The response to Renji came in the form of a jet-black spear that rapidly materialized from behind the High Priestess and aimed straight at his heart.
However, before the High Priestess’s murderous intent could be sensed, a figure had already stood in front of the young man. In the midst of the spear’s flight, the Dragoness single-handedly grasped it, and even as the black spear trembled, her hand was like a vice grip, preventing it from advancing any further.
When Nova tightened her grip, crimson flames ignited from her palm, immediately incinerating the black spear to ashes.
“I remember you” Nova said as she felt a familiar sensation from the black spear’s power. However, when she observed the appearance of the High Priestess on the other side more closely, she felt a sense of unfamiliarity and uncertainty.
In her impression, the owner of the black spear should be among the top ranks of the Vanguard, someone with the heart of a warrior, strong and reliable, rather than what ‘she’ appeared to be now. .
The High Priestess’s figure floated in the sky, and her beautiful face twisted into a mad and distorted expression. Her exquisite makeup, at this moment, appeared so ironic.
“Did you come here to humiliate me by turning into this form? Nova!” The High Priestess stared down at the Dragoness with hatred and malice in her eyes.
For the sake of beauty, she had given up many things, even the accumulated hatred of five hundred years. However, it was still futile in the face of the moment when she saw Ashen. It stirred her heart and generated the thought of betraying the Old Alliance. The condition was that as long as her Lord Ashen could recognize ‘him’, praise her beauty, and continue the favor that she had been deprived of in the past.
Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
What she had worked so hard for was still met with Ashen’s cold and heartless words, -“Who are you?”-
And the Dragoness standing before him, even in her unadorned appearance, could still remain by Ashen’s side. What made Bal even more jealous was that she couldn’t compare to the Dragoness.
It was as if no matter how hard she worked after the fact, she couldn’t surpass innate superior bloodlines. Nova’s innate beauty, derived from her dragon heritage, still radiated tremendous charm even in her “low-star illustration.” Just a slight movement revealed her cold and powerful aura, further highlighting the beauty of the Dragoness. It was a beauty that Bal could never hope to attain.
‘Destroy everything, all of it!’
The High Priestess, floating in mid-air, once again condensed one jet-black spear after another. In just a few breaths, the sky behind him was filled with them.
With another wave of her hand, a dense barrage of black spears rained down upon the Dragoness’s location, blocking Nova’s every escape route.
However, Nova had no intention of retreating in the first place.
Her entire body was engulfed in flames. As a former companion from the old era turned enemy whom Nova showed great respect. Under the cover of flames, the red uniform of the “Empress,”, was once again draped over the Dragoness’s body. Her dragon-scaled boots lightly touched the ground, and in the next moment, Nova soared into the sky like a cannonball, directly confronting the countless black spears hurtling toward her.
If the earlier barrage of black spears from the High Priestess had brought fear to the demi-humans below, the figure now standing proudly in the sky left the members of the Ancient Wolf clan’s minds completely blank. .
“The Empress!?”
In the next second, Nova grasped a crimson-flame spirit blade from her waist with a simple motion. With a single-handed grip on the blade and a head adorned with imposing dragon horns, she released a crimson radiance. Simultaneously, she directed the blade vertically downward, thrusting it toward the ground.
*Buzz!*
A red circle centered around Nova in the sky, rapidly expanding outward. All the black spears that came into contact with the perimeter of the red circle were instantly ignited. In just a fraction of a moment, the sea of flames devoured every single one of the black spears from Bal’s attack.
And it wasn’t over. Without giving any time to react, following the sea of flames was Nova raising the blade high above her head, then swinging it down. At first, it was just a blade of nothingness, but in the blink of an eye, it expanded infinitely, transforming into a scorching blade over ten meters long.
Feeling the terrifying pressure, Bal immediately converted layer after layer of his polluted miasma into impure shields, attempting to intercept Nova’s strike.
However, these shields of miasma were as flimsy as paper in the face of the crimson blade. Several of them were unable to even slow down the blade’s progress and were sliced apart. Finally, they all predictably collided with the High Priestess.
