NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32: Bloody Fight
The void still trembled after the Avatar Collective's bodies had disintegrated into cosmic dust. I stood in the center of the crater of destruction, my new gauntlet—Noa Genesis—still pulsing with rainbow-black light. I sighed. "The battle ends here…"
My dark wings spread, and I slowly stepped toward another battlefield. The aura of blood and holy light mingled in the air, creating a piercing metallic stench. In the distance, the sound of clashing metal rang out brutally.
CLANG! CLASH! CRACK!
I saw Selena, her body covered in wounds, but her icy blue eyes gleaming wildly. The ice halberd in her hand danced with barbaric movements, each swing leaving a frozen trail of blood. The opponent before her—the only female Paladin of the group—was still holding her ground with a glowing shield and holy sword. Her body was covered in cuts, but she didn't falter.
"Demon… you will never touch humanity again!" she cried, blood dripping from her lips.
Selena simply smiled coldly, then spun her halberd.
[GLACIAL CLEAVE]
The swing slammed into the shield of light, sending a blinding explosion of ice and light. The paladin's body slammed into the rubble of the house. I stepped closer, but before I could enter the fray, there was a loud scraping sound behind me.
SCREAM… SCREAM…
I turned. Rena was walking slowly toward me. Her face was a cold smile, her long black hair fluttering in the wind. In her hands, she dragged the body of one of the dead male paladins. His holy armor was full of cracks, his helmet shattered, his face mangled. The body dragged along the ground, leaving a long trail of blood that led to my feet.
"It's all over for me, My Lord," Rena said softly, as if preparing a gift. She then threw the body to the ground, right in front of my feet.
SLAM!
I stared at the carcass for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Good. At least one of those hounds of light knows what it's like to be prey."
Selena and the female paladin faced each other again. The paladin, named Lyanna, rose from the rubble, her holy armor cracked in various places. Blood poured from the wound on her forehead, but her eyes still burned.
"I am Lyanna Brightblade, Templar of the Sacred Dawn!" she shouted, raising her sword, which still glinted white. "By the eternal light, I will end you, monster!"
Selena spun her ice halberd in one hand, the male paladin's head perched on the tip swaying gently. "Templar? Funny. I've killed hundreds like you." Her blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "But you... you'll be the one who hurts the most."
Lyanna shot forward at high speed, her sword flashing like white lightning.
[DIVINE SLASH]
—a strike that could split mountains. But Selena had anticipated this. She spun around and slammed her halberd into the ground.
[ABSOLUTE ZERO DOMAIN]
Within a 50-meter radius, the temperature plummeted. The ground froze, the air turning into ice crystals. Lyanna's movements suddenly slowed, her breath forming thick white clouds.
"What... is this?" Lyanna staggered, her body beginning to freeze from the toes.
"My domain," Selena replied, taking a leisurely step. Each step left a crackling trail of ice. "In here, I am the god of death."
Lyanna tried to maintain her holy aura, a white light enveloping her body to counteract the cold. But Selena had already moved. Her halberd spun like a death-claw.
WHOOSH! CRACK!
The tip of the halberd struck Lyanna's left rib, shattering three bones at once. But that wasn't all—ice began to spread from the point of contact, freezing her flesh and blood from the inside.
"ARRRGGHHH!" Lyanna screamed in pain, but she struck back with her sword.
[SACRED JUDGMENT]
A blinding white light exploded from her sword, cutting through Selena's ice domain. The strike struck Selena's right shoulder, burning her skin and leaving a gaping burn.
"Hngh!" Selena took a step back, black blood dripping from the wound. But she smiled even wider.
"Good… it's been a long time since anyone has been able to hurt me."
Selena's blue eyes turned blood red. Her dark aura exploded, mingling with the power of ice that froze the air. She shed her last emotional mask, revealing her true nature as a sadistic demon.
"Now… let's play for real," she whispered, her voice echoing like it came from the abyss of hell.
