Ch.852Help!

“Haaaaaah….”

Hersella smiled like a beast craving flesh, her eyes gleaming with ecstasy.

Red vapor flowed between her half-parted lips. Thick saliva dripped from her prominent teeth.

Her strength surged instantly, like pouring wine into an empty glass.

One of the powers of the Stigmata of Astraea, the ability of consumption, allowed her mana resistance to devour all curses attempting to invade her body, using their mana as nourishment to strengthen the light of the evil star.

The power to consume and digest spells and magic, transforming them into the power of Karma of Murder. It was an ability that was like a nightmare to mages.

Of course, this didn’t mean she could consume all magic.

– Crack!

– Slash!

The “Claws of Void Energy” that shot invisible blades and the black lightning wielded like a dagger.

Attack spells with clear physical form didn’t get sucked into the hole that had opened in Hersella’s lower abdomen. Instead, they roughly tore through her arms and sides, creating enough impact to scrape off scales from her armor.

Though they left only light scratches thanks to her winter armor, the defense of the Stigmata of Astraea itself, and the protection of the fire seal dwelling in her flesh…

‘…I still took damage anyway.’

Because of that, her fist targeting Meiharin’s upper body wavered, failing to kill her and giving her a chance to escape through teleportation.

Unlike the curses that not only failed to damage her but were consumed to replenish her strength, pure attack spells couldn’t be absorbed by the power of mana consumption.

Was it because the fundamental nature of this ability was based on mana resistance?

The power of mana consumption, like mana resistance itself, shared the weakness of being ineffective against attack magic with physical manifestations like flames or lightning.

‘That’s not all.’

In Hersella’s judgment, as she physically experienced the power of the Stigmata of Astraea, the weakness of mana consumption wasn’t just that one thing.

‘That sensation I felt when absorbing the curse….’

The moment the black hole opened in her lower abdomen sucked in all of Meiharin’s curses, Hersella felt a bottomless, truly abyssal hunger.

A craving that covered her entire consciousness with the single word “hunger,” almost blowing away her reason.

‘It’s a useful ability, but I shouldn’t overuse it. It was just a momentary hunger, but if that craving had lasted even a little longer…’

She might have made the mistake of baring her teeth instead of her fists, seeing Meiharin not as an enemy but as food, having completely lost her mind.

And that wasn’t all.

In a state where reason had flown away due to hunger, she wouldn’t be able to control the power of Karma of Murder. She could have been devoured and digested by her own power rather than by her enemy.

– Crack.

In fact, although Hersella was dominated by hunger for only a brief moment, during that time her body had already lost a couple of fingernails.

If she had been even a few seconds late in regaining her senses, not just her fingernails but her fingers would have been devoured by the power.

‘…It’s like a wolf’s power.’

A power that could be a great strength if tamed, but a fierce and vicious beast that would immediately bite its master’s throat if given the slightest carelessness.

That was the conclusion Hersella reached as she physically experienced the power and backlash of the Stigmata of Astraea.

—-

“Haa…haa….”

Covering her mouth with her hand while panting, Meiharin bent over and vomited blood.

Torn blood vessels. Damaged internal organs. Even her heart with a crushed corner.

Though she had barely avoided Hersella’s fist by consuming most of her remaining talismans, her body was literally in shambles from expending mana beyond what her flesh could endure.

To the point where even the ritual of returning, which extracted the vitality of sacrificial offerings to heal the body, immediately reached its limit.

And.

“You dodged that too. You’re disgustingly tenacious.”

The only benefit she gained from taking such damage was the despairing fact that no curse was effective against an awakened Stigmata of Astraea.

‘What an impossible ability…!’

The power to absorb curses and recover the power of Karma of Murder.

Unlike Hersella, who could analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Stigmata of Astraea thanks to experiencing it firsthand, Meiharin had no way of knowing the risks of that power, making it an ability that left her with nothing but sighs.

An opponent so tough that even direct hits from the Claws of Void Energy left only scratches, and who could even devour all curses that had been effective until just moments ago.

How on earth was she supposed to fight such a monster?

‘…I cannot win.’

Meiharin acknowledged that she had no means to defeat Hersella, who had awakened the power of the Stigmata of Astraea.

