The gluttony pearls had their limits as well.
The pearls were selective when it came to spell amplification and spell stacking. Meaning they could only help Eren amplify or stack the elemental spells of a certain element. This element was dependent upon the ranker's elemental nature, aspect, and attainment from the gluttony pearl was made from.
The spell amplification or spell stacking wouldn't be very effective for elemental spells gluttony pearls do not directly support. This was the reason Eren had prioritized casting fire-element spells at this point. That's because the participant from which the crushed gluttony pearl was made was a fire-element ranker.
Spells that were not related to fire elements received a little boost from spell amplification and spell stacking. However, this little bottleneck in the use of gluttony pearls couldn't stop Eren's enemies from feeling shit-scared by what he had cast.
What's more? Eren had used all his elemental attainment in the fire to initiate spell integration. As a result, the stacked spells got linked with each other seamlessly, enabling the butcher to increase their damage potential.
It was as if a carpet of flames and fireballs was being made in the air. One could say that Eren's wish to perform carpet bombing was getting fulfilled at this time.
The gluttony mana was very alive and active.
It started devouring the surrounding mana before converting into packets of mana Eren's integrated spell could use. The process didn't require Eren's supervision at all. As a result, the butcher was able to cast such a spell without losing his mind in the process.
The integrated spell started having threatening mana fluctuations as the butcher poured more gluttony mana into it. The participants couldn't help forming goosebumps on their skin as they witnessed the scene. All of them had come to understand that Eren was stepping beyond his rank with the kind of spell he was casting.
"What… what kind of a ranker… No… what kind of a cultist… can… can do something like this?"
"Am I inside the Nightmare Domain? Are… are we all being judged by the Life and Death Altar?"
"Un-fucking-believable…"
"Maybe… Just maybe… This Eren must be a Master ranker or something who was disguised as…"
"Can… can we fight something like this?"
"Damn it. I shouldn't have gotten my team involved in targeting the White Raven crew. This guy's a monster. What if others in his team are cultists as well? What if they are as powerful as him and attack us the moment we step out of the testing grounds?"
"This… This is treason against the kingdom. A cultist can't do that with us. We… we need to call the moderators."
"Fucking numbnuts… how are we supposed to call moderators when the entire event has been rigged? We will all be dead by the time this guy gets apprehended by the authorities. If he gets apprehended at all. And that's a big IF.
He managed to stay under their radar until now. I'm guessing he has a system in place– no witnesses, no crime."
"There's still time. We can talk, maybe? I… I… Hahahaha. Who am I kidding? This maniac is set on killing us all."
"Run…. Run… Let's run away from this place. To hell with this test and to hell with this event."
"Run? I would have been the first to run away from here if that option was readily available. But have you forgotten that we are trapped inside a domain? And look at the spell's potential impact zone. There's no way for us to run even inside the domain."
"Let's fucking break this damn domain then. I am sure we can break it if we all work together."
"That's not the point, Darven. This abomination of a spell will collapse on us before we manage to break the domain.
We should have focused on running away from the very beginning. This damn cultist kept us busy by giving us a false sense of hope. He played us."
"What do we do then? Hah! What do we fucking do?"
***
As Eren was busy casting the integrated spell, the participants were busy coming up with a strategy to counter him.
However, it all seemed to be in vain. They realized that Eren's amplified power was too much for them to handle using conventional methods. They couldn't run away from Eren's unavoidable attack either– a choice they wanted to have at the cost of having to forfeit the test.
Most of the surviving participants were intimidated by what they were seeing over their heads. Others tried to keep their logic and reasoning intact in a tough situation. But they were running out of ideas fast as well.
"SILENCE!"
Harja Mel– the guy who acted as the surviving participants' de facto leader commanded everyone to shut up. He was a prominent student from Royal Ren.
Harja Mel needed some silence to think of a plan. He was also looking up and Eren's spell integration was getting reflected in his eyes.
Harja Mel had a stoic look on his face as he realized the pinch he was in.
Harja Mel was the swordsman Eren had clashed with at the start of the showdown. Harja was the one who had faced Eren head-on and survived. The fact that he had used other participants to his advantage was irrelevant at this point.
Harja couldn't believe that Eren could pull off such a move on all the participants. He was sure that Eren was a close combat specialist. But the butcher changed the game by using a different class to cast the spell integration.
"We can't run away from this spell on time. We need to act together."
Harja calmed the participants down and told them to wait for his order. Meanwhile, Eren had finished casting his spell integration completely.
The butcher looked at the spell integration he had cast and was marveled at it. He made an "I'm impressed" face before commenting.
"Damn. Sometimes I can surprise myself. This thing looks beautiful."
Eren patted his own back metaphorically by saying that. He then flapped his Wind Fire Wings and increased his altitude– stopping just before the domain's barrier. The butcher looked down and smiled at his opponents.
"Let's see you survive THIS."
Even the butcher didn't know what kind of output his integrated spell would generate. He didn't wait long and commanded his integrated spell to descend on the participants.
The Wind Fire Shards crackled and the boa snakes hissed at the participants. Their wide-open mouths seemed eager to target the participants.
The Igni Chains had a mind of their own. They also seemed eager to latch on to live targets. The fireballs started revolving on their axis as the integrated spell descended, producing a peculiar sound.
"HERE IT COMES!"
"BRACE YOURSELVES!"
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
Screams and more screams erupted on the battlefield as Eren attacked all the participants with his integrated spell. The screams didn't last long though. They were soon suppressed by an even bigger sound.
A seemingly slow-moving sound of destruction that was gradually picking up pace.
===
AN: Spell integration was explained in chapters 801 and 802.