Chapter 204

Chapter 176: Azure Flame Burns the Moon, Blood Stains the Royal City, Part Ten

Gory crimson light suddenly illuminated from a hundred meters away in the alleyways, illuminating the night sky.

Disaster descended with a resounding boom before anyone could react. Countless lights abruptly went out as a thunderous noise echoed. In that instant, raging flames shot up, and thick black smoke billowed out with an earth-shattering force, rapidly spreading across the city.

As the sound waves like rolling thunder rippled out, nearby shops and alleys, windmill-topped towers, and a small square far away—all these places saw their ordinary citizens’ lives instantly shattered and distorted. The bustling streets gradually disintegrated amidst the boiling sea of flames, destroyed in an instant.

“God above…”

“Quickly protect Her Majesty the Queen!”

From the corner of my vision, the Cane Swords rushed toward Victoria. Intense turbulence carrying sand and rocks came rushing at us in the next moment, blowing away my long hair and making my white cloak flutter in the wind. I stumbled, took two steps back to steady myself, raised my right arm to shield my face, closed my mouth tightly, and shut my eyes.

“Hold your ground—!”

A voice, carrying the stench of burnt flesh, spread through the unstable air.

My heart sank.

Once the wind force on me weakened slightly, I immediately leaped toward the explosion with Moon Step.

This is bad… This is really bad…

I moved swiftly on the eaves, anxiously scanning the surroundings.

Dull sparks floated before my eyes, and the rising black smoke obscured everything, making it hard to see. The sound of collapsing buildings filled my ears. Below, the streets were unrecognizable, with countless civilians in charred clothes crying and screaming, struggling and fleeing through the dust. But more people had already fallen, buried under the ruins.

“The royal city will be destroyed… the gods no longer protect us…”

“Run—!”

“My grandfather is still inside! My grandfather!”

In the distance, under the dark red sky, those unfortunate souls ignited by the inferno didn’t even have time to scream.

They seemed to be shattered by some terrifying force, their bodies exploding into blood mist, torn apart, turning into streams of bloody meat and fragments that flew upward, gradually gathering and writhing in the air above the epicenter, coalescing into a huge cocoon floating high above, black and glowing with intense red light.

The cocoon pulsed like a heart.

What is that…

What in the world is that…

Plop.

I landed on the ruins of a collapsed tavern, steadied myself, clenched my fists, and looked up at the night sky. I watched as countless pieces of what was once life were drawn into the pulsating cocoon, becoming its sustenance.

My teeth bit into my lip.

“Gao gao gao…”

An eerie sound emanated from the cocoon, clearly not human.

The intense pressure was suffocating.

“Now… what do we do…”

Tonight was filled with inexplicable things and shocking events.

Do I… need to fight it?

But there are civilians here… Captain Gray isn’t here… How can I fight… I’m so tired…

My body was exhausted.

And that terrifying thing in the sky… I could feel its eerie power, awakening…

“Mark—!”

“Garfield—!”

Cane Swords arrived from behind. They anxiously scanned the area, shouting for their comrades toward the direction of the flames, but received no response.

“Give me your sword.”

Victoria’s icy voice sounded beside me. I turned around and saw her face, illuminated by the firelight, colder than ever.

“Her Majesty, leave this to us! The Cane Swords will swear to defend the royal city! We’ll stake our honor!”

“Please leave this place quickly…”

Victoria’s words left the Cane

The swords reacted violently, but she remained unmoved and reiterated her demand to the nearest man, “I said, give me the sword.”

“Your Majesty! We cannot let anything happen to you…”

“Give…me…the…sword—!”

She roared with a cold face. Finally, someone unstrapped the sword from their waist and handed it to her.

Victoria snatched it, stepping forward two paces from the broken street.

In the night shrouded in black smoke, she slowly retracted the longsword to her side, her figure slightly hunched. A powerful hurricane surged around her, forming a tornado. Her slender, porcelain-like hand suddenly gripped the hilt, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply before swiftly drawing the sword and sweeping it horizontally—

Buzz!

An eerie wind hum resonated from the sword. In less than half a second, a massive wind current condensed into an invisible blade and shot towards the cocoon in the sky with a “whoosh.”

…And she was still there.

We have a chance to win…

I focused intently and turned back, my hands emitting astonishing blue light. With a series of sharp cracking sounds as ice blocks shattered, nearly a hundred sharp ice spears formed densely above my head.

Exhaling, I waved my small hand.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The ice spears, like bullets fired from a gun, pierced the air with a shrill screech, closely following the massive wind blade and rapidly heading toward the giant cocoon in the sky.

Suddenly, a bloodied, slender arm, dripping with fresh red blood, stretched out from the cocoon.

My heart skipped a beat.

That’s not human…that’s…

On that bony arm, raging hellfire erupted. It swung its arm seemingly carelessly toward the direction of the incoming attack.

Such a strike carried an irresistible wind pressure, dispersing both the wind blade and ice spears into countless fragments.

Victoria’s body slowly rose.

Creak…creak…

The continuous sounds coming from within the cocoon sent chills down my spine. Soon after, another arm burst out with a “plop,” followed by claw-like legs…

Boom—

The cocoon exploded.

Blood burned like fire, raining down.

I immediately summoned frost mist for protection while urgently turning my head to shout at the woman floating not far away, “Victoria—!”

“Mind your own business.”

Whooosh—

A sudden gale arose, chaotic currents surged wildly in my vision, carrying dust and debris to form an invisible barrier above, enveloping her and the Kanim swords within.

The rain of fire was completely blocked.

“Gao gao gao—”

An ancient, eerie roar echoed from the sky.

I raised my head with a grave expression.

In the pale moonlight, a gigantic, blood-red monster loomed over the night sky, blending seamlessly with the hazy crescent moon behind it.

It looked like a creature pieced together from fragmented bones, as if gnawed halfway by wild beasts and still covered in meat scraps. Countless crimson ribs, like barbs, covered its entire body, including its back. Its enormous head was filled with soft cartilage-like substances, waving and writhing. Its face had no features, only deep, dense hollows…

Even such a face made me feel it was looking at us… or rather, at me.

“My God… what is that…”

“I don’t understand…”

“A monster from the Abyss…”

“That’s not from the Abyss,” I said.

I was very sure this thing wasn’t from the Abyss.

If it were a kindred spirit… I would sense it immediately. That inexplicable sense of familiarity… The thing in the sky didn’t give me that feeling.

Rather, it was the opposite.

It instinctively made me feel extremely uncomfortable, even to the point of revulsion, almost nauseating.

In the next moment, the monster moved.

A stench-filled wind rushed toward me, and the monster twisted its body in mid-air, swiftly approaching me. Its massive body landed, bricks and stones scattering everywhere. It brought its terrifying head close to my petite body.

“Silvija… the desecrator of gods… exterminate…”

I instantly recognized this voice.

“Theresa…”