Lyra Nora, who had emerged from Sfenia’s Lava Cyclone—a tornado of lava—still didn’t immediately launch an attack.
It seemed she had taken a fair amount of damage.
Nevertheless, as the female vampire tried to assume a stance, Larni, Mariane, Karma, Sakurahime, and Marishielle attacked her one after another.
Using Swift Run for a wave of attacks, Lyra Nora instantly conjured crimson longswords in both hands, parrying every strike.
However, the five, skillfully exploiting the differences in their individual speeds and attacking with exquisite coordination, seemed to have the Ancient Providence at a disadvantage. Marishielle’s Declared Fate skill, in particular, even disrupted Lyra Nora’s posture. Taking advantage of these openings, several slashes reached Lyra Nora’s body, gradually chipping away at the crimson vortex that enveloped her.
“I must admit, you’ve impressed me. But if it ends here, it won’t be much of a trial. Blood Lance, Thousand Might!”
With that, Lyra Nora posed, embracing her own shoulders with both arms.
The next moment, the crimson vortex surrounding her transformed into countless thorns that jutted out in all directions. From here, it looked like a crimson sea urchin.
The thorns responded to the movements of the five in the front line, rapidly extending and retracting to launch piercing attacks. Unable to counter the overwhelming number of omnidirectional attacks, the five retreated to focus on defense. However, they couldn’t evade completely, and Karma and Sakurahime were struck. Even the speed-focused Larni and the others were barely managing to dodge.
“Get back!”
I yelled, running forward. Thorns extended towards me as well, but they shattered against the Immovable Fortress Wall.
“Soushi, we’re counting on you!”
Larni and the others moved away from Lyra Nora. I confirmed that no one was within range and swung That Which Equalizes All Things.
An explosive Shockwave shattered all the crimson thorns surrounding Lyra Nora and blew them away.
What remained was the female vampire in a crimson dress, standing alone. A naive smile graced her beautiful, pale face.
“Fufu, we’re finally alone, aren’t we?”
More than twenty crimson, thorn-like bands emerged from Lyra Nora’s body. They began to sway around her, like tentacles searching for prey.
“Now then, let’s begin, Blood Fang Whip.”
In sync with Lyra Nora’s dance-like movements, countless thorny whips lashed out. A moment later, they became a red torrent, slamming into my body.
I held up the Immovable Fortress Wall, blocking the countless whips. However, the whips, moving erratically like tentacles, bypassed the shield and struck my body.
I swung That Which Equalizes All Things without hesitation. The crimson whips scattered, but Lyra Nora was no longer there.
She was using Swift Run for high-speed movement while maintaining a certain distance. Then, she would exploit openings with a saturation attack of Blood Fang Whips.
It seemed to be a strategy to gradually inflict damage while sealing my Shockwave, similar to what Young Momental did at the Martial Arts Tournament.
But I had allies. A prolonged battle should only be disadvantageous for Lyra Nora.
However, a glance at my companions revealed that they were fighting multiple Dullahans. It seemed she had summoned them at some point.
“I apologize, but I’ve taken the liberty of using a little trick.”
“So this is also part of the trial, I presume?”
“I would be grateful if you would see it that way.”
Well, for me, this tactic was something I had to overcome eventually. And I had already devised a plan.
While taking damage all over my body, I gradually shifted my position. I had to get as far away from my companions as possible to execute my brute force technique.
“I wonder how many Blood Fang Whips it would take to defeat you. It seems like it would take forever,” Lyra Nora said, sounding amused, and increased the number of red whips. I deflected the countless whips with That Which Equalizes All Things, further distancing myself from my companions. It should be fine now. From here, the Shockwave wouldn’t reach my companions. It was fortunate that this room was so large.
“Oh, you’re planning something, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Lyra Nora’s movements accelerated further. She moved erratically around me, unleashing a storm of blood whips.
Ignoring the minor damage, I twisted my body greatly and swung That Which Equalizes All Things high above my head.
“Haaah!”
Releasing the pent-up power, I swung the mace horizontally, rotating my body in a full circle.
A 360-degree omnidirectional attack using Shockwave. This was my countermeasure against the Momental tactic.
“How naive!”
However, as expected of the Ancient Providence, she saw through the weakness of this technique and jumped high to evade the Shockwave. However, I knew she could fly from our previous battle.
“Haaah!”
I swung That Which Equalizes All Things upwards. Maximizing my physical ability enhancement skills and the Honshin skill, I unleashed countless Shockwaves into the sky with a movement that defied inertia. It was now a dome of Shockwaves with no escape.
If Lyra Nora had flown just a little higher, perhaps it wouldn’t have been the end. However, she had transitioned to a counterattack from the air and was caught by the perfect counter of the Shockwave.
“What!?”
Blown away, she slammed into the ceiling and fell right in front of me.
Even then, she still seemed to have the will to fight, trying to get up.
“Excuse me.”
I brought That Which Equalizes All Things down on the top of her head as she smiled.