Chapter 151 Battle at the imperial ground

Chapter 151: Chapter 151 Battle at the imperial ground

30 MINUTES BEFORE LYSANDER’S ARRIVAL!

"I said I will do it."

Noah’s voice echoed with finality through the enormous imperial steps before he began walking directly toward the Emperor. He took one careful, deliberate step after another.

Damon watched him intensely, making sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid. Emily’s gaze remained fixed on Noah and the Alphas, while Lamia stayed on the floor, gritting his teeth as he struggled to recover from the previous attack.

"I knew you would always come around." Damon laughed softly. "That’s why you’re my son, after all."

The cloaked woman standing beside him remained completely silent. Her face was still hidden beneath the hood, and she didn’t interfere with anything. She simply stood there, waiting for Damon’s instructions.

Noah stopped several feet away from the Emperor. "You do realize you’re triggering a war between witches and the other races," Noah said, his voice tense. "If anything happens to me, my mate will hunt you down."

At once, Damon’s expression changed. "Oh, you wish." His lips curled into a sinister smile. "Of course I realized that your friend there is also a Phoenix witch, and you could ruin my plans. That’s why I decided to do this." He turned his head slightly. "Mona. Now!"

The cloaked figure immediately raised her hands. Her fingers flickered through a complicated series of movements, and the Book of Shadows opened by itself. A powerful light erupted from its pages.

"No!" Noah’s eyes widened. The energy shot straight toward Lamia. "No! This isn’t what we agreed on!"

Before Noah could do anything, Damon rushed forward, grabbing the necklace and fastening it around Noah’s neck.

The instant the necklace touched his skin, Noah screamed. An agonizing cry tore from his throat as his body convulsed. His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the floor, clutching desperately at the necklace. "Ahhh!" The pain was unbearable. His entire body felt as though it were being torn apart from the inside.

"NOAH!"

Damian saw the dangerous light heading toward Lamia. Without thinking, he bit deeply into his own hand. Blood immediately began dripping from his palm. He clenched his fist and took control of the blood, forcing it outward. The crimson liquid surged through the air and expanded into a gigantic shield.

BOOM!

The Book of Shadows’ attack slammed into the barrier. For a moment, the shield held. Then something twisted violently inside Damian. His eyes widened. "What—" He dropped to the floor, his body beginning to convulse violently as dark scales slowly crawled across his skin. His hands curled against the ground while his body twisted unnaturally. The veins around his neck darkened, and the scales continued spreading across his arms and chest.

"DAMIAN!" Lamia screamed.

Eugene’s eyes widened in horror. "What the hell is happening to him?!"

Damon merely smiled. "This is what happens when you go against the Book of Shadows."

Noah stared at Damian in horror. His breathing became erratic. "No..." He forced himself back onto his feet despite the necklace burning around his neck. "No, no, no..." He staggered toward Damian. "How could you, Damon?!" His voice cracked. "How could you do this?!"

Noah tried to reach Damian, but another wave of pain exploded through his body. He screamed again, his hands trembling as he fought against the necklace.

Damon walked toward him, a hand slowly trailing across Noah’s face. Then he laughed. "You’re looking at your biggest nightmare, aren’t you?" His smile widened. "This is only the beginning of my dominion."

Noah’s head suddenly lifted. His silver eyes began changing. The color slowly shifted—silver became blue. A deep, brilliant blue. The necklace around his neck began sparking violently.

Damon’s smile faltered. "What..."

Noah’s breathing became heavier. "Who gave you that right?" His voice was trembling with rage. "Who gave you the audacity and the effrontery to lay your dirty, filthy hands on me..." The air around him began vibrating. "...and do that to my beloved?"

The necklace crackled. Electric-like energy traveled across its surface.

Damon immediately turned toward the cloaked woman. "Desdemona!" She lifted her head. "What?" "What is happening to the necklace? You said it would work! What’s he doing?!"

Damon thrust his hand forward. A fiery glow escaped his palm as he attempted to attack Noah. But the moment the flames came close—FWOOSH! They melted away. The energy simply disappeared before it could even touch him.

Damon froze.

Noah slowly raised his head. His blue eyes locked directly onto him. "This..." His voice dropped into something almost frighteningly calm. "...is for the nightmare you caused me."

His hands turned red. Dark red tendrils immediately erupted from the ground around him.

The Book of Shadows began glowing.

Eugene’s eyes widened. "What is he doing?" He looked toward Lamia while simultaneously trying to help Damian.

Lamia’s breathing was ragged. "He’s taking power from the Book of Shadows."

Eugene froze. "What?"

"He’s drawing its power into himself." Lamia’s eyes widened with fear. "And that’s going to destroy his soul and corrupt him."

Eugene shook his head. "No. That can’t happen. Doesn’t he have dark magic too? At least they can blend together."

