A few moments ago,
While Aria and Kaelen were doing their utmost to stop the monster, Liora and Lyirrs found themselves struggling, locked in a grueling battle against hooded figures.
Even though Lyirrs’ claws could slice through the toughest materials as if they were butter, constantly defending herself while attacking was no easy feat—especially with her opponent persistently aiming for her neck with razor-sharp precision.
Ssnnnnggg!
The hooded figure relentlessly swung her thin, metallic sword like an endless sea. Lyirrs managed to sever the blade with her sharp claws, but to her astonishment, the broken weapon instantly elongated, reforming itself mid-air to strike her again. It was a harrowing, exhausting task to fend off the unrelenting assaults while protecting herself from the fatal strikes.
Her stamina was dwindling rapidly. Lyirrs felt her limits approaching. One misstep, one slight error in judgment, and her blood would spill into the hands of her enemy. It was exactly the perilous scenario Aether had warned her about.
“You’ve held out admirably, my dear~ But don’t you think it’s time we put an end to this charade?” the hooded figure teased, her voice dripping with mockery and cruel amusement.
Meanwhile,
Thunder!!
The collision of the tornado and water storm created a deafening cacophony, with lightning crackling violently in every direction. The two forces clashed with immense power, yet the water storm seemed to hold the upper hand, slowly but surely sapping the tornado of its strength.
Liora gritted her teeth in frustration. Despite her exceptional abilities, she couldn’t overpower her opponent, which could only mean one thing—the hooded figure was at a level far beyond her own. ‘Just what kind of monsters does the Arcane Hunter Organization has?’ she wondered. Feeling her strength faltering, Liora knew she couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
As the two storms collided in a destructive dance, the hooded figure stood motionless, observing the chaos with a detached, almost indifferent gaze. But then—
“WOOOORRRRR!!”
Liora, in her wolf form, exploded out of the tornado like a raging tempest, lunging directly at the hooded figure with feral intensity.
The hooded figure staggered back, momentarily caught off guard. She hadn’t anticipated such a reckless move. Liora’s thick fur was scorched from the lightning strikes—she had willingly leaped into the heart of the storms, enduring their deadly wrath just to close the distance.
It was nothing short of suicidal.
CHUCCKKK!!
Liora’s razor-sharp teeth sank deep into the hooded figure’s body, tearing into flesh with a sickening crunch.
“ARRRRHHH!!”
The hooded figure let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony as Liora thrashed her violently. The force of Liora’s powerful jaws left her unable to counter or even move, but—
Chuccckkkk!
“Nggggg!” Liora gasped in pain as something sharp pierced the inside of her jaws. She instinctively released the hooded figure, who leapt backward with surprising agility. Liora blinked in disbelief as she saw the figure’s body covered in sharp, water spear-like projections.
But those weren’t just water spears…
Slickkk…
It was her own saliva. The hooded figure had somehow manipulated Liora’s saliva, transforming it into spikes inside her mouth.
“Not bad for a dog,” the hooded figure sneered, her tone laced with irritation and pain. Blood seeped from her hoodie where Liora’s fangs had punctured her stomach.
Liora growled lowly, blood dripping from her mouth.
“Ah, but your friend seems to be in a spot of trouble,” the hooded figure said mockingly, her lips curling into a cruel smile. Liora’s eyes darted toward Lyirrs, who was on the verge of collapse. Her opponent’s blade was mere inches from slicing her throat.
With a furious snarl, Liora prepared to rush to Lyirrs’ aid, but—
“You should really be focusing on me,” the hooded figure snapped, grabbing Liora’s tail with an iron grip. With terrifying strength, she swung Liora like a rag doll, slamming her downward with a thunderous crash.
BOOM! Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire
Meanwhile,
“Goodbye, darling~ I must say, I’ve had such a delightful time playing with you,” the second hooded figure cooed, her voice laced with a sickly-sweet tone of mockery. Her twin blades gleamed menacingly as they inched closer to Lyirrs’ neck.
Lyirrs, drenched in sweat and gasping for air, felt her vision begin to blur. Her limbs trembled, and her eyelids grew unbearably heavy. She was out of strength—and time.
It wasn’t that the hooded figure had gotten her blood—it was more like the prolonged battle had finally taken its toll on Lyirrs’ body. Despite her best efforts and the healing potion she had taken, the overwhelming fatigue could not be erased.
She had been fighting, non-stop, to protect the Empress from the Empire up until now… Of course, her body had reached its breaking point. Her vision grew hazy, her breaths shallow as she mumbled weakly to herself, “I… I… I couldn’t protect… the one he loved… I… I am sorry… sirrrr…” Her voice trailed off, the words barely audible under her breath.
Chucc—
Suddenly, the sword cut deep into her flesh, but just as it was about to reach its fatal depth, it abruptly halted… Lyirrs, her eyes unfocused and heavy, could barely make sense of the what’s going on before her…
It was… Aether.
Her eyes were slightly widened.
He was holding the hooded figure by the neck in a firm front headlock. A simple twist or shift of his grip, and he could snap the figure’s neck without a second thought.
The hooded figure, her face partially hidden, was completely taken aback, her shock evident. “H-how?” she stammered. “I… I paralyzed your body! How are you moving?” She could hardly believe it—she had been so certain that his body was beyond movement…. And yet here he was, standing tall, and holding her captive.
“C-Coward!” the hooded figure growled, struggling against his grip. She twisted and writhed, but Aether’s hold on her neck was unyielding. One wrong move, and her neck would snap like a twig.
Aether’s lips curled into an amused grin. He leaned closer to her ear and whispered softly, “Coward? That’s a lot of words coming from someone who hides their face. Don’t you think?”
As much as he wanted to pull back her hood and reveal her true identity, his hands were locked firmly around her neck. Any movement, even the smallest shift, could give her a slight advantage…. Her blades were dangerously close to Lyirrs’ neck.
Too much to pay for his curiosity!
“Let her go… and I’ll let you live,” Aether said, though both he and the hooded figure knew it was an empty words.
The hooded figure, still struggling to break free, scoffed. “You think you’ve caught me, darling? Did you forget that I have my friend watching my back?”
Aether’s eyes flicked to the second hooded figure standing a little further away, watching with a cold, calculating stare. The figure began moving slowly towards him, but—
“One step…” Aether’s voice turned dangerously low, each word laced with icy menace. “One step, and I will fucking snap this bitch’s neck.”
The second hooded figure hesitated for a brief moment, but then vanished in an instant, appearing before Aether with a flash. Its hand, gleaming with a sharp water knife, aimed directly at Aether’s head.
Without a second of hesitation, Aether tightened his grip on the first hooded figure’s neck and— the neck of the first hooded figure break… But in the same fluid motion, the first hooded figure, slicing Lyirrs’ neck in one swift motion without hesitation.
It was a chain of events that unfolded in an instant.
No one hesitated, as if their lives meant nothing in the heat of the moment!!
Sssshhhhh!
Thud!
“Wrrroooo!”
BOOM!!