This magnificent strike, which nearly cleared the battlefield, caused the entire area to fall into a brief moment of stagnation. The movements of the remaining black-robed figures became visibly sluggish, and the gazes beneath their bird-beak masks were filled with unbelievable horror.
Even Ellen and Sayu couldn't help but look sideways at Alice's sudden outburst of power.
"Ho... Quite capable, isn't she, this rabbit?" Ellen licked the corner of her mouth, the lollipop rotating in her mouth with a slight clinking sound. A flash of recognition crossed her red eyes, only to be replaced by an even stronger fighting spirit. "But, don't go stealing all the spotlight."
Before her voice had even faded, the Thiren swung her massive Shark Pruning Shears again, rushing like a whirlwind toward the enemy group, which had fallen into chaos after their companions were instantly vaporized. The blades whistled, and every swing carried an unstoppable force, crushing everything that dared to stand in her way.
Sayu snapped back to her senses; without a word, her figure melted into the shadows of the light and disappeared again. The next moment, she appeared behind a black-robed figure who was trying to reorganize their formation, her short blade silently slicing across the person's neck, leaving a spray of dark red blood mist.
Alice's entry, with that elegant and absolute power, was like a shot of adrenaline injected into everyone's hearts, making Luna Belle and Tineva on the high ground incredibly excited.
"Great! Miss Alice is amazing!" Tineva, holding Little Slime, almost jumped up, her blue eyes shimmering with tears of excitement.
Luna Belle also let out a long sigh of relief, her clenched fists loosening slightly. She looked at the figures fighting below, her heart filled with gratitude and relief. "Fairy, this Signal Tuning... was so timely!"
"It is Fairy's honor to share Master's worries. Please rely on Fairy more in the future~" The voice in her head carried a hint of tsundere, making Luna Belle not know whether to laugh or cry.
However, the turn of events at the center of the battlefield also completely enraged the Silver-Edged Priest.
"You... dare... dare to commit such sacrilege!" He let out a roar like a wounded beast, his bird-beak mask trembling slightly from extreme anger. The ritual he had meticulously prepared and the subordinates he had summoned had suffered heavy losses in a short time, causing him to almost lose his mind. "You forced me! You forced me!"
He slammed his staff heavily onto the altar, raising both hands high and howling in an even more fanatical voice, a sound that didn't seem humanly possible. "With my blood as the guide, and the Holy Remains as the proof, I invite the supreme Abyss Will to descend upon this world and purify these impure existences!"
In the center of the altar, the turbid crystal atop the bone staff suddenly erupted with a blinding dark purple light. The light twisted and writhed like a living thing, and an evil aura far more suffocating than before spread out like a tide. The sky seemed to darken at that moment. The original morning light was swallowed by the surging dark purple mist, and the air was filled with a thick scent of sulfur and decay. The ground around the altar began to crack, and a viscous black liquid, like blood, seeped out.
"He's forcibly activating the altar's core!" Sayu's eyes narrowed; she felt that heart-pounding power. "We must stop him!"
Without her needing to remind them, Ellen and Alice also felt that prickling sense of threat. The three of them exerted themselves almost simultaneously, trying to break through the remaining enemies' obstruction and head straight for the priest on the altar.
Just as the Silver-Edged Priest's fanatical chanting was about to reach its peak and the turbid crystal at the altar's core was glowing intensely—at the critical moment when it was about to swallow the entire lakeside—a torrent as blazing as the sun, like a sword of judgment tearing through the dark sky, whistled in from the distant edge of the forest!
Wherever this flame passed, the suffocating dark purple mist let out a "hissing" wail as if it had met its nemesis, instantly dissolving. The torrent of fire struck the very center of the altar with pinpoint accuracy. The bone staff, serving as the ritual's core, took the brunt of it. Under the scorching of the golden flames, the turbid crystal at the top let out a cracking sound that sounded like countless souls wailing together.
The massive amount of evil energy that had just gathered, before it could fully display its power, was like a popped balloon under this sudden impact of flames. It gave a dull whimper and then collapsed, turning into chaotic currents of air that escaped in all directions.
The backlash from forcibly driving the ritual, combined with this sudden destructive blow from the outside, caused the Silver-Edged Priest's body to jerk violently. He spat out a large mouthful of foul blood, staining his black robes and cold bird-beak mask. He staggered back a few steps, barely managing to stay upright by leaning against the scorched altar. He stiffly turned his neck to look in the direction the flames had come from.
In the sunlight that was gradually dispersing the mist, a tall figure was slowly withdrawing an outstretched arm. The President of the Adventurers Guild, Katerina, had arrived at the edge of the battlefield at some unknown point. Her fiery red long hair flew wildly in the wind like burning flames. She wore a pair of exaggeratedly styled sunglasses on her face, covering part of her features, but they couldn't hide the slight upward curve of her lips.
Her giant sword, as wide as a door panel, was currently being held in one hand and casually rested on her shoulder. On the blade, some golden sparks that hadn't completely extinguished still remained.
"Yo!" Katerina raised her free left hand, pressed her index and middle fingers together, and gave a stylish salute by her temple, casually flicking them outward toward the stunned Luna Belle and the others as a greeting. Her voice was loud, carrying a hint of lazy amusement, and it pierced through the brief silence. "Seems like my timing was pretty spot on? I didn't let this old guy actually summon some messy thing, did I?"
This sudden turn of events caused the remaining black-robed figures to completely lose their will to fight, looking around in panic like headless flies.
The Silver-Edged Priest watched his nearly successful ritual fail at the last moment. Feeling the chaotic energy within him from the backlash and looking at the red-haired woman walking toward him as if she were taking a stroll, a bone-chilling cold instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He knew very well that he was absolutely no match for this woman.
According to the information he had received, the President of the White Thorn City Adventurers Guild shouldn't be this woman... Had something happened that he didn't know about during the months he was preparing the ritual?
However, there was no time for him to think about these things now. He suddenly raised his hand, his voice filled with panic and pleading. "Wait... Wait! Don't attack! We can talk this out!"
He managed to stand straight by the scorched altar, trying to force a fawning smile. However, against the backdrop of that hideous bird-beak mask and the bloodstains, it only looked exceptionally ridiculous.
"Hiss! Can we make peace?"