Chapter 130: The Fatal Blow
The beam of energy shot forward, silent and swift, aimed straight for Eirik's head. If it were to hit, not even Olivia's healing magic could save him.
Eirik's pupils constricted. He immediately threw up a defensive barrier, but he knew his own mana could not possibly stop such a terrifying attack. The barrier would shatter in an instant.
And at that critical moment...
Olivia and Serie both cast their own defensive spells.
One, the Holy Light Barrier of a priest. The other, the most powerful of all elven defensive spells. The two barriers appeared in front of Eirik and clashed with the goddess's attack, and the resulting explosion was a maelstrom of annihilating energy.
Both of their barriers were instantly covered in a web of cracks, and a trickle of blood ran from the corners of their mouths. But the goddess's attack had been blocked.
"Serie!" Rhodes cried out, and immediately cast a healing spell on them.
"The next wave is coming!" Eirik said, his voice still shaky as he looked at the goddess's dark face.
She was enraged. She now had two choices: to kill these ants with the limited power she now had, or to stall for time and wait for the chains of faith to weaken. Then, she could crush them with her true, unrestrained power.
She chose the latter.
She stomped her feet, and a terrifying shockwave, like a ripple in a pond, spread out from her.
They all stumbled, struggling to stay on their feet.
And then, her attack came. A torrent of black vines, like a wave of black mud, a wave that was amplified by the shockwave, now rushed towards them from all sides. Even from a distance, they could feel its dark and corrosive aura. It was clear that the more she used her power, the deeper the corruption within her grew. The last vestiges of her divinity were fading, leaving only a pure, unadulterated darkness and filth.
"Purify!"
Olivia, despite her injuries, sent a wave of purifying light towards the approaching vines. The light and the vines met with a sizzling sound, like a red-hot iron plunged into water. And though a great many of the vines were destroyed, there were just too many. Her purification spell was but a drop in the ocean.
Somme swung his axe, a blur of motion, desperately trying to hold back the tide.
Eirik, with a roar, charged at the goddess once more, his longsword flashing as he cut down the encroaching vines. But a blast of energy from the goddess sent him flying, his chest armor shattered, and a patch of blackened skin was visible beneath.
The remaining vines continued on their path towards Serie.
砰!
Her magic shield flickered violently, and she, too, was sent flying, another trickle of blood from her mouth. She quickly righted herself in mid-air and cast several more spells.
The goddess sneered and raised her left hand. The very space around her began to crack and crumble, and a black hole appeared in her palm. All of Serie's spells were swallowed by it, and vanished without a trace.
"Your magic is useless against me, elf," the goddess said, her fingers splayed. The vines around her began to twist and turn, forming a giant fist that now shot towards Serie. To be caught in its grasp... would mean certain death.
Her face turned pale, and she poured all of her remaining strength into her magic barrier.
砰!砰!砰!
The giant fist of vines hammered against her shield, and with each blow, a sickening cracking sound was heard. And with the blows came the dark, corrupting aura of the goddess. She could feel it, twisting around her very soul, and the flow of her own mana began to slow.
The shield was about to break.
And at that critical moment...
Rhodes was there. The light of Org in his hand was a beacon of hope in the darkness, a blade that could not be stopped. With a single, powerful swing, he cut through the vines that were attacking her.
"NOW, NORNE!"
Norne, who had been knocked aside and had not moved since, now sprang into action.
He now held Athos. With the last of the faith stored within it, he began to construct a spell of his own, a spell based on the same principles as Rhodes's. He couldn't replicate the God's Chain, of course, but he could do something simpler. He would turn the last of the sword's faith into a single, unassuming arrow, and with it, at the opportune moment, he would deal a fatal blow.
And that moment had now come.
To aid him, Rhodes also unleashed a volley of hundreds of light arrows, concealing his own within them.
Seeing their desperate struggle, the goddess just sneered and put up a divine barrier. In her eyes, it was more than enough to block their final, pathetic attack. And it was. Almost all of the arrows were absorbed by it, without leaving a single mark.
All but one.
A single, unassuming arrow pierced through the barrier as if it were not even there, and continued on its path towards the goddess's right eye.
It was too fast, too sudden. She was so focused on Serie and the others that she didn't even notice it until it was too late. She tried to turn her head, to block it, but the chains of faith had slowed her down, just for a moment.
Pfft!
The sound of an arrow piercing flesh.
The arrow had found its mark, and had pierced her eye.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
A scream, a true and heartfelt scream of a god's own, primal pain, a scream more terrible than any before. It was not just a physical wound; the pure faith contained in the arrow was a direct assault on her dark and corrupted power.
A mixture of red and black blood gushed from her ruined eye, and the right side of her face began to crack.
The pressure on the others was instantly lifted, and they all scrambled to safety.
(End of Chapter)
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