Chapter 67
‘That’s…?’
Elena narrowed her eyes to confirm its identity.
It was then.
[Aaaaah-!]
[Aaaah!!]
Her spirits screamed.
Hearing the sudden scream, Elena removed her gaze from it.
She immediately checked the status of the four spirits on top of her.
All the wizards and archers around Elena were busy dealing with the monsters, so they didn’t pay any attention to her.
Elena took a few steps back and looked at the spirits.
‘Guys…?’
The state of the spirits, including Lani, was strange.
[Aaaah!]
[Urgh-!]
As if suffering from some invisible pain, they struggled in torment, crying out in anguish.
At the same time – starting from the bottom – the spirits’ bodies turned black as if they were dyed with dark magic.
‘No way…!’
Elena’s gaze turned to the being who appeared in the middle of the mob of monsters.
‘When that person appeared, the appearance of the children began to change.’
Elena looked at that person and checked on her spirits again.
The exact cause was unknown, but the children were turning into monsters.
Even though they didn’t come from the Black Continent, they seemed to be engulfed by some powerful magical energy.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t leave the children she loved like that.
Elena immediately infused her power into the four spirits.
‘Please…!’
The magic that emerged from her fingertips entered the spirits.
Then, the children stopped struggling, and the screams were no longer heard.
However, the spirits’ bodies dropped as if they had lost consciousness.
‘Still, the encroachment ceased…’
Fortunately, the area that had been stained with sinister magic has returned to its original state.
“Hah…”
Elena let out a small breath.
She tucked the spirits safely into her arms.
And she looked at the person among the demons.
At first glance, they appeared to be a man.
Although he had a human body, his skin color was murky with black magic, yet it felt like he was as pale as a corpse.
‘What the heck is that man?’
Elena used her power while keeping vigilant of the unknown.
She had to first deal with the monsters.
Despite the spirits having a breakdown and couldn’t help her, her magic supply was still great.
“Hah…”
Even while she killed the monsters, that unknown being was still annoying.
‘Perhaps that person is playing a game.’
According to Jacob’s report, it might have been that man.
‘But why does it affect my spirits?’
Elena’s eyes subconsciously narrowed.
It was then that Gor’s voice was heard.
[Master.]
While at his chosen battlefield, his body regressed like the other spirits so that his master would not feel uncomfortable.
So when he appeared before Elena, he was the size of her palm.
‘Gor.’
A brief and welcoming look flashed across Elena’s face.
[I can feel a familiar energy from that man.]
‘What do you mean?’
[It seems that person was a former spirit master.]
‘… What?!’
Because of the unexpected revelation, confusion filled Elena’s eyes.
‘Why is the former spirit master commanding the monsters…?’
[I don’t know exactly, but I’m sure about the energy. His appearance has changed a lot from before. If it weren’t for the energy I felt, I wouldn’t have recognized him.]
Elena’s heart pounded heavily.
[Because he looks more like a monster than a human.]
Gor’s mournful voice continued, but Elena had trouble hearing him properly.
In Elena’s head, an old book she had once read came to mind.
A former Spirit Master who lost his life on the Black Continent.
Descendants stepped forward to retrieve the body.
‘… Maybe the reason the descendants couldn’t find the body was because his appearance already came close to that of a monster.’
Elena’s hands trembled at the unbelievable and shocking fact.
‘How did the Spirit Master of the previous generation change like that?’
Fear rose.
She feared that one day she would become like that.
‘… No. It will be fine. Unless I set foot on the Black Continent.’
Elena struggled to keep herself in check and to clear her mind.
Now was not the time to worry about herself.
Elena tried to escape the shock as much as possible.
Somehow, she managed to control her anxiety.
And it was at that moment, when the magic gathered at her fingertips became erratic again to deal with the monsters, that the previous Spirit Master began behaving oddly.
‘What are you doing now?’
His entire face was nearly shrouded with dark hair, but his lips were moving smartly.
Meanwhile, his arms were gradually pointing toward the sky.
It seemed like he was casting a spell on the monsters.
And Elena’s prediction was exactly right.
The monsters that rushed towards the soldiers gradually began to unite themselves.
One, two, three… dozens of them.
There were so many monsters that she couldn’t count them.
