Chapter 245: Queen of Death

Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Queen of Death

BOOOOM! CRASH!

The beach had become a warzone. Clara, Ven, and the Dark Wyvern were locked in a desperate struggle against Aria and Marcus.

Clara was bleeding from a gash on her forehead, her blood dripping onto the sand. Ven’s crimson scales were scorched and cracked, one of its wings torn. The Dark Wyvern had deep gashes across its flank where Marcus’s flames had carved through its Shadow Scale Armor.

But Aria and Marcus were faring far worse. Aria was barely standing, her left arm hanging uselessly at her side, shattered by Clara’s gravity. Marcus was panting, his flames flickering weakly as his mana reserves dwindled.

Clara’s eyes blazed with cold fury. "Enough."

WHOOOOSH!

She raised her spear, Lunar Fang, and the silver halo behind her head intensified. Her hair blazed with ethereal moonlight energy as she channeled the full might of her Sovereign Grade bloodline.

"Lunar Spear Art: Moonsilver Cataclysm!"

SWISH! BOOOOOOM!

A massive, crescent-shaped wave of absolute zero frost and lunar energy erupted from her spear. It tore across the beach, freezing everything in its path. Aria tried to conjure a water barrier, but the attack shattered it instantly, the freezing energy slamming into her chest and sending her crashing through a massive rock formation.

Meanwhile, Marcus was immediately locked in combat with Ven and the Dark Wyvern. Ven lunged, its paralytic tail whipping toward Marcus’s leg. Marcus barely dodged, but the Dark Wyvern swooped down from above, its maw opening wide.

"Dark Flame Breath!"

FWOOSH!

A torrent of black fire engulfed Marcus. He screamed, erecting a hasty flame barrier, but the Dark Wyvern’s fire was relentless. CRACK! The barrier shattered, and Marcus was sent tumbling across the sand, his body covered in third-degree burns.

Ven didn’t give him time to recover. The manticore pounced, its massive claws pinning Marcus to the ground. Ven’s scorpion tail rose high and plunged down, stabbing directly into Marcus’s chest.

SQUELCH!

Marcus’s eyes widened, blood bubbling from his lips. The paralytic venom coursed through his veins instantly, freezing his muscles. Ven’s jaws closed around his head and CRUNCH!

Aria, seeing her partner fall, screamed in rage. She tried to conjure one last desperate spell, but Clara appeared before her in a flash of silver light. Lunar Fang pierced through Aria’s heart, the freezing energy instantly crystallizing her blood.

SHUNK!

Aria’s body went rigid as Clara withdrew her spear.

Lucian stood over Zero’s ashes, the System’s notification flashing in his vision.

[System Notification: Congratulations! You have defeated your first Astral Realm cultivator!]

[Rewards: 50,000 System Credits. Bloodline Seal -1.5%. Title: None. Special Reward: Astral Resonance Pill (increases mana capacity by 20,000 MPU when consumed).]

Lucian whistled softly. His seal was now at 49%.

[System Notification: Host has surpassed the threshold for Evolution]

[Would the host like to evolve now?]

[YES] [NO]

Lucian immediately tapped NO.

Lena landed beside him, her silver hair whipping in the wind. "You good?"

"Better than good," Lucian replied, walking toward Marcus’s corpse. He knelt, placing his hand on the dead apostle’s forehead.

"Ability Absorption."

HUM!

A dark vortex opened beneath his palm, and Marcus’s body began to wither. His skin turned grey, his muscles atrophied, and his mana core cracked, the S-Rank flame ability within it flowing into Lucian’s body like a rushing river.

Lena raised an eyebrow. "What’s he doing?"

Clara, who had just finished off Aria, walked over. "He’s devouring Marcus’s mana. It’s part of his power. He can absorb energy from the dead."

Lena’s eyes widened. "That’s... terrifyingly useful. Wish I had that."

[System Notification: S-Rank Flame Manipulation acquired!]

[System Notification: Flame Palace formed!]

[System Notification: Due to your understanding of manipulation-type abilities, the First Star has been ignited!]

[First Star Spell: Flame Dragon’s Breath — A concentrated torrent of blue-white fire shaped like a dragon’s maw, capable of melting through defenses and incinerating anything in its path.]

[Second Star has been ignited!]

[Second Star Spell: Sunfire Lotus — A massive, swirling lotus of white-hot flames that expands outward, creating a field of absolute combustion that burns everything within a fifty-meter radius.]

[Third Star has been ignited!]

[Third Star Spell: Inferno Spirit Cannon — A devastating beam of condensed flame spirit energy, fired from both palms, that pierces through barriers and detonates on impact with the force of a meteor strike.]

[System Notification: Ability slots used: 5/5. Your Flame Palace has been fully integrated.]

Lucian’s eyes widened as the notifications flooded his vision. The Flame Palace had ignited three stars instantly — a testament to his deep understanding of manipulation-type abilities.

FWOOOSH!

A blazing aura of blue-white fire erupted around Lucian, the flames licking at the air around him. The temperature skyrocketed, and both Clara and Lena took a step back.

"Holy shit," Lena breathed.

The System materialized beside Lucian, its small, white, floating form yawning dramatically. "I thought you were saving your ability slot for the teleportation ability? You know, Declan’s teleportation?"

Lucian smirked, the flames around him dying down. "I’m about to break through to the Astral Realm anyway. And besides, I don’t even know where to find Declan or Hassan. This is an S-Rank ability. It adds a massive destructive edge to my arsenal. Plus..." He glanced at his hands. "With Flame Manipulation, my alchemy will be much easier. I won’t need to rely on external tools to produce flames. I can control the exact temperature, drastically reducing the failure rate of my pills."

The System shrugged. "Fair enough."

Lena tilted her head. "What are you grinning about?"

Lucian stretched, his joints popping. "Nothing. Just got something good."

He then walked over to Aria’s frozen remains and placed his hand. "Devour."

HUM!

The dark vortex consumed her mana, blood energy, and life force, pulling every last drop of power into Lucian’s body. His mana pool surged, and he felt his cultivation tremble on the edge of a breakthrough.

Clara stepped beside him, her expression serious. "We better leave. For all we know, the real threat could still be out there—"

SWISH!

A deathly arrow of pure black energy pierced through the air, aimed directly at Lena’s heart.

"LENA!" Lucian shouted.

But Ven, still standing guard, leaped in front of the arrow. SHUNK! The arrow pierced through Ven’s heart killing it, continuing its trajectory toward Lena.

Lena reacted instantly, conjuring a silver soul-shield that deflected the arrow into the ocean, where it exploded in a massive geyser of black water.

CRASH!

A massive figure descended from the sky. A B-Rank hawk dissolved into shadows, and in its place, a colossal, horrifying bear landed on the beach. The bear was over five meters tall, its fur matted with dark, rotting death energy. Its eyes were hollow, glowing with an eerie green light, landed on the ocean’s surface, its legs submerged but its upper body towering above the waves. The shockwave from its landing rippled outward, forcing everyone to brace themselves as its Early Tier 4 aura (Early A rank) blazed.

The bear let out a deafening roar. ROOOOAAAR!

On the bear’s shoulder stood a figure clad in black, bone-crafted armor. She was beautiful in a terrifying way, her dark hair streaked with blood-red highlights, her crimson eyes burning with obsession and malice.

She chuckled, a cold, cruel voice. "Finally found you, my dear Lucian."

Lucian’s aura exploded. His Predator Form activated, the crimson haze spreading outward, the red crown materializing above his head.

"LOUISA!"