NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 59: Chapter 59
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Vivi crouched low, arms crossed tightly over her head, trying to make herself as small as possible beneath the unrelenting barrage of ice. Hundreds of razor-sharp spikes screamed through the air, tearing apart the ground and tearing into her flesh.
Her shoulders had already been clipped multiple times, strips of flesh hung loose, and shards of bone were beginning to show through the red mess. A deep, bleeding gash pulsed beneath her left rib, each breath sending a lance of pain through her body.
"It's not even giving me a second to move," she growled inwardly, gritting her bloodied teeth as another spike grazed her shoulder, further opening the wound and drawing a fresh cry from her throat.
The sky above was a storm of ice, each shard moving faster than sound, slicing through the air as they rained down mercilessly on the lone fire mage.
This had gone on for minutes.
Vivi's limbs trembled. Her mana was burning low. But she wasn't the only one growing impatient.
The bombardment finally ceased.
Gasping for air, Vivi dared a glance upward, just in time to see a massive jagged ice spike spinning straight toward her like a divine spear.
She didn't hesitate.
With a burst of flame, she launched herself into the air, the spike exploding into shards beneath her as she barely cleared it. Fire burst from her palms as she twisted mid-air, stabilizing herself before assuming a stance.
Blue flames erupted around her, wrapping her body like a phoenix's wings. They coalesced into a massive bow in her hands, gleaming with searing heat.
She pulled the string back, drawing power from deep within, forming an equally massive arrow of condensed blue fire.
"[Sol Blue]!!" she roared.
The arrow screamed forward, slicing through the frozen sky. It struck the avian squarely in the face.
A direct hit... and then it froze solid.
Vivi's breath caught.
Her arrow, once a searing spear of flame, now hung midair as an elaborate sculpture of ice.
She landed with a thud on the frozen lake, breath ragged, staring in disbelief.
The moment her boots hit the ice, Vivi slipped, catching herself with a burst of flame underfoot. Her breath hitched, the cold seeping into her bones through torn clothing and exposed wounds.
Above, the avian flapped once.
A single beat of its crystalline wings sent a shockwave through the air, scattering frost in every direction. It began to descend, slowly, deliberately, its glowing eyes locked onto her, the entire frozen lake creaking under its presence.
Vivi didn't move.
She couldn't.
Just that last spell had taken too much, and she was nearly dry.
The avian tilted its head as if amused, then opened its beak.
From deep within its throat, emerald light gathered. Blue light of frost, gathered as well, churning along the emerald light.
Vivi's eyes widened. This particular attack was starting to weigh on her psyche by this point after getting hit by it so much.
"No, no...!"
Before the thought could fully form, the light burst.
A compressed beam of wind and ice detonated outward, so dense and violent that it turned red-hot at the core. It sliced cleanly through the frozen river, parting it like a blade through silk, vaporizing water and ice alike.
But this time, Vivi moved.
She launched herself sideways in a blur of heat, flames erupting beneath her feet as she skidded across the frozen surface. Her coat caught fire from the friction, trailing embers behind her. One leg dragged uselessly, injured, and blood smeared the ice in her wake. Chunks of shattered river burst into the air like meteorites, cascading in a chaotic storm of death.
A shard the size of a knife clipped her thigh.
Another slammed into her forearm, slicing deep, straight to the bone.
She screamed, but didn't stop.
The Avian didn't pause either. It simply turned its head, calmly, almost lazily, dragging the beam across the lake in pursuit of her burning trail.
Vivi risked a glance behind her and felt her breath catch.
The lake wasn't just frozen, it was burning and freezing simultaneously, a maelstrom of contradictory forces. Wherever the beam passed, the ice shattered, ignited, then instantly refroze in unnatural formations.
She couldn't outrun it.
It was too fast.
With no other choice, she spun to face it. Her entire body erupted in flame, power roaring through her like a furnace unleashed.
She didn't notice her once-pink hair darkening into a deep crimson, or her molten gold eyes bleeding into a sinister shade of blood-red.
