"Actually, I didn't really hope he would end up as a cup. No matter what form, it would still be composed of light elements and possibly controlled by Beluto. So I had Judith slightly modify the array..."
Adrian sighed, glancing at the sky above, then nodded to Judith to signal she could begin.
"Instead of materializing into a tea cup, we'll use the absorbed light elements to enhance the array's power. This should force Beluto to 'manifest' physically!"
Ah, so it's a revamped version of the air compression array Reed used? I had personally witnessed the "disaster" caused by absorbing light elements back in Edenmere - how could I forget Reed's trick? The only difference is Reed used the absorbed light to aid in compressing hydrogen gas, while Judith is feedback looping it into the array. The principle is the same.
"Hehe, this is the unrestricted, super large-scale magic array!"
Judith seemed excited to be experimenting with this for the first time, pouring a small amount of mana into the array to activate.
"..."
But after waiting a while, it didn't seem to show any reaction.
Vivianne couldn't help questioning first.
"Can this really handle the God of Light? Has it started activating yet?"
"What if it fails?"
Mike also couldn't help doubting.
"Did I get the etchings wrong?"
Judith wasn't sure, about to check the etchings, but was stopped by Ron.
"There shouldn't be a problem, I can sense light elements flowing towards the array center..."
"That's right!"
I nodded in agreement. Ron and I were the only ones present who could sense light elements, so we naturally knew what was happening.
Free-roaming light elements are invisible and intangible to the naked eye, without even a breeze! Without the "reference object" of the teacup, no one could see any changes from the outside. But the magic array was indeed operating.
Of course, this situation didn't remain unchanged. As more and more light elements were absorbed, the array's attraction became increasingly outrageous. Soon, a faint white glow emerged from the array center, and the non-physical "Light Sanctuary" protecting us above began to distort and destabilize.
"Such powerful attraction force!"
I could clearly sense the flow speed of the attracted light elements. This trial space originally had an extremely high light element level, so the attraction speed increased almost exponentially. The white light in the array center grew brighter, completely dissolving the "Light Sanctuary" into the array as well.
"You despicable, shameless, cunning humans!"
Beluto, far in the sky, finally noticed the abnormality here. His huge face constantly showed distorted, struggling expressions, but he was powerless against the array. Even the barrage of light element attacks he unleashed on us was useless - everything got absorbed into the array center in one go, eventually causing a sharp increase in the attraction force.
It seems this gambit paid off! After all, most of the array materials were unrelated to light elements. And we were only facing a weakened God of Light with one-fourth of his original power. Moreover, even the original Beluto was supposedly incomplete, so he was truly helpless against us.
Of course, physical weapon attacks would still be effective - the array couldn't absorb materialized light element substances like my body. But those attacks could no longer pose a threat, all blocked by Mike's body, never managing to harm the target.
"Hehehe, Beluto, I advise you to just concede obediently!"
Judith confidently made a taunting gesture towards the sky, looking smugly triumphant.
Seeing the light elements in the surrounding air about to be absorbed completely, even lower than the dark continent's level, our anticipated event finally occurred. A dazzling ray of light descended from the sky. Unable to resist the attraction force, the massive light elements comprising Beluto had to materialize into a humanoid form and land on the ground.
"He's here?"
Everyone's spirits lifted, raising their weapons towards the target. But the enemy's appearance was quite surprising.
"So this is what Beluto looks like?"
Extremely unexpected! After materialization, Beluto turned out to be remarkably short. Once the blinding light dissipated, a young boy with twelve white wings appeared before us, looking under ten years old. Everyone exchanged glances in puzzlement.
"Well, considering the surrounding light elements were mostly absorbed, lacking 'materials' to form the body, this result isn't impossible..."
This childlike form reminded me of a certain elder among the angel race - the formation principle should be similar, I suppose?
