Chapter 1053 Last Ditch Effort
Rmmmmmble!
Out of nowhere, the entire chamber started to tremble. At the same time, the space around the spatial rift began to fracture like a broken glass mirror as its rate of expansion greatly increased.
When the chamber shook, and the spatial rift continued to expand, the individuals from the 9th Division and 5th Unit were startled.
In addition to the shaking and expansion, the spatial rift was outputting a massive amount of energy that gave off a threatening pressure.
TSSSSST! Roooooragh!
Lances incinerated one of the shadahis with his blazing inferno as he looked over towards the chamber's center with furrowed brows.
"Did he fail? ...No, we failed. It's partly my fault for leaving it all in his hands." Lances thought to himself with a troubled expression.
Since he won the second team's selection and managed to defeat a Duke of the skounae, Lances believed that Izroth still had a few secrets up his sleeves that could that portal from opening. However, Lances was beginning to think that perhaps he placed too much of a burden on Izroth.
Suddenly, attempted to rush past Lances. But, right as they arrived within three meters of him, two giant hands of flames soared through the air and crashed into the creatures.
The two shadahi were sent tumbling back. Then, without wasting a moment, Lances disengaged from his fight and made his way over to Izroth's side by the broken coffin.
"Izroth!" Lances called out as he stopped next to Izroth.
He looked up at the spatial rift and said, "You should try to find a way out of here with the 9th Division and 5th Unit. You must inform the General of this portal's existence. It might be too late, but... Maybe the allied forces can still make some last-minute preparations and brace themselves for the worse."
"Th-" Izroth tried to respond, but he was quickly cut off by Lances.
"There's no time to argue! You've already done enough. This time—let me be the one who takes all the credit." Lances stated jokingly to lighten the mood.
"Do me a favor and look after those guys well, Izroth. I'll be right behind you. So, just leave this to me." Lances said as he shifted to a serious tone.
'This... Should I be grateful?'
A carefree smile appeared on Izroth's face as he listened to Lances speak. Despite the situation seeming so dire, he was willing to potentially sacrifice himself to give everyone else a chance at surviving.
As someone who came from an established power like the Pride Clan, Lances had a good head on his shoulders and was not afraid to do what needed to be done for the sake of the greater good. Because of this, Izroth's impression of Lances and the Pride Clan rose. After all, a clan that could produce such a young talent with an upright view of the world likely possessed a strong foundation.
"There's no need to worry. The portal will not be forming." Izroth said calmly.
Lances brows rose in surprise. The portal wouldn't be forming? Were they looking at the same scene unfold? Was he trying to save face after failing in this situation? No, Lances knew that Izroth was not that kind of person. Otherwise, he would never have entrusted the lives of the 5th Unit members to him.
"But, if he's telling the truth, then just now..." Lances pondered silently as he thought back to the words he'd just spoken.
"...Can we never speak of this to anyone?" Lances asked as he cleared his throat.
Izroth gave a carefree smile in return; however, he remained silent.
"Hey, that's a yes, right? That was a yes?!" Lances said as he was unable to read Izroth.
"We don't have to worry about any other shadahis coming through the spatial rift. We just have to make sure that we thoroughly clean up the ones that are already here." Izroth said casually before swiftly dashing off towards the nearest shadahis.
"..." Lances stood silently for a couple of seconds before he released a long helpless sigh.
"That guy... He really won't tell anyone, right?" Lances thought to himself as he, too, returned to the battle.
Woosh! Phhhtk!
Izroth sliced through the torso of one of the Lesser Shadahi Patrollers with his Sword of the Storm, leaving a deep wound on its side. However, unlike how the creature typically regenerated after being injured, there were no signs of it doing so this time.
Sensing that it was not healing properly, the shadahi became bewildered as its bloodlust diminished and it snapped back to its senses.
Izroth could sense the last-ditch effort of desperation through the theatrics being put on display as he glanced back at the portal.
After he turned his attention away from the spatial rift, the shadahis were no longer "lost in their bloodlust". Instead, they immediately returned to their previous way of fighting.
'Your actions won't work.'
The shadahis abrupt loss of their bloodlust after he moved away from the portal was also just another part of the performance. That existence wanted them to think that by doing nothing, they would be allowing something tragic to happen. But, Izroth had already seen through its intentions. And, now that he was aware of what that existence desired, Izroth had no plans on doing things their way.
'Not only would I have helped the shadahi by acting, but I would have also paid most of my contribution points to do so—how laughable.'
When Izroth thought about how close he was to being deceived, it caused a smile to appear on his face. But it was not his typical carefree smile. Rather, to the shadahi inside the chamber, that smile was like that of the grim reaper's.
'It's been a while since I've been this amused. Now, then, shall I give them a suitable reward for their efforts?'
Abnormal energy coated Izroth's Sword of the Storm that made the shadahi who were closest to it tremble. It was as if the creatures were instinctively fearful of the energy that encompassed Izroth's blade.
Though this reaction was not surprising considering the source of the energy Izroth brought out.
'Seed of Celestial Energy... It's still not as powerful as genuine Celestial Energy, but it's able to interrupt the regenerative abilities of the shadahi long enough to deal the finishing blow.'
Swoosh!
Izroth swept his sword with overbearing sword intent right through the neck of the shadahi he previously attacked. And, in one smooth motion, he severed the creature's head from its body!
Bang!
The shadahi's head fell to the ground and its massive body soon followed it.
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated «Lesser Shadahi Patroller».〉
...
After Izroth dealt the killing blow to one of the shadahis and its body could be seen turning into countless particles, the members of the 9th Division and 5th Unit were stunned.
That creature, which had been so difficult for them to deal with and finish off, had been defeated with so little effort!
"Amazing..." One of the 5th Unit members uttered.
But it did not stop there as Izroth pressed onward with his assault and immediately moved on to confront the next shadahi.
Thanks to the Seed of Celestial Energy from the Resseki's Flawless Armament, Izroth was able to temporarily mimic the effects of Celestial Energy.
Celestial Energy was incredibly effective against the shadahi and made it so that the creatures did not have the benefit of regenerative and adapting to abilities at will.
This was a trinket that Izroth received after he completed Resseki & Kiren's challenge alongside Niflheim. Of course, this also meant that he was not the only one capable of using the Seed of Celestial Energy.
"Niflheim, the golden puppets!" Izroth called out.
"Golden puppets...?" Niflheim muttered to himself with a darkened expression as he remembered that hellish time.
However, soon after, a look of realization formed on his face.
"That's right...! The golden puppets...!" Niflheim quickly caught on to what Izroth wanted to do. Or rather, what he'd hoped to accomplish.
Just like Izroth, Niflheim also received a special item from completing the quest that allowed him to utilize the Seed of Celestial Energy.
Woosh!
The next moment, Niflheim pulled out a circular artifact from his inventory and slammed it onto the surface of his shield.
Oooooom!
The artifact released an unnatural humming sound that caused a series of intense vibrations to sweep throughout the surroundings.