Chapter 49: Whispers of Failure

The sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs echoed through the forest as Zayne calmly said,

“We’ve still got a suspect to chase.”

His tone was relaxed, but his movements were anything but. With his hands folded, he darted through the battlefield using only his legs—each kick precise, devastating, and final. Monsters lunged at him, but none could even graze his coat before being launched into trees, shattered or unconscious.

Beside him, Captain Valeriana slashed through the chaos with elegance. Her blade danced through the air, glinting with mana-infused precision. The contrast between their styles was stark—one graceful and technical, the other overwhelming and almost casual.

She glanced at Zayne mid-swing, her ocean bluish-green eyes narrowing.

He’s strong… Those monsters are being crushed with nothing but his legs… and he’s not even trying.

They soon cut through the last wave of beasts, entering a denser stretch of forest. The air grew heavier with malevolence. The monster presence dwindled.

While running, Zayne suddenly broke the silence.

“Hey, Captain Val. How strong are you?”

Valeriana frowned at first but let out a soft sigh. “Seven-star warrior. Why do you ask? And how strong are you ?”

He smiled lightly. “Just curious.”

“And Well,” he said, chuckling, “I want to see how you fare against what’s ahead. I can tell—whoever’s radiating that energy… they’re strong.”

“And to answer your second question…” He looked ahead. “I’m very strong.”

Valeriana scoffed lightly. “Hmm. Alright. Let’s get there quickly.”

They bolted toward the source of the ominous energy, trees whipping past them. Soon, the trees thinned, revealing a more lightly forested area. The tension in the air grew sharper.

Zayne slowed down, a sly grin playing on his lips.

“Looks like no one’s here…”

But his senses said otherwise.

Valeriana scanned the surroundings. “You sure?”

Zayne kept his gaze forward. “They’re hiding… right there.”

Valeriana tensed, then snapped her gaze to the front. “In front of us!”

Suddenly, a dark shadow emerged from the mist—its presence chilling, its aura twisted and violent.

Zayne’s smile widened.

The shadow finally stepped into the clearing.

A towering, skeletal figure draped in rotting, ceremonial robes. Its skull glowed with eerie violet light, and a sickly green crystal hovered in its bony hand, pulsing like a second heart.

“A High Lich…” Valeriana muttered, her voice tight with fury.

Behind her, Zayne watched with an amused smile. She really believed it now.

The lich’s hollow voice echoed as it spread its arms wide.

“Ahahahaha! So, you’re finally here, humans. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Valeriana took a firm step forward. “Why the hell are you attacking Eldrin Town?!”

The lich let out a twisted cackle. “Why? Just because I want to. I need fresh bodies for my experiments… and you, little knight—”

He licked his teethless jaw with phantom tongue energy. “—you’ll be an exquisite test subject.”

Zayne resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Where do these cliché villains even come from? Does he have a script?

Valeriana grit her teeth. “Enough. I’m taking this thing down.”

Zayne casually stepped back, still folding his arms. “Go ahead. I’ll watch.”

The lich paused. “You’re not fighting together?”

Zayne replied, deadpan, “For someone as weak as you? She’s more than enough.”

“Hah! Fools!” the lich roared. “I am a High Lich—seven-star. She may be a seven-star warrior, but a seven-star lich is far superior! And you…” he sneered at Zayne, “you don’t even radiate power. You’re weaker than her!”

Valeriana turned slightly, surprised. Zayne met her gaze with a simple nod.

She smirked, turning forward again. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

With no more words, she launched forward, sword already glowing with azure wind energy.

“Azure Vortex: Cleaving Tempest!”

She spun mid-air, her blade unleashing a massive crescent wave of compressed wind. The undead the lich summoned clawed their way from the ground—

Graveborn Legion.

Bony fingers, zombie torsos, and spectral knights burst up in a wave. The clearing turned into a graveyard battlefield in seconds.

But Valeriana’s slash sliced through them like a god descending into battle.

Skeletons shattered. Zombies were torn apart. The air howled as her crescent wave tore through the summoned horde.

Before the dust settled, she moved again.

“Gale Step Reprisal.”

Wind spiraled around her feet—whoosh—and she vanished, reappearing mid-air above the battlefield, her cloak fluttering.

“Azure Vortex: Bladestorm Descent!”

She dove from the sky, sword-first, landing with earth-splitting force. A shockwave erupted as wind pressure flattened trees, shattered undead bones, and carved a crater into the forest floor. Everything in a wide radius was annihilated.

Dust flew. Trees groaned. The air crackled.

Then—whoosh—she vanished again.

The lich spun too late.

Valeriana reappeared behind him.

“Azure Vortex: Spiral Fang.”

Her blade drilled forward in a blurring, corkscrew lunge, wind forming a comet-like tail behind her.

Panicked, the lich screamed—

“Bonewall Bastion!”

A grotesque wall of skulls and bones erupted between them—but her spiraling blade smashed through it like wet paper. The lich barely brought up his magical shield in time—

CRASH.