"[Burning Spirit]!!" she screamed, her voice cracking the air as power exploded from within.
Flames curled from her skin like a second aura, heat distortion wrapping her in a phoenix's shroud.
She thrust one hand forward. "[Eruption]!!"
A massive tornado of fire burst into existence, spiraling upward like a dragon, its core glowing white-hot. It surged forward, screaming toward the incoming beam of frost and wind.
The clash was instant.
The tornado was cleaved in two.
Vivi's eyes widened, there wasn't even time to scream.
The searing beam of ice and compressed wind struck her dead-on, slicing through her waist in a flash of frozen light.
Her body split in half, top and bottom separated mid-motion.
Blood and steam hissed into the air as time seemed to stop.
---
Kenzo grunted as his golden fist slammed forward, only to be caught in the massive jaws of the turtle pillar. Its mouth clamped down hard around his arm, but instead of yielding, Kenzo snarled, planting his feet firmly into the stone. With a surge of strength, he lifted his arm, turtle and all, and tore the massive construct from the ground, dragging it upward like dead weight.
Across the battlefield, Ilya finally exhaled, relief washing over her. The pressure that had been crushing her, the constant territorial contest between her ice magic and the turtle's domain, vanished the moment it lost its footing.
Without hesitation, she raised her staff and spread her magic. Ice burst across the entire spire in a sweeping wave, retaking the field. Shards glinted in the light, freezing stone and mist alike, restoring her control.
Behind her, every available healer was chanting non-stop, layering buffs on her body and mind. Potent blessings surged through her veins, letting her fight far above her usual tier. She downed another mana potion, cold blue liquid spilling from the corner of her mouth as she turned back toward the fray, eyes burning with renewed focus.
Gine was already moving, sprinting along the jagged surface of the dragon pillar. The dragon roared, twisting to chase her across the length of its own body like a serpent hunting its own tail.
Its massive jaws lunged, teeth like curved swords crashing down where she stood.
But she vanished in a flicker of light, then reappeared beside Ilya in a crouch, grinning. "Blink Shots," she said with a wink. "Lets me swap places with certain bullets. Master really thought of everything."
Ilya didn't even look at her. She was too busy weaving another net of frost magic. "Please focus, Gine. You and Kenzo are the only ones doing real damage. Vivi should be done scouting any moment now, so just hold out a little longer."
Gine's grin faded. She slowly opened her palm, revealing three dark-blue pills resting there.
"Doping Seeds," she muttered. "Even Master said I should only use these as a last resort."
She didn't hesitate. All three pills went into her mouth, swallowed dry.
"I don't know how long I'll last," she said quietly, aura already beginning to shimmer with unstable power. "But you can count on me."
---
Name: Gine Toriyama || Doping Seeds {+50}
Level: 34
Job Class: Eidolon
HP: 4470 / 4470 {+5000}
MP: 1040 / 1040 {+500}
Attributes:
STR: 127 (+30) {+50}
VIT: 104 {+50}
AGI: 116 (+35) {+50}
DEX: 121 (+25) {+50}
INT: 103 {+50}
Physical Damage Resistance: 5%
Equipment:
Nimba's Cradle (AGI +15, STR +15, DEX +5)
Nimba's Grasp (STR +10, DEX +10)
Nimba's Stride (AGI +10, STR +5)
Nimba's Steps (AGI +10, DEX +10)
Skills:
-- Arsenal: Automatically grants proficiency with all weapon types (swords, guns, bows, scythes, chakrams, whips, etc.), including exotic or magical ones.
-- Trace On: (Active Skill) Temporarily copies a single skill (active or passive) used by a visible target within range. The copied skill lasts for X seconds/minutes, or until used once (for single-use skills).
– Blade Focus
– Reinforcement
– Eagle's Eye
– Deadshot
– Overpower
– Phantom Step (Copied)
– Momentum Drive
– Channeling
– Dragon's Reach
– Enhanced Strength (Copied)
---
Kenzo roared, slamming the turtle construct overhead like a warhammer. Cracks spiderwebbed across its shell as it hit the stone with earth-shaking force. The entire pillar trembled underfoot. Chunks of debris rained down from the heights, but the cracks were already reforming unable.
