Selene Voss stared at Kael like the world had cracked open beneath her feet.
"No. No, that's impossible!" she shouted, voice breaking sharp and high through the courtyard. "Kael isn't some fox-demon bastard!"
The words echoed off the stone walls of Emerald Rest.
Varek Smolden did not even blink.
The old elder's sleeve still coiled around Kael's throat like a constrictor snake. The white-haired giant stood motionless beneath the lantern light, his empty sleeves hanging dead at his sides while the invisible pressure of his Banishing Vitae soaked the courtyard in suffocating dread.
"I will take him back to Phoenixspur," Varek said coldly. "Whether he truly carries the blood of the Shadow Fox Lineage will be determined there."
His eyes locked onto Kael.
Hard.
Pitiless.
Like a judge already weighing the corpse.
A tremor ran through Isara Ashvane's body.
It was small. Barely visible.
But Dreamgate shifted in her hand.
The sword-tip slid forward until the divine blade pressed against the skin of Varek's neck.
Everyone froze.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Varek's expression remained calm, though something weary passed briefly through his eyes.
"Isie…" he said softly, using the old familiar shortening of her name. "Because of that fox, the Primus confined you to Vane's Summit for over a decade. Only recently were you permitted to descend the mountain again. After all these years… do you still feel no regret?"
Shock spread through the gathered disciples.
Selene's eyes widened.
Sylva Dreyn stiffened beside her.
Even Rovan Ashford looked stunned.
This was the first time any of them had heard the truth behind Isara's long isolation on Vane's Summit.
The old scandal.
The old punishment.
The thing no one dared ask about.
Isara's silver eyes remained cold.
"If you do not release him," she said quietly, "I will strike."
Varek gave a bitter smile.
There was exhaustion in it. Old hurt. Old love turned sour with time.
But his sleeve remained wrapped tight around Kael's neck.
Dreamgate suddenly flared.
Silver radiance burst along the blade as Isara poured Vitae into the weapon. The air screamed faintly around its edge.
Nearby, Lyra Farrow seemed to wake from a trance.
"Senior Sister, wait!" she cried, genuine alarm breaking through her usual lazy charm. "Careful… careful of Kael!"
Isara glanced once toward her.
Kael stood trapped in Varek's hold, pale as death.
Then she looked back at the elder.
"If he truly carries the blood of the Shadow Fox," she said, "then I will not shield him from judgment. But at this moment, he is still my disciple. And while he remains my disciple, I will not permit anyone to harm him."
"I do not intend to harm him," Varek replied. "I will only take him to Phoenixspur and place him before the Primus."
Then, unexpectedly, Isara lowered Dreamgate.
The sword's glow faded.
Her voice softened.
"Then release him first," she said. "Allow me to cast him out from my Order. After that… whether you capture him or kill him is your affair."
The words struck like a hammer.
Selene's face went white.
Mira Stonwell gasped softly.
Zaeli nearly stumbled.
Kael himself felt the blood drain from his body.
For one dizzy second, he thought he might actually faint.
"Varek," Isara said quietly.
The elder's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
His rough voice came lower now.
"I never thought I would hear you call me that again."
Her tone gentled further.
"If you refuse even this… then I will never call you by that name again."
Silence.
Varek stared at her for a long moment.
Something painful twisted behind his eyes.
Finally, he exhaled.
"…Fine."
The sleeve loosened.
Kael stumbled free, clutching his throat and coughing hard.
"You." Isara looked at him. "Come here."
His legs felt full of molten lead.
Still shaking, Kael forced himself forward until he stood before her with lowered head.
A condemned man awaiting sentence.
"Before we descended the mountain," Isara asked softly, "what did I tell you?"
Kael's entire body shook.
"I—I was stupid," he choked out. "Master, I was wrong…"
Isara gazed at him for a long time.
There was something unbearable in her eyes.
Pain.
Regret.
Helplessness.
