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A flicker of surprise crossed Phantylia's eyes.
Just moments ago, Stelle seemed utterly defeated, but now she appeared fully revitalized, as if restored to full health.
Phantylia sensed a massive surge in the life force energy within the gray-haired girl, increasing several-fold—or even more.
"What is happening?"
"One after another, they're all bursting with newfound power..."
Phantylia struggled to maintain composure.
Standing tall, Stelle pointed her flame spear at Lord Ravager. Her long gray hair began to sway without any breeze.
Without uttering a word, she charged forward.
Floating above, Phantylia waved her small palm-leaf fan.
A green hurricane surged forth, its powerful gusts felt like countless tiny knives slicing across one's face.
With a sweeping motion, Stelle split the green hurricane in two using her flame spear. The unleashed flames stretched and danced freely through the air.
The remaining winds merely caused Stelle's clothing to rustle futilely.
Phantylia's attack continued as multiple thunder dragons circled high overhead, their proud heads held aloft.
Torrential lightning descended, creating a despair-inducing storm of falling bolts.
Within this tempest, Stelle skillfully maneuvered, evading bolt after bolt of lightning.
Realizing that Stelle was closing the gap, Phantylia aimed to maintain distance and soared backward on the wind.
However...
Despite flying relentlessly, Phantylia found not only had she failed to increase the separation but was actually drawing closer to Stelle. In the figure before her, Phantylia saw echoes of Bochang—an unsettling shadow that lingered persistently.
"With my current condition, if I die again, this body will truly be beyond repair. No... she can't get any closer; I must maintain a safe distance."
Phantylia had suffered immensely from Bochang's onslaught earlier.
Now, only her right arm could freely move, and her legs were also impaired.
Her internal reserves of Strength of Fertility were nearly depleted.
Within a short span, Phantylia knew her severe injuries would not heal, and her weakened state was even more persistent.
Facing Stelle's sudden surge in power,
with both weakness and serious injury hindering her, Phantylia dared not engage in close combat.
Self-awareness is invaluable.
From the moment Phantylia witnessed Stelle's burst, she understood the strategy she needed to employ.
Gritting her teeth, she focused more energy on flight. If she could just stall for a bit longer... until her condition improved slightly, she believed her superior strength might still allow her to overpower Stelle.
However...
Phantylia suddenly realized that she seemed to have been hovering in place all along.
Like the meteor hovering above, she persisted.
"Oh no, it's that unseen force again! Curse it... What kind of bizarre abilities is this?"
By the time Phantylia realized what was happening, it was too late.
She crossed beyond the zone of falling lightning.
Stelle, unsure why Phantylia retreated slightly and then froze, saw it as an opportunity-a favorable one for her, being primarily a close-quarters combatant.
Nothing irked Stelle more than enemies kiting her around. Unlike Bochang with his array of peculiar abilities, if she couldn't catch up to an opponent, she would be left vulnerable, forced to endure blows from afar.
As they neared each other,
Stelle halted, gently swung her flame spear, causing flames to dance at its tip.
The surge of newfound power from her fate path resonated intensely.
Upon acquiring this weapon, Stelle instinctively mastered new skills without any formal training, as if enlightened by an Adeptus' touch.
In that moment, memories of Bochang flooded back, his laughter still vivid in her mind, reigniting her fury.
With feet ablaze, Stelle charged forward, her voice ringing clear:
"Flame Spear, Charge!"
Two points connected, forming a blazing trail of fire.
Stelle on one side, Phantylia on the other.
The charging gray-haired girl transformed into a fiery meteor, trailed by countless glowing embers behind her.
In almost no time, Stelle closed the distance between them and reached Phantylia. With ease, her flame spear pierced through the enemy's chest, dragging her down from the sky to the ground.
"Boom!"
Stelle impaled Phantylia firmly onto the black earth, causing a pillar of flames to erupt upward with them at its center.
Phantylia's eyes widened as she felt life rapidly fading from this body, consumed by raging flames. Filled with anger and frustration, she couldn't believe that she would be defeated by such a young girl who seemed insignificant, just like a mere insect.
Both Stelle and Phantylia were engulfed within the towering inferno.
However...
This was Stelle's power, so it caused her no harm whatsoever.
Only Phantylia suffered, her body turning charred and gradually crumbling into ash—an unstoppable process.
Stelle glared at her unemotionally, driven solely by the desire for revenge.
Phantylia knew what Stelle was thinking.
Before this body could be completely consumed by flames, Phantylia forced a smile and said, "Benefactor, your strength is indeed commendable. However, I've merely lost one of my hastily crafted physical forms. Since you've destroyed my vessel, allow me to take over Bochang's body for our final confrontation."
With those words,
Phantylia's body turned to ash amidst the burning flames.
Yet, the green flame swiftly flew towards Bochang's form.
During their battle, both Stelle and Phantylia had intentionally avoided harming Bochang.
This was to prevent any damage to his body.
Of course...
Even if they hadn't avoided him, Silver Wolf would have intervened to protect Bochang, ensuring no harm came to him.
After regaining some composure,
Silver Wolf suddenly felt that Bochang's death seemed suspicious.
He hadn't even used his life-saving item yet. Just like that, he died? The more Silver Wolf pondered, the more it appeared off, suspecting Bochang might be up to something peculiar, given his penchant for unusual antics.
Could he have just died like that? The more Silver Wolf pondered, the stranger it seemed. He felt convinced that Bochang was up to some trickery, given his penchant for peculiar actions.
Realizing this, Silver Wolf would not allow Bochang's body to be harmed under any circumstances.
Even if there were residual effects from their battle, the hacker girl had intercepted them all, ensuring Bochang remained completely unscathed.
Phantylia's actions startled both Stelle and Silver Wolf.
They couldn't simply watch as she darted towards Bochang.
"Stop running!" Stelle shouted while chasing after Phantylia, attempting to jab her with the flame spear simultaneously. However, it proved futile; Stelle could not keep pace, and Phantylia showed no intention of stopping.
Silver Wolf tried to immobilize the blue flame entity but found it ineffective. Transformed into blue flames, Phantylia seemed to exist on a different dimension, rendering most conventional methods powerless against her.
"Is there any way...?" Silver Wolf frantically tapped away at the keyboard, searching for a method to restrain Phantylia.
They sought a method to restrain Phantylia, but unfortunately, time was too short—it was already too late.
Under the watchful eyes of Stelle and Silver Wolf,
Phantylia approached Bochang's body and swiftly dove into it without any hesitation.
The fresh corpse had just perished, and with a touch of Phantylia's power, she could immediately control this new vessel.
"A suspected dragon's physical form should not disappoint me," thought Phantylia.
The process of possession seemed routine at first. However...
Once inside, Phantylia realized something was amiss.