Chapter 244: A Show of Puppets and Predators

Chapter 244: Chapter 244: A Show of Puppets and Predators

BOOOOM! CLANG!

The beach shook as Clara and Ven fought desperately against Aria and Marcus.

Aria was a nightmare to deal with. Her dual abilities of wind and water allowed her to attack and defend simultaneously. She weaved torrents of pressurized water around herself, while sharp wind blades shot out from her fingertips. SWISH! SWISH!

Marcus stayed close, his body coated in raging flames. Whenever Clara tried to close the distance, he would unleash a torrent of fireballs, forcing her back. BAM! BAM! BAM!

Ven roared, leaping in front of Clara to tank a massive fireball. The explosion sent the manticore skidding backward, its crimson scales scorched, but the beast’s paralytic tail lashed out, forcing Marcus to retreat.

"You’re getting annoying," Clara hissed.

Her eyes turned to silver slits, and a massive silver halo of condensed moonlight formed behind her head. Her hair blazed with ethereal, silver energy.

Lunar Sovereign Form.

WHOOOOSH!

A blinding pillar of moonlight erupted from Clara, shooting into the sky. A silver halo of condensed moonlight formed behind her head, and her hair blazed with ethereal, silver energy. The sheer pressure of her Sovereign Grade bloodline forced Aria and Marcus to skid backward, their eyes widening in shock.

Clara raised her hand, her eyes glowing with divine wrath. "Gravity Art: Lunar Crush."

CRACK! BOOOOOM!

A localized gravity field, a hundred times heavier than normal, slammed down on Aria. The water and wind barriers she had conjured instantly collapsed. Aria screamed as her bones cracked under the immense pressure, her body slammed into the sand, creating a crater. Blood sprayed from her mouth as the freezing moonlight energy invaded her meridians.

"ARIA!" Marcus roared, launching a massive wave of fire to save her.

But Ven intercepted, its scorpion tail whipping through the flames and forcing Marcus to dodge.

Meanwhile, Lucian stood before the chained Zero. He raised his hand, a blinding Light Bolt gathering in his palm.

But Zero’s eyes suddenly blazed with a terrifying, cosmic light.

CRACK! BOOOOOM!

An overwhelming surge of Astral Realm mana exploded from Zero’s body. Blinding energy beams shot out from every pore, completely shattering the Light and Blood Chains. The resulting shockwave obliterated the Light Bolt coming for him.

Zero sneered, his hands coming together as a massive, devastating sphere of dark energy began to form. But before he could fire it, a figure descended from the sky.

BZZZZT!

Before he could fire, a voice echoed across the beach.

"Soul Severing Chime."

DONG!

A translucent, silver bell manifested in the air above Zero. It rang once. A terrifying, invisible wave of soul energy slammed directly into Zero’s mind.

"AAAAAARGH!" Zero screamed, his concentration shattering. He fell from the sky, crashing onto the beach, clutching his head as his soul was violently rattled.

Lucian looked at the newcomer with a smile.

Lena, with her silver hair and vibrant green eyes, smirked at her brother. "Can’t leave you alone for a week without you getting yourself into trouble, can I? I leave to track down some leads, and I come back to you fighting an Astral Realm creep."

Zero quickly recovered, his eyes burning with absolute fury. He hadn’t felt such intense pain in decades. What kind of attack was that? It directly attacked my soul! he thought, his breathing heavy.

Lucian turned to Lena. "I had it handled."

"Sure you did," Lena rolled her eyes. "Let’s finish this."

Lucian nodded. It was time to go all out.

Predator Form.

GROOOOOAAAR!

A terrifying, feral aura erupted from Lucian. A massive, blinding crimson aura exploded from his body, turning the air around him thick and suffocating. A radiant red crown, adorned with two demonic horns, materialized above his head. His eyes turned a deeper, bloodthirsty crimson, and his fangs elongated.

BAM!

