Strategist of the Group

Left to face the abomination that Arcana created before leaving, Vertin and her companions frowned — knowing that the battle that was about to commence would prove to be difficult.

Seeing the black giant manifest, strange and incoherent murmurs began to whisper in the ears of all that were near it — whispering convoluted and maniacal truths that cannot be comprehended in any way.

Isaac, upon hearing this, immediately recognized it and immediately shouted to the rest. "Don't listen to the murmurs! They're not real!"

Upon hearing his shout, the team didn't object as they also had the same idea. Even if Isaac hadn't said it, they would have still tried their best to ignore the voices as much as possible.

But it does not end there, because soon after, the black giant began to move towards them, its movements causing the earth beneath them to tremble.

Turning to Vertin, Isaac spoke, the casualness he had been showing nowhere to be seen. "I'll leave the team's command to you, Ms. Vertin. I believe you have more synergy with your team and can efficiently lead them in battle."

He then pointed at Druvis, his voice neither commanding nor demanding — but rather instructing. "You there, Ms. Druvis, help me bind that thing to open up a path for Ms. Vertin and the others deal damage to it. As we're the front lines, it would be wise for us to keep switching and covering for each other."

"I believe that with your roots and my fog, we can stagger it and hold it in place. Together with Ms. Vertin's excellent commands, we can surely win this fight."

The orders Isaac gave out were clear and concise — not only that, but his voice sounded a bit domineering as if he had turned to a completely different person when they first met now too long ago. Moreover, those commands weren't requests — no — they were more like assured promises that could completely work.

Furthermore, there was just something in the way Isaac had gave out his commands that made it seem like he won't take no for an answer — requiring them to do as they are told. Due to this, the rest of them didn't argue with him over his one-sided decisions.

Unfazed by Isaac's instructions, Vertin scrutinized it for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I'll leave the front lines here to the two of you. Ms. Druvis?"

"Me and Isaac will hold it off. I trust in you, Vertin." Druvis didn't object to the plan and nodded, walking over to Isaac's side.

Hearing this, Vertin lingered for a moment before focusing her eyes on the approaching black giant. Then, like a maestro on stage, she immediately gave out her first command.

"Then let us commence!"

The moment her words fell, the black giant finally reached them, its towering body casting a dark shadow on their team. Then, raising both of its arms in the air, it immediately slammed them to the ground, causing shockwaves to ripple towards them.

Vertin spent no time and immediately commanded her team to spread out while allowing Isaac and Druvis to take charge against the giant beast. With two vanguards at front and her main force at the core, she had to make use of the situation as much as possible to minimize any risk and swiftly deal with the enemy.

"Ms. Druvis, hold it down with your roots! Mr. Isaac, cast your Fog Cocoon around the team for defense!"

Following her command, the two of them immediately acted.

Druvis activated her arcanum which caused the nearby plant life to suddenly revitalize and heed her commands. From the ground, durable tree roots sprouted and aimed for the black giant. The sturdy roots coiled up around the giant's body, interlocking and holding it down in place.

The giant fiercely rejected this and immediately initiated a counterattack. It cast its own incantation and summoned an attack that affected the whole area where Vertin's core team were. Tangible, glowing lights manifested in the air and threatened to rain down on the people below.

As the incantation fell down, however, they almost immediately got absorbed by the thick, grayish-white fog enveloping the bodies of those below.

Seeing that it succeeded, Vertin continued her commands. "Sonetto, cast your incantation while Ms. Druvis is still holding it down! Sotheby, stay back and only come forward for healing! X, Regulus, Mr. APPLe, and Schneider, support Sonetto!"

Following her commands, the team did as she told them to do. Sonetto cast her arcanum spell that summoned crystals to rain down upon the giant beast, followed by Regulus and Mr. APPLe's barrage of their light-based attacks. Coupled with X's penchant for recognizing weaknesses and Schneider's incantation along with her guns, the giant suffered many devastating blows one after another.

It then suddenly moved again and attempted to repeat its first attack to cause shockwaves once more. But this time, Isaac intervened — not letting it have the chance.

The grayish-white fog surrounding the battlefield suddenly churned and covered around the giant creature, enveloping it. But instead of protecting it like what it had done with the others, this fog had different effects.

"You want to fight with crazed whispers...?" Isaac smirked as he whispered to himself under his breath. "What a coincidence... I can do that too."

With that said, he sent his will to his fog, and instantly, the fog surrounding the giant creature suddenly emanated a malicious air. It was as if the air had turned heavy and the distant echoes of countless wailing deaths resounded from within the fog — making it seem like a battle was raging within.

The giant creature, caught up in this bizarre torrent of mad experiences, became erratic as the madness from Isaac's fog permeated inside its being.

