Luciana's eyes remained fixed on the two Starlights hovering in the sky, her focus unbroken. Even though one of them was S1, he was so deceptive and difficult to predict that it had taken three of them working together just to contain him. Now there were two opponents, and the second possessed an even more dangerous ability, the power to see and alter the future itself.
Her thoughts accelerated, weaving through possibilities, outcomes, and counters, trying to construct a plan before the situation slipped beyond control. Every option she considered collapsed almost as quickly as it formed, each one countered by the overwhelming advantage her enemies held.
Before she could fully settle on a strategy, Timon acted.
He surged forward in a burst of speed, cutting through the air with precision and intent, his blade aimed directly at Iason. There was no hesitation in his movement, only a clean, decisive strike meant to end the fight in a single motion.
Iason's lips curved into a faint smirk as he watched the attack approach. "Oho?"
The sword passed through him without resistance. There was no impact, no blood, only the sensation of cutting through something unreal. His figure shattered instantly, breaking apart into fragments of light that scattered and vanished into the air.
At the exact same moment, Aerwyna moved. She saw the attack before it happened, her timing perfectly aligned with Timon's strike. She appeared behind the illusion, her hand already extended, aiming to reach him.
But just as her attack was about to land, the space behind Timon shifted.
A strand of blood shot outward from behind him, moving with unnatural speed toward Aerwyna. It twisted through the air like a living thread, its path precise and deliberate as it closed the final distance.
Yet just before it could reach her, no more than an inch away, the blood unraveled. Its color faded, its form collapsing as it dissolved into nothing more than a faint gust of wind that brushed harmlessly past her.
Luciana understood the danger immediately. Aerwyna didn't just react, she altered outcomes. That meant any direct attack could be undone before it even existed.
But Luciana knew this and she already spread her blood around Aerwyna before it could get destroyed. The crimson beads hovered for only a fraction of a second before she activated her ability. In the next instant, her body dissolved and reformed above Aerwyna, swapping places with one of the droplets. A blade of hardened blood had already taken shape in her hand, its edge sharp and ready before she fully appeared.
She brought the sword down in a precise, lethal arc.
Aerwyna didn't even turn. With a small, almost careless motion, she raised a single finger.
Luciana's blade shattered mid swing, breaking apart like fragile glass before it could descend even halfway. The fragments scattered into the air, dissolving back into loose strands of blood.
Luciana didn't wait to see more. Staying close was a mistake against someone like this. She vanished again, her body collapsing into red mist before reappearing a short distance away beside Hellen.
"Don't rush in," Luciana said sharply, her eyes never leaving Aerwyna. "She can alter the future."
Though she spoke outwardly, her attention remained fixed on Timon, watching his movements, anticipating his next decision.
"Didn't you say she was already defeated?" Hellen asked, her voice tight with confusion and concern.
Luciana gave a small nod. "Yes."
Hellen's gaze returned to Aerwyna, her expression tense as she tried to understand what she was seeing. "Then how do you even defeat something like that?" she asked, the question carrying a hint of urgency, almost hope, that there was still an answer.
"The one who fought her only survived because he had the Creator's direct help," Luciana said, her voice steady but heavy with meaning. "Even then, he was close to losing. Right now, among all the S ranks, she stands at the top."
Hellen frowned, her eyes still fixed on Aerwyna. "Aren't you one of the Creator's loyal subjects? Can't you call on that kind of help?"
Luciana shook her head without hesitation. "The one who faced her was Leo Mantine, the Creator's vessel. What he received wasn't something I can replicate."
Before Hellen could respond, a voice cut in from above.
"Hey… aren't you forgetting about me?"
Iason hovered at a distance, a faint laugh escaping him as he raised a small vial between his fingers. "Maybe this will help refresh your memory."
He tossed it upward.
The vial burst the moment it reached the clouds.
In the next second, the sky shifted. The clouds thickened unnaturally fast, spreading and darkening as they began to drift southward. The movement wasn't random, it was directed. Controlled.
Then the rain began.
At first, it seemed ordinary, but the moment the droplets struck the ground, the truth became clear. Wherever they landed, the surface began to melt. Stone softened and collapsed, and the earth itself dissolved under the corrosive effect.
For Luciana, Hellen, and the others at their level, the rain posed little to no threat. Their mana naturally resisted it.
But the direction of the clouds made the real danger obvious.
They were moving toward the army.
And the soldiers below had no way to withstand something like this.
"Ridiculous," Timon murmured under his breath.
"What was that?" Iason asked, his tone light, almost amused.
Timon's grip tightened on his sword as he lifted his head. "I said… you're ridiculous."
Before Iason could respond, Timon moved.
He swung his blade upward.
A sharp wave of power tore through the sky, splitting the clouds cleanly in two. The unnatural mass of storm clouds halted mid movement, their advance toward the army stopped as the force of the strike disrupted their flow.
Without pause, Timon followed with a second slash, this time driving his sword forward. Another cut carved through the sky itself, stretching far into the distance. The rain faltered, then stopped entirely, the corrupted droplets dispersing before they could fall any farther.
For a brief moment, the battlefield grew still. Then the air changed.
Dark mana began to seep from Timon's body, thin strands at first, then thicker currents as it spread across his skin. It didn't behave like simple shadow, it felt heavier, denser, something far more real.
With a subtle shift of his stance, two massive black wings burst from his back. They weren't made of mana or shadow. They were solid, heavy, and alive with power.
At the same time, two dark horns pushed out from his forehead, their surface smooth and sharp as they fully formed.
