Chapter 140 - Reluctant Victory

Iris attempted to calm herself with a few deliberately long breaths, watching as the goblins clearly held confidence in their numbers, taking their time approaching as they held the same lecherous expressions as the first.

--I'm not great at facing a large number of opponents, but I won't be given any handicaps--not here or anywhere else in this place. I've got to step up.

It wasn't something she had mastered yet, leaving her unlikely to use it as the drain on her mana could become rampant--but it was better suited for situations like this.

--If there is any time to train it through real battle, it's now--my secondary affinity.

"Feuer: Heat Wave!"

Swiping her hand forward to send off the desired spell, a wave of flames dashed out from her position, covering the width of the courtyard before colliding with the goblins who recoiled at both the sight and scalding heat of the approaching blaze.

A factor that stayed her hand with the usage of this element was the very nature of it; as her flames were hardly capable of outwardly destroying anything, they brought upon a slow, torturous burn to those afflicted by it.

Her bottom lip trembled as the agonized screams of the verdant-skinned creatures filled the area, watching as the torment of these flames reached such heights that they began to peel their own skin off in an attempt to find some reprieve in the sea of fire.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry…"

Soon the horrific stench of charred flesh met her nose, causing a tear to trickle from her eyelid down her cheek as she watched their bodies shift from the radiant green to a blackened charcoal. This moment of despair in her own wrath was interrupted as the knight of these goblins strode through the flames, wincing but mainly facing non-lethal damage from them.

Wielding a massive club formed of rock, it roared out, baring the grime-covered tusks that protruded from its bottom jaw. Growing closer, she could now make out its full appearance, wearing a large helping of golden animal skin around its waist, holding a viscous scar that stretched from its left shoulder down to its right hip.

It was plain as day to her that it had triumphed through a number of battles to reach the level of strength it now sat at; a fearsome concept for a species regarded as bottom-feeders.

--Is it mad at me for killing its comrades? Or is it mad at me simply because I caused it pain? Either way, it doesn't matter now...An enemy is an enemy.

"Licht: Arrow…!"

Aiming for the goblin knight's head, it displayed unbefitting agility; hastily swiping its slab of stone down to deflect the arrow formed of light.

"...Impossible…"

--Light is one of the fastest--no, it is the fastest element of them all. To deflect a light arrow...That's a rare feat. I thought it was just a seasoned warrior, it might be even greater than I imagined. I can't risk undermining it any longer; it'll cost me mana, but I have to do it.

Pondering too long resulted in her having to leap back to avoid a swipe from the pillar of stone regarded as a weapon, feeling the air pressure manifested by both its weight and strength used to swing it brush against her.

The colossal goblin didn't let up, following its initial attack with a slam of its obsidian club against the marble flooring, causing a wave of pebbles to scatter under its power.

Attempting to use a barrier spell against one of those attacks wasn't an option; there was a high chance it would likely both result in the goblin knight breaking through it and wasting mana. Keeping this fact in mind, Iris did her best to evade the frequent attacks, finding her back now towards the burning corpses of the verdant fiends.

--It's not giving me any time to cast! It must have experience battling mages!

It would be easy enough to assume it was just wildly swinging its boulder of a club around like any other primal-minded goblin, yet the look in its eyes--startlingly calm and calculating behind those reddened sclerae; Iris could tell it was beyond the goblins she had encountered, not only physically, but mentally as well.

By pressuring her with its constant strikes, it led her into her own flames, forcing her to act with a battle on two fronts.

--I have to move past it somehow, but it's fast!

A complete gamble is what she decided on.

"Licht: Bind!"

There was no guarantee that the bindings formed of luminescence were strong enough to hold it back, but it was her best move as the spell was low-cost and versatile enough. As it raised its weapon for another downfall, the limbs of light wrapped around its hulking bicep, halting it as it struggled for a moment--giving Iris time to dash past it to regain her ground.

"Hyperion: Divine Ignition--!"

Nearly sliding as she came to a halt, seeing the opportunity afforded to her, Iris held her hand out in the direction of the towering goblin, manifesting a circular seal in front of her palm. The symbols sitting within the seal began to move, spinning as magical energy was generated.

