Chapter 307 Adapt And Overcome
"Stay away from our big sister!"
"What the...?"
Just three seconds after Goap exuded his sickeningly overwhelming pressure, he was surprised by a group of people coming at him. The others were, after all, still too shocked to move, so he didn't expect this group to be able to.
Boom!
Not only that, this group of people that seemed to be led by a skinny blond brat could launch attacks at him. They were nervous—he could tell—however none of them were afraid of him.
It was highly fascinating for him. He had seen this show of camaraderie often 2000 years ago, but seeing it now, after 2000 years surprised him pleasantly.
He didn't expect there were still humans who could still trust—who could be that genuine to each other after what their ancestors had done to their own kin when Demons were overthrown 2000 years ago.
Swish!
"Oops. I shouldn't have been too caught up in my mind." Goap laughed as he easily dodged Iliana's spear that was close to split his head.
He watched casually as Iliana took a distance from him, and smiled in anticipation as soon as she regrouped with Cray and the others. He was expecting them to be able to do the impossible—to show him the power of camaraderie.
Cray and the others had, after all, managed to break free from his Mana Pressure's influence the fastest because they were extremely determined to save Iliana. Going by this fact, Goap hoped they would be able to surprise him more.
"What are you doing here?!" Iliana shouted harshly.
"Whoa! Chill out, big sis—we're just trying to save your arse," Cray answered with a smirk.
Smack!
"Who are you calling big sister? Call me Godmother!"
"For Akasha's sake, Iliana, stop hitting my head so easily! I lose a hundred neurons each time you do that!" Cray exclaimed indignantly.
"That extra one hundred might cause me to have brain damage!"
Blinking his eyes in surprise, Goap wondered what actually the relationship between Iliana and Cray. Judging by how they behaved towards each other, he was inclined to believe they didn't have that good of a relationship.
People who are close to each other, after all, don't hit each other—or so he thought from his basic understanding of human relations. He didn't know that sometimes the closer we get to someone, the more "disrespectful" we become.
It took Goap another couple of seconds to finally conclude Iliana and the others were close despite how badly they treated each other. He attributed it to one of the weird things humans did to each other.
"Alright, calm down." Whitney, the voice of reason, finally interrupted. "You two can continue your quarrel when everything has ended." He sighed. "We got an abomination we should run away from."
"That guy is giving us time because he is fascinated by us," Litton commented as he looked at Goap. "I look Monsters that attract my interest the same way before I kill them."
"..."
Iliana and the others from Rehearsal Class were conflicted as they looked at Litton. They couldn't decide whether they should be worried about what Goap was currently doing or the fact that he behaved similarly to Goap.
They knew since long ago Litton was an odd duck. He was the quietest person amongst them and he had had his fair share of doing strange things for no reason, but never once had they thought he had a slightly sick mind.
"I am just weird—not sick-minded."
"... Ah, okay."
Litton was also blunt, so since he knew what they were thinking about, he didn't hesitate to clear the misunderstanding. It also wasn't the first time for the others, so they accepted his statement immediately.
"Kuhum! Let's do a Reverse Battle Formation," Iliana suggested as soon as she felt Goap starting losing his interest in dilly-dallying. "We are going to flee to the rear, while doing our best to distract this guy."
"We aren't going to have a Madman then?" Cray asked.
"Of course, not. That role is unnecessary."
There were four roles in Mage Battle Formation: the Overseer, the Guardian, the Slayer, and the Madman. Each of them had a task that aligned with what their name suggested.
Reverse Battle Formation, or in short, Reformation, was a Formation that had its positions and roles reversed. Many roles were also often not used in the Formation—the Madman and the Overseer—which made it simpler than the usual one.
In this Formation, the Guardians, who usually protected the Overseers, protected the Slayers instead. Their aim was to let the Slayers kill as many enemies as they could without sustaining any injury.
"Whitney, Missy, and Monica will be the Guardians." Iliana pointed her finger to each of the people she had called. "Litton, Cray, and I will be the Slayers. Do you have any objection?"
"No, let's do that!" Everyone nodded their head.
"Alright, assume your position!"
Whitney, Missy, and Monica immediately lined themselves up in a row upon Iliana's order. Iliana, Cray, and Litton also lined up in a row four meters behind them.
Boom!
Materializing their Magic Circles at the same time, all of them were shining intensely. A Magic Circle that was big enough to fit them all inside appeared on the ground, and they shared their Mana to each other from that point onwards.
