Callista felt an unsettling surge of mana enveloping her enemy. Eren's Death mana radiated outward, exerting its influence on the verdant vegetation that had flourished around him under the effects of Nature mana.
From the very ground, several skeletons of fallen Amazonian warriors emerged, brought back to a semblance of life by Eren's necromantic powers. Alongside them stood the plant monsters he had previously slain, their allegiance now shifted as they were reanimated with the potent touch of Death mana.
The creatures summoned by Eren were shrouded in the sinister aura of Death, a formidable counter to Callista's Nature mana. Their eerie shrieks filled the air, a chilling symphony that signaled the commencement of their relentless assault on their full-of-life foes.
The plant monsters and earth-elemental mole creatures suddenly found themselves besieged by Eren's resurrected soldiers. These undead warriors, imbued with Eren's spell-infused essence through the art of Spell Integration, gained heightened offensive and defensive capabilities.
In an instant, the complexion of the battle transformed, the revelation of Eren's latent powers as a necromancer leaving Callista and the four Matriarchs dumbfounded. For a moment, silence draped the field as they struggled to process the unexpected turn of events. Even Callista regarded Eren with a mixture of awe and uncertainty as if he were an enigmatic puzzle she could not entirely decipher.
"I... I thought you were a Close Combat Expert," Callista uttered, her gaze darting around her surroundings. She issued a command to her summons, instructing them to defend and annihilate the undead creatures that had materialized like rampant mushrooms.
Callista possessed limited knowledge of Rankers, yet she couldn't help but recognize that a Close Combat Expert's chosen path should not grant them the ability to wield spells like The Army of the Dead. In her eyes, Eren seemed to possess a greater arsenal of spell variations than even the most versatile of Evokers—a perception that left her questioning the boundaries of his powers.
A chuckle rumbled from Eren's lips upon hearing Callista's query. "Keke. A Ranker's path can be as broad or as narrow as one desire, Callista. Most choose to streamline their achievements to expedite their progress. As for me? Well, let's just say I'm a tad more self-indulgent. I am but a Ranker with a slight twist," Eren's voice dripped with amusement as he observed the astonishment etched across Callista's features.
Callista infused her weapon with a sudden surge of Nature mana, unleashing a burst of power that freed it from Eren's grip. Swiftly creating distance between them, she focused her attention on the clash unfolding between her summoned creatures and Eren's army of the undead.
Empowered by Eren's Death mana, his skeletal warriors proved resistant to the assaults of Callista's summoned creatures. Unencumbered by the fear of mortality, the undead soldiers fearlessly engaged the plant monsters and earth-elemental moles.
Some of the reanimated corpses brandished rusted weapons, while others relied on their bare limbs, augmented by the malevolent touch of Death mana, to strike with punches and kicks. Some preferred to sink their deformed jaws and sharp teeth into their enemies, biting and tearing with gruesome fervor.
Anarchy erupted on the battlefield as Eren's undead soldiers initiated their onslaught against Callista's summoned creatures. With each strike, the dead soldiers exposed the plant monsters to the corrupting influence of Death mana, invading their bodies with foreign energies. As the opposing natures of Death and Nature mana clashed, havoc ensued, causing the plant monsters to falter and their once-vibrant forms to wither.
Contaminated by the invasive Death mana, the plant monsters began to wither and decay. Some shrank in size, their once-lush green exteriors transforming into weathered hues of brown. The earth-elemental moles, too, bore the mark of the dead soldiers' attacks and bite marks, developing calloused, lifeless skin.
Eren's undead soldiers proved to be agile and cunning, launching relentless assaults upon the plant monsters without fear for their mana-infused yet mortal shells. Unrestrained by conventional battle norms, they fought with suicidal determination, their strikes aided by the effects of Spell Integration, Elemental, and Aspect Fusions. The Army of the Dead swiftly emerged as a dominant force on the battlefield.
Caught in the grip of Death mana contamination, the plant monsters and earth-elemental moles struggled to purge the foreign energies from their bodies. Unable to expel the corrupted mana efficiently, they found themselves unable to recover. In a mere half-minute following Eren's revelation of his necromantic powers, the tides had turned, and Callista's summoned creatures were losing ground.
Callista's life had been devoid of encounters with Death mana until now. And yet, she instinctively understood its inherent opposition to the Nature mana upon which she relied.
Gradually recovering from the initial shock, she cast a disapproving gaze upon Eren before voicing her concerns. "Eren, I implore you to cease the use of this malevolent mana within the sacred grounds devoted to the Great Mother," she said firmly, her grip on the spear tightening. The remaining remnants of her summoned creatures, reflecting her emotions, surged forward with renewed vigor to assail Eren's undead soldiers.
Perplexed, Eren's face showed traces of confusion as he inquired, "Why would you make such a request, Callista?" Though he understood that the effects of Death mana on the battlefield might displease her, it seemed there was more to her aversion.
"Because it repulses me," Callista responded, her nose wrinkling in disdain. "And everything that arises from it feels like an abomination, an affront to the natural order. I believe it is wrong to employ spells that draw upon this mana that reeks of death in a place where we honor our goddess, whose domain is the nurturing of life, not its destruction."
Her tone serious and her expressions devoid of levity, Callista made her plea, almost commanding Eren to desist from using his necromantic powers within the sacred domain.
Eren arched an eyebrow at Callista's words, briefly shifting his attention to the four Matriarchs who observed the duel from the sidelines. He discerned their disapproval of his use of necromantic spells in the sacred ground, yet they showed no intent to outright forbid him from employing his powers.
'Hmm. The Matriarchs know something about their goddess that this lass doesn't,' Eren came to a quick conclusion.
