Chapter 458 – The Projection Claw of the Demon Sub-Lord

The altar had now completely transformed. At its center, countless crimson chains surged forth from chaotic runes. These energy chains, burning with the intense heat of branding irons, instantly wrapped the sacrificial offering Zola into a tight bundle.

“Ahhhhhhh, save me! Save me quickly! I’m still useful! Sorsend, I’m still useful……..”

Excruciating pain jolted Zola awake from her dazed state, but this clarity only brought more torment. The violent erosion of Abyssal energy was terrifying—within less than a second, the once beautiful Zola was scorched until her skin cracked and flesh split open. Her soul, as if being devoured by something, quickly became riddled with countless holes.

But… Zola’s agonized cries were meaningless.

Aside from Ovakain casting a brief pitying glance toward the altar, no one paid attention to Zola’s wails. The moment the altar activated, Sorsend vanished without a trace within a concealed magic circle. Meanwhile, Kane and Punk were rapidly reinforcing their defenses, preparing for the imminent arrival of the Sub-Lord’s projection.

Amid such chaotic combat, Zola’s screams and pleas were destined to go unanswered. Or perhaps… the primary reason was… she had become useless, and no one could save her anymore. Because—right behind Zola’s violently struggling body—a massive hand that had materialized from energy was forcefully squeezing through the rift opened by the altar.

Accompanied by the screeching sound of space shattering under immense energy pressure, Punk’s face turned deathly pale upon seeing that black-and-crimson hand.

With the memories of Grand Arcanist Vedrasha, Punk understood better than anyone how insane and unreasonable Legendary-tier power could be. Even though what was descending was merely a fraction of a Legendary Expert’s projection, this absolutely overwhelming force remained something no Master-Level expert could hope to withstand!

“Damn it… Kane, be careful”!

There was no time for extensive warnings. Watching the hand rapidly expand until it grew too massive for the crater-cave to contain within milliseconds, Punk had to cast the most powerful defenses possible at maximum speed:

“Master-Level Conjuration Spell — Anda’s Potent Shield”

Metamagic – Mana Compression

Metamagic – Dualcast

“Master-Level Conjuration Spell — High-Pressure Kinetic Barrier”!

Two spells materialized instantly in Punk’s hands, their blooming violet light completely enveloping his body. Combined with the five protective layers already active, Punk now reached his peak defensive state with seven simultaneous protection spells!

However… facing the mountain-sized black-and-crimson claw descending at over ten times the speed of sound, these defenses remained far from sufficient.

With no time to hesitate, to avoid being directly crushed by the Sub-Lord’s projected claw, Punk immediately activated the spells embedded in his mage robe.

“Master-Level Conjuration Spell — Anywhere Door ×3″Using three “Anywhere Doors” consecutively just for a single escape was undoubtedly an extreme extravagance, but… facts would prove Punk’s choice to be exceptionally wise!

Almost the instant after the kinetic purple energy enveloped Punk as he dashed through three consecutive Anywhere Doors, the sky instantly darkened amid spatial collapse tides, and the sky-obscuring giant claw came crashing down like a mountain avalanche.

“BOOM”!!

The moment the space-shattering claw made contact with the ground, a blazing radiance akin to a miniature sun flashed briefly. Countless sand particles and dust were forcibly compressed into degenerate matter within a ten-thousandth of a second under tremendous force, while more yellow sand was directly vaporized by the scorching shockwave. The resulting steam cloud of mineralized particles was propelled all the way into the atmosphere by the blast wave!

If one were to look down from high above the Raging Wave Desert at this moment, they would be astonished to see a massive crimson mushroom cloud rising from the area. The sandy sea formed by yellow dunes surged like actual ocean waves, with innumerable dust particles creating genuine “sand tsunamis” radiating outward from the mushroom cloud’s epicenter. Amid deafening roars, even the space surrounding the “Oasis” fractured layer by layer under the overwhelming impact.

One strike, merely one strike! This was the terrifying power generated by a single claw of the Sub-Lord’s Projection. Without employing truly powerful law-based forces, without using any Combat Skills or spells, simply by channeling vast Abyssal energy in the most inefficient manner through a casual swipe, the instantaneous destructive force rivaled that of a high-yield nuclear detonation.

Though such an attack remained incomparable to genuine Legendary Spells, the horrific devastation it wrought could still severely compromise all present Master-Level combatants.

Most terrifyingly… this level of attack was completely effortless for the Sub-Lord’s Projection. The energy expenditure relative to the Sub-Lord’s inconceivable might was as negligible as a human’s casual finger flick.

Theoretically, as long as this Demon Sub-Lord remained patient and the minor portal connecting to the Abyss stayed open, the Projection’s giant hand could continue striking at a frequency of once every two seconds!

For now, however, Punk needn’t worry about consecutive “nuclear explosions”.

The Sub-Lord’s recent attack was merely a casual stretch of its limbs. Currently, the Projection’s colossal claw is straining against intangible cosmic laws at the Abyssal rift. It appears this frenzied Demon Sub-Lord is dissatisfied with only having one projected hand emerge, actually attempting to tear open a passage large enough for its true form to cross.

For Punk and the others, the Demon Sub-Lord’s current actions are undoubtedly favorable.

On one hand, its efforts are destined to be futile—the dimensional laws of the Faerûn Plane cannot be manipulated by a mere Projection!On the other hand, the demonic giant hand’s failure to launch consecutive attacks provided Punk and the others with a crucial breathing space… It must be noted that despite everyone having narrowly avoided the direct frontal impact of that nuclear-level strike, the residual shockwaves erupting from the epicenter still inflicted substantial damage.

After such a terrifying assault, the “Oasis” had now been completely transformed.

The former Cave Battlefield had become a massive basin, with most of the surrounding yellow sand blasted away by the violent winds. The dunes encircling the Oasis were compressed into hardened glass under the immense force, while areas struck by the shockwaves were compacted into solid rock. Punk, Kane, Ovakain, and even Sorsend were forcibly pressed deep into the crystallized ground beneath!

(End of Chapter)