"[Earth Skate]!"
Whitney immediately cast a simple Earth Element Spell that would help them greatly to escape from Goap. The ground below them rose, lifting them up, before separating itself from the ground below.
The six Mages were now floating in the air with the help of the Earth Element Spell Whitney had cast. Snapping his fingers once, Whitney brought all of them gliding above the ground.
"Hoh? Interesting," Goap remarked. "I am a little bit disappointed however—I have expected more than this."
Shaking his head once, Goap was about to to teleport himself right in front of the six Mages when he felt something coming from behind him. Turning around abruptly, he was greeted by Deacon's air sphere.
Boom!
Goap could swat the air sphere easily, but he was still surprised. "This Saberwolf is really quirky, isn't he? He can erase his presence so well, he has made me forget about his existence."
Upon facing Deacon, who was now just the size of a puppy, Goap developed a desire to own him. He could guarantee there was not a single Saberwolf out there could change their size as easily as Deacon, let alone controlling their Mana that well.
Deacon was well trained—he could tell that easily—but more than that, he was special. Something had turned him special, and he wanted to uncover that.
Boom! Boom!
Just as he thought Iliana had left Deacon behind, he was attacked by Iliana and the others. Their floating piece of earth was flying towards him—it was apparent they were going to pick up Deacon.
Sneering at their direct approach of doing it, Goap ignored them completely and... Regretted it.
Swish!
Just a second after he swatted the attacks of Iliana and the others, Deacon suddenly assumed his original size, and swing his paw at Goap. The hidden claws in his paw, imbued with Wind Magic, created two wind blades.
"This accursed dog!"
Goap had to dodge the wind blades in panic. He could have just taken them with his body, but due to how close he was with Deacon and how powerful the wind blades were, he could risk opening his skin.
The injury wouldn't do much to him—he could heal it in a second—however his pride as a Demon Prince didn't allow him to. It was too embarrassing for him to be injured by a mere Magic Beast.
As for why he had been surprised, it was because he had initially thought Iliana had forgotten to take Deacon with her. He had thought Deacon attacking him with his air sphere a few moments prior was just a futile attempt to defend himself.
He was absolutely wrong in his guess; Deacon and Iliana had planned it beforehand. The air sphere he had sent at Goap after Iliana had gone with the others was just a distraction for the other distraction.
"Darn it! Let us see how well you can last against my Cerberus later, little dog," Goap muttered in annoyance as he saw Deacon in Iliana's arms.
Deacon had used the time Goap had taken to dodge his attack to escape. He had shot past Goap like a flash after shrinking his body, and landed in Iliana's arms.
It was so quick, Goap even wondered if Deacon had been specifically trained how to escape ... He was, indeed, by Basil.
"I am not going to let you go, Pacifer. I need your special ability to summon our Seven Princes—the true kings of Hell!"
As Goap saw the piece of land carrying Iliana and the others away, he, of course, didn't have any intention to let them go. Now that he needed Iliana to do something for him, he was determined to capture her.
Stepping forward once, he instantly appeared in front of Iliana and the others. At this, Whitney and the other Guardians of the Formation immediately erected a Barrier to protect themselves.
Goap swept the air once, producing seven energy balls that Iliana had had a hard time defending against. Iliana and the other Slayers also didn't stay idle as they also launched their attacks at the same time Goap's were launched.
Boom! Boom!
Each time one of Goap's energy balls hit the Barrier, all of them were pushed 5 meters to the back. The impact drastically caused the Slayers' aim to turn bad, and because of that, none of the attacks hit Goap.
It was even only thanks to Deacon's help that they still managed to stay afloat. His strong Affinity towards Wind Element allowed him to support the price of land.
Unfortunately, that was the only thing he could do. Attacking Goap with his air sphere was impossible for him, since helping Whitney controlling the floating piece of land turned out to be enough chore for him.
Crack!
When the energy balls stopped hitting the Barrier, everyone could see a crack in it. Their expression immediately darkened, since the Barrier they had produced was the strongest they could produce.
Quickly fixing up the crack by adding more of their Mana, the crack started closing at a very visible speed. Unfortunately for them however, Goap was not kind enough this time to let them rest.
Shatter!
"Come with me, Pacifer!"
With the Barrier destroyed, Goap could finally lay his hands on Iliana, much to everyone's horror.