Chapter 42: He produced a famous sword Siming

“You… you don’t come any closer!”

Rufus’s instinctive fear of the legendary “witch” immediately overwhelmed him when he saw Celes, now completely blackened and exuding an ominous aura.

He involuntarily took a step back, his voice trembling as he stammered incoherently.

At this moment, Celes’s rationality had long been consumed by endless sorrow and violent murderous intent.

Her hollow dark blue eyes focused solely on Rufus’s figure.

Only one thought filled her mind—utterly destroy the human who had killed Aiden right before her.

She advanced step by step with the slow, resolute gait of a grim reaper descending, uttering chilling murmurs that sounded like delirious whispers.

“K-k-kill… you…”

Seeing that Celes wasn’t launching a fierce attack immediately but instead pressing forward steadily, Rufus’s eyes darted anxiously.

Survival instinct overwhelmed all else, and he decided to strike first.

“Die!”

He quickly raised both hands, condensing two blazing fireballs in his palms.

Using the last of his magic power, he hurled them viciously at Celes.

However, just as the two powerful fireballs were about to hit her, a dark blue ice shield suddenly formed around her body as if it had a will of its own.

Rufus’s fireballs smashed against it but didn’t even cause the slightest ripple.

Like snow thrown into a furnace, they silently vanished without a splash.

“Damn…”

Rufus’s face turned deathly pale, cold sweat soaking his back instantly.

Because of the fierce battle with Aiden just now, his magic was heavily depleted.

He was no longer able to summon the life-saving flame armor again.

Gritting his teeth, he painfully condensed a smaller Flame Greatsword.

Using all his remaining strength, he threw it like a spear toward Celes, hoping to stop her advance.

Of course, Rufus wasn’t stupid; he knew it wouldn’t actually hurt Celes in her current state.

His true intention was to use the light and smoke from the Flame Greatsword’s explosion to obscure her vision.

The moment he released the Flame Greatsword, Rufus didn’t hesitate—he turned around and burst forth with unprecedented speed, desperately running toward the edge of the Barrier Wall.

Not far ahead, a single-person Exit was slowly opening on the purple Barrier Wall.

Watching the exit draw nearer, the expression of extreme fear twisted on Rufus’s face gradually shifted to one of victorious relief and ruthless cunning.

As long as he escaped this Barrier, the blackened Celes would naturally be dealt with by the Academy’s High-rank Mages and disciplinary committee.

After everyone witnessed Celes in her true “witch” form, Rufus’s prior “exposure of the witch” would be seen as foresight.

This would not only completely reverse his reputation but might even allow him to return to the ranks of the “Seven Stars.”

But just when Rufus was only a step away from the Exit, his face already gleaming with the joy of imminent victory, a dark blue ice spear emanating a chilling coldness fell from above like a judgment spear from the abyss—completely unexpected.

Pshhh.

The spear pierced ruthlessly and precisely through Rufus’s right knee.

“Ah—!”

Rufus let out a piercing scream and instantly lost balance, crashing heavily to the ground.

Clutching the spear-pierced leg, he writhed in agony.

Then a second ice spear followed immediately, clanging as it pinned his left arm to the cold ground.

Then the third, fourth…

Sharp ice spears rained down like raindrops, accurately piercing his limb joints and clothes, pinning him down like a specimen, completely immobilized.

“Damn… damn it!”

Rufus’s face twisted in agony and defiance, blood gushing from the wounds and staining the ground beneath him red.

He struggled wildly, only worsening his injuries.

Just a few steps away!

Just a few steps and he could escape alive, turn the tide!

Why?!

The next second, a cold shadow already enveloped him.

Celes’s ghostly figure silently appeared before him.

She lowered her head, expressionless, watching Rufus writhe on the ground like a maggot.

Her hollow dark blue eyes showed no emotion—as if staring at something long dead.

In Rufus’s terrified gaze, Celes slowly raised her arm, fingertips gathering a deadly chill.

