Chapter 351

Chapter 351: Chapter 351

"Eternal struggle, undying thunder soldiers."

Hedin raised his staff and completed the short chant in moments.

Countless spears of lightning immediately formed overhead before pouring down like a celestial river.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!

The barrage triggered a chain of violent explosions, but when the lightning finally dispersed, the Corrupted Spirit clone at the center remained completely unharmed.

Several overlapping magical barriers had protected it perfectly.

"Tch..."

Hedin clicked his tongue in irritation.

His own spell already used an extremely short chant, yet even that could not match the casting speed of the creature before him.

Legendary Spirits really were ridiculous.

Even these distorted imitations, pieced together from magic stones and remnants, still possessed extraordinary natural talent for Magic.

Hedin’s attack naturally drew the attention of two female Spirit faces embedded in the flesh pillar.

Countless tentacles immediately surged toward him, filling the air in an attempt to overwhelm the elf.

Their reasoning was simple enough.

Mages were fragile.

If those tentacles reached him, that should be the end of it.

Unfortunately for them, Hedin was not fighting alone.

"HRAAH—!"

A black figure shot across the battlefield.

The dark magic sword in Hogni’s hand carved out a dense web of slashes, shredding every incoming tentacle before it could reach Hedin.

"Creatures of the abyss, corrupted souls lost to depravity—let us warriors sever your wicked ambition!"

Hogni delivered the declaration with enough theatrical intensity to make it sound as though he had rehearsed it beforehand, his figure leaving afterimages as he moved through the air.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!

Several tentacles suddenly changed direction and whipped toward his waist with terrifying speed.

A direct hit would have left even Hogni seriously injured.

Shhk—!

A golden figure flashed to his side.

Hedin’s white blade swept out in a tightly woven sword net, slicing the attacking tentacles into pieces before they could connect.

"Idiot. Pay attention to your surroundings."

Hedin’s face was dark with irritation.

"My eternal companion, as expected, you remain the strongest shield at my back."

Hogni was not offended in the slightest.

The two elves crossed paths repeatedly, covering one another with such smooth coordination that their movements seemed almost instinctive.

Seeing how troublesome they were becoming, one of the female Spirit faces turned toward them and immediately began a rapid chant.

"Charging spear of roaring thunder, I am the proxy—Tonitrus, Spirit of Lightning, incarnation of thunder, sovereign of lightning..."

The instant the first words left its mouth, Hedin felt danger surge straight through him. He began chanting simultaneously without a second thought.

"Eternal subjugation, undying thunder soldiers!"

Hedin was already pushing his chanting speed close to its limit, but compared with a legendary Spirit, even that was not enough.

His own spell had nearly reached its final verse when the enemy’s Magic was already complete.

"Lightning Ray!"

An enormous spear of condensed thunder crossed the battlefield in an instant.

Before it could reach Hedin—

"The might of the demonic blade shall extinguish eternity. Burn Dain!"

Hogni’s roar rang out.

He had been preparing his own chant in secret precisely for an emergency like this.

With his exceptional Dexterity allowing him to keep pace with the Spirit’s terrifying casting speed, he brought his demonic sword down against the incoming lightning spear.

BOOOOM—!

The collision triggered an enormous explosion.

Hogni was hurled backward by the impact, his body scorched black in several places, but the lethal attack had been stopped.

Hedin’s pupils contracted for the briefest instant.

He forced himself to ignore the distraction and completed the Magic he had been preparing.

"Varian Hild!"

A massive pillar of lightning crashed down directly onto the Corrupted Spirit clone.

"AAAAAH—!"

Multiple magic circles appeared above the female Spirit faces and shattered almost immediately beneath the descending thunder.

Even so, they barely managed to withstand the attack.

Hedin immediately turned his head.

"Damn cat! How much longer are you planning to take?!"

"Gralineze Fromel!"

Allen’s shout answered from behind him.

The small catman became an unstoppable living chariot, roaring past from the rear at an oblique angle with overwhelming momentum.

Monsters, tentacles, and magical barriers alike proved as fragile as paper before his charge.

Nothing could stop him.

BOOOOM—!

Allen slammed directly into the enormous green flesh pillar.

The entire structure exploded apart.

The Freya Familia had claimed its first Corrupted Spirit clone.

