The attendant was on the other side. The purple light nets were no longer being used to block the cave entrance; instead, they had been repurposed to restrict the beast's movements.
Several purple light nets cast down from different angles, pinning the massive beast's range of motion firmly to a small area in the center.
Every time it tried to take a step forward, a purple light net would sweep in from the side, wrapping around its arms or legs and dragging them back.
It could break free, but each struggle cost it a breath or two.
This brief window of a breath or two was exactly what the Blue Knight and Margaret needed.
The group quickly fell into a rhythm of cooperation.
The Blue Knight used her threads to catapult herself around, continuously opening wounds on its body, each strike of her rapier laced with crimson sword qi. With the attendant keeping its movements strictly contained, Margaret and the Great Ascendant unleashed continuous attacks from the perimeter.
Yet, all of its wounds were regenerating.
The sword cuts left by the Blue Knight healed the fastest; once closed, not even a scar remained.
The craters blasted open by the Great Ascendant took slightly longer, but they only lasted a few breaths before new flesh welled up from the edges to fill the cavities.
Margaret's water needles fared even worse, dealing extremely limited damage.
But she was never looking to deal raw damage. As the water needles sank into its flesh, a massive amount of moisture remained trapped inside its body. Once enough water accumulated, she was confident she could detonate it all at once to deliver a devastating blow.
On her seventh catapulting pass, the Blue Knight finally found her opening.
Her threads tensed simultaneously from four directions, and crimson sword qi poured down her rapier as she slashed hard at the massive beast's ankles.
She struck twice in rapid succession.
Both feet were severed cleanly at the ankles, and the massive torso, losing its support, crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom.
The attendant and Margaret struck almost in unison.
A purple light net wrapped around its waist and constricted violently, while dozens of water blades condensed by Margaret sliced in simultaneously. Pinched by the two forces, the massive beast was forcibly severed in half at the waist.
Its upper half slammed onto the fleshy ground, splashing a vast amount of dark red debris.
The Blue Knight landed ten paces away, the crimson sword qi still lingering on her weapon. She stared at the two severed halves, holding her rapier horizontally before her, waiting to confirm the outcome.
But there was no outcome to confirm.
The very instant the two halves hit the ground, the flesh beneath them began to writhe.
A massive volume of dark red flesh surged up from the floor, crawling frantically over the two severed segments.
Between the upper and lower halves, new flesh grew directly from the raw stumps toward each other. First, they connected into veins and sinews, then they were overlaid with muscle, and finally, the dark red flesh-membrane closed from both ends toward the middle.
In less than ten breaths of time.
It stood back up.
Its severed feet had long since regenerated, and not even a scar remained on its waist where it had been cut in two.
It tilted its head, its two misaligned eyes staring at the Blue Knight for a moment, and the giant mouth on its stomach slowly peeled open, revealing rows of densely packed teeth inside.
The Blue Knight's rapier lowered slightly by half an inch.
It was impossible to kill.
Unless they could mince it into dust in a single instant, as long as its body remained in contact with this expanse of flesh, it would have infinite energy and would always rise again.
Adrian's holy light fell from above, barely holding back the intensifying pressure.
But this time, the holy light was even thinner than before. The old bishop's tome had been flipped to its final pages, his chanting was slowing down, and his face was a deathly, ashen pale.
The heartbeat grew heavier and heavier.
The heartbeat coming from the deepest depths thudded rhythmically, directly echoing in everyone's minds, no longer the faint vibration from before.
With every beat of the heart, the flesh in the void rose and fell in a wave, and the massive beast's presence grew a fraction stronger.
Kraus stood at the edge of the battlefield.
He had not made a second strike from start to finish.
With his bone sword held horizontally before him and bone armor covering his entire body, only one of his two afterimages remained by his side.
The other had vanished shortly after the battle began, silently and unnoticed.
Kraus's gaze drifted over the massive beast's head, settling on the impenetrable darkness further down.
The green light on his bone ring flickered twice in the deep gloom.
Lu Yuan crouched by the fifth bronze pillar, his palm pressed hard against its surface, sweat pouring down his forehead.
Deep in his consciousness, the thread connecting the first three fragments was still trembling violently, but its direction remained elusive, only indicating that the target was nearby.
But the words “nearby” were practically useless in this massive void, where seven or eight bronze pillars were scattered haphazardly. Any one of them could be it.
He had already searched from the closest pillar to this fifth one, pressing his hand against each and sinking his mind in to check. He had found nothing in the first four, and this fifth one was no different.
The sensation of the fragment vanished the instant his palm made contact, and the thread continued to point deeper down.
Lu Yuan released his grip and looked up to scan his surroundings.
Within the reach of the holy light, there were only two pillars left unchecked. One was half-buried in the flesh of the wall, while the other was slanted at the edge of the void, even further from the battlefield.
Beyond that, in the darkness untouched by the holy light, there might be more, but he could not see them.