"You disobeyed me," she said quietly. "That means whatever bond existed between us has ended."
Her voice hardened.
"From this moment onward, you are no longer my disciple."
The words exploded inside Kael's skull.
His knees gave out instantly.
He crashed to the ground.
"Master!" he cried hoarsely. "Please! Don't cast me out!"
The women behind him all changed color.
Isara closed her eyes briefly.
"Things have reached this point," she said. "This is no longer your choice. Or mine."
Kael slammed his forehead against the stone.
Again.
Again.
Blood smeared across the floor.
"You can punish me however you want!" he sobbed. "Beat me! Lock me up! Anything! But don't drive me away! Please don't abandon me!"
"Leave," Isara said coldly.
Her expression became iron once more.
"What happens to you now depends on your own fate."
Kael shook his head wildly, tears pouring down his face.
"Master…"
Sylva stepped forward instinctively.
But Isara's eyes snapped toward her.
One look.
That was all it took.
Sylva froze silent.
No one dared move after that.
Selene's eyes had already reddened with tears.
Mira bit hard against her lip.
Zaeli looked moments away from breaking down completely.
Then suddenly—
Kael heard Isara's voice inside his mind.
Not through his ears.
Directly inside his skull.
The Far-Voice Art.
If you still think of me as your Master… if you still remember the years I raised you… then run.
Kael froze.
Run as far away as you can. Hide yourself. Live quietly. Never come back.
The weight behind those words stunned him senseless.
His breathing stopped.
If you refuse to leave now, her voice continued, then you truly will never again have the chance to become my disciple.
Hope flickered weakly inside him.
He looked up.
Isara stood with her back partly turned toward Varek.
For the first time in years, Kael saw genuine urgency in her eyes.
Fear.
Not for herself.
For him.
Kael slowly rose to his feet.
Like a man walking through a nightmare.
"Master…" he whispered. "Then… I'm leaving?"
Isara's face became expressionless again.
"Go."
Kael suddenly dropped to his knees once more.
He slammed his forehead against the stone three heavy times.
Each impact cracked loudly through the courtyard.
When he lifted his head, blood streaked his brow.
Isara's eyes had already begun to glisten.
Go quickly, her voice sounded again inside his head. And remember this—without my permission, never seek us out again. Never return to Vane's Summit.
Kael nodded through choking sobs.
Then he turned and walked away.
Every few steps he looked back toward his Elder Sorors.
Toward the only home he had ever known.
The women looked like their hearts were being carved apart.
Selene nearly moved after him.
Mira too.
But Isara's sharp voice cut through the courtyard.
"No one moves. Whoever interferes ceases to be my disciple as well."
That ended it.
None of them dared disobey.
Selene finally broke first.
A loud sob burst from her throat as tears spilled down her face. Sylva hurriedly pulled the younger woman into her arms and held her tightly while she cried.
Then Mira suddenly shouted after him.
"Kael! At least take some clothes with you!"
Kael blinked blankly.
Right.
Clothes.
Possessions.
His mind felt numb.
Like he had been hollowed out.
He turned around mechanically and walked back inside his room.
The familiar chamber suddenly looked strange to him.
Dead.
He gathered his spare clothes without thought, shoving them carelessly into the Wardian Satchel. Odds and ends followed.
Then he noticed the green porcelain vase sitting by the window.
Inside it rested the Lone-Bud Branch.
Kael's expression changed instantly.
He hurried over and carefully picked it up, handling the branch with far more care than anything else in the room before storing it safely inside the satchel.
He was halfway to the door when realization suddenly struck him.
His eyes widened.
"The sash—"
He rushed toward the bed.
Pillows flew.
Blankets scattered.
Finally, near the corner of the bedframe, he found the Emberseal Sash where he had tossed it aside after tearing it off Verdis Morcroft's waist earlier.
The sight of it stabbed straight through his chest.
Regret hit him so hard it nearly folded him in half.
