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Chapter 241 – The Hunt for Another Elder (Part Two)
Chapter 241 – The Hunt for Another Elder (Part Two)
The laughter still echoed through the chamber.
Kaelmont was gone, but his presence remained, seeping through the cracks in reality itself.
Veylan tightened his grip on his blade.
Lilith stood beside him, her breathing heavy but her stance unshaken.
"He's toying with us," she muttered.
Veylan’s eyes swept the chamber, his senses straining.
The air was thick with shadow, rippling like blackened mist.
A flicker—
He spun just in time.
Kaelmont emerged from the darkness, his palm outstretched—
A blast of raw energy exploded outward.
Veylan barely had time to dodge, twisting his body to avoid the full impact.
The force still sent him skidding across the floor.
Lilith countered.
She lunged, her daggers glowing with crimson energy—
But Kaelmont moved like phantom smoke, dissolving before her blades could reach him.
He reappeared above them.
"Sloppy."
A wave of tendrils lashed downward.
Veylan and Lilith split apart, rolling in opposite directions as the stone floor shattered beneath the impact.
"You can’t fight what you can’t see," Kaelmont’s voice taunted from the shifting dark.
Veylan’s pulse quickened.
He needed a way to expose him.
Lilith must have had the same thought.
She pressed her hands together—
A burst of light erupted, cutting through the darkness.
Kaelmont hissed, recoiling as the holy energy burned away his shadows.
Veylan didn’t waste the opening.
He moved.
His blade tore through the air, aimed for the Elder’s throat.
Kaelmont barely deflected, his arm trembling from the force.
For the first time—
He looked angered.
"You dare—" Kaelmont snarled, but Veylan was already on the offensive.
A relentless flurry of attacks rained down.
Kaelmont blocked, parried, countered—
But he was on the defensive.
Lilith struck from the side, her daggers seeking his ribs.
Kaelmont vanished, appearing atop a broken pillar.
"I underestimated you," he admitted, his voice low and venomous.
The shadows beneath his feet expanded.
Veylan tensed.
Something was coming.
Kaelmont lifted his hands—
The fortress trembled.
From the abyss, figures began to rise.
Wraiths.
Twisted, faceless things with elongated claws and hollow eyes.
Their forms shifted, flickering between reality and nightmare.
Lilith cursed. "I hate these things."
The first wraith lunged.
Veylan barely had time to parry as claws scraped against steel, sending sparks flying.
Lilith twisted around another, slashing its form in half—
But the wraith reformed instantly.
"They can’t die normally," Veylan realized grimly.
Kaelmont smirked. "Good luck."
The wraiths swarmed.
Veylan ducked under a razor-sharp limb, pivoting to drive his blade through one’s core.
The wraith shrieked but did not fall.
Lilith unleashed another blast of holy light.
The wraiths reeled back, screaming, their forms unstable.
Veylan took his chance.
He carved through the nearest wraith, its body dissolving into mist.
Lilith did the same, using her enchanted gauntlets to crush the wraiths’ heads.
One by one, the horde fell.
Kaelmont watched, his expression unreadable.
Then he moved again.
Faster than before.
His palm struck Veylan’s chest—
A blast of black fire sent him crashing into the far wall.
Lilith barely dodged the next strike, her dagger deflecting the brunt of Kaelmont’s attack.
But the Elder was relentless.
He pursued, forcing her back step by step.
Veylan coughed, forcing himself to stand.
He could feel the burns on his skin, the lingering corruption.
"Enough of this," he growled.
He focused.
The air around him shimmered.
A deep power, one he rarely used, began to awaken.
Kaelmont paused, his gaze shifting.
"What are you doing?"
Veylan’s sword pulsed.
Energy crackled along its length, growing brighter, hotter—
The shadows around them retreated.
Lilith noticed and smiled.
"Oh, he’s in trouble now."
Kaelmont’s expression darkened.
"You should not have forced my hand," Veylan murmured.
His blade ignited.
Not with fire, but with pure energy.
The air hummed.
The fortress shook.
For the first time—
Kaelmont took a step back.
Veylan vanished.
He reappeared behind Kaelmont, his blade already falling.
Kaelmont barely dodged—
A line of blood appeared across his cheek.
The Elder’s eyes flared.
"You—"
Veylan didn’t let him finish.
His next strike was merciless.
Kaelmont blocked, but the force sent him skidding backward.
Lilith capitalized, driving a dagger toward his ribs.
Kaelmont deflected—
But he was losing ground.
"Impossible," he whispered, eyes darting between them.
Veylan’s sword pulsed once more—
And Kaelmont knew.
He was running out of time.
The Elder let out a snarl, his form flickering.
He was preparing something.
A final gamble.
Veylan saw it.
"Don’t let him finish!" Lilith shouted.
But Kaelmont laughed.
"Too late."
The shadows erupted, swallowing everything.
The fortress collapsed inward, pulled into the abyss—
And the world vanished into darkness.