Chapter 375: The Chimera

Having blocked a wave of attacks, the Chimera launched its counterstrike.

“ROAR!”

The lion’s head threw its jaws wide open, and a beam of dark purple energy erupted from its maw.

Hulim Heyerar flicked her weapon, the Seven Luminaries, with a single motion.

A translucent Barrier materialized before her.

CLANG——!

The dark purple beam slammed into the Barrier. Not only did it fail to shatter the shield, it was sent hurtling right back where it came from.

BOOM!

The beam struck the far wall, triggering a violent explosion that shook the entire chamber to its foundations.

SWOOSH——!

The echo of the beam attack had barely faded when a sharp whoosh cut through the air above her.

Hulim glanced upward, only to see the Chimera’s colossal form hurtling toward her. Its venomous, devilishly sharp claws glinted with a cold, menacing light, swinging straight for the Barrier.

CRACK!

In the blink of an eye, the Barrier shattered completely.

The claws continued their trajectory, streaking toward Hulim’s body.

SWISH!

The air was torn apart by the force of the strike—but there was no satisfying crunch of impact.

The Chimera stared down in confusion at the spot where Hulim had stood.

She was now positioned less than a third of a meter away from the path of the claws.

“What’s wrong? Miscalculated your aim? You missed just now.”

“......”

Though they shared no common language, the Chimera understood her taunt loud and clear.

It erupted into a fit of unbridled rage.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH......

Its four limbs, tipped with claws laced with lethal venom and anti-magic properties, wove a blur of motion through the air. A fierce, slicing gale began to swirl around it, expanding outward with every passing second.

Yet in the heart of the storm, the slender figure of Hulim stood unflinching, her expression never wavering.

She moved like a phantom—no matter how furiously the Chimera attacked, its claws only sliced through empty air, never once landing a hit.

Even though its senses screamed that its prey was right there in front of it, the Chimera began to doubt whether the figure before it was even real.

“So that’s how it is.”

At that moment, the figure spoke up.

“Your speed is truly top-tier. However......”

SWOOSH!

The Chimera’s eyes widened as the figure before it blurred abruptly.

Then, its body lurched violently, losing all balance.

As confusion washed over it, its gaze inadvertently fell upon the sight of its two front claws, severed cleanly from its body and clattering to the ground.

SPLASH——!

A fountain of virulent, venomous blood gushed forth from the smooth, cleanly cut stumps. Where it splattered onto the floor, the stone hissed and smoked, corroded by the deadly liquid.

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“ROAR——!!!?”

The delayed agony crashed over the Chimera like a tidal wave, drawing a bloodcurdling shriek from its throat.

THUD——!

It crashed heavily onto the ground, helpless and immobile.

Before its body even hit the floor, it caught sight of the figure—only moments ago standing right before it—now more than twenty meters away. In her hand, she held a jet-black longsword, the Hercymuth, its blade dripping with crimson blood......

The Chimera, now sprawled on the ground without its front claws, fixed Hulim with a gaze of burning hatred.

“ROAR!”

The serpent’s head on its tail reared high into the air.

WHOOSH——!

A purple vortex of poisonous wind erupted from its fanged maw.

CLANG!

Hulim lifted the Hercymuth and swung it in a single, clean arc.

The incoming poison breath was sliced neatly in two, the twin gusts billowing harmlessly away to either side.

“!?!”

The serpent’s emerald eyes widened in shock—then narrowed again, blazing with renewed venom.

Its throat began to bulge, swelling unnaturally.

One by one, glowing purple orbs were spat forth from its maw, hurtling toward Hulim in a relentless stream.

Hulim watched the incoming orbs with calm composure.

HUM! HUM! HUM......

A shower of identical glowing orbs materialized around her in response.

SWOOSH——!

In the next instant, all the orbs shot forward.

The two volleys of orbs collided mid-air, triggering a series of earth-shattering explosions.

At first, the clash seemed evenly matched—but it wasn’t long before the Chimera began to falter. After all, it only had one mouth to spit orbs with, while Hulim could conjure dozens at the same time.