"It's my fault…" he muttered brokenly. "I was too busy chasing pleasure… I forgot Master's warning… and now everything's ruined…"
Tears streamed down his face.
Hands trembling violently, he untied his outer robe and wrapped the Emberseal Sash firmly back around his waist, hiding the Primordial Sigil once more.
Then another thought rose inside him.
What exactly was that thing hidden in his navel?
Why had Varek taken one look at it and immediately declared him the descendant of some monstrous bloodline?
The more Kael thought about it, the more confused he became.
The more wronged he felt.
He nearly stormed back outside to demand answers from Varek directly.
But then Isara's warning echoed through his mind again.
There was still room to escape this.
Still room for things to turn.
If he lost control now—
If he angered her again—
Then everything truly would end.
Kael forced himself to breathe slowly.
Little by little, calm returned.
He looked around the room one final time.
Nothing remained.
Nothing that belonged to him anymore.
So he walked outside.
And started toward the mountain path.
"You think you're going somewhere?"
Varek Smolden's voice cut through the night like thunder.
Kael's entire body jolted.
"You're coming with me to Phoenixspur."
Panic exploded inside him.
He turned desperately toward Isara.
She spoke before he could.
"Walk your own road," she said calmly. "You are no longer part of the Covenant. You need not obey anyone here."
Kael stared at her.
Then slowly nodded.
Without another word, he stepped around Varek and headed toward the gates of Emerald Rest.
Varek moved.
Instantly.
But silver light flashed before him.
Dreamgate blocked his path.
Isara stood there with sword in hand.
Varek's expression finally changed.
"I already permitted you to expel him," he said slowly. "Why stop me now?"
"I would never dare obstruct Elder-Uncle directly," Isara replied.
Her blade remained leveled.
"But we have not seen each other in many years. I wish to exchange a few techniques with you first. I hope Elder-Uncle will indulge me."
Varek suddenly laughed.
There was anger hidden inside the sound.
"Isie. Isie." His eyes sharpened dangerously. "You were always reasonable. Always true to your word. And now you throw away your dignity for that cursed bloodline?"
His gaze bored into her.
"You still cannot let go of him?"
Isara's face remained calm.
"You are overthinking things."
Varek's eyes flashed.
"And you believe you can stop me?"
Now even Isara looked grave.
Like someone standing before a monstrous beast.
She raised Dreamgate horizontally before her chest.
"Please instruct me, Elder-Uncle."
"Wait!"
Lyra Farrow suddenly called out.
The breathtaking woman stepped forward with a lazy grin.
"I want to join too. Yesterday Elder-Uncle said martial combat wasn't my strength." Her smile widened. "Today I'll trouble Elder-Uncle to test my Wardplate Mastery once again."
She closed her eyes.
Soft incantations rolled from her lips.
White vapor erupted around her body in swirling streams, gathering into a massive cloud that swallowed almost her entire graceful figure.
Varek's face darkened.
The spell completed almost instantly.
Lyra gave a playful shout.
Then something enormous rose from inside the mist.
The Stone Colossus.
The giant construct stood over ten feet tall, massive and broad-shouldered, its entire body formed from deep-blue crystal that gleamed like carved sapphire beneath the lantern glow.
The moment it appeared, unrest spread through the courtyard.
The disciples of Vane's Summit held steady.
Rovan Ashford remained composed.
But the surrounding demon hunters recoiled in alarm.
Several unconsciously backed away.
The thing radiated monstrous pressure.
"You would oppose me for that cursed child as well?" Varek asked coldly.
Lyra ignored the hostility completely.
"This little servant of mine used to be a foreign god from the western wastes," she chattered cheerfully. "Copper skin, iron bones, endless strength. Very scary."
She patted the crystal giant fondly.
"Last time he beat Second Elder-Uncle's thunder beast until its face swelled purple."
Then she sighed dramatically.
