Chapter 169: Azure Fire Burning the Moon, bl**d Stained Royal City (Part 3)
Pure power clashed with power, a moment frozen in time.
Captain Gray, gripping his wicked-looking blade, collided with the pitch-black giant sword. The shockwave rang in my ears, leaving me dazed. Sparks rained down on us like a fiery red storm. In a flash, Teresa’s face turned towards me; she gasped, exhaling a cloud of black smoke, her once-bright blue eyes now glowing a piercing red, veins bulging on her face, radiating a dazzling light.
“Ha!”
Suddenly, she let out a light shout.
Taking advantage of our blades still being locked, Teresa deftly shifted her grip on the axe handle. The massive axe changed from a defensive block to a downward strike, crashing towards me like a mountain.
That seemed like an unstoppable force.
In what felt like slow motion, I watched my right hand, tightly gripping the scythe handle, tearing apart at the thumb joint, followed by my left hand beneath it. Teresa’s swift shift from defense to offense was too clever; I couldn’t keep up. Everything blurred before me as the menacing nun morphed into the cold stone ceiling, and my body fell backward—
Bang!
My back slammed into the ground, cracking the rock beneath me.
“Cough—”
The scythe that had been pressing against my chest from earlier was now pinned under the force of the giant axe; I let out a muffled groan. The heavy impact and piercing pain made my head go blank. The axe blade scraped against my shoulder and hit the ground, sending debris flying into my right eye, causing everything to go blurry.
In the next moment, my neck tightened suddenly—Teresa yanked on my collar, lifting me and whipping me towards the wall behind me.
Boom—!
The hard stone wall shattered, pieces crashing down as I slammed into it, instantly engulfed in a dust cloud. I felt like my back had sunk into the wall, desperately trying to wriggle free, but I couldn’t catch my breath. Intense pain churned in my chest, making it impossible to muster any strength.
How careless…
That thought flitted through my mind.
Whoosh—
A gust of wind swept the dust aside as the black-and-white nun’s attire flashed before me. Following closely were an onslaught of fiery punches raining down like a thunderstorm.
Boom boom boom boom boom—
The sounds of shattering earth echoed in my ears as a sandstorm engulfed the room. The relentless iron fists rained down on my face, chest, and abdomen… hitting places I couldn’t even pinpoint. My body felt like a tattered cloth flapping in the wind, swaying wildly under the barrage of strikes, further embedding me into the wall.
It hurt.
It hurt… it was hot… it hurt!!!
I coughed up bl**d.
“Ah—!!!”
I roared angrily, my face contorting with rage. With all my strength, I managed to lift one hand and slapped Teresa right across her face. A surge of blue light erupted from my body, unleashing a wave of freezing ice that coated the surrounding walls in frost.
d*e already!
Boom—!!!
Countless tiny, sharp ice crystals exploded from my palm, blasting Teresa’s head and half her shoulder into oblivion. bl**d and flesh splattered all over me, almost flying into my mouth.
The explosive force sent her headless body flying seven or eight meters away, sliding across the ground for a bit before twitching and… standing up again.
Dammit… if it weren’t for the others here… dammit… dammit…
“Cough, cough, cough—”
Fine sand and bl**d mingled in my mouth, bl**d trickling from my nose, my chest feeling tight, while my body was firmly wedged into the wall, leaving only my hands free to move.
So uncomfortable… I need to get out…
Sizzle…
Suddenly, faint wisps of smoke began to rise off my body, and I faintly smelled something burning. Before I could process it, a piercing pain swept through me—the bl**d and flesh Teresa had splattered on me ignited in hellfire.
“Ah! Ah—!”
I screamed in agony. My weak hands flailed at my head and body, desperately trying to extinguish the flames as Captain Gray clattered to the ground.
So hot… so hot!!!
After a frantic struggle, I finally snapped into action. My eyes shone with blue light once more as an icy mist enveloped me, quickly dousing the flames.
The intense pain caused my body to tremble uncontrollably.
Straining to look down, I noticed the black dress had been burned through in multiple spots, revealing charred, smoking skin underneath.
A heart-wrenching pain.
I inhaled sharply, my eyes narrowing at Teresa’s position as I clawed at the shattered wall, desperately trying to pull myself out of the crevice.
Not far away, Charles was already struggling to crawl my way.
“I’ll… I’ll help you—”
Before he could finish, there was a deafening bang as a furious explosion erupted from outside the room, shaking everything around us.
In its wake, dark red flames roared towards us from the exit, a torrential wave of heat.
I froze.
In a flash, the soaring fire consumed more than half the room. The flames licked out with searing temperatures, igniting the rocks and climbing up the walls, quickly spreading toward the bl**d pool behind me—an instantaneous catastrophe.
Aili… is still there…
“Ah—!!”
I went mad, desperately pushing towards the exit, ignoring the pain in my body, clawing at any protruding stones I could find.
Get out! Get out!!!
My dress tore, my nails snapped, bl**d dripped from my palms.
There was no time…
The fire was spreading over the children’s bodies.
They trembled and convulsed in the flames, suffering excruciating agony from the heat—I knew they were conscious.
“Aili—!!!”
“Aili! Move—!!”
Teresa…
I had never hated anyone like this before.
But at this moment, from the depths of my heart, I vowed to k*ll her, no matter the cost.
Teresa… you must d*e!!!
Suddenly, Charles glanced my way.
He was terrified, shaking, his teeth chattering. But then, something shifted in him; a fierce determination surged onto his face.
What are you going to do…
In my line of sight, the ragged man abruptly twisted his body.
Dragging his shattered leg, he awkwardly hopped and crawled to the children just as the flames were about to engulf them, shielding Aili and a little boy beneath him.
Hellfire licked at his back, igniting his hair.
“Miss—!” he screamed hoarsely.
“Get out!”
“I can’t… hold on much longer! Get out—!!!”
He wouldn’t last long.
The inferno quickly enveloped much of Charles’s body, flames consuming his head.
“Ah! Aahhh—!!!”
Apart from his agonizing wails, he could say nothing more.
Despite that, he strained to tilt his head back, trying to keep the fire from reaching the kids.
Tears welled in my eyes.
Boom—
As the debris fell away, my body finally broke free from the crevice and dropped to the floor.
