Chapter 1251
Runaan’s blade lengthened with fluid precision as a pair of snowy hawks, radiant with azure-white luminescence, took flight from her sword’s projection. These avian constructs turned their crimson eyes forward, seemingly ravenous for blood, and dived toward Martha and Burren.
Martha hoisted her weapon, which was heavily encased in Titan’s Aura, high above her head. Even as the freezing mist radiating from Runaan caused her skin to prickle with frost, she remained rooted to the spot, bracing for the hawks' impact.
The moment the icy predator reached her, Martha swung downward with crushing force. Her Titan’s Aura, saturated with the heavy power of the earth, tore through the wings of the frigid bird without mercy.
"Huu."
Burren let out a soft breath, his own blade pulled back toward his shoulder. He also weathered the sub-zero air that threatened to turn his very breath to ice, thrusting his sword forward just as the second hawk closed the distance.
A gale so sharp it seemed capable of rending the fabric of space erupted from Burren’s sword, slicing the frost-construct Runaan had created clean in half.
"A pretty sight, but..."
Martha’s lips curled into a smirk as she observed the shattered remains of the frost hawk.
"It’s nothing special. It’s weaker than a paper toy, honestly pathetic."
She let out a dismissive snort, grinding the frozen fragments left behind into the dirt with her heel.
"Let's head back."
Burren gave a tired sigh, lowering his guard.
"There's still time to fix this."
He gestured his agreement, suggesting they return immediately.
"No. Furthermore..."
Runaan shook her head with quiet intensity, her sword rising once more.
"This isn't the end."
Exactly as she echoed Burren’s sentiment that the encounter wasn't over, the situation shifted.
The white hawks that had been struck down by Burren and Martha didn't simply vanish; they liquefied into the soil, instantly flash-freezing the boots and legs of the two warriors, anchoring them to the terrain.
"Wh-what is...?"
"Runaan!"
Grimaces of frustration crossed Burren and Martha’s faces as they looked down at the pale frost locking their ankles in place.
"If you try to tear yourselves free, you'll lose your feet."
Runaan spoke with an eerie calm, warning them against struggling.
"I will return shortly."
Runaan declared her intent to capture the Ghost of Eden alone and turned away, leaving her companions behind. She dropped into a low stance, preparing to deploy her footwork at its maximum velocity to seize the opening.
"Hiik..."
The Eden executive hidden behind the forest rabbit mask hurriedly adjusted his hood and scrambled onto his toes, attempting to flee from Runaan yet again.
"You won't get away this time."
Runaan was on the verge of launching her high-speed movement technique, coordinating her internal energy with her breathing.
However, Martha completely disregarded Runaan's caution. She shattered the ice with brute strength and forced her legs to move.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Moving as if the pain was non-existent, she stepped in to obstruct Runaan’s path.
"Martha..."
Runaan’s jaw tightened, clearly shaken by Martha’s sudden defiance. Her eyes darted down to inspect Martha’s lower legs.
"Are you actually worried about my ankles?"
Martha let out a dry laugh, meeting Runaan’s gaze.
"Don't bother. I'm perfectly fine."
She gestured toward her legs, showing that she hadn't sustained a single scratch.
"But how...?"
Runaan’s brow furrowed in confusion.
"Because I've fallen for this trick before."
Martha chuckled, brushing the lingering frost from her attire.
"I was shamed once at the great training ground; I wasn't about to let a repeat performance happen, was I?"
Her smirk widened as she explained that she had specifically trained to counter cold energy, anticipating the day Runaan might try to freeze her solid.
"The same goes for me."
Burren also broke free from the ice with ease, lifting his feet to show he was prepared for Runaan's elemental affinity.
"The outcome of your previous duel was so startling that I made sure to develop wind-based defenses against it."
He stepped over the broken ice shards and moved to stand before Runaan once more.
"......"
Faced with this unexpected resistance, Runaan looked back and forth between her two friends, her eyes trembling with uncertainty.
"I'll admit you've become powerful. Even I would struggle to take you down right now. But..."
Martha rolled her shoulder like a common street fighter and tilted her chin up.
"If you don't understand the source of your own strength, you'll never be able to wield that power correctly."
She squinted her eyes, trying to peer into Runaan’s mental state.
"I don't feel I've earned the title of Vice Palace Master yet."
Burren shook his head, taking a measure of the blame upon himself.
"Runaan. I saw that you weren't yourself, but I foolishly thought time would mend it. I believed that by simply getting stronger myself, I could support you. I was wrong."
He bit his lip, noting her hollow eyes and the sickly pallor of her skin.
"I should have confronted you directly and dragged you back. I'm sorry."
Burren offered a stiff, formal bow.
"That’s why I can't let you pass now. No, I refuse to let you go!"
His eyes burned with a fierce resolve, signaling that he would not budge.
"I really didn't want to hurt you..."
Runaan let out a clipped sigh.
"I have no other choice."
A plume of white vapor escaped her lips as she prepared to engage them with her full power.
"You've always been annoyingly slow and talkative, but this is perfect. Keep that energy up."
Martha grinned, seemingly relishing the challenge.
"Next, I'll have to beat that arrogance out of you."
She made a provocative 'come hither' motion with her fingers.
"Your path ends here."
Burren straightened his posture, looking Runaan in the eye.
"Because right now, I have to stand in for Raon."
He shook his head firmly, raising a sword that flickered with razor-sharp winds.
