The sky-penetrating pillar of light did not maintain its form for long. Together with Laeticia's wings of light, it dissolved into a gentle halo with Laeticia in the center to form a radial area of light that enveloped the students.
The students quickly discovered that their wounds had healed, their bleeding had stopped, and their depleted mana was instantly replenished and multiplied. Even Little Mia noticed that her mind-numbing migraine had ceased, and her body was immensely relieved. Not only did her previous discomfort dissipate, she felt even livelier than normal.
That was the power of this Forbidden Technique or rather, this theurgical technique. It was the strongest card up the Cleric's sleeves back when he was a lone traveler in the Abyss. When this technique was cast with a compassionate heart, a large area of the blessed territory would expand as if the caster was the acknowledged proxy of God. The effect of such a blessing was not dissimilar to God himself descending to the mortal realm. It was powerful, and those who were within reach would have their powers boosted.
Laeticia was about to faint when she finished casting the theurgical technique. She was still standing tall stubbornly, but her consciousness was slipping…
Mr. Hope… Really is someone you can depend on… She thought as her mind faded to black.
Imbued with such a massive boost in power, the students' status had never been better, and they threw themselves completely into the battle. However, the spotlight was not on the Legendary-level principal who was all fired-up, it was on a hammerhead shark plushie!
This plushie knew the full power of the blessing. With the problem of mana limitation removed, the plushie zipped above and past Tisdale's head and guided the war beauty deep into the demons' rank. It certainly did not pull any punches as it blasted the enemies with extreme prejudice. Various water spells spouted out from its mouth as the demons toppled one after the other like rye falling under a flurry of hurricane.
Just a few minutes later, the demons all fled in fear, leaving only a girl and a plushie standing side-by-side. They looked quite cinematic. Unfortunately, Tisdale's magic looked more like showy fireworks when compared to the plushie...
"How are you so good, Sharkie?" Tisdale muttered, slightly dismay. Perhaps a bit regretful that she gave this plushie away back then.
The hammerhead shark patted her head with its fin in comfort as if saying, You'll be just as good after some time.
However, when Hammerhead Shark (Version Archmage) brought Tisdale the Beauty to victory in the frontline, a sinister silhouette was creeping at the back of the group of students when their attention was elsewhere.
It was a demon with an abnormally muscular physique. It sprouted a pair of bat wings and long horns, and its face was encased in a bony structure. Its sharp claws reflected cold light as it silently crept behind the student army where the juniors were standing.
One of the students spotted it soon enough. He cried, "My god! This… This is -!"
"It's an Abaddon! The Abaddon as told in legends!" A student finished his words.
Yes. This demon was infamous for its bloodlust and its love for carnage. They were without compassion and impassive to the sufferings of others. They only showed love for the act of tearing a human's heart out of their chest. Worse of all, they were elusive and it was rare to be able to see them.
"W-why would an Abaddon appear here? " A student asked as her body shivered.
"It looks scary….!" Another student chimed in as his own body shook.
The Abaddon was obviously enjoying the students' shaking knees. They loved how fragile humans shiver in their presence.
However, if it knew humans better, it would have fled as soon as it could instead of approaching them… Because the students were not shaking out of fear, they were shaking out of excitement.
"Get him--!" Someone shouted above the din. The students who were previously shivering charged towards the demon as if it was a goldmine. The poor demon did not even have the luxury to understand the situation before it was drowned in the Blessed students' frantic push…
[TL: Seriously, demon or not, who actually goes into a war all alone? Not unless your name is Kirito , or a main character wearing plot armor.]
"Ugh! Another one that left its heart at home!" A student cursed. She tossed the dagger she had just used to cut open the demon's chest in annoyance.
An Abaddon's heart was a very sought-after magical material, one that could be used for a wide array of purposes. As such, its price on the market had always been a painfully steep. It was one of those items that were too high in demands but too low in supply. If one had their hands on a single Abaddon heart, they would instantly qualify for the billionaire membership.
It was precisely because of this reason that whenever a skirmish broke out between humans and demons, the highest casualty would always be the Abaddons. Its death rate was almost always 100%. The number of Abaddons that died would always be the exact number of Abaddons that were present. It left no room for even one to escape. Sometimes, the craziest of mankind would even throw themselves into the Abyss just to hunt them. It was so devastating that this type of demon had learned not to show their faces so often and even learned to secure their hearts in a hidden location if they had to…
That was why whenever humans spotted an Abaddon, they would most certainly become even more greedy and excited than usual. A demon's cruelty stood no chance against humans' greed.