The Predator Aura unleashed. The sheer pressure of his bloodline flooded the battlefield. Zero, despite his Astral Realm mana, felt a chill run down his spine. He felt a sudden, overwhelming sense of inferiority, as if a predator was staring down at its prey.

Lena looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Is that your true form?"

Lucian shrugged, his voice deeper and raspier. "Just a fraction of it."

Lena grinned, cracking her knuckles. "Alright, let’s deal with this fuckface."

BONK!

Lucian knocked her on the head. "Language, lady."

"Ouch! What the hell, Lucian!"

Zero didn’t give them time to banter. He murmured a dark spell, and a massive, destructive beam of energy tore through the air toward them.

Lucian weaved hand seals at lightning speed. "Light Shields."

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!

Five layered, golden square shields materialized in front of them. The beam slammed into them, cracking and shattering the first four, but slowing the attack enough for Lucian and Lena to blur out of the way.

With Light Acceleration, Lucian appeared directly in front of Zero, his Blood Reaver swinging down. "Crescent Moon Slash!"

Zero tried to dissolve into shadows, but Lena immediately fired another spell. "Soul Shackles!"

ZING!

Spectral silver chains shot from Lena’s hands, wrapping around Zero’s soul. Zero froze mid-dissolve, his eyes widening in shock.

The Crescent Moon Slash struck him directly across the chest. SQUELCH! Blood sprayed as a deep, ragged wound tore open his torso. Zero screamed, firing a desperate beam blast at Lena.

SWISH!

Lucian intercepted, his sword glowing with dark Sword Intent. "Eclipse Sword Art, Second Form: Sky Breaker!"

A massive, world-cleaving arc of dark energy met Zero’s beam. BOOOOOM! The Sky Breaker sliced through the energy blast like paper, the spatial distortion tearing the beam apart and forcing Zero to jump back.

Lucian rushed forward in the next second. "Blood Art: Crimson Annihilation."

BOOOOOOM!

A colossal wave of destructive crimson energy slammed into Zero, sending him skipping across the ocean surface like a stone, crashing violently into the beach.

Zero coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body was heavily injured, his body regeneration struggling to keep up with the spatial damage from the Sword Intent and the soul damage from Lena.

Damn it! Damn it all! Zero thought, his rage boiling over. I am an Apostle of the Dark Order! I have lived for decades! How is a mere child and a useless girl pushing me to this extent? I won’t allow it! I will wipe them from existence!

Zero stood up, his aura flaring to its absolute limit. He began to chant his most powerful, forbidden spell.

But suddenly, SQUELCH!

A clawed, grey hand stabbed directly through Zero’s chest from behind. Zero’s eyes widened in absolute shock. He looked down at the hand protruding from his chest, black blood dripping from the claws.

He looked back, only to see a headless demon standing there.

"What...?" Zero rasped, his blurry eyes turning to Lucian, who was standing a few meters away with a mocking smirk on his face.

Zero grabbed the demon’s arm, trying to pull it out, but suddenly, the headless demon’s body began to swell, glowing with an unstable, blinding red light. BEEP! BEEP!

"Wait—NO!" Zero screamed.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The demon exploded with the force of a small nuclear bomb, completely vaporizing Zero’s body in a massive cloud of black fire and demonic energy.

When the smoke cleared, Zero was gone. Only ashes remained.

Lucian stood in the distance, his Predator Form slowly dissipating as he watched the explosion. He smiled.

Blood Puppetry.

That was my latest blood art, Lucian thought, looking at the ashes.

When he had infused a drop of his blood into the demons earlier, he had injected a drop of his own blood deep into the demon’s core. This activated his newest Blood Art. Blood Puppetry allowed him to turn any creature he had injected with his blood into a living—or dead—puppet. He could control their movements, and more importantly, he could turn them into high-powered, unstable mana bombs.

Lena lowered her hands, whistling. "Well, that was explosive. Literally."

"Never underestimate a demon’s explosive potential," Lucian murmured, turning away as the ash of the Dark Order’s apostle rained down upon the beach.