Chapter 371 - 356: Slaying

Chapter 371: Chapter 356: Slaying

Celeste’s voice, sweet as honey, flowed through the air, laced with an irresistible magic.

As her final syllable fell, invisible ripples spread out from her.

The coalition soldiers closest to her were the first to be affected.

Their tense combat stances suddenly slackened, and their weapons lowered unconsciously.

A young soldier gazed obsessively at Celeste, a fanatical flame burning in his eyes.

Another, an experienced veteran, wore a dazed smile, as if he had finally found the dream he had pursued his entire life.

Farther away, Galvis shook his head sharply, plucking a series of jarring notes from his strings in an attempt to dispel the beguiling whispers.

Teresa’s swordplay faltered for an instant. She bit her lower lip, a flicker of struggle flashing in her silver eyes.

Even the arrow Avril shot veered off its intended path. The Elf Maiden frowned in annoyance and quickly retreated to create more distance.

Celeste nonchalantly scanned the mortals she had influenced, a flicker of undisguised contempt in her amber, slitted pupils.

’How pathetic.’

In her eyes, it was only natural for these fragile creatures to be ensnared by her Charm.

’Just as water must fall, and flames are destined to burn.’

Their pathetic willpower crumbled before her.

The fiery obsession in the young soldier’s eyes, the dazed rapture on the veteran’s face... it all just proved once again how weak mortals were.

’If they can’t even control their most basic desires, how could they possibly resist such a masterfully woven temptation?’

Her gaze swept coolly over Galvis and Teresa, who were struggling desperately against her Charm.

’A little more interesting, but that’s it.’

’Like a drowning man’s futile struggle, they’ll eventually sink into the Abyss.’

These mortals would never understand. What they called "a strong will" was, in her eyes, merely a front that hadn’t yet been met with a sufficient temptation.

’Every person has a price. Every soul has a weakness. And her specialty was finding that weakness... and giving it a gentle push.’

As she thought this, Celeste’s gaze finally returned to Roland, the smile at the corners of her lips deepening.

"You see..."

Her voice was as gentle as a lover’s whisper, yet it cut clearly through the din of the battlefield.

"This is the essence of humanity. Are you still going to side with them, Roland?"

Her voice still lingering in the air, Celeste elegantly crossed her arms, waiting leisurely for the surrender she fully expected.

The glint of victory already shone in her amber eyes. Until...

She saw Roland move.

He wasn’t approaching obsessively, nor was he wandering in a daze.

It was the flash of a sword, tearing through the air.

The Secret Silver Longsword carved a cold arc through the dim battlefield, striking straight for her throat with the resolve to cut down everything in its path.

The smile in Celeste’s eyes froze instantly, replaced by utter disbelief.

’This is impossible!’

’In hundreds of years, no mortal had ever remained lucid while she unleashed her full Charm.’

’Those so-called heroes and saints all ended up groveling at her feet.’

’But this young man...’

As the thought raced through her mind, the edge of the blade was already upon her.

In a panic, Celeste retreated, her sharp fingernails scratching several pink Magic Barriers into existence in the air before her.

However, these Shields, strong enough to stop an Arrow, shattered like paper under Roland’s sword.

"Who in the world are you?"

she cried out, her voice losing its composure for the very first time.

Roland did not answer.

His eyes were as cold as arctic Ice, but his Sword Momentum was as fiery as erupting Magma.

A second and third strike followed, each one precisely cutting off her every path of retreat.

Celeste barely dodged a thrust aimed at her heart, but the blade still sliced off a lock of her hair and left a bloody cut on her pale cheek.

"Stop him!"

She shrieked, her hands tearing open a crimson rift in the air.

A dozen or so small Demons swarmed out of the rift.

They were only half the height of a man, their bat-like wings beating frantically, their claws and fangs glinting with a venomous, unholy light.

An ordinary soldier would have been torn to shreds by them in an instant.

But before Roland, they couldn’t even withstand a single clash.

The sword flashed again.

This time, a dazzling gold light erupted from the blade.

There was no incantation, no gathering of Power, it was simply integrated into his Sword Techniques as naturally as breathing.

