Chapter 482: Misled (VIII)
The demonic aura in Celestina burst out abruptly. However, it also vanished quickly because, even though she had stepped into the Legendary Stage through Taboo Halo, the effects of 'Chaos Realm' was still present. Therefore, Celestina became the first 'pitiful creature' to reach the Legendary Stage and get kicked back down to the Mortal Stage.
"Hmph!" Celestina let out a distasteful snort.
If the Mortal Stage was compared to the limitations of the fish in the pond, those fish that had entered the Legendary Stage could leap above the surface and face the vast world. As a result, they would be attracted by the unbounded scenery, climb their way to the surface, and head towards the summit in the legends. Celestina was feeling as though she had finally peeked out of the surface and a huge hand dragged her back even before she could catch a breath of fresh air.
Celestina glared at Rhode and launched an even more ferocious attack at the Angel. It was apparent that this Demon lady was taking out her anger on her.
The Supervisor began to feel anxious as the Undead Knight, Celia, and Celestina attacked her from all angles. Initially, she was only able to cast minimal Chaos Flame since the Cage of Order had weakened her power of Chaos. Meanwhile, Rhode was having a much easier time now. He brandished his sword to lure the seven-headed serpent while scanning the Supervisor vigilantly. On the perimeter, Di and the Elderly Mage were seizing the moment to disassemble her defenses. The ice-cold, scarlet negative powers flickered between their fingers and formed the complex, yet gorgeous runes that appeared and vanished in the air. The hexagonal crystal barrier protecting the Supervisor weakened gradually as the Mages chanted, along with their hand gestures.
"Foolish!" The Supervisor snarled and charged forward with her pike. The Undead Knight and Celia withdrew swiftly and darted forward after exchanging glances with one another. Their sword crisscrossed and forcibly collided with the spotlessly white pike. Then, the powerful collision spread in a circular impact. At the same time, Celestina rolled up her metallic bladed whip abruptly and its sharp tip flashed with a pitch-black ray. It moved along the viper-like whip in Celestina's hands and circled about silently before striking the Supervisor on her back.
"Little tricks." The Supervisor let out a snort before blasting Celia and the Undead Knight away with her incomparably powerful strength. At the same time, the Elderly Mage squinted, spread apart his arms, and time had as though slowed down and froze. The momentum of Celia and the Undead Knight who were about to crash into the wall stopped abruptly and they hovered in midair. Both of them landed on their toes calmly and pounced towards their enemy instantly.
The Supervisor turned her wrist around and erected the pike in a towering position. Then, she brandished away Celestina's sharp blades. However, things weren't that simple.
Compared to her classic Battle Angel sister, Celestina's skills actually weren't as powerful. However, she excelled in another aspect. From her Incubi reincarnation, it was obvious that the 'Holy Sword' didn't live up to reality. It would be better named the 'Demon Sword' instead.
Frankly speaking, Celestina excelled in curses and dark enchantments.
The instant their weapons collided, a dark fog erupted and shrouded the Supervisor entirely. Celestina gripped her bladed whip and swiped her left hand on the blade before mumbling for a couple of seconds.
Shing! The dark fog was dispersed instantly as though it was slashed by an invisible huge claw. Then, five metallic blades glistening in scarlet radiance struck the translucent crystal barrier and left five ghastly scars.
Di's eyes glinted at this scene.
He drew a few circles with his fingers in midair continuously before pushing his palm forward. Shortly after, a shockwave mixed with crushed rock and whirlwind blasted on the barrier heavily. However, it still wasn't enough to break it.
Not enough!
Rhode fended off the Chaos Flames with his daggers. About four minutes had passed since the start of their battle and it felt like an eternity to Rhode. This battle wasn't as simple as defeating the Supervisor and calling it a day. Defeating the Supervisor was only the start and they didn't have much time to waste anymore. If they couldn't snatch the seal in 10 minutes time, the Duke Fiend would bring an end to this world.
