Chapter 416: Chapter 416: Four Against One

The ruins trembled like a living thing.

Golden fire surged upward, carving through the violet haze that still filled the air. The scent of smoke, blood, and molten stone mixed into something heavy — suffocating.

High above, the Third Pillar floated among debris, her aura pulsing violently. Violet arcs of mana flickered around her body, unstable and raw. Her eyes — once sharp and composed — were wide with disbelief.

“Brother…” she whispered, voice cracking as the word vanished beneath the roar of collapsing stone.

The echo of his death still lingered in the mana around them, like a phantom heartbeat. She could feel it — the void where his presence used to be. For the first time, her power faltered. The fragments of rock orbiting her collapsed, crashing to the ground in slow motion.

Below, Albrecht stood bathed in golden light, one hand gripping his sword, his breathing ragged but steady. He looked up toward her, expression hard and unreadable. The exhaustion in his stance was clear, but his eyes burned with focus.

Across the scorched floor, Noel wiped blood from his chin and looked up. “She knows,” he muttered.

Selene followed his gaze. “And she’s losing control.”

The Third Pillar’s aura spiked — grief turning to rage. The violet glow erupted outward, twisting gravity itself. Shards of broken marble rose into the air, pulled into her orbit as if the entire ruin now revolved around her.

“She’s not just angry,” Noir growled, fur standing on end. “She’s unstable.”

Noel’s expression hardened. “Then we end it before she takes everything with her.”

He stepped forward, Revenant Fang igniting in his grasp. Flames coiled around the blade, black and red at once.

“Stormpiercer!”

Lightning burst beneath his feet as he launched upward toward her. Selene followed immediately, her wand flaring to life as she formed icy footholds midair. Noir disappeared into shadow, reappearing behind Noel as a massive, dark silhouette.

The air split apart as Noel ascended, lightning trailing behind him. The shockwave of his movement carved through smoke and debris, scattering fragments of molten stone in his wake.

The Third Pillar reacted too slowly.

Her eyes, still wet with tears that hissed into vapor in the heat, tracked him with delay. The grace she once fought with — the precision that had made her feared — was gone.

She moved, but her rhythm was broken.

Every strike was heavier, unbalanced — power without control. Her aura pulsed erratically, gravity shifting in wild bursts that crushed and lifted at random.

Noel closed the distance, Revenant Fang flashing forward. “Fire Arc!”

A wave of flame tore upward. The Pillar deflected it clumsily, but the counter came too late — Noel was already at her flank. He swung once, the blade grazing her side, burning through torn armor.

The scream that followed wasn’t rage. It was anguish.

“Brother…” The word broke apart, carried away by the collapsing air.

Selene appeared behind Noel, landing lightly on a platform of frost. “Glacial Thrust!”

A lance of ice shot upward, piercing through the violet storm. The impact cracked the layer of gravity around the Pillar, briefly stabilizing the air.

Noir emerged from the shadow beneath her, massive and glowing faintly violet from the reflected mana. Her claws lashed out, slicing through the debris circling the battlefield. Each strike cut away another fragment of her enemy’s focus.

The Third Pillar spun, voice shaking. “I’ll kill you all!”

She threw out her hand — a burst of warped gravity spiraled outward, slamming into the walls, pulling stone, flame, and bodies in every direction.

Noel gritted his teeth, planting his boots into a floating slab of rock. “Cooling Veil!”

A faint shimmer of frost enveloped him, stabilizing his balance. He could see her clearly now — her violet glow dimming, her breaths short and uneven.

Selene’s voice came through the static hum of mana. “She’s losing it, Noel. She’s burning herself from the inside out.”

Noir’s growl rumbled low. “Then let’s make sure it means something.”

The three surged together again, cutting through her collapsing gravity field — flame, frost, and shadow converging on the woman who could barely stand her own power.

Each strike left her slower. Each counter weaker.

She wasn’t fighting to win anymore.

She was fighting not to die the same way her brother had.

And even as her body glowed with unstable light, she kept whispering that same word — “Brother…” — like a curse she couldn’t release.

The battlefield had become a storm without rhythm.

The Third Pillar’s power lashed outward in chaotic bursts, pulling entire chunks of stone upward before crushing them into dust. Her breathing was sharp and erratic; blood streamed from her nose, glowing faintly violet as it evaporated in the heat.

Albrecht moved first.

He appeared behind her in a burst of golden light, his blade already raised high. “Solar Divide!”

The arc of fire cut through the distorted gravity field like sunlight through clouds, scattering fragments of mana in every direction. The impact hurled the Pillar downward, straight toward Noel and Selene.

Noel was ready. “Frost Wall!” Selene’s voice followed his — a perfect echo.

The wall of ice surged upward from the ground, halting the fall for a second — just long enough for Noel to leap above it. His boots slammed against the frozen surface, fire bursting from his body as he descended in a burning spiral. “Ignition Surge!”

He slammed into the wall’s center, the flames piercing through the ice and colliding with the Pillar below.

The explosion sent waves of steam and light across the chamber, rattling every remaining column.

Noir burst from the shadows of the smoke cloud, her form massive once again. “Umbra Rift!”

Darkness poured outward like a living ocean, swallowing the falling debris before it could strike Albrecht or Selene.

The Third Pillar clawed her way upright, panting, her violet aura trembling. “Stop…” she rasped. “You don’t understand… We—”

Albrecht cut her off. His voice carried like thunder. “You had your chance to stop.”

