CHAPTER 332: WHEN BLOOD TURNS AGAINST BLOOD [3]

*swoosh*

Kiera’s fist lashed out like a bullet, but Brandon’s chains burst from the marble at the last second, coiling around her wrist and slowing the blow enough for him to twist his body aside.

Her punch grazed his ribs instead of caving them in, but the impact still sent pain rippling through his torso.

Brandon gritted his teeth, yet his hand shot up to grab her arm and he slammed his elbow into her collarbone.

THRUKKK!

The blow staggered her, cracking the crystalline ether under the strike as she slid back.

She hissed in frustration, swiping at her collarbone where blood had already seeped from the impact.

Kiera narrowed her eyes, ’I know I am holding back but still no one below S-rank should be standing. This guy...’

He spat blood to the side, "What’s wrong?"

"Tch." Snarling, Kiera blurred forward and appeared before him in a blink of an eye, burying her fist deep into his gut letting the crystalline edge dig in.

Brandon’s eyes widened as blood sprayed from his lips.

But his hands lashed out instinctively and before she could react, he grabbed her head "Got you," and with the same force, he pulled her down, slamming his knee right into her face.

CRACK!

Her nose split, spurting blood as the strike rattled her skull.

"Kuaghh-" The crystalline ether flared desperately around her face, but Brandon’s knee shattered through it, shards raining across the marble floor like broken glass.

Kiera staggered back, clutching her face as blood streaked her lips "You..."

She spun sharply, her heel slamming into his ribs in a roundhouse kick.

The strike cracked against his side, and Brandon coughed, stumbling backward with blood running from his mouth.

His chains lashed out again, anchoring him to the ground to stop him from falling.

The next second, the chain slithered around Kiera’s arms, pulling her forward against her own will.

Brandon met her halfway, his fist smashing into her cheek with bone-crunching force.

THOOM! CRACK!

The crystalline ether tried to harden there, but his punch shattered it to splinters and sent her head whipping to the side as blood sprayed across the marble.

She staggered and raised her hand to touch her bloodied cheek.

Blood dripped from her split lip, staining the floor in crimson trails.

Henriette’s eyes trembled in shock ’That boy is matching her... blow for blow? And he is not even S rank?’

Looking at him, a proud smile appeared on Florence’s lips as she turned to Henriette "Now, it’s your turn, Mother."

Henriette froze and the cane trembled faintly under Henriette’s grip.

Behind them, Brandon’s flaming chains tightened around Kiera, dragging her into a brutal knee strike that shattered crystal and drew blood from her mouth.

The mansion shook again, dust falling like rain as the clash pressed on.

Henriette’s eyes snapped back to Florence "...Now you are standing against me, child?"

Florence straightened and looked dead into her mother’s eyes "Yes. For him."

Her nails dug into her palms and the golden glint in her eyes deepened, but it wasn’t light... it was weight.

A crushing, invisible pressure rolled off her body in waves, distorting the very air.

Henriette’s cane trembled faintly, her sharp gaze narrowing. "...Gravity."

Eira inherited this ’Gravity’ from Florence but in a different way.

Florence lifted her hand, and the air around her fingers rippled.

In the next instant, Henriette’s body was pulled downward as the pressure on her body intensified.

The marble cracked in wide spiderwebs beneath her feet.

CRACK!

The Grand Matriarch’s robes flared as she resisted and blue ether burst out of her, shielding her from the gravity pressure.

Still, her knees bent slightly under the pressure, and for the first time, Henriette’s composure cracked.

"Mother," Florence muttered, her voice shaking with anger, "you’ve pushed me down my entire life... but now it’s your turn to kneel."

She clenched her fist and the gravity around Henriette doubled.

Henriette slammed her cane into the ground and a shockwave of blue ether burst outward, throwing off the weight for a second.

She leapt upward in the air and floated above Florence, defying the pull of her daughter’s ether.

Florence’s gaze flickered ’I forgot... that SS rank awakeners can fly.’

FEEN!

Runes ignited around Henriette’s head and glowing blue symbols wove themselves into a burning crown above her head.

"Child, you cannot bear the sky when your shoulders are so weak. Allow me to crush you."

With a single sweep of her cane, dozens of glowing sigils detonated in the air... raining down lances of blue ether across the garden.

BOOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

Explosions tore through garden plants, reducing pots and water pools to ash and rubble.

Florence braced herself and stomped her foot, creating a gravity dome around her.

The air warped and the ether lances from Henriette that touched its surface bent sharply, slamming into the floor or dissipating in warped spirals.

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

Still, the impact rattled her bones, each blast pressing harder against her will.

Blood dripped from her nose, but she refused to falter.

"Mother... you made me carry your burdens and your cruelty. I bore it all. But this-"

The ground beneath Henriette ripped open as slabs of marble tore free from the ground under Florence’s control.

Chunks of stone floated upward, orbiting Florence like satellites caught in a miniature sun.

Each piece shuddered with condensed gravity, glowing with golden ether veins.

"This weight isn’t yours anymore. It’s mine."

She thrust her hands forward and the orbiting stones shot up like cannonballs.

Henriette swung her cane, blasting several into shards with her runes, but one crashed into her barrier and sent her spinning mid-air.

For the first time, Henriette’s face twisted in anger "Ungrateful girl!"

FEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNN!!!

Her runes whirled into a massive circle above her, expanding into a blue dome that crackled with destructive ether.

As Henriette gestured her hand down, the whole dome hurled towards Florence.

Florence’s eyes widened and she bared her teeth, slamming both palms down. ’Mother’s power... Controlling runes and firing ether projectiles. Darn you...’

KRRRRAAAAAACK!

The ground shook and the gravity spiked across the mansion, so heavy that the floor buckled, support beams split, and chandeliers plummeted like stones.

Henriette’s descending dome shuddered under the crushing force, its perfect runes distorting and twisting inward.

For a second, mother and daughter locked wills... with blue runes against golden gravity, sky against earth.

Then-

BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The collision erupted in a shockwave that tore the Bleaufort mansion apart.

Pillars snapped like twigs, entire walls collapsed, and the ceiling split open to reveal the pale morning sky above.

Brandon and Kiera, locked in their brawl outside, both staggered under the pressure and paused as debris rained down around them.

When the dust settled, Florence stood amidst the ruins, her chest heaving faintly.

Across from her, Henriette floated in the air, her cane blazing with cold ether.

Florence’s voice carried across the devastation, "...I won’t bow to you ever again."