Chapter 71: Broken Healing vs Grand Freeze (3)

After the blonde’s order, Lucian and Daniel hurried to finish off the weakened goblins.

Meanwhile, Ebony kept staring at Marcus, who, with a frown, began circling the girl like a beast stalking its prey.

But the blonde, not stupid in the slightest, did the same so she wouldn’t leave her back exposed. That way, both of them searched for a flicker of doubt in the other’s eyes.

“This rain trick, how did you do it? I don’t know anyone who could pull something like this off without being a mage, and you’re not one,” Marcus asked as the raindrops burned his skin and melted the snow across the entire citadel.

“It’s not that complicated, old man. Don’t you know about the great alchemists?” Ebony tried not to miss a single detail of the guy’s movements, but the pain on her skin was getting harder to ignore.

“Alchemist? What the hell is that? You’re some kind of necromancer, for sure. There’s a reason that head you were holding could talk even without its body,” Marcus said.

“Na, na, na. The head thing is something else. Besides, it’s only possible because that guy was a half-undead,” Ebony said mockingly.

Marcus smiled for a second. Even though they were enemies, he couldn’t help feeling sympathy for someone that brave, remembering for a moment his daughter, just as blonde, just as stubborn.

“A half-undead elf, a mixed-blood elf, and a Visitor… I think luck is smiling at me. Treasures just keep showing up at my door. My lord will be grateful,” the old man said.

“Only if your lord isn’t a lying traitor like you,” Ebony shot back with a mocking smile.

In an instant, Marcus lunged at the girl. His face was twisted with rage, offended to the core.

Ebony raised her forearms like a shield of flesh and bone, taking the old man’s furious punch.

In the blink of an eye, the blonde’s body went flying at high speed until she crashed straight through a stone house.

Inside, two goblins trembled in fear under the poisonous rain that had corroded their fur and burned their skin.

“Don’t you dare stain his name so lightly in front of me!” Marcus shouted as he rushed forward at high speed and, channeling magic into his left fist, tried to strike Ebony, who was on the ground.

But the blonde, rolling quickly, managed to dodge the impact, though not the ice spikes that burst from the floor and pierced her shoulder.

“I didn’t lie either, idiot. If you’re capable of lying and deceiving, what makes you think the other guy isn’t? In the end, everyone here looks out for their own interests, even that monkey you used to call brother!”

For a second, Marcus hesitated to respond to the blonde’s provocations. They were obviously meant to enrage him, but they weren’t impossible.

“Woman… Your tongue is sharp… I’m going to have to rip it out!”

The blonde, pulling herself free from the spike in her shoulder, began dodging the old man’s clumsy, rage-filled blows.

Despite how fluid his movements had been when she first met him, now, with his mind disturbed, she had a chance to read them.

But even with that, her opponent was too skilled to win just by poisoning his ears, and she ended up taking a kick that sent her out of the house and back into the dirt street.

Once outside, the girl saw how the snow was slowly disappearing under the acid rain and, as she tried to stand up, she touched a puddle on the ground that burned like liquid fire.

“Shit! Ahhh! This crap hurts like hell!”

Ebony, back on her feet, watched as the house where the old man had been finally collapsed, killing the goblins inside. That bought her a little time, but not enough.

Searching frantically everywhere, she spotted her shield split in two in the distance, so she ran toward it to use it. It was better than nothing, or at least that’s what she kept repeating in her head.

“Run, snake… But you won’t leave this mountain with your tongue intact, and then we’ll see if you can heal from that.”

Marcus said as he lifted the rubble that had fallen onto his back. That collapse was barely like taking a punch from his brother.

But the rain falling on his skin was another story. That damage was constant.

Those artificial clouds his lord once created to keep them safe and healthy were now a DPS spell, damage per second.

Sooner or later, the corrosive acid would crack his trained skin, hardened over the years. Sooner or later, his death would come. But he still had a couple of hidden cards left.

“(Damn girl… I guess I don’t have options either. Let’s see if I can manage not to kill her in the process)”, the old man thought before slamming his fist into the ground, in a stance with no apparent defense.

Suddenly, a surge of magic began pouring out of his body. It was so massive that even the rubble around him started trembling and freezing, despite the relentless rain.

“Devour!”

{{Arctic Magic: Transformation: Alpha}}

Suddenly, the old man’s skin began cracking like paper and his body started to grow until he ended up with a body covered in fur, taking the form of a three-meter-tall, muscular, bipedal wolf with white fur that made his red eyes stand out.

Following his sense of smell, the half-beast managed to find the girl’s trail. His passive ability in that form allowed him to smell magic.

“(I’M HUNGRY!… No… no, I have to focus. Don’t give in to your instincts, you’re a man! Capture, not kill!)”, he convinced himself as the acid rain ran over his fur, but it regenerated at high speed.

Ebony, just about to reach her broken shield, felt the surge of magic, but when she turned for a second, no one was left in the ruins where Marcus had been.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the massive beast was behind her and, without mercy, used its claws to strike the girl and launch her into the sky.

Ebony, spitting blood, saw the ground growing farther away as she rose. But midair, the wolf caught up with her in a leap and kicked her, sending her down at high speed like a meteor trailing freezing magic.

Upon impact, a massive explosion created a crater of ice spikes. In the center lay the blonde with her stomach completely pierced, spitting blood.

“He-HEal,” the girl shouted despite the blood flooding her throat, because for any magic user, losing the ability to speak meant losing their magic.

{{Life Magic: Healing}}

“(Shit… This is bad… I’m going to die at this rate. This idiot isn’t holding back… Heh… At least I won’t be sold to the Demon King…)”, Ebony thought as she healed at high speed.

For a second, the wolf stepped back, struggling against his instinct to kill his prey. But at that moment, instead of running, Ebony stood up. With a determined look and a faint smile, she charged at Marcus and struck his abdomen, desperate to survive.

“Purify!” the blonde shouted.

For a moment nothing happened, but suddenly the wolf felt damage inside, and the fur around the impact area fell out.

Instinctively, Marcus in his beast form leaped back, staring at his bare abdomen without fur. But it quickly healed, restoring every strand of white hair.

“(That bitch!… Did she purify my transformation like it was a curse?!)”, the wolf thought, alarmed.

While the blonde in front of him smiled with blood dripping from her lips, she said, “Hey, come on, puppy. I’ve got more where that came from.”

Suddenly, a blue screen appeared in front of Ebony. It was the system.

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Congratulations, Incarnation!

You have demonstrated your bravery and ingenuity, surpassing your limits multiple times, and have reached a moment of enlightenment!

You have been recognized as a Warrior!

You receive:

– – You receive 10 free stat points

– – You unlock 1 personal technique:

– – – – {{Life Magic X Warrior’s Art: Purifying Fire Fists}}

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