Saratoga Castle.
The walls, the ceiling, and the floor rippled simultaneously, and from them, several massive tentacles burst forth. Daggett’s pupils constricted, and a chill crawled down his spine.
In that instant, he knew the tentacles were extrely dangerous. He knew that they belonged to a mighty creature no weaker than he. Moreover, he could not allow the tentacles to touch him. The strange, inky substance covering the pads was extrely lethal even to soone like him.
The cultist instantly cancelled the spell he was going to cast on Mathilda. Self-preservation ca first. He willed one of his two Rank 4 undead knights to defend against the incoming tentacles. Then, he instructed the other one to bear the brunt of the powerful stone knights that had slipped past the undead horde defending him from the front.
anwhile, Daggett himself cast a hastening spell on himself and dashed toward the elderly professor like a bolt of lightning.
Mathilda Whitaker was at the center of everything. She controlled the castle and the army of stone knights. If Daggett could get rid of her, then everything would crumble. The biggest threat to the cultists would be taken care of. At that point, they would only have to deal with the kraken and the rfolk.
Daggett struck with his hand, aiming to completely obliterate the woman in one swift strike. His hand was augnted several tis over with mana. A simple touch would suck the life out of her, let alone a solid punch.
Besides, the elderly woman was almost at death’s door. Wielding the mysterious staff and controlling every facet of the ancient castle had taken too big a toll on her.
Daggett’s eyes flashed with murderous intent as he struck forward with the full might of a Mana Core Magus.
His fist was re inches away from striking Mathilda...
The elderly woman calmly glanced at the incoming attack, her face pale and devoid of any color or emotions. Finally, just when the fist was a re mont away from striking her down, she teleported away.
Daggett’s eyes widened. He hadn’t seen her weave any hand seals or sacrifice material components. So then, how did she teleport away?
But it was already too late for him to think about such things. For the mont Mathilda vanished, several large tentacles erged from the spot where she had been standing earlier.
The Cultist didn’t have much ti to cast a spell to escape. He couldn’t defend because of the corrosive ink produced by these tentacles. In the end, the only choice he was left with was to completely encase his body in layers of mana and take a big gamble.
Just as he enveloped himself in defensive layers of mana, the tentacles beneath his feet unfurled like a flower of death and swallowed him whole. A mont later, the tentacles—along with Daggett—slipped back into the ground, retreating into the depths of Marian Lake.
anwhile, Mathilda appeared where the cultist had earlier been standing—behind the safety of his undead horde and the two Rank 4 undead knights.
The mont she appeared there, her knees buckled and she violently coughed several mouthfuls of blood. Her face paled even more.
"...Not yet," she murmured weakly.
She infused the black staff with even more energy. Following that, the ceiling shuddered, then reshaped itself into a giant stone fist that ca crashing down on one of the Rank 4 knights, who was about to attack her.
The air rang with a sickening sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking as the undead knight was rcilessly pounded by the castle again and again and again...
Yet, it still did not die.
Mathilda willed it, and the ground beneath the undead knight softened into mud. Its body sank halfway before the earth hardened once more, viciously locking him in place. Then, the stone fist from above ca crashing down. Repeatedly.
Daggett had been pulled into the depths of Marian Lake, where he was battling Ink. One of his undead knights was being ruthlessly pumled into paste. It wouldn’t be long before the knight was completely destroyed.
Now, only one Rank 4 undead knight remained...
But it was already upon her.
The Rank 4 undead knight turned around and hacked its sword at the weak, elderly woman. Once again, she teleported away, arriving back at her original place. Then, she tapped the staff once again, ordering the army of stone knights to bury the undead knight in a tide of steel and chaos.
Mathilda coughed out another mouthful of blood, her eyes growing blurry. If it weren’t for the staff’s support, she wouldn’t have been able to remain standing at all.
I just... need to deal with... these two Rank 4 knights, she thought to herself.
Lord Ink will take care of that cultist...
The stone knights and the rfolk... will deal with the other cultists throughout the castle...
I just need to hold on... a little longer...
Just a little more...
A blazing fire roared in the depths of her heart, and she put everything on the line. Injecting even more energy into the staff, she willed the stone knights all over the castle to go berserk. They needed to deal with the enemy faster.
Unless all the undead creatures and their summoners had been taken care of, the children wouldn’t be safe.
Professor Whitaker’s eyes turned murky as she continued to repeat the sa words over and over again:
"I’ll protect them..."
***
Lisa, Eleney, and the rest once again found themselves under the onslaught of undead creatures. There seed to be no end to them. Despite being assisted by the stone knights the first ti, and the rfolk the second, they still found themselves in the sa situation.
However, this ti the situation was slightly better. Lisa and Eleiney guarded the entrance to the armory, ensuring the vine barrier remained solid. Whereas, Arthur, Aiden, and Biden dove into the heat of battle, using guerrilla tactics to draw the enemy’s attention.
But this situation wouldn’t last for too long. All five of them barely had any mana in their reserves. Yet, they continued to fight with their lives on the line. Corpses of stone knights, rfolk, and undead creatures were strewn all over the corridor. The scene looked like it ca straight out of a nightmare.
The young Magi persisted, their mana reserves depleting, and soon... they could no longer wield any magic.
Lisa and Eleiney were the first ones to run out of mana. The vine barrier dissipated into green motes of light, allowing the undead horde to lunge at them with savage intent.
Arthur and Aiden stood with their backs against each other, hacking their swords at the zombies that had surrounded them from all sides. With their mana depleted, they could only rely on the strength of their physical bodies.
Biden had long since been buried underneath the horde of mindless skeletal soldiers. His status was unknown.
At this point, their death was certain.
Unless a miracle occurred.
And a miracle did!
The towering doors to the armory suddenly creaked open, and then...
The world was suffused by blue lightning!
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