Chapter 176: Teamwork Between Apostles

  The night was tense, the air vibrating with the oppressive heat radiating from the massive three-headed beasts.

  Their black flames flickered unnaturally, distorting the space around them, casting long, wavering shadows across the scorched earth.

  The fissure behind them pulsed like an open wound in the world, but its power wavering and almost seizing to exist after spitting out these monsters.

  IronKnight stood at the forefront, his immense dark form exuding silent authority. The black energy that shrouded him flickered, his greatsword humming with power as he adjusted his stance.

  Huntsman's towering goat transformation makes him seem even more primal, gripping his massive bone-forged bow.

  His goat eyes shimmered under the eerie glow of the battlefield.

  And then, a voice cut through the heat.

  "Sorry for the lateness."

  The two apostles turned. A lone figure approached, his presence unassuming—at least at first glance.

  His black robes barely fluttered in the wind, but the strange glowing orb surrounding him illuminating his way forward and the faint glow of his starry irises was unmistakable. Stargazer.

  Neither IronKnight nor Huntsman had ever met him in person, but his name had reached their ears before.

  Huntsman tilted his head, his foliage-covered horns gleaming under the distorted light. "Welcome," he said, voice amused but measured. "Buckle up, because this battle's going to be a rough one."

  Abel smirked. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Without further delay, he raised a hand, and several starry orbs shot into the sky, dispersing above them like a celestial web. In an instant, the battlefield shifted.

  The gravity intensified, an unseen force pressing down upon them all. The ground groaned under the weight, small rocks cracking, dust swirling unnaturally.

  The three-headed beasts faltered for a moment, their massive bodies resisting the sudden increase in pressure. Their limbs buckled slightly, claws digging into the scorched ground for stability.

  Abel nodded to himself. His control had improved.

  IronKnight let out a low hum of approval. Huntsman simply grinned a little surprised by Stargazer’s prowess.

  But there was no more time to talk.

  The creatures, realizing the shift, let out synchronized howls, their black flames surging violently. With terrifying speed, they lunged.

  The apostles split, each taking a different direction to avoid the oncoming charge.

  IronKnight moved first, his massive greatsword cleaving downward as two of the beasts lunged toward him.

  The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the air, sharp blackness meeting molten flesh.

  The beast let out a pained snarl, stumbling back injured, but another head snapped forward with unnatural flexibility, aiming straight for IronKnight’s exposed flank.

  Huntsman reacted instantly to the attack, his powerful goat legs propelling him into the air.

  He twisted midair, drawing back his bone bow, a thick arrow of twisting vines forming in an instant. Then he released it.

  The arrow split into a dozen smaller projectiles mid-flight, each one striking different points on the monster’s body. Some embedded themselves into the beast’s flesh, roots digging in, pulsing as they sought to restrain.

  The creature roared, writhing against the unexpected bindings, but its flame caused the restraints to crumble into ashes.

  Another was already coming for Abel.

  Unlike the other two, Abel didn’t have a monstrous transformation to bolster his defenses, nor a massive weapon to cleave through enemies.

  As the three-headed monstrosity lunged at him, he twisted his body at the last second, narrowly avoiding its molten fangs.

  His free hand flicked upward, and the gravitational field beneath the beast suddenly quadrupled. The monster was forced downward, its movements slowing as its legs struggled against the crushing force.

  Abel didn’t let up. He slashed, sending a starry arc of energy through the air, aiming straight for one of the beast’s heads.

  The attack connected, cutting deep into the creature’s shoulder. It let out a howling screech as it backed up, its molten blood sizzling as it hit the ground.

  But even wounded, its fury only seemed to grow.

  The battlefield was chaos, filled with the crackling heat of black fire and the snarls of the monstrous three-headed dogs.

  IronKnight’s enormous form stood tall against the assault, unfazed by the relentless flames spewing from the beasts' mouths.

  His dark armor absorbed the heat, the black aura surrounding his figure flickering violently.

  With a mighty swing, he cleaved through the air, sending a massive arc of black energy toward two of the creatures. But they were fast—too fast.

  Their molten bodies twisted, dodging the deadly slash with disturbing flexibility.

  Abel’s eyes flicked to one of the beasts that had locked onto him. He wasted no time, raising his knife as a series of starry slashes erupted from his movements, streaking toward the charging dog in rapid succession.

