Knowing that every second Morgan used the power of the Strength Spirits hurt Blue was all Hera needed to hear. So far, she had tried to figure out the man's weaknesses and what kinds of skills he had. She needed to keep him talking because of the camera that was still recording somewhere in the room. It was hard to say exactly where it was right now, since so much of her mana was covering everything.
But now that she knew wasting time meant her friend was being hurt, all she had to do was finish the fight as quickly as possible. There would be no more pulling punches or gauging her opponent. At the same time, there were still a few things she needed to test, and for one of them, the Empress would need an opening.
Without saying a word, the court understood her plan and put it into action. Livy and Lurize went for a pincer attack while Vulcan kicked Morgan's face with both feet. At the same time, Forge gave everyone the [Phoenix Touch] buff, bestowing a blanket fire buff to every single court member. It was a risky move, since the poison created by Quetzalcoatl's Wrath was flammable, but instead of igniting everything, it would only intensify the flame that touched it.
Nimbus obscured the area even further by using [Frozen Ash], and Daskka did the same, turning into her black mist snake form. Normally, that would be used to cover Hera herself instead of spreading across the battlefield, but it was just as effective in this scenario.
Viper and Crimson joined the attack, transforming into Scryper, the guardian with a viper's head and torso, and Scryotra's scorpion-like lower body. The added tail left a gap beneath them, allowing other court members to attack from below. All the while, the twins activated a skill they usually avoided using, [Alluring Presence], which made the target more likely to focus on them.
To be completely sure she would find her opening, Hera also cast a Selective Memory Filter spell over herself a moment before the metal swirling around the room approached. She jumped behind the flying debris and followed it as it moved toward the stage. This mass of sharp debris was yet another thing that proved Morgan had no idea what he was doing.
Anyone with decent control over their spells would create a localized frenzy of metal that swirled and cut their target, working almost like a cage to trap them. But what did Morgan do? He decided to make it like a wave that kept circling the room over and over again.
Not only was that an unoptimized way of using a skill or spell like that, but it also gave Hera nearly perfect cover to move through the area. All the while, the court continued their relentless assault, not giving Morgan a single second to breathe. Yet, despite all that, the damage he was taking was minimal.
Still, there was progress. The Ophidianite saw several notifications about her [Ailment Mastery] skill, indicating that the man was still being affected by ailments despite his defenses.
Hera quickly moved around the group, still hidden by the swirling metal. Once she was in the perfect position, she ordered her court members to move away. Behind Morgan, the blades parted, leaving a clear path between Hera and her target. She dashed forward, creating a basic venomous sword in her hand.
Morgan didn't notice the incoming attack, as he was too preoccupied with Scryper in front of him. They would have been in the splash zone of Hera's strike, but at the last second, they moved out of the way, allowing the Empress to finish her attack. It was her Break Combo, combining [Grasshopper Stab] with [Weapon Break].
It was one of her more powerful attacks, but she made sure not to waste too much mana on it. There was a reason why everyone was struggling to do damage, and if she used all her energy on a failed attempt to finish the fight, she would be in trouble.
Even with a normal weapon, the effect of her attack was massive. The blade of the sword pierced Morgan's shoulder, though not too deeply, and skidded upward, cutting off part of his right ear before crashing into the wall behind him. An entire row of screens was completely obliterated, and parts of the metal ceiling fell down.
Morgan roared in pain, and his regeneration kicked in immediately. His shoulder healed before Hera could even see the damage, but his ear did not. Instead of regrowing what he lost, the healing effect only closed the wound, leaving him with half an ear.
"You fucking vermin! How dare you?!" Morgan roared, turning to punch Hera.
The Ophidianite pulled back, narrowly avoiding the blow, but the sheer pressure behind the attack hit her like a truck. She tumbled back, slamming against the wooden stage as the CEO stomped his foot on the ground.
One of his tattoos glowed as a creaking noise echoed through the room. From the ground below, several pillars of stone rose violently, slamming into the ceiling. No one had expected an attack like that, but most of the court managed to evade it.
Nimbus, Lurize, Hera, Dusa, and Tide were the only ones caught by it. The pillars sent them crashing into the ceiling. Dusa shattered instantly, and Tide cracked but endured. Nimbus tried to help the Empress, covering her in barriers, but his spells could only do so much.
The impact knocked the air out of Hera's lungs, and she spat blood before landing back on the ground. Before she hit the floor, the Ophidianite cast a healing spell on herself. She might not have been an actual healer, but she could at least manage decent first aid, especially since she had upgraded her spells. If not for Adamant Scales still being active, she was sure the damage would have been much worse.
"Vulcan, Eira's thing is not working. You're up!" Hera commanded as she failed to land on her feet.
