Chapter 103: Torturous Sacrifices.
Lightning bolts raced across the snow and sky, swirling around Yuri’s body. The pain was unbearable as her skin sizzled beneath the burns.
Yuri was driving her Dormant Ability to its absolute limit, and with it, she was forcing her own physical body beyond what it could withstand. She wouldn’t be able to maintain this state for long. Every second she kept the lightning flowing through her body was another second spent damaging herself, but she only needed enough time to become fast enough to make a difference.
Andrea realized what she was doing and raised her blade, intercepting the Divine Priest before he could reach Yuri. Their weapons collided with a violent clang, the impact shaking the storm around them as Andrea’s boots dug into the snow.
The Divine Priest immediately attacked again.
His claws moved like flashes of blue light, striking towards Andrea’s chest in rapid succession. Andrea’s Fatal Inkling warned her before each attack arrived, allowing her to move just enough to avoid the claws while her blade intercepted the attacks she couldn’t simply evade.
The Divine Priest swung both arms at once. "The epitome of foolishness is thinking you can kill me, I am not mortal like you, I can not be killed".
Andrea crossed her blade. "You talk too much".
The claws slammed against the enchanted weapon and forced her backwards, but she twisted with the impact instead of resisting it head-on. Her body spun through the air before her boots touched the ground again. She immediately pushed forward, her blade cutting towards his exposed side.
His body twisted violently as he tried to catch her, but Andrea had already moved. She stepped beneath his arm and drove her elbow into his ribs before following with a slash across his abdomen. The runes on her blade vibrated as the edge scraped through the damaged scales, forcing another thin stream of blood from his body.
The Divine Priest roared and released another burst of freezing wind.
Andrea was thrown backwards.
Before he could pursue her, a streak of lightning crossed the battlefield.
Yuri appeared beside him, her hair was standing on end, her eyes vibrating with a deep lightening blue.
The Divine Priest barely raised his arm before the blade struck his scales. Sparks erupted from the impact, but the attack failed to penetrate.
She vanished and reappeared again.
The Divine Priest turned repeatedly, his eyes struggling to follow her movements. Every time he managed to locate her, Yuri had already disappeared, leaving only the crackling sound of lightning and faint distortions in the snow.
He swung his arm towards one of the flashes, but Yuri appeared above him. Her blade descended.
The Divine Priest raised both hands and caught the attack between his palms. The katana stopped against his scales, but the force behind Yuri’s strike drove his feet several inches into the snow.
His eyes widened. "Enough of this".
Yuri’s increased speed was beginning to translate into physical force. She kicked away from his shoulders and disappeared again before he could grab her.
The Divine Priest looked around wildly, but then Andrea came from the front. Her blade struck him to the ground.
Yuri came from behind. Her katana struck his back, the two attacks landed almost simultaneously.
The Divine Priest’s body lurched forward as the scales covering his shoulder fractured. He spun around and unleashed a violent burst of wind, forcing both women away.
Andrea came to a steady stop, but Yuri couldn’t.
Her body continued sliding across the snow before she stabbed her katana into the ground. The blade dragged through the frozen earth, carving a long line before finally bringing her to a stop.
She wiped away the blood dripping from her nose. "Not enough, it’s not enough".
More lightning crawled across her body as her fingers trembled around her katana.
She could feel every part of her body protesting against the power she was forcing through it. Her heartbeat was becoming erratic, her breathing was growing heavier, and the burns covering her skin were spreading.
But she couldn’t stop, if she stopped now, she would gain nothing from what she had already sacrificed, they needed to kill the priest. It was all fun and games when he seemed weak, but now he was proving to be a genuine threat to the battle.
Yuri lowered her stance as lightning gathered around her legs.
The snow beneath her feet began to harden, then it cracked and broke apart.
Across the battlefield, the Divine Priest suddenly charged towards Andrea. His enormous body moved with shocking speed, the snow exploding behind him as he swung his fist.
Andrea raised her blade and met him with all the strength she could muster, the collision produced a deafening boom.
Her arms actually shook from the impact, but she held her ground.
The Priest’s claws tore through the air around her, each attack powerful enough to crush an ordinary Awakened in a single strike. Andrea continued moving through them, since the battle began, the divine has not been able to strike her.
Realising that, the Divine Priest suddenly changed direction.
Andrea’s eyes sharpened, she immediately stepped into his path. Her blade slammed against his wrist.
The Priest’s attack was stopped.
Andrea followed with a punch, his head snapped sideways as his neck nearly broke from the force of Andrea’s fist.
Before he could recover, her knee struck his stomach and her blade carved across his chest.
"I’m your opponent, you got that". Andrea was like an insurmountable mountain before the divine priest. He thought that after his ascension, he would trample upon their dignity, enslave them and make them worship him, but instead he’s struggling against two dormant awakens, and as far he was concerned, not even the strongest.
Damien’s image found its way back into his head, the divine priest was even more enraged.
The blue scales erupted with terrifying cold air, it blasted Andrea away, the cold seeping deep into her body, she coughed lightly, but it failed to damage her in any way.
Andrea looked away from the swirling snow, Yuri was ready to end the fight.
Yuri’s body suddenly disappeared. Lightning erupted beneath her feet as she launched forward, the snow exploding behind her from the force of her acceleration.
The Divine Priest barely managed to follow the movement with his eyes before Yuri appeared directly in front of him, her katana already descending towards his chest. He immediately crossed both arms in front of his body, the blue scales locking together to form a thick barrier.
The first layer of scales shattered from the impact, followed by the second as the blade continued pushing through. The Divine Priest gritted his teeth and twisted his arms, redirecting the blade away from his chest before swinging one clawed hand towards Yuri’s head.
She disappeared before his claws could reach her, leaving the attack to cut through empty air.
The Divine Priest immediately turned around, but Yuri was already behind him. Her katana swept across his back, slicing through several scales and leaving a deep wound beneath them. He reacted instantly, twisting his torso while swinging his elbow backwards.
Yuri ducked beneath it, her body almost touching the snow as the attack passed over her head. She forced herself off the ground and shot forward, her blade following her arm movement as it carved diagonally across his ribs.
The divine priest blood sprayed across the cold snow. "Stand and fight like a true warrior".
The Divine Priest roared and spun around, both hands opening as a violent current of freezing wind erupted from his palms. The swirling force expanded into a miniature tornado that swallowed everything around him.
Yuri was forced backwards, but lightning immediately surged through her legs. She planted her feet against the ground and pushed forward, forcing her way through the storm as the wind tore against her body.
"What do you know of true valor? You Eidolons are nothing but savages who steal relics built by the human race".
The Divine Priest saw her silhouette emerge and raised his arms again. Yuri’s katana struck his left forearm, shattering the scales protecting it. Before he could move the arm away, she twisted her body and redirected the blade towards his right arm. He brought it across his chest to block, but the katana struck with enough force to crack the scales there as well.
Yuri vanished with a blur.
The Divine Priest’s eyes darted around as he searched for her. He looked to his left, then immediately turned to his right, but there was nothing.
Then a flash of lightning suddenly appeared above him and Yuri descended.
He crossed both arms over his head just before her blade struck. The impact drove his enormous body down onto one knee, the scales covering his arms cracking under the pressure. Yuri pushed harder, lightning surging violently through her muscles as she forced the blade through the damaged scales.
The Divine Priest roared and released a burst of freezing wind from his entire body.
Yuri was blasted away, but before she could hit the ground, lightning flashed around her feet. She vanished again and reappeared beside his neck.
Her eyes were bloodshot. "If you’re a god, then I’m gonna decapitate a god".