Chapter 457. Overwhelming (3)

While Evelyn’s team attempted to enter the chasm, the Seven Stars members remaining on the surface were fighting nonstop. They had to handle the endless waves of enemies rushing toward them with a total of seven people. Among them, only three could actually fight, but the team was holding on better than one would expect. Though monstrous beasts were running toward them with no consideration for their lives, they weren’t pushed back and continued to advance forward.

They didn’t crumble easily because great demons such as Astarte and Purupuru were enduring resolutely on the frontlines, but their success could be mostly attributed to Apoline’s overwhelming firepower.

Babababam! Every time she gestured with her hands, explosions erupted and burned up a group of beasts without leaving a trace. Apoline was the gifted child and product of the Afriliths who stubbornly insisted on a pure bloodline. Thus, she possessed the innate ability named ‘Blood Legacy’, which granted her the optimal body for magic. Furthermore, she had acquired her special ability ‘Order of Creation’ through tireless efforts since she was young. With the combination of these skills, Apoline could pour out mana and powerful magic like a limitless spring. She conjured and controlled dozens of fireballs at once and moved them across the battlefield.

“It’s strange.” Yet after kicking a beast which was writhing in pain while burning, Astarte’s eyes narrowed. “Seems like their numbers are increasing.” It wasn’t her imagination. Though Apoline was displaying magic strong enough to rival the firepower of a whole army, their enemy showed no sign of decreasing. Instead, they were increasing exponentially as if they were proliferating.

“Huh?” Purupuru gasped when she suddenly felt a gust of cold wind. It dropped to negative degrees and hit them with icy air. It was a large-scale magic, strong enough to freeze and immobilize a whole swarm of monsters momentarily. Thanks to this magic, they were able to catch their breaths, but they couldn’t celebrate. Soon afterward, they heard the sound of ice cracking from the frozen monsters. It seemed it would only be a matter of time before they broke out of the ice and moved again.

But the more concerning part was the aftereffects of the magic. Evelyn’s team was able to use the recent attack to trespass further inward, but on their side, the ice magic worked against them more than it helped. It was because as long as the ice’s chill remained in the area, the effectiveness of Apoline’s fire magic would be limited since fire and ice were on opposite ends of the spectrum.

“That fool…!” Astarte gritted her teeth.

“It can’t be helped… I’m sure they also have their hands full… Still, I wish they would’ve controlled their powers a bit more for our sake…” Purupuru said in a slightly weary voice. They could easily conclude that the other team made their decision knowing they had Chi-Woo on their side. But Chi-Woo had been standing beside Shersha and not moving an inch as if he was just watching a play.

Apoline clenched her teeth without a word. ‘That woman’s mana…beat mine?’ Fire that had been burning all around died out in a blink of an eye. Even though fire was at a disadvantage against ice, this was still unthinkable to her. After all, the mage on the other team wasn’t a Celestial Realm hero like her, but a Liber native. Of course, Apoline didn’t know that Eshnunna was a descendent of the great Glacier Empress Matryoshka, who dominated an entire era, and a disciple of the Abyss’ witch, Evelyn—but Apoline felt a great blow to her pride about what just happened. She couldn’t accept the fact that Eshnunna’s mana had suppressed hers.

Another hurdle on top of another hurdle, and two unfortunate events overlapped. Right after Evelyn’s team entered the chasm, the number of monsters increased. They might have an easier time if some of the monsters chased after Evelyn’s team and fell into the chasm, but for some reason, most of the monsters didn’t even go near the chasm. After failing to block Evelyn’s team and thus losing their targets, the monsters rejoined the rest of the groups and attacked Apoline’s team. Soon, a different scene from before unfolded.

This was the result of Apoline’s fire magic losing its effectiveness. The lingering effect of the ice magic acted as an armor and shield for the monsters that they lasted a little longer even when they were struck by fireballs. And since their numbers had increased by severalfold, the battle instantly tipped to the expedition team’s disadvantage. Apoline’s chaotic mental state also had a hand in worsening the situation. She wondered what Chi-Woo would’ve thought seeing a Celestial Light like her get beaten by a native magician. Even though she tried to focus on the battlefield, she had a hard time pushing aside the intrusive thoughts. Moreover, Apoline was having a hard time keeping track and moving her arms and legs fast enough. Realizing the state she was in, Apoline gasped.

‘Don’t make me laugh. I was beaten? How preposterous! The Afriliths are the best when it comes to mana. I will not lose to anyone.’

After a continuous outpour of attacks, the magic suddenly came to a halt. Astarte stopped swinging her sword and glanced behind her. She knew the situation was bad. Many disadvantageous conditions were stacked on top of one another, but seeing that the battlefield was tilting to the other side faster than she expected, she guessed that some kind of problem had occurred with Apoline. She didn’t know what it was, but she thought Apoline should recover her composure first.

Yes, that was what she needed to do. But Astarte saw Apoline rise to the air with both her arms crossed and raised above her head. Her surroundings were filled with all sorts of geometric shapes and a startling number of magic circles. Seeing powerful mana gathered with Apoline at the center, Astarte flinched. It was too late to react then.

