"How did you know it was the Priest?" Yuri asked indifferently. She didn’t seem particularly threatened by the Priest or the Eidolons surrounding him. If anything, she looked more curious than anything else.
Andrea glanced towards the blue orb behind the Priest before answering.
"They separated their forces into two groups. The Chief should be with the giant weapon, moving towards us while this group came here instead."
She pointed her blade towards the blue orb.
"That thing is probably what allowed them to reach the camp without being detected. The Priest must have led this group here and used it to hide their movements inside the storm."
Yuri raised a brow.
"If the Chief isn’t here, what’s giving the Priest so much confidence? He should know that either of us could kill him in the blink of an eye."
Andrea chuckled lightly.
"That’s exactly why I’m interested."
She looked directly at the Priest.
"This one can use human speech... There has to be something fundamentally different about him."
Wind exploded as Yuri suddenly moved. A dozen Eidolons attacked them at once, but Yuri was far too quick, and her blade far too sharp. She slipped between their attacks with almost effortless precision, her body flashing through the gaps as her katana cut through throats, limbs and chests.
Before Andrea even needed to raise her blade, several Eidolons had already fallen around them, their bodies collapsing into the snow one after another.
The Yuri who had first entered the Tower would never have been capable of this. She had fought too many battles since then, endured too many moments where a single mistake would have meant death, and every one of those battles had pushed her further.
Her Dormant Ability had long since become an extension of her body, refined through constant combat until her movements felt almost instinctive.
Among the Awakened, only those at the highest level, people like Andrea, Vincent and Ryan, could confidently stand above her. Yuri had finally reached the point where she could call herself a full-fledged Awakened.
The Priest took a step backwards as the last Eidolon collapsed into the snow. His eyes remained fixed on Andrea and Yuri, and for the first time, genuine fear could be seen on his beast-like face.
He wasn’t stupid.
Unlike the previous Priest, his intelligence had developed much further. He understood the difference between himself and the two women standing before him, and after witnessing Yuri slaughter his entire group without either of them suffering a single injury, he knew that fighting them directly would be nothing more than suicide.
But the Priest had expected this.
He had prepared for it.
The Priest suddenly turned around and reached towards the short white pillar behind him. The blue orb sitting above it pulsed with faint light, almost like something alive.
His clawed hand wrapped around it, the Priest ripped the orb from the pillar. Without hesitation, he brought it towards his mouth and swallowed it whole.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Andrea and Yuri remained completely still, neither woman making any attempt to interrupt him. They were more interested in seeing what would happen next than they were concerned about whatever the Priest thought he was accomplishing.
Then the Priest’s body violently convulsed.
His claws dug into the snow as his muscles began to expand, his thick white fur bristling as a surge of strange energy erupted from his body. His frozen antlers trembled, and his veins bulged beneath his skin as something inside him began to change.
"Hahahaha!"
The Priest’s laughter echoed through the clear sky.
He threw his head backwards and laughed like a beast that had finally lost whatever restraint it possessed.
Then the Priest’s laughter abruptly stopped, His head snapped forward. He pointed directly at the two women and released a deafening roar, the force of it sent snow exploding across the ground around him.
The girls hair and clothing were blown backwards, though neither of them looked impressed.
The Priest stared at them for a moment, seeing that their expressions hadn’t changed. His face twitched.
He roared again, this time in frustration, but the two women still stood there as though they were watching an experiment rather than an enemy.
The Priest finally lost his composure.
"I have consumed the flesh of a god!" His voice shook the surrounding air. "I am transforming into a divine being!"
He raised both arms as the strange energy continued surging through his body.
"I will soon attain the power to slaughter all of your kind!"
Andrea squinted as a snowflake drifted past her face.
"Why do they always claim to have the power to slaughter all of our kind? They should know by now that showboating is a recipe for disaster."
Yuri shrugged.
"He hasn’t changed much. I think he needs more time."
"You think so?"
"Yeah... let’s give him another ten seconds."
The Priest was beyond enraged. Andrea and Yuri simply stood there, waiting for him to finish his transformation. It was exactly what he wanted, yet it was still annoying to stand around knowing how little of a threat he actually was to either of them.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at the two women.
"Watch as I grow beyond your reach. Then you shall cower in fear before a might that surpasses yours."
Andrea’s ears suddenly pricked up.
"What was that, Priest? You’re done."
Before the Priest could even respond, both women shot towards him, moving faster than he could see.
"No wait, I’m not done, you said ten seconds, it hasn’t even been two". The priest hurriedly raised his hands to defend, and just as Andrea and Yuri’s blades met his skin, his body suddenly transformed.
A wild unrestrained energy spiraled out of control, sweeping outwards in all directions, the Priest’s white fur began to disappear and soon it was replaced by blue glistening scales.
"Hahahaha".
He laughed wildly.
"Your weapons are powerless against the might of the storm and blizzard".
The priest was right, Yuri’s katana and Andrea’s sword were actually blown back, leaving sparks behind as their weapons failed to penetrate his skin.