I followed dusa through the hidden door, stepping into a narrow, dimly lit corridor that seed to stretch endlessly ahead.
It was obvious she had prepared for just about any disaster. But now that she'd triggered the countdown, this whole place would be blowing sky-high any minute. She had no choice but to run–- just like and Roda. If we didn't move fast, we were going to be buried alive.
I could hear Roda's hurried footsteps echoing behind . She was close, following my lead. But my attention was locked solely on dusa.
I wasn't going to let this turn into another disaster like with Nora — that ss where John and I had failed to take her down. And because of that failure, she did sothing to Alia.
I wouldn't let dusa slip away like I did with Nora.
She was sprinting ahead, her silhouette flickering in the faint ergency lights, but I was gaining on her. dusa glanced back at over her shoulder, a smile on her lips.
"I'd rather you stay alive," she said with a smirk. "It'll piss off a lot of important people if you die here."
Without wasting a second, I reached for khryselakatos slung across my back. I drew the bowstring all the way back and let an arrow fly—the shaft shimring amber as it tore through the air toward her.
dusa, sensing the danger closing in fast, yanked out a sword in a blur of movent. With a sweeping slash, she released a wave of mana that crackled down the corridor.
Instinct kicked in—I summoned Aegis just in ti. The shield materialized absorbing the brunt of the impact. Still, the force was enough to rattle my bones.
The walls on either side of instantly shifted color— dull gray stone spreading like a disease.
My eyes darted to my left hand.
The tips of my fingers had already started turning to stone, a creeping numbness spreading up my arm. I gritted my teeth, willing myself to keep moving.
She was petrifying everything she touched.
One wrong move and I'd be a statue.
I couldn't afford to be cautious. If I hesitated now, she'd slip right through my fingers.
"Fuck it," I muttered under my breath.
Gripping Aegis tightly in front of , I stomped the ground with all my strength, launching myself forward like a bullet. In a flash, I closed the distance between us.
dusa reacted instantly. She stopped cold, raised her sword, and with a fluid motion, uncorked a small vial and poured its contents over the blade.
The mont she swung–
-BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted between us.
I skidded backward several ters, Aegis flaring brightly as it absorbed the blast. Smoke and dust billowed everywhere. Even with the shield, the shockwave rattled .
But it wasn't just smoke.
There was sothing toxic in the air, clinging to my skin, making my lungs burn the mont I breathed it in.
My mana...
I stared down at my trembling hands, the fingers twitching uncontrollably.
Whatever I'd inhaled from that explosion — it was wreaking havoc inside , screwing up my ability to control my mana. It felt like trying to catch smoke with bare hands.
Before I could gather myself, a figure blurred past at incredible speed — a streak of white cutting through the smoke.
It was Roda.
She was fast. Way faster than . I barely caught sight of her—just the faint glimpse of a white tail flicking behind her like a cot.
A scarf was wrapped tightly around her mouth, shielding her from the toxic fus, and her usually bright eyes had gone ice-cold, locked with deadly focus onto dusa.
For the first ti, dusa's smug grin faltered.
She realized—Roda was already right in front of her.
-BAM!
"Ugh!"
dusa let out a pained sound as Roda's clawed hand slashed in a deadly arc, tearing across dusa's chest with enough force to send blood spraying into the air.
The impact lifted her off the ground and hurled her several ters back, slamming her into the corridor wall with a dull, aty thud.
But Roda wasn't done.
Not even close.
Before dusa could catch her breath, Roda blitzed forward again.
dusa, to her credit, recovered quickly. She smirked, her lips curling up, her eyes flashing a poisonous green as the scales on her face shifted and shimred.
But just as dusa tried to pull sothing, Roda's eyes suddenly flared bright white.
She squeezed them shut—almost instinctively and just in ti to dodge a sword hurtling toward her out of nowhere.
"What...?" dusa gasped, startled.
Honestly, I hadn't even seen the damn sword until it was too late.
But Roda had sensed it before it even fully entered the space thanks to her Prophetess's power.
Of course, dusa was still under the impression that Celeste was the Prophetess.
She could have no idea that Roda was the Prophetess in another tiline.
Before dusa could regroup, Roda was on her again.
She closed the distance in a blink, spun on her heel, and drove a brutal kick right into dusa's stomach.
-BAM!
dusa's eyes bulged as she coughed up a mouthful of blood, her body folding around the blow.
The sound of bones cracking echoed down the corridor as she was sent flying like a ragdoll, smashing into another heavy steel door at the far end.
dusa slumped against it, dazed and battered, barely managing to lift her head —
"Anathema's Fire," I muttered right after. Before dusa could even register the words, a glowing sphere of purple fire ca crashing into her chest.
