The spider shrieked loudly in cries of agony as its entire body began to petrify from the legs up.
Before long the massive imposing black spider had turned into a stone statue that master sculptors would gape in awe at.
The Black Scripture had already seen too much today to still be too surprised when seeing this. First a Legendary item that was effective against Dragon Lords failed to halt a single Undead, then some of their strongest members had been defeated with one hit and now the ancient spider that three members of the Black Scripture had died for to catch back in the day was turned to stone. It was simply too ridiculous for words.
Persiva in the meantime had fallen to the ground unconscious. The spider was linked to her in more than one ways. If the spider was defeated then so was she.
Now only five members of the scripture still remained.
"[Move Earth]!"
Once again Mare used a spell and this time it appeared to cause the statue of the spider to float into the air and be placed aside so it would not hinder the rest of the battle.
Ainz looked at this scene as he could mostly understand what was going through Mare's mind. This type of Spider was not native to Nazarick and would be a great present for Aura when she returned from her mission. pertification was easy to undo for her after all.
Aura had been sent to scout out another nation of demi-humans and was not able to attend this massacre, but Ainz guessed that she would be more than satisfied once she saw her new pet.
All this time Sylvan couldn't help but blankly stare at Cocytus and Mare. The two had displayed abilities which had turned all logic on its head. Even if they fought with everything they had it would not be enough.
With what they had left they could not possibly buy Kaire the time she would need to use her item again.
"Captain, let's go for one last attack. All of us from different sides! Even if that monster can take down one of us in a swing if we strike from all sides, one of us has to be able to do some damage to him."
Roquefort looked at the captain as if he had already given up. But even in this sorry state he was still capable of thinking up the best possible solution to the problem.
Sylvan was unsure whether it would even work. The monster in front of them had displayed a strength that made him doubt his own eyes. This creature could probably go toe to toe with even Zesshi!
"Looks like it can't be helped."
"Listen up, all of you! We're going to attack it from all sides! Cedran, stay behind and protect Kaire! Those of you confident that we can kill that abomination, follow me!"
Responding to their captain's call the last remaining members all rushed out, approaching Cocytus from two sides with either ready to leap if he decided to attack.
Cocytus himself didn't move an inch as he watched how the Black Scripture encircled him, thinking they had him trapped.
Amusing as it was, he allowed them to execute their foolish ploy and couldn't wait to see what the results would bring.
Roquefort, Sylvan and Kuaiesse charged at him as Cocytus seemed to have let his guard down.
Roquefort figured that he would be targeted first as his sword was eye-catching after all. Thus he attacked from the front and swung his blade vertically down on Cocytus' face.
Sylvan and Kuaiesse attacked from behind with their strongest skills as their weapon. They could only hope to make as much damage as possible. Kuaiesse didn't even bother bringing out his basilisks as against a foe like Cocytus they would likely just be finished off like the spider by Mare. instead he had to rely on his monk skills to attack his foe directly.
"Take this! [Valiant Strike]!"
"[Five Fold Spear Thrust]"
"Southern style Eight Trigrams [Palm Strike]!"
Roquefort slashed, Sylvan thrust his spear and Kuaiesse struck at Cocytus. Not even Zesshi could take on all of these attacks at once and would be forced to dodge. Against an opponent that took too much pride in his strength, surely they would do some damage.
At least that was what they thought would happen.
"Impossible."
"Monster, no… demon."
"This kind of fight is just unfair…"
Sylvan and the other two members could not believe their eyes. Cocytus had taken the sword strike, the spear thrusts and the palm strikes without moving a muscle. And yet his shell was completely undamaged. naturally all Cocytus had done was activate another skill which allowed him to resist physical damage for a certain amount of time.
"No. Rhyme. Or. Reason. Just. Blind. Attacks. The. Lizardmen. Were. Better. Opponents. Than. You."
The combined effort of the two Lizardmen brothers that had forced Cocytus to use one of his skills had left a deep impression on him as their final attack was worthy to leave a mark on his body but this time he had activated this skill simply to show them the insurmountable difference between the two groups.
Cocytus had seen enough and launched a backward horizontal strike against Sylvan and Kuaiesse.
The speed was such that even Sylvan was taken aback but he still managed to jump backwards in time to dodge.
Kuaiesse was not as fortunate as the incorporeal blade sliced through him he fell down to the ground like a sack of meat.
Sylvan thanked the gods that he had been standing on the left side behind Cocytus and had activated martial skills that enhanced dodging capabilities before attacking.
If he had stood on the right side where Cocytus launched his attack from he would have fallen just like Kuaiesse.
"Hoooooooh!"
Roquefort roared as he had completely lost his senses against this unfair being called Cocytus and launched another desperate strike against him.
This time Cocytus simply side-stepped the horizontal sword strike and countered by piercing his blade through the chest of his foe.
Roquefort, just like his comrades, fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Sylvan had taken this moment to retreat back to where Kaire and Cedran stood. The two had been watching the spectacle and felt like they were living a nightmare. The entire Black Scripture had been destroyed down to only two members and Kaire.
Without some kind of miracle this would be the end.
…
….
…...
Just one more minute.
Sylvan was feeling the urge to make a wry smile as he thought that there might still be hope for the Theocracy.
Although ten of the twelve members of the Black Scripture had been eradicated, if Kaire could reactivate her item's powers again and take over Ainz Ooal Gown then that would still result in their victory.
That two members of the scripture plus Kaire were still alive could already be considered incredibly fortunate.
Although Sylvan was unsure whether or not two would be enough to buy Kaire another minute of time, he had to believe that as the captain of the Black Scripture he could draw the attention of the enemy long enough to create an opening.
All of his comrades had given everything they had to delay the onslaught of Ainz's subordinate so he could not allow to let their defeats go to waste anymore.
Sylvan readied his spear as he positioned himself between Cedran and Cocytus and prepared to strike with the intent to kill.
As Cocytus approached, Sylvan could only keep silently counting the seconds inside his head. Every second seemed like an eternity but now in just thirty seconds victory could be theirs.
The fact that the weapon had not worked on Ainz's doppelganger caused a stir in Sylvan's heart but he chose to believe that Ainz himself did not come out because he feared that weapon. He himself was vulnerable against it. Sylvan was sure this was the reason, otherwise it would mean their end.
"By the way I believe the timer should be close to off cooldown about now?"