CHAPTER 74: OVEREXTENSION

The demon’s towering, imposing figure stood wreathed in flames, and in its massive hands were both a flame whip and a sword that burned with infernal fire. Lazark’s attempts to strike at different parts of the creature proved futile. Most times, his attacks only resulted in him getting singed, though the wounds quickly healed due to Liam’s Unity Weaving skill sharing regeneration with the elf.

The creature’s hide seemed impervious to conventional attacks, and its supernatural reflexes made it nearly impossible to land a decisive blow. In an unlucky attempt to pierce the demon’s defenses, Lazark overextended himself and the Balrog’s burning sword came down in a vicious arc, severing the elf’s right arm at the shoulder.

Lazark screamed in pain, and Liam who noticed this immediately said, "Return!". Though there was some distance between between them both, the ice elf heard the call in its head, through a psychic link Liam had with his summons. Without a moment’s hesitation, Lazark leaped back toward his summoner, with his remaining arm clutching the stump of his severed limb.

The Balrog, interestingly, didn’t pursue. Instead, it spread its massive wings and flew back to Helda’s side, taking up a protective position near her. As Lazark reached safety, his arm began to regenerate and in seconds, it was completed

[Skill Active: Unity Weaving → Regeneration Lv2]

The upgraded version of Liam’s regeneration skill proved far more potent than its predecessor, capable of healing even wounds as fatal as dismemberment.

Liam watched as the creature of flames and shadow retreated and somehow his suspicions were confirmed to an extent. After killing the gargoyle, he stood back to observe the larger battle, noting the patterns in how the opposing monsters acted or what worked against them.

First, his Authority —Beast Tamer wasn’t working on Helda’s manifestations, but after seeing some of the manifestations, he assumed it was because they weren’t regular monsters or summons.

Second, the balrog stayed closer to Helda’s side, it possessed immense destructive capabilities, and weighing its power, he could tell it was at least as strong as the dragon—possibly even stronger, and these two manifestations were also the only ones left on the battlefield that hadn’t suffered significant damage or destruction at the hands of his summons.

The Houndkeeper and Yeti were still pressing their attack against the dragon, but they were making no decisive progress. Then he concluded that these were two of Helda’s strongest creatures, and beyond them, she wasn’t as powerful as he had initially expected.

Then a system notification popped in front of him,

[MP: 0]

"Shit," Liam exclaimed, as he hadn’t been monitoring his mana drain. Maintaining multiple summons while constantly sharing his regeneration skill with them had steadily depleted his mana pool.

The Houndkeeper, who had been just about to unleash the energy stored in his axe for what would have been a devastating attack, suddenly found himself being forcibly returned to the Private Space. The abrupt loss of mana from his summoner cut the connection mid-attempt, sending him and all of Liam’s other summons back in an instant.

The summoned creatures vanished, leaving only Liam facing Helda and her two remaining manifestations. The dragon, no longer under assault, rose to its full height with a triumphant roar. The Balrog’s flames burned brighter, sensing the shift in the battle’s momentum.

Helda, who had been filled with frustration watching her manifestations fall one by one, now had a smug smile spreading across her face. "I see you ran out of mana," she said, her voice sounding amused

....

Deep within the facility’s lower levels, Kevin had finally located what he’d been searching for—the special containment cells that held the remaining Visors subjected to the Quillforte’s twisted experiments.

The corridor was lined with identical white rooms that looked more like medical chambers than prison cells. The rooms themselves were stark white, containing only basic white beds that seemed to mock any notion of comfort.

Large reinforced windows dominated one wall of each cell, providing a clear view of the hallway. They were constructed of materials so reinforced that even someone from the inside won’t be able to break through

There were also mana dampeners embedded within each room’s walls. These devices created an invisible field that completely voided the prisoners’ ability to use skills or access their mana reserves, reducing even the most powerful Visors to the helplessness of ordinary humans.

Kevin’s first sight were of men, women, and even children pressed against the windows with desperate hope, their faces lighting up at the sight of an unfamiliar face. This was someone who wasn’t wearing the white coats like the scientists that experimented on them or wearing the same clothes as the security operatives that made sure they said in line

The moment they spotted Kevin, every prisoner began clamoring from within their cells. Earlier they had noticed scientists running away and armed men leaving their posts, then subsequently the consistent quakes that rumbled the walls of their cells. These made them panic, and they wanted out of their cells, now more than ever.

Their voices were muffled by the reinforced glass, but their desperation was unmistakable. They pointed frantically at the door mechanisms, as their eyes pleaded for release from this torment

Kevin gestured for them to calm down, with his hands moving in what he hoped were reassuring motions. His eyes darted around the corridor, searching for some kind of central control mechanism.

There had to be a way to open these cells without having to breach each one individually. Then he saw it—a button that looked like an emergency buzzer mounted on the wall near the corridor’s center, and without hesitation, Kevin ran toward it and slammed his fist down on the control.

The response was immediate and along the corridor, cell doors began sliding open. The prisoners didn’t waste a second as they began streaming out one by one, some stumbling from weakness, others supporting those who couldn’t walk on their own.

Kevin motioned for them to follow him, but before they could begin their escape, the building shook violently once more.

The tremor came from above, causing debris to rain down from the ceiling as the structure groaned under the stress of the battle raging on the facility’s roof.

All of them, Kevin and the freed prisoners alike, looked up frantically as the building continued to shake. Dust and small chunks of concrete now falling slowly.

"We don’t have much time, come with me!" Kevin said and without waiting for acknowledgment, he began moving down the hallway at a hurried pace.

The group of freed prisoners followed behind him, as they hurried toward whatever hope of escape Kevin could provide.

...

The scene shifted back to the rooftop, where Liam and Helda faced each other. She hovered in the air with her Book of Stories floating before her.

Directly below her, the massive dragon had planted one enormous foot on the facility’s roof, with its claws digging deep gouges into the concrete. To Helda’s side, was the Balrog maintaining its position in the air, its massive wings flapping continuously as it awaited the next orders.

A system notification flickered across Liam’s vision, confirming what he already knew:

[All system-related skills are unusable due to lack of mana]

[Mana Pool resets after 1 hour worth of rest]

Liam also noticed that the energy Stormbringer had been generating throughout the battle had died out entirely, reducing the legendary weapon to its basic attack stat of +30 power.

At this point, the sword was more burden than benefit. So, he dismissed it back into his inventory, which left him with only Dark-Titan, whose basic power stat was significantly higher.

At that moment, both combatants’ attention was drawn to something happening at the far end of the battlefield. Zebelon was building up an energy mass that seemed grow larger and more unstable with each passing second.

Liam could only mutter, "Hm..." under his breath. Even from this considerable distance, he could feel how dangerous that energy was becoming. The very air around Zebelon seemed to distort and warp as the power continued to build.

However, he couldn’t afford to worry about that right now, he had to trust that Nacht would handle that threat.

Helda, observing the same phenomenon, let out a chuckle as she spoke. "It’s over for the mongrels you came here with."