The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Chapter 174: Ticking Down

"Ahhh, I'm really going to go crazy if this bullshit doesn't stop!" Reina exerted power once again, trying to regain her control over Xenos.

Xenos' attention was drawn towards Reina, who it recognized to be the because of its previous predicament. Its eyes shone with a desperate light. It knew that so long as Reina was left alone, it would be imprisoned once more.

And this time, there would be no second chance in form of the molting ability.

"..It will stop. As long as we can.."

Aria looked over to Blythe. The man had always observed what she did with full focus.

'If he has a brain, then he should know what to do.'

Within seconds of Aria's concerned eyes locking with Blythe's own, the man turned to his sister.

Blythe conversed with Cha Seol-hyun for a moment before immediately rushing towards Aria's side.

'That's it!' Aria's confidence rose again.

She hated to say it, but they needed Blythe's defense skills right now.  If Blythe was on their side, then the amount of time they can stretch the fight to would increase.

The key to victory was in the cooperation.

Truthfully, with this change in position, some members of Blythe's group was going to falter. Even as Blythe approached Xenos with a gallant spirit, there were already some people fainting and falling down to the ground due to the excessive toxicity in the environment.

However, the sacrifice was necessary. Everyone knew that if Reina was immobilized, then they would all be dead.

To prevent that, a sacrifice of one or two people's lives would still be justified. After all, this was not child's play, but rather a life or death situation. It was either some casualties or the entirety of the Hunters here being wiped out.

Blythe and Cha Seol-hyun chose the first option without a doubt even though it was rather vexing.

The members were part of the assets they managed. Losing some of those potential talent would not only deal a blow to their reputation, but also cost them a lot of fortune.

"What can I do for you?" He asked with a smile like doom wasn't staring down at them.

"Simple. Just buy time for Reina. That's what I've been doing up there when I was running around like a little bitch. Reina is our key to victory. Protect her, let her do the thing, and we will all get out of this place."

Reina, Reina, Reina.

With how much Aria had spelled the woman's name inside her head, she thought that Reina would soon appear inside her dreams once she rested.

Reina Alaster's potential was much greater than what she initially expected, which was a good thing.

"...As far as I'm concerned, Reina Alaster did not have this kind of ability in the past. I wonder if it's somehow connected with you and your.. relationship with her." Blythe's smile warped to contain a hidden meaning, like he was inspecting Aria.

"I would love it if you could shut up and start doing your job without questions. Save it for later, or we're all going to die." Aria gritted her teeth and pointed her sword at the man.

She calmed herself down, since Blythe was a key part of solving their problem.

"Roger!" With a lighthearted laugh, Blythe no longer asked about the matter and went into his stance.

Golden light started to spread out of his equipment, and there was a faint glow surrounding his entire body. Power surged around him, and he wielded that power into his sword.

His large sword was stabbed into the ground in the same manner he did before. The ground shook, and a barrier started to appear, enveloping Aria and the rest.

His demeanor was still very carefree even though the raging Serpent was charging towards them.

"I've observed the Serpent and your fight earlier. This shield should be able to sustain us for a bit. How much time do I need to buy? An estimation of it?" Blythe asked, wanting to use other skills as well.

"Five minutes... No, Reina needs to recover her power. The Serpent is already technically under her control, but she doesn't have the necessary reserves to exert that power. I would say ten minutes in total,  with concern to the time for her to replenish the mana she wasted."

"Got it. I'll manage somehow. I can take care of this by myself, so you can go do some other thing." Blythe said, his eyes curving into crescents.

'..At least he's pretty reliable.' Aria thought as she nodded in agreement.

"Reina, I want you to focus more on visualizing the technique."

'If only I raised my level more.. Haa.' Aria cursed her bad luck.

Who told her to have such a slow growth process? She did her best to grind her way up the ranks, but it still wasn't enough. Her adversities were tougher than what she could handle.

It was also partly her fault for not delving deeper into the lack of potions in this world. If mana potions were easily accessible, then this kind of problem wouldn't have surfaced.

'I ought to do something about that later. I'm sure that with my power.. There is something I can do.'

'It's alright. The day all of my spirits return to my side.. It will eventually come. My army, my comrades.' Aria consoled herself, closed her eyes, and supplied all of her mana over to Dianthe so that she could focus on assisting Reina.

Reina's recovery was going well, and Xenos was also reasonably suppressed by Blythe's moves.

The Serpent's attack would manage to create cracks in the man's defenses, but he would be quick to repair that crack and return the condition back to normal.

Of course, this kind of exchange would not be able to last forever.

Aria wondered how much longer he would be able to last.

Even though he said he would be able to take care of it by himself, she wondered how much of that statement is actually true.

Minutes passed, and things began to feel more and more hopeless.

Will they make it? Blythe still had a lively mood, but fatigue was starting to show itself. He couldn't fully hide his true condition. It was that bad.

Luckily, soon, Reina called out.

"I'm ready. I can do it now. I'm- certain. Well, not exactly, but fuck it." Reina scrunched up her face. Droplets of sweat formed on top of her forehead.

"...Okay. Good luck, Reina. I believe in you." Aria gave her well wishes and moved backwards to let the woman have her space.

Aria went to fortify the barrier with Blythe.

The man, who was starting to be drained out of energy smiled lightly. The gesture that should've conveyed a warm feeling was unsettling for Aria, so she turned away from the man.

"As I thought, I would love it if you were to join our team." Blythe said.

"You better shut your mouth and focus on defending. Lose your balance once and we die. I'm never joining your team."

"Let's see about that. You are an asset that is worth fighting for, Miss. Do you know that?"

Aria didn't respond any further. Blythe let out a disappointed sigh and returned his full attention to the defenses.

"Go wild whenever you're ready, Reina. I'll cover you." Aria spoke.

The other didn't respond, but she knew that the message was well received.

Soon enough, Reina's power began to rise in the form of shadows. Shooting up towards the Serpent who was still trying to stop Reina but to no avail.

It was dire.

At the same time along with Reina's signal to be ready, the defenses were starting to falter in a rapid speed.

Reina's careful chanting in the small voice was all they could focus on. The shadows fought against the Serpent, and tried to consume it once again.

This time, the Serpent was much more resilient and refused to back down without any fight like before. It understood the severity and danger the clutches brought, and struggled to break free.

Utilizing any strength it had to prevent its demise.

With each resistance, Reina received backlash. Her shadows kept getting destroyed, draining her mana.

With each destruction, Reina released more shadows in succession. Shadows that, without fear, charged towards the Serpent in an attempt to bring it down. 

With each dispatched shadow, the Serpent was slowly getting weaker. Its willpower to live was the only thing keeping it afloat after tasting the ungodly antics Reina could dish out with the sheer desperation she held.

With each weakening..

The end drew near. The victory was close.