OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 351: A Short Interruption III

"AIR WALL!"

Using every bit of Aether in her reserves, she conjured a long block of extremely condensed air right in front of her, then filled it with flames.

Her intention was to block the laser aimed directly at her chest, leaving the others to hit less critical parts of her body.

However... even that sacrifice wasn't enough.

Unlike most of the team, she didn't have a shielding ability, as Emir once pointed out, so to prove him wrong, she learned of this ability, which acted as a replacement.

But that was all it was-a replacement.

What the wall was up against wasn't a bullet or concentrated Aether but a laser.

And that laser was a weakness of hers, as she was a wielder of air.

The barrier of fire-infused air was no contest, despite its searing heat.

'No...'

To Phoenix's dismay, the laser pierced through the barrier with a loud sizzle, not even slowing down for a moment, only scattering it and barely at that. frёewebnoѵēl.com

So while it had kept away the non-life-threatening lasers, the main one wasn't affected. "URGH!"

What remained after the scatter hit her in full force, cutting through her force shield and tearing a large hole through her stomach.

"АААААААААНННННННННН!"

Crying out in agony, her flames died in moments, and she fell to the ground, a few meters behind their Knight, Southern Cross.

"...PHOENIX?!"

Southern Cross turned sharply, his eyes wide with shock and fury.

The sight of Phoenix, their fiery comrade, lying half-dead, ignited a burning rage within him. He raised his shield once more, ready to defend her at all costs.

"LIONHEART HEAL HER NOW!"

Not needing to be ordered, he rushed to her, placing his hand on the gaping hole across her belly.

"AETHERIC HEAL!"

While healing her, he used his free hand to unclip the golden frills attached to her bedlah and toss them aside.

He didn't do this for nefarious reasons, of course. The frills were a Holy Relic, and even when not actively in use, they drained a significant amount of Aether from the wearer. In her current half-dead state, this was a dangerous burden.

This explained how she could wield fire. Unlike Emma, who possessed both the Fire and Ice elements, Phoenix only had the Air element, making her a Sky Weaver.

The flaw of such a strong Holy Relic was perplexing, for it only needed her to dance while using it.

An unusual flaw for sure, but she, and most people like her, would never say no to it.

"I told you not to be reckless!"

Lionheart reprimanded her, his face slightly pale as he had continuously resupplied their Knight with Aether.

After Red Dragon disengaged from his fight against the Technomancer to help Phoenix, Southern Cross had to step up and stop the Technomancer from chasing after him.

This resulted in their Knight spending much of his Aether to trap both the enemy Knight and Technomancer, not allowing them to help the others in battle.

And it wasn't just that. Since their group separated, the Technomancer's Aetheric Siphon focused on the two of them, draining their reserves.

But thankfully, they weren't out of the count just yet.

The enemy Knight had no one to resupply him with Aether, which allowed Southern Cross to keep them in check, giving Red Dragon and Maharajah a clear path to kill their Tidal Weaver.

A chance to end the fight.

And they took that chance.

"EARTH SPIKE!"

Standing on a long hexagonal platform formed from the ground, Maharajah lowered his right arm and shot out tens of small spikes from the tower he stood on, all aimed directly at the

Tidal Weaver.

"Water Wall."

She didn't even flinch, snapping her fingers, causing the water in which she stood to rise, blocking all of the spikes.

"Lava Whip."

As Red Dragon's words echoed, a long whip of lava materialized in his clutched fist.

"You're not the only one who can do that. Sea Whip."

But before he could even attack her, tentacle-like whips of water sprang out at him from below, surrounding him from all directions.

Scoffing, he stepped down hard, jumping out of the attack's range before they could close in on him.

She didn't relent however, supplying more Aether to her spell and flicking her staff towards him, combining the whips into each other, allowing them to extend even further as they chased after him.

"Slow."

With that comment, he swung his whip, wrapping it around Maharajah's pillar and pulling himself to the left, leaving just before his previous location was stabbed to no end.

Just as he neared his teammate, a whisper heavy with Aether resounded from above.

"Cocoon."

A long circular beam sprouted out of the ground, originating from the pillar, and before she could react, it built itself up and in, forming a robust sphere of rock around her.

"WATER SPEAR!"

For the first time since their fight began, she bellowed in panic, weaving spear after spear of water, trying to dig herself a way out.

But before she could do so, Red Dragon jumped on top of the cocoon and walked to the

middle.

He then pushed his hand through a small hole that Maharajah left for him.

"Grain of Hell."

The Tidal Weaver snapped her head up and saw a harbinger of death.

Descending upon her was a flame so condensed it appeared as a black and cyan grain-sized orb, pulsing with Aether. It crackled with intensity, the air around it warping from the heat,

filling her, its target, with dread.

"I'LL KILL YOU BASTARDS!"

With all the Aether she had, she weaved the strongest spell in her arsenal, even using the

groundwater beneath them.

"FLOOD!"

But it wasn't close to being enough.

If she had more time, the result might've been different, yet...

BOOM!

It was too late.

Before her spell could even fully take form, all the water evaporated and the orb touched the

ground.

"NO0000000-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH-!"

The fire bounced all around the cocoon, and she was cooked alive, dying a death so quick yet

so agonizing.

Red Dragon smiled as he glanced at the exhausted Maharajah.

"Good job."

"...Yeah, only the best for the team."

Sharing a short laugh, they turned around and looked at their team, observing how everyone

was managing.

"...What?!"

Maharajah's eyes widened in shock.

He finally noticed the sorry state his crush was in-almost dead with her guts out.

As if refilled with Aether, he rushed forward, rage pumping in his veins, his adrenaline on an

all-time high.

Red Dragon was about to reprimand him for acting irrationally, but he also felt a slight anger

at how they treated their newcomer.

"We'll have them dead in ten."

And that...

"ААААААААНННННН!"

Was exactly what happened.

As they returned to Southern Cross, the battle ended in seconds.

It wasn't only due to their numbers or Maharajah's rage-fueled rush, but also because of the Knight's ability, Aegis of Radiance.

The strength increase it provided allowed them to easily smash in the enemy Knight's shield, killing him and then ganging up on the Technomancer, reducing his menacing mech to a pile of burnt scraps.

While he was an Exarch at that point in time, their combined strength left him no chance of

effectively retaliating.

Though strong, to this group of Celestials, they were nothing but a short interruption.

"I'll be reporting in."

While Lionheart made the finishing touches on Phoenix, patching her stomach up with

bandages, her guts back in place, Red Dragon looked back at their vehicles, his face losing the

smile.

[Threat cleared, let's end this farce.]