Chapter 198: You are forgetting something

Although the oni couldn’t see anything clearly due to the distortion of its vision, it still sensed something dangerous approaching terrifyingly fast, something that could threaten its life.

Vlad’s crimson blade, crackling with lightning, was about to reach its neck when the oni released a deafening roar.

"GRAWRRR!!!!"

A wave of mana blasted from its body, hurtling all the party members backward.

The prism glasses surrounding its body shattered, the chains binding its limbs tore apart, and the threads holding its wrists were shot back.

Seraphina, Hugo, and Raphael were dragged several feet across the ground. Alisha was thrown backward into the tunnel from the sudden disruption of her spell.

As for Vlad, who was closest to the oni when it unleashed its mana, he suffered the greatest impact.

He was sent airborne for dozens of metres and only stopped when his back struck the wall of the cave with a heavy thud before he fell to the ground.

"C-cough-cough, the fuck?" Vlad muttered, clutching his chest. A bead of blood leaked from the corner of his lips. "If I hadn’t blocked that mana wave at the last moment using my Sword Aura, not even the armour could have protected me."

He slowly raised his head, his gaze shifting toward the oni’s figure. A gasp escaped his lips, his eyes widening at the absurd sight before him.

A thin veil of crimson energy surrounded the oni’s silhouette. Both sabers in its hands pulsed with a coating of mana, increasing their length to almost twice their original size.

It was unstable but undeniably Sword Aura.

The oni fixed Vlad with its deep black eyes, baring its fangs at him. From its expression alone, Vlad could tell that it wanted him dead.

He was about to rise to his feet, but the oni had no intention of giving him the time to do so.

It bolted toward Vlad, breaking the ground beneath its feet with every heavy step. Its speed was several times faster than before, making it difficult to believe that a creature of this size could really move that fast.

"Damnit, I won’t be able to block it in time," Vlad muttered, grabbing the sword at his side.

The oni’s sabers came crashing down upon him like meteors.

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Inferno Lance!"

Tang!

Shockwaves exploded in every direction as the sabers, laced with Sword Aura which were meant for Vlad, were blocked by a lance hovering in the air.

It was formed purely of amber flames, brilliant like the sun.

"If you want a fight, try me, monster," Seraphina’s voice came from behind the oni. "How dare you target my people?"

The oni spun around, finding Seraphina standing a few metres away, her arms loose at her sides, completely still.

"GRRR," the oni growled, channeling even more mana into its saber. The blade’s aura swelled, warping the air around it and cracking the stone beneath its cloven feet. Dust and rubble trembled on the ground around it.

"Are you boasting your meagre mana in front of me?" Seraphina muttered, her pink eyes staring down at the monster with an intense gaze. Her crimson hair began glowing brightly, stirring the air around her.

Dozens of magical circles, each one pulsating with dense, searing crimson mana, materialized above her, layer upon layer overlapping one another. The temperature in the cave rose rapidly, melting the thin sheets of frozen moisture coating the cave walls.

Sensing an even greater threat coming from Seraphina, the oni decided to take care of her first.

As it bolted toward her, Seraphina extended her hand forward.

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Rain of Inferno Arrows!"

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Inferno Chains!"

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Befall of the Inferno Meteor!"

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Volcano of Inferno Lava!"

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Inferno Explosion!"

"Three Ring Pyro Spell: Inferno Pyroclastic Surge!"

In less than ten seconds, a barrage of attacks erupted from the magic circles above Seraphina.

Dozens of sharp arrows formed purely of mana rained down upon the oni, followed by chains that bound its limbs once again.

Before it could even attempt to break free from them, a burning meteor as large as its own body crashed down upon it, sending ripples of shockwaves throughout the entire cave.

A beam of blazing lava followed, scorching the ground in its wake before striking the oni head-on.

Boom!!!!

The ground beneath the oni suddenly exploded, creating a black mushroom cloud. Dust and debris flew in every direction.

Yet the attack didn’t stop.

A tsunami of flames struck the creature next, hidden within the dark smoke.

For several minutes, only the blasts of flames and the screams of the monster echoed throughout the hall. The screams were no longer threatening. They were filled with pain and a hint of terror.

"GRAWRRRR!!!!"

The oni released its mana outward again, blasting away the smoke and flames covering it.

Its severely injured body was revealed from within. The oni had been forced to its knees. Almost every part of its body was burned. One horn and both of its upper tusks had already been destroyed. Blood leaked from the deep wounds across its torso, which was turning into mist from the burning temperature surrounding its body.

One of its sabers was broken, but it was still pulsating with Sword Aura.

Its pale sclera had turned bloodshot as it glared at Seraphina, who was still calmly standing in her position, the magic circles above her having vanished.

"GRRR," it growled weakly as it moved toward her.

At first, it moved slowly, but it soon picked up its pace, the reverberations of its heavy footsteps spreading through the ground.

"You are forgetting something," Seraphina murmured, swaying her hand.

The oni’s eyes widened as it felt a stinging pain through its chest.

The Inferno Lance that Seraphina had first materialized to stop it from attacking Vlad pierced through its back and stabbed into the ground after emerging from its chest.

Blood splattered from the gaping hole in its chest. Yet it didn’t stop.

Seraphina was just a metre away from its attack range. Once it killed her, nobody would be able to stop it.

After a couple of steps, it finally reached her and swung its blade in a wide horizontal arc toward her neck.

"You are still forgetting something," Seraphina revealed, her face carrying a faint smile.

By the time the oni realized it, Vlad’s sword had already separated its head from its shoulders.