Chapter 76: Dark Grip

Words : 1157 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 76: Dark GripAfter another moment of locking eyes, the Firevenom Viper’s tail ignited, slightly boosting its movement speed as it slithered across the ground, leaving burnt weeds in its wake. It then lunged at Liora, a notch faster than before. This caught the duo slightly off-guard, but it was nothing Hal couldn’t respond to, especially with a massive Spirit Bear under his control. He willed his summon to smash at the ground a few meters in front of Liora. With this move, the smoldering viper could either choose to get smacked from above or halt its advance. But to the duo’s horror, the snake zigzagged mid-air, dodging the bear’s paws by using the flames in its tail, turning them on and off to control its lunge trajectory. Hal’s heart skipped a beat when his summon’s paw was dodged. "Lior–" However, before he could even warn his comrade, the white-haired maiden turned into a blur of light, dashing right next to him. It wasn’t only Hal who had repositioning spells. Liora’s evasive maneuver sent the Firevenom Viper crashing to the ground a few dozen meters away, though it wasted no time and immediately turned, firing flaming quills before slithering toward them again. This time, however, the duo was somewhat more familiar with the C-ranked beast’s movements, so it wasn’t too difficult for them to dodge the quills. They also knew the viper was coming next. Furthermore, Liora was done cowering, her gaze resolute and her resolve to fight to the death alongside Hal firm. She began proving why she was a celebrated five-star student of the Grand Magic Academy by pressing her palms together and summoning twenty-five slanted golden magic circles that formed a dome-like shape around the two of them. As they expected, the viper was now zigzagging through the air, sometimes leaving fiery afterimages as it tried to close the gap and sink its fangs into the white-haired maiden’s neck. It skillfully dodged another paw smash from the Spirit Bear before entering the Luster Spike Zone. seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The moment it did, however, a thick, glowing spike thrust toward it, which it barely managed to dodge. Unfortunately, dodging one wasn’t enough. One Luster Spike after another stabbed at the smoldering viper, eventually forcing it out of the zone with a few minor injuries, but nothing remotely close to fatal. The Firevenom Viper’s scales proved too tough to completely shatter for the current Liora. Still, her zone-type spell finally made the beast bleed, albeit barely. The smoldering viper didn’t give up too easily. It tried again and again, sometimes stopped by the Spirit Bear, other times forced out of the Luster Spike Zone by Liora. The beast also suffered a few additional minor injuries from Hal’s [Common]-tier spells along the way. Only, the tan-skinned young woman was sweating and breathing heavily. It was clear she wouldn’t be able to keep up the zone for long. Hal had to decide. He had been contemplating since earlier whether he should use a charge of the strongest movement restriction spell in his arsenal, as it only had three charges. Plus, the smoldering viper was now bleeding moderately... The viper wasn’t focused on him, giving Hal a bit of breathing room to strategize. He had already come up with a few plans. However, he was still weighing which would be the most effective and cost-efficient. It didn’t take long for the viper to hiss and attack again, this time ignoring both Liora and Hal, targeting the annoying bear instead. The viper hadn’t sensed any life force from the massive summon, which was why it hadn’t considered it worth the effort to take it down. It would be much more efficient to eliminate its master. But since killing both humans had proven too difficult due to too many irritating factors, the Firevenom Viper decided to clear the surroundings a bit. It easily maneuvered around the Spirit Bear, dodging its initial attack before lunging at and sinking its fangs into the summon’s hind legs. The bear was nothing but translucent blue energy, and so, the flame venom seeping through its body was clearly visible to the duo, making them shudder. Hal tried to control the bear after the vicious attack, but it wouldn’t move no matter what he did, seemingly petrified by the venom. Soon enough, it dissipated into blue mana particles and scattered to the four winds. The two young wizards didn’t believe they would fare any better if they were bitten... Gulping as the Firevenom Viper turned its gaze towards them, Hal tried to capture it with [Conjure Chains], but as he expected, it was a bit too fast. His low-level chains weren’t fast enough. However, his attempt at least forced the smoldering snake to move, weaving its way through the spikes. It was clear that the viper, too, had begun to become accustomed to their attacks after more than two minutes of fighting. But Hal had already decided to spare nothing to kill it. The flame venom was just too terrifying for him to dare save charges. Observing the Firevenom Viper’s movements, Hal waited for the perfect moment—the small delay after it turned the flames in its tail off so it could change directions. Liora realized that her Luster Spike Zone’s defense had been bypassed, so she quickly dismissed it and fired a spell that surprised Hal. It was Piercing Light, one of the uncommon-tier spells in his arsenal. This was the fastest spell in her kit and the only one she could use in this situation. Unfortunately, the Firevenom Viper was able to dodge the spell, though the smoldering scales it grazed were ripped from the beast’s body, revealing a small spot of soft, exposed flesh. Hal, sadly, missed the timing. But it didn’t take long for another chance to present itself, as the viper soon turned off the maneuvering flames on its tail again to change direction mid-air and lunge at the now-defenseless, paling Liora. ’Now!’ Just as the smoldering snake’s fangs nearly reached the white-haired maiden, a black magic circle appeared on the ground, and from it, dark hands emerged and captured the viper, rendering it immobile no matter how hard it struggled. "Liora!" Hal exclaimed. But it seemed he didn’t need to remind her. She immediately used Licht Step to reposition herself at an angle where the flesh was exposed. She then fired another Piercing Light, mustering what remained of her mana to unleash one final spell before collapsing to one knee, utterly spent. The lethal ray of light pierced through the viper’s body, cleaving it cleanly in half. Both halves fell to the ground, twitching for a few moments before going still. After a nerve-wracking, deadly battle, the two young wizards had successfully slain the Firevenom Viper. [Congratulations! You’ve earned 20 Chaos Points!]

Chapter 76: Dark Grip

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