Free Web NovelChapter 128: The path to redemption (5)
Levreeshka wastes no time, snapping her whip toward Tristan with blinding speed.
Before the strike can reach him, Tristan thrusts one arm forward.
"Alchemical Invocation ● Ferrum: Iron Sword!"
A long, razor-sharp blade instantly materializes in his grasp, and with a single swift motion he slices clean through Levreeshka’s whip.
"Well, well... now that’s a surprise..." the vampire murmurs.
Levreeshka stares in astonishment at what Tristan has just done. Not so much because of the sheer speed of his reaction, but because of the magic he used.
It is already highly unusual for an elemental mage to master two different elemental invocations, or for an alchemist to wield more than one alchemical invocation.
But a mage capable of using both alchemy and elemental magic is so rare that only a few dozen individuals across all of N’Raeth possess such talent.
"An elemental alchemist... you truly caught me off guard, I’ll admit that. The person who told me about you described you as a powerful elemental mage, but it seems you were hiding an ace up your sleeve after all."
"I’m not surprised those pathetic villagers know nothing about it — I don’t waste alchemical magic on a pack of worthless peasants. But against you, it seems I’ll have to fight seriously from the very beginning, General of the Scarlet Armor, Levreeshka Dulcar."
"Oh... so you know who I am? This fight just keeps getting more and more interesting."
"I assume they also mentioned that I once served in the Royal Guard, correct? In that case, it shouldn’t surprise you that I’ve heard stories about you and your powerful Innatus."
"Oh, it surprises me quite a bit, actually — the humans on Earth knew nothing about my Innatus. It seems the Royal Guard receives far better training than the Monster Slayers."
"Enough small talk. What does one of Elyndra’s most influential vampires want with us? I highly doubt someone of your standing would be sent here over a mere handful of gold Zirc."
"I happened to pass through the area and stumbled across a group of your men engaging in morally questionable behavior toward a helpless farmer and his family. So I decided to kill you. That’s all."
"A vampire lecturing us about morality?! What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?!" Don Dargot snaps. "Tristan, shut that arrogant mouth of hers for good!"
"I’ll do my best."
Tristan moves to attack, but before he can even take a step, Levreeshka’s whip splits into dozens of tendrils that coil around his body, binding him completely from head to toe.
"Elemental Invocation ● Air: Tornado!"
A violent whirlwind erupts around Tristan, shredding apart the tangled mass restraining him.
The instant he breaks free, he immediately shifts to the counterattack.
He redirects those same air currents around his own body, forcing them to surge from behind him to propel himself forward with explosive speed toward Levreeshka.
But even an assault carried on the wind itself is not enough to catch her off guard.
Despite the raging gusts crashing against her and empowering Tristan’s heavy sword strikes, Levreeshka evades every slash with surprising ease, never once allowing the violent winds to throw her off balance.
"Ugh... what a disappointment. And here I was hoping at least you’d manage to entertain me a little."
With a blinding roundhouse kick, Levreeshka smashes her foot into Tristan’s face, cracking the reinforced helmet protecting him.
A second kick follows instantly, slamming into his chest hard enough to send him hurtling backward.
Before Tristan can even crash to the ground, Levreeshka is already on him.
She drives a brutal knee into his abdomen, then immediately follows with a savage rising punch beneath his chin. freewebnσvel.cѳm
The impact shatters Tristan’s helmet and tears apart sections of his armor, violently launching him into the air beneath Don Dargot’s horrified gaze.
"T-Tristan... what the hell are you doing?! Why are you letting her beat the shit out of you without fighting back?!"
"Go ahead and say goodbye to your precious bodyguard and start looking for a place to hide, fatso — in a few seconds I’ll be done with him, and then it’ll be your turn!"
Don Dargot takes Levreeshka’s threat as genuine advice and immediately flees inside his villa — trying to escape across open ground against someone infinitely faster than him would amount to certain death.
A violent crimson aura erupts from Levreeshka’s body as she launches herself toward Tristan, who is still suspended in midair. Swarming alongside her are the countless tendrils branching from her whip.
"N-Not over yet!" Tristan chokes out, blood pouring from his mouth in heavy streams. "Alchemical Invocation ● Ferrum: Armor!"
In place of his shattered armor, a thick and massive iron cuirass instantly forms around his body.
The tendrils reach him before Levreeshka can, wrapping around his arms and legs and pulling his body taut, leaving him with no room to dodge or defend himself.
Once again Tristan manages to break free using his wind magic, but by then it is already far too late to escape Levreeshka’s devastating strike.
Her fist crashes directly into his stomach, blasting through the thick iron armor and burying itself deep into the muscles of his abdomen.
A pleased grin slowly spreads across Levreeshka’s face.
"Game over, Tristan Borrin."
"T-That... is what you think, vampire!" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Summoning every ounce of strength left in his body, Tristan grabs Levreeshka’s arm still buried deep inside his abdomen. He forces her arm to remain buried inside his abdomen, using it as a plug to stop himself from bleeding out. And then...
"M-My death is already certain... but I’ll die knowing I dragged one of the most powerful vampires in the multiverse down with me! Advanced Elemental Invocation ● Hurricane!"
An instant later, a catastrophic storm erupts around them. The violent winds are powerful enough to rip Don Dargot’s massive villa straight from its foundations and tear the surrounding stone walls apart into flying debris.
And for the very first time since the battle began, the confident smile on Levreeshka’s face gives way to genuine concern.
And she has every reason to be.
Advanced Elemental Invocations are vastly more powerful than ordinary elemental spells. Because of the enormous amount of mana they consume, only a small number of mages are capable of casting them — and Levreeshka never imagined her opponent would be one of those few.
The violent winds swirling around them rapidly evolve into a colossal hurricane, swallowing both Levreeshka and Tristan whole as it tears through everything within hundreds of meters, reducing the entire area to a barren wasteland.
And when the storm finally dies down, an eerie silence descends across the battlefield.
Not even the faintest sound disturbs the motionless stillness of the night.
Then, the sound of rubble shifting.
"Fuck... that bastard really knew what he was doing. No wonder everyone who fought him before me ended up dead..." Levreeshka rasps, brushing the shattered debris off her body.
She is covered in blood and dust from head to toe. Her clothes have been reduced to shredded rags, and beneath them her bare skin is riddled with deep wounds and bleeding gashes.
But only a few moments pass before those injuries begin closing on their own, restoring her body as though nothing had happened.
"Well... at least I can’t say I was bored."