"Again!" Left vulnerable from that chance, Vertin spared no moment to let it go and immediately instructed her team to deal a blow to it while it was still stuck in a stupor.

Sonetto, X, Regulus, Mr. APPLe, and Schneider — all five of them took the chance to keep attacking the giant while evading its erratic attacks and ignoring the crazed whispers.

Suddenly, Druvis sensed something and looked back at Vertin. "Wait! It's about to do something!"

Hearing this, Isaac also sensed the same thing and summoned more fogs to create cocoons for the team. However, he was a tad bit too late.

Made erratic by the fog's madness, the giant released its wrath upon those that were attacking it. A halo of light condensed near its nonexistent head as black sludge poured out from its body and spread everywhere at an alarming rate.

Then, with a fierce shriek, the giant creature's black sludge attacked the team — almost overwhelming them.

Acting immediately, the two vanguards quickly attempted to save those affected. Druvis used her roots to save some of them while Isaac used his fogs to create thin cocoons that barely saved them.

X, who had been the least defended, was affected by the black sludge and stumbled back a bit, his face grimacing. Not only him, but Regulus too, who didn't get the chance to evade the attack.

Seeing this, Vertin immediately gave out another command. "X and Regulus! Retreat to Sotheby and receive healing! As for the rest — Sonetto, Mr. APPle, and Druvis would distract the giant while Isaac and Schneider would flank it from the right!"

Having grasped all of her team's abilities thus far, Vertin switched strategies.

Covered by Isaac's fog, X and Regulus retreated to Sotheby's side, receiving healing potions from the young lady who was far from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Druvis, along with Sonetto and Mr. APPle, immediately ran to the center and started attacking the giant while evading its attacks — trying to buy time for Isaac and Schneider.

Sure enough, the two of them, who were quite agile, ran to the sides of the giant creature, aiming to attack it.

"Let me borrow one of your guns!" Isaac requested Schneider as they both ran.

"Take good care of it." Seeing as how it was a necessity, Schneider parted ways with one of her semi-automatic pistols.

"A Colt M1911... Very nice." Feeling the familiar structure in his hands, Isaac immediately became comfortable with it and charged towards the sides of the giant.

Surprisingly, both of them had good coordination — their agility and style really showed itself as they both understood where to aim and assist each other.

Sure enough, this method that Vertin had implemented was effective. The giant creature was unable to focus on one team, thus leading it to become indecisive during critical moments.

The battle raged on for a bit more, with Vertin removing and adding members back again from time to time to create a balanced rotation of combatants.

With her excellent strategies, the team was able to severely damage the giant creature while minimizing the damages dealt to them in turn. And although there were some instances where they too received critical damages, they had the reliable Sotheby for healing at the back where she was protected as well as Isaac's shields that absorb most of the attacks' damage.

Then, after a long and gruesome fight, the giant creature was finally bested — with both Isaac and Schneider dealing the final blow.

"Urgh... Grah..."

The creature fell down and crumbled before gradually dispersing to black oozy substances and smoke — with it, the crazed whispers that had been tormenting them vanished.

Seeing the thing disperse, Vertin — who had been exhausted from being the brain of the whole thing — stumbled down to the ground, a sigh escaping her. "Finally..."

"Amazing, amazing! We've finally defeated it!" Sotheby, who had been at the back until now, ran over and celebrated.

Near the place where the giant fell, the exhausted Isaac walked over to Schneider and handed her gun. "Here, she's been a great help."

"...it's fine, you can keep it." The Italian girl, Schneider, looked at her guns for a moment before shaking her head. Then a faint smile appeared on her face. "I have a feeling that it's gonna be of more use to you, good sir."

"..." Isaac didn't say anything. Then, shoving his thoughts at the back of his mind, he smiled casually. "I see, thank you. I'll treasure it."

He then noticed that she was looking at something. Following her gaze, he noticed that she was looking at Vertin, who had, at some point, laid down on the ground — exhausted.

As the rain fell, it had soaked her up completely, who was muttering something while engrossed in a deep thought.

Seeing this, Isaac thought for a moment before approaching one of the tents in the area and taking an item out. Then, approaching Schneider once more, he gave her the item he took.

It was a red umbrella.

"Here, go and cover her. She's gonna catch a cold."

"...Thank you." Schneider took the red umbrella and lingered for a bit before nodding gently. She then opened it and started walking over to Vertin, seeking to offer comfort.

Seeing this unfold, Isaac, who was standing out in the rain covered in bruises and his clothes completely drenched, wistfully smiled with a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

He then nudged his monocle.

"Six hours... Six hours until this chapter ends..."

Only six hours remain before the "Storm" arrives... and this era would end.