He was blown backward, crashing through trees, his shield sparking violently as the impact cracked his ribcage and sent bones flying.

Zayne stood calmly, watching from the edge of the battlefield, hands still folded.

“…Told you she was enough.”

Zayne watched from the sidelines, arms still folded, his expression unreadable. But internally?

That’s it? This guy’s supposed to be a seven-star lich? Either he’s the weakest one in existence, or Captain Val here is way stronger than I thought.

He glanced toward Valeriana. Her blade still glowed, wisps of azure wind curling around her form.

She too seemed… confused.

“…What the? I thought that lich could at least defend against that last strike,” she muttered.

Zayne gave her a shrug and nodded. “Nope. Weak.”

Or made to be, he added inwardly, smirking as the lich groaned and dragged itself out of the rubble.

Valeriana’s voice cut through the clearing like a dagger. “Finally found you… the killer of Count Montague’s son. That noble brat and his servant are dead—and because of your little rampage three days ago, the fallout’s landing on me.”

The lich froze, hollow eyes flickering.

“What…?” it rasped. “Three days? But I—”

He stopped. His skeletal jaw twitched. Then, laughter.

“Ahahaha! Yes, that brat and his servant… they were so stupid. Came looking for something… and became my test subjects! Ahahaha!”

But inside his mind, panic was blooming.

What the hell am I saying?! That’s not true—I just got here! I didn’t kill anyone! My mouth… it’s moving on its own! I can’t stop talking—

His vision shifted—past Valeriana—to the man behind her.the man with light purple eyes. Still calm.smirking.

No… he’s controlling me.

Zayne’s puppet magic had sunk its hooks deep. Every word the lich spoke was a script Zayne wrote with a grin.

“You wanna know where that noble kid and his servant are now?” the lich sneered. “They’re under you… around you… in you. After I was done, I made their bodies into fertilizer for the forest! AHAHAHAHA!”

Zayne’s smirk widened. This is way more fun.

Valeriana’s face twisted in rage.

“You bastard!!”

Azure mana surged from her body, wrapping around her sword in spiraling jets. The wind howled louder.

The lich, still a prisoner in his own body, panicked internally. Why can’t I summon my power!? I’m a high-tier lich—this shouldn’t be happening!This is not what I’ve been promised!

His eyes darted again toward Zayne. He’s the reason. That monster in human skin is suppressing me.

But still, the lich acted—his own will or not.

“Negative Energy Ray!”

A pulsing black-violet beam lanced out, shrieking toward Valeriana.

She didn’t flinch.

“Azure Vortex: Deflecting Gale!”

Her sword spun with blazing speed, creating a whirl of wind that met the beam mid-air. The dark ray fractured, scattering into fragments that charred the earth and blackened the trees wherever they struck.

The forest hissed under the corruption. Yet she advanced.

Faster.

Faster.

Her eyes glowed, her feet crackled with power, and behind her—the streaks of sky-blue energy swirled like a rising storm.

Then she whispered.

“Azure Vortex: Howling Spiral Ruin.”

The world seemed to pause for a beat.

Then—

SHOOM.

A sonic boom echoed as she vanished from sight—only a blinding streak of azure light trailing through the air.

She passed through the lich like a celestial drill. A howling storm tore everything in her wake: trees uprooted, monsters evaporated, the ground cracked into ruptured craters.

The air trembled with her wrath.

The lich didn’t even scream.

By the time the light faded, nothing remained of him but ash—and a small, flickering mana jewel that landed softly in the dirt.

Zayne smiled, pleased. Valeriana landed beside him, chest heaving slightly.

He clapped once. “Congratulations, Captain. You found your culprit.”

Valeriana nodded, slowly. “…Yeah.”

Zayne looked out toward Eldrin Town. The monsters that had been swarming it were now turning back, dissipating into the trees. Confused howls and grunts filled the forest as the horde retreated.

From town, cheers echoed. Adventurers were shouting, laughing, hugging.

“We did it!”

“We won!”

“They’re fleeing!”

The threat was over.

But Zayne’s eyes narrowed slightly. One more thing.

As Valeriana turned to lead them back, Zayne silently layered a high-tier illusion over himself—so subtle, even she didn’t notice—and took to the air, flying invisibly back to the battlefield ruins.

Hidden beneath the shattered treeline, two cloaked figures stood in hushed conversation.

“…That lich was useless,” the first hissed. “Couldn’t even use half its power.”

The second figure was calmer. “Then the medicine isn’t perfected. It enhances strength—but removes autonomy. That’s a problem.”

“Tch… The experiment—failed. Completely.” The first figure hissed.

“Yes, unfortunate,” the calm one replied. “But we learned something. The next test must be refined. The academy project depends on it.”

Zayne, hovering above like a wraith, grinned beneath his illusion. Ahh… now this is interesting.

As the two vanished into shadows, Zayne stretched and sighed.

I should let the main body know. But first…

He turned mid-air, flipped once lazily, and smiled.

“…pizza.”

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