The gold aura of the sword swept over them like a tide. The small Demons shrieked in agony as the holy Energy washed over them, dissolving into wisps of black smoke.

Celeste stared, dumbfounded.

’Supreme Slash!’

’This Holy Combat Skill, which requires devout faith and immense Spiritual Power, was being wielded by this young man as effortlessly as a common sword swing.’

"This... how is this..."

But Roland didn’t stop.

He strode over the dissipating remains of the small Demons, the tip of his sword never leaving Celeste’s heart.

He unleashed another Supreme Slash, this one aimed straight for her face.

Celeste screamed and flew back, her wings beating clumsily as she narrowly avoided the fatal strike.

But the holy Energy still seared her arm, the pain so intense she could barely maintain her grasp on her Magic.

"Damn it..."

She gritted her teeth, finally realizing what a terrifying being she had provoked.

This young man wasn’t prey she could easily control.

He was the Hunter.

Roland ignored the loathing on her face, his gaze growing ever sharper.

The moment she spoke her name, combined with the familiar scent of the Abyss clinging to her, the truth had struck him like a lightning bolt.

This Succubus before him, Celeste, was the very same Demon who had once possessed Anno and laid the Curse upon him.

’So it was you...’

This realization made the Curse on Roland’s chest flare with a burning pain, but it also solidified the killing intent in his heart.

The agony of the hundreds of days and nights he had been tormented by the Curse was now channeled into the cold glint of his blade.

"It seems today is not the most opportune moment..."

Seeing that her Charm was useless and that Roland’s displayed power far exceeded her expectations, a keen sense of danger made Celeste decide to retreat.

She forced a calm facade and took a step back, trying to create distance. Her voice still held its irritatingly languid tone.

"We’ll meet again, little one."

Before she finished speaking, the faint light of Magic had already begun to swirl around her body.

"Why wait?"

Roland’s voice was bone-chillingly cold.

But his actions were faster than his voice.

The instant the last syllable left his lips, an ancient and majestic Power awakened within Roland.

His pupils suddenly contracted, transforming into the cold, slitted pupils of a dragon.

Fine Scales spread down from his neck, covering his arms and the backs of his hands, shimmering with a metallic sheen in the dim light of the battlefield.

The bones in his fingers elongated slightly, his nails sharpening into claws.

This was the initial stage of the Dragonification he had just begun to master.

"Is this... a Dragon Descendant?"

At this sight, Celeste’s composure instantly shattered, replaced by a terror that stemmed from the very depths of her soul.

Memories inherited from deep within her bloodline were awakened.

The epic war a thousand years ago that saw the fall of countless Demons and devils, those colossal wings that blotted out the sky, the Dragon’s Breath that incinerated the Abyss...

The Dragon Race.

They were the eternal nightmare of her kind!

And while she stood frozen in terror, Roland moved.

He was so fast he left only a Residual Shadow in his wake.

A deafening sonic boom ripped through the air as the ground where he’d stood cracked and caved in.

Celeste screamed, releasing all of her protective Magic. Layers upon layers of pink barriers formed in an instant, but it was too late.

With his Dragonification, the Giant Dragon Bloodline surged through his body like a raging river.

Driven by this Power, the Secret Silver Longsword tore through her defenses like a hot knife through butter.

The first strike shattered her Shield. The second severed the arm she was using for Casting. The third...

Time seemed to freeze.

Celeste looked down in astonishment, watching as her head separated from her body.

Her gaze drifted past Roland’s shoulder, landing despairingly on Malcolm, who was still locked in a fierce battle with Morne in the distance. Her eyes were a mixture of resentment and silent accusation.

But she could no longer voice her accusation.

THUD!

With a heavy thud, the head rolled onto the ground, the light in its eyes rapidly fading.

The headless body swayed for a moment before being blasted to dust by the residual Dragon Mighty on Roland’s sword.

Just then, something strange happened.

The Succubus’s head, which should have been lifeless, its hollow eyes suddenly lit up.

It was not the amber glow from before, but a pure, cold, ghastly white radiance, as frigid and devoid of warmth as moonlight.

Then, an absurd scene unfolded.

The beautiful head snapped its eyes open.

The amber pupils darted about blankly for a moment before finally focusing on Roland.