Summoning the Holy Sword

Everything's going well.

Gaya gazed at the battlefield silently. She stroked her fingers gently on the harp strings.

"———!"

An indescribable impact sounded. The solid walls crumbled completely as an invisible sound wave destroyed everything in its path and turned all obstacles into powder. In an instant, white powder fluttered in the air and the Undead Creatures were nowhere to be seen.

That's all they got?

Gaya let out a grunt and approached the burning battlefield that was covered in smoke. The Undead Creatures stood no chance against her attack, but they weren't what Gaya was concerned about. She gazed in disdain at the soldiers charging forward in the distance. They yelled bravely with weapons held high. All this was meaningless to Gaya.

How unsightly. These weaklings are greedy with desire and are just like moths drawn to a flame. They care only about the things before their eyes and neglect the dangers of flames. They will eventually die meaninglessly.

How disgusting!

Gaya stroked her fingers across the harp strings as yet another sound wave blasted forth, crashing and shattering into the mountain peak in the near distance.

"Huhuhu… I'm really surprised…" A pair of maroon eyes stared at this scene from the darkness. The radiance from its eyes brightened abruptly in frantic spiritual flames. "… I never thought that I would be this lucky. I shall let you, dear Madam Gaya, have a taste of this supreme strength…"

The shadow figure raised its arms. Then, it blasted a maroon lightning bolt forward.

"…?!"

Gaya came to a halt abruptly. For some unknown reason, she felt an unprecedented chill run down her spine. At the same time, she realized that her surroundings became dull and lifeless. The azure sky, greenish bamboo forests, snowy field, and dazzling sun all gradually lost their brilliance. A dense shadow had as though enveloped everything before her like ink dripping into the pond.

"This is…!"

Gaya knitted her brows and leaped up swiftly. But at the same time, the shadow beneath her feet transformed into the shape of a massive palm that lifted off the ground and grabbed for her.

Gaya watched in silence and gently stroked the harp strings, and a crisp, melodious tone sounded. The enormous hand beneath her instantly cracked. Not only that, but the solid ground also crumbled in the blink of an eye. The ground shook, but it wasn't intense enough to stop the grabbing hand.

The gigantic hand that was shredded by the 'sound blades' instantly continued to charge forward. Gaya dodged swiftly and released several crisp notes from her harp. As the melodious music spread, she stepped lightly in midair and sprung up once more. She stared at the enemy before her and attacked again.

Her fair, slender fingers strummed the harp strings.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions sounded. The entire ground trembled while the shadow creature smashed its hands on the ground and widened its mouth. At the same time, hundreds of warriors fell within the fissures and vanished into the dark abyss. The other warriors witnessed their fate and frantically retreated. The entire battlefield was a chaotic mess.

But no one could escape the clutches of the shadow creature.

When the shadow creature stood back on its feet, its illusory presence had as though materialized into a physical body and countless soldiers fell off from its body, crashing to the ground, swept by the sound wave. The shadow creature straightened its posture and glared at its prey. At the same time, it exuded a strange aura that transformed the ground and sky.

"This is… the power of Chaos."

Gaya displayed a solemn expression. She pressed her fingers on the harp strings. Then, the strings released a faint radiance, along with lines of mysterious runes.

"Be prepared to die, Chaos Lackey!"

The air around her rose and coalesced into an enormous wave before blasting forward.

***

Shimmering blade rays erupted in the dark tunnel. The Guardian Spirits fell to the ground and shattered into green sparkles that vanished into thin air.

How troublesome.

Rhode held his sword and gazed ahead with knitted brows. He realized that things had gone out of his expectations after the Guardian Spirits kept attacking them from every corner. Even though Celia and Celestina had joined the battle and the Guardian Spirits didn't threaten Rhode's group too much, the endless attacks were vexing. At this moment, Rhode heard a weak voice.

"… Rhode…"

"Christie?"

Rhode turned to her quickly. The latter was panting and looking pale. She had almost exhausted all her strength from running and it seemed as though she would collapse at anytime. Even though Lize had cast several spiritual spells to strength and maintain her strength, there were still restrictions to spiritual spells, after all. It seemed like Christie couldn't hang on anymore.

"Do you need a rest, Christie?"

Even though Rhode knew that this was a bad idea, he could only blame himself for bringing her along. Anne and Lize agreed to his suggestion. Although it was dangerous for them to stay here, Christie would be in huge trouble if they continued running.

But to everyone's surprise, Christie shook her head and gazed at Rhode.

"Be… Be careful…"

"Be careful?"

Everyone raised their vigilance instantly. They held their weapons and scanned the surroundings. But… apart from the dark tunnel, there was nothing for them to be wary of. The Guardian Spirits that harassed them before were nowhere to be found too.

"Be careful of what, Christie?"Rhode asked. He knew that this little girl wouldn't make up any lies. Christie knitted her brows and shook her head worriedly.

"… I don't know… Rhode… But… I don't feel safe… Something bad is about to… Ahh…!"

Before Christie finished her sentence, the entire tunnel shook and the strong trembles shook their footing and they fell to the ground. However, unlike the others, Christie cowered and screamed painfully at the top of her lungs. Then, indistinct purple light flowed from her body!

"Christie!"

Rhode reached out for her immediately. But as soon as he held onto her shoulder, everything before him turned pitch-black and an immense pain broke out in his head. The unbearable pain left him grunting. He clenched her fists, lowered his head, and found himself sinking into total darkness…