[ETERNAL WINTER'S WRATH]
Selena swung her halberd in a complex spiral pattern. Each swing sent sharp blades of ice flying in all directions. Lyanna tried to dodge and block with her shield, but there were too many attacks at once.
SLASH! SLASH! CRACK!
Three blades of ice sliced through her left arm, tearing through armor and flesh. A fourth struck her thigh, freezing the muscles around the wound. Lyanna fell to her knees, her blood freezing as soon as it hit the ground.
"Can you still stand?" Selena asked, walking over. "I'm not done playing yet."
With a brutal move, Selena plunged the tip of her halberd into Lyanna's left hand, which was holding the shield.
CRACK! SPLOTCH!
The ice spread rapidly, freezing blood and nerves. Lyanna screamed hysterically as she felt her hand freeze from the inside. But even more terrifying—Selena began spinning her halberd, like a drill.
CRUNCH… CRUNCH…
The sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh mixed with Lyanna's screams. Selena continued twisting sadistically, savoring every second of her opponent's agony.
"Feel this… the same pain you inflict on innocent demons," Selena whispered hatefully.
Lyanna had lost a lot of blood, but she still fought back with her free right hand. Her sword trembled faintly, but it still glinted white.
"I… won't… give up…" she muttered breathlessly.
"Oh, I know," Selena replied, ripping her halberd from her left hand. "That's why this will be fun."
Selena then swung the hilt of her halberd at Lyanna's ribs.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Three bones broke at once. Lyanna vomited blood, her body convulsing in pain. But Selena wasn't done yet. She held Lyanna's face with her left hand, ice spreading across the paladin's cheeks and forehead.
"Watch me as I take your life," Selena whispered, bringing her face closer. "I want to see the light in your eyes slowly fade."
With her right hand, Selena raised her halberd high, the tip aimed directly at Lyanna's heart. But instead of stabbing directly, she inserted the tip just a few centimeters, then paused.
SQUELCH…
"Feel the cold?" Selena smiled broadly as she watched Lyanna's body tremble. "This ice will slowly spread to your heart. You'll feel it every second."
Lyanna tried to speak, but only blood came out of her mouth. Her eyes were beginning to blur, but she still stared at Selena with a mixture of hatred and fear.
After several minutes of torture, Selena finally grew tired. She withdrew her halberd and stood up. Lyanna lay limp, barely conscious from blood loss and hypothermia.
"Time for the finale," Selena said, raising her halberd with both hands.
But instead of finishing her off, Selena aimed for Lyanna's half-frozen left hand.
[SEVERING ICE EDGE]
With one brutal swing, the ice halberd severed Lyanna's left wrist right where it connected to her arm. It was a clean cut, but the ice immediately sealed the wound, making it less fatal.
THUD!
The severed hand fell to the ground, still clutching the cracked shield. Lyanna screamed at the top of her lungs, a sound that echoed throughout the battlefield.
"AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Selena stood, licking the blood from the tip of her halberd. "Experience life without your dominant hand, Paladin. Maybe you'll remember not to interfere with our affairs again."
She then kicked Lyanna's convulsing body, sending the paladin tumbling several meters.
"If you survive until dawn… consider it a final mercy from the demon," Selena said as she turned to leave.
Lyanna lay in a pool of her own blood, her left hand missing, her body covered in frozen wounds. She was still alive, but the physical and mental trauma she had endured would haunt her forever.
I, witnessing all this, could only smile faintly. Selena was indeed sadistic, but effective. The paladin would live as a warning to others—this is what happens when they dare challenge the forces of darkness.
"An interesting show," I murmured, clapping my hands softly.
Selena turned to me, her face still filled with madness. "My Lord, did you enjoy it?"
"Very much. Especially the part where you let him live without his arm. That was… artistic."
Rena, standing beside me, nodded in agreement. "Prolonged suffering is indeed more effective than instant death."