As the “Corrupted Beak Griffin” was the target chosen by the Dual Blade Demon prior to action, it promptly began to argue its case, insisting that Yvette deal with the “Night Stalker Demon” and “Mechanical Tyrant,” forbidding her from stealing its kill.

This caused Yvette’s brows to involuntarily furrow.

Her total mana stood at 644 points, leaving 100 points for emergency use. With 544 remaining, she calculated that, factoring in the three third-phase aberrations they expected to confront, including the Nest Master, each kill would approximately allocate 180 points of mana.

The recent critical hit to the “Corrupted Beak Griffin” had already consumed nearly 50 points of mana, and redistributing that to the Dual Blade Demon would mean those 50 points were essentially spent assisting the creature…

However, this was a crucial moment; seeing that the Dual Blade Demon appeared somewhat inept, Yvette chose to overlook the matter for now. She would aim to save enough mana for herself while handling the “Night Stalker Demon” and “Mechanical Tyrant,” in preparation for the impending encounter with the “Tide Insect Queen” and the mysterious source responsible for the fog.

…

While Yvette and the Dual Blade Demon finalized their target allocations, the “Mechanical Tyrant” and “Night Stalker Demon” were not at a standstill.

The Mechanical Tyrant lifted its triangular head reminiscent of a speedboat, and a metallic plate opened beneath, revealing a cannon entwined with flesh that unleashed a searing column of flames. Meanwhile, the Night Stalker Demon charged forward, its heavy and cumbersome gait revealing a maw large enough to swallow a small vehicle, seemingly intent on devouring both the human and the ground beneath.

This was indeed a prime opportunity, especially since the intelligence level of these third-phase aberrations was not particularly high—equivalent to that of a regular beast. Yvette immediately adjusted her position with “Muscle Release” and “Wind Control,” leaping back to evade the Night Stalker Demon’s massive jaws while positioning it as her meat shield to absorb the flames emitted by the Mechanical Tyrant.

Next, she fused both Flame Dance and Lightning’s Wrath, targeting the head of the Night Stalker Demon. With a one-two punch and accompanying ghastly howls, the Night Stalker Demon flapped its wings and fled, appearing to attempt a retreat.

Good, that saves me some mana… Yvette thought, but her momentary joy was short-lived. She soon watched as the fleeing Night Stalker Demon halted midscape, squirming for a moment before pivoting back towards her.

Now Yvette understood: it was likely receiving coercive commands from the Nest, a price that all aberrations dependent on the Nest for evolution had to pay.

However, this time, the returning Night Stalker Demon was not as reckless; it recognized that the nearby Mechanical Tyrant was not a shrewd ally. It maintained a safe distance from the Mechanical Tyrant and, impossibly, opened its enormous mouth to unleash a swarm of pitch-black vampire bats that surged toward Yvette like a dark cloud.

Simultaneously, the Mechanical Tyrant, unaware of the danger it posed to its own companion, began its next round of attacks, both arms continuously firing elemental bullets while the weapon beneath began glowing red, preparing for a fiery blast. The source of thɪs content is N0veI.Fiɾe.net

Now, standing alone in an open area, Yvette could no longer easily entice the two into harming each other. Silently assessing her mana expenditure, she summoned dense rings of runes beside her.

Frost Bullets, Wind Blades, Fire Snakes, and Lightning cascaded forth from the runes, crashing into the incoming flames, elemental bullets, and vampire bats.

The scene erupted in a spectacular display of vibrant magical particles, transforming the vicinity into a mesmerizing sea of elements.

At a distance, the Dual Blade Demon and the Corrupted Beak Griffin originally ensnared in combat suddenly paused, each seemingly forgetting about the other as their attention shifted to the hub of the spectacular elemental storm.

After a brief moment, realizing that Yvette’s firepower was overwhelmingly superior and nearing a decisive victory, the Corrupted Beak Griffin retreated, prompting the Dual Blade Demon to pursue it, both vanishing into the dense fog.

