Chapter 44:A Fierce Battle
Michael heard Aiden and turned his gaze toward him. His voice was calm yet carried the weight of power as he said, "What did you just say, boy?"
Aiden heard this but didn't answer. He stood there frozen, fear engulfing his heart. His body trembled slightly as he looked at Michael.
He knew exactly who this man was. He was his uncle, the one his parents had warned him about. He knew why Michael was here. He was after his parents… and the artifact.
Aiden's heart pounded violently inside his chest. His thoughts raced in panic because he also knew that Michael was a Stage 5 Mana Cultivator. He was far beyond his parents' strength. He could defeat them both simultaneously if he fought them.
Fear completely engulfed his heart like ice. His breathing quickened as he tried to think.
Then suddenly, without a second thought, Aiden used Blitz and disappeared from his spot, heading toward the house.
But in that same instant, Michael also vanished. He was far faster — at least ten times faster than Aiden. It was like space itself had bent around him as he moved.
Michael who was a stage 5 Earth and Lightning Dual Mana Cultivator, used an advanced version of Blitz.
He reappeared right before Aiden, arriving in less than a millisecond. The difference in speed was terrifying.
With a casual motion, Michael kicked Aiden in the chest, sending him flying backward to the same spot from where he had just used Blitz.
The impact knocked the air out of Aiden's lungs as he crashed into the dirt, coughing violently, pain shooting through his ribs. He felt as if several of them had been broken.
Michael looked down at him coldly and said, "What did you just say, boy? Tell me now — I will not ask again."
Aiden groaned in pain as he was trying to move. He couldn't even stand properly. His body screamed in agony. His vision started to blurred.
Then suddenly, his body began to vanish. His form flickered and disappeared entirely right before Michael's eyes.
Michael didn't seem surprised at all. Instead, he calmly turned his head to the side — and there he saw Aiden appear again.
Standing beside Aiden was Sara. Her hand glowed faintly as she healed Aiden. Standing in front of them was Jonathan.
Michael narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "So what I heard was correct. He was your son after all."
Sara's expression darkened as she asked coldly. "How did you find us, Michael?"
Michael gave a faint, arrogant smile as he replied. "Three days ago, there was a strong fluctuation of mana in this area. One of my soldiers detected it. Besides that, I bought a special artifact from the Northern Continent's royal family."
He paused for a second as he pulled a shiny globe-shaped artifact from his pocket, then continued with an indifferent tone, "If we pour our blood on this artifact, it allows us to detect anyone who shares the same blood flowing through their veins."
Sara's face turned solemn as she realized how they had been discovered. It was mainly because of the mana fluctuations from the black heart and this artifact. Then she asked, "Why are you here? What do you want?"
Michael smiled faintly, his tone filled with superiority as he said. "I'm here to take back the family artifact… and to also bring you back, my dear sister."
Sara's voice hardened. "You can take the family artifact with you. I will also come with you. But you must promise me — you will not hurt either of them."
Michael laughed coldly as he said. "Why should I negotiate with you? I'll kill both of them and erase the embarrassment you brought upon our family name by marrying an orphan… and giving birth to a half-breed."
Jonathan stepped forward, his gaze sharp as he said coldly. "You're still as cocky as ever. Just because you used your family resources to become a Stage 5 Mana Cultivator before us does not make you superior to us. Or did you forget how many times you lost to me in the academy duels?"
Michael's expression darkened instantly as he replied. "And you haven't changed either. Do you think you can defeat me now? Even if my sister helps you, both of you together can only stall for time. My soldiers will arrive here any minute now, and among them are three Stage 4 Mana Cultivators. Do you still think you can do anything?"
Jonathan smiled faintly as he said. "Yes… We can only stall for time. But that's all we need right now."
Michael's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he asked. "What do you mean by that—"
But before he could finish his sentence, Jonathan suddenly vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside Michael, his hand gripping a blazing lava blade. Without hesitation, he swung it down toward Michael with immense force.
Michael's eyes flickered. He used teleportation and disappeared just before the blade struck. Sparks flew as the air cracked from the power of the swing.
The next second, both of them vanished and reappeared again, their battle exploding into motion.
Sara, who stood beside Aiden, quickly took off a necklace from around his neck. It was the Illusionary Stage 5 Artifact — a precious artifact they had used to hide from the search team.
She crouched down in front of Aiden and said in a serious voice, "Aiden, go to the underground basement. Take the family artifact with you. Inside the basement, you'll find one of my puppets. Grab both of them. I will teleport you out of here. You have to get to the capital. Don't think about anything else — your father and I can only stall for time. Don't worry about us… We'll come find you in the capital. So just run."
Aiden's heart pounded as he wanted to refuse. "But Mom—"
But he stopped mid-sentence when he saw the fierce determination in his mother's eyes. Her expression was firm, unshakable.
He swallowed his words and nodded silently.
The next moment, Sara vanished from beside him and appeared next to Jonathan. Together, they both faced Michael head-on.