The enormous goblin felt this energy being gathered behind him, whipping his arm back to free himself from the binding before facing the radiance gathered behind him. By the time he faced it, the light was blinding, scalding even, covering his eyes out of instinct.

"Release!"

Pressing forth, Iris unleashed the full effect of the spell, emitting a roar of light that took form in a beam that directly collided with her target's torso. The radiance of the divine attack filled the courtyard, drowning out the pained growls of the verdant knight with the ear-filling sizzling.

Met with the crushing power of Iris' spell, the fiend was helpless to fight against it; only able to stand in place as his eyes rolled to the back of his head from the immense strain put on his nerves. Once the spell had come to an end, a gaping hole was left drilled through the torso of the goblin, leaving its insides turned to ash before it slowly fell forward, dead.

Iris fell to her knees, huffing and grasping her head as it began to feel light; the sight of the graveyard of burnt corpses filled her mind with sickness, turning physical as she found herself gagging at the present stench that filled the area.

"...I had to do it. I had to."

Slowly lifting herself from the ground, wiping the tears away from the corners of her eyes, she pressed forward, doing her best to keep her gaze up while moving towards the entrance of the temple.

Raising the beige cloak draped over her shoulders, Iris covered her nose to combat the looming stench, traversing the rusted steps that led to the marvelous, towering doors that sat at the front of the massive base.

Placing her hand on the circular, gilded door handle, she hesitated for a moment. The prospect of fighting another person was something she found herself questioning; if it resulted in her having to kill, she didn't know if she had it in her.

--It's too late to think about it now…

Iris gulped down her fears, pulling on the handle as the massive doors groaned from being moved from their closed state. The ground beneath her feet rumbled from the weight of these gates being pulled, filling her with slight anxiety as she then peeked inside of the abode.

As she had thought, it was mostly a ruin inside. Paintings were torn apart, the ones that weren't had been weathered to obscurity by now. It was mostly vacant as if it had been ransacked for all of its valuables, leaving only tattered, discarded belongings strewn apart the once lavish lobby.

Dried-up, old blood had stained the opalescent marble floors, leaving only worries to fill her mind on the safety of Heldjrim's daughter.

--I'm coming, so just hold out a bit longer.

Making her way through the exuberant temple, lost to time, it felt as if she was walking through a past battlefield, cautiously stepping onto the staircase lined with scarlet carpet as silence filled her ears. Looking at the withered paintings torn and thrown onto the staircase, the blood that slicked the gilded railings--she felt her heart began to pick up in pace as she hastened her step ever so slightly.

Reaching the top of this staircase, something met her hearing for the first time; quiet, somewhat muffled crying came from somewhere beyond the steps.

--That crying...Is it her?

A single drop of sweat traveled down her cheek as she stopped for a moment to focus on the noise, hearing it continue for a moment longer before returning to silence.

That abrupt stoppage of sound forced her to move forward with a mission now, left completely in the dark as to what was happening in this mysterious, abandoned temple. The tattered, scarlet curtains designed with golden strings that occupied the walls swayed side to side, catching her eye as she finally surmounted the flight of stairs.

What awaited her was a grand corridor, presenting a plethora of doors that lined each wall--all leading to an ominous, heavy-plated door inhabiting the end of this hall.

This entire time since she had stepped into the abandoned temple, Iris did her best to suppress her mana signature--if Macheo was a formidable mage then not suppressing her magical energy would amount to her screaming at him that she was there. It wasn't a tactic that came without shortcomings, however, as doing this would result in her leaving her reinforcement off; she would be completely vulnerable to any sudden, unseen attacks.

As she slowly traversed the hall, keeping her eyes peeled, the quiet cries returned again--coming from the second door on her left. Hastening herself to try and rescue the entity, Iris' actions were halted once she approached the ivory door.

It had been tightly sealed by an enchanted padlock.

--It has a magical binding on it. Something like this can't be broken, only opened by an enchanted key of a similar nature--it's a powerful magi-tool, does he possess more tools of this kind? Either way, I need to find that key…

She didn't want to admit it to herself but the key was more than likely in the possession of Macheo himself.