As soon as Eve gave her order, the harbinger of death burst into motion.


    Unlike the humans who were terrified of the water, it directly jumped into the pool, raising its scythe high before shing downward at the leviathan''s chest with immense strength!


    Ka-BOOOOM!


    Upon impact, a thunderous sound echoed throughout the chambers, and a crack appeared on the abyss leviathan''s chest. The beast roared in agony and thrashed about. Its enemy''s scythe attack had been quite lethal, and it had dug rtively deep into its chest.


    Seeing the exposed tender flesh, Aina didn''t hesitate. A burst of white light appeared in her hands, slowly extending in all directions before taking the shape of a luminous spear that shone radiantly!


    Inside this dim room filled with blood and dark magic, the radiant spear stood out like a sore thumb, emitting a holy aura.


    Drawing one foot backward, Aina strained her muscles, and the spear shot out from her grasp.


    FWOOSH!


    The holy spear cut through the air, and just before it struck the leviathan, those terrifying eyes suddenly stared in her direction. But Aina remained unfazed; not even a tinge of fear could be spotted on her face.


    The spear, however, was ineffective. Just as it was about to strike, the leviathan''s scales began to glow, the milky light spreading across its massive body and clinging to it like a second skin.


    The next barrage of attacks from the harbinger of death proved useless as well.


    DENG! DENG!


    The skeleton mmed its scythe repeatedly, but it felt as if it was hitting an anvil with armor, making the skeleton''s blue eyes sh with great confusion.


    "Guys, that''s one of its skills—Eternal Abyss Armor!" Nox informed the group and quickly ordered, "Master, call back your undead. Let me try something."


    With a mentalmand, the two-meter-tall skeleton jumped out of the half-dried pool, standing beside Eve like a protective guardian.


    "What are you nning to do?" Aina asked.


    "I''ll destroy its armor," Nox replied, his eyes glinting with determination. He held both hands out, a tendril of darkness coalescing there. "Mom, you might want to put up your barrier."


    Aina didn''t ask any further questions and quickly did as he said. Her radiant white barrier began to spread outward in all directions, trapping everyone present while leaving just enough space for Nox''s arms to remain outside.


    The harbinger of death shifted ufortably when it felt the aura of the holy barrier, but it remained stoic and impassive.


    Thest time I used abo, it had been very useful against the yeti... I hope this one will cause enough damage too, Nox thought inwardly.


    A small bloody pattern that could easily go unnoticed appeared beside him. Out of this portal, bloody tendrils started to extend onto each of Nox''s arms, reaching up to his fingertips, which were already pulsing with condensed dark energy.


    The red tendrils merged with the twin orbs, taking on a slightly darker shade. Their pulse grew more powerful, like the throbbing of hearts.


    Though it was condensed, one could almost feel the raw power emitting from the twin orbs.


    Aina and Eve were curious about what he was doing. Their gazes were momentarily taken off the beast and fixed on Nox, anticipation gripping their hearts.


    At that moment, the sound of a gunshot echoed in the air, and two dark, bloody orbs exploded forward.


    BOOOOM!!!


    The twin bloody orbs collided with the leviathan''s chest, and an eruption of magical energy spread outward. The force of the impact shook the chamber violently, sending shockwaves that cracked the ground.


    "It worked!" Nox''s eyes lit up as he saw the leviathan''s shimmering armor flickering slightly, exposing its real skin. The beast''s eyes were filled with anger as it started thrashing wildly.


    BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Rocks descended from the cavern''s ceiling, mming into the beast and making it even more furious. A few of them evennded on the holy barrier, but it had no effect; only a faint ripple appeared on the surface before it became more solid.


    Nox had suspected that his mother was very powerful after seeing her send that unknown demon back to its dimension a few years ago. Hence, he was confident that even if the entire mountain copsed, everyone would still survive.


    As he watched the beast thrash about, a soft smile appeared on his face, especially when the giant rocks mmed into the leviathan with crushing force anytime it tried to re at them.


    It was a veryical sight as the beast would have to wait for the rain of rocks to stop before expressing its anger.


    "Is it just me, or is the beast''s aura growing stronger?" Aina frowned.


    Eve nodded as well. "You''re not wrong. It''s really growing stronger."


    The smile that had been stered on Nox''s face quickly disappeared as he sensed it too.


    Just to be sure, he used Analyze, and his heart sank at what he saw...


    [50% Awake]


    "What the heck!" Nox shouted, stunned.


    Aina and Eve turned to him to ask what was the matter. Since they didn''t have advanced features like him, another screen soon shed before Nox again.


    [51% Awake]


    "We have to hurry!" Nox shouted. "It''s waking up!"


    [52%]


    [57%]


    What the fuck! I thought it was the pool that was hastening the process? Were we wrong? Nox''s mind was in shambles as he fired attack after attack.


    At Eve''s mentalmand, the harbinger of death jumped at the beast and began hacking away at the leviathan''s chest.


    CRACK! CRACK!


    ck blood spilled out from the beast''s chest. Before everyone''s eyes, they could see that the beast was aging and shrinking slowly... though at a snail''s pace, it was very noticeable.


    Was this what she meant by strike its soul?


    Seeing the skeleton''s noticeable progress, another radiant spear materialized in Aina''s grasp, but this time it burned brighter.


    FWOOSH! FWOOSH!


    She hurled it, and the spear streaked through the air like a zinget. The exposed chest of the leviathan provided no defense, and the spear embedded into its chest, causing excruciating pain to shoot throughout the beast.


    Eve, not to be outdone, unsheathed her de and jumped into the pool. Most of the water was gone, but to be on the safe side, shended on the beast''s body and plunged her dagger deep.


    SCHLUNK! SCHLUNK!


    ROOOAR!


    The beast roared in pain and thrashed about, but Eve skillfully threw her body backward, flipping through the air beforending back outside the pool.


    [60% Awake]


    "Dammit!"


    "Master, pull back your undead!" Noxmanded as he summoned another surge of dark energy into his fingertips. Eve nodded and flicked her wrist. Almost instantly, the towering undead vanished just before a tail swipe could m into it.


    Aina and Eve shared a nce. They could feel the terrifying aura from the beast. Although they couldn''t see its status screen, they could tell it was beginning to awaken from its dormant state.