Chapter 727: The Instrument of Divine Retribution
Translator: TransN Editor: Meh
"No—!" Pasha screamed at the top of her voice.
Right after Celine took out the tentacle out of the Instrument of Divine Retribution and knocked two demonic hybrids down, she was bitten by another demonic beast. Her cumbersome blob-like body instantly cracked open. Scales and gray body liquid gushed out and splashed all over the place. Several sneaky mutated wolf species even crept up her coarse skins and clambered to her head, in an attempt to bite her main tentacles on the top.
The other witches all unsheathed their swords and came to her rescue. Springing up like a streak of silver light, Elena was the fastest one. She struck a demonic hybrid who came to block her way and slashed it in half. Afterwards, she dashed into the crowd of demonic beasts and slew fiercely. The beasts' blue blood spilled behind her. Apparently, these monsters, which scared common people so much, were as impotent as normal beasts in front of these God's Punishment Witches who were as powerful as Extraordinaries. Even in the start of this fight when the beasts had still been in their prime, they had apparently not been in a prevailing position in terms of speed or power.
As more witches joined the battle, demonic beasts were slaughtered one by one. After the short chaos came to an end at last, Pasha withdrew all her tentacles and rushed to the center of the hall, heart in her throat.
Unlike a God's Punishment Witch who could easily switch her body. They, unfortunately, were stuck in the blob they had entered without an option to switch to a new one. Once their bodies were on the brink of shutting down, they would have no choice but to merge with Lady Eleaner.
Pasha was completely satisfied with her fate. After she had resolved to follow Lady Natalya, she was prepared to sacrifice herself anytime. But Celine could not end up like this. Among all the survivors, she had done more research than anybody else on the magic core. If she was merged by the central carrier, nobody would be able to reboot the Instrument of Divine Retribution until a considerable amount of time. It would be perilous for everybody in the Months of Demons when danger constantly lurked around.
"Are you OK?" asked Pasha anxiously, who landed next to the blob covered with wounds and scratches.
"Well... not bad." Celine's answer relieved Pasha instantly. "I'll be fine as long as the holes in my body are blocked. The problem lies in my tentacles. Several of them are broken and it's awfully painful."
"You shall find yourself lucky to still be able to sense pains... I yearn to feel them again." One voice complained.
"Exactly. If Phyllis hears you say that, she'll be jealous. Poor Phyllis. She can only take solace spiritually now."
"Don't say that. She was sent to serve ordinary people for the sake of Taquila." Elena frowned.
"She's now called No. 76, isn't she? I wonder how the plan of the Chosen One goes at the moment."
"It has been only a short time. The Union no longer dominates the whole continent these days. It'll take us at least another two or three years to complete the mission since we can't even reach those hidden witches that easily."
"Or wait until the Army of Demons besieges and defeats us at the arrival of the Bloody Moon." Another voice put in.
"Damn, do you really want to say that like we don't know?"
Everbody burst into laughter at this remark.
"Shut up, all of you. We're still in danger." Alethea grunted. "What should we do? There's a hole in the ceiling. If there's one fallen beast, there'll be another. Shall we split up and leave some of us here at the bottom of the cave?"
Pasha contemplated for a while and made an objection. "No. If the fallen demonic beast fights with the witches who stay here only, then that won't be a problem. What if they turn around to attack the outer defense line? In that case, people who guard the entrances will be besieged. Even if we're as strong as God's Punishment Warriors, it'll still put us in a very difficult position."
Elena gave an approving nod. "I agree with Pasha. We'll be easily split up and surrounded. By then, we'll have nowhere to retreat. I bet it would be better for us to stay close together than separate. Let's gather at the center of the hall to guard the relic and the core. Once the Instrument of Divine Retribution is repaired, we'll all be able to stay alive."
"I agree."
"So do I."
"At any rate, this sounds better than being bitten by a demonic beast from the back."
"Then let's do it." Pasha swayed her tentacles. "Abandon the bottom floor and focus on the defense of the magic core."
That meant they would have to confront the hybrid demonic beasts that swarmed in at the center of the hall. Without a doubt, there was going to be a fierce battle ahead of them. Fortunately, strong, gigantic Fearful Beasts of Hell and flying species that no defense could effectively ward off could not penetrate the maze; otherwise, the situation would be much worse.
Pasha felt a little distressed. The number of the demonic beasts was astonishing, but they God's Punishment Witches were not possessed of incessant physical strength. If the Instrument of Divine Retribution could not be repaired in a short period of time, Pasha feared that they could not hold up for very long with so many monsters swarming in.
If she had known this would happen, she should not have allowed Celine to continue with the test of the cores in the Months of Demons, at least not this most important one.
An hour later, demonic beasts appeared at the bottom floor of the maze, and the battle officially began.
All the witches fought at their best. Beyond a doubt, the result of this battle would determine whether human beings were able to survive. Pasha also joined the fight. She drew lava from the lava river and sprayed on demonic hybrids' heads. Scorching, slimy red water set the monsters' furs afire. Flames flared out. The air was heavy with a burning smell.
In spite of this, the monsters still continued to swarm in and darted toward where the relic was located. The God's Punishment Witches soon formed a wall of flesh and blood to stop them. For God's Punishment Witches, as long as their skulls were not injured, they would never truly die. As such, the battle was a bitter one. Some witches were terribly bitten, but they still managed to chop off their enemies' legs and rip them open while struggling on the ground.
Just at this critical moment, Celine's thrilled voice reached everybody. "The core calculation is completed! The magic power mode has switched to the foreign species annihilation mode. The Instrument of Divine Retribution is ready to go!"
"Pasha, I'll take care of the matter here. You go activate it now!" Alethea ejected a mouthful of lava and forced one of the demonic beasts nearby to retreat. She rushed to the front to cover Pasha.
Among all the survivors, Pasha's key was the biggest and strongest among the keys that could activate the instrument. It was second only to Lady Eleanor's.
Pasha nailed her main tentacle into the slate and sprang up. In a second, she was next to the Instrument of Divine Retribution. She stuck out all her tentacles and tightly wrapped around the spindle-shaped core suspending in the air. Instantly, her magic power streamed from her body, and the gleam of the instrument frame started to become increasingly bright as well.
Pasha could sense her magic power gradually condensed into a strange, semi-transparent polyhedron at the center of the spindle. The polyhedron looked very complicated, with numerous facets and edges, almost ineffable. Pasha realized that this was the core to annihilate foreign species. It worked the same way as the magic representation of Senior Witches, except it was much more powerful. When the ghostly black-blue light turned blinding pure white, the frame of the spindle opened abruptly and lit up the center of the hall, making it as bright as day!
"Right Now!" Celine yelled.
Pasha ordered the other witches to apply their abilities. A pale blue lightwave immediately escaped from the core and rippled around the hall. Within a blink, the lightwave reached every corner of the hall!