Battle of the Atelier Forest

Under Nicholas' unmerciful lighting strike, Sera shot down toward the ground like a meteor.

Though he had done his role, Nicholas did not descend to group up with the rest. He stood afloat on the air, keeping a watch for any change that might happen behind the curtain of rising dust.

At this moment, Luna was drawing several formations around the girls and the incapacitated Yohan. Meanwhile, Raymond and Robert stood around them on alert.

"How long will it take?" Robert asked.

"Soon… give me several more seconds," Luna replied.

Suddenly, a mass of shockwave blasted out from their front. The instant the dust was cleared, Sera's sorry figure had walked out of the crater. Her body was riddled with countless squirming tumours, while her face showed a trace of brutal insanity.

"Very well." A blood curdling voice escaped from her throat. "It seems that all the guest stars have gathered tonight. So, I don't have to hold back anymore!"

Sera lifted up her right hand. Within, was a clump of blackened flesh that resembled a rotten heart. As it appeared, everyone in the vicinity felt an overpowering suppression falling upon them.

"A Divine Artifact!" Raymond shouted in alarm.

Sera let out a sinister laugh and yelled, "I want you to meet my new pet. Come on out!"

A pair of gigantic obsidian claws appeared out of nowhere on thin air next to her. It flailed around for a while, before finally stopping to make a concerted pulling motion and 'tore' the air apart.

From the black spatial tore emerged an old woman with a slightly hunched back. She looked just like any ordinary doting grandma, if only not for the menacing wolf head she wore as a hat.

"That's!" Robert suddenly cried out angrily. "What the fuck did you do to her?!"

"Do you know her, sir Robert?" Raymond asked.

"Yes, but I don't know why she's here." Robert started to feel unsettled.

"Who is she?" Luna also asked.

"My master, The Divine Wolf Empress!"

"Your master?!" Luna went pale. "Does that mean-"

"Yea..." Robert began to draw several Runes on his gauntlets. "The one who brought me up in Mistis Hamlet."

At the same time, Catherine also caught a glimpse of the old woman. Her eyes went wide as she muttered, "Helen's grandma?"

"Hehehe," Sera laughed. "Surprised? I sacrificed a lot of my men to get this bitch."

She slapped Irene really hard, but Irene did not show any sign of resisting at all. "But now, she's just my dog."

"You!" Robert was about to charge in rage, but Raymond stopped him by lifting his greatsword.

Realizing his blunder, Robert forced himself to calm down. A second later, he sent a message to the group through transmission magic, "My master should be a whole four realms above the current me! But looking at her current self, she's about two realms above me at best; probably due to the limitation of that Divine Artifact. Prepare yourself!"

"Done talking?" Sera jeered. "Then come and meet your doom!"

The tumours on Sera began to squirm even more actively, soon tens of eyeballs began to cover her whole face, so much that it became a clump of eyeballs instead of a head.

Anyone who made eye contact with her could feel their mind sway and froze on the spot. It especially affected the 7th tier Raymond and Luna who were close to her.

Perhaps it was because of their distance, but Nicholas did not seem to be affected.

"Let's start with you." The unrecognizable eyeballs-head pointed at Luna.

At that instant, Irene's figure disappeared from their sight.

In the next instant, Irene reappeared right by Luna's side. Her hands transformed into a pair of gigantic obsidian claw and swept across Luna.

With no one around fast enough to react, Luna could only grit her teeth and activated several layers of barrier.

The piercing sound of broken glass followed by dull explosion resounded as Luna crashed onto a tree far away while spurting out blood.

"Luna!" Robert yelled.

"I'm fine!" Luna shouted from afar. "But the girls!"

As if a pre-planned strategy, when the three men heard her reply, they quickly made their move.

Raymond charged toward Sera, while Nicholas casted another lightning spell and dive-bombed like an embodiment of lightning god.

"Kurukuruk." A what seemed to be dissonant laugh came from the monstrosity that was Sera. "Simple-minded fools."

With one move, she glared at Raymond who charged first with her hundreds eyes. Instantly, this rampaging fortress felt as if his body was swallowed in a quicksand.

"Argghhh!" Raymond tried hard to resist. But the more he did, the slower his body moved, until he eventually stopped completely.

"Kurukuruk, now, for the other one." The eyes at the other side of her 'head' opened wide and glared at the lightning-clad Nicholas.

However, she immediately regretted her choice.

The falling Nicholas did not get disturbed in the slightest, instead, he seemed to increase in speed!

*BOOM!*

An earth-shattering explosion resounded the second time throughout the night. A fountain of dust mixed with dirty black blood rose up into the air as the strike connected.

"I see…" The remnants of the blood formed back into Sera, looking even more hideous than before with her limbs turning to that of an insect's. "A possessor of the Ancient's blood."

Nicholas lifted up his head and stared at Sera that reappeared a distance away. In the place of his missing eye was a slit with vertical pupil of a snake, emanating pale flame and blood-colored aura.

"Bold of you to mingle with humans. Why not come with me to see my lords? I'm sure they will be elated!"

Nicholas did not respond, he put up a stance and ready his next spell. Seconds later, crackles of lightning began to condense on his sword once more. Occasionally, tiny branches of the lightning would zapped the grass around him into charcoal.

"Tch, you won't listen huh?"

Suddenly, Sera felt like she had forgotten about something, and sure enough, a loud war cry resounded from her side.

"ARRGHHH!"

A flame-cladded greatsword appeared in front of her face. In the next instant, the clump of eyeballs was obliterated.

Due to the momentum, the headless insect body flew off to distance. Though, contrary to their expectations, it somersaulted once mid-air before a new head formed.

"Good grief, such mannerless people." Its new head began to shrink as the clusters of eyes become denser. "Don't think this is over!"

The head exploded once more, but this time, a single large blood-red eye appeared in its place—large enough for anyone to be able to see the pulsating blood vessels on its surface.

The strange thing about it was that no matter how both of the Grand Knight move, the eyes kept staring at them at the same time!

"Are you ready?" The voice from the headless eyeball reverberated directly inside Nicholas and Raymond's head. Slowly but surely, they felt their sight waning.

Meanwhile, on the other side…

Robert was restlessly on guard with his listless master in front of him, while three incapacitated people behind him.

"Master…" His voice was filled with sadness and his face bitter.

He never thought he got to meet his master again the second time in life, but now that he did, malicious Divine Artifact has taken control of her.

Robert put up his arms in 'X' position, then pull them away in one quick motion. The friction from his magical gauntlets created a reverberating sounds of metallic vibration, followed by a blinding white light in their trails.

From the light trails came a divine white flame, and from the white flame birthed a figure of wolf divinity standing behind him.

Its rich fur pouring down like a glistening spiritual water, while its eyes were made out of the most expensive sapphire; it was lithe and majestic.

Irene stood there unmoved. She seemed to be a little bit wary of Robert's move.

The next moment, the divine wolf turned in light particles that merged into Robert. Instantly, a similar white aura appeared to surround his body. His eyes turned into that of blinding light source, whereas his gauntlet transformed into an intricate armor covering his torso.

"I will beat you today, master."