Chapter 124: Soul-Devouring Demonflame

“Roar! Roar! Roar!”

The massive, spiked behemoth let out an angry roar at Iana, as if venting its frustration.

“Damn it.” Iana cursed softly.

Blocked by the ugly beast covered in bone spikes, Iana had no way to stop the Black-robed Men’s actions.

Both Iana and the behemoth exuded demonic energy, but Iana’s aura was mixed with something else—less savage than the beast’s.

“What a lowly beast.” Iana looked down on the creature with disdain.

Perhaps it was the blood of the Dragon stirring within her, but she truly despised this unknown beast from the depths of her heart, as if they existed on entirely different planes.

The behemoth seemed to sense Iana’s contempt and mocking attitude.

It hunched its back and shot the spikes on its back toward the airborne Iana.

“The spikes on its back can shoot? I underestimated you.” Iana nimbly dodged the spikes midair as they whizzed past her, only dirtying the hem of her clothes slightly.

Though Iana could skillfully avoid the spikes, she lacked effective ranged attacks.

In other words, if she wanted to defeat the behemoth, she had to use her Dragon Claws—sharp enough to cut through iron—to attack it directly.

But with the dense array of spikes blocking her, there was no way to get close to the behemoth.

The situation seemed deadlocked: staying away meant no chance to kill the beast, but approaching risked being pierced by spikes and falling.

As Iana’s mind raced, the formation being cast by the Black-robed Men appeared to be entering its final phase.

Iana knew she could no longer hesitate.

If she kept wavering, everyone here—including herself—would likely perish.

Seeing the scene before her, she understood why Saintess Elia had suddenly been called away.

It was a ruse to lure her out.

If Elia were here, this group of Black-robed Men would likely have been dealt with effortlessly.

Iana sighed helplessly.

There was no time to waste; she had to gamble everything now.

Flapping the two wings on her back, she flew toward the behemoth, adjusting her position mid-dive to avoid its attacks.

“Almost there… just a little closer.”

With agile movements, she dove safely right in front of the beast.

Just as she was about to tear into it with her Dragon Claw, a sharp pain shot through her left arm.

The pain felt as if her arm was being shredded, crushed, and ground apart bit by bit.

Alongside the agony, a tingling numbness spread from the wound outward.

“Ah!”

Iana screamed, as if the shout could ease the pain.

Despite the injury, she did not retreat.

Raising her right claw with all her strength, she thrust it through the behemoth’s body.

“Did I succeed?”

After piercing the beast, Iana froze.

She hadn’t expected it to be so easy—this progress felt almost too simple.

She pulled back her claw, still smeared with the creature’s fresh blood.

Before she could catch her breath, the Black-robed Men suddenly started shouting.

“Pitiful and insignificant humans, come forth to meet your master!”

A terrifying aura radiated from the center of the Black-robed Men.

The oppressive energy made Iana’s heart race.

She knew she was no match for the creature about to be summoned.

“Am I going to die here?” Iana gripped her injured left arm, unwilling to accept her fate.

She was too far from the Black-robed Men, and the creature was almost fully summoned.

There was no way to stop it in such a short time.

She had come here for a Trial Mission, yet here she faced a horrifying beast.

Weren’t Trial Missions supposed to be within one’s ability?

Yet now Iana was in a desperate state, overwhelmed by a crushing sense of powerlessness that made it hard to breathe.

“Is this really the end?”

Iana closed her eyes, quietly awaiting what was to come.

But things did not unfold as she expected.

The overwhelming aura began to fade, disappearing entirely.

When she opened her eyes again, golden chains wrapped tightly around the Black-robed Men.

“Is that Lightbinding Art?” Iana whispered.

She didn’t need to think twice.

She knew exactly who had cast it.

Saintess Elia was far away, so the only other person capable of this skill was Lilian.

“Never thought it would come down to you saving the day in the end.” Iana’s fighting spirit reignited.

She flapped her wings and charged toward the Black-robed Men.

“Damn it, where did these chains come from?”

“We were so close… just one final step away from ushering in a new era—our era.”

“It’s her. That blonde-haired girl. She ruined our plans.”

“Kill her. Make her die alongside our scheme.”

The Black-robed Men seemed possessed, chanting curses that naturally targeted Lilian.

Seeing the dark energy surge toward Lilian, Iana panicked.

She knew Lilian’s body was fragile.

If hit by that force, Lilian had no chance of survival.

“I have to stop this. I must.”

Faint energies flickered around Iana, coalescing into a shimmering halo.

She recognized it as the aura of her first skill.

Driven by her desperate desire to protect Lilian, she had successfully awakened it.

In an instant, all the knowledge about her first skill flooded her mind.

[Soul-Devouring Demonflame]

[Can condense a ball of demonic flames that burn everything—including body and soul.]

From Iana’s mouth erupted a black flame, suffused with terrifying power that struck fear into the soul itself.

The flame collided with the Black-robed Men’s dark energy, and both energies vanished on the spot.

Just as Iana was about to strike the Black-robed Men, a swirling force pulled both her and Lilian away, as if trying to separate them from this world.

Iana recognized the force—it was the same power that had drawn her into the Trial Space before.

She understood her Trial Mission had ended the moment she awakened her first skill; now it was time to leave.

But staring at the Black-robed Men, Iana couldn’t swallow her anger.

She unleashed her first skill once more: Soul-Devouring Demonflame.