The number of Corrupted increased as time flew by, but none of them were attacking the group. They only stood there and glared at the group with their wide open eyes and decayed faces as if they were waiting for an order. It only made the group anxious because they didn't know when those Corrupted were going to attack them.
"Did we not warn you to leave?" A deep hoarse voice echoed.
"We gave you a chance, but you wasted it," another deep hoarse voice added.
"You'll regret your decision by staying," a different deep hoarse voice said.
Aris swung her sword with all her might horizontally. The shockwave was enough to decapitate and incapacitate all the Corrupted in her vision in a matter of a second. She swung her sword and dashed toward the masked beings on her own.
"If you want to live, fight and create a path for us to run," Sanya's voice was barely above a whisper as she stared at Ermaine coldly. "Use everything you got and fight for your life because this is the only chance we got," she added as she began to float and watched Aris distract all those masked beings.
Moriganne and Astrea pressed her hands together and a divine light appeared above their heads. The light spread and cleansed the demonic energy around them. Since demonic energy was basically Mana that got corrupted, the cleansed demonic energy became Mana again.
Lenin didn't waste the opportunity and began to fly up high into the sky. Arrows were shot at her, but the Mana barrier she put around her body was enough to deflect them all. She began to cast 7 magic circles around her. Novia noticed that those magic circles were the ones that Rasmus had invented.
Novia didn't want to stay put and decided to do the same thing as Lenin did. They both released the lightning bolts and struck them down, ripping and disintegrating everything they touched. Dozens of Corrupted turned into ashes in seconds and then hundreds. The two of them eliminated more than any Swordmasters and Northern Stars combined.
"I owe you my life, Count Rasmus..." Lenin said as she looked down at the thousands of Corrupted surrounding the group, which had turned into crisp and ashes.
Arthor and the others began to create a path for them to leave the city. They showed what they were capable of and fought the Corrupted. They didn't hold back at all and used everything they had to survive.
"The amount of Mana is thinning, we must leave as soon as possible!" Lenin warned the group that it was busy opening a path. "Novia, protect the Saints. They're the only ones who can turn demonic energy back to Mana with their divine power," she looked down at Novia, who kept using the spell to disintegrate the Corrupted.
Novia descended and hurriedly stood by Astrea and Moriganne on their side to protect them. She created a magic formation, creating a powerful barrier to protect the saints that centered on her.
"No need to panic. You're not alone," Sanya ascended and floated behind Lenin, staring down at the group and opening a path with her calm expression.
Lenin turned around and saw Sanya's hands above her head. The whole city trembled and Lenin saw the city walls collapsing by the roots beneath the city. Once again, Lenin noticed that Sanya's ability didn't require a lot of Mana which made her curious about how it was possible.
Sanya's ears perked up like a cat's and immediately clapped her hands. A barrier made of roots emerged from the ground and went all the way up, creating a natural wall. Suddenly the thick and tough roots that had entangled together got cut in half by a shockwave coming from where Aris was.
"The roots will prevent the remaining corrupted from entering the city, but I'm not sure how long they will last. Use the time you have to escape. My sister needs me," Sanya stared at Lenin with a serious expression and descended to join the fight with Aris.
Moriganne prayed with her hands closed together as balls of light manifested from thin air. The balls merged into one, becoming one massive ball of light. She began to sweat and her face became pale as she kept praying.
"Lady Novia, protect Lady Moriganne. She's the key to our survival. Don't think about me," Astera's eyes darkened and turned cold as she watched her Templars and the others struggling to open a path because of how strong and skilled the Corrupted were. "I have people to protect. Right now, my role is insignificant to Moriganne, and I have to do everything I can to protect them rather than being protected," she added as she walked to the front to assist the group.
Novia nodded as she began to create a massive magic circle on the ground around Moriganne. She was too inexperienced to take the initiative, so she did her best to follow the order instead.
Aluca and Nior were ahead of the others because they were the strongest. They proved themselves as the Northern White Stars as they moved simultaneously, making it impossible for any Corrupted to find an opening to attack.
"Sir Aluca! Dame Nior!" Garsia shouted as she threw two vials at them.
Aluca glanced at the flying vials and immediately caught them while Nior dealt with the Corrupted. He looked at the silver substance like water inside the vials with his eyes narrowed and brows furrowed.
"They're potions that will boost your strength for at least 10 minutes. It has a huge drawback, so drink it when you think it's the right time!" Garsia clenched her fists, hoping that the potions would help everyone escape.
"Give me the potion," Nior said as she stabbed a Corrupted right in the chest and pierced the dark purple crystal inside it.
Aluca tossed the potion at Nior, and he didn't expect her to drink it immediately. Seeing her sister drink the potion, he did the same because there was no time for hesitation.
Their hearts felt like being squeezed out for a split second, leaving immense pain throughout their veins. The effect of the potion was felt immediately where their bodies felt so light and numb at the same time as if they could break a mountain with their fists.
They both swung their swords as hard as they could with the powerful aura around the blades. The shockwaves were so powerful that they cut the Corrupted a few meters in front of them in half. They both were surprised by the power they produced and remembering what Garsia said, they only had 10 minutes.
"Those potions, did you bring one for everyone, Lady Garsia?" Astrea asked.
"Yes, but I'm not going to give it to them now. I'm planning to give two potions every 10 minutes to prevent everyone from falling because of the drawback," Garsia nodded as she watched the Templars who might need the potion. "Lady Sissylia has the antidote to lessen the drawback, so everything is under control, Your Holiness," she assured.
Astrea stared at the bag that Garsia carried, intrigued by the potions that she had made. She looked over to Nior and Aluca at the front with immense power. She had never seen anything like that and she knew that those two were holding back to reserve their stamina. She didn't have time to be amazed and continued to support her Templars.
"Your Holiness!" Novia shouted as soon as she saw Moriganne collapse and pass out.
Astrea turned around and looked at the massive ball of divine energy. She chuckled as she shook her head in disbelief and walked toward it.
"Her job is done. It's time for me to do the rest," Astrea pressed her hands together below the ball of divine energy.
The ball of divine energy exploded and the blast cleaned the demonic energy in the whole city. Most of the Corrupted collapsed and lost their lives when they got exposed to it, the remaining ones got weakened.
The masked beings hissed as they were exposed by the blast, blocking the blinding light with their arms. Aris and Sanya used the opportunity to attack the masked beings.
Sanya pointed her hands at Aris's sword and coated the blade with a dense Mana. The Mana was so dense that it glowed and could be seen with the naked eye. A glowing yellow color like the sun coated the blade.
Ermaine looked at the dense Mana around Aris's blade and knew that it wasn't just Mana but something that was purer than Mana.
"What is that..." Ermaine was shocked. "We can't stop it..." She yelled as her eyes trembled in fear.
Aris swung her sword and when it was about to release the power, the whole city turned pitch black for a moment. She noticed someone or something had stopped her sword and when the darkness disappeared, a smooth pale hand with its index finger and thumb pinched the blade.
"Now now..." A deep and low of a woman's voice said under her breath. "Aren't you a special one? Perhaps they took the wrong one." She grinned with her eyes barely opened and her glowing red eyes were like a blazing furnace.
Sanya and Aris narrowed their eyes when they realized the woman in front of them wasn't from this world.