Chapter 413: Chapter 413: When Fire Met Frost

The world trembled.

The ice that coated the floor quivered with each distant impact, and fragments of ceiling dust fell in soft cascades. Selene could still feel the pulse of the Tercer Pilar’s mana — uneven, heavy — but now there was something else layered beneath it.

Something faster. Closer.

Noir’s ears twitched. Her eyes glowed faintly violet, catching light from the fractured ice.

“Selene,” she growled, her tone low but urgent. “Something’s coming. Fast.”

Selene turned sharply, raising her wand. “From where?”

Noir’s gaze darted upward. “Above.”

A heartbeat later, the air itself split open with a deafening roar.

Something — someone — crashed through the ceiling like a meteor, trailing flames and shattered stone. The impact sent a shockwave through the entire chamber, knocking Selene off balance and shattering the frost beneath her boots.

When the dust cleared, a figure stood kneeling in the crater — bloodied, breathing hard, one hand buried in the ground to steady himself.

The faint glow of crimson mana shimmered across his back.

Selene’s eyes widened. “Noel—!”

He exhaled slowly, dragging Revenant Fang out of the stone beside him. The blade still burned faintly, its surface cracked but alive.

“…Guess I overshot that jump,” he muttered under his breath, glancing up at her with a crooked grin.

Noir huffed. “You almost flattened us.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Noel said, straightening with a groan. “Didn’t exactly land on purpose.”

Selene stepped closer, scanning him quickly. “You look like hell.”

“Feels worse,” he replied, rolling his shoulder. Then his expression hardened. “Where is she?”

Before Selene could answer, a voice echoed from the haze.

“Well, well. You survived that fall. Impressive.”

Out of the dust, the Fourth descended through the same hole, landing gracefully amid the wreckage. His armor glowed with gold light, and his blade hummed like a living flame.

A few meters away, the Third smiled faintly, brushing frost from her shoulder.

Now the two stood side by side — twin auras of violet and crimson light blending together, distorting the air.

Noel twirled his sword once, cracking his neck. “Not good.”

He looked over his shoulder at Selene and Noir. “Stay alert. It’s about to get worse.”

The chamber vibrated — low, deep, alive.

The crimson and violet lights spread from the center, two opposite wavelengths that shouldn’t coexist yet moved in perfect rhythm.

Selene tightened her grip on her wand. Noir’s fur stood on end, every instinct in her body screaming danger.

“They’re… syncing,” Noir murmured.

Noel’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

Before anyone could answer, the air cracked. The Third and Fourth Pillars moved — not separately, not randomly, but together. Their auras pulsed in the same rhythm, their steps aligned, each breath feeding the other.

For the first time since the fight began, they weren’t just two powerful enemies. They were one unit.

The Third Pillar’s voice carried softly through the cold air. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, brother?”

The Fourth gave a small, humorless smile. “Yeah. We haven’t used this in years.”

She tilted her head slightly, eyes locked on the crystal behind Noel. “Then let’s not waste it. The mission comes first.”

“Agreed.”

They raised their hands in unison.

Violet and crimson light spiraled upward, twisting together until it fused into a deep, unstable scarlet glow — one that hummed with resonance, like two hearts beating as one.

The air distorted, vibrating under the pressure as the siblings began to move in perfect sync once again, not out of practice, but out of purpose.

Their target wasn’t Noel. It was the crystal.

The world erupted.

Crimson and violet light collided at the center of the chamber, forming a shockwave so violent that the stone itself seemed to scream. The air thickened, bending under the force of raw mana.

Noel dug his boots into the fractured floor, Revenant Fang humming in his grip. The wave of energy hit before he could brace — the impact flung him backward through a curtain of frost. He rolled across the ground, sparks and shards of ice scattering around him.

Selene tried to anchor herself with a spell, her wand glowing faintly blue, but the weight of the pressure crushed it instantly. The frost beneath her cracked and gave way; she was thrown into Noir’s side, the two tumbling through the dust.

Noir roared, forcing her body to expand — the shadows erupted outward like a shield, absorbing part of the blast. But even her magic strained against the twin surge. Her claws dragged trenches in the stone as she fought to hold her ground.

The force didn’t stop. It pulsed again, heavier this time. Flames intertwined with gravity, tearing through ice, shadow, and air alike.

Noel forced himself to stand, body shaking, the ground beneath him glowing red-hot. He raised his sword just as the second pulse hit — this one stronger, sharper, more controlled. The entire floor caved in around him, the cracks spreading outward like veins of molten glass.

Selene caught herself on one knee, the cold light from her wand flickering. Her breath was uneven, eyes straining against the storm. Noir crouched beside her, panting, the purple in her eyes dimming.

The siblings didn’t move from their place at the center.

They didn’t need to.

The fused aura around them expanded slowly — steady, deliberate, unstoppable — pushing everything else away until the three could barely breathe within its reach.

