Day 368 - 6:08 PM - Mountain Back, Balong, Pucakwangi, Pati Regency, Central Java, Indonesia
The gigantic figure of darkness towered as large as the mountain-like [Infected Turtle] they stood on. It shrieked in anger, emitting the raw pressure of a Godly being without any restraint.
THUD!
Almost immediately, all the mortal beings unbaptized by the strengthening of magical energy fell to the ground. There was no attempt at resistance as the survivors were robbed of their consciousness as no mortal could face the wrath of a God.
With most survivors falling victim to the Godly presence, it left the leaders of the Indonesian survivors on their knees, barely hanging on to their consciousness.
"Ugh!"
General Wijaya groaned, trying to look around his fellow survivors.
Among the people remaining conscious, the young General struggled the most. The young General remaining conscious in this situation was already an outstanding feat, considering that the first time his body truly circulated magical energy was just a few hours ago after he received the enchanted gauntlets he was wearing from Mark.
Furthermore, the enchanted gauntlets were still unfinished, giving him minimal circulation of magical enhancement compared to the leaders of the Moon Chasers.
Yet, General Wijaya refused to lose consciousness out of sheer will and determination.
Unfortunately, there was no winning with just will and determination, especially against a Godly creature.
"Everyone..."
Limabela looked around her while barely struggling not to let herself fall by propping her hands to the ground while holding the pistols Mark gave her.
It was the same for Bajing, Ellie, and Nelia, who all held onto their magical weapons while struggling to prop themselves up. They all knew that the weapons were the only reason they could keep themselves from totally succumbing to the influence of the Night Goddess.
Nonetheless, it was all that the four friends could do. They were powerless in this crucial situation.
"Estia! Kela!"
Kana's worried voice echoed as she looked at her unconscious friends. The Priestess of the Sea struggled to maintain her protection around the unconscious survivors behind her.
When the Night Goddess transformed, all the dark tentacles surrounding them withdrew into her body. It made Kana want to check on her friends even if she had to abandon the barrier. But Kana saw Magwayen's stare, telling her not to put her guard down.
"Eldest Miss!"
Aephelia's worried voice entered the ears of those still conscious, making them turn in her direction.
It was when everyone realized that even the members of the Evernight were struggling, especially Iola, who still refused to let her barrier go down, even in this situation where she could barely stand.
The other members of Evernight were nearly in the same state as the leaders of the Moon Chasers. They could barely keep themselves from standing. And even if they kept stood still, that was all they could do.
Of course, it was still except for Aephelia and the golems. The four appeared to be unaffected, to everyone's surprise. While it would be easier to explain the circumstances of the golems, why was Aephelia unaffected? Was she also a golem of sorts?
However, only Magwayen understood why, as she stared at the oldest servant under Mark's command.
Aephelia's body was handcrafted by a God. As a body created by a God of Creation, it would not easily succumb to some minor God's influence.
"Sis!"
When everyone struggled to barely keep themselves from collapsing, Elise suddenly cried out.
BOOM!
Then, everyone saw Mei crashing in front of them.
"Ugh!"
Mei groaned as she felt the pain all over her body. The crash she just experienced was not a light one. There was a noticeable dent on the stomach part of her armor. Even the blade of her transformed sniper rifle had a chip on it.
"Are you okay?!"
Amihan, after she quickly made a wall of bladed wind, rushed to Mei's aid.
"I'm okay."
Mei replied a bit loudly to assure everyone. However, it was obvious that she was not.
Just like everyone present, Mei also began to struggle against the mere presence of the Night Goddess. It was why she failed to dodge and had to defend directly against one of the Night Goddess' attacks.
What kind of attack?
"Oh shi-..."
Kana's improper but childlike curse echoed. She was looking in front, straight at the Night Goddess.
Around the Night Goddess, there was nothing but darkness. And within that darkness, the space seemed to be warping.
WHOOOSH!
That warping space conjured a giant black tentacle-like mass, and it whipped sideward.
Amihan's wind wall got torn instantly.
BAM!
And the giant [Infected Turtle] they stood on shook and tilted by the impact.
"AS IF I WILL LET YOU!"
Spera fell in front of Kana through a portal that appeared overhead.
And then, Spera loudly clasped her hands in front of her chest and moved her arms as if pulling something open.
There, in front of each tentacle that was about to hit Kana, portals of various sizes opened. And without pause, the tentacles shot into the portals.
KRYAAAAAAAA!!!
Everyone winced as they heard the sudden cry of the Night Goddess. Only then did they all realize that the tentacles that entered the portals were not stabbing into the Night Goddess' body.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..." Spera panted. "Serves you right!"
There, Spera fell. Fulfilling the last thing she could do in this situation, she collapsed. Considering that they were inside the Night Goddess' domain which inhibits the use of her portals and being under the unrestrained pressure of a Godly being, Spera did awesomely. As she lost consciousness, her portals closed forcefully, tearing the tentacles apart.
And, despite Mei losing her weapon and Spera losing consciousness, they bid enough time.
"The Breath of Life..."
"The Water of Life..."
Amihan and Kana continued to chant alternatingly before chanting in unison.
The tornado and the water ball fused entirely, creating a vortex of destruction in the sky. Furthermore, it started creating sparks of electricity before the sparks grew larger and louder.
With the magic forming in the sky, the night sky cleared. All of the clouds were swallowed into the vortex, creating more substance and power as it became a violent storm on its own.
"And the World denies thy existence."
"A creature born from suffering. A monster bound to destroy. We pray for your demise."
"[Disaster Torrent]."
And...
Touchdown...
The storm vortex swallowed the Night Goddess. The winds swirled violently in the surroundings, and the air carried a slight discharge of electricity.
Without needing to be informed, Aephelia commanded Mountain Back to move. Staying in this place would make them all included in the casualties of such an attack.
THUD!
And from the attack, two more fell unconscious.
It was the two casters, fully drained of their magical energy.
KRAAAAAA!!!
The storm vortex continued amidst the cries of the Night Goddess.
As Mountain Back took distance from the storm vortex, everyone watched hopefully. As these people were influenced by Anime in various degrees, no one said anything considered a bad flag and just gathered the unconscious in one place.
But then, Magwayen frowned and faced Aephelia.
"Make it move faster. Take the opportunity to escape."
Aephelia nodded without question. There was no need to ask why. It seemed even that disaster-like attack was not enough to end this fight.
KRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
A far louder cry then shook the world.
Dark tentacles shot out of the storm vortex. And then, the vortex was torn apart in a massive burst of wind and water. The shockwave was felt for kilometers. If not for Iola's barrier, the shockwave alone might have killed many people around them.
The most important thing. The Night Goddess was still alive.
Nonetheless, it seemed that the attack bore a significant effect.
The dark tentacles still emerged from the warped space around the Night Goddess. However, the Night Goddess was no longer covered in pitch-black darkness, exposing its true visage for everyone to see under the moonlight in the night sky.
"Urp."
Everyone felt their stomachs churn. It was because the Night Goddess' current body was the amalgamation of all life and existences sacrificed to create her.
The appearance aside, there was a huge problem. They now ran out of anything to fight against the Night Goddess.
"Wow... You all did well against that..."
A familiar voice echoed.
"Sorry if we are late."
"Mind if we take it from here?"
Two more familiar voices followed.
And in the middle of the darkness of the night, moonlight descended.