622 622. FLAW
Her attack had only been able to halt the beast's movements. But only for a bit, since it burst through those twisting masses of wind to approach Noah in a maddened rush.
Its movement was quite slow for a beast its level though. As such it didn't take Erolia a full second to appear on its path.
Her fist rushed forward and connected with its left eye, sending it flying.
The Barmus turned into a bullet, shattering trees and the ground in the process.
"What do I do?" She muttered to herself as her feet landed on the ground. Her instincts moved and she jumped to the side evading the jagged spikes that exploded out of the ground to reach tens of meters in height.
"Physical attacks don't do much to it and it has high resistance to wind attacks... then."
Erolia caught sight of the Barmus rushing towards her and this time earthen clones manifested beside Its sprinting figure. Despite its wild mind, it remained quite intelligent.
Unfortunately, that would not be enough to stop the force that was Erolia.
Golden sparks flickered around her figure as the sky darkened in an instant, and a huge lightning bolt crashed on the world below. It's descent like a mighty roar.
Even the experts in the distance had to shield themselves from the power in that offensive. Not that it could hurt them.
Elder Velsvon shook his head. They had seen that attack before. After all, Erolia had been the one to deal with the beast that had attacked them the other time.
The fifth-tier beast mount had stepped back after seeing that it hurt Noah. It let its weaker companion make short work of their ambusher.
Noah had not seen it because he had been knocked unconscious—but she had transformed that area into a charred landmark.
Even he understood that her affinity for lightning was much greater than his. The amount of power she could attain from little work far surpassed his. But he remained stronger overall.
The trees turned to ash and several meters of ground surface was blotted out by the power in the bolt. The attack charged the air and the scent of rain and char filled that place.
The cloud that had unleashed that attack continued to crackle in the sky.
Erolia's eyes searched the ground in search of her opponent, and she found it.
Its earthen clones had disappeared, and it had stopped moving; stunned to a halt by the power in the bolt.
Smoke oozed out of the beast's figure but Erolia frowned when she saw that it remained almost completely okay.
To add to her annoyance it didn't take the Barmus too long to regain its movement. But things had changed this time around.
Now, the Barmus considered Erolia a greater threat than Noah. In truth, were it not that its feet remained connected to the ground it would have either died or ended up in a state close to that.
"I have to get it away from the ground," Erolia snarled as her hair fluttered in the winds. Her graceful aura was similar to that of a god.
Despite the strength of its opponent, the beast would not run. Quite the opposite. It wasn't going to hold back anymore.
Strange bronze runes expanded from the beast's feet as the battle leaped in intensity. Its aura intensified and the bronze miasma it exuded increased so much that its figure was barely seen.
The ground shattered as though a heavy weight had come upon it. Though the reality would not be too far from that. nove)1b)1n
Erolia watched with interest as a giant illusory figure similar to that of the Barmus was constructed by those bronze runes.
Its size had to be over ten times the beast's real size but despite its material being pure light, it still occupied space since trees were crushed by its structure.
The runes that had expanded previously, appeared on the beast's forehead and a terrible pressure flowed forth into the world.
"Its power has jumped. It's probably a skill limited by time."
The full manifestation had only lasted seconds, and the moment the Barmus called upon its full power it voiced a roar amplified by its projection.
That region shook when those sound waves unfolded on its lands.
'What does it want to do with such a big body?' Noah wondered seeing as the Barums's projection was bigger than even Yuno's beast, which was already colossal!
He also wondered if its defensive ability had been affected negatively because of the skill's activation.
His thoughts were cleared when Erolia shot forward to deliver a blow directly on the beast's forehead.
Once again the high-pitched sound of metal clashing against metal resounded in the environment with an intensity capable of killing third-tier beasts, or even injuring lower-stage tier 4's 'It's crazy sturdy!' Erolia screamed inwardly as her instincts screamed to leave the way.
The projections scorpion tail streaked towards her with reflexes that could almost match hers.
She dodged and its struck thin air, but a beam of purple energy burst out of its stinger to pierce the distance. That purple light momentarily matched the sun's radiant intensity even if only for a second.
The energy had been pure poison and corrosion capable of making waste to the best of materials. It also possessed firepower worthy of being called monstrous.
Having dodged the attack by a hair's breadth Erolia appeared in a location that allowed her to witness that beam's firepower. She swallowed hard.
"Don't let its size fool you--" This was Lady Edna addressing Noah. "It's currently at its peak in terms of prowess."
Even Noah considered stepping in, but he hadn't formulated a real plan to kill it. That was his first Not offended by her response, Noah cast his gaze on the radiant bronze figure that was the Barmus's 10:47
projection.
time encountering such a beast.
"What is its weakness then? Or can only fifth-tier energies kill it?" He questioned her, ready to learn.
"Look closely, since you're not the one fighting it'll be easier for you to notice its flaw."
Not offended by her response, Noah cast his gaze on the radiant bronze figure that was the Barmus's projection.
The projection was large and exuded an aura in the peak of the fourth tier, Noah noticed strange lines at the base of its belly, the liquid-like portions of its figure, and just when he was about to begin his search all over again he noticed something intriguing.
Something Erolia would not be able to notice due to her distance in the sky.
"I see it," Noah muttered and a chuckle escaped his lips. He tapped his forehead lightly with his palm
"Ignore the avatar, go for the Barmus itself," Noah commanded Erolia who had been raining attacks for the past minute nigh-non stop. She had also gotten used to dodging its tail attacks.
Slightly startled by Noah's voice in her head, Erolia shifted her attention from the massive figure before her and she could immediately catch sight of a significant flaw.
Despite the projection coming from the runes around the Barmus, there remained a gap between the Barmus's figure and its powerful projection. A gap that looked completely exploitable.
Erolia also noticed how the Barmus itself never moved but its projection could turn to face whatever direction she went.
Two huge flaws.
In the split second Erolia had utilized to inspect the beast, it unleashed another of its tailed attacks which she dodged, but this time her figure shot towards the base of the gigantic figure. Its size made it hard to notice those flaws.
With renewed vigor, Erolia approached the ground at blinding speeds and the Barmus seemed to have understood her plan since its scorpion tail stretched towards her to unleash another purple beam, but Erolia dodged it with ease, coming out of harm's way.
At least that was what she thought.
"Eh!" Her lips parted when a huge second scorpion tail appeared directly in front of her right after she dodged the first.
Sparks appeared in front of her at the same time that a massive beam of purple energy beamed out of the scorpion's tail.
The attack's power had spiked at least thrice the normal one!
It had been waiting for that opening.
The beam ended and Erolia found herself shooting across the sky. Her clothes now barely remained on her figure, and entire portions of her hair had disappeared. Her skin remained fine, even if she sparkled less now.