Upon activating his unique skill, Argus' already demonic form twisted and became more grotesque.
While it was only a small amount, he had been granted some of the Blue Primeval Demon's power.
It was similar to how a great spirit could bestow blessings to others, though gone about in a different and far more dangerous manner.
"Yes! Yes! This is what I have always desired."
Once his transformation was completed Argus began raving almost like a madman.
His body had grown around three times larger than it already had been, and every demonic quality he had already possessed had been enhanced. The bits of normal looking skin he had possessed before were now completely gone, and large spikes protruded out of his body in multiple places.
The horns on top of his head had grown longer and more plentiful, and the sharp claws at the tip of each of his fingers had become sharper and thicker.
Of course, the demonic energy he emitted had become far stronger and it seemed to be eating away at his mind. It was all but certain that he would lose any semblance of sanity if he used the Primeval Demon's power for too long.
"Well, you certainly managed to make yourself uglier. An impressive feat considering what you looked like before." Lilia said snidely, undaunted by Argus' transformation.
She then unleashed the powerful spell she had been preparing without giving him a chance to get accustomed to his new form.
"Tectonic Fury."
The ground in front of Lilia split open and splintered apart the moment she released her tier seven earth magic spell.
Huge chucks of dirt and rock shot out in front of the forming fissure and smashed into Argus like a landside.
Without much effort he knocked aside these pieces of rubble, some that weighed over a thousand kilograms.
Still, this was only the prelude to the actually effect of Lilia's spell.
Two gargantuan slabs of stone rose up around Argus before abruptly slamming together with him in between them.
A truly cacophonous booming sound echoed throughout the area and a powerful earthquake rippled through the land for several kilometers around the epicenter of the spell.
For a moment she contemplated using her Divine Might race ability to finish this fight. She already knew that the strength it gave her would be enough to crush Argus.
'I can't though. Not yet at least.'
If she did go ahead and activate her strongest ability, it would leave her completely helpless afterwards. None of her skills or recovery items would be able to bring her back up to fighting condition once the backlash kicked in. She would only become a burden to Marcus and the rest of her allies. Only if things became truly dire would she use it as a last resort.
Taking up a defensive stance, Lilia figured that her best bet would be to draw things out. Argus was undoubtedly under a great deal of strain from wielding power beyond his means and would collapse eventually. All she needed to do was hold out until then.
'Lessen Impact, Friction Armor, Dimond Skin, Stone Body, Tactile Interference, ..."
In the moment while Argus was still engrossed in his new power and paying little mind to her, Lilia began casting force and earth magic buff spells.
She was expending her mana at a prodigious rate, but her natural recovery rate was impeccably high thanks to her Peerless Mind unique skill and her Supreme Skill Unmatched Entity. Along with drinking two large, high quality magic recovery potions she was able to keep enough mana in reserve for her offensive and defensive skills.
Almost as if he had been waiting for her to finish her preparations, Argus struck the instant that Lilia was ready.
His war hammer came in fast, and without her honed reflexes from several years of arduous training, Lilia would not have been able to intercept the blow.
Crossing both of her arms together she absorbed the strike with her gauntlets.
A loud clanging sound of metal striking metal rung out as the amethros weapons met.
Lilia had to hold back a yelp of pain as she felt the bones in her arms fracture from the attack.
The force behind it had been as strong as a serious blow from her master Ardea and she doubted that she would have been able to stop it without all of the powerful spells she had enchanted herself with.
Thankfully Argus looked a bit stunned that she had been able to block his swing and using the momentum she allowed herself to be blown back and create some distance.
'Whew. Good as new already.' Lilia thought, feeling her arms fixing themselves at an astounding pace.
In terms of healing ability, the only one she knew that had her beat was Marcus. So long as she was not killed outright, she could recover from even the most grievous wounds in under a minute. Though this did not apply to the backlash of using her Divine Might ability.
"You're sturdier than I thought. Look like I really be able to test out what I can really do without breaking you too early." Argus said, before charging at Lillia again with a manic look in his eyes.