"Though I doubt he could even touch the corner of your robes, Elder-Uncle. So please be gentle. If you break him, you'll have to compensate me."
Varek stared at her for several seconds.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Lyra. Rumors have long circulated within the Covenant that you shared improper relations with the Wandering Fox himself. That is supposedly why the Primus punished you with confinement inside the Hall of Ten Thousand Delicacies."
His eyes narrowed.
"Were the rumors true?"
For the first time, color burst across Lyra's exquisite face.
Embarrassment flashed through her eyes before vanishing beneath outrage.
"Elder-Uncle!" she snapped. "What nonsense are you saying? Master sent me there to—to…"
She faltered.
Then stamped her foot angrily.
"If you keep talking nonsense, I won't speak to you anymore!"
Varek slowly tilted his head back.
A long sigh escaped him.
"The Wandering Fox…" he murmured. "What an unbelievable man you truly were."
Both Isara and Lyra flushed visibly at those words.
Varek fell silent for a moment.
Then, unexpectedly, he said:
"I will not fight either of you."
Everyone blinked.
The old elder suddenly sat down cross-legged right there in the courtyard.
Like a monk settling into meditation.
The tension shattered into confusion.
Even Isara frowned.
Lyra stared openly.
"You needn't guard this place anymore," Varek said evenly without opening his eyes. "Rest assured. Tonight, I will not pursue him."
Then he closed his eyes completely.
As if preparing to enter meditation.
Nobody understood what had just happened.
But they all knew one thing about Varek Smolden.
He never broke his word.
Not once.
Relief quietly spread through the courtyard.
"Fate follows its own course," Varek murmured. "Cause and consequence were decided long ago. That child… let him go."
Isara stood there silently for a long while.
Finally, Dreamgate spun once through the air and slid back into its sheath.
"Come," she said softly.
The women of Vane's Summit followed her away in silence.
Rovan Ashford bowed respectfully first toward Varek, then toward Lyra.
Afterward he ordered the demon hunters to lift the heavily wounded Hadrian Corvel before quickly leading his men down the mountain.
Soon only Lyra remained.
The beautiful Shreve stood beside the meditating elder with narrowed eyes full of suspicion.
"You aren't leaving?" Varek asked without opening his eyes.
Lyra smiled sweetly.
"I thought I'd keep Elder-Uncle company awhile."
She softly recited another incantation.
The Stone Colossus dissolved back into pale mist and vanished.
"You think I'll secretly chase after the little fox?" Varek asked blandly.
"Of course not," Lyra answered casually. "Everyone knows Elder-Uncle always keeps his word."
But despite her playful tone, her beautiful eyes remained fixed firmly on him.
Varek Smolden said nothing more.
He sat cross-legged amid the shattered courtyard stones like an old statue abandoned by time itself. Smoke drifted lazily around his shoulders. The white dragon-shape of his Vitae had faded, but the air still carried the sting of thunder and burnt blood.
Lyra Farrow's suspicion slowly eased.
Slowly.
Not completely.
"Well," she said lightly, smoothing a loose strand of dark hair behind one ear, "I suppose I shouldn't disturb Elder-Uncle's meditation."
She turned to leave.
Then suddenly stopped.
Something felt wrong.
Lyra glanced back.
Her beautiful eyes narrowed.
Several strands of hair atop Varek's head were moving.
Not from wind.
There was no wind.
Those pale strands floated upward faintly, stirred by something impossibly fast cutting through the air around him.
Lyra's expression changed at once.
"Elder-Uncle, you—!"
Varek neither answered nor moved.
At that exact instant, a thin flash of white lightning flickered above him.
Silent.
Sharp.
Then it vanished into the distant horizon.
Lyra's pupils contracted.
"Oh, you old monster…"
Her body rose into the air like a startled immortal.
A streak of flowing silk and violet light shot across the night sky as she pursued the fleeing white flash.
---
Kael stumbled out of Emerald Rest like a drunk walking after a funeral.
