Chapter 45: Saving Innocents.
As the explosion occurred, Sara vanished and appeared beside Jonathan, who was floating in the air. They both knew that this was not enough to even seriously damage Michael.
The fiery blast below still glowed faintly, and waves of residual mana rippled through the destroyed forest. Jonathan's face was calm, yet his eyes were sharp and cold.
Without a word, he once again raised his hand—but instead of a miniature sun forming within his palm, this time, a sphere resembling a raging ice storm began to take shape.
The air around him howled, a chilling wind gathering in spirals as shards of frost condensed into a pulsating orb. As his hand reached above his head, he released it toward the place where the explosion had occurred.
Smoke, dust, and debris filled the air, cloaking the battlefield in grey. The moment the sphere of frozen storm struck the ground, the world itself seemed to freeze.
A soundless flash of white swept across the field.
Everything within a radius of five hundred meters froze. It was completely silent—completely still. The temperature dropped so suddenly that even the heat from the earlier blast dissipated in an instant.
The smoke and dust from the explosion froze in the air and drifted like snowflakes. In the blink of an eye, the burning forest turned into a landscape of frost and broken crystal.
Jonathan and Sara hovered in the air above, their robes fluttering gently against the cold wind as they gazed down upon the scene. Half the forest had been destroyed it was now buried in snow and ice.
They were waiting. Waiting to see where Michael was. The silence lingered for a few moments before Sara's eyes caught movement within the frozen wasteland.
There was a dome of earth and mana inside the snow; it was cracked and riddled with holes as it stood trembling in the midst of the frozen plain.
As the structure crumbled, a figure emerged from inside. Michael stood within the broken dome, his clothes torn and scorched.
There were small burns along his body, patches of frost clinging to his hair and garments, but his eyes gleamed with mocking confidence. His injuries were light—too light for what he had endured.
Jonathan and Sara exchanged glances. They had expected this much.
Michael rose slowly into the air, his expression filled with pride as he hovered a hundred meters away. His tone was laced with arrogance as he said mockingly,
"If I were still a stage four mana cultivator, your attacks might have killed me. But now, I am a stage five. Your full-powered attacks only left a few scratches on my body. Do you see the difference in our strength?"
He grinned coldly as he continued. "I am an immortal now, while you both are still half-immortal. If my sister hadn't left with you, she would already have become a stage 5 mana cultivator. And as for you,"
He sneered, "Even if you were to become the chief of the army, you would never be allowed to ascend to stage five. Now…" his smile widened, "…let's end this."
As his hands rose toward the sky, clouds began to gather. The sky darkened instantly. Roars of thunder echoed across the frozen plains.
Within seconds, lightning began to churn through the storm clouds—thick, violent arcs of blue light moving between the clouds like living serpents.
Michael's mana surged violently as he clenched his hand into a fist. The lightning inside the clouds obeyed his command.
A bolt of lightning, one hundred meters wide, descended from the clouds. It tore through the clouds with a sound like the cracking of the world itself, racing toward Jonathan and Sara.
The instant it neared them, both of them vanished. The bolt struck the ground, shattering the frozen land in an explosion of light and sound. Trees, snow, and rock scattered like paper.
But Michael didn't stop. He moved his hands again and again, commanding the lightning inside the clouds. Lightning rained down relentlessly, each bolt following his will like a divine order.
Jonathan and Sara continued to teleport across the battlefield, dodging each strike with desperate precision. Each time lightning grazed them, arcs of electricity danced across their bodies.
Their robes were burned, their skin charred and cut. Sometimes the lightning caught them completely, causing severe wounds across their arms and shoulders.
Yet Sara would heal herself and Jonathan, over and over again, her mana flaring with brilliance as they dodged. Still, Michael's assault was endless.
The attacks did not stop as they continued.
Michael's lips twisted with irritation as he saw them still resisting, still enduring. Then, suddenly, a cruel idea crossed his mind.
His eyes shifted toward the distant village. Without hesitation, he ordered another lightning bolt to descend, but this time he was aiming it straight for the village.
Jonathan's expression turned grim. His heart trembled as he vanished from his position, reappearing instantly above the village. The lightning was already in front of him.
He raised his hands high and conjured massive walls of ice. The frost expanded, covering the entire village like a protective shield.
As the lightning bolt came closer. Jonathan suddenly rushed towards it because he knew that the ice wasn't enough to stop the lightning completely.
Jonathan's arms trembled as he conjured two lava blades, fire and molten energy swirling violently around him. He knew the ice wouldn't completely stop the lightning—it never could.
So he faced it head-on. He charged into the bolt, swinging both blades at once. The blades clashed with the lightning, and an explosion tore through the air.
The shockwave sent Jonathan flying backward, slamming him against the ice shield above the village. Blood dripped from his lips, staining the frost below. He was severely injured—but the village was safe.
Sara appeared beside him in an instant, her hands glowing with healing light. But before she could start healing him, another lightning bolt came crashing down.
