Chapter 78
As Eirisse began to slowly approach everyone, Amara wasted no time, instantly conjuring two spiraling pillars of flame aimed directly at the approaching vampire. Eirisse, quick as ever, vanished from her spot, reappearing in front of Kaden. Despite his mana exhaustion, Kaden didn't hesitate, throwing out a punch towards Eirisse. However, she effortlessly dodged the punch, preparing to slice into him. Before she could, Kaden, using the hand Eirisse had evaded, conjured an icicle aimed directly at her skull.
Just as the icy projectile was about to make contact with her skin, Eirisse skillfully dodged by turning and, leveraging the motion, landed a powerful back kick squarely on Kaden's chest. The impact sent Kaden grunting in pain, the audible crack of his sternum and ribs accompanying his skid and roll across the cobbled road until he collided with a nearby building.
"How weak," Eirisse mocked Kaden, unfazed by his efforts. Meanwhile, Victoria, mentally invoking *DS Module 2*, unleashed three fiery bullets. The last symbol near the bottom of her staff vanished, and the bullets hit Eirisse's torso, once again exposing her muscle tissue. Eirisse, with an annoyed pout, seemed unimpressed. "Again? Do you relish ruining my flawless body or something?" she scoffed, not taking Victoria seriously.
As Eirisse shifted her attention, she sensed the ground growing warmer beneath her. Reacting swiftly, she dodged away as flames erupted from the spot where she stood. "You're going to be quite the annoying one, aren't you?" Eirisse remarked, glancing toward Amara, who had conjured several flames in the shape of a phoenix. "Annoying? I believe the word you're searching for is powerful," Amara retorted, launching the flaming phoenixes at Eirisse. This time, however, Eirisse effortlessly outpaced the fiery creatures, their pursuit proving futile as they failed to gain speed, unlike Victoria's accelerating bullets.
Larkin, meanwhile, just took cover, or more accurately, hid behind pieces of rubble. *Yep, definitely not gettin' involved,* he thought to himself. Amara, with an annoyed look on her face, hurled a fireball in the general direction of Eirisse, who easily dodged the fireball and the blast that occurred after, all the while still evading the phoenixes with relative ease. *Where the hell is that brat! He dealt with her pretty easily after getting crushed, and where the hell is that damn monster hunter?* Amara thought, annoyed, as her attack had no effect.
Eirisse, ever taunting, couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire. "You know, I'd ask if you enjoy watching me break a sweat, but I don't sweat. Perhaps you just appreciate the sight of my girls bouncing around when I run," she purred, provoking Amara further. In response, Amara extended her hands, unleashing two torrents of flame directly at Eirisse. Quick to react, Eirisse leaped onto a nearby building to evade the attack. However, the relentless flaming phoenixes continued their pursuit.
Undeterred, Eirisse tore out chunks of the rooftop and hurled them towards the phoenixes at supersonic speeds, effectively cutting them in half. She stood triumphantly at the roof's edge, looking down at Amara with a smug expression.
"That little..." Amara was fuming and then looked towards Victoria. "Hey, Pinky! Use that damn staff of yours!" Amara yelled, prompting a defensive and offended response from Victoria. "Pinky? Pinky!? I'm the mayor of this town! And I won't tolerate disrespect! And I can't just use my staff willy-nilly, dumbass!" Victoria shot back, her anger mirroring Amara's.
The exchange took a sharper turn as Amara taunted, "Oh yeah, the little wizard ran out of her bag of tricks, did she? What else should I expect from a cheater?" Victoria, now seething with anger, responded in kind. "Cheater? Did you just call me a cheater you blond cow!" The two women were locked in a heated verbal duel, their words fueling the growing tension between them.
Meanwhile, Eirisse couldn't help but conceal her amusement as she watched the two women bicker like children. *Then again, compared to me, they would be just that, won't they,* Eirisse thought to herself, finding a momentary diversion in the absurdity of their clash. In the midst of the verbal spectacle, she seized an opportunity, ripping out another chunk of the roof and hurling it toward Amara at supersonic speeds. However, Amara's fire shield effortlessly incinerated the small projectile upon entering the four-foot radius of her protective barrier.
As both Amara and Victoria directed their attention upward to Eirisse following her failed attempt to strike Amara, the vampire couldn't resist indulging in her usual taunts. "You two sure know how to run your mouths. Must have practiced a lot using them, right?" she purred, making no effort to conceal the suggestive undertones. Victoria, never one to hold back, retorted with, "Like hell I do, you cow!" Amara chimed in, disdain evident in her words, "Don't compare me to you, you damn vampiric slut!"
Eirisse reveled in their angered reactions, laughing at Amara's words. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not comparing you to me. I know I have a lot more experience when it cums to sucking," she purred, licking her lips with a mischievous glint in her eyes. The provocative taunts pushed both Amara and Victoria over the edge. Amara conjured a massive fireball, three times larger than her usual ones, which were the size of watermelons, and hurled it at the building where Eirisse stood. Swift as ever, Eirisse vanished from the structure, landing gracefully on the road below just as Amara's fireball obliterated the entire three-story building.
Before Eirisse could make another provocative taunt, Victoria took action. She mentally invoked *DS Module 3*, the last symbol on the middle of her staff vanishing. With only two symbols remaining, blue flames erupted from the top of her staff, hurtling toward Eirisse. The vampire gracefully dodged the attack, relishing in the fact that she had not only made Victoria expend another charge of her staff but also depleted a significant portion of Amara's mana—well, at least that's what she assumed.
"Is that the best you can... what the!?" Eirisse's taunts were abruptly cut off as an earthquake of considerable magnitude shook the surroundings, reminiscent of the earlier tremors during Amara and Kaden's clash. Victoria struggled to maintain her balance, questioning, "Is this an actual one?" Meanwhile, both Amara and Larkin sensed something peculiar. *This earthquake... it's emanating from the sinkhole!* they both concluded simultaneously. Reacting swiftly, Amara teleported out of the sinkhole, and Larkin scrambled up.
The realization spread among the others, and their attention turned to the sinkhole. As they watched in disbelief, a colossal tree, composed of shadows and enveloped in debris and rubble, ascended from beneath the sinkhole. The shadowy tree loomed over the entire town, visible for miles around. "What the hell?" Victoria exclaimed, voicing the astonishment shared by the onlookers. Their amazement, however, was far from over.
The shadowy tree quivered, revealing openings from which emerged a procession of familiar faces: Zee, Xain, Ercale, Lennix, Mari, Clarissa, Karin—still bound in the chains of her own weapon—and, finally, the black knight. Witnessing the devastation wrought by Eirisse, the black knight wasted no time. Without hesitation, he conjured a greatsword made of shadows and charged at the vampiric.