Aiden was left standing there all alone. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to move. He activated Blitz and vanished, heading straight toward the underground basement.
Jonathan and Sara launched their attacks simultaneously. Jonathan took the lead, using offensive spells while Sara supported him — her healing magic glowing softly as she manipulated several puppets to distract Michael.
Jonathan wielded an ice whip in one hand and his lava blade in the other. His mana flared violently as he vanished again, reappearing to Michael's left. He slashed with blinding speed.
Michael's body flickered. He tried to teleport away — but before he could vanish completely, something grabbed his leg.
A wooden hand.
Sara's puppet.
The interruption caused his teleportation to falter. Jonathan's lava blade crashed against Michael's side, but at the last instant, Michael conjured an Earth Armor around himself. The strike landed with explosive force, sending shockwaves through the air.
Cracks spread across the armor.
Michael's expression turned cold as he raised his hand, conjuring a bolt of lightning, and blasted the puppet to ashes.
Then, in one smooth motion, he vanished and reappeared behind Sara. Lightning flickered violently around his arm as he conjured a lightning sword and swung it toward her back.
Sara was a fraction of a second too slow. She teleported away just as the blade struck, but the lightning grazed her — the searing energy slicing through her back.
She reappeared beside Jonathan, grimacing in pain as she placed a hand over her wound.
Jonathan quickly conjured a Fire Dome around them, the flames swirling high to form a protective barrier. "Heal yourself quickly," he said firmly.
Sara nodded, pressing her glowing palm against the wound. The seared flesh began to mend slowly under her magic.
Outside, Michael raised his hand toward the sky. Lightning flickered above, dark clouds swirling violently as he shouted. "Lightning Rain!"
Dozens of blinding bolts of lightning rained down like spears, slamming into the Fire Dome one after another. The ground shook. The dome flickered violently, its fiery surface beginning to destabilize.
Inside, Jonathan gritted his teeth. Sara's magic glowed brighter as her wound finally closed.
As she said. "Done!"
Jonathan nodded as Sara placed her hand on his shoulder. In an instant, both of them vanished.
The next moment, the Fire Dome collapsed completely, exploding into cinders as Michael's lightning storm continued to strike the empty ground.
When the dust cleared, no one stood there.
Michael turned to his right — his sharp eyes narrowing as he saw them again. Sara and Jonathan stood far away, their silhouettes visible through the smoke.
He teleported instantly, appearing before Jonathan in a flash of light. His lightning blade slashed down.
Jonathan raised his lava blade to block — but the impact shattered his weapon instantly. The lava scattered in the air like sparks.
Jonathan twisted his body and dodged at the last moment, but the lightning blade grazed his side, cutting deep. Blood spilled down his shirt.
Sara appeared behind Michael, aiming a kick toward his back — but he vanished again. She teleported as well, reappearing beside Jonathan. Her hand glowed as she healed his wound, her face pale but resolute.
They teleported together again, moving deeper into the outskirts of the forest. They had deliberately led the battle away from the village. They couldn't risk harming innocent people.
Michael appeared a few feet away, his expression calm but mocking as he said.
"You both are still as soft as ever. You didn't want to hurt those peasants — that's why you held back your full power. You even took my attack head-on rather than dodging it, because dodging would have caused a massive explosion."
He smirked. "And now, you've lured me into this jungle. How noble."
Jonathan didn't respond. Instead, he activated Flight and rose into the sky, his mana burning like a flame.
He raised his hand slowly. A small orb of fire and lava began to form in his palm. It spun violently, its heat radiating outward.
As he lifted his hand higher, the orb expanded. Ten meters. Twenty. Fifty. One hundred.
By the time it hovered above his head, it glowed like a miniature sun — pure fire and molten lava swirling within it. The surrounding air twisted from the heat.
Jonathan's voice echoed through the forest. "Sun!"
Then, he hurled it downward with full force.
The blazing sphere streaked through the sky, burning everything in its path.
Michael looked up, a grin spreading across his face as he said. "You're finally going all out."
He raised both hands and conjured an enormous Earth Dome around himself. Thick layers of rock and mana compressed together, creating an almost indestructible barrier.
The fiery sun struck the dome.
A blinding explosion erupted. The ground quaked violently. Flames and molten debris spread across five hundred meters. Dust and smoke filled the air, swallowing the forest in destruction.
At that moment, inside his house, Aiden reached the entrance to the underground tunnel. The ground suddenly trembled beneath his feet as he felt a huge mana fluctuation. His heart tightened as he recognized that mana.
It was his father's mana.
He gripped the handle of the underground door tightly and whispered, his voice trembling, "Mom… Dad… please be safe."
Then he opened the door to the tunnel and walked down the stairs, descending into the dim underground — where the strange heart was sealed.
Author's Note: Even as the heart was sealed, fate still made them to be together again. As the battle was going on Aiden walked towards his destiny.