Chapter 145: Chapter 145 : Shattered hope

Alden roared as he slammed his flaming sword through the chest of yet another masked enemy, fire exploding from the wound and engulfing nearby soldiers.

The battlefield was chaos—but at the center of it all stood Alden and Ava, back-to-back, defending the earthen dome shielding the civilians.

With wild flames trailing behind every strike, Alden fought like a beast unchained.

His sword danced like a vengeful spirit, cutting down anyone foolish enough to approach.

A soldier screamed as Alden sliced across his legs and shoulder in a blur, collapsing into the burning grass.

“HAAAAA!” Alden let out a feral war cry. His aura flared wildly, fire pouring from every inch of his body.

“How I missed this feeling!” he yelled, laughter echoing through the chaos. “Ever since the entrance exam—I’ve wanted to take on multiple at once again!”

He was a blur, too fast to follow—cutting through four enemies in a single movement. Flames erupted around his body as if nature itself bowed to his fury.

Soldiers faltered, dread filling their eyes.

They had numbers. They had rank.

But the guy in front of them was like a ferocious beast unchained. No matter what tactics they used, he simply overpowered them with the sheer force of his attacks.

Literal and metaphorical.

“You know,” Alden said with a manic grin as he carved a flaming arc through another three attackers, “I’ve been very frustrated lately… getting surpassed by two monster-like bastards again and again…”

He pointed his sword at the remaining enemies.

“So now—I need to vent. And lucky me, you all are just the right rank. Same as me… how perfect.”

Meanwhile, Ava’s nature affinity responded with grace and precision. Vines whipped across the battlefield, lashing soldiers off their feet, entangling their limbs, and hurling them into nearby trees.

“Don’t let them get near the dome!” Ava shouted, her voice sharp with resolve.

Trees uprooted at her command, forming walls and shields. Flowers glowed with mana, releasing bursts of sleep pollen to disorient attackers.

Every move she made was calculated—every strike a dance of harmony and wrath.

Her coordination with Alden was flawless.

He scorched the ones she trapped.

She shielded him from the ones he missed.

But even they had limits.

As the fight continued, little by little… their breaths became heavier. Their movements less fluid.

Sweat poured down their foreheads. Cuts lined their arms. Burns, scrapes, bruises.

An arrow grazed Ava’s side—she winced.

Alden’s jaw tightened.

“Ava!” he barked, dashing to her side.

Before she could respond, five soldiers surged toward them.

“Back off!” Alden roared.

His sword glowed fiercely.

“Sovereign Blade – First Form: Radiant Dusk!”

A burst of flames erupted from his blade as he spun, cutting clean through the enemies in a flurry of blazing strikes.

Their bodies dropped—charred and lifeless.

Alden panted, sheathing his blade for a second.

“Tch… using sword arts against multiple opponents burns a whole lot of strength and mana…”

He glanced around.

“Still at least thirty of them are left… and we’re very close to reaching our limit?!”

Then it happened.

A scream from Ava.

His eyes snapped toward her—she was barely holding her stance. Her limbs trembling. Her mana thin.

A soldier leapt toward her, blade raised high.

“NO!” Alden shouted, eyes wide. “NO, NO, NO!”

Ava’s eyes met the sword, helpless.

She closed them, as if accepting her fate.

But the end she was waiting for never came.

Everything stopped as ice began spreading across the ground.

Then suddenly—the earth crackled.

The air turned frigid.

SHINK!

The soldier froze mid-strike.

Literally.

A sheet of ice spread across his body. His blade shattered in his frozen grip.

A voice, cold as death, echoed.

“Keep your filthy hands away from her.”

From the trees—three figures emerged, running toward them.

Seraphina.

Charlotte.

Draven.

Alden exhaled like the weight of the world had left his shoulders.

Ava’s lips trembled. She almost collapsed, tears forming in her eyes.

Seraphina rushed forward, catching her. “Ava! Are you hurt?! Let me heal you.”

Ava didn’t speak. She just hugged Seraphina tightly, trembling.

Seraphina’s eyes turned sharp. She turned to the masked soldiers still standing.

Her voice was icy cold.

“Eternal Frost.”

A pulse of freezing mana swept the battlefield.

CRACK… CRACK… SHHHHHK—!

The remaining soldiers froze on the spot—mouths open mid-scream. Arms mid-swing. Even their breath froze in place.

Then came Charlotte.

Gravity warped.

The ground beneath the frozen soldiers crumbled.

They began to compress—into dense particles of flickering light and shattered.

With a flick of her fingers, she turned frozen foes into stardust.

Draven charged next.

With twin gauntlets crackling with energy, he launched into the frozen ones Charlotte missed.

BAM. BAM. CRACK.

Heads shattered. Bodies broke apart.

Draven moved like lightning—grinning wildly. “Missed a few? Don’t worry—I got it!”

In moments—the battlefield was still.

Only the breathing of the group remained.

Charlotte turned toward the earthen dome.

“What’s inside that thing?”

Ava, still catching her breath, said softly, “Civilians. They were teleported with us… caught in the attack.”

Seraphina blinked. “Civilians?”

Alden snorted. “Yeah. And that idiotic hero told us to protect them.”

Charlotte groaned, rubbing her forehead. “Ugh… I knew he’d say something like that.”

Then Alden turned to Seraphina, brows furrowed. “Wait… where’s Alex?”

Seraphina paused, then answered calmly, “He’s hidden away somewhere safe.”

Alden’s fist clenched but he just nodded his head in response.

Then they looked up.

Their gazes followed the tremors… the explosions… the flashes of black fire in the sky.

There—hovering alone.

Ethan.

Fighting two Master (Peak)-rank enemies.

And winning.

Charlotte whispered in awe, “Just how powerful… has he become?”

Draven’s mouth hung open. “He’s an Expert (Low)-rank. And he’s beating two Master-ranks.”

“The hell kind of monster is that guy?”

Only Seraphina smiled.

A small, proud smile.

For a moment—hope sparked.

They had survived.

Maybe they could escape.

Then…

WHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRM—

The sound of machinery.

The hatch on the hovering ship cracked open again.

A deafening echo rang out.

From it—an army began to descend.

More soldiers.

Not Advance (Low)-rank…

Expert-rank.

Dozens of them.

Row after row.

The air was filled with menace and dread.

Charlotte’s face paled.

Ava stumbled backward.

Alden tightened his grip on his sword.

That brief hope they felt—

Shattered.

Like glass under the weight of fate.

———

[Your physique is adapting to the Abyssal Corruption.]

[Progress: 54%]

———–

A/N:

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