"...Wha... what happened?"
Nimue's hands, which were maintaining the vine barrier, hadn't even had time to drop before her vision caught a glimpse of a purple flash passing by like a ghost.
Immediately following that, the vine barrier she had constructed, along with the hideous pack of bone wolves, were sliced clean through by that Formless power in the same instant!
The severed vines rustled as they fell, and the dense cracking sounds of shattering wolf bones were enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Seeing this, Nimue froze on the spot, her mind going almost completely blank.
Because that terrifying aura from just now had clearly swept past her own body as well!
A massive wave of fear seized her. She instinctively lowered her head, her hands frantically groping at her chest and abdomen, searching for a potentially fatal wound.
However, no matter where she felt, there was only intact skin and fabric; furthermore, she didn't feel any pain.
No wound? How was that possible?
With the daze and suspicion of a survivor, she whipped her head around, her gaze darting toward the source of that lethal aura—
She then saw that the previously "dazed" Castorice had, at some unknown point, moved to a spot not far behind her, holding a giant scythe taller than herself that radiated a purple light.
Seeing Nimue look over, Castorice spoke slowly:
"These undead came because of me, so leave them to me to handle."
Her voice was as calm as a mirror without a ripple. Before her words even faded, she had already stepped forward, walking slowly to meet the bone wolves that had fallen into a brief hesitation due to the instantaneous annihilation of their companions.
"You..."
Seeing this, Nimue instinctively wanted to stop her, because in her view, facing this pack of fourth-rank bone wolves alone was no different from suicide.
But the words "Don't be reckless" had only barely begun to form in her throat when Shalin, quick of eye and hand, grabbed her arm and forcibly pulled her away from Castorice.
"Sister!" Shalin's voice was urgent. "Her strength... is terrifying beyond imagination! What happened just now was caused by her lightly swinging her blade once! So let's listen to her and get back, quickly!"
A light swing caused the scene from just now?!
Hearing her words, Nimue's gaze swept rapidly between Castorice and the solemn-faced Shalin. Her throat moved with difficulty as she finally swallowed back her unuttered warning.
Then, she nodded heavily, agreeing with Shalin's suggestion.
Once Castorice confirmed that Nimue had been led to safety, her gaze fell entirely back upon the restless wolf pack.
Then, in a flash, a deep purple Aura of Death erupted from Castorice once again.
The moment this dense Aura of Death appeared, the purple soulfire flickering in the eye sockets of the bone wolves—who had been hesitant—suddenly turned a frenzied blood-red!
At this moment, in the face of this Aura of Death, their maddened instincts were completely ignited!
All hesitation vanished in an instant. The wolf pack let out deafening roars and, like sharks smelling the most delicious bait, launched a desperate charge toward the center of the purple domain without regard for their lives!
"Be care—" Seeing this, Nimue's heart leaped into her throat, and a warning almost burst from her lips.
However, that warning remained forever stuck in her throat.
Because the scene that followed caused her to lose her voice entirely; she could only stare with wide, horrified eyes at the terrifying spectacle.
The bone wolves charging at the very front suddenly froze in their tracks the moment they burst into the purple area.
Then, the blood-red soulfire in their eyes dimmed sharply, reverting to a purple color. In the next second—
Clatter! Clatter!
As if the strength supporting their bodies had been instantly siphoned away, they collapsed onto the ground.
The bone wolves following behind met the exact same fate.
One by one, the skeletons became like puppets with their strings cut; though they maintained their lunging postures, they lost all kinetic energy and slammed straight onto the earth.
Those purple mists acted like an impassable domain; no matter how fierce the charge had been previously, once they entered, it was as if a pause button had been slammed down, stopping the assault.
What was even more eerie was that the wolves behind them were completely oblivious! They seemed no longer afraid of the consequence of their souls being extinguished, stepping fearlessly over the fallen skeletons of their "companions," carrying their frenzied roars as they lunged into that lethal purple aura one after another—only to repeat the process of stiffening, falling, and soulfire dimming.
The entire scene was like moths to a flame, carrying a sense of cruel and desperate ritual.
When the last bone wolf tumbled at the edge of the purple mist, a silent hill of skeletons had piled up within this domain of death.
In the midst of this eerie silence, Castorice moved.
Her slender waist twisted slightly as she funneled power into her arms, and the giant scythe—the symbol of death—suddenly tore through the air!
A deep, purplish-black arc of light that seemed to cleave through space itself swept out from bottom to top. Wherever the arc passed, the air let out a sharp hiss, leaving behind a rift that lingered like a spatial crack.
Buzz—
Countless semi-illusory images of ghostly purple butterflies fluttered gracefully out of that purplish-black rift. They beat their wings silently, leaving dreamlike trails under the moonlight, before quietly dissipating in a flash as if they had never appeared.
And along with the fall of this seemingly empty swing—
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A series of dense snaps, like ice layers shattering, exploded in the dead silence! Within the purple aura, all the stiff, fallen bone wolves—regardless of position or posture—simultaneously burst open with a smooth cut through the center of their torsos!
Hard bone was severed as easily as rotten wood, and cold purple flames instantly ignited at the points of fracture.
The faint, swaying soulfire in the eye sockets of those bone wolves was completely extinguished by this strike, like candles being forcibly pinched out.
What was truly hair-raising was that at every severed bone surface, tiny purplish-white flowers grew with eerie speed.
They drew nourishment from the skeletons, blooming with serene life upon the embers of death, adding a unique color and a haunting beauty to this battlefield of bleached bone.
"Such... such terrifying power..."
Seeing this, Nimue's body couldn't stop trembling slightly, her voice barely squeezed from between her teeth.
Having witnessed this overwhelming "battle" firsthand, the pack of fourth-rank bone wolves that had proven so troublesome for her and Shalin—even threatening their lives—had been completely transformed into scattered remains and silent blossoms of death by a single eruption of aura and a single swing of the blade from the girl holding the giant scythe.
"Phew... settled."
After finishing this, Castorice sensed the area and found that the fluctuations of undead aura had vanished. She let out a breath and relaxed slightly.
Then, her wrist turned lightly, and the giant scythe in her hand slowly lowered.
Immediately, the purple scythe blade and the handle transformed into a viscous, purplish-black stream of liquid, which then turned into countless tiny purple motes of light, dissipating silently into the night.
The suffocating Aura of Death surrounding Castorice was retracted into her body, vanishing without a trace.
The moonlight once again clearly outlined her elegant and soft silhouette, as if the reaper who had just harvested lives was merely a hallucination.
"You..."
Nimue swallowed with difficulty, her throat feeling incredibly parched.
Her gaze was pinned firmly to Castorice's seemingly harmless back, her voice trembling with disbelief.
"...Who are you exactly?!"
This question, laden with a sense of lingering shock, echoed through the silent woodland.
Upon hearing it, Castorice turned around slowly and looked toward Nimue, just about to speak about her identity.
However, at that very moment—
Castorice suddenly sensed three powerful presences filled with vitality and nature appearing within her perception range, rapidly approaching their location at an astonishing speed!
This massive life force formed a sharp contrast with her own residual Aura of Death, causing the words about to leave Castorice's mouth to pause.
"Sister Nimue!" At this moment, Shalin, keenly sensing the tension in the air, quickly seized the opportunity to interject, deliberately raising her voice. "The communication resonance has come! It's Elder Maria and the others! They're almost here! In that direction!"
Her voice was filled with delight as she urgently pointed her arm toward the direction where the life force was surging, attempting to use this news to dilute Nimue's shock and suspicion toward Castorice.
"The Elder and the others are here?!"
This long-awaited news instantly seized Nimue's attention.
She whipped her head around, her face a mix of surprise and massive joy, and quickly followed the direction Shalin pointed, mobilizing her spiritual power to probe.
At the same time, Castorice also looked in the direction of Shalin's finger, a flash of realization crossing her purple eyes.
So this was the "Elder" Shalin had mentioned earlier; no wonder there was such an aura of nature and life force.
Then she would wait for them to arrive before speaking.
Thus, Castorice didn't continue her explanation but stood quietly in place, waiting for the three presences to approach.
Before long, three figures burst through the forest cover and appeared at the edge of the clearing.
The first to leap out were two tall and athletic female elves.
Castorice first directed her gaze toward these two female elves.
They wore silver light armor that gleamed coldly under the moonlight, the plates engraved with complex runes; Castorice could also see a faint blue luster flowing over them, which she suspected was some kind of magic enchantment.
In their hands, each gripped a refined green longsword; the blades were slender and elegant, with sharp, cold glints hidden at the edges.
'Hmm... swordsmen. They seem to have the same profession as Nimue.'
Seeing the longswords in the hands of these two elves, Castorice immediately recalled the similar model of longsword Nimue had used earlier.
As soon as these two elves appeared, they immediately began observing the scene. Their vigilant gazes swept over the messy remains of skeletons and the eerie purplish-white flowers upon them, finally landing with caution on Castorice, who stood not far behind the bones.
Next, a figure drifted gracefully from behind the two sword-wielding elves and hovered in mid-air.
The figure wore a set of deep purple mage robes that appeared extremely magnificent and mysterious; in her hand, she held a strangely shaped staff.
To Castorice, the staff looked as if it were fashioned from intertwined vines; at the top of the staff was embedded a massive gemstone radiating a soft green light.
This elven mage looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old and was also very beautiful; however, since an elf's age cannot be judged by appearance, Castorice could clearly feel the aura of majesty coming from her.
After this elven mage appeared, she also began scanning the surroundings.
At this moment, upon seeing the figure floating in the air, Nimue and Shalin erupted with massive joy.
"Elder Maria!" x2
They cried out almost in unison, their voices filled with the excitement of having survived a disaster.
After all, to them, the Elder's arrival was equivalent to finding their pillar of support; their previously suspended hearts finally settled.
"Elder Maria?"
Hearing their words, Castorice naturally understood who this elf in the mage robes was.
Then, she saw Elder Maria, who was suspended in the air, descend to the ground.
At this moment, Maria's face was filled with solemnity.
She didn't immediately respond to Nimue and Shalin's calls, nor did she mind Castorice's observation. Instead, she took a deep breath, seemingly distinguishing the residual scents in the air.
After a short while, Maria opened her eyes and murmured to herself:
"...Such pure... such terrifying Aura of Death."
Her voice was low and carried a hint of shock as her gaze swept over the scenery on the ground.
The skeletons sliced neatly in half, and the tiny purplish-white flowers growing from the cut surfaces.
"The residue of such power... is not something ordinary Power of Death can achieve."
She murmured to herself. Finally, her gaze, filled with wisdom and vigilance, landed on Castorice.
"You are Castorice?" Maria's voice, though sounding like that of a young girl, was much more steady and powerful than an ordinary girl's, carrying the specific majesty of a superior. Alongside this, there was also a cautiousness toward an unknown power. "These bone wolves... they all died by your hand?"
After speaking, her gaze once more swept over those eerie purplish-white flowers, her meaning self-evident.