Chapter 1248
"Curse it all!"
Martha bolted toward Birdnew Village, her teeth digging sharply into her lower lip.
'Right as I stepped away! No, did they wait for my departure to strike?'
The Light Wind Palace was heralded as the premier strike force within Zieghart, but eighty percent of that reputation rested on the shoulders of the freakish talent known as Raon.
Without Raon’s singular strength, the Light Wind Palace would struggle to withstand the assault of supreme masters; she needed to reinforce them immediately.
Tsssk!
The pressure of Martha’s bite drew a thin trail of crimson.
'Why am I crawling at this pace!'
She currently stood at the Peak of Grandmaster. Following a devastating loss to Runaan, she had labored through sleepless nights alongside her mother, inching toward the threshold of Transcendence, yet today her legs felt as heavy as lead.
'Move faster.'
Martha let out a silent scream as she tore through the thicket and reached the clearing overlooking Birdnew Village.
'If I just maintain this speed... Wait.'
She was just about to ignite her Titan's Aura for a high-speed aerial burst when the scene unfolded.
Peoooong!
Figures clad in the scarlet mail of Eden's ghosts were literally detonating. Green-robed demons were being driven into the scorched dirt, their torsos cleaved clean in two.
It was a display of absolute dominance. The swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace remaining in Birdnew Village were crushing the advancing Eden ghosts, utilizing a sophisticated evolution of the Light Wind sword formation.
"Huh..."
Martha allowed her churning aura to settle and began a slow walk into Birdnew Village.
Kwaaaaang!
Despite being vastly outnumbered by the green and red demons of Eden, the enemy couldn't even graze the Light Wind Palace’s defensive line. They were being repelled like a retreating tide, or perhaps like insects incinerating themselves against a brilliant pyre.
"...Was my rushing back pointless?"
Martha ran a hand through her hair, tilting her head in confusion.
"Maybe I should have stayed on the investigation... No. There's no telling where that wretch is hiding!"
The phantom that had backstabbed the sentries and left them to decay remained a mystery. It was the right call to return and disseminate that warning.
'Besides, these are just the foot soldiers.'
The true lethality of Eden lay not in the rank-and-file red or green demons, but in the high-ranking officers who donned monstrous helms and masks.
While the fodder did the dirty work, the helmeted elite provided the real martial pressure; the danger had not yet passed.
"Hoo!"
Taking a stabilizing breath, Martha bypassed the heart of Birdnew Village where the formation held firm. Instead, she veered toward the fringes where the red and green demons swarmed.
"Ugh!"
"Hup!"
Sensing her approach, the demons lunged with their blades, offering nothing but guttural cries.
"Pathetic!"
Martha smirked, bringing her blade down in a heavy arc. A violent surge of energy erupted from her steel, obliterating not just the immediate attackers but those lurking in the periphery.
Peobeobeobeobeobeong!
Yet, despite the carnage she wrought, the demons threw themselves at her without a flicker of doubt, as if the very concept of terror had been surgically removed from their minds.
"At least they're consistently suicidal!"
Martha’s Titan's Aura flared as she carved a path through the mindless horde, making her way toward the center of the village to join her comrades.
"Quite the dramatic arrival."
Burren, anchoring the core of the formation, offered a dry smirk as he noted Martha’s blood-spattered appearance.
"Business as usual," Martha replied with a shrug, dismissing the comment.
"Give me the news," Burren said, nodding toward the outskirts to prompt her report.
"The guards were struck from behind. There's no sign they even fought back, and the bodies are heavily decomposed. I can't tell if the killer was simply too fast or if some foul sorcery was involved."
Martha summarized the grim scene she had discovered.
"Understood. Struck from the rear..." Burren’s eyes sharpened as he calculated the implications.
"But where is that idiot?" Martha’s brow furrowed, noticing Runaan’s absence from the collective formation.
"Over there." Burren pointed toward the right flank.
Kugugugugu!
A massive spire of jagged ice erupted from the area thick with enemy demons. Within that translucent, freezing pillar, red and green demons were trapped like specimens, their bodies serving as the foundation for the frozen monument.
Haaaaah.
The sheer intensity of the frost aura radiating from the iceberg snared the legs of nearby demons, pinning them in place. They perished in agony as the frigid air tore their forms apart; those already encased in the ice almost seemed more fortunate.
"Whoo."
A silver-haired woman drifted down with ethereal grace, landing amidst the corpses of enemies who hadn't even had the chance to bleed. She looked every bit the celestial maiden, yet she radiated the chilling malice of a wraith from a frozen purgatory.