It struck the ice, shattering it into fragments. The lightning bolt weakened but didn't disappear—it was still heading toward the village.
Jonathan gritted his teeth. In that single moment, he conjured a storm of fire that wrapped around the bolt, altering its path.
The lightning twisted midair as it was redirected toward the forest. It struck with a thunderous explosion, igniting the distant trees—but the village remained untouched.
Once again, he had saved them.
Michael appeared several feet away from them, his grin widening as he mocked, "You're as soft as ever. If you had just let those peasants die, you wouldn't be injured now. But I knew you couldn't. Your conscience won't let you."
Lightning crackled around his arm as he conjured a blade of pure lightning, and an earthen armor was also forming over his body.
He vanished. In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside Jonathan as he swung the sword towards Jonathan. It was fast and merciless. Jonathan, who was still injured, was too slow to react.
At that instant, a puppet made of rubber suddenly arrived between them. The sword struck it, its lightning scattering harmlessly as the puppet took the whole brunt of the attack and distorted the energy.
The blade wavered, losing its form. Sara appeared beside Jonathan, her hands glowing as he began to heal his wounds.
The moment his breathing steadied, they vanished again, reappearing hundreds of meters away—once more above the ruined forest.
Michael teleported after them as he arrived only a few feet away from them. Jonathan, still half-healed, stared directly into Michael's eyes. There was no fear of death in his eyes. There was only calm mockery.
Michael's irritation deepened as he said, "What's with that look?" he snarled. "Do you still think you're better than me, huh?"
He raised his right hand. The clouds responded instantly. Dozens of lightning bolts shot down, connecting to form a massive, glowing cage of energy—a prison of lightning surrounding them entirely.
The air itself buzzed and hummed with destructive power. Michael's voice echoed coldly, "Now, I'll show you the true power of a stage five mana cultivator. Witness it—and feel despair."
Jonathan and Sara looked around them. The prison shimmered and pulsed with violent mana. They realized they couldn't break through it quickly.
But there was no panic in their eyes—only determination. Their goal wasn't to win. It was to stall for time. If Aiden could escape safely, they would die without any regret.
Jonathan inhaled sharply. His wounds burned, but he didn't hesitate. He conjured an ice whip in one hand and a lava sword in the other. In a flash, he disappeared—appearing beside Michael.
His blade swung down. Michael met it with his lightning sword. The collision sent ripples of power through the air. The lava blade shattered, but Jonathan immediately conjured another one, slashing again and again, refusing to stop.
Each time his weapon broke, he formed a new one. Their fight became a blur of sparks and mana, a they teleported across the field while causing chaos.
Sara, meanwhile, stood below, her mind linked with her puppets. Suddenly, she extended her hand. Trees around them began to shake. Roots torn from the ground.
Dozens of trees floated into the air, and with them, hundreds of animals—wolves, foxes, bears—now controlled as puppets. They charged toward Michael like a tidal wave of nature itself.
Michael saw them and smirked. "So you finally gave in to your conscience and made the trees and animals into your puppets, huh? This is going to be fun."
He raised his hands, conjuring hundreds of lightning bolts, launching them all at once. The sky lit up. Trees turned to ash in seconds; animals burned and disintegrated midair.
But Sara didn't stop. Her control held steady as she continued healing Jonathan and commanding her army. Her forehead dripped with sweat; her breathing grew heavy. The strain on her mind was immense—but she endured.
Jonathan vanished again, his body flickering across the battlefield. A tiny fireball formed in his palm. It grew larger—brighter—until it became a miniature sun once again.
With a fierce cry, he hurled it toward Michael, who was surrounded by burning lightning and smoke.
Michael's grin twisted. He responded with his own spell as he conjured a massive orb of lightning, which was nearly five hundred meters wide. He launched it to meet Jonathan's sun.
The two attacks collided. The explosion was catastrophic. The shockwave shattered what remained of the forest, consuming everything in blinding light.
While the chaos raged, Jonathan disappeared once more. He appeared at the edge of the lightning prison, conjuring a violent snowstorm that froze the walls of lightning solid.
Without hesitation, he kicked the frozen lightning, shattering one side of the prison. Sara appeared beside him, and together they escaped, reappearing outside, far from the explosion's center.
She immediately began to heal him again as the light faded behind them.
When the smoke finally cleared, Michael's vision sharpened. He looked around the prison—only to find it empty. His eyes narrowed as he said. "Tch… scheming bastard."
With a wave of his hand, the lightning prison dissolved. The crackling energy vanished into the dark clouds above. Slowly, Michael turned his gaze toward Jonathan and Sara in the distance.
A smirk spread across his face.
He could feel it. The final phase of the battle was about to begin. It would be their final battle.
Author's Note: The final confrontation between Jonathan, Sara, and Michael will decide the fate of everything they have fought to protect. The storm has only just begun.