The Hunted Regressor: Rise of the Heretic Saint-Chapter 146: Fire And Whip
The projection flickered again, zooming in on another part of the Corrupted land.
Now it was Merlin and Aurelia's turn.
A large crater stretched before them, a Demon standing tall in the middle of it.
It was not of flesh like the rest of the Demons, or disgustingly grotesque, but... metal.
Indeed, its entire body gleamed with black steel.
A walking fortress with not a single part exposed...
Spikes sprouted from its arms, blades protruded from its back, and its eyes glowed molten orange beneath a helmet of fused iron.
It literally had no weak points.
They had to create that themselves.
"Seriously…"
Merlin sighed, her shoulders slouched.
"Couldn't we have stumbled onto something squishier?"
Aurelia cracked her whip back towards herself.
"You could start by hitting something that isn't me."
Merlin twirled her staff lazily.
"I'm trying, but you keep running around in front of me."
"I'm baiting it."
"You're blocking my line of sight!"
"You—"
"GRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The Demon roared, pausing their bickering.
Turning to face it, they watched the trees shake as it charged towards them.
Aurelia darted aside, the air bursting under her boots.
"Focus, Merlin!"
"I am focused!"
A giant blade shot out from the Demon's arm, slicing through.
Aurelia barely ducked, her hair whipping behind her as she rolled and lashed her whip across its face.
The whip cracked loud, creating sparks that suddenly exploded!
Only for it to cease a moment later, revealing the damage.
Which, well, wasn't at all satisfactory.
"...hm."
She backed away.
"It's not even scratched."
"That's fine!"
Merlin pointed her staff forward.
"We'll melt it!"
She slammed the staff into the ground.
Heat shimmered instantly, the air rippling as her fire gathered.
Three crimson circles spun behind her, each forming a sphere of flame.
"Fireball volley!"
They launched forth and landed true.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each impact rocked the clearing, spraying fire and smoke.
Trees burned, the ground blackened further, and yet when the smoke cleared, the Demon stood there, glowing red-hot but still alive and far from hurt.
Its armor wasn't melting.
"Oh, come on."
Merlin groaned.
"What's this thing made of?!"
Aurelia gritted her teeth.
"A lot of metal."
"Thanks, captain obvious!"
The Demon roared again and slammed its fist into the ground, sending a shockwave through the field.
Aurelia was blasted off her feet, flipping midair before she caught herself with a burst of wind under her boots and a flap of her wings, sliding back smoothly to the ground.
Merlin used her staff to steady herself.
"Ugh… okay, fine. We go full power."
"Already?"
Aurelia glanced at her.
"We'll burn out."
"Then you'd better figure out something else!"
The bird-folk glared before quickly launching forward again.
While mid-air, her whip flashed, creating one explosion after another.
At the same time, wind slashes trailed after every swing, slamming into the Demon's armor with loud clangs.
The monster tried to swing back, but she was never in one place, kiting the absolute Hell out of the thing, constantly air-dashing left and right.
Her boots barely touched the ground as she struck and retreated constantly, while Merlin, not to be outdone, followed up, thrusting her staff out.
"Fire Tornado!"
A spiraling inferno burst forth, wrapping around the Demon.
The flames rose higher and higher, swallowing its massive body in red light.
The entire field became a storm of fire and wind, burning so bright it formed a miniature sun.
For a second, they thought that it worked, only for a familiar sound to greet them.
Clink, clink, clink.
Fire peeled off, pushed away by spinning blades emerging from the Demon's body.
The armor had rearranged itself and was now covered in moving plates.
"Ah..."
Merlin's eyes widened.
"You've got to be kidding—"
The monster shot metal shards everywhere.
Aurelia jumped, twirling midair as wind shields burst around her, deflecting a rain of blades.
Still, a few nicked her skin, tearing her sleeve and drawing thin cuts.
"Merlin, it's adapting."
"I can see that!"
"Then do something."
"I'm thinking!"
Aurelia rolled her eyes, sliding under a swing and striking the Demon's knee joint with her whip. A massive blade erupted from the Demon's side, nearly impaling her entire body.
She flew away at the last moment, the blade missing her torso by an inch.
Seeing that, Merlin's face twisted in annoyance.
"Enough!"
The temperature spiked again, and the ground cracked as she stomped forward and threw away her staff, fire spiraling from her hands now instead.
"Fire Blast!"
A massive, cone-shaped surge of flames burst from her palms, swallowing everything ahead. The Demon dug its claws into the ground, pushing against the torrent.
Its metal glowed brighter and brighter, deforming slightly, until at last, its armor began to warp.
