The air had grown heavier, quiet in a way that screamed danger. The boy's small hand trembled as he clutched at his mother's robe, his knuckles pale.
"Mom… it's coming," he whispered, voice breaking. "It's behind us!"
Elara didn't flinch. Her expression remained soft, steady—the same calm face that had always soothed him since infancy.That look alone made his heart slow down.
If it's Mom, he thought, then everything is okay.
He turned his eyes forward again, toward the storm of lightning where his father fought.
Incantation of Fire
Elara's fingers twitched. Blue Ether surged up her arm, coiling into spirals that pulsed with heat.Her lips parted, and the words came out like poetry carved into the air:
"Flowers bloom as flames do.Flowers die, but flames persist."
Then, softly under her breath, she whispered an Old Chinese incantation —
「花燃」 (Huā Rán — Flower Burn).
Skill: Lotus Flames (蓮焔 Lián Yàn)Type: Area Flame ConjurationRank: SSSDescription: Conjures dual pillars of azure fire—one rising from the ground, the other descending from the heavens—to crush the target between them. Operates within a 200-meter radius and can be deployed directly or remotely, depending on the caster's Ether control.
Two columns of flame erupted.One roared upward from the soil; the other speared down from the sky.They met in the middle——and the air screamed as the Lykarth's body was engulfed.
For a heartbeat, the forest glowed blue as if day had broken prematurely.
Skill of Shadows
But the creature did not fall easily.Inside the inferno, something moved.
Its aura shimmered, twisting, splitting, reforming. The fire dimmed around its shape as it melted into black smoke.
Skill: ŠALŠA-ZÛ (Shadow Dive)Origin: BabylonianRank: Legendary TierDescription: Core mobility skill of the Nightcrawler race. Allows instant displacement through shadow networks. Users can "clip" through solid matter and re-emerge within enemy Ether fields undetected.
The Lykarth's form vanished completely, the shadows trembling as it slipped away.
Elara's eyes narrowed.
"Trying to run, are we?"
She turned sharply, extending both arms toward the direction the shadow fled. Her voice shifted—soft and melodic yet filled with command.
"Be formless.Be free from your shackles.Move with the wind—yet keep your identity intact."
Skill: Shikigami Inferno — "Paper and Explode"
Her flames split apart, fragmenting into countless glowing shapes.They folded mid-air into paper cranes—thin, delicate, alive. Each carried a flicker of blue fire within its wings.
Skill: Kami-Ran (神紙燃 — "Paper Burn")Rank: SSSType: Homing Flame ConstructDescription: Summons spiritual paper constructs imbued with volatile Ether. Each crane tracks the heat and Ether signatures of the target, detonating on contact. Cranes will persist until the target's Ether fades completely.
The sky filled with them—hundreds, then thousands.They spiraled upward, then dove like a storm of wings and fire.
The forest erupted again as each crane collided with the escaping shadow.One after another—boom, boom, boom!
Elara clenched her fist.
"Chain them—Chain Explosion."
Skill: Vincula Ignis (Chain Explosion)
Type: Flame Link Technique (Basic)Description: Links the impact of multiple flame detonations into a cumulative Ether chain reaction, multiplying total destructive output exponentially.
The chained explosions merged into one massive detonation—a wave of azure light that tore through the clearing, obliterating what remained of the lower-ranked wolves in the area.
The Predator's Doubt
Smoke coiled through the camp.The legendary wolf—the leader—watched from the distance, its violet eyes glowing faintly.
"This… doesn't make sense," it thought."Their Ether signatures only read as S-rank… yet she—she's far beyond that."
A pulse of doubt flickered across its consciousness. Should it retreat?No. That child—that boy.
We must get him…No matter the cost.
The thought was cut short as Levan's lightning surged again.He turned to the creature, his blade dragging sparks across the ground.
"What is it you want with my son?"
The Lykarth tilted its head, a shadow of a smile forming in its mind-voice.
"I guess humans truly are blind.""You don't even see what's standing right in front of you."
And then—it vanished back into the dark.
[End of Chapter 22 — The Lotus Flames]