Like clumps of clay.
“That…?”
Lexion noticed that something was wrong with the monsters, but there was nothing he could do either.
The influx of monsters continued even during this incredulous fusion.
So were the wizards.
To save the lives of the soldiers, their topmost priority was to defeat the surrounding enemies.
And at some point.
The monsters stopped merging.
‘Is it over?’
Elena cast her magic toward the opponents surrounding the soldiers and turned her gaze to the lump of monsters.
That was then.
Koo-!
The resulting monster rose.
The expression of the wizards and soldiers, as well as Elena’s, were of astonishment.
When the clay-like monster raised its body, its size was quite astronomical.
It was about 10 meters tall, and it was as big as a building.
Its face was bizarre like any other monster, and it had four pairs of arms that moved like tentacles.
The giant monster moved slowly.
Thud-!
But it was powerful.
It only took a step, but the monster under it was crushed.
Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!
The giant monster went straight to the humans.
It didn’t even care if its allied monsters – which stood beneath it – perished or not.
When the distance from the giant monster lessened, Lexion looked up at it and began to run.
“What are you doing? Pull yourselves together!”
Lexion shouted at the stunned soldiers, who were staring blankly at the enormous monster.
Only then did the soldiers come to their senses.
Lexion saw it approaching and flew toward the giant monster.
The aura-coated sword rushed at the enemy.
Whoosh!
Lexion’s sword energy immediately cleaved the giant monster’s arm.
Seeing the sharp edge cut through, the soldiers felt relieved about their victory.
They looked at the gigantic monster and thought that it was the same as the other monsters, only the size increased.
But it was different for Lexion.
He sharply stared at the giant monster.
‘It’s not over yet.’
As expected, the giant monster still moved.
It wasn’t a normal move.
The tentacle-like hand of the remaining giant monster stretched out as it was.
Then, it caught a monster that was attacking the soldiers, put it in its mouth, and swallowed it.
The soldiers froze at the unfamiliar sight.
Lexion’s eyes also widened.
‘It’s unbelievable that such a monster exists…!’
Even Lexion, who had been on the battlefield for 7 years, had never seen one.
The arm that was cut off by Lexion’s sword regenerated as soon as it ate several monsters.
Lexion had a feeling that it would not be an easy opponent.
And Elena, who was watching the scene from afar, also realized this fact.
She immediately condensed her magic power and utilized it.
‘Since it’s slow, it’ll definitely get hit.’
The magical power that appeared from her hand became a huge arrow made of ice.
The arrow hovered in the air and then attacked the giant monster.
Paaaah-!
However, maybe it was because the attack power has weakened, it couldn’t penetrate through the giant.
Still, the part of its shoulder where the arrow hit was frozen.
Elena did not stop and infused more of her magic.
If she could immobilize the giant monster, Lexion could attack it.
Anticipating that, she continued to shoot ice arrows.
The ice arrows that flew several times hit the monster.
Half of the monster’s body was frozen.
From the right upper body to the lower body.
It appeared to even have trouble moving easily.
Lexion also decisively charged.
Once Elena achieved her goal, Lexion also completed his calculations.
He immediately flew into the sky and swung his sword.
But at that moment.
The enormous arms on the unfrozen side moved swiftly.
Crack-!
The giant monster’s arms moved like tentacles, trying to catch Lexion.
“Ugh-!”
Fortunately, Lexion had dodged the attack.
But the number of arms that were previously four gradually increased.
At the same time, the frozen arms were destroyed.
It was clear that he needed to focus all his attacks on the unrestrained side.
And the tentacles, which flew faster than before, tried to attack Lexion again.
He managed to avoid the attacks by turning his upper body, but the tentacles moved too quickly.
‘No…!’
An ominous feeling caught hold of Elena.
Lexion was swift, but there were too many tentacles.
The other soldiers and wizards couldn’t even get close to the giant monster.
Because the monsters have started to advance again.
Elena immediately focused on the giant monster and gathered her power.
‘I’m going to save you.’
He was the most precious person to her.
So it didn’t matter if her body was crushed.
‘… Gor!’
Silently, Elena called out the name of the only spirit that could help her now.
“Urgh-!”
At that moment, Elena lost her breath.
