-1086- The beast vassal that devours magic

"Crack, crack, crack..."

Amidst the piercing sound of freezing, Saikai Academy's campus was gradually covered layer by layer with ice, allowing frost to swirl freely and ice crystals to dance in the air.

The bone-chilling wind swept through the entire space, howling like a white mist swirling around.

Unfortunately, the frigid air, which could freeze even the ocean, was constantly being absorbed by a white rainbow-colored translucent giant arm.

Moreover, the more it absorbed, the more the opponent's power seemed to expand, causing terrifying magic to emanate from that arm.

"Mm..."

Avrora could feel her magic being constantly drained, her complexion turning somewhat pale, and her figure swaying.

However, compared to Avrora, her opponent, who absorbed her magic, seemed to be in a worse condition.

"Ahhh...!"

The girl named Astarte hugged her fragile body, emitting painful cries as if something terrible had entered her body.

Watching this scene, the axe-wielding Apostle, protected by Astarte, remained unusually calm.

"Hm, trying to absorb the magic of a Primogenitor-level Beast Vassal is too much of a stretch, isn't it?" the Apostle made this calm analysis.

Although he didn't know the origin of the Beast Vassal manipulated by Astarte, facing a Primogenitor-level entity that could rival natural disasters, the outcome of forcefully absorbing its magic and ending up like this was quite normal.

Even though the Beast Vassal absorbed Avrora's magic and was growing, Astarte, as the host, couldn't possibly withstand the magic of a Primogenitor-level Beast Vassal.

So, Astarte must be in great pain now, right?

"Please stop...!" Avrora couldn't bear to see Astarte in such agony.

However, the Apostle behind Astarte showed no mercy and calmly gave orders.

"Continue to absorb it, Astarte."

There was no trace of guilt or remorse in the Apostle's tone, as if he were commanding an inanimate puppet or allowing himself to control a weapon, cruel to the point of being speechless.

That tone reminded Avrora of someone.

That person was Balthazar Zaharias.

That man treated Avrora and her compatriots as puppets and weapons, manipulating them wantonly, without acknowledging their own will.

The Apostle in front of her was the same, treating both Avrora and Astarte as meaningless puppets and weapons, showing no hesitation in attacking Avrora, nor any reluctance in commanding Astarte, simply doing what he deemed necessary without a shred of guilt.

This behavior made Avrora feel as if some deep emotional trauma had been awakened, extremely uncomfortable.

In contrast, Astarte treated the Apostle's words as absolute commands, even though she was in great pain, she still followed orders, allowing her Beast Vassal to continue absorbing Avrora's magic, growing stronger.

Avrora wanted to stop attacking so that the opponent couldn't absorb her Beast Vassal's magic anymore.

However, the Apostle standing behind Astarte kept a close watch on Avrora, raising his axe.

It was easy to imagine that once Avrora stopped attacking, the Apostle would undoubtedly demonstrate extraordinary physical abilities and charge at Avrora again.

At that time, Avrora's head would land on the ground.

Therefore, Avrora dared not stop attacking and could only manipulate the ice Beast Vassal named Alrescha Glacies, releasing lethal cold air while launching an assault.

"Boom!"

Amidst the thunderous roar, the ice Beast Vassal standing behind Avrora suddenly swung its mermaid-like lower body, resembling a giant whip made of ice, cutting through the air and crashing toward the direction of the Apostle.

Even though the Apostle possessed astonishing combat power comparable to high-level Beast Men, he was unable to resist a full-powered strike from a Primogenitor-level Beast Vassal.

Once hit, the Apostle would surely disappear without a trace.

"Astarte!"

Realizing this, the Apostle, who noticed, didn't lose his composure but continued to shout loudly.

"Ahhh...!"

Astarte squeezed out another cry of agony from her throat.

Behind her, there was another huge white rainbow-colored translucent arm reaching out, unfolding behind Astarte like a pair of giant wings, alongside the other arm that was absorbing the cold air.

However, this arm wasn't absorbing magic; instead, it met the violent strike of the ice whip head-on.

If others were to witness this, they would surely think it was overestimating one's abilities.

Facing a Primogenitor-level Beast Vassal, trying to confront it head-on with another Beast Vassal, did the Beast Vassal of the girl named Astarte surpass the Primogenitor's Beast Vassal in strength?

That was simply impossible.

So, when the two collided, the inevitable result would be the white Beast Vassal being shattered, causing Astarte to fall, and the Apostle who sheltered her would also turn to dust, leaving nothing behind.

That was the power of a Primogenitor-level Beast Vassal.

However, just then, something unbelievable happened.

"Boom!"

Amidst the explosive collision, the immensely powerful strike of the ice whip was actually forcefully deflected by the white rainbow-colored translucent giant arm, accompanied by a hurricane-like shockwave, rebounding back.

"This...!"

Avrora was astonished and shaken at the same time.

At that moment, the voice of the Apostle finally reached them.

"It's futile," the Apostle proclaimed with the tone of a judge, "No matter what kind of Beast Vassal it is, against Astarte's Rododaktylos, it's useless, only resulting in being consumed by magic."

As if to confirm the Apostle's words, the giant arm that had deflected the ice whip suddenly reached out towards Avrora.

"...!"

Watching the enormous hand approaching closer and closer, Avrora finally held her breath.

She knew that once that hand caught her, it would be all over for her.

With its property of consuming magic, once touched by it, Avrora's magic would surely be sucked dry, just like the first time when she was drained by the original, causing her to faint.

What would the other party do to her then?

Just thinking about it, Avrora felt a wave of fear in her heart.

"No... No, don't...!"

Driven by fear, Avrora's magic erupted even more terrifyingly.

Obviously, just now, Avrora hadn't fully unleashed her power.

Otherwise, the entire Itogami Island would have been frozen directly. How could it be only frozen in the surrounding area?

Now, Avrora unconsciously used even stronger power, making the cracking sound clearer and faster, and the ice field finally expanded towards the direction of the school building, freezing it into ice sculptures, and spreading outward.

Until...

"Haahhhhhh!"

A tender shout suddenly resounded.

"Sekkaro!"

A girl wielding a radiant silver spear, like a flash of light, rushed into the battlefield.

Then, the girl thrust the silver spear into the ground.

Immediately, the dazzling light illuminated the entire school.