Chapter 159: Otherworld Summoning Formation

In truth, these are the items that hold genuine value as treasures. Yet, when such treasures fall into the hands of others, they are mostly rendered as mere scraps of iron.

A tiny fragment of a shield, yet it brimmed with divine power. Compared to other objects imbued with divinity, this reserve of divine power appeared remarkably abundant.

Naturally, it could still only be described as a faint trace of divine power. After all, the divine infusion and divine alteration functions of Vinigo consumed only the most minuscule fraction of divine power.

Much like a small key turning a heavy, massive door—though absolutely indispensable, it possessed little weight of its own.

The divine power of protection.

"Vinigo, what is that?" The little wolf-girl suddenly poked her head out from a side cavern, waving her hands enthusiastically.

Greatly intrigued, Vinigo followed the little wolf-girl through a long tunnel, only to discover that hidden behind an inconspicuous passage lay a natural underground hall. The floor of this hall had already been cleared and leveled by the fire-crossbowmen, who had drawn a massive, intricate diagram upon the ground.

"Is this a magic array? I don't understand any of this. Sherry, come take a look!"

Before long, Sherry appeared in the underground hall with a grave expression. After closely inspecting the diagram, she nodded and said, "A magic array."

"What kind?" Vinigo asked.

"Its essence is fire; its purpose is unknown," Sherry replied.

"Its essence is fire..." Vinigo murmured, snapping his fingers to summon his familiar.

Xida drifted out softly from the flames, as the biting cold of this place was clearly unsuited for the little phlogiston sprite. However, she quickly noticed the diagram on the ground and hopped out, seemingly perplexed.

Though she did not understand it, she somehow felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with the diagram—that was Xida's current thought. Sensing her thoughts, Vinigo motioned for her to toss a small wisp of flame into the diagram to see what would happen.

To his surprise, the moment a single spark touched the ground, the entire magic array burst into a roaring blaze.

It was not a physical fire, but rather a brilliant radiance conjured by magical light. Amidst the flames, Xida giggled softly, twirling gracefully in the air.

As the fire grew higher, Vinigo vaguely sensed that something was amiss. He motioned for Akana and Sherry to withdraw first.

"Xida, what is this?" Vinigo asked.

Tilting her head, Xida spread her arms wide, and the flames enveloping her body transformed into a fierce, purple blaze as she charged directly toward the blinding light.

The surge of the Murderous Intent? Was Xida about to pick a fight with someone?

The magic array erupted with a deafening roar, pillars of flame shooting upward to illuminate the cavern ceiling into a blinding white. Out from the blazing inferno lunged a colossal, fiery figure, its claws snatching fiercely at the phlogiston sprite hovering in the air.

"You've got to be kidding me! This is a high-level otherworldly pact summoning spell!" Vinigo finally realized what the fire-crossbowmen had been trying to do.

Relying on a smattering of sorcery and a magic array obtained from who knows where, they had actually attempted to summon a powerful entity from the Elemental Plane of Fire into this freezing northern frontier!

Without a doubt, Vinigo was almost certain that this magic array had been "bestowed" upon the fire-crossbowmen by the Warlord Stronghold. Only they possessed such artifacts.

"I see. Once winter passes, they intended to summon a powerful fire elemental entity to melt the vast expanses of surface snow, creating a spring flood to inundate Icewind Town and Whitecap Town!" Vinigo snapped his fingers. "Heh, what a bunch of lunatics."

The Fire Elemental Behemoth, Yela.

This formidable creature resembled a framework of metallic bones baked to a glowing red, with a body composed of ash-like substance within. It possessed four gigantic claws, two rows of razor-sharp teeth, and a serrated crest splitting apart from the top of its head—features entirely formed of incandescent bone, undeniably possessing devastating lethal power.

Most eye-catching of all was the crimson cape formed of flames upon the behemoth's back, fluttering as if it were a living creature.

Ordinarily, it was a monster of the Elemental Plane of Fire that preyed upon phlogiston sprites, yet facing Xida, this behemoth did not necessarily hold the upper hand.

Xida's strength was already exceptionally high among phlogiston sprites, and after absorbing Akuma's surge of Murderous Intent, her flames underwent a mutation, granting her the strength to trade blows with Yela on equal footing.

Although Yela's massive claws were terrifyingly lethal, they were not guaranteed to catch Xida, and its fire was nothing more than a warm bath to Xida, whose body was likewise composed primarily of flame. By comparison, the purple blaze infused with the Murderous Intent was fully capable of inflicting damage upon Yela.

Even so, Yela remained a troublesome opponent.

Yet Vinigo felt a surge of excitement.

What are we waiting for? Take it down!

Character selected, analysis complete... Divine power infused, composition finalized! Water Sprite, manifest here!

"Fire? Despite its immense size, in my eyes, it is nothing more than a candle in the wind," Vinigo sneered. "O Ring of Murdura, respond to my call!"

The steel rings upon Vinigo's arms emitted a faint blue glow. He leapt lightly into the midair and flicked his hands downward.