And the moment the target fell, Hedin watched with an expression that clearly said I knew it as Allen immediately redirected himself toward the nearest remaining flesh pillar—

the one Ottar was fighting.

...

Elsewhere, Ottar was enjoying himself immensely.

Powerful magical bombardment, fast and vicious tentacles, extraordinary defensive ability, absurd regeneration...

This was almost a perfect opponent.

Passing up such a rare opportunity to temper himself would have felt like a waste, so unlike Allen and the others, who were focused purely on killing their target as quickly as possible, Ottar had chosen a slower and steadier approach.

He wanted to use the Corrupted Spirit clone to sharpen every aspect of his abilities.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated his own teammates.

Allen was actually coming to steal his kill.

Several kilometers separated the two flesh pillars, but for the Goddess’s Chariot, that distance could disappear in moments.

Worse, Hedin and Hogni might decide to do exactly the same thing once they recovered.

Ottar could no longer afford to savor the battle.

He had to finish it now.

"Silver moon’s mercy, golden wilderness. Grant this body the command to become the raging boar. Bearing the Goddess’s divine will, charge ever forward..."

The instant Ottar began chanting, the Corrupted Spirit clone felt the pressure building around him.

Both available female Spirit faces immediately unleashed Firestorm in his direction.

Against Finn or Riveria, an attack of that magnitude could have caused critical injuries or even death.

Ottar simply endured it.

With S 999 Endurance at Level 7 and G-rank Strong Body, his physique had reached a ridiculous level of toughness.

The inferno scorched his flesh badly enough that the air around him filled with the smell of cooked meat, but the pain never interrupted his movement.

He continued raising the Supreme Black Sword.

"Hildis Vini."

Golden power erupted around his enormous frame.

Then Ottar brought the sword down.

"Afterglow!"

The fully empowered slash tore across the battlefield.

The Corrupted Spirit clone’s scream lasted only a moment before the flesh pillar and everything embedded within it were completely annihilated.

The Freya Familia claimed its second kill.

...

"They’ve already finished over there?"

Jeanne severed several incoming tentacles with a sweep of her battle flag, breathing heavily from the prolonged battle.

"Yeah."

Kiriya appeared beside her in a flash and immediately used Flying Thunder God again, pulling them both away just as a Luminous Explosion blasted apart their previous position.

"They’ll probably come over to help you soon."

Level 7-class enemies were rare enough that everyone wanted a share of the experience.

"In that case, they needn’t trouble themselves."

Jeanne smiled with quiet confidence.

"Oh?"

Kiriya raised an eyebrow.

"You figured something out?"

"Yes. My new Magic happens to be perfect for this."

Jeanne stepped forward and began chanting.

"Flames, consume my flesh. Even should this body turn to ash, my will shall never be taken. Let my bones become fuel and my blood become oil. Burn away every sin and corruption in this world. Wherever the sacred flame reaches shall become purified ground—"

"Flame of Salvation."

Tiny white flames rose around her and gathered along the spearhead of her battle flag.

With every sweep of Jeanne’s weapon, the sacred fire spread from the severed vines toward the main flesh pillar.

Flame of Salvation possessed an exceptionally powerful advantage against curses, abnormal states, corruption, and any existence formed from tainted energy.

The Corrupted Spirits were beings twisted and polluted by magic stones.

Against Jeanne’s sacred fire, they were almost the perfect prey.

The moment the white flames touched the corrupted flesh, they spread explosively.

The entire pillar became an enormous torch in seconds.

"AAAAAAAH—!"

The Corrupted Spirit clone screamed and began rapidly casting water and ice Magic in an attempt to extinguish the sacred flames, but nothing worked.

The stronger the corruption within the target, the more fiercely Flame of Salvation burned.

The very power that had made the Corrupted Spirit so formidable had now become the fuel hastening its destruction.

Against fallen and corrupted beings such as these, Jeanne’s Magic was practically a natural predator.

The clone’s defenses descended into complete chaos as it desperately tried to stop the spreading flames.

Jeanne seized the opening.

Sacred white fire wrapped around her battle flag as she raised it high.

"Sacred Flame—Afterglow!"

The brilliant slash tore through the burning flesh pillar.

A final scream echoed across the ice field before the entire Corrupted Spirit clone collapsed and vanished in holy white flame.