Chapter 1408: None of You Are Leaving!

Vesperhart was genuinely furious.

If the others hadn’t barged in, it might have finalized its agreement with Noxhart and kept the seal intact a while longer.

But now outsiders had appeared, and the negotiation was over.

Noxhart moved to Vesperhart’s side. Its cold gaze swept across the group, a mocking smile curling at the corner of its mouth.

"Vesperhart, are these the reinforcements you brought?"

It studied them for a moment, making no effort to hide its contempt.

"What a sorry-looking bunch. I’m almost tempted to laugh."

Vesperhart knew it was being provoked.

Even so, the anger inside it kept rising beyond its control. Staying calm was becoming almost impossible.

Noxhart attacked first.

Dark power compressed into a sphere between its antlers, then hurtled toward the group.

"Vesperhart!" it shouted as the attack flew. "When are you going to come to your senses?"

Vesperhart kept backing away. The clock around its neck swung violently, nearly slipping free of its cord.

"You’re the ones who need to come to your senses!"

Ethan immediately went on guard.

You?

They had barely exchanged a few words, and Vesperhart was already counting Noxhart as one of its own.

Even corruption didn’t work that fast.

Time power began circulating through the space.

Energy sped up in some areas and slowed in others. The group’s movements were disrupted as well. Every raised hand and step lurched between sudden bursts of speed and sluggishness.

With Ethan present, however, this wasn’t enough to require Seraphine’s direct intervention.

A white energy sphere formed in his palm. Along with the white lightning, it contained the time power he had borrowed from Vesperhart.

Ethan slammed the sphere into the ground.

The moment it struck the dark surface, strange ripples spread around the group. The chaotic flow of time quickly stabilized as the acceleration and deceleration canceled each other out.

Time returned to normal.

The two powers shared the same origin. Whichever side committed more energy would overpower the other.

By then, Noxhart’s dark energy sphere had reached them.

Kaelira stepped to the front and thrust both hands upward, catching the attack with violet-red power. The two violent energies pressed against each other in front of her palms, and the force spilling from their collision tore cracks through the surrounding darkness.

No one had to worry about the fallout.

Seraphine had already raised a defense. A gray shield enclosed the entire group, keeping the dark energy outside.

Ataneya’s twenty-four fox tails swept forward from behind it, splitting their attack between Vesperhart and Noxhart.

Seraphina returned to her dragon form.

She spread her wings and rose into the air, reaching past the fox tails with her claws to strike the two stags.

Andona followed close behind.

Holy radiance burst from her body, and her golden wings illuminated the lightless space. Like the first ray of dawn piercing the dark, the glow revealed the group’s entire line of attack.

Noxhart made no attempt to meet them head-on.

It retreated behind Vesperhart and calmly watched the other stag’s anger mount, as if everything were unfolding exactly as planned.

"You wouldn’t want strangers hearing your secret either, would you, Vesperhart?"

Its voice was quiet, but Vesperhart heard every word.

Already beyond reason, Vesperhart flew into an even greater rage.

"None of you are leaving!"

The clock around its neck swung wildly.

"Because I’m going to kill you one by one!"

Vesperhart lost control completely.

Although Ethan’s power was suppressing the surrounding flow of time, Vesperhart still managed to create a time barrier around itself.

Transparent ripples filled the space for several yards in every direction.

Ataneya’s fox tails reached it first.

All twenty-four struck the barrier at once and slowed to a crawl. They hadn’t stopped completely, but no matter how hard they pushed, they couldn’t reach Vesperhart.

Seraphina’s claw came down from above.

The moment its tips entered the barrier, they became trapped as well, unable to advance or pull back.

Vesperhart stood at the center, coldly watching the immobilized attacks.

Ethan observed from nearby.

Once he had confirmed the barrier’s range and behavior, he threw the energy sphere in his hand.

The white sphere entered the barrier.

Unlike the fox tails and dragon claw, it didn’t slow down. The time power inside it was of the same nature as Vesperhart’s, allowing it to pass straight through the stagnant zone and reach the stag.

Boom!

The sphere exploded.

White lightning and a shock wave erupted from within, easily blowing the time barrier apart. The transparent ripples lost their structure, and the trapped dragon claw and fox tails regained their speed.

Vesperhart didn’t panic.

An energy sphere dropped from between its antlers and sank into its own body. Time power spread through its limbs, and everything around it abruptly slowed from its perspective.

Seraphina’s claw and Ataneya’s tails were still closing in.

Vesperhart moved first.

It slipped out of their path and appeared beneath Seraphina. With an upward thrust of its antlers, it struck the dragon squarely in the belly and shoved her massive body off course.

Then it darted between Ataneya’s tails.

After a quick look at where the attacks intersected, Vesperhart guided several fox tails around Seraphina’s claw and tangled them together.

The dragon claw was now tied up in fox tails.

It was quite a sight.

But Vesperhart had forgotten one person.

Ethan could control time too.

The moment Vesperhart began moving, Ethan sensed the change in the surrounding flow. He immediately accelerated his own time to match its speed.

By the time Vesperhart finished tangling the tails, Ethan had already circled behind it.

The giant stag remained in place, ready to admire its handiwork.

Ethan showed no mercy.

His fist, wrapped in white lightning, slammed into the back of Vesperhart’s neck.

Time returned to normal.

The force Seraphina and Ataneya had built up released all at once. The dragon and the fox tails yanked each other in opposite directions, sending both hurtling away until they vanished into the distant darkness.

The punch left Vesperhart’s mind blank.

Its neck shook violently, and all four hooves stumbled forward.

Ethan didn’t give it time to recover.

He dropped low, braced both hands against the ground, and swept his right leg across the floor, striking both of Vesperhart’s front legs.

The giant stag lost its footing and crashed onto its knees.

Ethan was about to follow up when he sensed danger directly ahead.

Vesperhart’s kneeling position had changed the angle of its neck. The clock hanging there was now aimed straight at Ethan’s head, with only the final charge remaining.

The timing and position were perfect.

Vesperhart let out a cold laugh and poured all its power into the clock.

Blinding light flared across the clock face.

Ethan noticed something was wrong.

White wings spread from his back, blasting air in every direction. He pushed off hard enough to leave a crater beneath his feet and shot into the air.

The time laser followed.

It struck the afterimage Ethan had left behind and carved a deep gash through the ground.

The real Ethan was already high overhead, staring down at Vesperhart.

The giant stag quickly regained its footing.

Its clock adjusted its angle, then fired beam after beam of time energy into the sky. The rays pierced the darkness, violently altering every area they passed through.