"Hmm."
Martha felt a localized shiver as the lethal cold pouring from Runaan’s sword reached her.
'This makes no sense...'
She had surged in power once again.
Runaan hadn't officially stepped into the realm of Transcendence, yet the pressure and skill she exerted were indistinguishable from a Transcendent. Only Raon had ever displayed such an anomaly; it defied all logic.
'What kind of enchantment is this?'
Evelyn had merely mentioned that Runaan was afflicted by a dark hex. The source and the method of this power-granting curse remained unknown.
Kwadrrrreuk!
Runaan stepped over the shattered remains of her foes, advancing toward the northern cluster of ghosts.
"Kkeuk!"
"Ugh..."
Demons that were supposed to be fearless found themselves recoiling, letting out involuntary whimpers as they were suffocated by Runaan’s overwhelming presence and bloodlust.
Chiaaaaaang!
Runaan’s blade moved with a frigid precision, turning the fleeing enemies into statues of white frost before they shattered into dust.
"Eden..."
She stalked toward the remaining stragglers, her aura darkening with a rage that seemed bottomless.
Sseueu.
As Runaan prepared to freeze the very earth beneath her feet to give chase...
Paaaaaang!
Abruptly, figures wearing distorted monster helmets and masks burst from the bloodied shrubbery. These were the elite commanders of Eden. Recognizing the dire state of their troops, they could no longer remain in the shadows.
Kugugugugu!
The Eden executives charged, their collective killing intent causing the ground to tremble as they crashed into the Light Wind Palace’s defensive line.
"Elite commanders inbound!"
"Keep your focus!"
"Tighten the formation!"
The swordsmen steeled themselves, pouring their strength into the barrier to withstand the combined assault of the demons and their masked leaders.
Chiaaaaaang!
The executives were a different breed entirely. Even the veterans of the Light Wind Palace, who had been slaughtering the rank-and-file with ease, found themselves straining against the sophisticated techniques and spells of the officers.
In truth, if the Light Wind Palace abandoned their defensive posture, they could likely wipe out the enemy, but their primary objective was the protection of the Shadow Agents’ investigators. They were anchored to their position to safeguard the non-combatants in the center.
"Runaan!"
Martha shouted, signaling to the silver-haired girl.
"Stop this! Get back here and hold the line!"
She stomped in frustration, demanding Runaan return to her assigned post.
"......"
Runaan paused her slaughter, lowering her blade. She stared toward the Light Wind Palace for a heartbeat, then turned back to the enemy and swung again.
Peoooooook!
An orc-masked executive and the demons trailing him were instantly reduced to a crimson mist by Runaan’s strike. She ignored the call to regroup, consumed entirely by the hunt.
"Damn it! To hell with this!"
Grit-toothed, Martha abandoned her attempts to call Runaan back and leaped into the formation to fill the gap.
"Why is she so stubborn!"
She snarled as she parried a heavy blow from a troll-masked foe.
"This is infuriating!"
With a forceful stomp, she drove her sword through the chest of the troll-mask who had been raising a heavy axe.
"Weren't you exactly the same?"
Burren let out a short laugh despite the tension, eyeing the fuming Martha.
"I-I never!" Martha snapped, her jaw tight with indignation.
"Every time Raon told you to hold position, you were the first to dive into the fray. Don't act like you've forgotten," Burren said, shrugging as if the memory were common knowledge.
"Kkeung..."
Martha fell silent, unable to provide a counter-argument.
"Let her run for now. These opponents aren't strong enough to break us," Burren noted, his eyes narrowing as he watched the Eden forces struggle against their wall of steel.
"I just don't understand why they're throwing themselves at us when they clearly can't win."
He chewed his lip, troubled by the fact that while Eden had appeared as predicted, their numbers and strength seemed insufficient for a serious siege.
"They're likely hiding a secondary objective," Martha mused, casually decapitating four demons in a single sweep.
"Regardless, we have a job to do."
She agreed that their priority remained the safety of the Shadow Agents, as dictated by the Lord's Manor.
"Hearing you talk about duty... I expect the sun to rise in the west tomorrow."
Burren chuckled, genuinely amused by her restraint.
"It’s like you and Runaan have traded temperaments."
His expression softened slightly as he watched Runaan continue her one-woman massacre.
"She’s grown even more powerful. It’s frightening, really."
Burren felt a genuine chill at the display of Runaan’s martial growth.
"Yeah. She’s gotten irritatingly strong," Martha muttered.