The basic tactic of a sorcerer facing a powerful opponent was to wear down the enemy’s capabilities with curses, bind their feet with restraining rituals, and then unleash the maximum firepower of attack spells to defeat them.

In other words, if the first step of curses and restraints was neutralized, a proper fight couldn’t even be established.

It was an ability that was unfairly disadvantageous for sorcerers.

Moreover, Meiharin specialized more in curses than attack spells, making her compatibility with the Stigmata of Astraea’s curse-absorbing power particularly terrible.

With the attack spells she knew, there was no way to wound Hersella, who had gained not only strength and speed but also impenetrable toughness thanks to the Stigmata of Astraea.

Even the Claws of Void Energy that could tear through steel, and the Blood Explosion spell that could kill an ordinary hero in one blow, had no effect.

Even the Black Lightning Spear she had unleashed in desperation could only inflict light scratches.

‘The Southern Phoenix Flame would be meaningless to try.’

Among the attack spells Meiharin had learned, she couldn’t even use the one with the greatest firepower.

The flame of the ritual named after the Vermilion Bird, a dragon-like creature said to fly like a comet across the southern sky, burning everything beneath its wings.

The Southern Phoenix Flame was a great spell powerful enough to reduce even a hero to ashes with a single hit, but… the problem was that it happened to be a spell that summoned flames.

Meiharin already knew that while ice or lightning might work, flame-based attacks had no effect on the monster before her. It was information Feirsus had taught her.

In other words, with curses sealed off, it was nearly impossible for Meiharin to defeat or even wound Hersella with the spells she knew.

There was just one spell left, the Red Spirit Eye that she had only recently mastered, but…

‘…I have no opening to use it.’

Recently mastered meant it was a spell she hadn’t yet perfected.

To manifest the Red Spirit Eye, she needed to gather mana and construct the ritual for more than ten seconds, and unless Hersella had lost her mind, she wouldn’t allow such leisure.

That’s why Meiharin sensed defeat.

‘I never thought even buying time would be impossible…’

The fact that she had subdued Hersella even momentarily seemed like a miracle blessed by heavenly fortune.

“-I admit it. You truly are a great sorcerer. Your skill at escaping is genius.”

Of course, that didn’t mean she would just offer her neck to be killed.

“Not yet, not yet…!”

Just as Meiharin barely managed to repair her damaged internal organs and somehow straighten her body-

“But that’s all you’ve got.”

A fist filled with volcanic killing intent struck her body like a cannonball.

– KWAAANG!

With a sound like an avalanche, Meiharin’s body broke through the castle wall and was flung beyond the city into the waters of the Barun River.

“Kya…hack…!”

The blood she vomited scattered, mixing with the foam.

The defensive ritual she hastily deployed, a spell that dispersed the impact in all directions, barely managed to prevent instant death from the power contained in Hersella’s fist, but…

‘I can’t… move…!’

The starlight-filled strike was not something that could be blocked with just that level of spell.

Meiharin’s body, sinking into the waters of the Barun River, had not a single limb remaining where they should have been.

‘In that case…!’

[…Dirgara, Siayun, Tairan! What are you doing? Help me! Surely you haven’t failed to defeat a single man who’s just entered herohood?]

Finally realizing that buying time with her power alone was impossible, Meiharin requested support through telepathy from the high sorcerers who should have been facing Demian along with Sahalran.

– We are ashamed, Lady Gokju…! However…

– This man is a monster!

– Even Khan Sahalran is at his limit…!

Unfortunately for Meiharin, the sorcerers fighting inside the palace had no capacity to support her.

“What…! There was another monster like this?”

“—Judging by how he reacted to that attack just now, it doesn’t seem like he can read minds. Then perhaps it’s prediction or foresight.”

While the eastern sorcerers, including Meiharin, had only considered Haschal dangerous and remained vigilant against him, Demian’s power with his drawn holy sword had reached a level far beyond their expectations.

“Let’s find out. Just how many moves ahead can that ability see.”

“This is… impossible…!”

Sahalran with his mental technique of combat precognition, and Bihan who had reached his limit. Even with three other champions and six high sorcerers launching coordinated attacks, there seemed to be no chance of victory.