“W-What…?” Octane asked in shock.

“The symbols… they tricked us,” Iris spat in disgust.

“No…” Finn muttered quietly, too weak to speak up.

“Huh…?” Iris slowly got back up from the ground using her wings, though her mana was running low.

“If the symbols were tricking you… we would’ve already died at that priestess’s stage…” Finn explained faintly. “This… was supposed to happen…”

Iris immediately realized what Finn was trying to say and aimed her sniper for the Baron’s head once again, before letting go of the trigger.

And just as expected, it used its tentacles to block the bullet, rather than letting it hit.

“I see…” Iris breathed in awe. “Everyone, attack him with everything you have! He’s damageable now!”

“Hmph… he actually blocked rather than just letting it hit like before?” Qi Ling muttered, readying her own Angelica. “I understand how this works now.”

“We may have released his true power by breaking that seal, but it also rendered him vulnerable to death,” Tian Long said, grinning darkly. “It’s time to pay, you bastard.”

“COME, SINNERS, AND FACE YOUR DEATH.”

The Baron raised his hands, sending out his countless tentacles from all sides of his body. But-

“De… cay…” Si Shen whispered, voice as coarse as a skeleton.

Immediately, the tentacles stopped in their tracks as a black energy engulfed them, causing them to rot away at an insane speed. The Baron’s eyes widened somewhat at this and quickly retracted his tendrils before they were gone for good, letting them regenerate.

“Wow…” Octane murmured at the sight of the powerful Deathmaster Angelica. “Hey, cough… Death, do that again!”

Si Shen, however, toppled over, unconscious.

“Eh?!!!” Octane cried in surprise.

“Erm… he can only use one powerful Ability before fainting like that,” Yun Xin explained. “His Angelica is very… costly. But that should keep the tentacles away for a good while.”

“It’s fine — good enough,” Qi Ling said coldly, narrowing her eyes. “With the tentacles out of the way… we can attack without any interruptions.”

Tian Long and her immediately charged forward, Reaper following behind. Iris laid down on the ground and aimed with her sniper, waiting for the perfect opportunity. By now, Octane had recovered enough as well, so he got up from the floor and joined back in the action.

The four front-liners leaped up at the Baron from different angles, weapons raised. Unfortunately, the old Baron was far faster than any of them had expected.

Tian Long, who had been attempting to slash down with his sword, was backhanded across the chamber by the Baron, and Octane nearly had the same thing happen to him. Luckily, he was fast enough to avoid it, but was forced to just retreat.

Reaper, on the other hand, managed to slash open a wound on the massive creature’s forearm, though it wasn’t deep enough of a cut to do any lasting damage. Qi Ling, however, did better.

“Glaciers of old — hear my call and become my weapon-” She chanted, soaring elegantly through the air while using ice platforms as footholds as a beautiful light blue aura enveloped her body, chilling yet stunningly gorgeous.

“-Freeze mine enemies and cage them within a prison of ice — Crystalline Rain!”

She swiped her hand to her left, sending a barrage of tiny but sharp skewers of ice towards the Baron’s body.

“Grungh…!” The creature groaned as it attempted to defend itself with its arms, but it was unable to cover all of its body. Many of the skewers pierced through its tough hide and drew blood, but Qi Ling wasn’t done just yet.

Standing on top of her ice platform in the air and staring at the Baron coldly, she balled her hand into a fist.

“Shatter.”

“NGH…!” The Baron grunted, forced backwards a few steps as the ice crystals that had lodged themselves in its body explosively shattered all at once. The impact caused black blood to spill out of all its open wounds.

The Baron attempted to heal itself, but Tian Long wasn’t about to let it get what it wanted. Having recovered from the impact of the strike earlier thanks to his tough armor, he opened his mouth and shot out a beam of fire, just like a living flamethrower. The fire ignited the wounds, charring them instantly and rending the Baron unable to heal.

“Heh… that one’s for Pang Zi!” Tian Long yelled, a smirk on his face.

The Baron grit its teeth in anger. “CURSE YOU, MORT- NGH!”

Suddenly, it was struck in its forehead by a high-caliber round, shot by none other than yours truly, Iris.

“Hmph,” she snorted with a grin. “That one’s for Finn.”

Finn, who was beside her, heard this, but didn’t make any reaction.

“RAGH!” The Baron, losing its calm composure, spread its arms and unleashed a powerful roar, blowing everyone back a bit. “WITH THE BORROWED POWER OF MY MASTER… I SHALL ERADICATE YOU, SINNERS!”

Dar’ Talor clasped his hands together in front of his chest, one above the other, then slowly separated them as a dark orb formulated between them, surrounded by a white glow. The air around it contorted and began flowing into the orb in a whirlwind pattern, like a cyclone with the orb being the eye.

Debris all around began flying into the sphere, causing it to grow wider and wider. And humans were no exception.

“Agh… what is this…!” Octane groaned in defiance, clawing at the floor. “I’m getting… pulled in…!”

“It’s like a black hole…!” Tian Long added, holding onto a pillar to avoid being sucked in.

“ACCEPT YOUR FATE, MORTALS! THIS IS THE POWER OF THE LUNATIC — THE POWER OF A GOD!”

The Baron raised the orb higher into the air, holding it above his head. It continued getting bigger and bigger, the swirling white energy around it moving faster and faster. With that came an increase in the suction force, and the already barely hanging on Hunters now had even more to deal with.

“Ah… why does this… feel so familiar…?!” Octane yelled as he desperately dug his fingertips into the carpet floor, laughing somewhat hysterically as he was reminded of the time Finn nearly killed him with the same type of attack. “Agh… can’t hold on… for much longer…!”

Faced with the dire circumstances, could the Ghost Hunters still conquer the impossible and arise to victory?