Chapter 1056: The Sanctum of the Hero (2)

Evalyn flew away from the battlefield, but Elyan wasn’t about to let her escape that easily.

He continued to pursue her, while the dark clouds overhead followed her wherever she went.

"Give up, Evalyn! You won’t be able to escape me!" Elyan shouted with a wide grin.

Evalyn ignored him.

She lowered her head and suddenly dived toward the ground.

Elyan was taken aback. He hadn’t expected her to descend, but he didn’t see it as a problem. If anything, it worked in his favor.

He, too, darted downward.

Evalyn landed on the ground and looked up at Elyan, who hovered about two meters above her.

"Are you giving up?" Elyan asked with a faint smile.

Evalyn didn’t reply. Instead, she looked up at the dark clouds as thunder rumbled overhead.

Without hesitation, she plunged her sword into the ground.

Something unexpected happened.

A mysterious white circle appeared beneath her feet. It spun rapidly, then expanded until it covered an area dozens of meters wide.

Elyan was caught off guard. He was about to fly away when a terrifying gravitational force suddenly pulled him toward the ground.

His body slammed against the ground, leaving him unable to move even a single finger.

"W-What the hell is this!? Why can’t I move!?" he shouted in panic.

The black clouds overhead slowly faded, revealing the bright evening sky once more.

Evalyn panted as she looked wearily at Elyan, who lay unconscious before her.

"I... did it!" she murmured.

The Sanctum of the Hero was a difficult technique to master. Even after countless attempts, Evalyn still struggled to control it sometimes.

This time, though, she had finally managed to pull it off perfectly.

After catching her breath, Evalyn pulled her sword from the ground.

Her body swayed unsteadily, but she quickly regained her balance by leaning on her sword.

"Just as I thought... this technique drains most of my strength," she muttered, clicking her tongue.

She had already lost a quarter of her strength, leaving her with only ten percent remaining. She had to end this fight as quickly as possible.

Evalyn then walked toward Elyan, who was desperately struggling to free himself from the mysterious gravitational force pinning him to the ground.

"You’ve lost."

Evalyn’s calm voice startled Elyan. He tried to look up at her but couldn’t.

Gritting his teeth, he growled angrily.

"What did you do to me!?"

Evalyn smiled faintly.

"Just a simple technique. Well, enough talk. To think a disciple of the Singularity of Light would turn out to be nothing more than this."

She pointed the Divine Sword of Luminus at Elyan’s face.

"Do you have any last words?"

Elyan’s body stiffened. The courage and arrogance he had displayed earlier crumbled in the face of the sword pointed at him.

He tried to muster his strength, but it was in vain. The Sanctum of the Hero had completely sealed off his power.

Elyan tried to calm himself, though fear still gnawed at his heart.

"Evalyn Lionheart, I’ve changed my mind," he said, trying to keep his cool. "You’re far stronger than I expected. Your abilities surpass those of every opponent I’ve faced, except for my own master."

Evalyn remained calm, curious to hear what nonsense he would say next.

"But remember!" Elyan continued with a smirk. "This is a war. Do you think you’ve already won?"

Evalyn raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Elyan chuckled coldly.

"Can’t you see what’s happening over there?"

He glanced behind her.

Evalyn turned around and was startled by what she saw. A mysterious army clad in golden armor had suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

The imperial forces, which had been dominating the rebels, were now being pushed back.

"W-What on earth is that!?" she cried in alarm.

"Hahaha!"

Elyan burst into laughter.

"See? You didn’t expect that, did you? They’re troops from the Holy Empire of Valtanir. They came from the southern border, which had already been cleared out. Their arrival will seal your defeat! Hahaha!"

Elyan’s chilling laughter sent a shiver down Evalyn’s spine.

She had never expected the Holy Empire of Valtanir to secretly send such a large force to the battlefield.

This was a truly dangerous situation!

"Surrender. You don’t stand a chance," Elyan taunted.

Evalyn’s expression darkened as she turned back to face him.

"Don’t get too cocky just yet. So what if you have forty thousand more troops? You think that scares me?"

She pressed the tip of the Divine Sword of Luminus against his neck, drawing blood.

Elyan froze, his composure instantly falling apart.

"Y-You... What are you trying to do!?" he asked in horror.

"Pfft! Look at you. You’re scared now. Where did all your courage go, huh?"

Elyan gritted his teeth.

He regretted underestimating the woman in front of him.

If only he hadn’t messed around at the start, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.

"All right, I’ll end this."

Evalyn pulled her sword back and raised it high.

"W-Wait! Don’t kill me! I’m a disciple of the Singularity of Light!" Elyan shouted in panic. "If you dare—"

Slash!

Her sword sliced through his neck as easily as cutting a watermelon.

Elyan’s head rolled to the ground, his face still frozen in panic.

The next moment, blood gushed from his severed neck like a fountain.

Evalyn stared calmly at his corpse.

"Your own arrogance was your downfall," she whispered.

...

The Southern Continent...

A middle-aged man with golden hair sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he hurriedly rose to his feet.

"Elyan... is dead!?" he cried in shock.

The disciple he had carefully trained and groomed to become his successor as the Singularity of Light was dead—just like that.

He couldn’t accept it!

Boom!

A golden aura erupted from his body, causing the surrounding buildings to shake violently as if they might collapse at any moment.

He opened his palm, and a golden sword wreathed in lightning appeared in it. This was his main weapon, Orundar, the God of Lightning.

The Singularity of Light turned toward the east, where the Central Continent lay—the place where his disciple had met his end.

Orundar radiated a brilliant golden light, with lightning crackling around its blade as he raised it high above his head.

"I don’t know who killed my disciple, but I won’t let them get away with it! I’ll make sure they die a most brutal death!"

With a smooth yet sharp motion, he swung his sword downward.

Slash!

The sound of the blade cutting through the air rang out clearly. Yet, no spectacular explosion or anything of the sort followed.

Only a tense silence remained.

...

Evalyn withdrew her sword and swung it to the side. The bloodstains covering the blade vanished instantly.

She then sheathed the Divine Sword of Luminus.

"A disciple of the Singularity of Light, huh? My gut tells me that man will come after me," she muttered.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t afraid. As one of the Seven Singularities, the Singularity of Light was undoubtedly a formidable opponent.

But the next moment, Evalyn regained her composure

Although the Singularity of Light was powerful, Elina had the protection of the Singularity of Chaos.

She could ask Elina for help later.

Just as Evalyn was about to turn away, Luminus’s panicked voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

"Evalyn, danger!"