Amidst the chilling darkness of the night, the sounds of flesh tearing and bloodcurdling cries reverberated through the air. It was an ocean of agony and despair. They were confronted by individuals who had forged spiritual pacts with forces far beyond their comprehension. These unholy beings now savagely assaulted the enhanced super-skinned soldiers. The hybrids in their ethereal forms were invisible to their victims. The situation seemed dire, hopeless.
Amid the chaos, Cesar and his Phantom Seed arrived - they could perceive the presence of the Hybrids. Without hesitation, they surged forward to aid the defenseless augmented super-skin soldiers. However, what they encountered next left them astonished. The fallen soldiers, despite their horrific injuries, began to regenerate and heal their missing limbs and organs. Some even seemed to return to life miraculously.
As the gruesome scene unfolded, the four hooded figures, who had silently observed the massacre, finally sprang into action. In a swift motion, Cesar leaped in front of a freshly healed super soldier, intercepting the Hybrid that was about to kill them again.
The hybrid creature, a grotesque amalgamation of ox, man, and beetle, launched relentless and powerful blows at Cesar. Yet, with the aid of his Wind Will, he deftly parried each attack with his spear.
Seizing an opportunity, Cesar swiftly sliced the hybrid's throat, spilling brown-stained blood on the snow, infuriating the beast. It retaliated by charging at him and attempting to impale him with its three sharp horns. However, Cesar, wise to its intentions, evaded the attack and thrust his spear into the creature's back.
The beast's impenetrable shell thwarted his weapon's advance, to his dismay. Before Cesar could gather his bearings, a colossal serpentine head made from stone lunged at him, clamping its jaws around his body and ruthlessly slamming him into the ground. Like a rag doll, he was flung far into the distance, the force of the impact leaving him battered and broken.
Meanwhile, Agnethe rapidly grew to a towering height of 90 feet, careful not to crush her teammates. She embarked on a ferocious killing spree, stomping as many hybrids as she could.
However, the ground beneath her soon succumbed to a glacial chill, freezing solid. A sinister area in the snow began to be consumed by a mass of dark hair, which snaked its way around Agnethe's foot, ensnaring her and abruptly yanking her down to the ground.
Ellie had long activated her inhaler, allowing her to enter the Mental Domain. She wasted no time unleashing her formidable Reflective Will. She swiftly dispatched dozens of hybrids, their bodies sliced to pieces or engulfed in searing flames because of her concentrated light spell. Simultaneously, Jin unleashed bursts of lightning, rescuing as many super soldiers as he could from the impending danger.
However, when the ground trembled beneath them, signaling Agnethe's fall, the group's attention shifted towards the four Dark Acolytes. All eyes were on them except for Ariah and Al.
Al had been overcome by a wave of weakness since they arrived. He sank to the ground, compelled to employ a breathing technique to replenish his waning Stubborn Will. Frustration etched across his face.
Ariah voiced the augmented soldiers' collective confusion: "What the hell are we even fighting against? And why can only the five of you see them?"
Ariah's question hung in the air, unanswered, until an astonishing development occurred. Having healed their wounds, the super soldiers suddenly perceived the once-invisible hybrids. It was like a veil had been lifted, exposing the grotesque foes before them.
Al could feel his Stubborn Will in their super skins. He spoke with a mixture of awe and bitterness, "Son of a bitch. That man truly is the devil."
Al looked at Ariah and answered, "What we're fighting against... is why I entered the world of Will. Only those with an awakened Will can see them, meaning only cultivators like us possess that ability. However, it seems Robert has found a way to circumvent that. Give me your hand; I'll show you."
With determination, Al reached out, firmly grasping Ariah's hand. Swiftly, he quickly sliced her palm with his twisted knife, causing her to recoil in pain. Yet, Ariah's body swiftly healed the wound.
At that moment, a newfound clarity emerged, and she could now discern the grotesque visage of the monstrous enemy they faced.
