Clang! Clang! Slash—!
At the same time, within the darkness.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Celestia gave a sharp cry and suddenly leaped up, a more solid spear of radiance condensing in her hand.
However, her target was not the man wielding the blade.
Instead, she pivoted the tip of her spear and thrust it directly toward the viscous boundary of darkness that was slowly closing overhead.
That was the “Evernight Veil,” a talent domain magic belonging to a follower of the God of Gloom.
Once this kind of domain was fully formed, it would not only significantly enhance the caster’s power but also continuously suppress and weaken the strength of light followers like her.
Furthermore, it could isolate all sound and movement, turning the area into a perfect hunting cage.
Therefore, she naturally had to prevent it from forming, even though she felt there was little hope.
Crack—
A dazzling, holy brilliance erupted from the tip of the spear like a small sun exploding, slamming into the darkness of the boundary!
Light and dark, two opposing forces, collided violently.
A terrifying explosion rang out, illuminating the entire area in an instant!
However, Celestia’s expression suddenly shifted.
She felt the power of her full-strength strike disappear like a clay ox entering the sea, failing to even shake the darkness.
On the contrary, the darkness actually absorbed part of the radiant energy from her attack, and the speed at which it closed increased!
‘He has helpers in the dark providing magic support… he isn’t consuming his own power to maintain the barrier!’
Celestia instantly understood the key to the situation, and her heart sank.
The enemy was well-prepared; there was more than one person!
She spun around abruptly, holding her spear horizontally in front of her in full alert.
By now, the corridor was completely shrouded in viscous darkness, isolated from everything outside.
“Hehe, Your Highness is perceptive. Welcome to… the Eternal Night!”
The man vanished from his spot!
The next instant.
Clang—!
The sound of clashing metal rang out, and sparks flew in the absolute darkness!
A sharp blade emerged silently from the shadows behind Celestia, pointing straight at the center of her back, only to be precisely parried by her spear of radiance, which she had swung back just in time!
Extremely sharp and alert, Celestia activated her own talented God-blessed magic to predict the direction of the attack.
She twisted her lithe body and swept the spear of radiance across, blocking the direct thrust of the blade.
Then, the great battle erupted!
Two figures, one bright and one dark, instantly fell into a life-and-death struggle.
Energy collided and martial techniques clashed within the darkness!
“Astel, the Shadow Follower…”
Celestia parried a tricky diagonal thrust and used the momentum to spin.
Her spear was like a dragon swinging its tail as it swept toward the opponent’s waist and abdomen.
Even in the heat of battle, her voice remained cold and majestic.
“To sneak into the ducal estate of my kingdom and set up the Evernight Veil for an assassination… you certainly are bold!”
Clang! Astel’s body felt light as air as he retreated half a step.
The blade in his hand swung at a bizarre angle, parrying the sweeping shaft of the spear.
He laughed softly, his voice gentle, but his pitch-black eyes, which lacked any whites, were freezing cold.
“Your Highness exaggerates.”
He flicked his wrist, and a gloomy mist suddenly coiled around the spear’s body.
Simultaneously, he held his other hand out with his fingers slightly curled, summoning shadow arrows that shot in from all directions.
“I am merely… a reminder. The radiance you spread is far too blinding, so much so that it might burn away order itself.”
“Ridiculous.”
The radiance around Celestia’s body surged, shattering all the darkness.
The broken arrows flew backward, leaving countless tiny holes in the corridor walls.
“You desire to use your radiance to illuminate every corner and dispel every shadow, but have you ever considered that some things are born in the shadows and grow in the silence?”
“Excessive light brings not warmth, but burns, imbalance, and even… destruction.”
Astel’s tone was calm.
His form melted into the darkness, flowing freely to dodge the rapid thrusts of the spear.
He then “flowed” to Celestia’s side and rear, swinging his blade toward her neck!
“Imbalance? Destruction?”
Celestia acted as if she had eyes in the back of her head.
Without turning, she thrust her spear backward.
Holy radiant energy condensed into a single point and suddenly exploded, forming a small-scale radiant shockwave that forced Astel to drift back once more.
The holy radiance rose from the surface of her body, struggling to resist the suppression of the Evernight Veil as she fought against the surrounding darkness.
“Those are nothing more than excuses you find for your crimes that cannot face the light.”
“Excuses?”
Astel shook his head, as if he had heard an extremely amusing joke.
“Your Highness, the crimes in your eyes might simply be another type of order in a world that your radiance-blinded eyes cannot understand.”
