The battle on Liam’s section of the field raged continuously with so much intensity. The third and final cursed spirit fell before his lightning-charged blade, its form dissolving into shadow and ash.
Unlike its predecessors, one wielding a plague that blocked oxygen from the body, and the other spreading disease that caused organ failure, this final spirit carried a curse of immolation.
As the creature died, invisible flas erupted across Liam’s body. His clothes began to smoke and char, fabric disintegrating though no fire could be seen. The curse worked its malevolent magic, searing his flesh and causing his skin to crack and blacken from supernatural heat.
Liam gritted his teeth as agony coursed through him, but not a single sound of pain escaped his lips. His jaw remained locked in grim determination even as the system notifications chid in relentlessly before him.
[HP 2350 → 2001]
[HP 2001 → 1854]
[HP 1854 → 1600]
Then, as it had twice before: [Skill Active → Regeneration Lv2]
The charred flesh began to knit itself back together, as healthy skin replaced the burned tissue in a matter of seconds, and within monts, his body was fully restored. Although his upper clothing was completely destroyed, including the mask to hide identity. Only his cargo pants remained, singed but intact enough to cover a greater part of his lower body.
The cursed spirits were defeated, but the victory ca at a cost. The constant regeneration had drained his mana reserves significantly.
[MP 3380 → 1790]
Helda watched from across the battlefield, with her face under a mask of shock and growing concern. She had witnessed the sothing very uncommon, this was regeneration on a level she had only seen once before, in her brother Zebelon.
"What sort of magic is that?" she called out, unable to hide the unease in her voice. But then, a smile slowly spread across her lips as realization dawned on her.
"You may look fine right now, and perhaps you truly are, but regeneration on that level must be incredibly mana-consuming. I wonder how long you’ll be able to last." She said then stretched her hand forward, and the pages of her ancient book began flipping rapidly as she prepared to summon another creature.
Though Helda had correctly stated that his abilities were taxing his reserves, Liam offered no response. His expression remained cold and calculating as he extended both arms to his sides. Then two weapons materialized in his grasp. The first one was Storm-bringer, his lightning-generating and weather controlling sword, appearing in his right hand, while Dark-Titan, the double-serrated blade, filled his left.
Lightning energy coursed through his body with crackling streaks of electricity dancing across his skin and blazing in his eyes. Helda’s smile widened at the display, but in the next instant, Liam vanished.
sfx: Whoosh!
He reappeared directly in front of her, suspended in mid-air with both blades raised high, ready to deliver a devastating strike. But at that crucial mont, a gigantic hand burst forth from her book, catching Liam from below and hurling him backward through the air.
Though caught off guard, Liam adjusted his position mid-flight and landed gracefully. The massive arm that had intercepted him continued erging from the to, followed by the rest of its body, and what stepped forth was nightmare incarnate—a Balrog, the ancient demon of shadow and fla from the tales of the Lord of the Rings.
Standing nearly three tis human height, it wielded a flaming whip and sword, its wings cast in shadow while curved horns crowned its head. Smoke and fire wreathed its muscular form.
The Balrog’s roar shook the very foundations of the building, but Helda wasn’t finished. Another creature tumbled from the pages—a massive dragon, sixty feet in length with dark scales that glead like obsidian. Its orange eyes glowed with inner fire, and when it opened its maw, flas danced within. Prominent horns and spikes adorned its head and neck, while its spread wings cast enormous shadows across the rooftop.
The dragon’s sheer weight caused cracks to spider across the ground, and the entire building trembled beneath its presence. But even this display wasn’t the extent of Helda’s power. Creature after creature erged from her book: a giant serpentine basilisk with venomous fangs, a stone gargoyle with razor-sharp claws, and finally a chira—a monster bearing a lion’s head and body, a goat’s head protruding from its back, and a serpent for a tail.
Helda herself rose into the air, maintaining flight as she spread her arms wide and laughed with triumph. "These are my most powerful creatures!" However, she noticed that Liam wore a smirk—an expression that sent an unexpected chill through her.
"Co..." he said softly, but in a tone that commanded authority.
[Skill Active → Contract Summoning]
The Houndkeeper materialized first, gripping the axe Liam had previously bestowed upon it. Next ca Lazark the ice elf, taking his stance with both short swords held in reverse grip. Then the eight-foot-tall yeti-like creature followed, growling nacingly at the opposing monsters.
Behind Liam, the Colossal Serpent coiled into position, announcing its arrival with a bone-chilling hiss, and finally, a thunderous roar echoed twice across the battlefield as the last of Liam’s summon appeared—Ragar, the bear monster, whose form had already grown to gigantified proportions.
Helda’s eyes widened in absolute shock. In over a hundred years of her existence, she had never witnessed anything like this. These weren’t manifestations pulled from stories and legends like her own creatures, no, these were real summons, actual monsters bound by contract to serve this one person.
The sheer number exceeded what even demigods were thought capable of controlling. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, and for the first ti in decades, she felt sothing she had nearly forgotten.. Fear.
Liam’s reply ca in a tone that crackled with lightning and promised certain death: "I am... your end."
And as if responding to his declaration, Helda’s dragon released a concentrated stream of flas toward Liam and his assembled summons.
The Houndkeeper imdiately blitzed forward, stretching its right hand toward the incoming fire and releasing its own concentrated beam of blue flas to et the dragon’s assault. Around them, the creatures from both sides rushed toward each other, and the rooftop erupted into a war of monsters.
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