2025-04-18 01:44:40The mountain wind howled through the cave’s entrance as the first echoes rolled in—a low, guttural growl that made the very rock beneath Ethan’s boots tremble.
Celestia had already unsheathed her claws.
“They’re not just hunting,” she said, her voice cold. “They’re communicating.”
Ethan tightened his grip on the Void-Cleaving Blade. “Multiple signatures. Five, maybe six. That’s not a rogue. That’s a pride.”
They moved to higher ground, scaling the cliffs above the ravine. From there, they saw it—beneath the haze of a mist-covered moon, a pride of chimeras roamed the valley floor. Not just one, but at least four fully-grown beasts and two juveniles, each with lion heads, scaled tails, and deformed wings twitching with anticipation.
Ethan let out a low whistle. “This isn’t a fight. It’s a siege.”
“Then let’s win it with strategy,” Celestia replied.
They began the ambush from the cliffs. Ethan launched a barrage of enchanted arrows from his pouch’s hidden quiver system, each one charged with elemental glyphs. The first exploded in a burst of fire, scattering the chimera pack.
Celestia descended like a comet. Her new Darkmoon Armor flared with lunar energy, and illusion runes shimmered as she sprinted through their ranks, confusing their senses. Her wings created phantom afterimages that darted in opposite directions.
The lead chimera—the alpha—roared, its three heads snapping in different directions.
Ethan dropped into the fray behind her. He focused his detection aura to predict the creature’s movement. An arrow launched at the perfect second struck the beast’s left eye.
It howled.
Celestia used the moment to blindside the next chimera, wrapping her flames into a spear of shadow and launching it point-blank into the beast’s chest. It staggered—but another chimera rushed her flank.
Ethan activated the pouch’s dimensional shift. A phantom wall sprang up just in time to deflect a gaping jaw.
“Appreciate the save,” she muttered.
“Next one’s gonna cost you,” Ethan replied, ducking a swipe.
They fought together as if fused by instinct. Ethan’s Void-Tear Edge slashed through sinew and scale alike, while Celestia’s shadow-infused breath attacks corroded armor-like hide.
Two of the juveniles tried to circle behind them. Ethan spun and pulled a trap orb from the pouch—one of Eileen’s newest additions. He slammed it into the ground.
A burst of vines, tipped with glowing sigils, erupted like a net and locked the juveniles in place.
Celestia leapt off a boulder and slammed both feet into a chimera’s back, sending it crashing to the dirt. Before it could rise, Ethan struck downward, blade piercing its heart.
The alpha charged.
Both of them turned.
Ethan launched a grappling chain tipped with void energy—looping around the beast’s forward leg. Celestia conjured a blast of shadowfire, blasting its eyes.
It screamed.
“NOW!” Ethan shouted.
Celestia flew upward and came down in a spinning dive, her claws glowing with runes. Ethan ran low and slid beneath the creature, his sword flashing in a sweeping arc.
Two strikes. One from below, one from above.
The alpha hit the earth with a quake.
Silence returned to the mountain.
Ethan leaned on his sword, breathing heavily. “You okay?”
Celestia, bloodied and scratched, nodded. “I think... that was all of them.”
They took a moment to gather the spoils—fangs, armored scales, venom sacs, and most importantly, intact chimera hearts glowing faintly with mana.
“Eileen said these parts were insanely rare,” Ethan muttered, tucking the largest horn into the pouch’s reinforced compartment.
Celestia turned one of the talons in her hand. “There’s enough here to buy passage to an entire region. Or fund half a guild.”
They glanced at the horizon. Dawn was breaking. The cave they’d slept in was still in view, but it felt like a world away.
“We’ll need a contact,” Ethan said. “Someone who can get us fair trade value for all this.”
Celestia’s ears perked. “Dasi had a merchant who mentioned the Crimson Caravan.”
“A trade network,” Ethan nodded. “They deal in rare beast parts and magical reagents.”
As they turned to leave, Ethan looked over his shoulder.
The battlefield was quiet. But in the center where the alpha had fallen, a black sigil was burned into the earth. It hadn’t been there before.
Celestia saw it too.
“That... wasn’t us.”
A cold wind swept the canyon.
And far above, a shimmer of red eyes blinked once—then vanished into the trees.
