NOVEL NEXT Chapter 118: Southern Frontline
Seraphina strode back to where Vega lay, her hands coiled behind her as she gently lifted Vega's upper body. "Hey, Vega, stand up," she urged, her voice laced with concern. But as she reached to support her, her heart clenched at the sight, Vega's right leg, the same one she had used to deflect the energy blast, was fractured.
A shadow of sorrow draped over Seraphina's face, her expression tightening like a mask of grief.
"It's okay," Vega reassured her, offering a weak smile despite the pain. "You know how our bodies heal. It won't take long. Just a matter of time before I can stand properly again."
A single tear slipped down Seraphina's cheek, falling onto Vega's clothes like a droplet of regret. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I should have acted more like a leader… not like a child."
The air shifted abruptly. "Will you keep it quiet?" Vega snapped, her voice sharp, yet carrying a hint of amusement. "It's just a broken bone, not my last breath." She fixed Seraphina with a firm gaze, her tone unwavering. "And if you feel responsible, then act like a leader. The war is far from over! Or do you plan to sit here wasting time until we're fried by those beasts?"
Seraphina wiped her tears away, rubbing the back of her arm across her face. A flicker of determination ignited in her eyes.
"Then wait," she said, her voice low yet resolute. "I'll show you the strength of the one you serve."
Vega's lips curled into a knowing smile. "As expected of his daughter," she murmured.
Seraphina's face instantly flushed. "Stop bringing that man up," she grumbled, standing to her feet. With her fists clenched tightly, she turned back toward the battlefield.
"You don't have to hold back or worry about me," Vega called after her. "They'll come to take me away soon anyway. Before that happens, let me witness your resolve."
A moment of silence fell between them, the wind swirling dust in small spirals around their feet.
Seraphina exhaled sharply, grounding herself. "Humph." Her gauntlet-clad fists tightened at her sides, her body coiled like a spring ready to release. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, she charged forward to support Kal, who had been fiercely battling the second beasts, creatures that had, somehow, regained fragments of their strength and sanity.
She funneled her energy into her right gauntlet, her entire arm radiating with condensed power. As she struck the earth with a force like a descending titan, the battlefield trembled beneath her, rippling outward like a furious beast awakening from slumber. The ground quivered beneath the sheer might of her attack, sending shockwaves rippling outward. The terrain itself rebelled, stones cracked, fissures tore open, throwing the beast off balance, their footing stolen by the chaotic upheaval of stone and dust.
Meanwhile, Kal, already airborne before Seraphina's strike, hovered in mid-air with his sword poised above him, His technique coiled around its blade engulfed in a searing aura. "Infernal Edge: Flame Surge Dash!"
A controlled explosion of fire erupted from the flaming side of his blade, the surge propelling his strike with even greater force. The weapon became a blinding streak of heat and steel as it cleaved through the beast's horn, shattering it with an earsplitting crack. But the devastation didn't end there, the blade's impact triggered a volatile reaction, sending a fiery pulse into the beast's crystal core. For a split second, there was silence.
Then, BOOM! The beast's head detonated in a dazzling burst of incandescent light. The brilliance of the blast seared through the battlefield, forcing Seraphina to raise her arms in defense, shielding her face as a wave of scorching air threatened to engulf her. Then came the sound, a deafening roar of destruction followed by a shockwave that sent Kal tumbling backward through the air, gritting his teeth. He barely managed to slow his momentum, stabbing the ground with the tip of his sword to drag himself to a halt as his boots scraped against the fractured terrain, carving deep marks into the earth until he finally slid to a halt., the earth beneath him burning from the remnants of his own flames. As the dust settled, a solemn hush blanketed the battlefield.
Suddenly, a chorus of weak yet rage-filled voices clawed at the air, yanking Kal and Seraphina's attention like a hook to the soul. Kal, who had just regained his footing, felt a shiver crawl down his spine, while Seraphina lowered her crossed arms from her face, her gaze shifting with a sharp edge of realization. Their eyes landed on the remaining eight Primordial Beasts, staggering back to their feet, their bodies battered yet still brimming with defiance. Their watery blue eyes, leaking silent streams of rage, glowed with an eerie glint, a haunting reminder that these creatures had yet to fall completely.
