"SOPHIE!"

Cassie’s voice tore through the chaos, filled with desperation. But Sophie did not retreat.

Instead, she stepped forward.

Her veil fluttered violently under the incoming pressure while dark green mana exploded around her body like a gathering storm, wild and untamed. The air around her warped visibly from the sheer output of energy. Then, without hesitation, she dropped to one knee and slammed both hands onto the ground.

"Silver Bell Barrier!"

CLIIIIIIIING!!!

A beautiful, crystalline ringing sound echoed throughout the entire chamber, resonating deep within the stone walls. The sound alone caused everyone nearby to freeze momentarily, caught off guard by its haunting clarity amidst the violence. Silver light bloomed beneath Sophie’s feet before expanding outward in every direction, rising and curving into a gigantic translucent barrier shaped like an inverted silver bell.

The descending pillar of holy destruction slammed directly into it.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

The chamber exploded violently. Massive shockwaves tore through the battlefield with enough force to fling bodies across the stone floor like discarded dolls. Giant cracks split through the walls and ceiling while debris rained down in torrents. Broken Dawn members desperately shielded themselves wherever they stood, while nearby Church knights were blasted clean off their feet from the impact. Thick clouds of dust swallowed the battlefield entirely, blinding everyone within seconds.

For several long seconds, nobody could see anything at all.

Then slowly, the dust began to settle, drifting apart, and everyone froze.

The Silver Bell Barrier was still standing.

Deep cracks spiderwebbed across the translucent surface, fractures running in every direction like broken glass. Yet Sophie remained kneeling inside the shield, one hand still pressed flat against the ground, blood trailing steadily from her lips and dripping onto the ground.

Her veil remained perfectly in place over her face, miraculously undisturbed, though it was now soaked red with blood.

The hostile qi saturating the tomb was already a natural enemy to mages, and combined with the visible mana fatigue, anyone watching could tell Sophie was reaching her limit.

Alfonso’s eyes widened upon seeing her still upright.

’Impossible.’

That spell carried enough destructive power to completely erase high ranked monsters from existence. Yet Sophie had blocked it head on and was still breathing.

Blood dripped slowly from Sophie’s lips as her mana reserves rapidly declined. But then something unexpected shifted across the battlefield.

The destroyed vine fragments floating around the barrier began to stir.

Slowly at first, then all at once, they transformed. The shattered remnants glowed as they became radiant golden vines. They had devoured a portion of the holy attack itself and now burned with a warm, fierce radiance that had not been there before.

Ragnarok99 burst into loud laughter from across the chamber.

"HAHAHAHA! Come on, kick his butt!"

Sophie slowly rose back to her feet.

The transformed golden vines coiled protectively around both arms as though recognizing her, anchoring themselves to her like living armor as she straightened her posture and stared coldly toward Alfonso.

"For a Hero Rank, I expected you to finish me off in my weakened state. But I see the Church is just hype."

The Cardinal’s composure finally shattered. Holy energy surged violently around him, roiling and unstable, and a thick vein throbbed visibly in his temple.

"You arrogant child."

BOOM!!!

Alfonso vanished.

The floor beneath where he had stood exploded apart from the sheer velocity of his movement, stone tiles bursting upward in his wake. Sophie’s eyes widened as every instinct she had detonated into screaming alarm.

’Too fast.’

He appeared directly before her, a glowing spear of condensed holy light already fully formed in his grip, arm drawn back and ready. His expression was utterly calm.

"Die."

SHIIIIING!!!

The spear pierced forward with terrifying, singular force.

At the last possible moment, dozens of devouring vines smashed together between them, forming a desperate wall of writhing green and gold.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The impact detonated on contact.

Several vines exploded apart instantly, shredded by the concentrated holy energy. Sophie herself was blasted backward, crashing through three broken pillars in rapid succession before slamming into the chamber wall hard enough to leave a deep, body shaped fracture in the stone behind her.

Alfonso gave her absolutely no time to recover.

The Cardinal raised one hand as hundreds of miniature holy spears materialized in a wide halo around him, the surrounding air trembling under their combined pressure like the atmosphere itself was straining.

"Radiant Burial." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

FWOOOOOSH!!!

The spears descended simultaneously like a golden meteor storm crashing to earth.

Sophie’s exhausted body barely managed to move in time.

Explosions repeatedly swallowed the battlefield in rapid succession.

BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!

Entire sections of the tomb collapsed. Stone debris flew in every direction. One spear tore clean through Sophie’s side while another pierced directly through her shoulder, and the battlefield drank deeply of her blood.

Cassie tried rushing toward her, but several holy knights intercepted her before she could advance more than a few steps, blades leveled and formation locked.

"MOVE!" she screamed furiously, clashing against them with everything she had.

Meanwhile, Alfonso walked calmly through the settling destruction toward Sophie’s crumpled, bleeding form.

"You fought well," he admitted, his voice cold and almost respectful. "But this ends here."

Sophie struggled to draw breath as her vision blurred and darkened at the edges. The pain was enormous, but the exhaustion was worse.

Yet despite all of it, she smiled faintly.

Alfonso frowned at the expression. His eyes moved across the battlefield and his breath caught as realization settled over him.

The vines.

During the entire fight, they had been spreading. His attention had been fixed on Sophie herself rather than her surroundings. Unknown to him, the devouring vines had crept outward, moving through rubble and climbing broken stone until they covered every corner of the chamber.

Sophie slowly raised her blood soaked hand.

At once, every devouring vine throughout the chamber opened simultaneously.

Thousands of glowing crimson mouths split wide open.

Sophie’s exhausted voice drifted softly through the battlefield.

"You should’ve killed me faster."