His head buzzed.
His chest felt hollow.
Everything around him sounded distant, muffled, unreal.
He stopped on a lonely rise outside the estate and stood there stupidly for a while, staring blankly into nothing. The revelation still rang in his skull like a hammer strike.
Demonic offspring.
Shadow Fox bloodline.
Every word felt impossible.
Every word felt poisonous.
At last, moving almost on instinct, he pulled the Griffin Carriage from his Wardian Satchel and climbed aboard. The four horned beasts stamped impatiently against the ground.
Kael grabbed the reins.
Then lashed the sky viciously with the Eight-Claw Flamescourge.
The fire-whip exploded with a crack like a snapping dragon spine.
The beasts shrieked and launched forward.
The carriage flew from Mirekeep like a meteor.
Wind screamed past Kael's face.
The city vanished behind him in moments.
"How the hell did things turn into this…" he muttered hoarsely.
Pain twisted in his chest.
"Sixth Elder-Uncle's gone senile. If he wanted to accuse me of sleeping around with demon women, fine. I'd admit that one myself. But saying I'm some monster's bastard?"
He clenched the reins tighter.
"The Wandering Fox was some ancient terror gods were scared of. What's that got to do with me?"
Yet even as he said it, doubt crawled into him.
He remembered Isara's face.
Lyra's reaction.
The way everyone had looked at the mark on his stomach.
And the strange thing hidden inside his navel ever since childhood.
Fear slowly spread through him.
His thoughts tangled into knots.
The Griffin Carriage thundered blindly onward for nearly an hour before Kael suddenly heard roaring water ahead.
He blinked.
Only then realizing how far he had traveled.
The great mire-sea stretched endlessly before him beneath the darkening sky. Waves rolled like moving mountains beneath curtains of silver mist.
The carriage had reached the edge of the Dread Mire itself.
Kael pulled the reins.
The beasts slowed near a cliff overlooking the endless black water.
He climbed down slowly.
The wind smelled wet and cold.
Below him, the tide surged endlessly against jagged rocks. Far away, water and sky blended together into a single gray void without end.
For the first time in his life, Kael felt small.
Truly small.
The world suddenly seemed enormous and empty and cruel beyond measure.
He stood there staring at the horizon while emotions churned inside him like the sea below.
"They keep calling me a monster…" he whispered.
His throat tightened.
"If I'm really some demon's son…"
His voice cracked.
"Then who was my mother?"
The thought hit harder than anything else.
Was she a monster too?
Was that why Isara had hidden everything?
Why she never let him ask questions?
Kael felt like he was suffocating.
The waves crashed harder below.
He looked around desperately, wanting answers from anyone.
But there was no one.
Only the endless black mire.
Only the cold wind.
Only him.
"Who are my parents?!" Kael suddenly roared toward the sea.
His voice echoed across the waters.
Then broke apart.
The next sound that came out of him was a choked sob.
Tears streamed down his face.
He didn't even realize he was crying until his vision blurred.
Then suddenly—
Lightning flashed across the distant sky.
A second later came a muffled rumble.
Kael barely noticed at first.
But the lightning came again.
And again.
Each flash brighter than the last.
Closer.
Thicker.
Like something enormous leaping through the heavens straight toward him.
Kael frowned.
He looked up.
The sky wasn't storming.
Clouds drifted lazily overhead beneath calm moonlight.
"No rain…" he muttered. "Then what the hell is—"
The lightning suddenly exploded directly in front of him.
A blinding white flash swallowed the cliffside.
Kael cried out and shut his eyes instinctively.
Pain stabbed across his skin like a thousand needles.
Danger screamed through every nerve in his body.
He launched backward instantly.
Ember Dash
Fire burst beneath his feet as he flashed away in a shower of sparks.
Yet something still chased him.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kael retreated again and again, skidding over broken stone before finally stopping over thirty feet away.