Beneath the blade’s radiance, the High Priestess was completely engulfed in flames. Amidst her painful cries and screams, a few moments later, when the flames dissipated, there was no trace of the High Priestess left, as if only ashes remained beneath the blade’s searing judgment.
This was the power of the “Calamity-Rank” Characters.
However, the expression on Nova’s face didn’t ease much. Instead, it became even more serious. Despite the significant difference in strength between the two sides, the fact that the High Priestess had returned from death seemed to confirm Nova’s suspicions. A sinister and mocking smile echoed in the air as the impure energies continued to condense. The image of the High Priestess, who had been slain by the Dragoness’s blade, began to reshape itself.
“Hehehe… Impressive, Empress Nova. This strike, this very strike, was something I dreamt of executing countless times in the past. But for you, it was just a casual blow. Hahaha.”
Looking at Nova, who had returned to her Empress form in mid-air, the High Priestess, who appeared evenly matched with the “low-star illustration,” ignited a burning jealousy in Bal’s heart. He gritted his teeth but soon continued.
“But what does it matter? You can’t kill me! Do you know that within my body resides the hatred, anger, and loathing of all the demi-humans in the kingdom for you throughout these hundreds of years!”
The High Priestess laughed maniacally in mid-air. The impure brown-red mist spreading from his back covered the sky like a giant hand. When Nova looked up, she saw the pitiful faces emerging from the red mist, one after another.
Among them were subjugated demi-humans, clans wiped out by the Guards, and even humans – the lower-class peasants oppressed by the aristocracy. These were the dragon nation’s citizens who could not lift their heads under the oppressive rule of the guard’s brutal regime.
As Nova gazed upon them, each one of them fixed their hateful gazes on her with eyes filled with anger. They were glaring at Nova, their dominator, their Empress.
They wailed and roared, as if each of them was vehemently questioning Nova. Why had she treated them this way? Why had she disregarded the dragon nation? It was all because of her, and they wanted her to taste their suffering. They wanted to drag her and the rest of the dragon nation down to hell.
The Dragoness remained expressionless. She swung her blade again at these miasma phantom images in the sky. However, shortly after the flames had consumed them, both the High Priestess and the phantom images seemed to rekindle from the ashes, appearing before Nova once more.
-Come on, keep slashing!-
Bal was anticipating this. He intentionally tried to provoke Nova, aiming to have the Dragoness continually attack him. This would allow the dark power of the Dragon Nation, collected in his body through the “Altar” over centuries, to swell increasingly.
Once it reached a certain limit, this tainted Miasma would burst like an inflated balloon, spreading the true pollution across every inch of the Dragon Nation, turning the nation into Miasma-infested soil!
This was his revenge, planned over hundreds of years. Everything was now in place, just waiting for the final “detonation” from the empress.
Bal thought having the Empress as a witness and audience would satisfy his vengeful desires, but he hadn’t expected Ashen to be there as well.
‘I will let you watch, Lord Ashen, this is the personal guard you once chose, a foolish and ignorant woman. And today, all the evil fruits will finally emerge because of your wrong choice’
At this thought, Bal looked down, seeking Renji’s figure. But when he looked, the young man who had been there, along with his two guards, had vanished.
A bad feeling suddenly rose in Bal’s heart. The fear once instilled by his Master surged, causing him immense panic. He even ignored the Dragoness and hurried towards a certain location, realizing a dreadful possibility.
That place was the location of the “Altar,” where he had accumulated a terrifying amount of negative Miasma through centuries of oppression in the Dragon Nation. Bal hadn’t placed any guards around the Altar, despite its importance. The Altar’s own Miasma pollution was the best guard and protection. It was impossible for anyone to approach the Altar under such intense contamination.
Except for
That person.
The anxious High Priest was about to move, but another figure blocked his path, sealing his escape route. It seemed that from the beginning, this had been the Dragoness’s true intention.