Chapter 5: The Counterattack of the Shadow Mist

After being recognized by the Star Guardians, Elise and Fina moved forward with great anticipation, continuing their journey towards the place where the Star Tears were kept. They passed through the strange plain filled with glowing mushrooms and arrived at a huge crystal mountain. The mountain was completely transparent, and countless lights seemed to be flowing inside it, making it both mysterious and magnificent.

At the entrance of the crystal mountain, there was a shimmering magical barrier. Elise tentatively reached out her hand, and as soon as she touched the barrier, she felt a powerful repulsive force. She frowned and began to carefully observe the barrier, trying to find a way to break it. Fina also helped beside her. She used her wind magic to gently blow the surrounding air, hoping to discover some hidden clues.

Just as they were focused on studying the magical barrier, the sky suddenly darkened. Elise and Fina looked up and saw a huge mass of Shadow Mist rapidly approaching them. This mass of mist was even larger and more terrifying than the one Elise had encountered in the forest before. Wherever it passed, the lights on the crystal mountain dimmed one by one, and the magical energy around them became disordered.

"No, it's the Shadow Mist!" Elise exclaimed. She quickly took out her magical medicine pouch from her waist, ready to deal with the impending crisis. Fina immediately flew into the air and tried to disperse the mist with her wind magic, but the power of the Shadow Mist was too strong, and the wind magic had almost no effect on it.

The Shadow Mist got closer and closer, and soon enveloped them. Elise felt a bone-chilling cold, and at the same time, all kinds of terrifying illusions kept emerging in her mind. She knew that this was the evil power of the Shadow Mist trying to erode her will, so she concentrated her mind, silently chanting the incantation of the healing magic, and tried her best to dispel these illusions.

Fina was also in trouble in the mist. Her wings were bound by the dark power in the mist, and her movement became very difficult. But she didn't give up. She gritted her teeth and kept struggling, trying to break free from the shackles of the dark power.

In the confrontation with the Shadow Mist, Elise suddenly remembered the runes she had seen in the Shadow Mist in the forest before. A thought flashed through her mind. Perhaps these runes were the key to breaking the Shadow Mist. So, she closed her eyes, concentrated her mind, and mobilized the nature magic in her body, trying to resonate with the runes in the mist.

With Elise's efforts, the runes in the mist began to flicker. But this time, the runes flickered more violently than before. At the same time, an even more powerful dark force surged towards Elise. Elise was hit by this force and flew backward, falling heavily to the ground.

Seeing this, Fina was extremely worried. Regardless of her own danger, she desperately flew towards Elise. Just as she was about to reach Elise, a black light suddenly shot out from the mist and headed straight for Fina. Fina couldn't dodge in time and was hit by the black light. The light on her wings dimmed a lot instantly.

Elise struggled to get up from the ground. Seeing the injured Fina, her heart was filled with guilt and anger. She decided not to wait passively any longer; she had to take the initiative. She took a deep breath, mobilized all the magical power in her body, and then suddenly opened her eyes and shouted at the Shadow Mist, "I won't let you succeed!"

With Elise's shout, a powerful light suddenly burst out around her body. This light was so dazzling that the surrounding Shadow Mist began to dissipate rapidly. It turned out that under the extreme anger and firm belief, Elise had awakened a more powerful magical power hidden in her body.

Under the illumination of this powerful light, the runes in the Shadow Mist gradually became clear. Elise stared closely at these runes and then began to chant strange incantations. As her incantations sounded, the runes began to break away from the mist one by one and flew towards Elise.

When the last rune flew in front of Elise, she reached out her hand and grasped all these runes. Instantly, a powerful force poured into her body, and she felt that she had a deeper understanding and control of the power of the Shadow Mist.

Elise used this force to manipulate the Shadow Mist in reverse. Under her control, the Shadow Mist gradually condensed into a huge black sphere, and then she threw it far away with all her might. With a loud bang, the Shadow Mist exploded in the distance, turning into countless black fragments and dissipating in the air.

After successfully repelling the Shadow Mist, Elise and Fina both let out a sigh of relief. They supported each other and walked aside to rest. After this intense battle, they had consumed a lot of physical strength and magical energy, but their eyes were filled with firmness and determination.

