The several wizards standing behind the Earth Shield had the protection of their innate magical arts, so even the occasional stray stone that exploded against their bodies was quickly deflected without causing any harm.
"Chirp-chirp!" Seeing that its attacks had proven ineffective, the Black Fog Phantom finally shifted its attention away from the Phantom Spring Water. Countless tentacles extended from its body as it began crawling toward the three wizards.
"Good! I'll draw it away! Seize the chance to collect the Phantom Spring Water!"
The team leader roared.
The three wizards retreated steadily, firing off magical arts from time to time to lure the Black Fog Phantom further and further from its original position.
Taking advantage of this opening, the other two members of the team began swiftly driving away the remaining animals. Once no other living creatures remained near the spring, Blake approached the source of the spring and began chanting a mysterious incantation.
Rumble!
As the chant echoed over the spring, enormous bubbles began rising from the surface of the milky-white water!
Bang! A massive quantity of Phantom Spring Water, as if drawn up by a whale, was seized into the air by Blake's outstretched hand. It condensed in midair, finally coalescing into a milky-white crystalline substance that dropped into Blake's palm.
"Hurry! Hurry up! I can't hold that Black Fog Phantom much longer!"
The team leader saw Blake and another member begin collecting the water, and his face initially broke into a smile — but it quickly turned to terror.
After realizing that the delicious delicacy at its mouth was being plundered by outsiders, the Black Fog Phantom — which had been chasing the team leader — let out a wail that sounded like an infant crying, then turned and charged back toward the spring.
"Stall it! Buy us time!" The team leader's eyes had gone slightly red.
"Awoooo!!!"
Just as the team members were scrambling in a panic, a roar suddenly rang out from the sky.
Every wizard's heart went cold at the sound. The Black Fog Phantom froze as well, its enormous yellow eyes fixed warily on the sky above.
Then they saw it — a giant Venom Wyvern, its body more than thirty percent larger than a normal one, covered entirely in green scales. Its massive bony wings beat against the air, each stroke generating a powerful gust of wind.
"Th-that Venom Wyvern looks like..."
The wizard team leader spoke in a daze.
"That's right! A Venom Wyvern that's surpassed the wizard threshold — that's that wizard's signature! Captain, we're in serious trouble this time!" One of his team members said with a bitter laugh, a hint of despair even flickering across his face.
"Hm? A Black Fog Phantom? Not bad — I happen to need its core..."
A voice that sounded very young rang out from the back of the Venom Wyvern, and then a powerful wave of spell energy crashed down over the entire area.
The wizard team members below felt as though an enormous ocean wave was slamming into them — the force was so overwhelming it left almost no room for resistance.
The Black Fog Phantom, which had been entangling the three wizards moments ago, immediately abandoned its opponents. The black mist covering its body contracted sharply by half, its volume shrinking but appearing far more solid. Its two yellow eyes opened wide, fixed unblinkingly on this new enemy, its mouth emitting a constant low growl.
As that voice spoke, a black hand — its surface engulfed in fierce black flames — reached out from the Venom Wyvern's back, clawing toward the Black Fog Phantom.
Where the black hand passed, the void itself seemed to ripple.
Before the hand even arrived, wind sprang up from the ground, blasting away small stones and blades of grass, revealing a bare patch of earth.
And at the center of that clearing stood the Black Fog Phantom.
"Chirp-chirp!" The Phantom roared at the sky, spewing the black mist bombs from its mouth once more. Those condensed spheres of black mist seemed to have eyes of their own, tracing eerie arcs through the air as they precisely intercepted the black-flamed hand.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The black mist bombs detonated on the surface of the giant hand, but the mist had not even begun to take effect before the flames burned it away completely, leaving not a single mark on the palm.
Crack!
The Black Fog Phantom's attack could not so much as slow the flaming hand. Under the stunned gazes of the surrounding team members, the black-flamed hand seized the Black Fog Phantom directly.
"Waaaah!"
Raging black flames engulfed the Phantom's body in an instant. The countless streams of black mist thinned within the fire, ultimately burning into white steam that gradually evaporated into nothing.
The Phantom's body shrank continuously, and within a few seconds it was only half its original size. The creature let out a pained howl; the tentacles at the edges of its black mist twitched unconsciously, still rolling across the ground, but none of it could stop the hand.
The black flames burned on the Phantom's body — steady and relentless.
Another ten-odd seconds passed, and the entire Black Fog Phantom was thoroughly incinerated under the black flames. In its place, only a single object remained, resembling a black pearl.
The black pearl's surface was smooth and translucent, and within it seemed to swirl a small mass of black mist, continuously shifting its shape.
Bang! Bang!
The Venom Wyvern in the sky descended to the ground, and a very young male wizard leaped from its back. He walked to the place where the flames had burned, tucked the black pearl into his robe, and said nothing more.