  Each crescent of energy glowed brilliantly against the darkened battlefield, burning through the air as they closed in.

  Yet, the beast dodged them all.

  It lunged, a blur of molten black and fangs, its now two heads snapping viciously as it reached him.

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  Abel’s instincts kicked in—his knife met its claws mid-air, the impact sending sparks flying as steel and hardened talons clashed.

  Clang!

  The force of the hit sent vibrations up his arm. Abel gritted his teeth, maneuvering to get a clean slash in.

  He managed to cut across its shoulder, the starry energy searing through its flesh.

  The creature let out a monstrous growl but didn’t stop. Instead, its claw raked across Abel’s arm in retaliation, a sharp burn spreading across his flesh as blood seeped from the wound like a waterfall.

  “Tch, I just recovered,” Abel muttered in annoyance and pain as he leaped back, putting some distance between himself and the beast who had also been injured.

  He reached into his robe, pulling out a few gray leaves and chewing them quickly.

  The gravity field he had cast earlier still weighed heavily on the battlefield, slowing the beasts, keeping them from reaching their full speed—but he could feel it draining his mana pool at a steady rate.

  Maintaining it while fighting was proving costly.

  His mind raced.

  He needed a better approach.

  Before he could act, a burst of black fire shot toward him. Abel cursed under his breath, dodging just in time as the ground behind him exploded in a series of fiery detonations.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Each blast sent debris flying, the sheer force pushing Abel further back.

  His robe whipped around him as he skidded to a halt, eyes darting across the battlefield. That was when he noticed—Huntsman was struggling.

  The towering weregoat was fast, his agility clear in the way he leaped and twisted through the battlefield, but even he was being forced onto the defensive.

  His bone-forged bow fired arrow after arrow, each one splitting into dozens of smaller projectiles upon release, yet the dog adapted quickly, weaving through the storm of sharpened wood and vines.

  One of the beasts feinted left, only to twist mid-lunge, its claws raking across Huntsman’s side.

  The apostle let out a grunt, stumbling back, his leafy fur singed and torn.

  The Beast once again lunged at Huntsman, but the weregoat was just as quick to react.

  With a swift motion, thick vines burst from the ground, wrapping tightly around the creature’s legs, anchoring it in place. Huntsman leaped back, eyes sharp with calculation.

  But something was wrong.

  The vines burned—fast.

  The flames surrounding the beast weren’t ordinary. They consumed the vines almost instantly, reducing them to ash before Huntsman could fully retreat.

  His expression tightened in surprise—he had expected at least some resistance, a moment to stagger the beast, but this thing was stronger than he thought.

  And it was fast.

  The three heads snarled in unison, each one pulling in a deep breath before exhaling—a single, massive fireball formed at their collective mouths, swirling with intense heat and pressure. It fired toward Huntsman with terrifying speed.

  Reacting on instinct, he nocked an arrow, drawing back his bow in an instant.

  A single shot—one imbued with explosive force—whistled through the air and struck the fireball mid-flight.

  BOOM!

  The explosion rocked the battlefield, sending the beast skidding back. A small crater formed where the flames had detonated, the shockwave kicking up dust and debris.

  The dog was wounded, a deep injury marking its body, but Huntsman had also suffered a bit as some burn marks could be seen on his body.

  Despite the injury, the creature didn't care.

  As if unfazed, the beast lowered its stance and charged again, its movements now even more erratic, more violent.

  Huntsman narrowed his eyes, prepared to repeat the tactic, but this time—the creature changed its approach.

  Instead of forming another fireball, the three heads tilted upward, flames gathering around their gaping maws. But instead of one mass of fire, they each forged a single, condensed lance of molten energy—three flame spears, burning with intensity.

  Then, in an instant, they launched.

  The projectiles shot through the air like lightning, the speed nearly impossible to track.

  Huntsman’s eyes widened.

  The first spear struck—piercing his shoulder.

  The second hit—impaling his gut.

  The third—straight through his chest.

  His body jerked from the impact, the force sending him crashing to the ground, the flaming spears still lodged in his body.

  For a brief moment, everything seemed to slow.

  The beast growled in triumph, stepping closer to inspect its prey.

  Then—Huntsman’s body crumbled into embers.

  The burning spears collapsed into the ground, igniting the dirt where he once lay.

  The beast hesitated, its heads tilting in confusion.

