Chapter 78: Right on Time

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Right on Time

"He defeated the one protecting the passage..."

"...then killed the Frostfang Tyrant."

One elder sucked in a cold breath.

"Impossible..."

Caelia simply smiled.

"I thought so too."

Cornelius folded his arms.

"And where is this young man now?"

"Still fighting."

She pointed toward the wing she had entered from.

"He told me not to worry."

"He said he’d handle it."

Cornelius’s brows furrowed.

"That wing has the largest concentration of beasts."

"I know."

"But..."

She smiled without realizing it.

"...I believed him."

Cornelius noticed that smile.

It surprised him more than anything she had said.

His daughter wasn’t someone who trusted people easily.

Yet she had trusted this stranger enough to leave the battlefield in his hands.

That alone spoke volumes.

Still...

He couldn’t ignore the danger.

"Prepare a support squad."

Several guards immediately stepped forward.

"Yes, Family Head!"

Cornelius looked back at Caelia.

"We’ll reinforce him immediately."

She nodded.

"I’ll lead the way."

Far away...

Damon sneezed.

"Achoo!"

He blinked.

"...Someone talking about me?"

Freya tilted her head.

Sylphie chirped innocently.

Damon laughed.

"Probably."

He twirled the spear once before looking at another incoming wave.

"Guess introductions can wait."

His smile slowly widened.

"For now..."

"...let’s finish cleaning up."

The battlefield had fallen quiet for only a moment.

Then another wave came.

Ice beasts poured out from different corners of the distorted zone, their roars echoing across the frozen plain as they charged toward the Winterbourne Mansion.

Damon didn’t move.

He rested the butt of Freya’s spear against the ground and simply watched them gather.

"More?"

He smiled.

"I was wondering when you’d show up."

Freya hummed through their bond, just as eager.

Sylphie circled high above, her sharp eyes tracking every movement.

Damon narrowed his eyes.

"They really don’t stop..."

The beasts weren’t charging blindly anymore. They kept coming from deep within the distorted zone, almost as if something was pushing them forward.

He glanced into the snowy distance.

What exactly is making them attack this place?

It couldn’t just be the noise.

There was something else.

Something was drawing them here.

Still...

That wasn’t his problem.

Not yet.

"I promised Caelia I’d protect this place."

He rolled his shoulders.

"So that’s what I’ll do."

The horde rushed forward.

Hundreds of claws pounded against the frozen earth.

The remaining Winterbourne guards instinctively stepped back into formation.

Then they remembered.

They didn’t need to.

One young man already stood between them and the monsters.

Damon twirled the spear once.

"Come on."

"I’m getting cold waiting."

The first beast leaped.

CRACK!

A streak of silver lightning flashed.

The beast split apart before it even landed.

Damon didn’t stop moving.

He flowed straight into the next attack.

"Lightning Art... Flashstep Pierce."

BOOM!

A beast fell.

He spun.

"Lightning Art... Stormwheel Sweep."

A ring of lightning burst outward.

Several monsters collapsed at once.

Sylphie followed from above.

"Wind Art... Tempest Wings."

Hundreds of razor sharp wind blades rained down.

The survivors never even had the chance to regroup.

The Winterbourne guards watched with blank expressions.

"...Again."

"He’s doing it again..."

"He isn’t even slowing down."

One elder quietly sheathed his sword.

"I’ve stopped pretending I can help."

Another nodded.

"At this point we’d only get in his way."

Everywhere Damon appeared...

Beasts disappeared.

His kill rate had completely overtaken the incoming waves.

The battlefield that had nearly collapsed only minutes ago now looked almost peaceful.

Meanwhile...

Caelia hurried back with the reinforcement team.

Behind her were several of the Winterbourne family’s strongest young talents along with a few experienced elders.

She didn’t slow down.

"We’re almost there."

"The western wing should still be under pressure."

Her father had sent enough people to stabilize the situation.

Or at least...

That had been the plan.

The moment they arrived...

Everyone stopped.

No one spoke.

The frozen battlefield stretched before them.

Monster corpses covered the snow as far as they could see.

Some were sliced apart.

Others had been pierced clean through.

Several still crackled with fading silver lightning.

The ground itself was scarred by wind and lightning.

It looked less like a battlefield...

And more like a natural disaster had passed through.

One genius of the family blinked.

"...Where are the monsters?"

Another slowly pointed.

"They’re..."

"...all dead."

Caelia stood frozen.

Just minutes ago this place had been overwhelmed.

Now...

Not a single living beast remained.

Only one figure stood in the middle of the battlefield.

Damon.

He stretched lazily before letting out a small yawn.

"That should be the last one..."

He rested Freya’s spear on his shoulder.

Sylphie floated happily beside him.

Caelia stared quietly.

Who... are you?

The question escaped her lips before she even realized it.

She had already known he was strong.

But this... this wasn’t simply strength.

It was absurd.

Her gaze shifted toward the spear.

Freya...

The lightning fox was gone.

Only Sylphie floated beside him now.

She narrowed her eyes.

That spear...

It felt familiar. Too familiar.

An impossible thought crossed her mind.

A spirit elemental... becoming a weapon?

She almost laughed at herself.

That made no sense.

She had never heard of such a thing.

Not once.

Even so...

She kept that thought to herself.

Some secrets weren’t meant to be shouted in front of everyone.

The more she learned about Damon...

The more mysterious he became.

Behind her, the Winterbourne geniuses exchanged uneasy glances.

One whispered,

"Miss Caelia..."

"...is this really the person you mentioned?"

She answered without taking her eyes off Damon.

"Yes."

Another swallowed.

"You said he was strong."

"I did."

"You forgot to mention..."

"...he fights like this."

Caelia smiled helplessly.

"I didn’t know either."

Before anyone could say another word...

The ground shook again.

More ice beasts.

Another large group emerged from the snowy forest.

The remaining guards instinctively raised their weapons.

Damon glanced over.

"Oh."

"They’re back."

He sounded almost relieved.

He stepped forward.

"Perfect."

Freya pulsed softly.

Want to try that one again?

Damon grinned.

"I was thinking the same thing."

He lowered his stance.

Lightning wrapped around his arm before flowing into the spear.

Wind gathered beneath his feet.

His muscles tightened.

Then...

He threw.

BOOOOM!!