"All of you, Slaves of Order, are seeking death." The Supervisor brandished her pike and the thinned barrier restored to its perfect condition. Shortly after, she took large strides towards Celia and the Undead Knight. "No one can compete against the powers of Chaos. Haven't you realized how formidable the power of Chaos is?"
The seven-headed serpent pounced forward.
Rhode rolled sideways and dodged its sharp fangs. As though responding to its master, the movements of the Chaos Flame began to intensify. Although the Nether Tentacles continued to restrict its movements, it seemed that the Chaos Flame had no intentions of stopping at all.
"Although Chaos is powerful, the power of Order is everlasting!" Rhode had mastered the technique of ignoring the BOSS's crap during battles. However, it seemed that not everyone possessed this ability. Corina held her silver-whitish bow as she scuttled along the walls and aimed for the Supervisor's left hand. She squinted at her target and yelled at the same time. "As a Supervisor, aren't you here to fight for Order?"
"That's only the delusion of a little girl!" The Supervisor's body shuddered as she spoke with unswerving determination as though it was the truth of the world. At this moment, Celia brandished her sword downwards. Her silver-whitish blade clashed with the Supervisor's wing and released an ear-piercing sound of friction. The Supervisor bellowed, swung her pike to the side, and a violent gust of wind rose from the ground forcefully. The whirlwind swept off the Undead Knight as though she were flung away by a shapeless hand. Then, the Supervisor spread her wings apart abruptly and the immense backlash struck Celia away. She turned around and darted with her pike while aiming for the Battle Angel's chest.
Although this attack seemed nothing out of the ordinary, their difference in strength was extremely obvious. The Supervisor's attack was so fast that the pike had as though sharpened into an arrow. However, at this moment, a black ray of radiance flashed and stopped the momentum of the pike.
Celestina stared with an ice-cold expression while the black bladed whip had split into five parts wound tightly around the pike.
"You are putting up a meaningless resistance. There's nothing more foolish than going against Chaos! All of your strength is as insignificant as ants! You can never defeat the great Duke Fiend!" The Supervisor took half a step back. Along with her movements, the seven-headed serpent fell apart thoroughly and restored into dark flames before returning to its master. Subsequently, the flames merged with the pike and the Supervisor let out a cold sneer. Filthy dust burst from the ground as she struck forth with her pike once again. But this time, the pike brought along a trail of Chaos Flame as it aimed for Celia and Celestina.
Celestina held her breath as the grave danger approached. She tossed the bladed whip away and retreated hurriedly. But Celia couldn't dodge in time. It took about five seconds from when Celestina obstructed the Supervisor to when Celia fell. At this moment, the Battle Angel had just fallen to the ground and before she could stand back up, the Chaos Flame were coming for her head-on. Even though Celia rolled over and dodged the terrifying flames successfully, her wings were still burned from the scorching heat. The Battle Angel let out a blood-curdling screech and suddenly, a heavy figure rushed towards her. The Undead Knight brandished her longsword silently and collided with the Supervisor again.
Argh. This won't do.
Rhode gritted his teeth. Indeed, the Supervisor wasn't weak, however, it was still possible for them to defeat her and there were still some chances left, despite the risks.
Rhode scanned the surrounding before approaching Di and the Elderly Mage. "We're running out of time to hassle here and we need to take her down now. I have a suggestion... I hope Mr. Di and Mr. Mage will focus on disassembling the center of the woman's crystal barrier and I will order my men to coordinate their attacks towards it... Listen to my command and when I ask you guys to dodge, you guys must dodge instantly. We will be wasting too much time if this goes on. I intend to lure her into casting her 'Hallow Impact' and we will launch our attacks during that interval. I will think of a way to attract her attention. This is the only way to break the deadlock."
"Okay, I will try," the Elderly Mage nodded firmly as he focused his attention in the pike on the Supervisor's hand. On the other hand, Di remained silent without responding and continued to 'do his best'.
Rhode turned around and commanded the sisters spiritually. Soon, the momentum began to shift.