After resting for a while, Elise and Fina cheered up again and continued to move towards the interior of the crystal mountain. They knew that there were more challenges waiting for them ahead, but they were no longer afraid because they believed that as long as they were united, they would definitely be able to overcome all difficulties, find the Star Tears, and save the Arocia Continent.

When they came to the magical barrier again, Elise used the power she had just comprehended from the Shadow Mist to gently touch the barrier. Miraculously, the light on the barrier began to flicker, and then gradually disappeared. A passage leading to the interior of the crystal mountain appeared in front of them.

Elise and Fina looked at each other, and then with firm steps, they walked into the passage. The passage was very narrow, and strange lights were flickering on the walls. They walked forward cautiously, always on the alert for any possible danger around them.

As they walked, the passage suddenly became wider. They came to a huge cave. Countless gems were inlaid on the top of the cave, emitting a dazzling light. In the center of the cave, there was a huge crystal platform, and on the platform was placed a crystal ball emitting a soft light. This crystal ball was the Star Tears they had been searching for so hard.

Elise and Fina walked towards the crystal ball excitedly. Just as they were about to approach the crystal ball, a deep growl suddenly sounded in the cave. Then, a huge guardian beast rushed out from the depths of the cave. The guardian beast was huge in size, its whole body covered with hard scales. Its eyes were shining with a red light, and flames were spurting out of its mouth.

Elise and Fina immediately stopped and prepared to face the new challenge. They knew that to get the Star Tears, they had to defeat this guardian beast first. Elise quickly summoned her nature magic and formed a solid protective barrier around them. Fina flapped her wings and flew into the air, using her wind magic to create a powerful airflow, trying to interfere with the movement of the guardian beast.

The guardian beast roared and charged towards them. It was extremely fast and in an instant, it was in front of the protective barrier. It slapped the barrier with its huge claws, and each slap made the barrier shake violently. Elise gritted her teeth and continuously injected magical power to maintain the stability of the barrier.

Fina kept changing her position in the air and used her wind magic to launch various attacks. She shot wind blades at the guardian beast. The wind blades hit the scales of the guardian beast, making a clear sound, but they couldn't cause any substantial damage to it.

The guardian beast seemed to be enraged by Fina's attack. It suddenly raised its head and spat out a huge pillar of fire towards the air. Fina couldn't dodge in time and was hit by the pillar of fire. A piece of the feathers on her wings was burned. She let out a cry of pain and fell towards the ground.

Seeing Fina injured, Elise was very anxious. She immediately lifted the protective barrier and ran towards the direction where Fina was falling. At the moment when Fina was about to land, Elise caught her with her healing magic and quickly treated her wounds.

"Fina, how are you?" Elise asked with concern.

"I... I'm okay, just my wings are injured." Fina said weakly.

"You rest here first, and I'll deal with this guardian beast." Elise said, standing up and summoning her nature magic again.

This time, Elise decided not to defend passively; she wanted to take the initiative. She concentrated her mind and condensed her nature magic into a sharp magical sword. Then, she brandished the magical sword and charged towards the guardian beast.

The guardian beast saw Elise charging towards it and immediately turned around and pounced on her. Elise nimbly dodged the guardian beast's attack while looking for its weakness. She found that the scales on the guardian beast's abdomen were relatively thinner, so she aimed at the guardian beast's abdomen and stabbed the magical sword with all her strength.

The guardian beast sensed the danger and tried to dodge Elise's attack, but it was too late. The magical sword stabbed deeply into the guardian beast's abdomen. The guardian beast let out a painful roar, its body swayed a few times, and then it fell to the ground.

Elise looked at the guardian beast lying on the ground and let out a sigh of relief. She turned back to Fina's side, helped Fina up, and walked towards the crystal ball. They finally came to the crystal ball. Elise carefully reached out her hand and picked up the Star Tears.

Just as Elise picked up the Star Tears, the whole cave began to shake violently. The crystal ball emitted a strong light, and the light illuminated the entire cave. Elise and Fina held the Star Tears tightly, feeling its powerful force. They knew that now they finally had the power to resist the Shadow Mist, and the hope of saving the Arocia Continent was right in front of them.