Without warning, the beasts unleashed a barrage of elemental beams from their horns, cutting through the air like a celestial storm bent on destruction. With no time to think, only instinct remained. Kal's body snapped into motion, striding to the right with calculated precision, while Seraphina lunged left, their movements guided by an unspoken rhythm. They leaped, somersaulted, and spun with razor-sharp agility, weaving through the chaos like leaves caught in a tempest. Each attack narrowly missed its mark, striking the earth behind them with violent force, leaving gaping, molten scars in the battlefield.
As they evaded the final barrage, both warriors shifted their weight, recalibrating their stances mid-motion. Their eyes met briefly mid-motion, a silent understanding passing between them before locked onto the approaching beasts, bodies coiling like taut springs, ready to unleash devastation.
Kal's grip on his Flame-Heat Duality Sword tightened, his immortal energy surging through the blade like an unrelenting tide. Fire roared to life along its edge, a writhing serpent of destruction. "Infernal Edge: Inferno Wave!" he roared. The flame side of the sword erupted, unleashing a massive, arcing wave of fire that devoured everything in its path. Simultaneously, the heat side released an invisible shockwave, warping the air with its intensity, destabilizing the battlefield. The ground beneath the beasts trembled as the sudden temperature fluctuations sent them stumbling, their balance stolen by the suffocating shift between blistering heat and searing flame.
Meanwhile, Seraphina's right gauntlet pulsed with divine brilliance, engulfed in her Saint Energy. Her eyes burned with unyielding resolve. "Mountain God's Crushing Fist: Eternal Summit Blow!" she bellowed, launching herself forward like a meteor, her fist aimed at the closest Primordial Rhino.
The moment her fist connected, a deafening explosion of force sent violent shockwaves crashing outward. The beast's massive form trembled, its organs ruptured beneath the unseen force of the attack. Its colossal body lifted off the ground, momentarily suspended in the air before it was mercilessly slammed onto its side, crashing into two of its kin with bone-crunching impact. Dust exploded from the ground in thick, choking clouds as the massive creature let out its final, fading groan.
Seraphina did not wait for the dust to settle. She surged into the air, her body twisting mid-leap as she zeroed in on another fallen beast. "Mountain God's Crushing Fist: Eternal Summit Blow!" she roared again, her clenched fist diving downward like divine judgment.
The force of her strike detonated the earth beneath the beast, sending chunks of debris skyward. The beast's tortured bellow was cut short as its massive frame was driven into the ground with an impact that left a gaping crater where it once stood. The tremor of its final breath echoed like a whisper of defeat.
As the dust slowly thinned, Seraphina stood hunched over, gasping for air, sweat gleaming on her brow. But before she could straighten, a shadow loomed over her, a beast poised to strike, its fangs gleaming with malevolent hunger.
Then, in an instant, it was gone.
The beast's skull caved inward with a sickening crunch before it could strike. Its massive body collapsed like a felled mountain. The earth trembled beneath the weight of another monstrous collapse. Seraphina turned, her breath catching in her throat as she saw Kal standing behind her, his sword still humming with residual energy. He had protected her blind spot, just in time.
Both warriors now stood side by side, their chests rising and falling in exhausted heaves. Their bodies screamed for rest, yet the battle was far from over.
Before them, the five remaining Primordial Beasts steadied themselves, their monstrous eyes flickering with rekindled rage. They advanced, slow but deliberate, their snarls vibrating through the air like the promise of an impending storm.
Kal and Seraphina exhaled sharply, their gazes locking for a brief, wordless moment.Seraphina tried to move, but her legs were already numb, drained of strength and trembling from sheer exhaustion, Beside her, Kal's body quivered. They had nearly reached their limits, yet surrender was not an option.
The beasts' eyes burned like molten embers, their heavy footfalls shaking the very ground beneath her.