“Don’t make me—!” Apoline uncrossed her arms and swung them to the sides. “Laugh!!!” Simultaneously, countless magic circles exploded in their surroundings. Red light surged as the circles shot out fire, not just once, but multiple times in a row. Babababam! A group of monsters was swept by a ball of fire in an instant, and fearsome burning trails began to form here and there. It looked as if the world was turning into hell after getting hit by a great calamity. Filled to the brim with powerful mana, the magic was clearly effective. Any remnants of ice on the monsters completely melted away.

Most of the monsters who had been rushing forward nonstop were burned to a crisp that their forms were hardly recognizable. Still, there were a small number of them remaining. The little pieces of charred flesh showed slight movements on the ground. Then, they sucked up the pool of water that hadn’t evaporated yet and raised themselves back up while quickly regenerating. They really had an exhaustingly stubborn life force.

“Haha…hahaha….?” Apoline, who had been laughing with satisfaction thinking she had won, looked surprised. Astarte also looked taken aback. If Apoline had swept away their enemies with that one blow, they would’ve accomplished a part of their goal, but that wasn’t the case. The monsters’ regenerative abilities surpassed their imaginations.

‘There was no need for her to go so far,’ Astarte thought. The mission of the team remaining on the surface wasn’t to annihilate their enemies; it was to endure until the team that trespassed into the pit defeated Balim. Though their situation had worsened, it wasn’t to the point that Apoline needed to go this far. They would have endured longer if Apoline had controlled her mana and used it moderately. Yet she had gone all in suddenly. Astarte didn’t know the reason exactly, but she could make some guesses.

‘Is it because of that guy?’

Chi-Woo hadn’t budged since the battle began. He hadn’t even opened his mouth. His intention was clear. In the first place, he had built the expedition team with newly recruited members outside of the main team in order to test the skills of the newcomers. Now that things had gotten to this point, however, they needed to borrow his strength. It seemed that Chi-Woo had come to the same conclusion then, and he loosened his arms. The glove in his hand glowed white.

“No!” A shrill scream rang. It was Apoline. “No…it’s fine… I can still go on…so please…” she said pleadingly while her arms and feet trembled. It was as if she was possessed by an unknown sense of fear. Soon, she collapsed to the ground. Her complexion didn’t look good, and her face was very pale without any color. That was the side effect of using too much mana at once. There wasn’t even a little bit of mana inside her right now. Even a limitless pool would run out if she flipped it upside down and poured it out at once. Yet Apoline still forced herself to get up.

She knew Chi-Woo was strong through experience and witnessing what he did in the great war. She clearly remembered how he had run to the center of the battlefield and beheaded the great demons, disorienting the enemy armies. And he must be much stronger now. He would be able to get rid of most of the monsters and sweep this area clean with only a few flashes of the light in his hand. But—

‘No.’ He came to her first and chose her. He expected something from her. He, who was under more expectant gazes than anyone else on Liber, put his expectations on her. Thus, she needed to meet those expectations and prove that she had been the right choice. This was the reason he had been watching without moving.

“I still have more—!” Apoline forced herself up and cast a spell when a clump of bright red blood burst out of her mouth. Then, she wavered and rolled to the ground.

“No…still a bit…more…”

“Quit it now!” After Apoline floundered her arms about, Astarte shouted frustratedly. She understood why Apoline was being so stubborn, but this wasn’t the place or time for it. The burning monsters were getting up again, and their numbers were much greater than before. The ashes left in the aftermath of Apoline’s magic had proliferated and created more monsters.

“Now…?” Astarte was about to shout when she stopped. It was because a small, white hand stopped in her path.

“Shersa…?” Shersha had approached her without her noticing and was quietly shaking her head. She was telling Astarte to not say another word. While Astarte couldn’t understand, she did close her mouth. She knew there must be a reason Shersha was acting this way, and she soon learned of it.

Chi-Woo walked up to Apoline and met eyes with her as she struggled on one knee. Then, he said, “It’s unseemly.”

“…Ah…” Those were words she didn’t want to hear from him the most. Despair overtook her face in an instant. At least until she heard what he said next.

“It’s unseemly, but…” What was a star? A star was an entity that shone on its own like the sun. Some would confuse Earth with a star, but it wasn’t one. It was simply a planet that received and reflected sunlight. The star Chi-Woo had in mind was similar yet different from that. It was fine for a star to emit its own light, but it was also fine even if it couldn’t. It simply needed to have the will to shine. That was the most basic condition it must fulfill. In that sense, Apoline’s actions left a deep impression on him.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

There was nothing that eye-catching about her performance except her sheer firepower, but her burning passion had reached him. It was her intense will to prove herself. Considering that, her actions weren’t unseemly. Even if she couldn’t shine alone or even if she was still far from rising to the night sky and was rolling on the ground instead, it was fine as long as she had the will to shine on her own.

“You are still a star.” Everyone’s eyes shifted to Chi-Woo. They all seemed to be asking what he was saying suddenly. Apoline blinked fast, but Chi-Woo didn’t say more. There was no need to explain in more detail. He had confirmed her will, and the result of that was basically guaranteed; there was no need for him to hesitate any longer. Chi-Woo extended his hand to Apoline, who was looking at him blankly.

“…”

Like she was enchanted, Apoline reached out as well before clutching Chi-Woo’s hand like a lifeline. Soon afterward, the fire that had been dying out began to burn up again.

Crackle...!