Chapter 263: Eyes Above
[Ophelia’s POV]
The sky was a dense cover of dark clouds, running from end to end across the horizon. The light rain became heavier and heavier, pouring down without a break on the island below.
But there was one place in all that endless rain where it never fell.
Above the storm, under the dark skies, a lone figure hovered silently in the air.
Not a drop of rain fell on her.
The rain curved around some invisible barrier before it could touch her robes at all. The strong winds blew across the sky, but her long white hair trailed behind her gently, moving gracefully.
Quietly, her deep violet eyes looked down at the marshland.
"So the rumours were true after all," Ophelia murmured, a trace of intrigue flickering across her otherwise tranquil expression. "The youngest daughter of Varion... it is her who had inherited the Immortal Flames."
Her thoughts drifted back to the small white flames that had once enveloped Rosalin’s body.
There was no mistaking them.
Ophelia knew exactly what those flames were.
Long ago, during the Age of the Seven Virtuous Paragons, that very flame had been bestowed upon one of the legendary heroes. It was said to possess miraculous properties, mending grievous wounds while granting overwhelming vitality and strength to its bearer.
A divine blessing unlike any other.
Yet after the Age of the Paragons came to an end, those sacred flames vanished from history. No one had ever witnessed them again.
According to the oldest records by the Magus Spire, only those who carried the bloodline of that Paragon could inherit such a gift.
However, that should have been impossible.
Every one of the Seven Virtuous Paragons had been burdened by the same curse, a fate that denied them the ability to leave behind descendants of their own.
Even so, history was rarely so absolute.
Ophelia had never truly believed that such a divine power was bound solely by blood.
No, she believed the Immortal Flames possessed a will of their own, one that chose its bearer according to worth rather than lineage. Her closest friend, Lukas Chavolet, had long shared the very same conviction.
To them, the bloodline theory had never been the complete truth. The flames did not simply pass from parent to child or through lineage — they chose its own bearer.
And the two of them had every reason to believe that theory.
Sixteen years ago, they had uncovered records of an event hidden from the rest of the world. An event so heavily guarded by the House of Varion that almost no one beyond a select few even knew it had happened.
Yet somehow, the two of them had managed to lay their hands upon those truths.
They detailed the first recorded reappearance of the Immortal Flames after centuries of silence, the first time the sacred flame had manifested since the Age of the Seven Virtuous Paragons.
In that record, the one chosen as its bearer...
Was none other than the firstborn daughter of House Varion...
Azphira Varion.
It was said that she first awakened the Immortal Flames during her expedition to the Dead Man Lands.
Regrettably, such a remarkable individual never returned from that expedition, unlike the knights who had accompanied her.
Then, Ophelia’s gaze shifted toward the white-haired girl who had previously searched the skies for her presence; she found it rather astonishing that the girl had managed to sense her at all, despite having concealed her presence completely.
More importantly...
’Calyra Arcanis. What a strange existence you are.’
There was something unusual about that girl.
Her Mana Essence was immense, almost on par with Ophelia’s despite being so young. Yet it felt incomplete, as though something was constantly preventing it from ever reaching its true capacity.
But despite that imperfection, its presence was already overwhelming, it was difficult to imagine just how terrifying that Mana Essence would become once whatever restrained it was finally broken.
And oddly enough, that monumental reserve of mana reminded Ophelia of one of the Seven Virtuous Paragons — the very hero who had once frozen the entire southern reaches of the Dead Man Lands.
A soft sigh escaped her lips before a faint, exhilarated smile curved across her face.
"Hmm... this new generation is truly something. That said, I find it highly unlikely that either of them is a demon in disguise."
The next moment, her figure vanished, warping away from where she stood. Only then did the rain finally fall upon the empty space she had occupied moments before.
*****
[Ruvian’s POV]
[You have received 12,000 Plot Points!]
As soon as he caught those whispers, Ruvian cast a quick glance at the small map projected by the [Bookmarks].
A faint smile touched his face.
The sheer amount of plot points he had received didn’t surprise him at all, as he had already anticipated such an outcome.
’Looks like things over there had already settled down. That’s good to know.’
Rain hammered against Ruvian’s face as he dug both feet into the snake’s thick scales, his fingers locked around the hilt of [The Endseeker] while the blade stayed buried deep inside its back.
Every violent twist threatened to throw him away, yet he leaned lower against its body and held on with everything he had. The cold water blurred his sight, while the beast’s rough scales scraped against his boots every time it rolled.
’Ugh, anyway, I need to focus on this first.’
The giant snake let out a deafening hiss as its massive body slammed into the hillside again, sending rocks bursting into the air and shaking the ground beneath them.
Ruvian tightened his grip a heartbeat before the impact, his whole body smashing against the creature’s back as pain shot through his arms. His teeth clenched harder while the katana cut another line across its scales.
’On second thought, riding this beast wasn’t my brightest idea!’
"Ruvian, hold it steady," Yerin shouted as flames burst around her sword, "I’ll force its head this way."
After saying that, Yerin sprinted straight toward the monster without slowing down. Fire trailed behind her blade as she swung at the snake’s face.
The beast twisted toward her at once, its enormous jaws opening wide enough to swallow a man whole, while rows of curved fangs flashed beneath the rain.
Before it could strike, a heavy roar echoed across the hill. Arlok charged from the side with his poleaxe raised above his shoulder.
"Get your ugly head back over here!"
His poleaxe crashed against the snake’s jaw with a loud boom, while earth shot upward beneath his feet and added even more force behind the blow.
BOOM!
The massive head lurched sideways as broken scales scattered across the ground.
At the exact moment, a purplish flash suddenly crossed the battlefield as Shima appeared beside the wounded jaw.
Lightning danced around her falchion while she unleashed a storm of slashes across the snake’s neck. Sparks exploded together with fresh blood before she kicked herself away just as the monster snapped at empty air.
"You missed, you oversized worm!"
Though, Shima miscalculated. From her rear, the snake’s tail whipped forward without warning, tearing through the trees as it barreled toward her.
Her eyes widened for a split second. Gritting her teeth, she lowered her stance and braced for the impact.
But then, several glowing arrows streaked through the rain; Horren’s mana arrows struck the tail one after another, slowing it just enough for Shima to leap clear.
"I–I got you!"
Horren called out while another arrow was already resting on his bowstring. His hands trembled slightly, yet every shot still flew exactly where it needed to.
"Nice one, Horren!" Shima called back.
Horren nodded. Then, he wrapped the wind around his next arrow before he shot it forward.
Swoosh!
A second later, the wind arrow slammed into the snake’s eye, forcing another furious scream from the beast as its massive body thrashed even harder.
Ruvian nearly lost his footing when the creature threw itself across the hillside again. His free hand grabbed another scale while his katana stayed buried inside its flesh.
’Alright, that’s it... enough slithering you damn beast!’
’It’s time for our joyous ride to end here.’
With that in mind, Ruvian pulled [The Endseeker] free from its thick scales.
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[Chapter 263: Eyes Above]
Plot Points= 42,100