Chapter 102: The Power Hidden

Rei smirked, looking extremely satisfied with the scene before him, although even he had to brace himself against the overwhelming force threatening to send him flying.

"If I’d known this was how to trigger the power..." He chuckled, digging his shoes into the floor to maintain his balance. "I would’ve done it earlier."

The basement trembled as the energy radiating from Lumi continued to intensify, sending cracks across the floor and forcing the four Guides to struggle just to remain standing.

Yet Rei’s smile only widened.

"Beautiful..."

So the rumors had been true after all. The power hidden within the twin sisters was real, and all it had taken was a little pressure to awaken it.

Before they could approach, another wave of power burst from Lumi, forcing them backward.

Rei’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Don’t damage her!" he ordered sharply. "I don’t care what happens to the rest of you, but that girl must remain alive!"

Lumi barely heard him.

All she could think about was Celestine, whose blood had stained the floor.

She had to save her.

She had to get her out of that circle.

"Celes... please..."

The energy around Lumi surged again, and the transparent barrier surrounding Celestine finally shattered with a sharp, ringing sound.

Lumi immediately rushed toward her sister, dropping to her knees and reaching for her trembling body.

"Celestine! Wake up! Please!"

She cradled Celestine’s shoulders, tears spilling down her cheeks as she desperately tried to rouse her.

Behind them, Rei watched with an expression of barely concealed delight.

At last, the power they had spent years searching for had awakened.

And now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he had no intention of letting Lumi escape.

"Celestine? Can you hear me?"

Celestine’s face was frighteningly pale, and blood stained the corner of her mouth. Her breathing was shallow, her body limp in Lumi’s arms.

"Please, wake up..." Lumi whispered, brushing the hair away from her sister’s forehead with trembling fingers. "I’m here, Celes. You don’t have to be afraid anymore."

As she held Celestine close, a strange warmth began spreading from Lumi’s palms.

It seeped into Celestine’s body, gentle at first, then growing stronger, as though something inside Lumi had instinctively recognized the injuries that needed healing. Gradually, Celestine’s breathing steadied, and the trembling in her limbs eased.

Her eyelids fluttered. "Lumi?"

Lumi nearly broke down in relief.

"Celes!" She hugged her sister carefully, tears slipping down her cheeks as she felt Celestine’s arms weakly wrap around her.

Behind them, Rei’s eyes gleamed. "So that’s how it works..."

He had expected Lumi’s awakening to reveal something extraordinary, but he hadn’t anticipated that her ability would manifest through healing.

A power that was even capable of restoring someone whose Guiding energy had been forcibly extracted was precisely the kind of discovery the Ascendant Order needed.

"Interesting. Very interesting indeed."

"Young Master!" The broad-shouldered Guide struggled to his feet, his face twisted with urgency. "We must secure the two sisters before the Sentinels arrive!"

Rei’s smile faded slightly. "Then what are you waiting for?"

The man immediately rushed toward Lumi.

"Give us the girl!" He grabbed Celestine’s arm, attempting to pull her away from her sister, while another Guide reached for Lumi’s shoulder.

"Don’t touch her!" Lumi’s voice rang through the basement.

The Guide ignored her and yanked Celestine harder.

Something changed.

Lumi’s movements stopped completely, her arms tightening around her sister as the faint warmth that had healed Celestine abruptly turned cold and oppressive.

"Let... her... go."

The words came out slowly and almost mechanically.

The Guide pulling Celestine away suddenly stiffened. His fingers loosened as an invisible pressure clamped around his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"What... is this...?"

Before anyone could react, the entire basement shook.

BOOOOOOM!

A violent surge of power erupted from Lumi, throwing the approaching Guides across the room. One crashed against the wall, while another slammed into a pillar hard enough to crack the stone. The broad-shouldered man was sent tumbling across the floor, his breath knocked out of him.

Even Rei staggered backward, his earlier satisfaction finally giving way to surprise. "What the hell...?"

Lumi slowly lifted her head.

She was still cradling Celestine, but something about her expression had changed. The familiar fear in her eyes was gone, replaced by an eerie emptiness that made it difficult to recognize the girl who had been begging for her sister’s safety moments earlier.

The pressure in the basement grew heavier.

The remaining Guides clutched their throats, gasping as though the air itself had turned against them. Their Guiding energy faltered beneath the suffocating force radiating from Lumi, and even the symbols carved into the floor began to flicker.

"L-Lumi...?" Celestine whispered weakly.

There was no response.

Lumi’s gaze remained fixed on the people who had hurt her sister.

The transparent barrier surrounding the circular formation shattered completely, its fragments dissolving before they could touch the ground. The formation itself cracked, splitting the symbols apart as the oppressive energy continued to spread.

Rei stared at her, his face gradually losing its color.

This was no ordinary awakening.

Whatever power had emerged from Lumi was far beyond what he had anticipated.

And for the first time, the Leader of the Ascendant Order felt a genuine flicker of uncertainty.

"Lumi," he called cautiously.

She didn’t look at him.

Instead, the pressure intensified until the men around her could barely remain conscious.

Suddenly, the loud crash echoed in the basement.

The ceiling above the basement exploded inward.

Concrete and debris rained down as a figure shot through the opening, moving so quickly that the Guides barely had time to register his arrival.

A flash of movement.

In the next instant, Evan Caesar stood directly in front of Lumi.

His face was pale, his breathing uneven from the injuries he had yet to recover from, but his eyes were fixed entirely on the girl before him.

"Lumi."

For the first time since her power had awakened, someone had managed to stand directly before her.

But the girl looking back at him no longer seemed to recognize anyone at all.