"This is for Raon’s sake."
Runaan ground her teeth together and hoisted her weapon.
"I have to slaughter those monsters for Raon’s sake!"
A brilliant white light erupted from her blade, and a colossal blizzard began to manifest in the sky above them.
"You know this is too much for you alone, right? Back me up."
Martha signaled to Burren. She clicked her tongue, acknowledging that cooperation was their only path to victory.
"You're full of surprises today, saying things I never thought I'd hear from you."
Burren smiled softly, recognizing the desperation in Martha’s eyes.
"Very well. I’ll provide the support you need."
He channeled his sharp, cutting winds to amplify Martha’s presence.
"You keep saying 'for Raon.' But Raon would never want you to do this!"
Martha bared her teeth as the frost storm Runaan conjured began to descend.
"I'll knock some sense into you on Raon’s behalf!"
She surged with Titan’s Aura at its peak, her entire form glowing with a fierce red light.
Burren unleashed a refined, majestic wind to push Martha’s aggressive aura even higher.
Runaan’s glacial tempest collided with the earthen rage of Martha and Burren. The impact was so violent that the golden reeds of the field were obliterated, leaving the ground scarred and bare.
"Why..."
Runaan bit her lip as she watched Martha repel the encroaching frost.
'Why are they standing in my way?'
Her only goal was to eliminate the Ghost of Eden!
The Ghost of Eden had torched Birdnew Village and wiped out the place she held dear.
Those creatures were pure malice that had no right to exist. It was for Raon, for Zieghart. It was for the safety of the world that they had to be purged.
'Yes. That village was destroyed by that monster... Wait. Which village?'
Runaan’s brow furrowed painfully as she parried a strike from Martha.
'What was the name of that village?'
The memory of 'that village' was there, yet it lacked a name or a face.
A vague image flickered in her mind, but she couldn't grasp the details. It was a bizarre sensation that she couldn't explain.
'Thinking about it...'
Runaan retreated a few steps to catch her breath.
'This is all wrong. Not just this fight, but me.'
Martha and Burren were correct. The Ghost of Eden was obviously baiting her.
Under normal circumstances, she would never have fallen for such a transparent lure, yet she had been pursuing that figure like a starving animal. It was completely contrary to her nature—something that might have suited Martha, but not her.
"What's wrong?"
Martha narrowed her eyes, watching Runaan closely.
"Did you finally snap out of it?"
She gestured for Runaan to stand down if her mind had cleared.
'Martha...'
Runaan bit her lip, noticing the genuine concern hidden in Martha’s dark eyes.
'She's right. I haven't been acting like myself.'
'What is happening to me?'
She pressed a hand to her throbbing temple and looked up.
'It started when I saw that man's eyes in Birdnew Village, something... Ah!'
The moment she traced her memories back to that first encounter with the cloaked figure in Birdnew Village, everything changed.
The cloaked monster reached into his robes and pulled out a blood-stained wreath, waving it as if he had been waiting for her to notice.
At the sight of the bloody wreath, her heart plummeted. The clarity she had been trying to regain was swallowed by shadows, replaced by a singular, overwhelming urge to kill that creature.
"Move out of my way!"
Runaan let out a rare, guttural scream and lunged forward. She released a torrent of frost, her sword now radiating a terrifying, uncontrollable bloodlust.
Martha and Burren didn't flinch. They held their ground against the freezing onslaught, refusing to let her momentum break their resolve.
"I said move! That monster has to die!"
As Runaan snarled, her teeth drawing blood from her own lip as she swung at her friends, the shadows shifted.
From the remnants of the shattered frost, several Ghosts of Eden materialized. They leveled strange, tubular devices at Martha and Burren.
With a sharp snap of strings, hundreds of needles erupted from the tubes, raining down on the two warriors.
"Get back!"
"What kind of trick is this!"
Though they were occupied with containing Runaan, Martha and Burren managed to leap away, narrowly avoiding the projectile needles.
Where the needles struck the earth, the ground began to hiss and liquefy, turning a rotten black. It was a lethal toxin that clearly meant instant death upon contact.
"Is this... Wait! Runaan!"
As Martha stared in horror at the dissolving ground, Runaan exploited the gap in their formation and surged forward.
"Uh, uh?"
The Ghost of Eden in the rabbit mask tried to retreat from Runaan’s sudden burst of speed, but a wall of ice had already materialized behind him, sealing his escape.
"You aren't running away this time."
Runaan cut off every possible exit for the masked man and brought her blade down with finality.
The man was unable to dodge, taking the full force of Runaan’s strike.
The forest rabbit mask split down the middle, falling away to reveal the surprisingly young face of a boy.
"Keoooook!"
Vibrant red blood sprayed from his mouth as Runaan’s sword buried itself deep between his neck and shoulder.
"Ru... Runaan..."
The boy gasped her name, reaching out a shaking hand to touch her cheek.
"Huh...?"
Runaan began to tremble violently as she looked at him, feeling as though a fever dream had just broken.
"You are..."
Just as she let her sword slip from her hand, trying to reconcile her memories with a boy who shouldn't have existed, a void-black magic circle manifested behind her.
From the center of the dark light emerged the person she loathed above all others.
"At last, we meet again!"
Syria Sullion. The monstrosity that had returned to life even after Raon had ended her, now driven only by a thirst for carnage, flashed a brilliant, predatory smile.
"My dear little sister!"
