earlier approach and tried to use the terrain to her advantage, taking cover with the trees and randomly changing her direction.
Shew!
Shew!
Shew!
She easily dodged several javelins, twisting her body just in the right moment to shake off their pursuit.
But as she saw them almost disappear into the forest, she had to furrow her brows as she sensed that something was amiss. Shit!
She turned to the left, the trees turning into a blur and a trail of snow was blasted in her path.
But that wasn't enough.
Shew! Shew! Shew!
The projectiles that had missed her appeared in front of her, blocking the direction.
What made it worse, was that there were still other ones almost catching up to her from the back.
Without any choice left, she slid on the snow and turned sharply to the left again, towards the small gap that was left.
Voom!
As if expecting her running path, a pillar of fire exploded in front of her, and from it came Valeric.
Boom!
He charged at her, his sword aimed to pierce her heart. The small explosions that he made near his joints accelerated him exponentially.
Lilith bit her lip and engaged with him.
Her nails grew longer, and their sharp edge met his blade.
Clinck! Clinck! Clinck!
She blocked the first strike to her heart, dodged the second one aiming to her ribs to the right, and deflected the last one that almost reached her eyes.
She pushed him back, pressuring him to make a mistake.
One would've thought that she held the advantage if they didn't see the whole picture.
The reason that she attacked him with the ferocity of a cornered beast, was because she was.
Her nails cracked, and they almost gave up to his noble blade.
And worse than that...
Shew! Shew! Shew!
The javelins caught up to her.
Valeric stepped back, appearing to give her more room.
But that was far from the truth.
Two of the javelins limited her movement, leaving her with only the choice to push on him if she wanted to keep her momentum.
Welcoming her, he stabbed at her abdomen.
Lilith deflected his sword, but that only gave an opening for the projectile.
Gritting her teeth, she suddenly stepped to the side, throwing it off path.
However, her opponent used up that distraction to his advantage and stabbed at her side.
Crack!
She managed to block it as well, but at that moment, her first nail cracked. Not only did she have a shorter melee range, but her only weapon started failing her.
And worse still...
Shew!
She stepped to the side suddenly again, barely dodging the javeline with a small burn at her side.
Seeing that his strategy was bearing fruit, his next attack was much bolder. Closing in on her most effective melee range and putting himself in danger.
Predicting his plan, Lilith decisively deflected the next diagonal slash barely.
She suppressed a groan and felt his searing blade cut through from her left shoulder to her right hip. Her blood almost boiled from the heat.
Shew!
And finally, another javelin came. This time, she was only able to lean slightly and sustain a small hole to her right shoulder.
The pain intensified, her body protesting to her.
But if she hadn't taken the slash from his sword, he would've pushed her back and made the javeline impale her skull instead.
She kicked at Valeric with her bare feet to create some distance, but he simply exploded into a ball of crimson fire and appeared several dozen steps away.
His golden eyes stared emotionlessly at her wounded figure.
Fuck! I can't keep going like this...
She wasn't winning the fight if things continued this way. Valeric controlled the flow of the battle, sustaining almost no injuries while she didn't.
And what made it even worse was the fact that Lilith was running low on time. She can't keep up with the demands of [Output Overload] for a long time.
Despite being a new Calamity, she actually had a spell that was compatible with almost all Pathways.
Well, to be more technical, although [Output Overload] is categorized as a spell, it's more accurate to call it a technique.
It was straightforward. Using it, she would be able to circulate more heavenly essence through her pathways than her body allowed her to. Effectively becoming more powerful than she normally was.
And the obvious drawback was that she couldn't sustain it for long, as her pathways would start receiving damage for each abusive use of them.
True, she had mastered it enough not to get permanent harm after activating it, but that was all. She was running out of time. I have to make a change...
Thinking of that, she took a step toward Valeric.
Or at least she wanted to.
The moment she raised her feet, dizziness started clouding her mind. The world in her vision started swaying, and her eyes became unfocused. Tiredness overwhelmed her senses.
It didn't criple her, but her movement was now relatively limited compared to before.
And that was all what Valeric needed. He finally used his Mind Pathway on her.
Shew! Shew! Shew! Shew! Shew!
Five javelins shot at her simultaneously, one from above, and four others that blocked all directions.
They blocked her escape path three-dimensionally. Shit! He got me!
Previously, she would've been able to break through them with minimal injuries. But now, it appeared that when he slashed her, he used his Mind Pathway as well. Meaning, she could only survive this offense with a serious injury.
And that would mark the end of the fight as Valeric would finish her off easily.
The javelins closed with merciless speed, uncaring for her predicament. She felt her heart drop as she prepared to block them.
But just then...
[Lily! Raise your hand and think of me!]
Her eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat as she heard a familiar voice inside her mind. Time slowed for her, and the world seemed still.
The shock that she felt was immeasurable, she knew that the voice wasn't a coping mechanism that her mind had used on her...
And so, she revealed a genuine smile of happiness and followed the voice blindly as she would've even if it told her to jump off a cliff.
She lifted her hand to the heavens, as if daring them to disobey her.
"Come!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The javelins hit their target, and they exploded immediately upon contact.
A large ball of fire blasted the trees away, clearing an area of hundreds of steps. The explosion shook the forest and dwarfed the rest of the trees.
The heat that it radiated could melt steel, and also the hearts of anyone who would have the guts to challenge the one who created it.
Valeric watched the ball of fire dim away silently, his golden eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He felt that four of his projectiles exploded as he intended, but the fifth one had dissipated unnaturally for some reason that he didn't know yet.
So, instead of charging instantly as he planned, he waited for the disturbance of the heavenly energy that his spell had made to fade until he could sense that area more clearly.
As the black smoke cleared more, Valeric was able to see the other side.
And what he saw made him frown in displeasure.
Near the edge of the area of the explosion—a large crater that was dozens of steps wide and ten deep—a long trail was carved through the rock away from it.
And at the end of the trail, his opponent stood.
Even when she had a long wound through her torso and several others on different parts of her body, she still appeared as strong as ever.
No, she was even better than before...
And that was because she was holding a magnificent spear to her side.
Its tip pointed at the sky, sharper than what could be described. Its silver blade reflected everything like a mirror that showed more than the eye could fathom.
The shaft was made from a material that devoured light, darker than midnight.
And finally, the whole weapon was engraved with an intricate design of roses.
The spear appeared just as beautiful as it was deadly, for it radiated an oppressive navy blue aura that made Valeric's heart shake.
Grinning widely, Lilith pointed the tip of the spear at him, the challenge obvious.
And then, she changed.
Boom!