Chapter 350: No other outcome
Kiruya busted down the wall, completely enraged from being burned. It was evident from the scorched fur all over her body that it had caused her significant damage.
With another roar, she conjured up 4 large tornadoes that began to rip the mansion to shreds. Debris got flung across the room and was about to hit Luna, but Himeko conjured a fire barrier, turning anything that came close to ash.
As for Clara, Elanor and Silver, they all dodged the debris as they moved closer towards Kiruya. Silver stuck to hiding in the shadows, while Elanor relied on pure agility as well as conjuring tree roots to protect herself.
Clara flew through the air, although not without resistance from the tornados. Still, she was able to overpower the tornadoes through sheer strength and even boost herself forward.
Being the closest, Kiruya locked onto Clara first and leapt towards her. At the same time she had her tornadoes close in on Clara, leaving little room to escape. Kiruya came through the only opening left, her jaw wide and about to clamp down on Clara.
"Using the same attack won't work, you dumb, oversized cat!" Before Kiruya could close her jaws, Clara lodged the hilt of her whip blades in between her teeth, forcing them open. With her weapon in contact with Kiruya's face, Clara then discharged lightning from her blades.
A shock shot through Kiruya's body, breaking her control over her tornadoes. This made for an opening, and so Clara flew towards the ground while pulling Kiruya along with her.
Clara aimed for a shadow on the ground and slammed Kiruya into it. Silver then made his move, using his shadows to entrap Kiruya in chains. Elanor also followed up with her own restraints, making it impossible for Kiruya to move.
'Do I kill her?' Clara had the perfect opportunity to kill Kiruya right then and there. Despite already making up her mind, now that she had the chance, it was difficult to commit.
'She already made herself clear from the beginning. I want there to be a different outcome, but there are more important people that I wish to save.' Getting rid of any hesitation, Clara combined her whip-blades into a sword and aimed for Kiruya's neck.
Kiruya tried to let her wind go wild, letting out slashes of wind in every direction, hoping to break the restraints. However, with the combined power of Silver and Elanor, it was practically impossible. Anything she broke through would simply be replaced instantly.
It did slow down Clara as she flew in for the strike, but once she had the right angle, she moved at lightning speed. There was no time for Kiruya to react or try to block it, as Clara was just too fast.
"Sorry Kiruya." Clara felt the weight of killing Kiruya, knowing there was no turning back.
Kiruya, in the last breath of her life, looked directly into Clara's eyes with contempt. Even in her last moments, she showed neither fear nor regret, seemingly making peace with her upcoming death.
"KIRUYAAAA!!!" A scream suddenly echoed from outside. Clara turned her head in response, only to find a hand grabbing her face. She didn't know what happened and before she knew it, she was already launched into the wall.
It was Freja who broke off from her battle to help Kiruya, but she was too late. She ripped away the restraints while trying to heal Kiruya, but it wasn't working. Once this realisation dawned upon her, her anger flared so high it became palpable, her mana visibly raging around her.
She then slammed her fists into the ground and somehow forcefully pulled Silver out of the shadows by the neck.
Himeko and Elanor instantly sprung into action, dashing forward to get Freja away from Silver. However, before they could reach him, Shaman and Elysia came flying out of a portal next to Freja.
"Get away from our son!!!" Screaming in unison, they channeled their flames and kicked Freja in tandem. Successfully landing their kicks, they got her to let go of Silver, who instantly retreated to the shadows.
As for Freja, she slid back on her feet from the impact and spat out a bit of blood.
"You've done it now. I was secretly planning to make you all pets on a leash, but now You will share her fate instead!" Freja was furious and the flames that burst around her body reflected that.
"It's not our fault you decided to fight instead of listening to reason." Shaman also shared a similar anger, as Freja just threatened Silver's life. For Elyisa though, her fury reached another level as her body naturally changed into her bloodline form in response. Blood red flames coated her hair as her fangs became more prominent.
"If you just listened to me, then there wouldn't be a problem!" Freja, in the blink of an eye, appeared right in front of Shaman and Elysia. Freja's black sword dragged behind her, preparing for a clean cut. However, as she tried to slash, her blade got caught in some roots.
"Go!" Elanor had attempted to restrain Freja, slowing her for a fraction of a second for Shaman and Elysia to react.
Elysia took out her spear and thrust straight for Freja's neck, hoping to kill her instantly. Shaman, with Kotetsu, grazed past Freja's face before slashing it across her chest.
With two fatal blows incoming, Freja forsook her sword and used her hands to grab the incoming blades instead. Once again, time froze and the damage was reflected onto them, but strangely enough, a cut remained on Freja's cheek when time resumed.
She quickly wiped her hand over to hide her injury, but the motion didn't escape Shaman's notice.
Elysia quickly used her healing flame to recover the damage and was about to charge back in when a message appeared in front of her.
[I've figured it out, Freja's time stop isn't a perfect spell. It may stop time, but she isn't able to do anything except move to a different position. Also, the reflection of damage just now applies to her as well, so if we damage ourselves it would go back onto her.] Shaman had broadcast her findings to everyone else, which was news for most.
Shaman had made a slight cut on her cheek to test a theory and noticed just then that her cut appeared on Freja.
[Time magic since when?] Elanor responded with complete shock. For her, it was no less than ancient magic that was said to have been lost.
[Don't say anything, we need to figure out how to abuse it without killing ourselves , not to mention figure out the conditions to activate it in the first place.] There was still the question of what triggered the process and whether Freja could control it directly.
[This sounds like there's an artefact at play. Like mine for example. It controlled the mind, but Freja might be in possession of a time-related artefact.] Himeko surprisingly messaged everyone without trouble, bringing up something they hadn't heard about for months.
"Enough, I know you are using the system to talk!" Freja conjured two black fireballs in her hand and threw them directly at Shaman and Elysia.
Elysia dodged, while Shaman entered her portal and appeared above Freja. Shaman slashed down with Kotetsu covered in stardust, but aimed for a non-fatal blow to her shoulder.
Freja expected a fatal hit, so she tried to spin around and block it, but miss-calculated where it would land. Her forearm was then split open by Shaman, but time didn't freeze and Freja winced while jumping back
[Don't mind the new person who is about to join us.] While Freja was distracted healing her arm, Elysia had spent the time to form a magic circle that opened a portal.
Shaman raised an eyebrow, as a tiny girl with white hair and over-the-top vampire attire came through the portal.
[She's Alice, who is technically my great great however many times grandmother, only when she was younger. I'll explain later.] Elysia dropped a bombshell of information, but all that mattered was that she was an ally.
Freja turned her head to see who the new presence was and she looked rather shocked.
"How… is she alive?" It seemed that Freja had recognised Alice, which really shouldn't be possible. Only those who've lived for a very long time or had a hand in her imprisonment should be aware of Alice after all.
"Hmm? Just one person? Elysia, are you sure you want my help?" Alice floated around playfully while looking down at Freja, who had confusion all over her face.
"You wanted some fun, right? I've had enough of your bickering, so why don't you fight her for a change?" This entire time, Elysia had Alice in her head, badgering her to open up a portal until she finally reached a breaking point.
"Hehe~ fine." Elysia had filled Alice in while she made the portal, so there shouldn't be any surprises.
"Tch, I don't know how you created a fake, but you won't disgrace Alice's name!" Freja gave away a tiny bit of context, raising some more questions.
"I don't know who you are, but I'm as real as I can be." Alice took out dual blades that were connected by a chain, ready to face Freja alongside everyone.
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