Chapter 155: The Purification

Just like every other mission, there was no travel time involved with the task at hand. The elites simply teleported near the area. They had their masks and their recently upgraded equipment worn on them. Sylph was there, looking at the mission area and letting out a sigh of exhaustion even before they began.

The rift itself was just bellow them. The group stood on top of it and, even though they were just there, they could feel just how deadly the place was. It was a large area, wide and vast enough to be at the same size of three cities combined and, finding a single corpse in this expanse of [Chaos Poison Cloud] is not an easy task. In fact, the [Cloud] covered it so thickly that no enemy showed on their [Minimap].

"This is a lot worse twain I thought." Sylph said immediately, looking at wasteland.

"Why was it again that the demons never found this place?" Jake asked Quinn, forgetting the details already.

*Sigh*

"The rift itself seemed nothing more than a heavily poisonous area to them. They didn't bother getting near because, even though they just stood above it, they felt immense pain that placed them closer to death's doors. That's why they simply labeled this land as forbidden and cursed." Quinn said in reply.

Every other elite took a peek of the place. There was nothing for them to see, even with Amare's eyes, not much could be made visible. Sylph noted this and proceeded to giving them instructions.

"Okay." Syph said, facing the elites who seemed nothing more than hatchlings to her. She used the [Voice Chat] in order to communicate with them.

"We'll be doing things my way. The [Voice Chat] is also running smoothly so we can communicate through it. This also reduces the chances of us inhaling [Chaos Poison] because, even with the masks on, we can never be too sure." She said.

All her life, Sylph was always on some sort of large organization and, for some reason, she would always lead. Thus, at an early age, she learned to be independent and to rely on nobody else but herself.

"We need someone who can manipulate air. Place the [Elementalist] forward and, that [Archer] who can create a large gust of wind"

The two immediately went in front, feeling all important for being called out first. This was especially so for Gawain who didn't like the side-character seeming task of shooting down messengers. Aside from excitement however, both he and Zayn were nervous.

They didn't know why, but they were. Sylph had such a commanding and authoritative aura that, even Quinn could do nothing but follow her. Even without seeing the full display of her skills, they were sure that she wasn't someone to be trifled with.

"Cast your wind spells." Sylph ordered as soon as the two got near the rift.

"Won't that be a waste of time?" Merlin asked, because as Zeke stated in the meeting, the mist will just return unless the corpse is destroyed by the group.

"This is why I hate rookies." Sylph said, firing one arrow immediately through the mist. It disappeared into the unknown without even a trail being left.

"See what did I tell you?" Merlin said, almost triumphantly.

"Look at your [Minimap] first idiot." Sylph said, which got the whole group amazed.

At first all their [Minimap] were blank. In fact, only the name of the place and the violet rift was visible on this. Yet, as soon as Sylph fired the arrow inside, they were able to see part of the terrain down the rift. Some enemies also became visible because of the attack.

"Were not trying to clear up this mist. That would be both impossible and stupidly time consuming. What we will do instead is this. We'll continue hitting them with stray wind infused projectiles, revealing the location of the monsters. All other members who can use long range attacks will automatically target these one by one. Use [AoE] skills because that would surely land a hit against our enemies."

Sylph stated something which should've been obvious to them. Yet, because the elites never encountered this problem before, they weren't' able to cook up such a tactic as the one presented by Sylph. Hence, group nodded and followed further instructions given by Sylph. They went into a formation, with the ones who can use long range skills strategically scattered around the area while, in front was a barrier created by the defenders. It was a tall wall of defense which ensured that no projectile will hit their allies.

Then, once everything was in place, Sylph raised her hand. Everyone was jittery and exited. They didn't have any opportunity to engage in battle for a whole week. So, they've just been itching to get some piece of action once again. And so, as soon ss Sylph dropped her hand, there was only catastrophe which followed.

Gawain and Zayn continued firing stray shots which revealed the monsters on the minimap. As soon as they did, the elites fired based on the positions of the monsters revealed on the [Minimap]. They attacked in intervals, with one member would always be in charge of an area that showed a bulk of monsters. Kaguya also assisted on revealing the location using her [Oblivion]. This worked like a vacuum, creating a larger visible area for the group which allowed them to see some really unsettling creatures.

"That's what living in a toxic environment does to you." Jake said, firing his [AoE] skill that was provided by his [Teppes] job class.

This caused screams of terror resounding bellow the rift. Because it was so deep, the screams also echoed and even intensified. Amare also helped by looking closely at every details of the terrain because it wouldn't be recorded otherwise. With her eyes, she was able to clearly see what it was that lay beneath them.

"Don't let up. Keep on firing but don't use the mana potions." Syph specifically instructed.

Strangely enough, the monsters didn't come for them. Instead, it was only long-range projectiles that tried hitting the group and, this raised a suspicion on Sylph's head about the nature of the enemies. One which, if proven correct, would bring a lot of advantage to them.

"Put a barrier around me." She said, wanting to test things out. Gerard did as instructed – placing a strong barrier around their Tactician and, as soon as he did, Sylph leapt towards the rift.

"Are you crazy?" Jake said, witnessing the view.

"You guys sure like talking a lot huh?" She said in reply, suspending herself in mid – air on a position which placed her juts a few inches above the mist.

She had her bow ready just in case a monster comes flying at her. What came however were simply projectiles – ones which she was able to shoot down.

"Just as I thought." She finally said, retreating back to the formation which confused some members of the elites. Quinn however had a grasp of what it was that their Tactician was trying to do but, left the asking for latter as he also needed to focus on the cleanup they were performing.

Sylph monitored their mana while also being on high alert. It needed to reach a certain amount before they stopped. This is because, she didn't want to tire them out. This wasn't a rush quest but one they were tasked to perform as slowly and as cautiously as possible. So, heeding this advice, Sylph finally gave the order to the elites.

"Halt."

Everyone gladly heeded the command, slumping to the ground from exhaustion. They felt their heart thumping from their ears and breathed so heavily like there was a lack of air. The healers were then tasked to go and aid their allies while Lizzie strengthened the amount of healing which could be done.

"That would be all for now. Good job guys." Sylph said, reaching 2 continuous hours of firing [AoE] spells nonstop.

"Your darn right that's enough. My mana veins felt like they were gonna burst you know." Zilg said in reply, feeling both his arms numbing from constantly having to throw the explosive marbles.

"That's good. It means that you actually tried your best." Sylph simply said, smiling at the group who still made sounds of complaints.

"Anyway, now that we've done this, we might rouse our enemies within that thick ominous [Chaos Poison Cloud]. So, we'll take some time to rest while also discussing the next phase of the plan."

No matter how strong the healing spells were, they still felt the strain on their bodies and, this was something that needed actual rest in order to recover. Sylph optimized this interval by also feeding her troops while she laid out the plan for their next attack.

They didn't stay at any outside campfire. Instead, they came back to the cave since there was a teleportation option. This ensured both their safety and that they would be able to be well rested before proceeding with the next phase. As soon as they returned, they noticed that Zeke and the other two were not there anymore – meaning they've also began their attack on the Elven Continent of Elysium.

With this, the whole group rested for at least an hour. They also ate as was instructed by Sylph and, as soon as all of this was finished, they proceeded to their meeting hall. There they found Sylph sitting at Zeke's place, and looking at all the data on a [System Window].

She didn't bother looking at them one by one. Instead, she waited for them to all be seated before finally facing them.

"Let's begin, shall we?"