After several minutes, as the ringing in their ears slowly faded, the two witches were finally jolted back to reality by a familiar voice.
"Hold your breath... Use your magic to filter the oxygen!"
Jonny snapped back to her senses, turning her head to see Lynn standing before the blazing inferno, his gaze fixed ahead as the scorching waves of heat billowed against his robes.
The two witches had no understanding of what oxygen was, but holding their breath was something they knew how to do.
But what kind of magic was this?
Jonny was utterly astonished, while the White Dove huddled against the collapsed earthen wall, paralyzed with fear, unable to stand amidst the carnage and blood.
Lynn had little mind to spare for the state of the witches, his solemn gaze locked onto the ruins of the harbor pier.
By all accounts, no one should have survived such an explosion, yet against all expectations, a figure stood in the midst of the burning flames!
To call it a figure might be inaccurate, for Antilochus had long since lost any semblance of humanity. His once magnificent gilded robes were shredded, his entire body engulfed in the searing thousand-degree heat of white phosphorus flames.
From any perspective, Antilochus should have been dead. In fact, he should have perished days ago in the battle outside Ur Town. However, his desperate prayers had invoked a sliver of mercy from an eternal and mighty presence...
A trace of divine power forcibly sustained his life. At the moment he sensed danger, Antilochus had drawn upon this divine power to cast a fourth-level divine spell—[Divine Barrier], barely withstanding the terrifying explosion.
Yet the power of a fourth-level divine spell was limited, unable to fully shield him from the residual shockwaves. The thousand-degree heat relentlessly seared his flesh and organs, and his life was now in its final countdown.
At this moment, Antilochus could no longer feel pain; only the purest faith remained in his mind.
Death and suffering were merely trials and tribulations on the path to heaven!
Antilochus did not fear death, but if he could send the wizard before him to hell, the Lord would surely reward him even more in the heavenly kingdom...
"Hymn of Praise—Judgment from Heaven!" Antilochus's voice was destroyed, but as his lips moved, a faint light flickered at his burning fingertips.
It was the purest light of death, rapidly expanding... Flames receded, stones crumbled, and everything in its path disintegrated under such power.
[Ice Curtain]
Lynn extended his hand, summoning wall after wall of solid ice crystals, yet it was futile. The barriers were shattered almost instantly, but Lynn used that brief moment to sidestep, narrowly avoiding the beam of death.
Behind him, the pure light crashed into the turbulent sea, sending up a towering spray of water.
Antilochus, relentless, began casting again, this time invoking a wider, unavoidable [Apocalyptic Storm]!
At that moment, the White Dove spoke!
A sharp sonic wave swept across the battlefield, causing Antilochus's movements to falter for a fraction of a second, and the storm he had just conjured dissipated.
But the archbishop quickly turned his head, dark golden light flickering in his eyes. Without a single gesture, the White Dove's sonic attack was abruptly silenced, as if her throat had been seized.
The terrifying backlash instantly shattered the witch's mental defenses, and the girl collapsed, blood spilling from her mouth as she fell to the ground.
"White Dove!" Jonny rushed forward to support the young witch, checking her condition.
Lynn's expression darkened with anger. Dozens of [Magic Missiles] materialized in the air, igniting and transforming into countless miniature white phosphorus fireballs, hurtling toward Antilochus.
Third-level divine spell—[Holy Barrier]!
Faced with the barrage of fireballs, Antilochus dared not take them head-on. He immediately shifted from offense to defense, for even with a trace of divine power within him, his current state made it impossible to continuously cast higher-level spells. He could only rely on two [Holy Barriers] to fend off the attack.
The invisible barriers clashed with the explosive fireballs, quickly shattering under the onslaught, but the second barrier held firm, blocking the remaining white phosphorus fireballs.
At that moment, Lynn extended his right hand and clenched it tightly!
The flames scattered around Antilochus, as well as those clinging to the invisible barrier, seemed to be guided by some force, rapidly converging into a demonic hand of fire that seized Antilochus in its grasp.
Crack...
The sudden turn of events caught the archbishop off guard. The already weakened [Holy Barrier] was instantly crushed by the fiery hand. With no other options, Antilochus unleashed the last of his divine power, desperately resisting the terrifying white phosphorus flames.
Lynn and Antilochus both poured the remnants of their energy into this final clash, knowing that the outcome would be decided in this moment!
Brilliant divine light intertwined with raging flames, each canceling the other out...
At the same time, Jonny, who was cradling the unconscious White Dove, cried out in fury.
"Magic Missiles!"
Several orbs of magical energy appeared around the girl, spinning toward the archbishop.
In ordinary circumstances, Antilochus would have dismissed such weak magic, but in this moment, the incoming [Magic Missiles] became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
The delicate balance was immediately shattered, and the enormous hand of flame slowly penetrated the dazzling divine light, crushing the unwilling archbishop to pieces.
It was only in the instant of his death that Antilochus suddenly realized that the two witches he had disregarded were far from as useless as he had imagined.
Watching Antilochus's body being obliterated by the [Demonic Hand of Flames], Lynn finally breathed a sigh of relief, though he remained vigilant, warily scanning his surroundings, deeply concerned that his act of killing Antilochus might provoke the wrath of the gods...
Fortunately, his fears did not come to pass. The oppressive presence in the air gradually dissipated.
It was finally over...
Lynn swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground. After a night of relentless battles, his magic and strength were utterly depleted, and his mind was profoundly exhausted.
[Overload mode deactivated, energy remaining: 2.1%.]
The voice of his intelligent brain echoed in his mind as Lynn struggled to stay on his feet, glancing at the unconscious White Dove in Jonny's arms. He asked with concern,
"How is White Dove?"
"I don't know, her condition is very poor. She needs immediate treatment," Jonny replied anxiously.
Lynn looked out at the surging waves. Since Laud had received his signal and was following the plan, he should have arrived by now...
But why was there still no sign of the ship...