"Black-Heart Centipedes don't have much in terms of abilities. The drones swarm their enemies with massive numbers." Oscar explained what he learned from his reading.

"So they're just overgrown bugs?" Emily asked.

"Overgrown bugs with some strength. Their mouths can crunch on bones, but they are not tough for us. Be careful of their poison. George, I'll need your hedgehog."

"No problem." George's Sapphire Hedgehog jumped over to Oscar's shoulder. The horde of centipedes kept wriggling and clicking their mouths and then rushed out at Oscar's group.

"Remember, don't worry about the other person. Focus on finishing the plan. Don't be distracted." Oscar solemnly said.

Everyone nodded with stern expressions.

"Let's go!" Oscar shouted.

Together, they charged as one, clinging close to each other and moving fast toward the black horde. Oscar's eyes were fierce and radiated determination to see this through.

They collided against the horde of centipedes. There was a mess of legs, mandibles, and body parts tossing all over the air. This mix of Lower and Middle Apprentice Black-Heart Centipedes was no match for the combined power of Oscar and the others.

They made a straight beeline for the Mother Black-Heart Centipede. The Mother clicked its mandibles which sent the centipede swarm into a frenzy. The swarm started piling through like a wave of centipedes.

"Emily!"

Emily put up a 'Rock Barrier' behind them, which forced some of the centipedes to change course, allowing the group to be not overwhelmed. Finally, they were right before the Mother.

"George!"

George pulled his bow and shot arrows of Ein toward the Mother, but they were all deflected by sudden intruders, the Greater Apprentice Exalt Centipedes.

"These are the royal guards of the Mother; they're both incredibly strong Greater Apprentice Exalts." These centipedes were larger in every part and emanated a stronger pressure than George and Emily.

"Now! Fling them away!" Oscar waited for this moment when they stuck close to the Mother.

Emily put up another 'Rock Barrier' in front of them. Phillip instantly cut the bottom with his sword. Together, they all slammed the wall of rock and pushed it against the Mother and the royal guards.

Although they were strong, Oscar and the others managed to force them out of the swarm before it could overrun them.

Oscar looked at Emily, signaling her to make her move. Emily focused and condensed her Ein before sinking it into the ground. Her face showed signs of struggle and exertion. Suddenly multiple walls of 'Rock Barrier' popped out of the ground, creating a 'V' shape.

There was an opening on the point of the 'V' where Oscar stood firm. The Sapphire Hedgehog tossed up to the top of the wall.

Emily, Phillip, and George placed themselves outside the 'V' wall, facing off against the Mother and the royal guards.

About ten centipedes dead, and the three problems separated out.

"Plan complete. Good job, everyone." Oscar said as the swarm was disrupted for a moment before its many malicious eyes gleamed at Oscar. They were also inside the 'V' enclosure with Oscar as the only way out.

"Are you sure about this?" Emily was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. When she created this large 'V' wall, she used her 'Rock Barrier' three-fold to make it as thick as possible. She also had to stretch it out to the island's edge.

No Exalt Beast dared to jump off or climb along the edge because the unique air tore them apart. Oscar counted his lucky stars that they were fighting on the island's edge.

"I said it before. Don't be distracted. Worry about doing your part. I will hold on as long as possible." Oscar helped Emily to her feet and turned to Phillip.

"Phillip, it's on you. The royal guards are stronger than Emily and George. Emily is also tired from using her spell. Kill that Mother quickly!"

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"Leave it to me." Phillip bolted toward the Mother, his face blatantly showing his hostility and spirit, unlike his usual calm demeanor.

The royal guards screeched and tried to intervene, but Emily and George stepped in front and stopped them in their tracks. They would buy Phillip all the time he needed to defeat the Mother.

Meanwhile, Oscar remained steadfast at the 'V' wall opening. The swarm was fast approaching.

Oscar mulled over the idea of fighting together, but the Mother Black-Heart Centipede would whittle them down. The best shot was to separate them out and leave Phillip to kill the Mother as fast as possible to disrupt the swarm.

"Buddy! If any of them try to climb over, shoot quills to stop them." Oscar took up his stance as his blue Ein surged out dangerously to manifest his deer anima.

The centipede swarm would be more inclined to follow their instincts if their Mother was too preoccupied with Phillip to control them. Their instincts would tell them to swarm the exit rather than climb up. If some straggler did try, the hedgehog should be able to deter them.

With the swarm funneling into a single spot from one direction, it would be easier for Oscar to fight back.

Oscar felt chills as the many legs and mandibles were right before him. However, his feet spun and cracked the ground.

