Chapter 279: She Who Commands Souls
[Music recommendation: Mos Elian - Human]
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Vorra, still reeling from the devastating impact of Aliana’s power, watched in utter disbelief. The human woman had so effortlessly severed her hold on the soul promised to her.
Under ordinary circumstances, no one could snatch a soul from a demon once a claim was bound to them.
Even though Cedric had been freed from the dark magic controlling his mind, he was not entirely free from the ritual itself. With the mark etched upon his chest and the incantations nearly complete, Vorra should have easily claimed his soul as her prize.
Yet the woman standing before her had accomplished the impossible.
It was as if she could command souls with a mere thought, requiring no effort at all.
Even more astonishing, she had shattered the invisible chains binding Cedric’s soul to Vorra, severing the demoness’s claim over the offering as if that bond never existed.
No being possessed such an authority.
In truth, only one figure in history had ever held absolute command over souls, and that person was...
"No... It cannot be. It cannot be her..." Vorra whispered, terror seeping into her voice as she stared at the grieving woman kneeling beside the corpse.
A dark thrill of excitement and rage coursed through Vorra all at once as she stared at Aliana with newfound interest.
But as dark tendrils began coiling around Aliana, Vorra’s gaze shifted to the man standing behind her.
Her eyes widened in absolute shock and horror.
The same face. The same terrifying eyes.
The man paid no attention to her, his sole focus fixed on the woman as he advanced towards her. He stopped right behind Aliana before gently enveloping her in his embrace, and she instinctively leaned into him, her sobs only growing harder.
In stunned disbelief, Vorra whispered, "Y-Your Highness?"
When Vorra’s gaze shifted back to Aliana once more, it was as though the scattered pieces of a puzzle suddenly fell into place.
Watching the two embrace, something dark and vile took root within her malicious heart.
Straightening herself, she let out a furious roar. "No! She needs to die!"
Her monstrous spider-like legs curled together as a sphere of green energy rapidly formed before her. With a shrill scream, she blasted it directly at Aliana.
But before the attack could even come close to its target, a powerful dome of darkness sprang up around Aliana, effortlessly intercepting the blast. The green energy collided with the shield before scattering in every direction, forcing Vorra to gasp in stunned shock.
The violent impact was enough to draw the couple’s attention back to the demoness responsible for everything. Consumed by grief over Cedric’s death, Aliana had momentarily forgotten about the monster who had stolen his future from him.
Vorra was taken aback by the powerful barrier that had effortlessly deflected her attack. Her eyes slowly shifted to Gavriel, whose pupils had narrowed into slits as he stared at her with a gaze she knew all too well from the distant past.
His beast side had awakened.
Swallowing the terror rising in her throat, Vorra stammered, "T-this woman... she will harm you, Your High-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Aliana slowly rose to her feet, and Gavriel followed behind her.
Then Vorra saw it.
The dark wisps that had been surrounding Aliana gradually withdrew before coiling behind Gavriel. They thickened and expanded into a colossal mass of darkness that continued to grow until it split apart into seven enormous necks, each ending in the terrifying head of a dragon.
The monstrous black form loomed over the chamber, its seven draconic heads glaring down at everything beneath them like ancient predators waiting to strike.
The humans, including Vance and Gwen, could only stare at the horrifying sight with wide, terror-filled eyes. Their entire bodies trembled uncontrollably, paralysed by an instinctive fear so overwhelming that several of them lost control of their bladders where they sat.
Aliana, oblivious to the monstrous display of her husband’s power rising behind her, kept her gaze fixed solely on Vorra. Deep within, she felt an ancient presence taking control, quietly tucking her human self away to let someone else step forward entirely.
The anguish that had consumed her moments ago disappeared without a trace.
Her crimson eyes became unnervingly calm, making them far more terrifying than before as they remained fixed upon the demoness.
Then she parted her lips. "You shall pay for your sins, demoness."
Her words carried an unquestionable authority.
Raising her hands, another blinding burst of white light erupted from her palms, streaking directly toward Vorra. The demoness scrambled to react. Even in her spectral form, taking a direct blow from that energy would inflict devastating damage upon her true body.
With no time to hesitate, Vorra raised her monstrous spider-like legs and unleashed another blast of sickly green demonic energy.
The two forces collided with a deafening crash, sending a tremor through the entire mansion above. Powerful shockwaves cracked the underground stone walls, causing the earth to shake violently as heavy chunks of rock began collapsing from the ceiling.
Even so, Aliana’s power far outmatched that of the demoness.
After clashing head-on with Vorra’s magic, the blast of white light tore straight through her defence. It scorched the left side of the demoness’s shoulder before continuing onward and slamming into the towering statue behind her.
The statue’s head shattered first before the rest of it began to crumble into countless fragments. With it, the only anchor binding Vorra’s apparition to the mortal world was destroyed.
A blood-curdling shriek echoed throughout the chamber as Aliana’s power burned through the demoness.
As the last remnants of the shattered statue crumbled away, Vorra’s translucent form began to dissolve into drifting wisps of green light.
"I’ll come back to kill you again, wretch!" she shrieked, her voice dripping with hatred. "This is far from over!"
Her maddening laughter lingered in the chamber long after her body had completely faded into nothingness.
Aliana remained motionless, watching until the last traces of the demoness had completely disappeared.
Only then did she lower her trembling hands.
Her chest rose and fell with ragged breaths as the adrenaline slowly faded.
Suddenly, she felt something warm trickle from her nose.
Frowning, she lifted a shaky hand and wiped beneath it, only to find crimson blood staining her fingertips.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Then, without warning, all strength drained from her body.
She swayed backwards as the world around her began to blur. Darkness crept into the edges of her vision, and her eyelids grew unbearably heavy, as though that single attack had consumed every last ounce of strength she possessed.
Before she could hit the ground, Gavriel stepped forward and caught her.
"Ana!"
Pulling her tightly against his chest, he cupped her cheek with one hand, his heart lurching as he watched her eyes slowly flutter shut.
She reached out with a trembling hand, her fingers curling around his as she weakly whispered, "I’m fine..."
She breathed shallowly, fighting against the overwhelming exhaustion pulling her under. Her gaze drifted briefly to Cedric’s motionless form. "Get him out... I’m fi-"
The words died on her lips as her gaze lifted to finally meet her husband’s, only to notice his eyes burning a deep crimson before darkness finally swallowed her whole.
Gavriel felt his heart stop at the sight of blood trickling from her nose.