Chapter 342: Quick Dispatch!

The squelching, unnerving sound of flesh and bone being cut resounded through the air.

Lyra’s eyes were wide, trying to comprehend what exactly had happened. Theron’s attacking left arm was in the air, severed cleanly from his body by some unknown force, while the human stood perfectly still at the same spot, that lazy smirk still playing on his lips.

How?! Lyra rapidly analyzed. She was acutely aware that by now she should’ve joined the fray and come to Theron’s aid, but everything about this fight just felt wrong. The human, how calm he was, the inexplicable way Theron’s arm had been cut off — a feat that surprised her more than anything considering how physically tough Theron was as a Half-Dragonkin Half-Elf.

Everything rubbed her the wrong way, preventing her from making a move yet. She instead tried to pinpoint where the feeling of wrongness was coming from.

Briefly, her gaze locked with the human’s, and in his eyes Lyra saw something like a slight surprise, almost as if he hadn’t expected her to react as level-headed as she currently was.

That look basically confirmed that something was definitely wrong here. Lyra felt even more compelled to widen the distance between them.

Theron, on the other hand, had gone berserk. Perhaps it was the Dragonkin part of him, but he attacked again, furiously and without inhibitions — only to lose his second arm too.

Lyra saw it this time. A nearly imperceptible slash, a cut that severed not just Theron’s arm, but the entire fabric of space around his arm too.

He wields space magic?! Lyra thought in alarm. A human possessing the affinity for a Fundamental Law?!

Lyra herself had gone through unique encounters on her journey up the path of ascension so far. She knew of the magic types — Elemental, Esoteric, and Fundamental — perhaps even more than any other Champion in this competition.

More than that, she’d come to learn how those magic types aligned with the races present in this competition. She knew of a thing called "Race Potential," and how that made it nearly impossible to find members of a particular race possessing certain magics.

Which was why she was more than surprised to see the human before her using space magic.

And he’s extremely proficient at it too! Lyra thought. Is the information I’ve learned wrong? Can anomalies like this be possible from among the lesser races?!

Lyra began to question what she’d found out through her stay in this competition.

By this point, barely a couple of seconds had passed. Lots of thoughts had run through Lyra’s mind, but that was because of how quickly a Nascent Realm powerhouse like her could process things during such a fast-paced battle.

Theron made his third move again, still not learning from his earlier two attempts. This time, he met his demise.

Swiftly and somewhat anti-climactically, Theron staggered then fell to his knees. Where his heart should have been, only a gaping hole remained. Behind him, another human stood, appearing seemingly out of thin air.

This one was a female, with white or perhaps platinum blond hair cut short before reaching her shoulders. She stood calmly, and in her hand was Theron’s blood-red heart, still thumping despite no longer being inside the body of its host.

Lyra was numb with shock. She could barely process the series of events that had happened. Theron had died... the same Theron who was meant to be her trump card to seizing more power on her home planet after the buffer period ended — gone in such an easy, pathetic manner.

He hadn’t even gotten to display a fraction of his capabilities before these two humans killed him.

No... All of this was mainly that girl, Lyra thought, staring at the female human who had now turned to face her alongside her male companion. She’s the one who used space magic, not the guy.

For a second, Lyra even seemed to grasp a deeper truth. Right at the moment when the human girl had ripped Theron’s heart right out of his body, she had felt reality kind of realign, as if a veil had been removed instantaneously.

That sensation reminded her of a Pseudo-Domain, an ability reserved only for Awakened Realm powerhouses.

The female human clearly wasn’t an Awakened Realm powerhouse. Which meant she had created a Pseudo-Domain at the Nascent Realm!

She’s that powerful, yet, from her interaction with the male human, she almost seems to... defer to him?

It was puzzling, to say the least.

Does this mean the guy is more powerful? Lyra thought, confused. One thing was for sure, though. Both of them were extremely dangerous. The entire dispatch of the Trolls and then Theron, a Half-Dragonkin Half-Elf, had begun and ended in no more than two minutes.

Theron’s mistake was attacking them like it was a fight, Lyra surmised. These two didn’t come here to fight. They came here to kill.

A reluctant sigh escaped Lyra’s lips and she slowly dropped to her knees, placing her hands forward in a show of submission.

What a quick loss, Lyra thought. If only Theron had used his head a bit... Perhaps in his own weird way, he was trying to put on a show to impress me...

***

Uhtred’s POV

I can practically see the cogs in her head turning, Uhtred thought, staring at the elf girl as she dropped to her knees. Her entire reaction had left him utterly surprised. Arriving on this island and seeing that an elf was present, he had expected a certain kind of reaction from the elf girl.

Ah, those two fucking elves have skewed my view of other elves for good, Uhtred lampooned internally. He couldn’t help himself. His encounter with Eifrith Ra’Elis, in particular, had left him with a negative bias toward all Elves.

This one seems to be different, though. She’s pragmatic, Uhtred thought, but then he quickly caught himself, shaking his head to rid those thoughts. What the fuck are you thinking, Uhtred! Don’t forget what her class is! You could actually be under her guile right now!

Uhtred recalled the details he had seen after he used his Gnostic Eye on her:

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[Name: Lyra Starweaver]

[Species name: Elf]

[Level: 46]

[Core Grade: Unique]

[Class Name: Mellifluous Enchantress]

[Core Rank: Nascent (Sound and Enchantment Esoteric Magic attuned)]

━━━

[Attributes]

Strength: 109

Agility: 135

Endurance: 136

Vitality: 319

Intelligence: 538

Perception: 597

Willpower: 193

Luck: 19

━━━

[Innate Skills]

Mellifluous Words

Harmonic Guile

Strings of Fascination

Vibrate Entity

Shatterpoint Frequency

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