Morgan leaped toward the Empress, but before he could reach her, a hammer and a war axe crashed into him. Holding the weapons were Forge and Livy, both covered in scars with red veins glowing beneath their skin. Vulcan was now in his Daemonic form, but it seemed Livy was in perfect sync with him. [Battle Bond] had activated, sharing the [Daemonic Form] with both titled blades.
Hera had no idea what this actually meant for the two of them. Was Livy now also part spirit? Would she need to stay out of the game for 24 hours like Forge did? There were a lot of questions that needed answering, but nothing she could worry about at the moment.
The daemonic duo began their barrage of attacks. Each impact stripped away some of the metallic color covering Morgan's body, only for it to be quickly replaced. However, the more they hit, the longer it took for the color to return.
As Hera tried to get back to her feet, only now noticing the pain in her ribs, Morgan jumped back and waved his hand. One of the large metal plates that had fallen from the ceiling rose, while the swirling swarm of metal dropped to the ground. He then controlled the plate so it would swing at everyone in front of him, almost like a giant fan. Once again, it was the wrong move. Something that large would already take a lot of effort to control, and fighting against wind pressure only made it worse.
Lurize, Nimbus, and Scryper slammed their weapons into the metal plate. The combined impact forced Morgan to drop the scaffolding to the ground. Before he could pick it up again, Forge and Livy continued their assault. Both of them had dropped their weapons, which were now acting like a third limb, and began punching the man repeatedly.
The other court members joined in, attacking Morgan's back and finally managing to deal some actual damage, even if it was slowly regenerated by his powers. Hera noticed that the parts of his body affected by poison took longer to recover their metallic sheen. She quickly realized that the regeneration wasn't just healing wounds but also purging ailments. That made sense, given that the notifications she was receiving kept fluctuating between high and low numbers. It had taken her this long to understand because there was so much mana inside Morgan's body, and she could sense it acting in strange and chaotic ways.
Realizing this, an idea came to mind, something that, if it worked, could turn that incredible excess of mana into a liability. Scrambling to her feet, she approached Morgan with a spell in hand. She didn't need to touch him to cast this spell, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She needed to aim at a specific location to deliver the full power of the spell, not a place where it could be resisted.
She took a couple of moments to time her strike properly and then slipped a punch between Livy and Vulcan's attacks, aiming at a spot they had both been targeting. The spell hit its mark, and Hera knew it had worked based on Morgan's reaction.
Burning Agony was a spell based on Mana Burn, but instead of needing constant physical contact to inflict damage, it caused intense pain whenever the target used magic. It didn't create an ailment, but instead expanded the mana inside the body, causing an explosive release that damaged the user.
The moment Burning Agony entered his body, Morgan began to scream, not in anger, but due to the pure suffering. He tried to say something but couldn't. His entire body seemed paralyzed by the pain, much like Blue's screaming on the screen earlier. The difference was that Blue was still able to thrash around while Morgan was completely frozen by the spell.
Hera stepped back and allowed Livy and Vulcan to continue their assault, removing more and more of his metallic skin. The entire court took advantage of this and unleashed everything they had, every single attack, every single skill, every single spell. Morgan became the center of a torrent of mana so overwhelming that it nearly blinded the Empress.
Hera herself joined the onslaught, casting Poison Fangs, Flaming Cannons that created massive rolling balls of fire, and Snakes of Venom, which summoned poison serpents to bite his ankles and inject venom into his body. All the while, Quetzalcoatl's Wrath and Shroud of Tartarus continued to chip away at the man.
When Hera noticed that Vulcan and Livy were losing steam and were on the verge of collapsing, she pulled all the mana from her core to create a single weapon, a legendary venomous handaxe. She grabbed it and prepared a [Grasshopper Slash].
As soon as the daemonic duo disappeared, Hera was already there. She swung the handaxe in a diagonal arc, cutting from Morgan's shoulder to his waist. [All In] triggered at the start of the attack, increasing her strength attribute from 180 to 252 for a brief moment. Alongside that, she activated [Weapon Break].
The slash cut through Morgan as though he were made of butter. Without his metallic skin, his defenses were significantly weaker. The CEO appeared to be bisected, but in reality, only his head, lower body, and left arm remained. As [Weapon Break] activated, a wave of energy obliterated everything in its path, the man, the ground, and the door leading to the hallway Hera had entered from. Everything was gone. The attack continued, carving through the corridor and leaving a permanent scar on the earth.
Hera took a deep breath before turning and dashing to the other end of the stage. There was a door in the back, and she hoped Blue was somewhere on the other side. On the screens, she could see that her friend was no longer screaming, but she was still struggling. That was the most important thing right now was saving her friend. Even more important than the notifications that appeared in front of her.
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You have acquired the Legacy Tapestry of Body.
You have acquired the partial Legacy Stormcloud.
You have acquired the partial Legacy Chains of Azure.
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You already have a legacy. The acquired legacies will be integrated where possible.
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You have acquired a title.
Legacy Hunter.
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