He vanished in flames. In the next instant, he was behind her — his sword igniting as he thrust forward. The blow struck her back, sending her spinning through the air.

Selene extended her wand. “Zero Point Burst!”

Gravity compressed around the woman mid-spin, freezing her in place — trapped, suspended, her body convulsing against invisible pressure.

Noel’s voice rose through the noise. “Fire Arc!”

The slash of flame tore across the frozen air, striking the trapped Pillar’s side.

When the fire cleared, her armor had melted completely. She collapsed to one knee, barely able to lift her head.

Albrecht landed beside Noel, golden flames rippling across his shoulders. His breath was heavy, his tone calm. “End it.”

The Third Pillar looked up, eyes trembling between hatred and sorrow. “You don’t know what’s coming,” she whispered, her voice small — broken. “You can’t stop it.”

Noel didn’t hesitate. “We’ll try anyway.”

The Third Pillar knelt in the middle of the ruined chamber, her breaths ragged and shallow, the violet glow around her flickering like a dying candle.

Everything else — the collapsing walls, the dripping magma, the groan of shattered stone — faded into silence.

Noel stepped forward slowly, Revenant Fang trailing behind him, its edge still burning faintly black and red. He could feel her mana — fragile, unraveling, almost gone.

For a moment, he hesitated. The hatred in her eyes had faded, replaced by something hollow. Something human.

Her gaze wandered past him, unfocused, toward the far side of the battlefield — to where her brother’s ashes had long since turned to dust.

“Brother…” she whispered again, the word breaking into static.

Her hand trembled as she lifted her weapon — not to attack, but to hold it close, as if it still meant something. The blade shook in her grasp, crimson mana leaking through the cracks of her palm.

Noel moved. A single swing. Clean.

The strike pierced through her chest, the void-black edge of Revenant Fang carving a silent arc through the dim light.

She gasped, the sound barely more than a breath. Her sword slipped from her fingers, clattering against the stone.

Violet blood — luminous, almost beautiful — spilled down her front as she fell to her knees completely. Her body trembled, her aura shattering into fragments that drifted upward like fading fireflies.

But she didn’t look at Noel.

Her eyes were locked on the place where her brother had fallen.

Slowly, painfully, she dragged herself across the broken ground — each movement leaving streaks of light behind her.

Noel watched, unmoving, his chest heavy.

The woman reached the spot where the red embers still lingered — the only trace left of the Fourth Pillar. She touched the ground, fingers trembling, and leaned forward until her forehead rested on the scorched stone.

“Wait for me…” she breathed, her voice softer than the wind. “We’ll take care of each other. Always.”

Her hand reached out blindly, searching for something that wasn’t there — and then stopped.

The light left her eyes. Her body tilted sideways, collapsing gently beside the spot where her brother had died. The two glows — crimson and violet — intertwined for a brief, fleeting second before fading completely.

Albrecht lowered his sword. The flames around him dimmed.

Selene said nothing — her eyes glistened as she lowered her wand. Noir’s massive form dissolved into shadow, leaving only silence behind.

Noel stood still, the weight of what they had done pressing against his chest.

The Third Pillar’s body turned to dust, scattering into the warm air — leaving nothing but a faint shimmer where she and her brother had fallen.

It was over.

The battlefield was finally still.

The flames had died down to embers, and the only sound left was the slow crackle of molten stone cooling beneath their feet. The air was thick with ash, heavy with the aftertaste of mana.

Noel stood in the center of the ruin, Revenant Fang still in hand, its blackened edge dripping faint light before fading away.

Beside him, Selene knelt beside Albrecht, her hands glowing faint blue as she sealed the cuts along his arm. Noir rested behind them in her smaller form, head on her paws, eyes half-closed but alert.

The familiar blue text blinked again before fading back into focus.

[You have killed the Third Pillar.]

[Mission: Prevent the Fall of House Thorne.]

[Reward: The Truth.]

[Ehh?! Mission not completed yet! Congratulations on taking care of the Pillars, but stay alert! When you finish the job, I’ll give you the Truth. Good luck!]

Noel blinked once, his expression flat. “…Are you kidding me?”

The window flickered twice, as if the system were laughing. Then it vanished completely.

’Great,’ he thought bitterly.

He stared at the fading letters hovering before his eyes until they dissolved into nothing.

’Two Pillars dead,’ he thought, the words turning cold in his mind. ’The mansion’s still standing. Father’s alive. The family’s safe… so why isn’t it over?’

His gaze drifted toward the far end of the hall, where the crystal remained untouched. It no longer glowed—but it hadn’t disappeared either.

He sheathed Revenant Fang slowly, the metal scraping against its scabbard with a tired hiss. “…No,” he whispered to himself. “It’s not done.”

Selene looked up at him, frowning. “What is it?”

Noel didn’t answer. His eyes stayed fixed on the crystal, its faint reflection dancing in the gold light of dying fire.

’Something’s still missing,’ he thought. ’Something the system hasn’t told me.’

A distant tremor rolled through the ground—small, almost unnoticeable, but enough to make the dust shift.

Noel’s shoulders stiffened.

That uneasy feeling in his chest deepened, spreading like a cold weight.

And then—

Far from the ruins, the night wind swept through the courtyard of the Thorne mansion.

Three silhouettes rode across the cracked bridge leading toward the flames on the horizon — Elena, Elyra, and Charlotte.

The girls had defended the estate with minimal losses, and now, with dawn breaking faintly behind them, they followed the trail of destruction toward Noel’s location.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep