"Aaaaah! It's good to be alive."
Amidst the rolling thunder and the brooding storm, a voice filled with jubilation and ecstasy echoed across the battlefield, capturing the attention of the assembled Rankers.
"Fufufu. Being alive is one thing. But it's exhilarating to be youthful once more," Eliza purred in an elated tone as she assumed complete control of the newly crafted vessel.
"They say youth is merely a state of mind. That you can stay young as long as you feel young at heart. Hahaha! It's all nonsense, a way for folks to cope with their aging.
To truly feel young, one must be young. It's as simple as that," she declared with a chuckle, her feet making their first contact with the ground.
Rumble!
The Catastrophe for the Rankers under Eliza's influence commenced the moment her feet met the earth. A deafening peal of thunder resounded, causing every Ranker to freeze in their tracks.
Swoosh. Zoom. Boom.
The brewing tempest and the thunder's resonance combined to create a blinding brilliance. A charged bolt of lightning materialized and surged toward Eliza with the commanding force of a natural cataclysm.
This bolt of lightning passed through the Birdcage Barrier as if it were nonexistent, affording neither shocked Rankers serving as witnesses nor the joyful Eliza the chance for countermeasures. With a fierce rush and electrified energy, the lightning struck Eliza, obscuring her form within a blinding radiance.
Kirrrrrrrrrrrr!
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Eliza's agonized cry filled the air as the lightning enveloped her. Arcs of lightning incessantly ravaged her, turning her peachy complexion crimson, rending her skin, and making her blood seem to boil within her veins. Her bones felt as though they might splinter into dust. She felt as if her soul was about to disintegrate after being offered a rite of passage by the worldly might of Anfang.
Eliza's organs felt as if they were slowly roasting in an oven, her heart as though pierced by hundreds of daggers all at once. Her head throbbed, pounded mercilessly by an invisible, colossal hammer, bestowing upon her a headache of unparalleled intensity.
Eliza's limbs felt utterly powerless, her vision shrouded in a hazy obscurity. The buzz of white noise rang incessantly in her ears, a disorienting symphony. Her lungs seemed punctured by countless minuscule needles, each breath a struggle.
The lightning strike that heralded the Rankers' Calamity was no ordinary bolt. It was imbued with a mysterious potency that transcended mere electrical damage. It was as if this lightning carried the versatility to mimic other elements, adapting to the victim's Elemental Attainments as well as the elements that existed in that particular world.
Under its onslaught, Eliza experienced a relentless barrage of elemental spells. Mostly, the lightning attacks mirrored the devastating might of fire-elemental mana due to the fact that Eliza's Ranking Path was based on that particular element.
The colorless and odorless flames brought by the lightning seared the Witch of the Enderflames, inflicting second and third-degree burns and hurting her soul, despite her protection by the robust draconic scales.
A single strike had brought her to this state of agony.
Layla, clutching the voodoo doll that represented Eliza, watched in horror as it burst into flames and vanished upon the ground. This voodoo doll had been prepared as a safeguard, designed to bear the brunt of Eliza's ordeal, shielding her from the worst of the Calamity.
Even with these precautions, she still bore grievous injuries, both externally and internally. Had she not employed this countermeasure, a single attack might have proven fatal.
"Hehehe. This is child's play. Give... your best shot."
Eliza managed to utter through her pain, her gaze now ablaze with unyielding determination. She raised her hand, forming a half-lotus gesture, which she then twisted. In an instant, a wave of verdant flames enveloped her form.
With her modest F-Rank mana, Eliza conjured a pool of Enderflames, a testament to her profound Elemental Attainments. Achieving this as a Novice Ranker would have been unthinkable without such mastery. It seemed that she had access to her profound Elemental Attainments to some degree even though she was still a Novice Ranker.
Yet, she did not stop there. Eliza harnessed her draconic lineage, sprouting draconic scales all over her body. By drawing upon her bloodline, she metamorphosed into a Dragonoid, an awe-inspiring transformation, her response to the harrowing Calamity.
'Hehehehe. All our efforts were worth it. That Lady Zee was indeed a good vessel. It was as if she was born for this very purpose.
Master... Master can truly wield the Enderflames with her new body. Soon, she would be able to get her Sagehood back.'
Layla's joy was palpable as she witnessed Eliza's successful conjuring of the Enderflames, an attempt to combat the relentless Calamity that still loomed over her. Layla quickly fashioned another voodoo doll and let a drop of blood, collected from the new vessel, fall upon it.
In an instant, the featureless doll, resembling a children's stuffed toy, took on Eliza's visage with an uncanny likeness. Layla held the freshly crafted voodoo doll, ready to heed Eliza's commands.
***
Rumble. Swoosh. Boom.
The onslaught of lightning strikes against Eliza Samael continued unabated, each one more menacing than the last. Although the Enderflames valiantly tried to reduce the damage, they offered only marginal assistance.
Eliza's body bore the relentless pummeling of lightning strikes, her physical state, her spiritual force, and her bodily attributes plummeting.
This merciless barrage of lightning persisted for nearly fifteen seconds, with Eliza enduring nearly a hundred successive attacks in such a brief span.
At this dire juncture, Layla released another voodoo doll, allowing Eliza to partially recuperate from her grave injuries. In just those fifteen seconds, Eliza had lost both her arms, her chest marred by a gaping void.
Eliza Samael's flesh had transformed, becoming charred and flaky, with a hardened black texture, owing to the intense voltage energy she had been subjected to. Even her rib bones were exposed to the naked eye.
It was only through her draconic scales that she had staved off an even more catastrophic fate.
"Is… is that it?"
