Chapter 316: The Maiden Who Wanted to Be Seen
The Maiden Who Wanted to Be Seen
Lane flipped backward effortlessly before landing lightly on a floating fragment of broken stone suspended by the violent currents of mana.
A playful smile appeared on her face.
"You’re really trying hard."
The undead dragon answered only with another furious roar.
Its skeletal jaws opened wide.
A sphere of eerie green mana rapidly condensed inside its mouth, becoming larger with every passing heartbeat.
The surrounding air grew colder.
Clouds blackened.
Even the light of the sun seemed to dim beneath the dragon’s corrupt aura.
Lane slowly inhaled.
Instead of fear...
Her heart was racing with excitement.
Not because of the dragon.
Because of someone else.
Victor.
The moment she had felt that familiar, overwhelming bloodlust spread across the battlefield, every trace of anxiety inside her had disappeared.
"He’s here..."
She whispered with a bright smile.
"I knew you’d come."
Another blast of dragon fire shot toward her.
Lane darted sideways just before the attack engulfed the space she had occupied.
The green flames continued flying until they exploded against a distant mountain, shaking the earth below.
She barely glanced at the destruction.
Her thoughts had already wandered elsewhere.
’I hope Victor’s able to see me fight this undead dragon.’
A faint blush touched her cheeks despite the life-and-death battle surrounding her.
’I need to do my best...’
She narrowly avoided another claw strike before spinning gracefully through the air.
’And finish off this giant skeleton lizard with style.’
She smiled to herself.
’Not only should I finish with style...’
The dragon lunged again.
Lane kicked off one of its massive horns, launching herself high above its head.
’...but I need to end this fast.’
She paused for the briefest moment.
’But not too fast...’
A laugh escaped her lips.
’Otherwise Victor won’t get to see my cool side.’
If anyone had heard her thoughts...
They would have been completely speechless.
Below them, thousands of soldiers were fighting for survival.
The battlefield had become a sea of blood and broken steel.
Yet Lane’s greatest concern was whether Victor would witness her most impressive attack.
The undead dragon, of course, knew nothing of this.
It only sensed an opponent that refused to fall.
Its patience finally snapped.
With a thunderous roar, it spread its wings to their full span.
An enormous magic formation bloomed beneath its body.
Dark green runes spun endlessly as corrupt mana gathered from every direction.
The dragon intended to finish everything with one overwhelming attack.
Lane’s playful smile slowly faded.
Her beautiful crimson eyes sharpened.
"So..."
"You’ve finally decided to get serious."
She tightened her grip on her weapon.
The air around her became completely still.
Though the creature before her was undead...
Though it possessed only a fraction of the strength it had enjoyed while alive...
It was still an adult dragon.
One of the most terrifying races ever to walk the world.
Its immense body alone inspired despair.
Its mana dwarfed that of ordinary masters.
Its physical strength could crush entire armies.
Any normal warrior would have fled long ago.
Lane did the exact opposite.
She smiled.
A confident...
Fearless smile.
"Good."
"I was starting to think this would become boring."
She lowered her stance.
Mana quietly gathered beneath her feet.
"I can’t let Victor think I became weaker while he was away."
The dragon’s spell reached completion.
Lane’s own aura surged in response.
Far below, countless soldiers looked skyward as two overwhelming forces prepared to collide once again.
Neither intended to yield.
Neither intended to retreat.
The heavens themselves seemed to hold their breath as both combatants rushed toward each other at the same instant.
...
Far behind the endless ranks of undead, standing atop a towering hill of bones, the Necromancer watched everything unfold in silence.
Its empty eye sockets glowed brighter the moment that overwhelming presence appeared on the battlefield.
The last time it had encountered Victor, it already knew the young human was unlike anyone else.
Even then...
Victor had possessed frightening potential.
But this...
This exceeded every expectation.
The torrent of mana spreading across the battlefield was several times greater than before.
Even from this distance, the Necromancer could clearly sense the terrifying density contained within that aura.
Yet the mana alone wasn’t what fascinated it most.
It was the bloodlust.
Ancient.
Dense.
Almost tangible.
The kind of killing intent that normally belonged only to beings that had slaughtered countless lives over centuries.
’Interesting...’
The Necromancer silently observed.
’How can a human who has not even reached twenty years of age possess bloodlust of this magnitude?’
It had existed for ages.
It had witnessed emperors rise and kingdoms fall.
It had watched wars erase entire civilizations.
Even so...
Victor’s bloodlust remained abnormal.
There was something hidden beneath it.
Something unfamiliar.
The Necromancer narrowed its glowing eyes.
"...Not only mana."
"...Not merely bloodlust."
A third power quietly lingered within Victor’s aura.
It felt ancient...
Yet completely unknown.
It did not resemble divine power.
Nor corrupt mana.
Nor ordinary spiritual energy.
It was something entirely different.
Something that even the ancient Necromancer had never encountered before.
Instead of caution...
Excitement filled its heart.
A dry, eerie laugh escaped from deep within the Necromancer’s skeletal throat.
"Hehehe..."
"You are even more delightful than I expected..."
The emerald flames burning within its hollow eye sockets flared brighter, casting an eerie glow across the battlefield.
"Show it to me, human..."
"Let me witness the true depths of your power."
The Necromancer’s gaze never left Victor. Every instinct it possessed told it that the young man standing before it was unlike any human it had encountered throughout its long existence.
Now I’m even more certain... Victor is the key.
The key that will elevate my research beyond its current limits.
Its excitement grew with every passing second.
If I can obtain his body... if I can uncover the secrets hidden within him... then perhaps I can finally unravel the mystery that has eluded me for countless years...
A mystery even death itself could not answer.
True immortality.
Comments