When the light finally dimmed for a moment, Noel, Selene, and Noir stood side by side again, battered and half-buried in debris.

And in the distance, framed by the flicker of scarlet and violet light, the two Pillars simply watched them — calm, silent, unshaken.

Selene rose first, her wand trembling in her grasp. Frost rippled from her boots, spreading outward in a vain attempt to contain the heat and pressure around them.

Noir stood beside her, her massive form flickering between shadow and matter, as if even her body was struggling to exist under that crushing mana field.

Noel stepped forward slowly, Revenant Fang dragging against the cracked floor, leaving a molten scar wherever it passed. He didn’t need to speak — the look in his eyes said enough. They moved together, silent, each step syncing naturally in rhythm.

Ahead, the Third and Fourth Pillars lifted their hands at the same time. Their eyes glowed the same shade of red now, the border between them vanishing completely.

When they exhaled, their power flared — the heat of fire and the pull of gravity uniting into one perfect, merciless wave.

The pulse hit like a hammer.

Selene reacted first, throwing her wand forward. “Cryo Grasp!”

Dozens of icy hands burst from the floor, clutching at the surge, freezing fragments of it midair before disintegrating. Noir leapt ahead, her claws glowing black, using the frozen energy as footholds to close the distance.

The siblings moved in unison — the Fourth’s sword igniting, the Third’s energy wrapping around it. The weapon pulsed brighter than the torches, almost divine.

Their combined slash tore through the ground, cleaving the field in two.

Noir intercepted the strike with her entire body, the impact flinging her back into the wall with a sound like thunder. Stone collapsed over her.

Selene screamed, sending “Frozen Lance!” after them, a dozen spears of ice cutting through the smoke. Half melted before they reached the siblings — the rest shattered against invisible force.

Noel charged in without hesitation. Fire burst from his feet as he crossed the distance. His sword collided with the Fourth’s — sparks and embers scattered like stars.

The Third Pillar appeared beside her brother instantly, violet mana swirling around her arm as she struck Noel across the ribs with a shockwave.

He crashed into the floor, blood spraying across the ice, but his hand never released Revenant Fang.

He pushed up, coughing, eyes burning.

The siblings didn’t pursue. They simply stood together, raising their arms again. The red and violet lights pulsed once more, this time preparing for something far stronger.

The temperature in the chamber dropped and spiked at once. The walls began to hum.

Selene wiped the blood from her lip, whispering, “They’re charging something…”

Noir emerged from the rubble, smoke rising from her fur. “Then we stop it before it’s ready.”

Noel raised his sword again, the blade trembling with heat. He nodded once.

And for a heartbeat, all three moved — frost, shadow, and fire converging against the light of two.

The siblings turned their heads as the heat in the chamber shifted, replaced by a deeper resonance — like the world itself holding its breath.

From the far end of the ruin, footsteps echoed. Slow. Firm. Each one trailed a faint golden shimmer that cut through the smoke.

When the haze cleared, Albrecht Thorne stood there.

His armor was shattered in places, his knuckles split and bloodied. His coat was half torn, his face marked by soot and shallow cuts. But his eyes — those eyes — burned with an authority that silenced everything.

Behind him, the corridor was littered with corpses. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of monsters — burned, crushed, or sliced clean through. Not one moved. The air was heavy with iron and fire.

Selene felt it first — her lungs locked, her mana trembling instinctively. Even Noir, massive and proud, lowered her head slightly, her fur bristling under that pressure.

The Patriarch had arrived.

Noel looked over his shoulder, blood still dripping from his mouth. For a second, that hard, unreadable face softened. “…Albrecht.”

Albrecht said nothing at first. He glanced around the wreckage — the bodies of his enemies, the broken ground, the exhausted faces of his son, his familiar, and the girl standing beside them.

Then, finally, his gaze settled on the two Pillars.

His voice was calm. Low. Almost too quiet for the weight it carried.

“So… you’re the last ones.”

The siblings didn’t answer. The Fourth Pillar’s smile faltered for the first time; the Third took a single involuntary step back.

Albrecht rolled his shoulders, flexing his hands. Golden flame bled from his palms — not wild, but perfectly controlled, wrapping his body in a silent inferno.

The air itself vibrated.

The fire bent toward him, not away. The frost around Selene melted instantly, the shadows under Noir’s paws rippled, and even the corrupted light of the Pillars dimmed in his presence.

Noel swallowed hard. Even after all this time, seeing that aura up close made his pulse spike. It wasn’t raw power — it was absolute dominance.

Albrecht exhaled once, the air shimmering with heat.

“Thorne’s enemies end here.”

He stepped forward. The ground cracked under his boot. The flame around him brightened, painting the ruins gold.

Selene, Noir, even the Pillars froze, caught in that moment of stillness that felt like the world had tilted.

And as Albrecht raised his hand, golden embers spiraling like stars around him, even the Pillars knew —

the real fight was about to begin.

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