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CHAPTER 164: Dark Secrets
Ethan gently laid Seraphina against a smooth section of the cavern wall. Her breathing was shallow, but steady; Eileen’s swift healing ministrations had halted the worst of the curse. Though Seraphina remained pale and weak, she forced her eyes open. “I’m alright,” she insisted softly, even as Celestia and Nina knelt beside her in concern. The saint was determined not to become a burden—not when so many others still needed saving.Further down the tunnel, a massive wooden gate reinforced with iron vines barred the way forward—Theros’s doing, no doubt, to seal off his retreat. Beyond that gate likely lay the heart of his operation. Ethan approached the obstacle, sword in hand, and saw strange symbols carved into the wood—runes glimmering with residual magic. It was a lock, and a formidable one at that.“Stand
CHAPTER 163: The Saint’s Peril
Seraphina’s instincts kicked in a heartbeat before Theros’s dark spell could pierce her. She threw up both hands and a dome of shimmering golden light flared around her body. Theros’s fingers, crackling with malevolent energy, struck the holy barrier instead of her flesh. There was a crack like thunder. Seraphina staggered under the impact, her boots skidding on the rocky ground as her barrier trembled.Theros’s form flickered, and for an instant his eyes glowed a hellish blackish-purple in the dark. He pressed against her barrier, face contorting with effort and glee. “Ah, a lively one,” he hissed. “Your soul shines so brightly, little saint... it will make the perfect offering to the dark god of the Black Market.”Seraphina’s heart pounded. The pressure of his attack was unlike anything she had felt—
CHAPTER 162: Shadow Peaks
The celebration had scarcely ended when grim new tidings forced Ethan to action. That evening, he gathered his closest allies and the elven envoys in the war room. Under guard stood General Cassaran—one of the captured conspirators—sweating and shaking under their stares.“Tell us everything,” Ethan demanded, his tone brooking no disobedience.Cassaran’s resolve crumbled instantly. “It… it was all planned by that monster,” he blurted, eyes darting around as if Theros might somehow hear him. “Theros orchestrated everything from the start!”At the mention of that name, Celestia’s expression turned icy. “Monster? What is he?” she asked sharply.Cassaran trembled. “He’s not human&helli
CHAPTER 161: Step-Out
A warm noon sun bathed Carosso’s central courtyard, where humans and elves gathered in a momentous celebration of their hard-won victory. Emperor Ethan stood before the assembled crowd with Celestia at his side. Around them were their loyal companions—Nina, Eileen, Seraphina, Israya, Lyssandra—and the high elf envoys Lucianna, Tyriel, Aetherlyn, and others from the hidden forests. Every face in the courtyard, whether human or elf, shone with cautious hope.“Today,” Ethan announced, his voice carrying proudly over the murmuring throng, “we stand as one united family, having fought together under the banner of justice to save the people of Avelline. Let this victory—and our unity—be a beacon for the future.” He turned to the foremost high elves, who were now rested and bandaged from their ordeals. For the first time in centuries, the reclusive High Elves
CHAPTER 160: Liberators
Moments later, a battered iron grate was pried open on the edge of the courtyard – a stairwell leading up from Malric’s dungeons. Tyriel emerged first, soot-stained and anxious, supporting a pale but smiling Aetherlyn. Selena and several soldiers followed behind, helping a line of gaunt prisoners climb up into the cool morning air. Elven faces, human faces – the victims of Malric’s cruelty – blinked at the dawn sky as if seeing it for the first time in ages.Near the front of the freed captives, Aetherlyn nearly buckled as the fresh breeze hit her face, but Tyriel caught her and gently eased her to sit on a fallen stone column. “Aetherlyn… we’re here,” he whispered, voice choked with emotion. The elven bard was filthy and shivering, silver hair matted and cheeks sunken, yet to Tyriel she had never looked more beautiful.
CHAPTER 159: Blood and Ashes
By the time dawn’s first light crept over Avelline City, Duke Malric’s reign of terror had definitively ended. Under heavy guard, Malric was dragged from his hiding place and forced to his knees in the courtyard of his own half-ruined manor. The once-proud Duke was barely recognizable now – his fine velvet doublet torn and soot-stained, one eye swollen shut, his powdered wig lost in the scramble to capture him. Two Carosso knights hauled him forward and kept him bowed on the blood-spattered marble.Emperor Ethan approached with measured steps, his black armor glinting with the red hues of sunrise filtering through the collapsed roof. Celestia strode just behind him, expression as pitiless as an avenging angel’s. Lucianna and the other companions gathered around – exhausted, bloodied, but resolute – to witness judgment.Malric lifted his head, trembling. Gone wa
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