  From the side, a nearby bush suddenly trembled.

  Then, without warning, the shrub shifted—twisting, morphing, reshaping itself—until Huntsman emerged, unharmed, his leafy fur rustling as he stretched his arms.

  “I was never there,” he muttered with a smirk.

  A trick. A deception.

  The beast snarled in frustration, but before it could react, the battlefield shifted once more.

  Abel, who had been locked onto a beast saw the exchange carefully, and released his second rune.

  A surge of starry energy erupted outward.

  The World of the Rosette Celestial spread.

  Glowing thorns burst from the ground, forming intricate spirals of luminous vines. Star-petals and thin but immensely sharp thorns coiled outward like grasping hands.

  The celestial brambles lashed out.

  The monstrous dogs snarled in confusion as the vines wrapped around their molten bodies, tightening, restricting.

  They fought back, snapping their jaws, attempting to tear through the entanglement, but each movement only made things worse.

  The more they struggled, the deeper the thorns cut.

  Starry energy pulsed through the battlefield, illuminating the monstrous forms with an ethereal glow.

  Abel exhaled, his grip tightening on his knife.

  “This is our chance,” he said, voice steady.

  IronKnight’s glowing eyes burned brighter beneath his shadowed helm.

  Huntsman, still in his transformed state, cracked his neck, a feral grin forming.

  They all knew it.

  Now was the time to strike.

  Huntsman pulled his bowstring once more, his movements steady despite his exhaustion. This time, the arrow radiated a deep green aura, the energy rippling like waves through the air.

  As he released, the projectile transformed mid-flight, morphing into the spectral form of a massive charging goat wreathed in natural energy.

  The ground trembled beneath its hooves as it barreled forward with crushing momentum.

  The three-headed dog ensnared in Abel’s celestial thorns barely had time to react.

  With a deafening boom, the ethereal beast rammed straight into the hound, obliterating it on impact.

  The creature let out a final, distorted yelp before being reduced to scattered pieces.

  At the same time, Abel’s focus sharpened. The glowing orbs of starry mana hovering above condensed into a singular, massive sphere pulsing with celestial light.

  He extended his hand, and in an instant, the sphere erupted into a concentrated beam of pure star energy, carving through the second hound with an unstoppable force.

  The beam sliced through its molten flesh, severing heads from its body before disintegrating it into nothingness. He had almost completely used up all of his mana reserves.

  IronKnight, ever the seasoned warrior, had no intention of being outdone.

  His massive form flexed, the darkness around him condensing into thick, jagged wings.

  With a single powerful flap, he soared into the sky, his looming figure momentarily absorbing what little light remained in the ruined town.

  Then, with terrifying force, he descended.

  His greatsword pulsed with ominous black energy as he crashed down, the sheer impact sending a shockwave of dark mana rippling outward.

  The final beasts had no chance to escape as the raw force crushed them into the earth, splintering the ground into jagged fissures.

  A wave of suffocating darkness rippled from the crater, obliterating the last remnants of the monsters.

  Silence.

  The battlefield, once consumed by chaos, was now eerily still.

  The only sound was the slow crackling of the scorched ground and the faint hum of residual mana dissipating into the air.

  The three apostles stood amidst the wreckage, catching their breath.

  The town of Vitoria was in ruins. Entire buildings had collapsed, streets were littered with smoldering debris, and the very earth itself bore the scars of their battle.

  There was no saving this place—it was completely unlivable.

  IronKnight's massive form slowly began to shrink, the dark aura peeling away as he reverted back to his normal, armored figure.

  The headless armor moved toward the fallen helmet on the ground, lifting it and carefully placing it back onto its shoulders.

  His body language was stiff, unreadable, but the silence that followed spoke volumes.

  Huntsman, still panting from exertion, walked closer to Abel. He gave a short, tired chuckle before nodding toward him. “That move you pulled… the way it spread and controlled the battlefield… Reminds me of how nature behaves in its own way. Wild, vast, yet completely commanding.”

  Abel, equally drained, merely nodded, rolling his sore shoulders. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Their small exchange was cut short as both turned their gaze toward IronKnight, who remained still, staring out over the ruins of what had once been his town.

  Neither Huntsman nor Abel spoke.

  They both knew—this was more than just another mission for IronKnight. He had been stationed here for years, protecting the people, watching over them.

  And now, it was all gone.