The light weakened.
Kael opened his eyes.
And froze.
A creature crouched several yards away.
Three feet tall.
Hairless skull.
Pointed ears.
Green glowing eyes.
Long yellow fangs.
Sparse gray fur covered parts of its exposed flesh while golden armor wrapped the rest of its body.
In its left hand rested a heavy rectangular shield engraved with strange thunder sigils.
In its right hand hung a long purple chain crackling with electric light.
Both shield and chain radiated eerie violet glow.
The thing looked savage.
Ancient.
Wrong.
Kael stared at it.
"What in the nine hells…"
The creature stared back silently with murderous eyes.
Its expression looked strangely vacant.
Like a weapon waiting for orders.
Then the chain shot forward.
Kael dodged sideways instantly.
At the same moment, the Eight-Claw Flamescourge spiraled from his sleeve with a howl of fire.
The dragon-whip smashed toward the creature.
The monster raised its shield.
Whip and shield collided.
Thunder exploded.
Flames and lightning erupted together in a violent shockwave.
The creature staggered back two steps.
Kael's whip rebounded violently upward.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Strong.
Very strong.
The creature whipped its arm again.
The purple chain screamed through the air like living lightning.
Kael met it head-on.
Whip and chain clashed repeatedly across the cliffside.
Sparks exploded everywhere.
"Another one of those skeleton freaks?" Kael muttered through gritted teeth. "No… this thing feels different…"
The chain fought strangely.
Its movements resembled his own whip techniques in some ways—flexible, unpredictable, vicious—but the creature wielded it with eerie precision.
Soon Kael's competitive instincts ignited.
"Fine then."
His eyes sharpened.
"Let's see who's better."
Fire dragons and purple lightning tore across the cliffside.
Grass exploded from the earth.
Trees shattered.
Boulders cracked apart under stray impacts.
Thunder boomed continuously across the shoreline.
The battle grew fiercer by the second.
Dozens of exchanges passed.
Still neither side gained advantage.
Kael's frustration mounted rapidly.
Then suddenly a thought struck him.
The Eight-Claw Flamescourge contained the refined marrow-sinew of a true flame dragon. Its greatest strength was binding and entrapment.
Why not steal the creature's weapon outright?
Kael formed a quick hand sigil.
The moment the purple chain lashed toward him again, he snapped his whip forward.
The Flamescourge twisted violently through the air like a hunting serpent.
The instant chain and whip collided, the fire-whip coiled around the purple chain with brutal force.
Like a dragon crushing prey.
Locked.
Kael grinned savagely.
"Got you."
But the creature showed no fear at all.
Instead it planted its feet and twisted its wrist sharply, directly contesting Kael's strength.
"You're dead now!" Kael snarled.
He poured force into the whip.
Then suddenly—
Something surged through the Flamescourge.
Kael's fingers went numb instantly.
"What—?"
The paralysis spread into his wrist before he could react.
Kael's expression changed violently.
Lightning.
The chain itself carried some horrifying sealing power.
For a split second he hesitated over whether to release the whip.
Too late.
The numbness exploded through his arm and into his chest.
His Vitae circulation collapsed instantly.
The chain yanked hard.
Kael's body flew forward helplessly.
The creature twisted upward with frightening speed and appeared above him.
The purple chain spun around Kael's body over and over.
Binding him tightly.
The moment the chain touched his flesh, violent numbness spread everywhere.
It felt like freezing poison entering every vein.
His limbs stopped responding.
Even his heartbeat weakened.
The creature landed.
Then shot away in a streak of lightning while dragging Kael behind it through the air like a captured animal.
Kael's feet left the ground completely.
Flight.
The thing was actually flying.
"Let him go!"
A woman's furious voice rang across the sky.
Silk fluttered.
A graceful figure descended ahead of the creature.
Lyra Farrow.
The monster remained silent.
It simply raised its shield and charged.
Lyra didn't evade.
