Mystery: Death Singer

After dodging another attack of ice shards, Edric reloaded his revolver while loudly warning Freya and Solana:

"This skeleton is very likely related to the 'Assassin' pathway! I've seen this kind of hair on a sinister statue possessed by an assassin!"

Freya found it difficult to approach the skeleton, so she plunged her steel greatsword into the floor and was using enchanted bullets to disrupt it while wielding her dual pistols. Upon hearing Edric's reminder, she looked at him incredulously and said:

"You mean this... a three-meter-tall skeletal frame, and it's a witch?!"

Solana, who was launching various "sun" domain spells, also had a strange expression upon hearing this. Born in Intis, she and Freya certainly knew what a "witch" was, but precisely because of this, the shock they received in terms of understanding was far greater than that of Edric.

But Edric had no time to answer the question. The skeleton with the strange snake hair was huge, but it was also incredibly fast, and he couldn't break free from its grasp.

Seeing Edric and Medusa engage in close combat, Freya and Solana immediately grabbed their extraordinary weapons and rushed forward to relieve the pressure on Edric, who was clearly at a disadvantage in the fight, in order to avoid ricochets accidentally injuring their teammates.

boom!

The massive, white bone fist slammed heavily onto Edric's shoulder, contorting his face and sending him staggering back a distance. If his two teammates hadn't filled the gap in time and briefly blocked the snake-haired skeleton, he probably would have had to reveal one of his trump cards right now: summoning a stone spirit to help block the punch.

Edric rubbed his shoulder, feeling a severe strain on his left arm, and his expression turned serious as he realized something was wrong.

Although the skeleton looked very imposing, its aura was definitely at the same level as his, namely "Sequence Seven". However, the strange strength it displayed was completely different from Triss in Edric's memory.

If Triss had been so skilled in close combat when he ambushed him by the Tasok River, that punch probably wouldn't have had a chance to hit!

Coincidentally, during the brief respite when Edric temporarily retreated, Freya and Solana, who were bearing the brunt of the pressure, also noticed something was wrong. The latter exclaimed in shock:

"Impossible! The frost and black flames it displays are indeed abilities possessed by a 'witch,' but what's with this bizarre close-combat ability?!"

It should be noted that Solana is currently wearing the glove that Freya failed to sell last night. With the enhancement of her extraordinary abilities, she can be regarded as a Sequence Nine "warrior".

Even so, when facing the snake-haired skeleton, she still felt completely at a disadvantage. This was not due to a difference in experience, but because she was completely overwhelmed by the opponent's greater strength, faster speed, and better skills!

If it weren't for Freya, who was wearing another "warrior" glove, restraining her, she felt she wouldn't have lasted even thirty seconds.

"It... actually possesses not only 'witch' abilities but also close-combat skills comparable to a 'fighter'?!"

Hearing this, Edric realized that continuing to drag things out would be harmful and pointless, so he reached into his pocket and gently touched the Solomon coin.

boom!!!

The next moment, a thick body resembling a stone ball burst from the ground, and a huge stone fist slammed solidly into the chest of the snake-haired skeleton.

With a series of cracking sounds, the snake-haired skeleton staggered backward, knocking over bookshelves that slammed to the ground with a thud.

This sudden turn of events stunned Freya and Solana, but Edric rushed forward without hesitation.

Just as the snake-haired skeleton finally stopped and prepared to counterattack, a cloud of icy blue, low-temperature mist suddenly exploded behind it, enveloping the area and completely blocking the view of the two women behind it.

Two pale, icy hands emerged from the void and pressed firmly onto the skull of the snake-haired skeleton, completely ignoring the thick snake hair that coiled and tightened around it.

Since the snake-haired skeleton itself has the ability to manipulate frost, the low temperature created by the frost spirit has no effect on it at all. However, Edric summoned the frost spirit only to obtain enough cover.

"Possession!"

The next moment, the fully manifested Stone Spirit merged with Edric, his figure began to shrink, and his body was instantly covered with a heavy, thick layer of rock armor. His basketball-sized fist gave Medusa no time to react and slammed down hard on the ribs that Stone Spirit had just broken in his surprise attack!

boom!

With a tremendous crash, Freya and Solana saw the upper body of the snake-haired skeleton suddenly fly out of the icy blue mist, even smashing a large crater in the granite wall of the second floor of the library before landing in the outer corridor.

"???"

"???"

Amidst Freya and Solana's shocked expressions, Edric slowly emerged from the quietly disappearing icy blue mist, calmly saying as he loosened his left arm joints:

"Are you alright?"

Looking at the lower half of the snake-haired skeleton being dragged behind Edric, Freya subconsciously shook her head: "No, that was just now..."

"I am an extraordinary being, and it's perfectly normal for me to carry magical artifacts, isn't it?" Edric smiled and gave a serious reply.

Freya glanced at the lower half of the snake-haired skeleton again, smiled and nodded, afraid that if she continued to ask questions, it would cause Edric to misunderstand.

Although the contract stipulates that no one may be harmed in any way, its binding force is only during the "exploration," and the deadline is the second week after the exploration ends. As long as Edric is willing to wait, it cannot protect anyone at all.

Meanwhile, Solana cautiously peeked into the corridor outside, then successfully used her axe to hook the upper body of the snake-haired skeleton back.

The three stopped before the completely lifeless skeleton with snake hair. Solana examined a broken bone she had picked up, her expression curious.

"Will this thing have any remnants? Or is its special nature derived from some accidental contact with a high-level power, and doesn't possess any substantial foundation in itself?"

Edric knew immediately that Solana definitely knew about the "Law of Conservation of Extraordinary Characteristics," so he simply stated it directly:

"That's exactly what I'm curious about, so I want to see if it will develop any extraordinary properties."

Freya and Solana exchanged a glance, subtly raising their opinion of Edric once more, and considering maintaining a long-term relationship after this exploration, trying to get closer to him.