Lunar Wave!

Three water projectiles tore through the air, their magical water spheres striking Yela's body and causing it to roar in fury.

It wheeled around, unleashing a thunderous roar toward Vinigo. A meter-long molten iron claw lashed down viciously, leaving three deep gouges in the ground.

The scorch marks left behind by those gouges were vividly apparent.

"That's quite a high temperature," Vinigo whistled. He leaped backward just before the claw struck, and the instant his feet touched the ground, he vaulted aggressively toward the top of Yela's head.

Full Moon!

Transforming into a sphere of water, Vinigo rolled down Yela's back. As the water sphere made contact with Yela's fiery cape, it emitted a startling, hissing sound. With the passage of the water sphere, Yela's flame cape dimmed noticeably.

At that moment, Xida shrieked as she charged forward fiercely, holding her tiny hands close to her sides and thrusting them outward.

Minds Eye: Great Wave!

Boiling murderous intent poured into the flames, and like a towering pillar collapsing from the heavens, the swirling, roaring purple demon-flame slammed heavily into Yela.

Yela roared in rage, snatching its back-mounted flame cape to shield its head and chest. The purple demon-flame collided with the crimson fire, scattering sparks in all directions that sizzled angrily against the ground.

"Idiot!" Vinigo laughed mockingly. Agilely springing up from the rain of fire with water swirling around his hands, he casually swatted away the flames descending toward him.

Xida tilted her head slightly, sparing him a single glance before resuming her ferocious assault on Yela. Her flames were seemingly inexhaustible, and what puzzled Vinigo the most was that Xida's surge of Murderous Intent was likewise so intensely concentrated.

While phlogiston sprites could hardly be classified as harmless creatures, they did not strike him as particularly ferocious either. Why was Xida so exceptionally unique?

Come to think of it, Ramen seemed rather unique as well. Vinigo sighed. Upon careful reflection, not a single person or creature around him seemed entirely normal.

Flashing Demon Slice, Flashing Demon Spiral, Minds Eye: Great Wave... Xida seemed entirely disinterested in ordinary movements, repeatedly executing only these few ultimate techniques of Akuma.

Furthermore, when Xida executed these ultimate techniques, she did so with as much effortless ease as throwing a punch or a kick, making it look far more effortless than Vinigo himself could manage.

Consequently, as Xida's opponent, Yela found the situation deeply frustrating.

It did not fear fire; no matter how intense the flame, to it, it was merely the sensation of "being a bit uncomfortably warm." However, the murderous intent carried within the demon-flame still possessed full-force lethality against it.

"Let me handle this." Vinigo intercepted Xida, saying, "Don't overdo it. The Murderous Intent is not something so easily mastered."

Xida giggled softly and retreated behind Vinigo. He looked at her with a trace of perplexity, wondering why Xida remained entirely unaffected by the Murderous Intent.

She showed no signs of losing her sanity whatsoever.

Sighing, Vinigo rose into the air once more and flicked his hands forward.

Initiating with Lunar Wave, the moment his water sphere struck Yela, Vinigo seized the momentum to drop forward. As he closed in on the enemy, he swept his arm, spinning his body to unleash six blades of water.

Rising Moon!

The razor-sharp water blades carved a series of lacerations across Yela's hardened body, and when stimulated by the water blades, its incandescent exoskeleton vented streams of golden-red flames. All of these flames were eagerly inhaled into the body of Xida, who flitted about like a bee.

Judging by the look of pure bliss on her face, it was easy to see why Xida had been so eager to take action against Yela in the first place.

Yela let out a wild, roaring bellow. Its flame cape surged violently, shooting upward into the sky to form a roaring column of fire that nearly blasted Vinigo away.

Vinigo whistled, dissolving into a sphere of water that vanished on the spot. Moments later, accompanied by the appearance of another water sphere, he reappeared a safe distance away, less than two meters behind Yela.

"I can do that too, you know," Vinigo scoffed.

Fantasy End: Heavenly Ascent: Aquatic Wave!

A powerful demonic aether surged upward from the earth, rousing massive volumes of water that erupted in turn. These water pillars were not particularly tall, but their impact force was as though a mountain of lead weights had dropped from the heavens, destabilizing Yela's footing with every single shockwave and sending it stumbling clumsily about.

When the pillars of water subsided, Vinigo had already reverted to his human form, standing blankly in place.

Yela roared in fury and moved to charge forward, yet it failed to take a single step.

Giggling, Xida grabbed hold of Yela's flame cape from behind.

Though it was originally an incorporeal entity formed of fire, in Xida's hands, it behaved just like a physical cloak. Restrained gently by Xida's tiny figure, Yela's massive body was rendered utterly immobile.

"It's useless. My Aquatic Wave isn't just meant to give you a simple bath," Vinigo sneered, curling his lip. "The demonic aether within the water is more than enough to make you lose control of the flames within your own body."

And thus, the flames upon Yela's body were entirely controlled by Xida, a fellow elemental entity.

How ironic!