However, since Beluto was born incomplete, his mental faculties were supposedly deficient to begin with. Even after Saint Angel Cyra supplemented him, his actual intelligence level probably wouldn't be that high, so this appearance might not be too surprising.
I think this form suits him perfectly!
"Bastards! I'll avenge my wife!"
The chibi Beluto squeaked at us, pointing accusingly. To be honest, this scene was somewhat laughable, but everyone knew the level of monster they were facing, so they forcibly held it in.
Except Judith, that is. "Hehe, you're so young yet already thinking about a wife? Be careful she can't stand it and cheats on you!"
"Let's all work together to spank this brat's ass! Show him what real education means!"
Come to think of it, it was quite unpleasant having my soul messed with by this guy, an unforgivable grievance!
This is the final battle! I raised the "Water Abyss Sword" in my hand, pointing at the final boss as I loudly declared, charging forward first.
If I still had the white wings, I might not have dared act this way. Moreover, the air was almost completely drained of light elements, so I wouldn't have much power replenishment.
But now I wasn't afraid. With blue wings, I was guaranteed to be unaffected by any opponent's influence. I swung my full strength at Beluto!
However, the actual effect of using the Water Abyss Sword was somewhat beyond my expectations...
I saw him raise his arm to block, like those apostles we encountered before. But the Water Abyss Sword went straight through at the connecting point of his "arm". It wasn't completely without resistance, but felt very minimal, just like a water-based weapon.
At first I thought it was due to extreme sharpness like the Condensation Sword. But after a while, his "arm" still didn't fall off. Instead, the part that hadn't transformed into a weapon began withering and shriveling - it seemed to be the rumored dehydration effect.
"Impossible! Where did the moisture come from?"
I was dazed for a moment, finding it hard to comprehend. His entire body should be composed of light elements, yet my weapon could still affect him? Even causing dehydration!
"It's not strange at all! Even angelic bodies contain moisture, like blood. Essentially, water formed from light elements is still water!"
Judith offered a reminder from behind. She had to monitor and maintain the array's operation, so couldn't leave that spot. Fortunately, her own strength wasn't that high anyway, so being absent from battle shouldn't cause major issues.
"Uh..."
I vaguely understood. Even if the God of Light had absolute control over light elements, once materialized and extended into the absolute control domains of other elements, he would lose that absolute control. And my Water Abyss Sword likely had very high control over water, even exceeding my current control over water elements.
So it seems pure water alone can't fully represent water elements, which seem to encompass other meanings as well...
"Ow--"
Beluto finally seemed to feel the pain, involuntarily clutching his arm and crying out. But he didn't even have time for that - Mike's fists and Ron's staff followed in quick succession, not to mention Vivianne's spear thrust, leaving him flustered as he could only fly up to evade.
It didn't seem like he knew any martial arts, all his tactics relied solely on controlling light elements to bully others. But once we broke through his elemental attacks, Beluto's physical offensive ability was simply not up to par, frankly weaker than even Saint Angel Cyra.
At least Cyra could spar with us briefly, though Mike still pinned her down in a few moves. But she was still better than Beluto's performance!
This guy was simply all talk - either block stubbornly, or evade if he couldn't block.
"You think flying up will save you?"
But don't forget, I can fly too! The others were temporarily helpless against him, but I didn't care, directly taking flight and thrusting my sword at him again. This time I aimed for Beluto's chest - I don't believe he could turn his heart into a weapon too!
Unfortunately, I missed! He barely managed to dodge it in the nick of time. This guy with twelve wings was different - a few wings flapping wildly managed to strike my hand, which actually stung a bit...
"What's your relationship with Gisphrael?"
Beluto shouted loudly at me, while simultaneously the sky began brightening, the light intensifying.
"Is this light judgment?"
While the magic array below was still operating, he actually dared release such a wide-ranged elemental attack. It was clear Beluto was desperate too. However, I wasn't afraid, I was just worried the others below couldn't withstand this move.