Several dozen meters ahead, the Evernight Empress gradually faded into the darkness. Abilities like Strangulation could not be used continuously without intervals. More precisely, after locking onto five targets at once, she could not maintain the ability. Each use required an interval of roughly three to five minutes.
That was why no one could fight the Evernight Empress one-on-one. In that case, the interval between her two uses of Strangulation would be only 0.01 seconds. Even someone with powerful immortality abilities would be strangled again and again. Moreover, every immortality ability had a theoretical limit. Once that limit was reached, death would follow all the same.
After the surrounding darkness faded somewhat, Su Xiao, Zaiyas, Wood, Father, and the Platinum Apostle charged forward in unspoken agreement. The Evernight Empress's Dark Strangulation was currently cooling down, so they did not need to fear her suddenly appearing behind them. Even if she did, it would not be her true body.
Zaiyas had only taken two steps when a figure with long hair, formed from black mist, appeared behind him. It pressed one hand toward his back. The motion seemed slow, but even after Zaiyas slowed time, he could not evade it.
The instant the Evernight Empress's phantom hand pressed against Zaiyas's back, his entire body began to twist. This time, it did not twist into a straight rope. Instead, a spiral vortex formed from the center of his body and shredded him apart.
Seeing this, the others did not stop. They sped up instead. The instant Zaiyas was shredded, the Evernight Empress's phantom appeared behind Su Xiao.
At that moment, Su Xiao felt a chilly darkness invading from behind, like black liquid seeping into every pore of his body. It was not freezing, yet its coldness was so deep that even his