Chapter 613: Hurricane that pierces through the earth
After an indeterminate amount of time, the raging flames that had vandalized a corner of the palace and left it in ruins finally began to extinguish gradually.
The once chaotic corridor had been thoroughly turned to rubble, collapsing onto the scorched earth, resembling the aftermath of a disaster.
"Aaaaaaahhhh!"
Amidst the debris wrapped in flames stood Gawain, his figure swollen into that of a giant, bloodied all over, with bloodshot eyes and an aura of extreme danger. His roars transformed into a storm, assaulting in all directions.
Above this field of ruins, a few scattered figures lay on the ground, groaning in pain.
"Uh..."
Tristan struggled arduously to stand up, attempting again and again but never managing to do so.
The fairy girl’s princess-like gown had been completely burned away, revealing her unexpectedly graceful body to the air. Her fair skin was now blackened, clearly having been caught in Gawain’s attack, and she had suffered severe injuries.
"Cough, cough..."
Altoria also struggled to rise, and she succeeded.
Because of the protective cloaks formed by "Life-bound Illusion" and "Thin Veil Breath," although Altoria had been swept up in Gawain’s attack, most of the damage had been absorbed by the twin layers of light, with only a small part affecting her. She seemed unsteady, her clothes becoming torn and tattered.
Lancelot, however, had disappeared. It seemed he had timely ascended into the sky and broke through in the instant Gawain’s ’horn’ was swung, escaping the range of the attack.
As for Reiger, like Altoria, he was protected by "Life-bound Illusion" and "Thin Veil Breath," with an additional layer of "Wind Spirit Swift Walk" to fend off damage. And with his resistance to fire attacks, although Reiger was also caught in Gawain’s attack and targeted primarily, his injuries were not severe. Besides looking a bit pale, there seemed to be no greater impact.
Such was the Reiger that attracted Gawain’s attention.
"Reiger...Brilliant...!"
Gawain, still growing in size, appeared to have lost all reason, roaring while tightly grasping the horn turned into a blade of flames, and without saying a word, swung it down at Reiger who stood only as high as his knees.
"Boom!!!"
Terrible flames erupted again, like a real volcano spewing fire, bursting forth and ravaging everything around.
Under this storm of flames, Tristan, whose clothes had been burned off, was blown away like trash. Altoria, who had just managed to stand with difficulty, nearly got caught in the explosion and was blasted away by the blast wave until she hit a piece of debris, which finally stopped her flying form.
"Reiger...!"
Altoria struggled to get up again but collapsed again quickly.
This was not just because of her injuries but also because the Magic Power inside of her was suddenly being drained away.
"What, what’s happening?"
Altoria was immediately panicked.
She found that her Magic Power was completely out of control, as if it were being devoured by an invisible beast, gradually being sucked away.
And this beast was none other than Gawain, who had lost all rationality like entering a berserk state.
"She, she’s absorbing my Magic Power...?"
Altoria finally realized this.
Draining Magic Power wasn’t an ability that Gawain had only acquired in this state.
Actually, Gawain had always had this ability to absorb an enemy’s Magic Power, to absorb others’ Magic Power, causing them to rapidly lose strength during battle, rendering them weak.
The reason this ability hadn’t been apparent in her battle with Reiger wasn’t that she hadn’t used it, but because it was ineffective against Reiger.
With the ability to resist abnormal states and immune to physical interference, Reiger had perfectly countered Gawain’s ability to sap Magic Power during their battle, rendering it ineffective.
It wasn’t until now that Gawain’s power had suddenly surged that her ability seemed to lose control. It targeted not only Reiger but also other living beings around.
Therefore, Altoria felt her Magic Power being sucked away, becoming part of Gawain’s strength and making her even stronger.
"This won’t do...!"
Altoria, unaware that Reiger could withstand this ability, lashed out at her own body, forcing herself to get up to help Reiger.
But before Altoria could stand firm, a voice resounded first.
"[Spears, pierce through my skull and guzzle the blood]."
Along with this chant, as deep as if coming from underground, a startling power surged up from the flames, shooting toward the sky.
"Wind Breath·Fourth Form·Ascending Dust Storm!"
The next second, a fierce whirlwind burst forth from the flames, soaring upward like an erupting volcano, scattering the flames and turning into Wind Blades slicing at Gawain’s body.
"Boom!"
As the whirlwind hit, it exploded upon Gawain’s form.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Struck by the cyclonic slashes, Gawain immediately stumbled back, his heavy footsteps crushing the ground beneath.
"Eeeargh...!"
Under the assault, Gawain seemed to enter an even more frenzied state, his ’horn’ expanding further as he swept it towards the Swordsman standing on the charred earth.