The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

There was a distinctive sensation to it. A soft, brittle layer of skin, as if it was separated from the Serpent's real body.

From that alone, Aria was able to predict that Xenos was close to molting.

She had experience handling monsters like the Serpent in the past, although it wasn't the exact same monster. These things had a special trait called molting.

It didn't sound like anything special, but in actuality, this ability was probably one of the most broken traits ever.

It could overturn the tides of a battle in an instant.

"It can't be that easy. Let's stay wary. Reina, be sure to recover as much as you can in this period. The technique you used should come in handy any second now, but that isn't a cue for us to relax, unfortunately." Aria said.

When she discussed her plans with Reina before, she already told her about the possibility of the Serpent having the ability to molt.

By saying her words just now, she just made a new confirmation that the Serpent was likely going to molt.

By molting, they would be able to essentially recover all their health in a second upon shedding their skin. It was a one time thing, but it was an action that would fully revive them even if they were on the brink of death moments ago. It also couldn't be triggered right away.

For example, a young Serpent wouldn't be able to do it, but for Xenos, it was possible.

Facing Xenos twice in its prime condition. It wasn't good news at all.

Reina's skill should be able to prevent the Serpent from doing that at the pivotal moment.

Keep the creature in check before it was even able to recover.

The technique Aria taught her had a lot of names and variants attached to it. The most prominent version that showed up was what the greatest Shadow user she knew used, called [Void Box].

One of the scariest techniques in existence, feared by many  who faced the sorcerer.

The sorcerer's name was Shanatos, someone who proclaimed herself to be the Void Witch albeit not being of from a witch's lineage. She was taken in and raised by a witch who passed down her knowledge to the child after seeing her overbearing talents.

Shanatos grew up to be the most infamous 'grey area' magician. Her actions depended on her whims. Which side she judged to be better to stick with.

[Void Box] worked in an eerie way. Unless you knew how to get out of the shadow clasps, you would be sucked into an array of clingy shadows. These shadows would then grab onto your body and start to gobble you into the 'box'.

Once you are in the box, you will be rendered not able to do anything except for struggle until the caster decides to do anything, or an external force breaks the box apart.

Like what Reina did, the caster could freely crush the contents of the box by manipulating the size of it.

Of course, this technique would render you unable to participate in battle actively as you lay the skill down. Reina was given five minutes, and was barely able to make it. In a fast paced battle, it was impractical. This technique also cost a lot of mana, and would suck a normal magician dry.

Shanatos, however, was able to cast multiple boxes at once when needed.

The problem was whether Reina would be able to sustain her control after it molted.

Its vitality would spike like a volcano's eruption. And at the same time, the skill Reina previously placed on it would be shaken up.

Reina's current condition was bad enough.

Though, there was still a good chance.

Aria wasn't entirely confident, but she knew one thing.

The Serpent's molting will be done instinctively because there was a grave danger posed to it. Its body will detect how low its health is and will race to activate the innate skill to heal itself.

In the process of molting, it would be too convenient if there wasn't any drawback to such a surefire technique that would give a second chance in battle. It wouldn't be free of charge. The Serpent would be even more vulnerable to them right after it passed the molting stage.

If there was one thing to be noted out of the Shadow element, it was that..

Once you were caught and locked down, it was extremely hard to get out of. The shadows would chase you down no matter what you tried to do if you didn't know how to break the spell properly.

And a creature like Xenos.. Wouldn't stand a chance in figuring out the solution.

It was primarily built to fight and had a tanky body, making it powerful enough to live up to its name and terrorize others.

But since Reina was here with her technique..

It was game over, so long as Reina persisted in her efforts.

As Aria had predicted, the Serpent that had long gone dormant inside the box began to move once again.

The small box shook. The size began to multiply bit by bit, until it was back to the size of Xenos.

The revival. Xenos' return.

The box was getting even closer to breaking with each passing moment.

The people all looked at Reina with worry, wondering if the terror was going to return one more time.

Aria winced, feeling Reina's magical circuits go into a rampage.

The woman's soul began to get affected as well with Xenos' revival. Her control was luckily still going strong, but there was no telling if she would be able to hold on until the end of everything.

Aria called Dianthe with the last bits of her mana that had recovered during the break and told the spirit to aid Reina as a support.

"It's getting close. Prepare for it."

The cage lost its shape, and went back to resembling Xenos' stature.

Reina could only make a faint nod, her eyes still closed from investing everything into her focused state.

Then, the cage finally broke, revealing the revitalized Xenos along with a deafening cry.

"Reina! Right now, use your skill!" Aria supported Reina's frail body, instructing her to rebrand her hold on the creature.