Chapter 207: Chapter 207 - Black and White (1)
The first problem to deal with that guy up there is how to reach it.
It is floating one kilometer above the surface, which is a lot lower than commercial aircrafts on Earth, but still too high for puny humans to reach with ranged attacks.
"Aurea, I found a place!"
I turn after hearing those words, only to find Ingela already casting a spell.
She opens a portal and jumps into it, appearing in the air at the same altitude as the monster. Without thinking twice, I also step into the portal.
"Whooaaa..."
"Just don’t look downwards."
We are on an invisible platform, standing normally. Probably just one of Ingela’s barriers repurposed as a floor.
Soon Lovelace and the priestess cross it as well.
I thought that they could be too scared to jump into the air. But a single glance at them was enough to understand their courage. It wasn’t bravery but simply blind faith in me, as the daughter of the Saint.
Religion is truly powerful. They would have followed me even if it meant their deaths.
That said, we still have a possible death right in front of us. Seeing it up close only makes its appearance even more nauseating and unsettling, a true cosmic horror. And it also conveys its true size, as big as a small house.
And several of its eyes are stable and locked on us.
I fire the first attack, pouring all my strength into the lightning bolt.
"Did that thing... devour it?"
Ingela’s awestruck remark reflected my own awe. But Lovelace answered as if she was expecting it.
"Yes, it eats magic energy. And lightning is raw energy. Ledda, do you have something?"
But Ledda Swanhildi is already chanting a hymn. She is holding her staff with both hands, her head high as she sings. Her acolytes are doing like backing vocals to her aria, as if it were a choir.
Mana is coming from the acolytes as they sing, coalescing in the gem at the tip of the staff, forming lights of all colors of the rainbow, like a prism.
Why did I never think of that?? It’s such a sublime idea. An excellent way to craft powerful magic.
"Aurea, watch out!"
Ingela’s voice snaps me out of it and back to the battle. The thing had launched a tentacle against us, but Lovelace created a dark tentacle of her own to stop it. Or should I say, a tentacle made out of the pure concept of darkness.
Okay, so our role here is to support the clerics, which will be the DPS. Nice change of pace.
But I feel a bit useless, as my spatial magic is not as good as Ingela’s, and I don’t have many defensive spells.
The thing keeps flinging tentacles at us, which Ingela repels with her spatial shields or Lovelace with her dark magic, and the clerics keep chanting.
I picked up most of what they chanted, so I got the gist of what the spell does, and also the moment of activation, so...
"Ingela, Lovelace, drop!"
Ingela’s barrier would get in the way of their spell, and I don’t want to know what it would do to Lovelace if it hits her darkness thingies.
They drop their defenses at the exact moment a big spear made of pure light is released.
The tentacles that were about to hit us are obliterated, and the spear perforates right through the spherical body, tearing it apart.
The glee is short-lived, though, as the monster begins regenerating immediately. Now all its eyes are focused on us, and all its tentacles as well.
Okay, we achieved two of our goals. The thing stopped advancing and stopped draining mana from the province. But if we don’t kill it for good, it will go back to its previous behavior.
"Lovelace, why didn’t it eat that spell?"
"It’s a pure light element."
She didn’t elaborate on that because we’re back to fending off its attacks, which are a lot quicker and stronger than before. But I think I got it. Some elemental shenanigans about dark versus light and all that stuff. So I shelve it to research later and focus on the matter at hand.
"Ledda, how much mana do you have? Can you cast several more of those?"
"Saint Lily is providing us with all the mana we need."
"Oh, good. Send a second one, I want to observe something."
"Yes, Your Arch Holiness!"
I have the impression that it has spent a good quantity of mana to heal itself from the earlier attack. The problem is that that thing has been feeding on mana, so it can probably withstand some more attacks.
The battering of its tentacles is only increasing, and now it’s forming a... spell?
"Lovelace!"
"I’ve seen it!"
Of course she did. And probably even earlier than I did. Still, it’s always good to check.
The thing launches a big spear of darkness, heading straight to the priestesses, but it’s stopped by a combination of Ingela’s spatial barrier and Lovelace’s darkness.
Again, when the chanting hits the peak, I signal to the girls to drop their shields, and a second spear pierces the monster just like the first time. And also, like the first time, it heals itself in no time.
But now I’m sure of it. Its body became smaller after healing, and the thing lost a chunk of mana in the process.
Suddenly, it moves all its eyes to one position, merging them into one single big eye, looking at us. In the meanwhile thousands of mouths of all sizes popped out all around its body. A truly grotesque scene.
What the hell is it trying to do?
Suddenly, all mouths howled at the same time, creating a piercing sound like a thousand banshees.
The priestesses, who were already starting the hymn again, fainted. Ingela fainted as well, which means her barrier-posing-as-floor dispelled.
"Fuck!!!"
We start falling down as more tentacles rain upon us. Gladly, Lovelace is still conscious enough to be able to block them.
Damn, I need to open a portal. But to where... Damn, I can’t even think, as every second means our free fall speed gets higher. So I conjure a portal to the first place that comes to mind, big enough for all of us to fall into.
We crash into the hidden army’s central office, startling everyone.