Lamia shook his head. "The Book of Shadows cannot be tamed. Dark magic or not, it doesn’t matter." He stared at Noah. "It feeds on consciousness. It feeds on the mind and soul of whoever touches it." His voice became desperate. "And Noah’s greatest strength is his goodness."

Eugene’s expression fell.

Lamia continued. "That’s exactly what it’s going to consume first."

A terrifying silence fell.

Then—BOOM!

Noah’s grave affinity exploded. The entire palace shook. Cracks spread across the floor. The ground beneath them began splitting apart as skeletal hands emerged from underneath. One. Then ten. Then dozens. Then hundreds. Skeletons clawed their way out of the ground, their empty eye sockets glowing with dark energy.

Emily’s dragon immediately roared. The enormous beast spread its wings and prepared to unleash its flames. But before it could attack—the skeletons swarmed it. They climbed onto its body, clawing deeply into its scales and tearing chunks of flesh away.

ROAAAAR!

Fire erupted violently from the dragon’s mouth. Everyone nearby scrambled away as the flames swept across the palace.

Noah remained standing in the center of the chaos. The Book of Shadows continued glowing. Redder. And redder. Until its entire surface became completely crimson.

Desdemona’s hands suddenly began burning. She screamed. "AH!" The Book of Shadows burned through her gloves and into her palms. She was forced to drop it. The book fell onto the ground.

Noah’s tendrils moved instantly. They shot toward Damon.

SMASH!

The red tendrils slammed into his chest. Damon was thrown backward. His body crashed into the opposite wall with enough force to nearly crack his skull.

For a moment, everything went silent.

Then—Crack.

Damon twisted his neck back into place. And laughed. "I’m immortal too." His smile was terrifying. "You can’t kill me."

Noah appeared in front of him. His hand wrapped around Damon’s throat. "But I can take away your immortality."

The entire room went silent. Even Damon stopped laughing. No one had ever done such a thing before.

Noah’s eyes narrowed. "You have grave affinity just like me, of course." The red tendrils tightened around Damon. "But yours is weak."

They began wrapping around his neck. His eyes. His ears. His chest. Dark energy seeped into his body.

Damon struggled for the first time.

Desdemona immediately raised her burning hand. A powerful light began gathering in her palm. "No!" She prepared to cast it. But before she could—the ground beneath her shattered. Desdemona fell.

A powerful wind seized her by the hair and dragged her downward. She crashed violently onto the ground. CRACK! Her spine twisted beneath the impact. A deafening scream escaped her lips.

But even then, Desdemona refused to surrender. She lifted her head. Her eyes found Emily. "Kill them."

Emily’s blackened eyes glowed with deep purple light. She raised her hand. The dragons immediately responded. One after another, they took to the sky. Six gigantic dragons circled above them. Emily’s own dragon joined them. Seven dragons. Seven enormous beasts preparing to unleash destruction upon everyone below. The sky darkened beneath their massive wings.

Lamia looked upward. His eyes widened. "No..." He saw Eugene preparing to use his time affinity. Eugene’s body began glowing.

"I can stop them."

Lamia immediately understood what he intended. "No! Don’t!"

Eugene looked at him. "If I freeze time, I can—"

"You’ll be fighting against the Book of Shadows!" Lamia’s voice shook. "You don’t know what kind of consequence that will create!"

Eugene clenched his fists. "But if I don’t do something, they’ll burn everyone!"

Lamia looked at the dragons. Then at Noah. Then at Damian, whose body was still covered in dark scales. There was no time.

His expression hardened. "Then I’ll do it."

Eugene’s eyes widened. "Lamia, no."

Lamia began casting. Ancient words left his mouth. His entire body began glowing. The magical pressure became unbearable.

Just as Damon was about to collapse—the entire world tilted. Lamia screamed. A massive wave of magic exploded from him. The seven dragons suddenly froze. Their bodies turned into statues in the sky. Even the flames hanging in the air stopped moving. Everything became completely still.

Eugene stared at Lamia in horror. "No, Lamia!"

Lamia continued forcing the spell. The dragons remained frozen. Even their flames, which ordinary magic could never extinguish, were suspended in midair. Lamia’s body began flickering. His skin glowed orange. Cracks of light appeared across his body.

"You’re human!" Eugene screamed. "You can’t handle this!"

But Lamia didn’t stop. He pushed harder. The magic intensified. The dragons remained statues. The entire palace trembled beneath the pressure.

"Lamia!" Eugene rushed toward him. But it was already too late.

Lamia’s body flickered once. Twice. Then—BOOM!

His entire body shattered into thousands of pieces of orange light. He vanished. No body. No blood. Nothing. Only glowing fragments drifted through the air before disappearing.

Noah turned. His eyes widened. For one second, he couldn’t breathe. Then his face crumbled.

"Lamia..." His voice came out barely above a whisper.

And then he screamed.

"LAMIAAAAAAA!!!"