With a guttural crrrkkk, the turtle's head pulled back inside its shell, dragging Kenzo's arm with it.
"Shit," he growled, one foot sliding. He grit his teeth, bracing with both legs. "It's trying to crush me in its damn body."
A golden shimmer flared around him as he flexed against the pressure. Veins bulged in his golden neck, and slowly, inch by inch, he pulled his arm free.
The turtle's shell spun violently, like a wheel, slamming him with centrifugal force. Kenzo was flung off the edge of the platform, but not before he slammed a glowing rune into the turtle's back.
"GoldiLocks!" he shouted.
Golden chains erupted from the rune, latching the turtle's spinning shell to the pillar's spine, locking it in place with a violent snap. The construct shrieked, a sound like boulders being ground to dust, and thrashed in frustration.
A sharp sonic boom echoed across the battlefield.
Gine blurred past Ilya, leaving behind flickers of light where her footsteps had kissed the ground. Her hair had turned nearly silver, streaked with pulsing veins of blue mana, her aura vibrating like an overclocked engine.
"I'll occupy the dragon!" she shouted, voice deeper, distorted slightly by the unnatural surge of power.
The dragon hissed and arched its body, trying to coil and snap her out of the air. But Gine was gone again, [Phantom Step] activating on pure instinct.
She reappeared mid-air, directly above the base of the dragon pillar's skull. Her pistols were already glowing.
"[Overpower. Deadshot. Momentum Drive. Channeling]."
Each word triggered a new layer of her arsenal, stacking like loaded cards in a chamber. The bullets she summoned shimmered, unstable, each a condensed round of kinetic force, elemental charge, and sharpened death.
She aimed both guns downward.
"[Trace On: Dragon's Reach]."
The copied skill surged into her arms, and for a brief moment her guns extended, warped by magic into glowing barrels longer than she was tall, sniper-sized constructs pulsing with suppressed violence.
She fired.
The shot was silent. Almost too fast for sound to catch up. The dragon's eye exploded in a mist of dust and shattered stone. Its roar followed half a second later.
Ilya didn't even try to follow her movements anymore. She could only trust Gine to keep the monster occupied. Her job was to focus on the phoenix pillar and counter all of its attacks.
The Pillars were beginning to wear down, piece by piece, as the hunters coordinated their assault.
Kenzo ensured the Turtle Pillar couldn't interfere, locking it down through sheer force and presence.
Gine stayed on the Dragon Pillar's tail, disrupting its attempts to reform, while occasionally flitting over to run cover for the tanks being pressured by the still-spear-formed Lion Pillar.
Ilya remained in a brutal long-range duel with the Phoenix Pillar. Ice bolts and stones clashed mid-air in rapid succession, showering the ground with steam and rubble.
Then, without warning, all four Pillars froze.
They launched skyward in unison, spiraling above the battlefield in tight formation before crashing into each other mid-air. The impact was cataclysmic, stone and energy exploded outward as the living statues merged in a chaotic fusion.
Kenzo's expression hardened as he watched the monstrous amalgamation take form.
"Let's not give them time to..."
A thunderous impact cut him off as a dust explosion erupted right in front of him. He raised an arm to shield his face. When the dust settled, a towering figure stood in its place.
It was a nine-foot-tall humanoid statue, clad in deep red armor veined with glowing lines of molten gold. Familiar symbols were etched across its body.
A miniature dragon curled over its right shoulder pad.
A roaring lion embossed on the left.
A turtle sculpted across the broad chestplate.
And a phoenix motif engraved on the belt.
The entity looked down at him with an eerily human smile.
"It appears... I have guests," the fusion spoke, its voice like grinding marble yet disturbingly calm. Its head tilted slightly.
"You wouldn't happen to be a candidate... would you?"