As long as someone was outside, anyone could see the extraordinary event that rose above the skies of Asura.
Peasants plowing the fields stopped their movements, trembling hands gripping plows as they lifted their eyes to the burning sky.
Travelers on dirt roads halted their carts, horses neighing restlessly at the sudden change in the air.
Adventurers, in the middle of battles against monsters, forgot their own survival for a moment as they saw the firmament light up as if a second sun had been born.
The entire kingdom watched that divine spell with a mixture of astonishment, fear, and admiration.
There were not many dwellings close to the Red Dragon Mountain Range, but cities and small villages closer to the center felt the effects almost immediately.
A great wave of heat swept across fields and plains, devastating entire crops, burning still-green leaves and causing the soil to crack in some places.
The cattle panicked, sheep scattered with desperate bleats, and the farmers could only watch, helpless, as months of work were partially destroyed.
Meanwhile, in the royal capital, many were also able to observe the scale of the conflict. The light on the horizon painted the skies with shades of orange and yellow.
For those who knew what it was, the shock was far greater. Ministers, nobles, military leaders and court mages felt a chill run down their spines.
They were aware that this was not a natural phenomenon.
That was the clash between two people fighting. Knowing that neither of those two beings was under their control was frightening and dreadful.
Worry took hold of those leaders' hearts.
What kind of monster had become their enemy after all?
Of course, there were some people who were living their own personal calamities — people who had no time to watch or admire the sky, for they were too busy fighting to survive.
Running through the cracked underground corridors of the Silver Palace in deplorable fashion was Rudeus Greyrat.
His state was pitiful. There were tears and bruises on his body, and blood streamed from his temple, mixing with the sweat that covered his face. Still, he had no particularly serious wound.
His breathing was heavy, yet controlled. Despite being a mage, Rudeus was in excellent physical shape, and his footsteps echoed quickly across the marble floor as he ran with all his might.
He had no time to admire the palace's exquisite ornamentation. Nor to notice the cracks forming along the walls.
Firmly held in his hands was the staff he had carried since the Begaritt Desert — the Scaled King of the Fire Desert.
Suddenly, he turned abruptly and stopped.
Lightning began snapping violently at the tip of the staff, illuminating the corridor with bluish flashes.
A huge Ebony Wolf rounded a corner about ten meters from the mage, invading the spacious corridors of the underground palace.
Its run was interrupted by a violent collision against the side walls of the corridor, stone and dust scattering with the impact.
A tremor ran through the floor at the same time a deep growl echoed through the passages.
The wolf bore several lacerations along its body, scorched flesh and burned fur in some spots, but its eyes remained fixed on Rudeus, filled with murderous intent — as if it wanted to split him in two.
At that moment, Rudeus's voice echoed through the Palace for the umpteenth time, full of tension and anger.
"Lightning!"
Thick bolts shot from the staff as his mana was consumed rapidly. The electrical discharges tore through the air, cracking the marble floor as they advanced in a straight line and slammed violently into the Ebony Wolf.
The electricity enveloped the monster, electrocuting it brutally and hurling its body against the wall with enough force to crack the walls and open deep fissures.
And he did not stop.
Rudeus continued channeling mana, keeping the lightning active without giving any opening. He was furious with that wolf.
After all, that crazy wolf did not fight at all like an ordinary monster.
You would think that an S-Rank Monster would charge blindly to kill a human upon perceiving that he was physically weak, right?
Wrong.
Rudeus had been through two near-death experiences for believing exactly that.
This Wolf was different. Extremely strange.
Whenever it perceived Rudeus preparing or casting some offensive magic, it ran and dodged skillfully, using walls, debris and even palace structures as cover. It hunted Rudeus tirelessly, pressing him without giving a single moment of rest.
From the start of this desperate fight, Rudeus had been trying to perform a single action: summon his Magic Armor.
But thanks to that insane wolf — and that damned red-haired woman — he never had enough time to complete the Summoning.
That was why he lured it into that corridor.
There, the wolf could not hide. And it could not run.
Using the Foresight Demon Eye, Rudeus had more than enough time to prepare. Anticipating movements and escape attempts, he kept the lightning active, channeling even more mana while the Ebony Wolf was electrocuted and flailed, desperately trying to free itself.
Convinced that he would finally kill that terrifying creature, Rudeus kept the attack unrelenting.
But then, he saw a few seconds into the future again.
A cold ran down his spine.
In an instant, he stopped the lightning striking the wolf and conjured a tower of stone beneath his feet, raising himself from the ground without any warning.
In the same fluid motion, Rudeus aimed upward and fired a powerful Stone Cannon.
The ceiling was pierced violently, opening a huge breach — an escape route.
At the same moment, a silver figure appeared on the other side of the corridor.
She watched calmly as the newly opened hole in the ceiling was sealed by Earth Magic, closing Rudeus's escape route with terrifying efficiency.
It was Ghislaine.
She cast a brief glance at Skoll, who, despite being gravely wounded, was still alive, breathing with difficulty among the rubble.
The woman-beast made her decision instantly.
Using the Wild Dash, she shot down the corridor like a projectile, the floor cracking beneath her feet as she reached the enormous wolf that was still trying to get up, black burn marks and residual static still running through its muscles and ebony fur.
