The High Priestess's chanting got louder, and the golden light coming from her got stronger. Her holy power pushed the dark energy in the room back, and it started to go away. The spirits got more frantic and attacked with violent rage.
In the back of the sanctum, a giant shadow formed that was at least three times the size of the other spirits. Its red eyes glowed with evil intelligence as it rushed toward Liora like a wave of darkness.
"That's where the corruption comes from!" As she kept up her ritual, Liora's voice was strained.
"You have to destroy it, or the cleansing won't work!"
Rick, Carmilla, and Natasha all looked at each other. They didn't need to talk because their goals were perfectly in sync with the Spirit Bond.
Carmilla ran forward, which got the attention of the big spirit. The holy energy in the room made her sword glow with golden light. She hit the spirit's core, but it was too strong. It was only a small scratch from her blade.
"W-What...?! My sword only gives a small scratch like that...!"
The spirit swung a huge clawed hand at Carmilla, and she barely had time to raise her sword to block. The impact sent her flying back, and she hit a pillar so hard that it cracked the stone.
"Agh...!" Carmilla spits some blood inside her mouth.
"Carmilla!" Rick could feel her pain through the bond, as well as her will to get back up.
Natasha used a lot of ice magic to make a frozen prison around the spirit. It slowed the creature down, but it didn't stop it. The spirit broke the ice with brute force and kept going toward Liora.
Rick ran forward without even thinking about it. He couldn't let this thing get to her.
"I'm not letting all my baddies get hurt anymore...!!!"
She was depending on them. Everyone depended on them.
The Spirit Bond with both Carmilla and Natasha suddenly grew stronger than ever before. He could feel their power flowing into him and mixing with his own. Bond Resonance turned on, making their powers work together to become even stronger.
[BOND RESONANCE TURNED ON]
[ALL PARTY STATS +15%]
[UNUSUAL CONDITION MET: KEEPING MATURE WOMEN SAFE DURING A CRISIS]
[SPIRIT UNITY LV.1: TEMPORARY SKILL UNLOCKED]
[LASTS: 60 SECONDS]
Rick felt a surge of power in his body. He could feel Carmilla's strength in his muscles, Natasha's magical accuracy in his movements, and something else that was only his. His sword started to glow with a soft golden light that came from inside him, not from the shrine.
"I can feel it... the power of the MILFs that I've bonded with!!!"
"Now you feel the wrath of the bond I've made with them!!!"
He charged at the huge spirit, and his increased speed caught it off guard. This time, his blade hit the core and cut deep.
The spirit screamed and tried to fight back, but Rick was already on the move. His Spirit Bond made him more aware, so he could feel its movements before they happened.
He was faster than he had ever been. All he did was do a hit, dodge, and hit again. Every hit took away a piece of the spirit's core.
He could feel Carmilla getting back up behind him and Natasha getting ready to cast another spell. They attacked as one, with a perfect mix of blade, ice, and willpower.
The core of the spirit broke. The golden light in the room became blinding as Liora's chanting reached its peak.
The giant spirit let out one last scream before turning into black smoke. The smaller spirits that were still there followed suit, unable to live in the face of such strong holy power.
Then there was silence. The dark energy went away completely, leaving the sanctum clean and shining with golden light that had come back. The temperature went back to normal, and the heavy feeling in the air went away.
"Hah... hah... hah..." Rick let out a lot of hard breathing.
"I fucking did it..."
"Eat my shit..."
Liora stood up slowly, her legs shaking from being exhausted. She looked at the three of them with a look of deep gratitude and shock.
"You really did it..."
"I've never seen adventurers collaborate so effectively! That last attack... it felt like you were all thinking as one."
[QUEST DONE: SHRINE CLEANING CRISIS]
[REWARD: +150 EXP]
[EXTRA: TEAMWORK SYNCHRONIZATION +50 EXP]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: HOLY RESISTANCE LV.1]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: SPIRIT UNITY LV.1]
[HIGH PRIESTESS LIORA SUNWEAVER'S LOVE: 0 → 5]
[NOTE: SHE'S IMPRESSED BY YOUR COURAGE AND COORDINATION]
Rick ignored the notifications because he was more worried about his friends. Carmilla was fine except for some bruises from hitting the pillar. Natasha looked worn out from using magic, but she nodded when he looked at her questioningly.
Carmilla told him, "We're fine."
"That was actually tough, but we've been through worse."
"Have we really?" Rick had to ask. "That was probably the hardest fight I've ever been in."
"And you did an impressive job of it," Liora said as she walked up to them.
Her amber eyes looked at Rick with new interest. "Especially you, young man..."
"That power you showed at the end wasn't normal fighting skill. It was holy in some way, but also something I'd never seen before."
She reached out and put her hand on Rick's chest, right over his heart. Rick felt warmth spread through his whole body when the golden light flared up for a second until Liora's eyes got big.
"Oh shit...! Will I get something from her?! Please be something pure...! Like maybe her virgi—Heh, keep dreaming, me..."
"Unbelievable," she said in a whisper. "You have Spirit Bonds..."
"And there are a lot of them! It's not just any bonds! These are strong ties with mature souls."
"I have only read about things like this in old stories about some heroes."
Rick's face felt hot. "Is it that clear?"
"Yes, to someone who knows a lot about spiritual things." Liora pulled her hand back and looked like she was thinking. "Spirit Bonds are very rare, and most people never reach the level of emotional maturity and real connection needed to make one."
"You have two, and you love them both very much."
She looked at Carmilla and Natasha for a second. "These are your bonded partners?"
Rick said, "Yes, they are," because he saw no point in denying it.
Liora's face changed to look almost like a mother's. "Then you are blessed."
"These kinds of connections are priceless." She stopped for a moment, as if she had made up her mind. "What's your name?"
"Your real names, not just the names of your characters."