Chapter 96: Intense Battle

While facing her mighty dragon roar, the remaining bats let out painful little cries as they passed out on the spot, falling from the sky one by one like broken leaves.

Hikari leaped out without hesitation, using her technique to cut them apart and end them cleanly, all while Elizabeth caught her safely in midair.

“That should be the majority,” Hikari said, looking around carefully. “The rest have run away.”

“Nothing to do with those. Let’s advance. We managed to end this quickly but… ugh, my head is killing me,” Elizabeth sighed, beginning to heal herself and Hikari with steady pulses of energy. “And… well, look who’s awake!”

“Aaagh! What was that hellish sound?!” Reinhardt had woken up, looking around with wide eyes full of fear. “W-What the hell is going on?!”

“Just some monsters. You make sure to stay awake. We have to rescue everyone else!” said Elizabeth firmly.

“R-Right…” Reinhardt groaned, rubbing his head. “I can’t believe I passed out…”

“Well, you better get back to work,” Hikari said with a bossy attitude, arms crossed.

Reinhardt glared daggers at her. “Hah?! And who are you anyway— Ah right! The demon girl…”

“Oni are not Demons!” Hikari said angrily, her cheeks puffing out. “We are more closely related with Ogres and—”

“W-What is that?!” Reinhardt suddenly screamed, pointing upward.

RUMBLE!

The skies suddenly rumbled loudly above them. Before they could arrive in front of the island, one last obstacle stood in their way.

A massive, muscular bat-like abomination was growing larger by the second as more of the remaining bat nightmares fused together into its body.

“A-Are you kidding me…?” Elizabeth sighed heavily. “Another Boss!”

“GROOOOOHHHHHHH!!!”

The massive, muscular bat-like abomination roared with earth-shaking force, growing enormous muscular arms and a pair of powerful wings behind its back.

It somewhat reminded her of the Bat Nightmare Beast she had fought a year ago, though this one looked like it was on steroids!

[Soul-Stealing Bat Nightmare Tyrant – Rank 6+]

[Soul-Stealing Bat Nightmares – Rank 4]

In comparison, it was stronger than the Insect Chimera Queen and seemed to be constantly growing as the smaller bats continued fusing into its body without end.

“T-This is ridiculous! How are we going to win against this abomination?!” Reinhardt trembled in fear, his voice shaking.

“The only way we know… fighting…!” Hikari said, her aura surging brightly around her.

“Well said,” Elizabeth nodded with determination. “Dryad, Mongrel! To my side! Ariel, Asmodeus, full power! Unleash Spells automatically! Combine them if possible! Reinhardt and Paragon, both of you fight together and fly around. Don’t let the shockwaves hit you if possible!”

“W-What!” Reinhardt began to float upward. “Right, I’m wearing her Incarnation!” he gasped, gripping his own sword and Paragon’s blade tightly. “Shit…! Well, fuck it!”

All of them charged forward at once, clashing against the giant Bat Tyrant with full force. The monster greeted them with, obviously, a deadly sound wave from its large maws.

RUMBLE!

The potent shockwave and sound were immensely strong, creating a swirling vortex within the sky and the surrounding wind. However, Elizabeth swiftly descended and let herself fall into the abyss below, avoiding the point-blank attack with ease.

Then she pointed her sword at him and swung with full focus, channeling her actual swordsmanship this time!

“Eternal Blade Arts – First Form: Horizon Cut!”

By combining Eternal Blade Arts with Grass Cutting and Sword Light, an even stronger horizontal slash was unleashed.

SLAAAASH!

“?!”

The Bat Tyrant vomited purple blood as its entire body was split in half by an immense shockwave of white and silver light, impacting its body with crushing power.

Elizabeth kicked the sky and reached it in a single second.

A swarm of smaller bats arrived to stop her, but Reinhardt and Hikari leaped into action without delay, cutting them apart and opening a clear path. Her claws reached the bat’s mouth and shut it down before it could roar again.

“GRRRRR?!”

The shockwave coming from its own throat was forced back inside its own head and inflated its brains, blowing them up on the spot.

BOOOMMM!!!

The massive monster was bisected and lost its head…

Surely that would have been the end.

But no.

This was a Nightmare after all.

“GRAAAAHHH!”

The monster roared once more. Dozens of jaws and heads emerged across its remaining torso. Its new head was already beginning to regenerate from the neck down, while its lower half disappeared and new legs regrew rapidly from swirling shadows.

Nightmares were capable of rapidly reforming themselves seamlessly. The stronger and higher ranked they were, the easier it was for them to return to their former selves in mere seconds!

This was one of the most dangerous and annoying things about fighting them.

But naturally, they were not invincible.

Elizabeth wrestled against the Bat Tyrant with raw determination.

Claws against claws, and breath against shockwaves.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

Ariel fired beams of pure light, conjured protective barriers, healed her continuously, and buffed her stats. At the same time Asmodeus spread curses and destructive darkness upon the monster without pause.

Hikari and Reinhardt finished off the remaining small fries and quickly joined her in the main fight.

Both flanked the beast from left and right, attacking its shoulders and slicing its arms clean off with the power of the Harmonious Dream Equipment Elizabeth had given to them earlier.

SLAAASH!

SLAAASH!

“GAAAH?!”

The beast groaned in pain. A barrier of light appeared over its mouth so it could no longer scream, and the extra jaws growing on its body were quickly burned away with Harmonious Origin Flames.

At the same time Elizabeth unleashed Knife Rain, sending endless rains of knives made of ice and harmonious light. They pierced and froze the monster while exorcizing its darkness, weakening it severely.

Annoyed beyond measure, it swung its massive claws against her, slashing her body and making her bleed heavily. Yet Elizabeth pushed through even as she was being shredded apart. She swung her Daylight Sword and her Eclipsing Blade from her Shapeshifting Weapon, the Daylight Sword Blade itself nothing more than a giant fused Harmonious Knife.

A potent horizontal slash bisected the bat once more. Its newly regrown claws were cut apart as well by her friends, while she dug deeper with both swords.

After Horizon Cut, she pushed both blades forward. Sword Light formed a spinning pillar of blinding gold that pierced straight through the monster’s chest.

Its fur hardened almost to a metallic level in desperation, but the attack still managed to pierce through, reaching its nightmare core and shattering it into pieces through the second form of Eternal Blade Arts…

“Heavenly Thrust!!!”

CRAAASH!

RUMBLE!

“G-Gyyaaaaaeeeergghhh…!”

The Bat Tyrant screamed in pure agony. Its core shattered completely and its body quickly fell into the floating rainbow below them, crashing into a massive crater with tremendous force.

BOOOMMM!!!

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