120 HELP UNEXPECTED
The mage reacted instantly, conjuring a powerful flaming field around him as the creature's claws slammed against it. The swamp erupted with explosions as their battle began, the champion's flames raging against the scorpion mother's raw, primal power.
Leo leaned back in the boat, watching the spectacle unfold. "Now this is a fight worth watching," he remarked.
"Let's hope he can handle it. Otherwise, we might have to face the scorpion mother ourselves," Yun-Yun said, though her tone suggested she wasn't entirely worried.
The battle between the champion student from the West Sodom Academy of Magic and the Scorpion Mother raged fiercely.
The flame mage wielded powerful fire magic, his flames scorching the swamp and leaving smoldering trails in his wake. Yet, the Scorpion Mother was in her element—this swamp was her domain. Hardened by countless battles, her instincts were razor-sharp, while the mage's experience had mostly been limited to showing off his abilities to his peers.
The Scorpion Mother's relentless attacks began to wear the mage down. Each spell he cast drained him further, his movements growing sluggish and his breathing labored.
"His body enhancing magic is weakening. I can see his magic bond to the flame fluctuating," Leo said.
"The scorpion is making a killing move now," Yun-Yun observed.
Sensing her prey's weakness, the Scorpion Mother lunged.
Her massive stinger struck, piercing the mage's defenses and injecting her venom into his body. Paralyzed, the mage crumpled to the ground as her powerful pincers closed around him, crushing him with merciless efficiency.
There was no hesitation in her kill—it was brutal, calculated, and final.
Suddenly, glowing magical pellets rained from above, striking the Scorpion Mother's carapace with precision. The projectiles pierced her once-impenetrable shell, exploiting the weaknesses left by her hard-fought battle.
The creature screeched in pain, disoriented. Before she could react, a figure darted toward her from the shadows.
"Die now, bloody scorpion!" Leo cried.
Leo moved with lethal speed, his dragon-like claws blazing with energy. With one precise strike, he severed the Scorpion Mother's arm, amputating one of her pincers.
"Damnit, that wasn't enough to kill her," Leo complained.
He had planned to kill the Scorpion Mother in a single strike, but the creature was too fast. Sensing his attack, she evaded the blow aimed at her head, losing only her pincer in the process.
"Rawwwrrr!" the Scorpion Mother screamed, her cry resonating through the swamp.
The Scorpion Mother's fury ignited as she shot toward Leo with her remaining pincer. Without the element of surprise, evading her was far more difficult.
Just as the scorpion's pincers closed in on him, the apparition of a dragon materialized before Leo, intercepting the attack and pushing the creature back.
"Dragon Rakshasa Body Transformation Sutra," Leo muttered, his voice steady and resolute.
"You chose to use the form of a golden dragon," Yun-Yun commented, observing the transformation.
Leo had combined the magic of the Dragon Sutra and the Rakshasa Sutra, blending their strengths and covering their weaknesses. Yet, no one had ever fused dragon and rakshasa before. Leo gave his magic the form he preferred—a golden dragon.
The Scorpion Mother stumbled back, momentarily stunned by the apparition's power as it shielded Leo.
"Be careful, the Scorpion Mother has a final move," Yun-Yun warned suddenly.
The Scorpion Mother's body was abruptly enveloped in a crimson mist. The bodies of the dead scorpions littering the battlefield disintegrated into glowing essence, flowing into her and augmenting her magic.
"Damnit, she can absorb the magic of her dead children?" Leo asked, his voice tinged with frustration.
"She's a skeletal undead, but like demons, she has the ability to cannibalize and draw power from sacrifices. Those scorpions were her sacrifices, just like blood is to demons," Yun-Yun explained, her tone grim.
Before Yun-Yun could elaborate further, the Scorpion Mother lunged at Leo. Her body, now entirely transformed and cloaked in a glowing red essence, moved with blinding speed.
"Shit." Leo couldn't evade her.
Her massive pincer struck him, clamping down with brutal force as she tried to crush him. Only the presence of the dragon's protective apparition prevented the complete collapse of his defenses.
Even so, Leo was pinned to the ground under the Scorpion Mother's overwhelming strength.
"Die!" the Scorpion Mother screeched, her voice an unintelligible, guttural roar. The pressure of her attack was so immense that even the Dragon Rakshasa's defenses began to falter.
Death seemed inevitable.
"No!" Yun-Yun screamed, rushing toward Leo to help.
But she was too late. She hadn't anticipated this devastating move from the Scorpion Mother, and her miscalculation had placed Leo's life in grave peril.
"Damnit, what shall I do now?" Leo muttered through gritted teeth.
He was pinned, his body immobilized. He had no strength left to fight back, and even his spells seemed powerless against the Scorpion Mother's enhanced form.
Suddenly, a voice pierced through the desperation.
"Do you need help?" Vanessa asked, appearing as if from nowhere.
"Yes, I fucking need it!" Leo snapped, though his tone was laced with relief at her presence.
Yet, Leo's relief was tempered by caution.
Vanessa's help had proven a double-edged sword before. The last time she aided him in battle, she had urged him to accept Lusifar's magic—a choice that nearly cost him his consciousness and pushed him to the brink of losing himself to the demon.
"You can use the spell that I gave you," Vanessa said, her tone calm but insistent.
Leo hesitated. "The demon spell? That's the same spell that awakened Lusifar. No way I'm calling on fucking demon magic again."
"What are you afraid of? This is the magic of the Black Cock—your magic," she replied, her eyes narrowing.
"Are you kidding me? I was almost killed by Lusifar!" Leo shot back.
"Lusifar was a leech, and that has nothing to do with your inherent magic. The demon spell didn't awaken Lusifar. On the contrary, it was Lusifar who saw the awakening of your demon magic and came to leech off it," Vanessa explained.