Julia eventually stepped on top of the tall staircase in order to see the demonic crystal up close. However, she soon noticed something rather strange. The magic circle that had been engraved on the altar began to make some sharp bursts as she continued to approach.
If a magic circle of that size were to explode, the inside of the cave would definitely turn into a huge mess. As she watched the light grow more and more intense, Julia instantly tried to apply her shield. But then again, a window suddenly popped up.
[▷SYSTEM
The remaining HP will soon drop to less than 5% after using the skill; ‘Physical Shield’.]
[▷SYSTEM
Using a skill while in this state will cause an abnormal stage of ‘rampant’ to occur. Practice caution during the use of skills.]
The word ‘rampant’ that the system referred to had been a state in which the skill in use would never be able to stop until the player’s HP as well as SP eventually dropped to 0 and that was death itself.
If she were to use the skill, she would then die from the rampage. On the other hand, even if she didn’t use it, she would still die from an explosion. It was such a dilemma. That was the moment when she felt a tingling, sharp sensation right on her lips.
“Julia, get out of the way! It’s dangerous!”
“Legion?!”
The rough footsteps behind her were quickly approaching. Legion, who was all covered in the blue mana, swung his sword roughly at once. The mana, which had already transformed into a blade, landed a direct hit straight onto the demonic crystal.
Kuaang—a deafening roar eventually swept through the cave. Julia screamed out and plopped down in response. Several more explosions rang out soon after that. Legion repeated the attack and let out a shout as if his throat would get burst in return.
The power of the mana that was emitted by the Sword Master had been destructive. A huge pillar as well as the ceiling had collapsed just from that missed attack.
However, even though the demonic crystal had already received a direct hit with that amount of power, it was still safe without a scratch. Rather, the pitch-black void in range whereby even light could not enter had further expanded instead. As he noticed that, Legion began to clench against his chin.
“Huuohk, hohk—damn it! Then, until it works…!”
The tentacles that emerged out of the black magic immediately lunged themselves towards Legion this time. Unlike during the time it had kidnapped Julia, the tips of the tentacles were changed into like that of sharp spears. If Legion were to allow even just one attack, those countless tentacles would mercilessly penetrate into his body at once.
Julia became utterly conflicted. The battle between the two of them was so fast and fierce that it had been difficult to know what really transpired. All she could ever see was a very blurry afterimage that had been created by the light and shadow.
Eventually, she turned her attention elsewhere instead. Every time the blue mana flashed like lightning, the main body of the demonic crystal came into her eyes—although it was just very brief. Even in the midst of the ever-changing range of darkness, there was only one place where its shape had not been disturbed at all.
‘The center of the altar where the magic circle had been engraved on it. There is that main body of the demonic crystal. But how……’
Creak.
As Julia searched for a way to make a strike upon that body, she could suddenly hear a rather strange metallic sound. As if it was reacting to the demonic crystal’s own black magic, Bael’s red necklace began trembling in return.
[▷ERROR
ERROR?? ERROR?? ERROR??]
[▷??? ????? Necklace
? necklace ???? ?? ??? Demon King Bael ??????? ???? ??? ??? ???????? ?????. Blocks ??? access ?? all ?????? except for Bael. Usage: ?]
Julia instantly grabbed a hold of the flickering necklace and looked alternately at that jet-black core. The purest red magic of Bael himself. What would happen if she were to embed this into the core of that demonic crystal and make it explode?
She could easily imagine the possible outcome. However, the method itself had posed to be the problem. It was already difficult for her to approach the demonic crystal right from the beginning and therefore, detonating it with the core was an even more considerable risk.
‘No—I can do it.’
A plan to make this turn into a success soon came to Julia’s mind. Only then did she finally understand the system itself. It was a method that could never succeed without the use of skill.
She continued to watch the fierce battle that was unfolding before her eyes. Hundreds of sharp spear points were rushing towards Legion. And all she could see was a blurry afterimage, but Julia soon realized how nervous he had been while swinging his sword.
If he were to take just one wrong step, he would then die and be followed by Julia. As he realized that, Legion had no other choice but to fight more desperately than anyone else in response.
Once she saw him like that, Julia finally made up her mind.
“Command system.”
An empty window was created as it waited for the next command. When she began to think that there was only one chance, her racing heart slowly calmed down.
All the magical power that had been emitted by the demonic crystal was all biased in Legion’s direction. Julia took advantage of that gap and quickly moved to the back of the altar. There was only a tall wall behind it and no steps were leading to the center as well. Julia climbed up while holding on to the stone floor—almost like she was rock-climbing.
“Cough, cough!”
Every time she gasped for breath, the heat from the ground was transmitted into her lungs. Her respiratory system was already burning inside and her cough continued to leak out in pain. However, Julia simply clenched her teeth and moved her body continuously.
Buzz, buzz!
The moment she stepped onto the altar, the magic circle made another dangerous burst. There were tiny cracks wherever the little white soles had touched against.
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