Something that Aurelia immediately noticed.
"It's working."
"Barely!"
"Keep it up."
Merlin's Divinity surged high and then immediately faltered for a split second.
"I'm running dry… Damn it!"
The Demon's claws lashed out through the fire, smashing into the ground just beside her.
Aurelia quickly dove in, air-dashing straight down at Merlin, pulling her aside just in time.
The impact sent molten dirt flying where Merlin had stood a second ago.
"Don't just stand there."
"I know!"
They both backed up, panting, one burnt, one bleeding, and both utterly exhausted.
It wasn't only they who were battle-worn; the Demon was obviously weaker now, parts of its armor melted, revealing cracks glowing white-hot.
One was a glass, no, wooden cannon, while the other was a glass armada.
They were an Acolyte, Tenth Class, like the rest, but this was really proving itself a challenge to them.
Again, endurance wasn't exactly their strong point. Still, they didn't give up, far from it.
Merlin's eyes narrowed as she picked up her staff.
Most knew that staffs weren't needed for spell-focused Runebearers. It only made them more accurate and quicker... 'focusing' their spells.
Of course, they also made the spells stronger.
That strength increase could be... adjusted.
The cat seemed to be banking on that.
"Aurelia. One minute."
"What?"
"Buy me one minute."
"What are you planning?"
"The biggest explosion this forest has ever seen."
Aurelia blinked.
"Are you insane?"
"I'm not Ignotus."
"...fine."
Aurelia tightened her grip on the whip and sprinted forward.
Air dashing up, she flew around and whipped the Demon across its arms, legs, and face, making sure it followed her.
And that it did, roaring in anger.
She couldn't get too far, as it might lose its aggression, so she kept close even as she escaped it. That would've been much more manageable earlier, but now that it has had some of its armor melted off?
"GGGGRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The Demon moved much faster, surprising her with a fast lunge.
Reacting quickly, Aurelia spun in the air, creating an air pocket between them.
Caring not for how close it was to her, she snapped her whip through it, triggering an explosion that blasted both of them apart.
Aurelia landed rough, tumbling through dirt, but she quickly got back up.
Staying down meant being squashed to death.
"Merlin, how much longer?"
"Thirty seconds!"
"Understood."
Yet even now, the bird kept her calm.
Indeed, even as she watched the Demon's armor reshape again.
Since the explosion sent her into the trees, the Demon figured out how to catch her.
Turning one arm into a gigantic drill, it spun forward, tearing through trees.
Aurelia's eyes widened, her Divinity thin, but she still moved.
One more chase... she could do that.
"Come on."
She charged right at it, flipped over the spinning drill, cracked her whip on its head, and kicked off midair, barely dodging the follow-up slam.
The Demon followed through, forming a massive blade from his back.
Before it could reach her, she snapped her whip forward at a nearby tree and swung herself away.
Yet, even then, she wasn't safe.
Just beneath her was a fallen piece of the Demon. A piece that it could still control, extending many blades from it, intent on piercing through her.
Aurelia couldn't do much in that moment; she'd just air dashed, and her whip was swung.
She could try to flap her wings and fly away, but that'd be too slow.
...this was death—
"WATCH OUT!"
Merlin's voice tore through the roaring wind.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
And with it, a blinding light burst from behind the Demon.
The forest vanished in fire, an incredible inferno tearing it apart.
A wall of flame so high it momentarily blocked the projections' view.
The Demon and that piece of it were gone in an instant, reduced to ash.
Her fire had gained access through its missing pieces, ending it from the inside.
The explosion continued to roll outward, flattening trees and melting stone.
Nothing but silence and a barely alive Aurelia were left.
The attack was so strong that Merlin's staff became as destroyed as the forest around it.
It was used up entirely, as were her reserves.
She stood in the center of it all, panting roughly. Her hair clung to her face, her clothes singed. But slowly, she smiled...
"Hehehe…"
Her knees buckled...
"I did it."
And she fell face-first into the dirt.
***
The projections zoomed in on Merlin's motionless body.
Following the silence, the crowd gasped before suddenly...
"FIRE AND WHIP!"
"FIRE AND WHIP!"
"FIRE AND WHIP!"
"FIRE AND WHIP!"
"FIRE AND WHIP!"
Erupting into cheers.
Aurelia and Merlin, too, were given a title.
What the Colosseum witnessed today was incredible. And to make it even better, they weren't done yet.
Something that Lothar was eager to remind them of:
"WE'VE STILL GOT LADY GAIA! LET'S SEE HOW SHE PERFORMS!"
