Chapter 157

Chapter 158: Saints Don’t Fall in the Same Place Twice

Shards of crystal flooring scattered like rain, and to avoid being caught in the aftermath while regaining his stance, Izay chose to put some distance between himself and the moss giant.

“Physical attack reduction, huh….? Then let’s try magical attacks.”

A very reasonable thought.

A body made of moss was immune to direct damage from sharp weapons; what about harm caused by magic?

Especially the scorching energy of Starflame, which particularly counters plants.

The deep blue gem embedded in the Starshine Gauntlets on Izay’s right hand gleamed with light, and in response, Starflame surged along the Spear Yetzah.

Although Izay’s Additional Magic is Light attribute, the distinction between flame and light isn’t strictly observed.

Conceptualizing through stars, stars can both emit light and burn.

In many cases, these two concepts can be interchangeable, their boundaries blurry.

The reason why the magical energy manifests as Starflame is because Izay prefers being enveloped by Starflame over being surrounded by a blanket of starlight.

This subconscious preference shaped the form of his current magic.

The azure Starflame continuously scorched the air, the terrifying heat emitted by the spear forcing the string of sanity. The moss giant, whose body rapidly regenerated, instinctively took a step back.

It now regretted its previous actions, wanting to flee. But there was no such opportunity.

What its mysterious confidence had led it to was a decision that pushed it into the abyss!

No retreat!

To survive, it had to fight!

Fight and kill this golden human before him!

“Uggru—!!”

The monster’s eyes gradually turned red, exuding a murderous aura.

“Hmph…”

Izay inhaled deeply and exhaled, habitually flipping his weapon once before gripping it tightly and setting his stance.

“To finish you!”

The fleeting scenery of the cavern, the slightly widened eyes of the monster, the massive arm attempting to react.

Izay captured every change in his field of vision, thrusting Yetzah forward with force.

The spear moved like lightning, aggressively invading the moss giant’s domain.

“!?”

Another strike that outpaced its reaction speed!

However, the moss giant, having been on guard for Izay’s sudden assaults after they distanced themselves, managed a last-second response.

With eyes filled with malice, it crushed the ground beneath its feet.

Raising a mighty wind with brute force, its ever-ready arm reflexively rose to meet the attack.

“Roaaarrrr!!!”

The moss giant swung its hammer-spear high.

“The same move won’t work on me twice!”

Just as saints don’t fall in the same place twice!

Before Izay’s words even finished, the trajectory of Yetzah suddenly changed.

A sudden flash of piercing cold light split the enormous crystal hammer-spear descending towards him in two, then continued its momentum unfazed. A second burst of silver light severed the moss giant’s arm.

Moss flew like blood but was incinerated mid-air by the azure Starflame.

The residual image of the spear flickered continuously, the spinning spear breaking through the moss giant’s defenses and tearing apart its body one-sidedly.

Tearing apart the moss body along with its tree skeleton, each attack left behind wounds coated with azure Starflame.

The moss giant’s survival-dependent splitting recovery ability was completely suppressed by the Starflame.

Steady and focused azure-blue pupils, the cold gaze of a hawk.

Not giving any chance for retaliation, Izay launched fierce attacks and expanded his gains.

Too fast, too fast, far too fast!

This human could threaten its life!

It had been a long time since simply looking at someone’s eyes induced nearly fearful tremors.

The last time, also the most frightening, was when it saw a blond girl with golden eyes and their entire group. Just a glance from afar terrified it.

While the oppressive presence of this human wasn’t quite as overwhelming, the real danger to its life was undeniable!

He couldn’t be allowed to continue attacking!

“—!”

Ignoring the pain from the spear piercing its body and the burning sensation, it raised its remaining fist and swung down.

“ROOOAAARRRRR!!!”

“If anger were useful, there would be no failures in the world.”

Seeing through its rage-filled intent to make a desperate final attempt, Izay leaned forward to dodge this powerful blow.

And before it hit the ground, he swiftly drew a silver and azure arc with Yetzah.

The sweeping slash effortlessly tore off the moss giant’s second arm, the Starflame incinerating the severed limb. Using the momentum, Izay twisted his body, thrusting his right leg forward like a spear.

“BOOM—!”

A dull sound of impact rang out, and for a moment, Izay’s right leg sank slightly into the thick moss.

The next instant, Starflame erupted, dispelling the feeling of powerlessness from striking something soft, and with a strong kick, the three-meter-tall moss giant was sent flying like a cannonball.

For reasons unknown, despite being composed of moss and branches, the moss giant’s body had an unexpectedly heavy weight.

It was truly the weight of a top-tier large monster.

Izay momentarily blinked in surprise upon landing his spinning kick.

But it was futile.

During battles, ‘Heart of the Earth’ greatly enhances ‘Strength’ and ‘Durability,’ combined with exceptional Ability Values accumulation. Izay’s Strength and Durability attributes were at least upper Level 4 levels.

“BOOOOOMMMMM——”

The massive green body shot into the crystal pile at the entrance of the cavern, scattering shards everywhere.

“So strong…”

Mary’s beautiful eyes widened in astonishment, her cheeks betraying her shock.

In her view, the monster that seemed so terrifying, the one that slaughtered so many of Izay’s comrades, was utterly powerless against Izay?

Even Reid and Gurosu couldn’t accomplish this…

“Ah, he’s really strong.”

Fels nodded in agreement, his pitch-black hood bobbing slightly.

He was also a bit surprised.

After observing for such a long time, he knew some of Izay’s tricks.

What stood out the most was the Additional Magic called ‘Silver Starfall.’

Like the sword maiden’s ‘Wind Spirit Dash,’ it was an Additional Magic that could significantly enhance Ability Values, a divine skill for fighting above one’s level.

He thought that although Level 4 wouldn’t be Izay’s match, it should at least force him to use his magic, right?

Indeed, Izay did use magic, but not fully.

The magic was attached to the weapon… right?

That weapon felt strange to Fels, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on how.

“One last strike…”

Izay twirled Yetzah with his left hand, while his right hand, adorned with the Starshine Gauntlets, emitted a radiant glow, gathering threads of azure magical energy with arcing electric sparks.

“‘Starfall’!!”

In the blink of an eye, a circular magic array of the same color as the magic formed, astonishing magical energy coalescing within.

A compressed orb of azure light, brimming with violent energy, was born and hurtled toward the crystal pile at the cavern entrance like a meteor.