Slowly but surely, the Chimera was forced onto the defensive.

“ROAR——!”

Watching its serpent head struggle to keep up, the lion’s head on the ground let out a furious roar. It too threw its jaws wide open, and a terrifying surge of magical energy began to gather deep in its throat.

BOOM——!

A beam of dark purple light shot forth in a straight line, hurtling directly toward Hulim.

Just as the beam was about to make contact—

RUMBLE!

Countless arcs of lightning erupted around Hulim’s body. Beneath the crackling lightning, faint glimmers of white and green light flickered faintly.

She tightened her grip on the Hercymuth.

BOOM——!!!

She shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

Moments later, two deafening explosions rang out simultaneously inside the chamber.

Then, silence fell once more......

Hulim silently sheathed the Hercymuth on her back, and strode toward the Core Seal Chamber hidden in the depths, never once looking back.

Approximately two minutes after she departed,

a shadow oozed forth from the cracks in the floor, slithering into the Chimera’s lifeless body.

After some time passed,

the Chimera’s corpse twitched suddenly. From the stumps of its severed limbs, a thick, inky black liquid began to seep out. The dismembered claws scattered across the floor began to drag themselves toward the body, drawn by the strange black substance......

......

While Hulim made her way to the innermost chamber,

on one of the upper floors, Farna Kegris was trapped in a crisis more dire than any she had ever faced.

“ROAR!”

“Roar......”

Countless magical beasts swarmed toward her, an endless tide of claws and fangs.

BOOM!

Farna unleashed a burst of explosive flames, using the force of the blast to propel herself out of the center of the fray.

But no sooner had she landed back on solid ground than a barrage of attacks from other magical beasts rained down on her.

“Dammit!”

Farna had no choice but to throw up a Flame Barrier to shield herself.

But in the very next second—

BOOM!

The newly formed Barrier shattered into a shower of sparks.

“Another High-Rank Magical Beast!”

Farna gritted her teeth. Before the beast could launch its next attack, she struck first.

BOOM——!

A highly compressed beam of searing-hot flame lanced forth, striking the High-Rank Magical Beast square on and melting a gaping hole straight through its body.

Having temporarily escaped the danger, Farna immediately tried to weave another spell, desperate to break free from the magical beasts now closing in on her again.

But before the magical energy in her body could form a single spell circuit, a wave of dizziness crashed over her mind.

Her body swayed violently, and she nearly collapsed. With sheer force of will, she managed to stay on her feet.

Once she had steadied herself, she fumbled frantically in her backpack and pulled out a vial of Mana Potion. Without even bothering to twist off the cap, she crushed the glass bottle in her hand and gulped down the bitter liquid.

As the acrid potion slid down her throat, her depleted magical energy began to slowly replenish.

CLANG!

She tossed the empty bottle aside and quickly unleashed another spell.

Flames engulfed the ground once more.

This same scenario had played out countless times already. Up until now, she had been clinging to survival solely by draining her stock of pre-prepared potions.

But potions were finite. And the magical beasts pouring forth from the darkness seemed endless.

When her potions ran out—her end would come.

Farna refused to accept that fate.

“Don’t be ridiculous......”

“I’m not going to die here!?”

“You worthless piles of filth—fight me head-on if you have the guts!”

The magical beasts paid no heed to her desperate cries. They just kept coming, wave after wave, launching the same relentless attacks over and over again.

Gradually, Farna was confronted with a problem far more dire than running out of potions.

Her stamina was completely exhausted.

No matter how many potions she drank to restore her magic or heal her wounds, the stamina she had lost was gone forever. Her ability to resist was growing weaker by the second, and her spells were growing slower and slower to cast.

As her attack speed dwindled, the magical beasts began to pile up around her faster than she could fend them off. She was forced to expend more and more energy just to block their attacks, which only accelerated her rate of exhaustion.

She was caught in a vicious cycle—one that was speeding her inexorably toward an inevitable, gruesome death.