Chapter 94: The Second Ascension’s Wrath

The soldiers who remained standing exchanged quick, uneasy glances, the earlier confidence in their formation completely gone, replaced by something closer to raw, instinctive fear.

Neo didn’t give them time to decide whether to run or fight. He moved forward immediately.

Starlight trailed behind him like a comet streaking across the night sky, his speed so far beyond what any of them had witnessed moments earlier that the first soldier barely had time to register his presence before Neo’s open palm struck him square in the chest. The impact sent the man flying backward through the air, crashing through two others before finally skidding to a halt along the ground.

"Formation! Hold the line!" someone shouted desperately, though the words carried more panic than actual authority.

Neo didn’t bother waiting for them to reform. He darted sideways, closing the gap on a cluster of three soldiers attempting to flank him. He unsheath his weapon, his blade, now coated in shimmering starlight instead of simple frost, cutting through their defenses like their swords were made of paper rather than steel.

One soldier managed to get a clean strike in, his blade grazing across Neo’s forearm, drawing a thin line of blood.

But Neo barely flinched by that.

Where the First Ascension had hardened his skin like diamond, the Second Ascension burned differently entirely. Pain registered, distantly, but it no longer slowed him the way it once had. If anything, each small wound seemed to feed something deeper inside him, his senses sharpening every movement, every calculation, every strike landing exactly where he intended it to.

He spun low, sweeping the legs out from beneath two more soldiers in a single fluid motion, starlight trailing in a wide arc behind his blade. Before either man could hit the ground, he’d already driven his palm forward, a concentrated burst of pure light tearing clean through both of their chests simultaneously.

’At this rate, it’ll take too long to deal with all of them. I need to hurry up and get this over with.’

The remaining soldiers, maybe twenty or so left out of the hundred, began backing away, their earlier discipline completely shattered, several already breaking formation entirely to flee into the darkness beyond the torchlight.

Neo let them go. He had bigger concerns now than chasing down scattered deserters.

He turned toward the small cluster still foolish, or perhaps simply too terrified, enough to stand their ground, their spears raised in a defensive formation that looked more like a reflexive huddle than any actual tactical decision.

"Last chance... Drop your weapons, and I’ll let you crawl away from here."

A few of the spears trembled visibly, but none of them lowered. As if they had already decided to bet their everything on this.

Neo sighed, the sound carrying genuine, exhausted frustration rather than any real malice.

"Suit yourselves."

He surged forward one final time, starlight blazing brilliantly around his entire frame, and within seconds, the last pocket of resistance crumpled entirely, the clash of steel against his blade ringing out uselessly before falling silent altogether.

When the last body hit the ground, Neo finally allowed himself to stop moving.

He stood amid the wreckage of the battlefield, chest heaving, the glow of the Second Ascension slowly ebbing back beneath his skin, the pure starlight receding like a tide pulling away from shore. Dozens of bodies lay scattered across the frost-bitten earth around him, the scarred leader’s army entirely wiped out, the few survivors having long since fled into the surrounding darkness. Now he stood alone amids the bodies laying around him.

His arms trembled slightly from the strain, the Second Ascension had clearly drained far more from him than the First ever had. His mana reserves had already dropped noticeably lower than he expected.

’This technique consumes far too much mana. I can’t keep it up for long yet. I need more training.’

He forced the thought aside, his attention snapping back toward the far side of the settlement, toward the thick plumes of smoke still rising steadily into the night sky, illuminated faintly from below by flickering flames.

The sounds grew louder as he approached. Screams, clashing steel, and the chaos of battle filled the air. Whatever was happening ahead, it was on a much larger scale than the scattered mercenaries he’d just dealt with.

’This isn’t the battle I heard about. Something else is happening.’ A bad feeling twisted in his gut.

’Diana. The villagers. Mira.’

He immediately picked up his pace, no longer willing to waste even a second.

Neo broke into a sprint, using gravity magic to propel himself forward with every step. The surrounding landscape blurred as he raced through the darkness, pushing his speed to the limit.

’Whatever caused that explosion, whatever is happening over there... it’s far worse than anything I’ve faced so far.’

Neo covered the distance between the outer gate and the main settlement in seconds, moving far faster than he normally could. His enhanced senses picked up the sounds of destruction and suffering before he could clearly see what lay ahead.

Buildings burned along the eastern edge of the village. Bodies were scattered among the wreckage, most of them elves. Many were people he’d shared meals with, trained alongside, and laughed with over the past ten months. Now, they lay motionless among the ruins.

Moving through the wreckage were figures with skin darker than midnight and eyes glowing with an unnatural darkness. They showed no mercy, cutting down any elf who was still alive and unfortunate enough to cross their path.

Neo came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the battlefield, his breath catching in his throat as he took in the horrifying scene before him.

’Dark elves. An entire army of them.’

The sight hit Neo harder than he expected. This was on a completely different scale from the battle at the gate. Nothing he’d faced there had prepared him for this.

Hundreds of dark elves, perhaps even more, were pouring through a massive breach in the settlement’s defenses. Their overwhelming presence pressed against his senses, making the danger impossible to ignore.

His hands clenched into trembling fists. ’So this is what Senya saw in her dream.’

Diana’s guarded eyes flashed through his mind, followed by Mira’s endless curiosity and cheerful laughter. He remembered all the small moments he’d shared with the villagers over the past ten months, moments that had slowly made this place feel like home.

’I won’t let this happen... Not tonight. Not while I’m still standing.’

Neo’s expression hardened, and the exhaustion from his previous battle took a backseat to the determination burning inside him.

Without another moment’s hesitation, he charged into the burning village, heading straight toward the screams echoing through the smoke. Whatever awaited him deeper within the flames, he was ready to face it.