Wasting no time, she pulled a scroll fastened to her waist and unfurled it in the same movement as she channeled mana.
The paper shone intensely, and a soft green light enveloped Skoll's wounds. The Advanced Healing Spell began to act immediately, reducing the severity of the burns, dissipating residual electricity and stabilizing his condition.
Without waiting for the full result, she spoke urgently:
"Where is Eris?!"
As the static left his body completely, the huge wolf's gaze returned to ferocity. He barked as he leapt:
"Woof!"
In the next instant, Skoll bolted up the stairs, running back along the path he had descended earlier. The woman-beast followed without hesitation.
As they began to climb the stairs, they encountered about twenty Asura knights rushing down. The leader, fully armored, raised his voice with authority and desperation:
"STOP THE INVADERS! THE ONE WHO KILLS THE BEAST WILL BE REWARDED WITH THE TITLE OF BARON!"
The knights, filled with anger and fervor, advanced in formation. Cries echoed down the corridor:
"OOOOOOOH!"
"AAAAAAAH!"
"DIEEEE!"
Beasts were launched, bolts whistling through the air, while knights advanced with shields raised. However, against Skoll's ebony hide, all of that proved useless.
A deep growl resounded as the wolf leapt forward. The bolts ricocheted off his armored pelt as if they were toys.
Skoll crashed into the vanguard, shredding a knight with a bite in a spray of blood, while two others were thrown aside, bodies torn by monstrous claws.
"Damn! Where is that damned mage?!" shouted the leader, looking around in panic.
But all he saw was a flash of red and silver.
And then, darkness.
Ghislaine pierced the knights' guard in a single move. With Skoll and Ghislaine advancing together, the twenty elite royal guards were killed in an instant, with no real chance of resistance.
Even so, Ghislaine felt a bad premonition as they advanced.
As an Beast Emperor of the Beast God Style, her Sixth Sense could never be ignored. Still, she continued up the stairs.
The scent of Eris was clearly in the hall above, along with the odor of another man; they were fighting just above.
Before any decision, she needed to check the situation.
So, she stopped. This time, she followed her instinct.
She felt an immediate deadly danger.
Using Wild Dash again, Ghislaine became a blur, forcing her Touki to the limit to retreat.
In the next instant, dozens of Stone Cannons began to rain down the corridor like a machine gun, tearing through side walls, shredding them as if they were made of thin glass.
Fragments flew in all directions, pillars collapsed, the corridor was deformed in seconds.
Ghislaine watched the scene with her Magic Power Eye, and confirmed exactly what she suspected.
A huge source of mana, firing recklessly from behind the walls.
It was the Magic King Rudeus.
Luckily, he did not seem to know her exact location. He was only firing blindly in the direction of the loud voice he had heard from the Asura knights.
The stone machine-gun ceased abruptly.
From the rubble, an Armor emerged.
It was about two and a half meters tall, with a bulky, camouflaged appearance.
Ghislaine made a short gesture with her hand. The enormous wolf did not hesitate for a second, dashing toward Eris's Hall without thinking twice.
Rudeus's Magic Armor turned.
With the Foresight Eye constantly active, he saw the future clearly: the third-ranked swordswoman of the Kingdom of Gaia cutting his Armor two seconds ahead. However, in the vision, she could not penetrate it.
Rudeus smiled behind the visor upon realizing this. He prepared the magical blade embedded in the Armor, ready to cut her in two when her attack failed.
But then, something went wrong.
The image of the beast swordswoman in the future split into multiple images.
The vision fragmented.
"Where?!"
Confused, Rudeus took a step back, forcing his concentration to the maximum. His focus could not fail now.
Cutting through collapsing corridors, Ghislaine thrust Hiramune in a perfect stab, aiming directly at the Magic Armor's visor.
At the last second, Rudeus reinforced the whole helmet with mana.
A dry crack echoed as Hiramune ricocheted, tearing off only a chip from the stone helmet. Ghislaine's eyes widened slightly as she noticed the mana accumulating there at the last moment.
Rudeus counterattacked immediately, with the blue magical blade attached to his left arm, spending mana without any concern, attacking with the greatest possible speed.
Thanks to the Prediction technique, Ghislaine retreated at the same instant.
Still, the Armor's speed exceeded her wildest expectations. A deep scratch was opened in her leg — a strike that aimed to cut her in half.
Ghislaine frowned in displeasure.
She had been repeatedly warned about that troublesome Armor, but hearing warnings and facing it personally were completely different things. That would, no doubt, be a major headache.
She saw lightning crackling threateningly in the Armor's hand.
And disappeared again in a flash, moving so fast the lightning could not reach her.
The Palace continued to collapse in yet another section, the result of spells cast by Rudeus Greyrat without any scruples. He hesitated for a brief moment, looking toward the hall above.
Then, he pursued Ghislaine at high speed, cutting through the rubble, ignoring completely the Palace collapsing around them, firing the barrage of Stone Cannons in her direction, causing even more destruction.
At that moment, Ghislaine heard a sound from her waist.
Beep—beep—beep!
Upon hearing this, she ignored her pursuer completely.
Without thinking twice, she retreated.
If she wanted to retreat, Rudeus could never stop her.
She cut through the rubble unobstructed, while the Magic King tried to track her — unsuccessfully.
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