As the ground trembled and split open, a colossal stone snake emerged, its massive jaws engulfing Ellie, causing her to vanish from sight. Sinister black tentacles slithered toward Jin, but he swiftly activated his inhaler, entered the mental domain, and raised his gauntlet. A torrent of crackling lightning surged forth, incinerating the encroaching tentacles and filling the air with the acrid scent of burnt hair.
Two hooded figures stood before them, their dark robes billowing ominously. One of the figures, with strands of black hair escaping from their hood, emanated an aura of malevolence. With a mere gesture, the other figure commanded the stone serpent's movements.
In a sudden turn of events, Ellie materialized next to the robed figure controlling the serpent. Before vanishing once more, she unleashed a searing beam of light. The dark acolytes summoned another massive serpent stone head to block her attack, causing an explosion that sent both dark acolytes hurtling through the air, their faces exposed.
Apart from the figure covered by black hair, the other revealed themselves to be humanoid lizards. However, Ellie's floating mirror, the etheric shell of her Reflective Will, reflected the stone serpent's assault. The giant stone mouth that attempted to devour her exploded, its force redirected by Ellie's Reflective Will.
As the real Ellie materialized again, she swiftly struck the reptilian acolyte with a powerful punch to the face, uttering a single word with commanding authority, "Shatter." Upon impact, the acolyte's face cracked like a fractured mirror.
Suddenly, the dark acolyte began to mumble incoherently and drool uncontrollably. The stone serpent, which had previously swallowed Ellie's mirror, exploded into fragments, and her mirror hovered back beside her, its allegiance unshakable.
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She was about to finish the lizard stone manipulator, but black spikes came at her astonishingly. Instantly, her mirror got in front of her and blocked the spikes, deflecting and sending them back with even more fury, forcing the dark acolyte to cover itself with its living hair.
Ellie punched the lizard again, shattering its head like a broken mirror and decorating the snow with brain and bone. The dark acolyte transformed into a mist, which her mirror absorbed.
Seeing how ruthless Ellie was, the dark acolyte with the living black hair began calling hordes of hybrids to defend it. After being tossed by the stone snake, Cesar sustained a heavy injury, but he had no time to rest as he was attacked by two shadowy figures, one resembling a giant centipede and the other an owl. "I recognize this shadow magic. He's probably trying to get me to get close and lower my guard. This will be a piece of cake."
Ignoring his sustained damage, Cesar swung his spear, obliterating the colossal shadow centipede, leaving only remnants in its wake. Patiently, he awaited the descent of the owl-like figure, his gaze locked upon it.
Meanwhile, the hooded dark acolyte summoned more shadow centipedes in a desperate attempt to overwhelm Cesar. Unperturbed, Cesar stood his ground, a smile gracing his face as he activated his inhaler, tapping into the power of his Wind Will.
As he entered the Mental Domain, a realm where innate knowledge of magical spells appeared, Cesar focused on a technique he had been eager to try since he first inhaled the incredible gases that granted cultivators the ability to traverse domains with a single breath.
Raising his magnificent spear, Cesar aimed it directly at the hooded dark acolyte, who braced himself for the impending attack. However, what followed defied expectations.
A sudden hurricane-like wind exploded, pushing the dark acolyte and shadows toward Cesar. His Wind Will separated and recycled the wind before hitting his spear. It shredded the shadows to pieces like a blender.
Seeing what was happening, the Dark acolyte began a grotesque transformation, but it was too late. The hurricane winds shredded the dark acolyte to pieces, creating a snow globe of red. Cesar retreated his spear, and the winds vanished as red snow fell.
As the last dark acolytes turned their attention towards the super soldiers, Al, Ariah, and their comrades met them head-on. The Hybrid had frozen and broken a few augmented soldiers beyond repair; however, a determined super soldier managed to land a powerful kick, exposing the dark acolyte's fish-like, humanoid face.
Another soldier delivered a devastating blow, nearly breaking the dark acolyte's neck. In a gruesome act of vengeance, the super soldiers relentlessly pummeled and stomped on the pitiful creature, reducing it to a pulp.
Agnethe stood back up and crushed the last remaining dark acolyte beneath her colossal presence, causing a brief tremor that rippled through the ground.