Mana exploded outward from him in a violent surge, the pressure rippling across the battlefield and forcing the air itself to tremble.
Through it all, his eyes never left Iason.
"The only thing you know how to do," Timon said, his voice steady but filled with contempt, "is attack those weaker than you."
His gaze hardened.
"That's why you were never worthy of being the king."
Iason's eyebrow twitched, irritation flashing across his face. Before he could respond, Timon moved.
He shot forward with explosive speed, crossing the distance in an instant. His movement rivaled Nikolaus, the man known as the fastest S-rank alive, leaving barely a trace behind him.
Iason didn't have time to react. Timon's blade cut clean across his chest. Blood burst outward as the force of the strike sent him flying back through the air.
He stabilized himself several dozen meters away, stopping abruptly. His expression hardened, anger now clear in his eyes. The wound across his chest was deep, the cut clean and precise, but for someone at his level, it wasn't fatal.
His gaze shifted toward Aerwyna.
"You could've warned me," he said, his voice edged with annoyance.
"It wasn't life threatening," she replied calmly, her tone unchanged.
Iason stared at her for a moment, disgust flickering across his face before he looked away. Without another word, he pulled out a small vial and drank it in one motion.
The effect was immediate. The wound on his chest closed, the torn flesh sealing as if it had never been there. At the same time, a visible aura began to gather around him, dense and sharp, pushing outward with growing intensity.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"Let me show you," he said, his voice laced with confidence, "how capable I am of kicking your ass."
Timon charged again, closing the distance in an instant, his blade aimed cleanly at Iason's neck.
This time, Iason reacted. He tilted his head back just enough for the strike to miss, the blade passing a fraction of an inch from his throat. In the same motion, he drove a punch forward.
Timon raised his sword to block, but the impact still carried through. The collision released a burst of force that tore through the air, sending a violent wave outward, strong enough that only an S-rank from warrior path could produce it.
Iason's smile shifted into a smirk. "Surprised?"
Timon didn't answer. Instead, black mana gathered between his horns, condensing rapidly into a dense point of energy. A second later, it fired, a beam of dark power shot forward, aimed directly at Iason's head.
Iason barely managed to avoid it, twisting his body to the side as the attack passed close enough to graze him.
Timon was already moving again. He closed in immediately, and the two of them fell into a rapid exchange of blows. Their weapons and strikes collided again and again, each impact sending shockwaves through the air, their movements too fast for most to even follow.
Off to the side, Aerwyna watched the fight unfold, her expression calm and almost detached. After a moment, her attention shifted downward to Luciana and Hellen standing on the ground below.
"Shall we begin as well?" she asked, a small smile forming on her lips.
Luciana's jaw tightened. She could feel it clearly, this opponent wasn't just strong. She was at least S2, possibly even S3.
But there was no choice. Two wings of blood formed behind Luciana, spreading wide as she pushed off the ground and rose into the air. The liquid structure shifted constantly, maintaining shape through her control alone.
"Cover me," she said, her voice firm as she ascended.
Luciana didn't waste a second.
As she rose, dozens of thin strands of blood spread out from her wings, stretching across the air like threads. With a sharp motion of her hand, they shot forward from multiple angles, aiming to surround Aerwyna instead of striking directly.
At the same time, she dashed in. Her body blurred as she closed the distance, a blood blade forming in her hand mid motion, its edge solid and sharp. She came from above, aiming a downward strike while the blood threads tightened from every side.
Aerwyna didn't move at first. Then her eyes shifted slightly.
The future changed.
Luciana's threads missed by inches, sliding past empty space as if they had never been aimed correctly. Her blade shattered just before reaching its target, breaking apart into fragments that scattered into the air.
But Luciana was already expecting that. She twisted her body mid air, closing the distance fully and throwing a direct punch instead. This time there was no weapon to alter, only raw movement.
Aerwyna raised her hand and caught the strike with her palm. The impact still sent a ripple through the air, forcing both of them back slightly.
Below, Hellen moved.
She raised both hands, and multiple circles of light formed around her. From them, several weapons materialized, spears, chains, and curved blades, each one glowing with condensed mana.
With a flick of her wrist, they launched upward.
Unlike Luciana's attacks, they didn't aim directly at Aerwyna. Instead, they spread out, forming a wide net that closed in from every direction, limiting her movement rather than trying to hit her.
Luciana saw the opening.
Blood gathered around her arm, forming a reinforced gauntlet as she rushed forward again, this time striking from close range with rapid, relentless attacks, punches, kicks, and short blades forming and dissolving between each motion.
Aerwyna's expression remained calm, but her movements became sharper. She deflected, redirected, and stepped through attacks with minimal motion, her ability constantly shifting outcomes just enough to avoid damage.
Then, one of Hellen's conjured chains snapped around Aerwyna's arm.
For a fraction of a second, she was restricted.
Luciana took that moment. All the scattered blood in the air surged back toward her, condensing into a massive spear above her head. She drove it downward with full force, aiming straight through Aerwyna's position.
The air trembled from the weight of the attack.
But just before impact, the chain slipped and the spear missed.
It tore through the space beside Aerwyna, crashing into the ground below and exploding in a burst of blood and force.
Luciana landed, her breathing steady but her eyes sharp. Her arms and legs were broken without her even getting hit. But her vampire power was already healing her fast.
Hellen lowered her hands slightly, her expression tense.
"…We can't hit her like this," she said.
Luciana didn't look away from Aerwyna.
"I know," she replied quietly.
High above them, Aerwyna hovered in place, untouched.
Her small smile returned.