Her hands formed elegant sigils.
A pale violet sphere burst forward and smashed into the shield.
Boom.
The creature flew backward violently.
Lyra immediately lunged toward Kael.
The monster reacted instantly.
With a violent yank of the chain, it pulled Kael back beside itself and rammed the shield toward Lyra again.
Lyra missed her grab and turned to counterattack instead.
This time she attacked seriously.
Wind.
Thunder.
Fire.
Lightning.
The powers of the Lesser Four-Sign Art erupted together like a natural disaster.
Storms screamed across the cliffside.
Bolts of lightning and burning currents engulfed the creature from every direction.
The sheer pressure made Kael's skin crawl.
The creature staggered repeatedly beneath the bombardment, battered left and right.
But the purple shield absorbed everything.
Not a scratch appeared on it.
The defense was airtight.
Even worse, stray impacts blasted into Kael through the chain connection, making his blood churn painfully.
Lyra's attacks finally slowed.
Her breathing grew ragged.
Then suddenly she pulled a glowing violet hairpin from her dark hair.
The moment it appeared, the air itself seemed to tense.
"You hairy little bastard," Lyra said coldly. "Release him now, or I'll erase you where you stand."
The Violet Aurochs Pin
The creature merely watched her silently.
Its eyes remained fixed on the pin.
Kael's heart leapt with relief.
Shreve Lyra was finally using her real weapon.
That damned goblin thing was finished.
But seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
Lyra didn't throw the pin.
Kael blinked.
"What's she waiting for?"
The creature also remained motionless.
Both sides stood perfectly still.
Then Kael realized the problem.
The chain.
If Lyra missed—
Or if the pin pierced through both target and captive—
Her eyes flicked toward him briefly.
Kael understood immediately.
She was afraid of hitting him.
By now the numbness had spread nearly through his entire body. He could barely feel his hands anymore.
Kael forced his mouth open.
He wanted to tell her not to hesitate.
To just kill the thing.
But no sound came out.
Lyra saw his pale face growing worse.
Her own face turned whiter too.
Then suddenly she moved.
She launched upward through the air directly over the creature.
No techniques.
No elemental attacks.
Nothing.
The creature, pressured into constant defense until now, finally struck first.
The shield smashed upward toward her.
Lyra dove straight toward it.
As if intending to collide with the divine shield using her bare body.
The creature committed fully to the attack.
And for the first time—
A flaw appeared in its defense.
Lyra's slender waist bent impossibly in midair.
Her body drifted sideways like a celestial dancer moving through water.
Her sleeves swept gracefully.
A soft invisible current slipped through the opening in the shield defense.
The Lesser Four-Sign Art
The hidden strike landed perfectly.
A subtle movement.
Barely visible.
Yet devastatingly precise.
The creature suddenly jerked.
Its grip loosened.
Kael flew free from the chain.
Lyra caught him instantly in midair.
Joy flashed across her eyes—
Then vanished.
The moment she touched the chain wrapped around Kael, paralysis shot violently into her hand.
Lyra's face changed.
"Faster than I thought…"
"L-let go…" Kael groaned weakly.
Lyra ignored him completely.
She immediately circulated her Vitae to resist the invading force.
It didn't matter.
The numbness climbed through her arm relentlessly.
Her chest suddenly spasmed.
Her Vitae flow broke.
Both of them were violently dragged downward by the chain.
"Let go of me!" Kael shouted desperately.
But Lyra only tightened her arm around him harder.
Without the slightest hesitation.
The creature surged upward with terrifying speed.
Shield forward.
Like a thunderbolt descending from heaven.
Lyra saw it coming.
At the last instant, she twisted her body forcibly and shoved Kael aside.
The purple shield crashed into her back.
The impact sounded like a mountain collapsing.
Blood exploded from Lyra's lips.
Both of them flew through the air like broken leaves.
A spray of bright scarlet blood scattered across the dark sky.