“Celes! Calm down! Listen to me! If you kill me, you’ll prove you really are the witch! You don’t want to be isolated and hunted by everyone again, right?! If you let me go, I swear on my House’s name—I’ll help clear your name and get you back into the Academy! We can cooperate!”

Rufus, sensing death’s approach, ignored the pain and screamed hoarsely in a final desperate plea.

Celes’s face remained impassive, as if she didn’t hear his bargaining and coaxing.

Without hesitation, she gently swiped her raised finger downward at him.

Shuu—!

Another sharp ice spear fell, carrying bone-chilling cold, piercing directly through Rufus’s abdomen.

Pfft—!

Rufus spat a mouthful of blood, spasming violently from the agony of ruptured organs.

The last trace of hope and calculation vanished from his face, replaced by pure, primal terror of death.

“N-no… don’t kill me! Please! I don’t want to die!!”

He helplessly stretched out a barely moving hand, clawing at the empty air with a desperate wail.

A cold, powerless feeling rapidly spread through his body.

This was the sign that life was rapidly slipping away—death’s aura closing in.

Could it be… I, Rufus… really going to die here?

Die at the hands of this woman?

Die just a step away from success?

“I won’t accept this!!!”

Rufus let out one last howl filled with hatred and unwillingness.

Almost simultaneously, an ice spear descended with the force of final judgment, crashing into his chest and piercing his heart.

His body convulsed violently, eyes bulged bloodshot.

Finally, his head slumped limply, life extinguished.

Even the warm blood flowing from his body quickly froze into red frost upon contact with the surrounding extreme cold.

Yet, this was far from over.

No mercy showed on Celes’s face—only a deathly coldness and frenzied murderous intent.

Like a tireless machine of vengeance, she repeatedly raised her hand, summoning one sharp dark blue ice spear after another, mercilessly striking the now unrecognizable corpse on the ground.

Though Rufus was long dead, his body mangled beyond recognition, she refused to stop.

“How dare… how dare you take Aiden…”

With every ice spear strike, Celes let out a savage, wounded beast-like roar, her voice broken and desperate.

“Give him back to me! Give him back to me—!”

Clearly, Aiden’s death had driven Celes into madness’s abyss.

Only endless destruction could somewhat ease the soul-wrenching pain inside her.

Meanwhile, Ruby was pacing anxiously nearby.

“It’s over, it’s over! Master is dead! Celes is completely blackened! The mission is a total failure! My life… my entire fate is over! Waaaah…”

She flew around Aiden’s “lifeless” body, clutching her head with tiny hands.

Despair was written all over her face as she muttered in a sobbing voice.

But the next second, Ruby suddenly froze midair, as if someone had pressed pause.

She could hardly believe her eyes—Aiden, who should have been dead, slowly, albeit with some effort, sat up from the ground.

Sitting there, he scratched his messy hair, then glanced down at the wound on his chest that should have been fatal.

Although covered in blood, the skin underneath had already fully healed.

“Hiss… that stab really hurt, huh…”

“Ma-Ma-Master?! What… what’s going on?! You, you weren’t… supposed to be… dead?!”

Ruby was so shocked she nearly fell from the air.

She darted in front of Aiden, pointing at his chest with trembling fingers, babbling incoherently.

Aiden looked at Ruby’s stunned expression, unable to suppress a sly smile at the corners of his mouth.

He raised a finger elegantly to his lips, making a “shhh” gesture.

In a teasing tone, he said softly:

“Mute the world and listen to the sound of the Named Blade breaking.”

As Aiden’s words fell, Ruby keenly heard a very faint yet unmistakably clear sound of glass shattering coming from him.

Her pupils dilated, disbelief spreading across her face.

She quickly accessed the system and checked the Illustrated Guide related to it.

Seconds later, she suddenly covered her mouth with her small hands, unable to suppress a startled exclamation.

“Ma-Master has obtained a Named Blade Simi!”