-BOOM!!
The explosion roared through the hallway, the shockwave kicking up debris and smoke.
dusa's figure was swallowed whole by the roaring purple flas, hurled like a broken doll through the shattered door.
Beyond it, I caught a glimpse of open sky.
The lab had been built under a forest canopy, hidden deep inside a small island.
But now, through the wreckage, dusa was flung out into a clearing—a wide, open field lined with dense trees swaying in the sudden wind of the explosion.
I watched as dusa burned in the purple flas, but then—
"Hyaaarghhh!!"
"Ugh…" I grimaced, clutching my ears as her sudden, piercing scream tore through the air. For Roda, it was even worse; she staggered mid-run, visibly affected.
dusa's form began to change before my eyes. She grew taller, her entire body becoming covered in glistening green scales, and sharp horns jutted from her forehead.
This is bad.
The pressure of her mana kept growing, suffocating the air around us.
"Anathema—!" I tried to channel my mana, but my flow stuttered again.
I managed to force it through, although it felt like sothing was greedily siphoning away even more of my energy. Still, the obstruction remained, troubling my control.
Gritting my teeth, I snapped my gaze back toward dusa.
The trees nearby were beginning to splinter and topple, blasted apart by the sheer force of her aura and her frenzied screams.
"Edward! Dodge it!"
Roda's voice rang out from behind .
She must have seen a vision.
Instinctively, I threw myself into a roll just as a massive spike ripped through the space I had just occupied, shattering several trees in its path.
But more spikes shot toward Roda and .
Roda moved with unnatural grace, weaving between them as if she could predict every trajectory.
I prepared to dodge as well, but sothing in shifted.
I clenched my fists—and charged forward.
"E–Edward?!" Roda gasped in disbelief.
But I kept my focus locked on the oncoming projectiles.
I summoned a barrier of mirrors in front of —
-BOOM!
The spikes either exploded harmlessly against them or ricocheted back toward dusa, interrupting whatever incantation or transformation she was undergoing.
dusa stood there, her body still glowing an eerie green, but I knew—I had broken her montum.
Without hesitation, I pushed my speed even higher.
dusa's head snapped toward , her eyes now fully, terrifyingly green.
An overwhelming sense of danger flooded my instincts, and I hastily summoned another mirror, ducking behind it just as her gaze landed.
I knew it.
Had I looked directly at her, I would've been turned to stone or at least a lot of my body would have.
-BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the ground.
A colossal beam of pure white Prana blasted past , slamming into dusa with devastating force.
It was Roda.
Even weakened, she unleashed the most powerful Prana Breath I had ever witnessed.
The sheer magnitude of her attack left breathless.
The beam of Prana roared through the air, searing everything in its path as it smashed violently into dusa.
A shimring barrier of mana flared to life around her, shielding her from the worst of it—yet Roda didn't falter.
-BOOOM!
The ground beneath us shattered and exploded from the force of the clash between Roda's Prana Breath and dusa's barrier.
Roda's attack grew even larger, brighter, and fiercer, slowly forcing dusa back step by step.
Roda's eyes now shone with a pure white radiance, and strange, ethereal marks blood across her arms and face, amplifying her beauty to an almost divine level.
The slit in her eyes widened, making her seem even more otherworldly.
I didn't waste the mont.
Without hesitation, I turned and sprinted straight toward dusa.
This was my chance.
I drew Trinity Nihil and summoned Fate.
White sands began swirling violently around Trinity Nihil, resonating with the weapon.
Sensing the impending danger, dusa snapped her head toward , her eerie green eyes locking onto mine.
But I was already moving.
I summoned Aegis, forming a luminous shield of mana, and leaped forward.
Throwing Aegis into the air mid-jump, I used it as a platform—propelling myself even faster—and in the blink of an eye, I passed dusa's side.
With a clean swing, I slashed Trinity Nihil at her barrier.
-BOOOOM!
The cracks already ford by Roda's attack spiderwebbed instantly across the barrier's surface and with a resounding shatter, the shield exploded outward in a burst of green light.
The shockwave knocked Trinity Nihil from my grasp, but I was ready.
Without a second's pause, I summoned Perseus into my other hand.
"N–No—"
dusa's broken voice trembled.
-Spurt!
The wet sound of steel cutting through flesh echoed through the field.
In one clean motion, Perseus sliced through her neck and dusa's head flew through the air, trailing a graceful arc of blood before crashing to the ground.
User Comments
0 comments from readers