With the great force of Reis flowing through him, Oscar swung his buckler with great force. His deer anima followed suit with Ein-empowered antlers; they blew away the first line. But the centipede swarm seemed endless as more closed in right after.

"Don't think about getting past me!" Oscar roared as he and his deer anima kept swinging to defend this point. No matter what, he had to hold.

…….

Sparks of darkness and light littered the battlefield as the ground shook and quaked.

Celestina was breathing heavily as she desperately tried to find an opening against this overwhelming opponent. Her rapier held hints of darkness that were trying to break through her coat of silver Ein.

"This is pretty fun. Please struggle more~! I want to hear every one of your gasps."

"Deranged pervert. You're just holding back on me. If you wanted, I would have been defeated by now." Celestina wiped her cheeks of the dust and forced more Ein into her rapier, disintegrating the darkness infecting it.

This creep was playing around with his strength. This fact angered Celestina, who felt humiliated at being made a toy. It reminded her of Gilbert, who thought of her as some object to obtain.

"I'm just killing time. When my centipedes overwhelm your friends, I'll drag you there to witness it." Doyle looked over at the other side with joy that soon turned into confusion.

In the distance was a long wall of stone, where he heard the chattering of his centipedes. On top, he could see a small blue creature shooting its quills down below.

"Your friends are quite ridiculous. They stupidly boxed themselves in with the centipedes. How will they handle an attack on all sides, especially with my Mother centipede and her royal guards leading the charge." He laughed maniacally as if his stomach was going to burst.

He didn't know that the Mother and the royal guards were separated, and Oscar was engaging the swarm on an ideal battlefield. Emily put up the 'V' wall, but there was another thin wall she created to block Celestina and Doyle's view.

All to give the illusion they made a mistake so that Doyle wouldn't bother to interfere. If Doyle had made a soul bond with the Mother, then he would have known the situation in the walls.

But a soul bond with an Exalt Beast meant putting their lives together in the same pond. If one died, then the other would also die. To risk their lives in the hands of a beast, who could do that?

Thus, Doyle did not know what was occurring. But he had full confidence in his swarm destroying this group. He believed this Elite Exalt girl was why Regi's group had fallen.

Celestina also looked at the makeshift wall and knew it was Emily's work. However, such a wall was a waste of Ein unless there was a greater purpose.

'I have to believe in them. They must have a plan. Which means I have to buy as much time as possible.' Celestina's eyes glinted hopefully. If they can win against the centipedes, they can run while she does her best to deter him. 'I'll allow you to fool around longer.'

'Radiant Lance' 'Dragon's Breath'

Her lance and the dragon's breath flew out together, combining into one attack. This compounded force of light shone brightly toward Doyle, but the light dimmed as Doyle's Ein spiked.

'Grade One Negation Shell'

A turtle shell of dark plates enveloped Doyle. The lance x breath attack collided against it. A loud noise scattered the winds as a shockwave burst in all directions.

The 'Negation Shell' showed a slight crack, but the lance fell apart into nothingness.

"Impressive. Even though my spell is of grade-one caliber, my Ein is far above yours. Yet, you were able to crack it." Doyle's voice echoed from within the shell.

Suddenly something burst out of it like an egg hatching, it was Doyle, and he held something in his hand. It was a black stick with nine short, thin metal ropes hanging out one end. On the ropes were beads halfway on the ropes and lining their tips. It was a horrifying torture tool used for heinous criminals and interrogation, the scourging whip.

"This is my anima, it's only a Grade Three, but you two will get acquainted well enough." Doyle whipped his Anima around, breaking the air with a loud cracking sound.

"How many?" Celestina's said darkly.

"Hmm?"

"How many people have you cruelly tortured with your anima?" Celestina spat coldly.

"All of them." Doyle pointed at his shrunken heads. "And some others, I can't remember."

Her brow scrunched up as veins popped out. Her fury was so great that her face returned to expressionless, but it was not of indifference but the face of one who looked at something inhuman and not worth living. "I'll kill you."

"You can try, darling." Doyle teased as he cracked his scourging whip.

…….

In mere moments, Oscar was breathing heavily, with many cuts and scratches over his body, but he had tensed up his entire body to stop poisons from seeping through. The continual flow of Reis forced blood out from his cuts, expelling poison, but not all of it.

"Don't think….you can't get past me." Oscar gasped. His fingertips were getting numb, but he clenched harder.

"Hurry up, Phillip!"

Oscar met the swarm again in a powerful clash at the narrow pass. His hopes rode on Phillip's victory.