It was not just the demons from this side of the battle that was suffering. Their big man was just as affected by the aftermath of the Blessing as he found himself in a grave situation…
Baiyi might not have received any boost from the theurgical technique but Little Mia did. Not only did her output increase, her Psychic Energy had surged even more powerfully after basking in that blessing. It allowed Baiyi the freedom to discard all discretion in his attacks.
At this moment, the Lord of the Abyss experienced the indiscreet Fifth Walker's unleashed terrors.
"H-how… Is this possible?" Thaas held his right arm, it was already severed at his elbow. He reluctantly backed away. "H-how are you… Still filled with power?!"
As soon as Baiyi felt the increase in Mia's output, he gathered several streams of Void Energy and consolidated them into a black javelin before he hurled it towards the Abyss Lord.
The receiver mustered all of his remaining strength, but the javelin still pierced through his shield and severed his right arm.
Thaas was starting to lose all control of the battle. Was this pesky opponent not at his wit's end just seconds ago? How the hell did he suddenly gain such a boost in power? Moreover, his sudden boost reeked of an 'I'm so winning this' facade!
That blasted Blessing didn't even reach us. This doesn't make sense at all! He thought to himself as he hurriedly gathered his own strength to reattach his right arm. However, before he could flex his muscles, dense black flames immediately brushed past him and his arm was gone again…
That was the improved version of Black Flame [TL: You mean, copyright infringement-avoiding Amaterasu? /chuckles]. Previously, the Black Flame's damage was greatly reduced due to the limitation of Mia's mana output. It burnt through the shield, and as an added bonus, it burnt away Thaas' right arm into ashes.
"There. Now you don't have to waste your time trying to reattach it again," Baiyi coldly quipped as he watched the Abyss Lord shrieked in pain.
Thaas was finally sober. He knew that he was no longer on equal footing with Baiyi. His power was already lower in ranking, his current body was not resilient enough, and his previous advantage, his stamina, had long been exhausted. There was no longer a shred of uncertainty when it came to determining the victor.
"Almost time to end this boring game," Baiyi said coldly as a large complex of spell formation rose behind him. His target was locked with his Psychic Energy.
"You. Face the unending darkness…" Baiyi chanted a simple line as a dozen black spears, glistening with unyielding sharpness, shot out from the spell formation and found themselves striking through Thaas' body.
The tremendous force from the blows carved out a spiral-like crater on the ground below them as the tremors spread far and wide.
The Abyss Lord was nailed to the ground and lay motionless in the center of the deep crater. Even his endlessly-beating heart was pierced by three lances from three different angles. Just like that, the indestructible Void Lances had easily wiped out what had plagued the Church for hundreds of years.
Even the Shield Barrier that was previously looming over the city had been shattered by this burst of energy. Everyone in every corner of Arfin City had felt its unnatural vibration.
Far from the battle, In the Holy City of Canningham.
A weak candle flame in a black cathedral was instantly snuffed out. The statues of God erected around the cathedral cracked before it shattered into fragments.
The Chief Judge, who had long been supplanted by Haart, watched the event in silence. He extended his finger and picked up one of the fragments as he murmured helplessly, "With such a monstrous heretic existing in our world… O Lord, what have Thou bestowed your disciple to stop this demon? …My faith alone?"
"This attack... Hmm…" The Apprentice, who was the youngest member of the Voidwalkers, was still trying to make sense of Baiyi's last attack. It was to the extent that he forgot the consequences of revealing their Void Energy under the sun. "I don't think this demon can take that hit without kicking the bucket, right? Sir Hope, you probably used up fifty percent of your strength for that, right? There's no way he can live through that!"
"Pfft! Fifty percent? He actually thinks that it was fifty-percent? What an ignorant brat… How weak do you think our Fifth Walker is?" The Lich replied mockingly.
"What? Did I get it wrong?" The Apprentice retorted.
"The amount of power he had used since the beginning had never been more than half. In fact, it's probably less than that," the Sorcerer added helpfully.
[TL: Eh. Figures.]
"What?!" The Apprentice cried out in heartfelt surprise. That attack that had shattered the earth and barriers in the sky was not even half of the Fifth Walker's power. "T-then… How much stronger is Sir Hope's power?"
"Why do you think we can leisurely chat in this place this entire time?" The Sorcerer retorted. "The Void wasn't always such a peaceful place…"
The Apprentice sank deep into thoughts.
However, in reality, Baiyi was not as relaxed as his fellow Walkers. Despite the risk of his identity being exposed, he maintained his current battle form as if waiting for something to happen…
No. He did not think he had won the fight. This was because just as the lances were piercing Thaas' body, he saw a faint but sure grin of madness that flashed on the Demon Lord's face…