Chapter 113: The battle

Rita glared at Lydia and raised both hands toward the golden doors. A powerful blue energy rushed out of her palms, forcing the doors open.

However, before anyone could enter, Lydia stretched out her hand and pushed them shut with her red energy.

"You’re not going anywhere!" she shouted.

Her eyes suddenly turned red, and she charged toward Rita with a powerful wave of energy. Rita raised her hand, but before the attack could reach her, a strong wind swept through the passage and sent Lydia flying backward.

A woman dressed in beautiful white clothes landed between them. She looked at Lydia and sighed. "Lydia, I’ve told you that they’re using you. Why won’t you listen?"

Lydia steadied herself and looked at the newcomer with an annoyed expression.

The woman didn’t bother arguing with her. She simply raised her hand, and a powerful white energy rushed toward the golden doors. They slowly opened, revealing the passage behind them.

She turned toward the High Priest " You can now go and join his majesty" Then he turned Lena. "Go replace lady Mira"

They knew how powerful Lydia was, and nobody could tell whether Rita would be able to defeat her. Even Lena looked uncomfortable with the idea.

"Wait! Are you planning to fight Lydia alone?" she asked. "She’s our friend. She has been manipulated!"

Rita rolled her eyes. "I know that, Lena. Just go inside."

Hazel, who had been watching everything quietly, suddenly stepped forward. "I know you."

Lydia folded her arms and looked at her.

Hazel moved closer, trying to remember where she had seen the woman before. "You’re the one who gave me that red box on my birthday."

Lydia raised a brow. " So what?"

Hazel looked at her in disbelief. "So it was you?"

Lena sighed and turned toward Rita. "You see? She’s on our side! Someone has clearly manipulated her."

Lydia scoffed. "I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. But now I understand everything. The witch your mate wants to wake up committed a crime by creating the werewolf race. She deserved to die, and I won’t allow you to bring her back!"

Hazel frowned. Before she could respond, the High Priest stepped forward. "Come on, Hazel. We don’t have much time. We’re already on our way."

Hazel nodded reluctantly. She turned around and was about to enter the passage when something suddenly crossed her mind.

She stopped. Then, without warning, she turned back and slapped Lydia across the face.

Smack!

The sound echoed through the passage.

Everyone froze. Even Lydia hadn’t expected it. She slowly turned her face back toward Hazel, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Hazel shook her hand and looked at her. "That’s for shoving me away earlier."

Lydia’s expression changed immediately. Her eyes turned red, and the energy around her body began to rise. Hazel’s eyes also changed, turning golden as she stared at the older witch without fear.

Lydia clenched her fists and gathered red energy in her palm, ready to attack.

But before she could release it, a powerful blue energy struck her and pushed her backward.

Rita stepped forward, her expression cold. "Just go, Hazel. I’ll handle her."

Hazel looked at her for a moment before finally turning around. She had barely taken a few steps when a huge wall of flames suddenly rose in front of her, blocking the entrance.

"Ah!" Hazel quickly jumped backward.

The heat was so strong that she could feel it even from where she stood. Before she could figure out what to do, the water inside one of the pots suddenly rose into the air.

It formed a powerful storm and crashed against the flames, putting them out almost immediately.

A huge cloud of smoke filled the passage.

"Go!" Lena shouted.

Hazel didn’t waste another second. She ran through the smoke and entered the golden doors with the High Priest and the others.

Lena followed them inside and used her white energy to shut the doors.

The moment they closed, the noise from the battle outside became distant.

Rita scoffed as she turned toward Lydia.

"You know, I’m not good at comforting people. I don’t believe in manipulation whenever someone does something wrong. Sometimes, you simply want to do something, and instead of accepting it, you look for someone else to blame."

Lydia laughed.

"You seem very confident, Rita. Do you actually think you can defeat me?"

She looked around the passage, then turned her attention toward the stone pillars.

"I wonder why this place is immune to fire."

She raised her hand, and a small flame appeared above her palm. Her eyes moved toward the pillar beside her.

She was certain that the flames should have destroyed it, yet the building remained untouched.

Rita smirked.

"It’s because you know nothing about Caius. Your flames can’t destroy anything in this place."

Lydia narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure about that?"

Instead of answering, Rita raised both hands.

A powerful blue energy spread across the passage, and the water inside the two pots began to move. It rose slowly, forming two huge streams that floated in the air.

Lydia immediately gathered her red energy and sent several waves of flames toward Rita.

The water moved like a shield, blocking every attack before it could reach her.

Lydia frowned and increased the strength of her flames.

The passage became hotter, but Rita remained in the same position. With a small movement of her fingers, she divided the water into several long streams that rushed toward Lydia from different directions.

Lydia jumped away, sending red energy toward the streams to destroy them.

However, the water didn’t disappear.

It simply changed direction and followed her.

Rita smiled.

"You really think you’re the only one who can control your element?"

Lydia’s expression darkened as she gathered more energy.

The two witches continued attacking each other, sending powerful waves of blue and red energy across the passage. Every time Lydia released her flames, Rita answered with water, and every time Rita attacked, Lydia used her fire to push the water away.

But Rita wasn’t even close to using all her strength.

She suddenly raised both hands, and the water around them shot upward, forming several tall pillars. They remained standing vertically in the air, moving together like giant walls.

Lydia stared at them.

Rita chuckled.

"Do you think a witch is capable of controlling all the beasts in existence?"

She slowly turned her head toward the ancient pillars and the beautiful walls surrounding them.

"Look at this building, Lydia. Who do you think built it?"

Lydia’s eyes narrowed.

Rita’s smile widened. "You’ve been so busy trying to destroy everything that you’ve forgotten who created some of the things you claim to understand."

The water pillars suddenly moved toward Lydia.