"But I don't want that kind of power."
Because it had cost Runaan her self-control.
Normally, Runaan’s frost was like a guiding wind within the Light Wind sword formation, bolstering her allies and slowing her foes. She had always thrived in that supportive role, but now her very nature seemed rewritten.
Runaan was unleashing glaciers that swallowed everything in sight. She was a solo killer, entirely detached from the well-being or coordination of the swordsmen behind her.
'I have to pull her back. But...'
Martha reached into her belt pouch. Her fingers brushed the snake-shaped bracelet she had obtained from Evelyn, and she set her jaw.
'Do I even have the strength?'
The gap in their current abilities was real; she wasn't certain she could restrain Runaan, even with the aid of Evelyn’s mana-infused artifact.
'No, I have to try.'
Martha shook off her doubt, her fists tightening.
'Just like Raon did for me.'
Raon had honored their childhood pact without hesitation, saving her mother and defeating the Leader of the White Blood Religion without asking for anything. She wanted to be that kind of pillar for Runaan—someone who saved her just because it was the right thing to do.
Kugugugugu!
As Martha steeled her heart, the Eden ghosts began to falter, their ranks crumbling as they realized they were hitting an immovable object.
"Fa-fall back! Retreat!"
"Break away! We can't pierce this!"
The remaining executives, now down to just a handful, saw the futility of the assault and ordered a full withdrawal.
"Everyone, move out—"
Just as the commanders tried to scatter to ensure at least one of them escaped...
Hwaaaaaaa!
Delicate flowers of white frost began to drift from the sky over Birdnew Village. These petals transformed the ground into a frozen wasteland on contact, and any person they touched found their flesh and bone instantly turned to ice.
"Kkyaaaaaak!"
"Ueoeoook!"
The fleeing remnants of Eden were snared by this sudden, grand-scale technique. They were frozen in mid-stride, becoming crystalline statues with terror etched into their glassy eyes.
"Eden will..."
Runaan finally lowered her weapon once every single intruder in the village had been neutralized.
"I will... erase them all..."
She radiated a dark, vengeful energy, as if funneling the trauma she had endured from Syria Sullion into a singular hatred for Eden.
"Hmm..."
"R-Runaan?"
"I knew her ceiling was high, but this is terrifying..."
The Light Wind swordsmen and the Shadow Agents alike were unsettled by the sheer brutality and scale of her power.
"I-I need to send word to headquarters immediately."
The leader of the Shadow Agents’ team scrambled to find parchment, keeping a wary eye on Runaan. He needed to inform the family that the predicted attack had occurred.
"You!"
Martha marched toward Runaan, her face clouded with a scowl.
"What is wrong with you? Your place isn't out here alone!"
The Light Wind Palace functioned on discipline and specific roles. Runaan had discarded the entire system to indulge in a private slaughter, and Martha wouldn't let it slide.
"Think about what you're doing! Our objective is—"
"They were weak..."
Runaan’s eyes remained dark as she cut her off with a shake of her head.
"So weak they couldn't even... touch a single member of the Light Wind Palace..."
She gestured dismissively, implying that the lack of threat justified her rogue behavior.
"That's not the point! There could be a Transcendent or a dark priest waiting in ambush! We can't afford to be sloppy—"
Martha, surprisingly acting as the voice of reason, grabbed Runaan by the shoulders.
"Release me..."
Runaan shrugged off Martha’s grip, her eyes darting toward the shadows behind them.
"One is still lurking..."
Sensing a hidden presence, Runaan didn't hesitate; she launched herself toward the outskirts in a blur of motion.
An Eden executive, who had been observing from the shadows, bolted in surprise, leaping into the canopy of the trees. He wore a heavy helm, but his hood obscured the specific monster design.
"Perish..."
Runaan lunged with a lethal thrust, but the executive twisted mid-air with unnatural fluidity, parrying her strike before sprinting toward the west.
"Haa..."
Refusing to let her prey escape, Runaan pursued him, her frost aura leaving a trail of white in her wake.
"......"
Martha stood frozen for a moment, looking between the erratic Runaan and the mysterious executive who had managed to evade her.
'Something is wrong.'
The combination of Runaan’s instability and the calculated escape of the Eden officer sent a wave of dread through Martha.
"Burren!"
Martha summoned her Titan's Aura to its peak and signaled to her comrade.
"We’re moving!"
She gestured toward the direction Runaan had vanished, her voice tight with worry.
"We have to watch over our wayward sister!"
