Sakari did not know where this light suddenly emerged from; however, she knew that it definitely had something to do with that wretched trephasia—and she was correct.
While Luna went around the room healing the captives, at the same time, she was also setting up the Grand Illumination Talismans she received from Maeva before the event started. After all, she was aware of the skounae's fragility to light. But that was not all. The Grand Illumination Talisman was not the type of talisman that could be activated on a timer; therefore, Luna decided to create her own 'timer' by using a Talisman of Obstruction.
A Talisman of Obstruction was used defensively as it forcibly delayed a talisman's activation by up to twenty minutes, depending on the talisman's strength and flawless timing by the user. Of course, since Luna was applying it to her own talismans, the latter part was of no concern.
In addition, the Grand Illumination Talisman was a low-grade talisman; therefore, Luna did not have to worry about its strength and could freely adjust the time delay. Using the two talismans, Luna meticulously set it up so that every Grand Illumination Talisman would go off simultaneously. As a result, a massive "smokescreen" would be created that blocked the view of the skounae, giving the captives time to escape through the portal.
Unfortunately, the effect of the Grand Illumination Talisman was fleeting and quick to expire. It would not take long for the skounae to recover. At that point, no captive would be safe. That's why Luna used her voice magic to amplify the radiant light's effects with the word "persist".
"I never thought my voice magic would change so much after that time. To think it could be used like this after developing." Luna thought to herself.
When Ooudamu took over Luna's body during the Great Sea Palace raid, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Ooudamu's use of her voice magic evolved the skill to the point that Luna could not only use it on people and monsters but also objects and the environment—even manipulating mana or energy itself was not out of the question!
When she said the word "persist" a few moments ago, it was to make the light from the Grand Illumination Talisman stay around longer than its original duration.
Most importantly, since the talismans were set to go off at a specific time, if not for Aria's sudden outburst that distracted the skounae long enough, things may not have gone so smoothly.
Nevertheless, seeing the chaotic scene in front of her eyes, Luna released a helpless sigh. To think a young child would behave in a more dignified manner than those who were many times her age. But, Luna was not surprised.
"A man's true nature is never revealed until he stands face to face with death. Even those you once called kind, benevolent, selfless… At that time, their most primal instinct will manifest itself in full force. When that moment occurs, only one word will exist in their mind—survive." Luna was suddenly reminded of these words she once read in a book that discussed human nature. It seemed even in this world, that rule remained a constant.
…
Despite the chaos, Luna did not have time to oversee the entrance into the portal.
Crash!
"Ah!" One of the hunter skounae yelled in pain as a surge of holy energy rained down upon him.
Before the hunter skounae had time to recover and register what was going on, another wave of holy energy smashed into him two seconds later. Just like that, he was eliminated without a chance to lift a finger!
"I'm not sure how long this light will last. I have to take this chance to strike before they recover." Luna internalized as she cast another Superior Holy Smite on a different hunter skounae.
Most hunter skounae were between level 20-30; therefore, even for someone like Luna, who did not possess a strong offensive capability, it did not require much effort to get rid of them. Not to mention, a skill like her Superior Holy Smite that contained traces of holy energy did increased damage to the skounae.
With the captives still making their way into the portal, Luna was worried that the hunter skounae would instantly start to kill them indiscriminately upon their recovery. Since she still had to deal with Sakari if it came down to it, Luna wanted to eliminate as many stray variables as possible so that she could focus on the skounae Earl.
One by one, the hunter skounae fell. A few tried swinging randomly to hit something; however, the light was too bright for them to properly make out their surroundings. Ultimately, they followed in the footsteps of those before them and succ.u.mbed to the Superior Holy Smite.
After Luna disposed of the tenth hunter skounae, her Soul Sense suddenly went off in her head. At the same time, she quickly took one step to her right. Not even one second after doing so, a black and purple bolt shot past Luna's left cheek.
Without hesitation, immediately after she narrowly avoided the bolt, Luna cast the skill Protective Barrier. However, her target was not herself or one of the captives, but rather the portal created by the silver bracelet!
Bang! Crrrrrack!
The bolt actually managed to penetrate the barrier with one strike! Fortunately, it was unable to pierce all the way through and stopped after drilling halfway into the barrier.
Luna furrowed her brows. Protective Barrier was an A-ranked skill that not only created a strong shield of mana that absorbed damaged around its target but also reduced the damage of the first strike against it by 50%. The fact that a crack was formed in the barrier after one attack—only one person in the room possessed that kind of strength.
"How dare you! Don't even dream of leaving this place alive!" Sakari roared.
The dark veil that was originally only on the steps had already expanded more than ten meters outward and was still increasing. This veil was slowly swallowing the radiant light produced by Luna's Grand Illumination Talismans and partially restored Sakari's vision.
In Sakari's left hand was a scarlet crossbow with a small white skull located at the center of its limb. The next moment, something bizarre occurred as the skull opened its mouth and began to laugh.
Simultaneously, a mixture of black and purple energy formed on the crossbow's flight groove that transformed into a bolt. It was the same bolt that nearly destroyed Luna's Protective Barrier in one blow!
"Die!" Sakari yelled as she pulled the trigger on the crossbow.
Swoosh!
This time, the bolt's flight speed was at least 50% faster than the previous attack. The destructive force behind it had also not decreased in the slightest!
However, Luna did not panic. Just like last time, she adjusted her position right before Sakari fired and evaded the bolt.
When Sakari witnessed this, she was confused. The first time could be considered luck, but to avoid her the bolt from her Laughing Blood Skull Crossbow twice in a row—how was this possible? It was clear that trephasia's speed was not impressive, so how could she evade her bolts so effortlessly?
"Since you like to dodge so much, let's see you avoid this!" A highly concentrated bundle of mana converged at the tip of Sakari's crossbow.
However, after Luna realized something, a light smile formed on her face as she said, "My apologies, but I will have to excuse myself from this place."
Suddenly, Luna kicked off her back foot and jumped backwards.
When Sakari noticed what Luna was trying to do, she instantly released the special bolt from her crossbow.
BOOOM!
As it left the crossbow, the bolt exploded with rampaging power and headed right for Luna!
But Sakari was too late as before her attack could connect, Luna's body sunk into the portal.
When the bolt neared the portal, Sakari quickly detonated it. Upon doing so, the bolt released a great blast that kicked up a large cloud of dust and destroyed the room's center.
However, by the time the dust settled, nothing remained. The portal, the captives, Luna—gone! Every last one of them was gone!
Sakari stood at the top of the steps with an expression of disbelief. What just happened? How did she, a noble Earl of the skounae, allow so many captives to escape under her watch? Without a doubt, a Penumbra Inquisitor would investigate this matter. Who knew what kind of backlash she would face as a result?!
"I'll kill her…! I swear I'll kill her with my own hands…!" Sakari muttered as she bit her thumb until blood dripped down her finger. This shame—she would not rest until she found and killed the one who humiliated her!
