Chapter 154: Chapter 154: The Puppet-Master (3)
The pink haired senior suddenly emitted a soft pink glow, becoming the sole focus of every living creature in the vicinity. Any slight gap in appearance between her and Serena had been completely erased as she became the most charming figure on the field.
If Kain didn't have an armor that dulled the effects of mental-attribute attacks on himself he'd probably be completely enamored by her and, like Kairos, abandon his post to move closer.
Kain quickly grabbed him and smacked the back of his head hoping to wake him up. Thankfully, the hold didn't appear to be too strong when not the intended target of the skill and after blinking a few times Kairos' eyes snapped back into focus.
He rejoined their siege of the spiritual creatures who were now no longer targeting them but moving towards the pink-haired girl in the distance, making them much easier to kill. However, every so often Kairos would still turn his head to secretly glance at the pink-haired second-year and then blush a deep red.
Thankfully, the others didn't seem to be greatly affected by the skill used.
Along with the puppets, the threads that were previously spread out trying to target everyone suddenly shifted to target only her.
'What is this? Some kind of agro skill or gift? Or based on Kairos' reaction is it more directed at charming others?'
The red-headed female second year tried to obstruct the threads, but again, all attacks seemed to go through them and all shields were ignored by them.
Thankfully, the senior with hypnotic purple eyes released a flimsy looking purple shield that was surprisingly effective at restricting the threads. However, due to the gap in strength, the shield likely won't hold for long.
Kairos', likely still under some emotional effects from the skill, passionately ordered his contract to use a skill from a page Kain had not yet seen before that slightly helped to reinforce the shield created by their senior. However, it is unlikely that it'd last long due to the gap in strength between the two sides.
While the spider appeared to only have eyes for the pink-haired senior. Jin, Alexei, and the red-headed second-year had their contracts continue to launch coordinated attacks on the enemy.
The red-headed senior's contracts were both fire-attribute avian creatures. One resembled the Vermillion Bird of legends. It took to the sky appearing like a second sun as it soared above the spider. With a commanding cry, it released a series of fireballs that rained down the spider's back.
Each fireball exploded with a burst of heat that scorched the spider's exoskeleton and caused it to writhe and screech in pain. The lingering heat was so strong in its intensity that any wild spiritual creatures close to the spider went up in flames despite not being in the firebalss' direct path.
Her second contract, a Fire Crow with 3 legs and likely has a strong bloodline from the legendary bird, darted around swiftly. Its fiery crimson feathers were a blue as it flew and left blazing trails of energy behind it.
With each dive, it unleased strikes that Kain could feel the power behind even from a distance, and targeted the spider's remaining vulnerable leg joints to cause the spider to be unable to stand again.
Meanwhile, Jin's two tigers were now targeting the more vulnerable underbelly of the spider. The orange-tiger left scorching claw marks that continued to sizzle long after it had already darted far away from the collapsing spider.
The wind-attribute tiger, in contrast, was focusing on targeting the joints damaged by the crow. With each swift attack it made a sickening crack could be heard. Each attack was also accompanied by a powerful gust of wind that further served to destabilize the spider. Without an incredibly powerful healer, that spider will never be able to stand again.
Alexei's snake further exacerbated the damage caused by its allies when the blood seeping from the spider's wounds began to boil more strongly once exposed to the air and had an almost corrosive effect on the spider's exoskeleton and nearby puppets as it slid down and splashed out of the wounds.
And more incredibly, despite the immense amount of damage they were inflicting, the spider still seemed unable to focus on them, to preoccupied with trying to get its threads to control the pink-haired, glowing second-year.
Kain didn't know if she was immovable during the use of this gift, but it was undeniably a powerful strategic weapon when used properly. The target of the draw, even when at least a full level higher than her, was completely unable to break away from being under her spell.
Thankfully, it was unable to get to her due to one of the second years, the girl with purple eyes, staying constantly by her side while responsible for her defence.
Kain could see from this that the top 5 second years probably had a lot of experience fighting alongside one another and the trust they'd built up as a team was huge as a result.
'Would we ever reach such a level of mutual trust and understanding? There are team battles in the National Competition, so naturally, it'd be beneficial. But we are all so wary of one another currently it's hard to imagine ever becoming like them.'
As the battle raged on, the combined efforts of all of the second-years proved fruitful. Especially, since Kain and the other first-years were most able to fulfill their promise of preventing the other weaker spiritual creatures from interfering with their battle. Therefore, they were able to single-mindedly focus on their target.
The spider's form eventually began to shake, the coordinated assault taking its toll, and its movements became increasingly sluggish and erratic.
Finally, with a heavy thud, the spider collapsed to the ground. However, the second-years did not relieve their onslaught and continued to bash the fallen body to confirm its death.
Kain also covered its head in mist to confirm its death, which also had the added benefit of providing a quick luxurious meal for her. After all, it's not every day that she had access to a fresh green-grade spiritual creature for food.
They had won.