“Let’s go, Agnethe, stay back here and deal with any remaining Hybrids. We will go into the base and help Emilia and her Phantom Seed." Cesar shouted as the ground violently shook once more.
Two figures streaked out from the fiery chaos. Agnethe instinctively reached out to catch them, but a dark shadow swiftly passed over her hand, cleanly severing her hand from her arm. The giant river of blood cascaded from her severed hand. With a mixture of shock and horror, Agnethe shrank back to her regular size.
The two figures landed amidst the snowy terrain, releasing a misty haze into the air and creating an eerie atmosphere. The sight that unfolded before everyone was utterly devastating.
One of the figures, tall and slender, wielded a dark katana in one hand and gruesomely displayed the severed head of Emilia, holding it up for all to see.
"Activate your inhalers if you haven't. Now!" Cesar urgently shouted, aware of the impending danger.
However, before he could finish his plea, the slender figure launched Emilia's head at breakneck speed towards him. Caught off guard and unable to evade the grisly projectile, Cesar had no choice but to instinctively slash at it, resulting in a grotesque shower of brain matter and bloody cartilage that struck him, inducing a wave of revulsion and causing him to vomit at the gruesome sight.
The slender figure shot toward Jin explosively fast, closing the distance too quickly for him to evade. Jin watched in horror as the blade came perilously close to his neck.
Just as it seemed inevitable, a reflection of the blade materialized, and Ellie's mirror suddenly appeared, intercepting the deadly strike and saving Jin from a gruesome fate. However, the tall, slender figure with canine features refused to relent and pushed forward with its open palm.
A tremendous boom echoed through the surroundings as Ellie, propelled by the force, was sent hurtling like a bullet by her mirror.
Seizing the opportunity, Jin had been focusing his Lightning Will to activate his "Dancing Heavens" spell. Channeling the power of the gathering storm clouds above.
A powerful bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and was directed at the shadowy figure. However, to their dismay, the attack struck only the ground upon which the figure stood. As the dust settled, a shadow rose from the scorched earth, revealing that the lightning had hit nothing more than the ground while the enemy had somehow sunk into its shadow.
As the super soldiers swarmed the agile and elusive shadowy figure, they attacked fervently. However, despite their relentless assault, each strike seemed vain. The enemy effortlessly cut them down one by one, only to witness their bodies regenerate, refusing to succumb to death. A sense of unease filled the air as the enemy realized something was amiss.
The enemy vanished into its shadow in a swift and unexpected maneuver, reappearing next to Al.
Al, armed with his twisted knife, attempted to strike back but was caught off guard as the enemy swiftly pierced his heart. With his Stubborn Will depleted, Al could not regenerate, and the dark acolyte tossed him and then swiftly turned its attention to the remaining super soldiers, mercilessly cutting them down. This time, their ability to heal was rendered useless, and the super soldiers were killed individually.
Seeing Al potentially dead, Jin and Cesar exchanged a wordless glance, silently acknowledging their resolve to fight until their last breath.
Cesar pointed his spear at the shadowy figure, conjuring a bone-crushing wind to descend upon it. However, the figure retreated into its shadow, evading the onslaught and swiftly closing in on Cesar. Just as it seemed poised to strike, it was momentarily exposed and hit by a powerful burst of lightning, courtesy of Jin's Lightning Will. Seizing the opportunity, Cesar closed in on the figure, slashing it with his spear, drawing blood.
The figure retaliated, raising its katana to meet Cesar's next powerful blow and counterstrike. Cesar's speed proved insufficient, leaving him defenseless against the impending strike.
In the nick of time, another burst of lightning struck the enemy, sending it spinning in the air. Cesar seized the opportunity and continued his relentless assault, trusting Jin to compensate for his lack of speed.
In a twist of fate, Al suddenly returned to life. The super soldiers' siphoning of his Stubborn Will had ceased now that most of them were dead. Al's gaze shifted towards Cesar and Jin. Determination surged within him as he realized the solution lay within his grasp. "I need Midnight-Abyss. I need to enter the Mental Domain!" Al crawled his way toward the base, propelled by an unwavering resolve.