…

In the murky haze swirling around, like the eternal mist of a mythic underworld river, there was no sign of sunlight, blue skies, or white clouds—only the damp, frigid air that filled one’s lungs, reminiscent of a howling winter tempest.

Clutching the handle of her alloy blade, Rosalyn felt a slight tremor in her arms. This was her first true confrontation against a genuinely formidable adversary since beginning her magic training six years ago, especially in such an eerie environment that inevitably quickened her heart rate, invoking a flicker of hesitation.

How could she be so unfortunate? She thought resentfully. Confronting the “Corrupted Beak Griffin” or even the “Mechanical Tyrant” wouldn’t make her so anxious.

But the “Shepherd Sheep” was truly terrifying; lurking in the fog, it incessantly gnawed on bloody human heads, making it more akin to something out of a ghost story. While she had become desensitized to the grotesque appearances of aberrations, she still recoiled from the eerie specters that haunted nightmares.

Fortunately, her swordsmanship had become exceptionally refined, allowing her to respond quickly each time she was attacked, swiftly severing a head from its body.

But remaining in such a passive position was untenable; sooner or later, she would end up injured… With that in mind, Rosalyn resolved to try using “Wind Control” to disperse the surrounding fog. Unlike her teacher, she had only 81 points of mana; maintaining both “Crimson Armor” and “Muscle Release” limited her available mana, and she had to be frugal with each spell cast. A waste could lead to a genuine loss in terms of combat effectiveness.

Rather than immediately implementing the spell, she patiently awaited the moment when the Shepherd Sheep would reveal itself.

Through multiple observations of its attacks, she noted that the incoming heads didn’t always point back to the Shepherd Sheep’s location; at times, it would even drop the heads above her before lunging to bite down, startling her as she feared her hair might be ripped from her scalp.

The best opportunity to strike appeared whenever its footsteps hesitated—like… now! Rosalyn’s eyes widened as a green light spiraled around her blade. She charged forward, slashing with her sword to unleash a crescent wind blade that tore through the mist. However, to her surprise, the revealed path led to nothing.

Stunned for a moment, she suddenly sensed a strange movement overhead.

She jerked her gaze upward to see the Shepherd Sheep grasping a thick, purple-tinted branch with its humanoid hands and feet, watching her from above with a sickening grin on its sheep-like face. Then, suddenly releasing its grip, it plummeted toward her like a meteor, reaching out with its claws!

Even more terrifying, its gaunt abdomen split wide, and dozens of screaming, grotesque human heads emerged, pouring forth like the gates of hell had opened, rushing to consume her completely.

Oh no… Rosalyn felt her mind momentarily blank, instinctively giving way to the combat instincts she had honed over three years.

No excess mana was used to assist her fighting; relying solely on her muscle memory, she narrowly sidestepped the Shepherd Sheep’s descending strike, just as she had evaded numerous prior assaults from aberrations.

Then with instinctual precision, she swung her blade, forgetting about “High-Frequency Oscillation” and “High-Voltage Current,” employing merely “Muscle Release”—the most basic enhancement spell—to unleash countless slashes that severed dozens of heads.

Moreover, it seemed the Shepherd Sheep was not adept in close-quarters combat; although its strength was tremendous, its movements were sluggish, akin to operating at half-speed and sluggish to the extreme, even less tactful than lower-level aberrations that relied on cowardly sneak attacks—like the Dual Blade Demon. Thus, she easily evaded its immense fist, rapidly turning her blade to counterattack.

Eventually, not knowing how much time had passed, she finally caught her breath, realizing that the terrifying creature lay dismembered around her, nothing remaining but a mess of shredded flesh. The shepherd’s head rolled a short distance away, its expression one of icy terror and anguish, seemingly having endured immense suffering prior to its demise.

And there she stood, amidst the piles of viscous remains, like a blood-soaked, deranged girl turned killer.

After a brief daze, as the realization dawned that her enemy had been vanquished, Rosalyn let out a long breath. She wiped the blood from her face, unable to suppress a smile.

This will certainly astonish my teacher… she thought gleefully.