Celia and the Undead Knight no longer attacked in a crisscross formation. Instead, they attacked the Supervisor from the front while Celestina lashed her bladed whip through the gap between them from the back and it struck on the solid crystal barrier heavily. Celia and the Undead Knight gritted their teeth as they pressured against the Supervisor's pike and forced her backward. Even though the raging Chaos Flame left the trio in pain, they were able to withstand it with the Cage of Order in place.
"Miss Corina, you have only one chance!" Rhode gripped his twin daggers while staring at the trio suffering in the flames. At the same time, he was moving non-stop as he narrowed his eyes slightly while recalling the formidable might, speed, and size of the positively powered blastwave. Then, he lowered his body to the ground as if a wolf prepared to pounce on its prey.
Clang! The clash of friction irritated their ears as the swords collided with the pike once again. The Supervisor attempted to stand firmly on her feet as the crystal barrier before her began to drab abruptly. On the other side, Di and the Elderly Mage exchanged glances and struck at the same time. Not only did they wave their hands in the air to draw the similar runes quickly, but they also chanted the same spell and ended on the same note at the exact time.
Then, they pointed their fingers forward.
Kacha. Rhode witnessed a crack on the extremely dull crystal barrier. The crack itself was unremarkable. However, it would be a big problem if it appeared on a non-substantial presence formed by magic.
Indeed, the crystal barrier finally shattered at the next moment.
"Damn it!" The Supervisor bellowed furiously. She drove her pike farther and the Chaos Flame dove forward with the wind's momentum as though a hungry beast pouncing at its pitiful prey. After the three of them backed off hurriedly, the Supervisor erected her pike upright.
This was one of the rare times Rhode stared at something so anxiously. Time had as though froze and Rhode clearly saw a holy radiance flashing on the white pike. Before he knew it, the tip portion of the pike caved in mechanically and revealed a pitch-black hole.
At the next moment, along with a violent rumble, a white radiance shrouded their world entirely.
"Dodge!" Rhode yelled and darted forward with his twin daggers.
[Displacement Activated — Storm Slaughter]
The pike blasted a white torrent and it ripped everything in its path including Rhode.
"Ah!" Corina shrieked in horror and looked on helplessly as Rhode was devoured by the powerful torrent. However, the Moon Elf soon discovered that the next scene was beyond her imagination.
"Eh?" the Supervisor let out a curious groan as she felt an external force pushing against her pike. If she had opened her eyes, she would've seen the baffling scene clearly.
Rhode half-squatted before the Supervisor and he lifted his daggers in a crisscross stance against the position between the pike and its shaft. The blustering force of positive powers shook the heavy pike faintly. At the next instant, Rhode raised his arm and slashed his daggers. "—!"
The Holy Hymn had lost its balance.
The spotlessly white pike pointed upwards forcefully and the surging positive powers from Rhode's blades continued to bombard, slashing a deep trail on the wall and domed roof.
"You despicable little..." The Supervisor was totally disoriented. She held the pike in one hand and the Copper Mirror in the other, leaving her no extra arm to stop Rhode. Furthermore, even though Rhode was only about level 30, his physical strength and powers were over the roof. Not to mention, his swordsmanship had attained the peak of the Master Stage. Even though the possibility of annihilating her in one single blow was still nearly impossible, Rhode was pretty confident in killing her since she had already exhausted most of her powers and had lost her balance.
The explosion rushed towards the sky and this was the first time the Supervisor revealed a terrified, yet aggravated expression. "Don't think you can... Ahhh!"
Before she finished her sentence, Corina gave her the finishing blow. The golden storm of arrows descended from the sky and pierced her left arm. The Supervisor shrieked miserably under the tremendous pain and released her grip subconsciously.
Ting! The Copper Mirror landed on the ground.
Now's the chance!
Rhode snatched the Copper Mirror and as he was about to roll away, Corina's voice sounded all of a sudden. "Be careful, Sir!"
Rhode lifted his head. The Supervisor's malevolent face and her palm blazing with Chaos Flame were only inches away from him.
The cruel power of Chaos was so close that Rhode could feel it piercing through his skin as though static electricity flowing on his face.
At the next moment, the Supervisor crushed her palm on Rhode's chest without any resistance.
The Chaos Flame exploded.