Over on the battlefield, the Blue Knight's threads traced arc after arc across the void.
Margaret's water control was gradually showing results. With more and more water accumulating inside the creature, she was already able to disrupt its movements.
The Great Ascendant cycled through his weapons, using the openings to carve two pieces of flesh from the creature and store them in his box.
Although the massive beast had been severed once and pieced back together, the others were still holding their ground, and it looked like they could keep it at bay for a while longer.
Lu Yuan did not stop. He rose and dashed toward the pillar half-buried in the flesh.
When he pressed his palm against it, the flesh on the pillar's surface felt slimy and hot. He slid his hand down two inches, found a small patch of exposed bronze, and sank his mind into it. The thread trembled, then went dead again. This one was also empty.
As Lu Yuan pulled his hand away, a strand of black mucus clung to his fingertips.
He flicked it off with a frown, his gaze shifting to the last pillar slanted at the edge of the void.
That one was the furthest away, separated by a vast stretch of fleshy ground, positioned just outside the boundary of the attendant's purple light nets.
He ran over, crouched down, and pressed his hand against the bronze surface.
Still nothing.
Seven pillars, all searched, and not a single fragment.
Lu Yuan crouched in place, his heart sinking.
The thread was still trembling, pointing straight down. The fourth fragment was beneath this void, but he could not reach it, nor could he get down there.
Just then, something caught his eye.
Kraus had originally possessed two afterimages, but now only one remained by his side. The other was currently pressed against the wall at the deepest part of the void, silently moving into the darkness.
The afterimage moved incredibly slowly, inching along the flesh wall, almost completely blending into the darkness behind it. If Lu Yuan had not been crouching at this exact angle, he would have missed it entirely.
Lu Yuan stared at the afterimage for a moment and immediately realized Kraus's plan.
Kraus wanted to go down, and that afterimage was scouting the way and serving as an anchor. Lu Yuan remembered Kraus's seemingly teleportation-like ability; in hindsight, it must rely on these afterimages as anchors.
The fragment was also down there. Kraus was determined to venture even deeper.
Lu Yuan hesitated no longer. He turned and dashed toward Kraus.
In the center of the battlefield, the threads around the Blue Knight suddenly tensed, binding the massive beast's left arm. It struggled in confusion, the threads vibrating under the strain, but they did not snap.
The Blue Knight seemed rooted to the spot, managing to hold back its massive left arm through sheer physical strength alone.
The massive beast seemed displeased. The giant mouth on its stomach suddenly gaped toward the Blue Knight, and a muffled roar exploded from its throat.
Margaret's water blades sliced in from the side, carving a deep gash into its ribs.
A massive amount of water surged into its body through the wound, causing half of its torso to swell visibly as the water rampaged within.
Margaret continued to manipulate the water currents, forcing them deeper into its body to slow its movements as much as possible.
Kraus was not looking at the battlefield.
His gaze was fixed on the darkness in the deepest recesses of the void, as if sensing something. The green light on his bone ring flickered several times, and the missing afterimage finally came to a halt in a place beyond his sight.
“Keep it busy.”
Kraus spoke suddenly, his voice quiet.
The Blue Knight's manipulation of her threads faltered for a beat, and the Great Ascendant's pupils shifted toward him. This command was highly unusual.
At this point, they could not kill this massive, special individual. If Kraus had not held off on giving the retreat order, they would have fled long ago.
But before anyone could react, a figure sprinted over from the side.
Lu Yuan reached Kraus's side, panting heavily with his back bent. Before he could utter a word, Kraus looked down at him.
“What are you doing following me?”
“I have to go down with you,” Lu Yuan panted, keeping his response brief without offering further explanation.
Kraus stared at him for a moment, his thoughts unreadable.
But since Lu Yuan had said so, he must have his reasons.
Bringing a Rank 2 along would undoubtedly be a drag, but then Kraus recalled Lu Yuan's mysterious methods.
Kraus's eyes flickered, and his bone armor tightened by half an inch.
“Hold on tight.”
He did not say another word and grabbed Lu Yuan's arm.
In the next instant, Lu Yuan's vision plunged into absolute darkness.
His body was enveloped by an immense force, and his ears filled with nothing but the howling wind and the creaking friction of the bone armor.
He could see nothing, and his feet found no purchase; he was simply dragged along as they hurtled in a specific direction.
In less than a breath of time.
Solid ground returned beneath his feet. Lu Yuan snapped his eyes open and found himself standing in a completely unfamiliar environment.
The battlefield was gone. The Blue Knight, Margaret, Adrian, and the massive beast had all vanished. There were only writhing walls of flesh around them, accompanied by a stench ten times more pungent than before.
Kraus's afterimage stood three paces away, slowly dispersing. They had reached a much deeper level.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Blue Knight was the first to react.
She glanced back at where Kraus had been standing a moment ago. The spot was empty, and Lu Yuan was gone as well.
Both of them had vanished simultaneously, leaving no trace behind.
Rate on N.U.
