Chapter 64: EVELYN’S DESPERATE STAND

Her gaze lowered to the ground.

The earth under her boots was not common forest earth.

Under the soft moss and pine needles, she could see the rough lines of an array cut directly into the ancient bedrock.

An array filled with the congealed blood of some long dead creature.

Her breath caught as the blood infused grooves pulsed with a sickly, deep-throbbing vibration that resonated up through the soles of her boots.

Evelyn’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks.

A prepared array.

Her stomach twisted into a knot.

"A trap..."

The second the words left her lips, Evelyn shifted her weight back.

Too late.

The edge of the clearing suddenly flared to life.

THUM!

THUM!

THUM!

THUM!

THUM!

THUM!

Six thick pillars of dark crimson light erupted from the ground, spearing into the sky before interweaving overhead to form an enormous inverted dome of corrupted energy.

The air within the dome changed.

The thick morning fog swirled violently before being scorched away to reveal a blood red haze that choked the clearing.

Then, from the shadows between two hollow elder-oaks, two figures emerged from the crimson light.

Figures that wore no academy uniform.

Heavy oil stained leather robes covered their bodies, laced together with thick bone thread.

Their faces were hidden beneath twisted red leather masks molded into the shape of snarling boar heads.

Even at a glance, it was obvious that these two were far from common academy students.

The sheer oppressive aura rolling off the pair was enough to make even a seasoned warrior feel nauseous.

A refined, heavy aura of dark energy. This was the unmistakable presence of true Martial Masters.

The cultist on the left wielded a pair of jagged bone hook-swords.

His aura was the signature deep crimson of a martial master stage one.

The larger man on the right wielded a huge barbed iron mace.

His aura was far heavier than the other.

A martial master stage two.

"The pearl of the Sterling family," the tall cultist rasped.

His voice was the sound of dry stones grinding together.

"You really did come alone."

He slowly raised the iron mace onto his shoulder.

"A single distress pulse from a commoner boy, and you abandon your vanguard formation, and came running to our slaughtering floor."

Evelyn said nothing.

She felt no need to.

Once she had identified the identities of her opponents, and the nature of the array, the look in her eyes had gone utterly blank.

Yes, she had walked into an ambush.

But an ambush only held value if the trap setters lived to set another.

Her fingers tightened on the grip of her rapier.

A pale blue glow pulsed along its length.

The aura around her suddenly exploded outward.

"Azure Phoenix Art: First Stance — Rising Flame!"

ROOOAR—!

A massive wave of pale blue fire exploded from Evelyn’s body, surging outward in a massive shockwave that swept fifty feet out in all directions.

Heat roared through the clearing, raising the temperature inside the crimson dome by hundreds of degrees in an instant.

Damp moss shriveled up and turned to steam.

Moisture evaporated from the soil, turning the cold mud into something warm and dry, and prone to snapping in jagged cracks.

Above their heads, the darkness of the elder-oak canopy vanished as the clearing was bathed in roaring columns of cyan fire.

For the first time, the two masked cultists hesitated.

Though their eyes were hidden behind the boar masks, it was clear from their stiff stances that they were not expecting the Sterling family’s heir to make such a move.

They had anticipated a fight, yes.

But not one like this.

Not this soon.

Evelyn lunged at the array.

Her rapier was a streaking blade of brilliant blue as she drove its tip straight at the primary rune node of the Blood-Shackle Array.

She did not intend to break through the array, but rather, to shatter its foundation.

If the Blood-Shackle Array’s core rune failed, it would send the entire structure cascading in on itself.

CLANG—THOOM!

The tip of her celestial steel rapier smashed against the blood filled groove carved into the bedrock.

A shockwave of azure fire erupted from the point of impact, surging down the length of the array, and trying to eat away at the runes.

For a brief, agonizing heartbeat, it appeared as though the Blood-Shackle Array would fail.

Then the blood moved.

The congealed liquid writhed and bubbled, sending a pulse of ghastly red energy up along the grooves.

The crimson pillars surrounding the clearing flared, their sickly unholy light growing stronger.

Instead of burning, the blood in the Blood-Shackle Array spread outward, twisting in thick veins of energy.

The strands of corrupted red energy latched onto Evelyn’s blue fire, and devoured it.

The more power Evelyn pushed into her rapier, the more her azure flames were consumed.

"What?!"

Evelyn’s eyes widened.

She yanked back on her rapier in an attempt to draw it away.

Too late.

The Blood-Shackle Array had been designed to do just this.

The Pig-Mask Cult’s Blood-Shackle Array wasn’t made to overcome high purity element bloodlines, rather it was made to consume them.

The corrupted energy of the Blood-Shackle Array was eating away at Evelyn’s power, using it as fuel to strengthen the array itself.

The dark energy in the grooves of the array pushed back against her weapon in a sudden burst.

CRACKLE—!

Corrupted energy exploded along the length of the rapier, forcing Evelyn to reel back in pain.

Her right arm tensed as she gritted her teeth.

"Kh—!"

The blast of energy had her right wrist, and her reinforced leather combat glove split open, revealing a thin line of blood oozing from the broken skin.

Even as her weapon faltered, Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.

She had just learned that the trap in front of her wasn’t just a trap.

Now the Blood-Shackle Array was trying to devour her.

Hahaha! Foolish girl!

The Martial Master Stage 2 Cultist let out a guffaw, raising his heavy mace as the Blood-Shackle Array pulsed around them.

The Azure Phoenix bloodline is legendary I’ll give you that. But that very purity is your greatest weakness!

He squeezed tighter on the shaft of his mace.

The more energy you burn, the stronger our Blood-Shackle Array becomes! Every drop of your blood will empower this cage!

Evelyn’s lips pressed together.

She pushed aside the stinging pain in her forearm and bit down hard on the edge of her silver ribbon.