“Radiance may be dazzling, but it can only shine for a fleeting moment. In this world, only the gloom is eternal. You have overstepped.”
Celestia let out a cold sneer.
“Nothing but sophistry. I can’t be bothered to reason with dregs like you. You aren’t worthy of hearing it.”
Boom!
Radiance and gloom, spear and blade, continued to collide, leaving the luxurious corridor in a state of absolute ruin.
Tapestries were shredded, the walls were covered in cracks, and the magnificent carpet was reduced to ash.
From time to time, stray light arrows or shadow fragments struck the surrounding pillars and decorations, shattering them.
The two figures intertwined, their speed increasing as their power continued to rise, engaged in a life-and-death struggle!
In the darkness, light bloomed continuously, only to be worn down and swallowed an instant later.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the battle was equally intense.
Lovella Wayne’s breath was slightly ragged, and her eyes were filled with anxiety and pain.
This was because her opponent was the old butler who had served the ducal estate for decades—Robert.
The old man had always been steady and reliable, having watched the two siblings grow up.
Now, he had been corrupted by cultists.
His eyes showed only whites, his face was distorted, and the nails on his hands were black and sharp.
With immense strength, he continuously brought forth a foul wind as he swung at Lovella.
Lovella’s combat style was very unique.
There were no visible fluctuations of magic or battle qi on her body.
Instead, she used various pure elemental crystals stored in her spatial ring, chanting or forming hand seals to cast different spells.
At the same time, she held a shortsword engraved with magic runes that granted it properties like sharpness and magic-breaking.
“Uncle Robert, please wake up!”
Lovella’s movements were agile.
She wore a special magic accessory that made her unafraid of the darkness.
Her footwork was like a butterfly fluttering through flowers as she dodged her opponent’s attacks.
At the same time, she called out repeatedly, trying to wake the old man’s consciousness.
“Heh… it’s useless.”
The possessed butler spoke, his voice hoarse and unpleasant, sounding as if it were mixed with the buzzing of insects.
“The old man is awake. He can see everything, he just can’t move. He can only watch helplessly as he tears you to pieces. How entertaining…”
The parasite laughed as it lunged forward, its pitch-black claws sweeping across.
Simultaneously, it began to chant in a non-human language!
A wave of energy surged out, cold and filthy, condensing in the air behind it to form the phantom of a giant, monstrous insect!
The monster insect screeched, its wings flapping at an incredible speed as it dove toward the black-haired girl.
“The eldest young lady does not need to be anxious. In our Holy Church, the Bishop personally gave the order to invite you and young Master Evan to be guests at our Holy Cathedral.”
“If I remember correctly, the young lady and the young master… have not reunited with the Duke and Duchess for a long time, have you?”
“After all, the two lords are stationed at the border year-round and have taken great care of the brothers and sisters in our Holy Church. Their blood-stained grace is deep indeed.”
“Our Holy Church never forgets to repay kind karma. This time, we shall use the young lady and the young master as gifts to give the Duke and Duchess a surprise.”
The cultist let out a cackling laugh, continuously speaking to provoke the black-haired girl.
However, Lovella’s face remained as calm as still water, showing no emotional fluctuations whatsoever.
She raised her shortsword, and several wind magic runes lit up on the blade.
With a clang, the pitch-black claws were parried.
She used the momentum to drift backward gracefully, avoiding the impact of the giant insect phantom.
Lovella raised her hand, her spatial ring flashing as elemental crystals released various types of magical energy.
She chanted, her syllables unique and beautiful.
Meanwhile, her other hand was nimble, forming seals with a single hand.
The movements were smooth, rapid, and displayed incredible proficiency!
[Flame Spear Piercing]
[Ice Thorn Cage]
Boom! Crack!
Two different attributes of magical energy were controlled simultaneously. Several icy thorns appeared!
The icy thorns intertwined like pythons, encircling Lovella and blocking a strike from the flying insect phantom.
Then, they exploded directly, blowing the phantom away.
At the same time, a fiery red flame spear condensed and tore through the air, slamming hard into the insect phantom.
A violent elemental explosion tore through the darkness!
Lovella spoke, her voice ice-cold.
“You are nothing more than a group of maggots that only deserve to live in the sewers. You had better pray that your operation succeeds.”
“After tonight, I swear in my family’s name that I will use every ounce of my power to wash you all in blood. I will slaughter you all until not even a dog is left.”
“Oh my, I’m absolutely terrified. But I’m afraid the young lady won’t have that chance.”
The parasite laughed strangely and lunged once more!
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.