CHAPTER 282: TOO MANY? NOT FOR VELRA.

Reval watched closely. His grin was gone now.

His eyes followed every one of Velra’s movements.

The two flame mutants struggled to stand straight inside her zone.

They looked weaker by the second.

He clenched his jaw.

"This doesn’t make sense," he muttered. "They were enhanced."

The mutants growled but stepped back, clearly affected by the poison and confusion spreading through their bodies.

Reval finally snapped, his voice loud and sharp.

"Just who the hell are you?!"

Velra didn’t stop moving. Her hips swayed with each step.

She flicked her hair back and gave him a slow, dangerous smirk.

"We," she said, "are the Heavenly Demon Sect."

Reval stared. "Heavenly what?"

"I’ve never heard of you," he snapped.

Velra turned slightly and lifted her arms as if presenting something grand.

"Of course you haven’t. We just arrived from the lower zones."

She spun her whip once.

"And now," she added, "you’ll be the first one to hear our name... and spread it."

Reval’s eyes narrowed. "So that’s your goal? Announce yourself by picking a fight with us?"

Velra chuckled. "You’re lucky. You get to be part of history."

Reval pointed a shaky finger at her.

"You’re just a bunch of fools from the trash pits. You think power from the lower zones means something here?"

Velra tilted her head. "I don’t think it. I already proved it."

She looked at the flame mutants again, still struggling.

"We’re stronger."

Reval’s face twisted in anger.

"Don’t mock us!" he shouted. "This is a Flame God Cult facility!"

He turned to the cultists behind him.

"Everyone! Kill her now! Kill them both!"

The other cultists hesitated. Some looked unsure. Others moved slowly.

Velra stood still in the center of her corrupted ether zone.

Her rose-pink eyes glowed as she stretched her arms wide.

"Oh?" she whispered. "More playmates?"

Ashblade hadn’t moved once. He just watched, calm and unreadable.

Reval saw that even with numbers, his men hesitated.

The pressure Velra gave off wasn’t normal. It felt thick, like poison in the air.

"Forget this," Reval muttered.

While the others moved forward to attack, Reval turned and ran.

He dashed toward the side tunnel.

His cloak flapped as he disappeared into the dark, choosing survival over pride.

Velra didn’t look back. Her smirk remained.

"Coward," she said softly.

Then she raised her foot and stepped forward to greet the next wave.

The corrupted zone around her pulsed like a slow wave.

The cultists charged, shouting in anger, but their movements were stiff.

Their footing slipped as the ground seemed to bend under the weight of Velra’s pressure.

The first three reached her.

Velra spun, her leg cutting through the air.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]."

Her foot slammed into the closest cultist’s ribs. A crack echoed.

Poison surged into his body.

His scream was cut short as he dropped, shaking.

The other two attacked from both sides.

Velra moved without panic.

Her body shifted smoothly, whip spinning through the air.

"[Velvet Demon Zone]" followed her, corrupting the area wherever she went.

The two cultists’ eyes turned hazy. Their swings missed, slowed, then stopped.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]."

One fell with a crushed throat.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]."

The other dropped, legs shattered. He didn’t rise.

More came. Four this time.

Velra smiled faintly.

She breathed in slowly.

"[Velvet Demon Breathing]."

She pulled in the scattered energy, the fire in the air, the leftover aura from fallen enemies.

Her veins glowed briefly. Her whip snapped forward.

One charged with a blade—she caught him mid-step with a kick to the head.

Another raised his hand to cast something. Velra twisted around him.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]."

His skull bent the wrong way.

A third ran at her with a staff.

She caught the weapon with her hand and yanked him into the zone’s center.

"[Velvet Demon Zone]" tightened.

He choked and fell, frothing at the mouth.

The fourth tried to run.

Her whip wrapped around his ankle.

She yanked hard.

He crashed to the floor, and she stomped down.

No more movement.

But more cultists kept coming.

Velra’s movements slowed slightly.

Her breathing grew heavy. Her kicks weren’t as sharp as before.

She gritted her teeth.

"[Velvet Demon Breathing]."

Again she pulled in energy—but it was less now. The area had grown quiet.

Most of the fire was gone. Most of the energy was burned out.

Still, she stood tall.

Two flame mutants—less mutated than the others—rushed from the side.

Velra turned.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]!"

Her leg smashed into the first.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]!"

The second tried to block, but her foot curved low and crushed his shin.

They collapsed.

But so did Velra—onto one knee.

She was sweating now. Her zone flickered.

Her body shook slightly.

She forced herself to stand.

Another cultist came at her with a hammer.

She stepped aside, barely dodging.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]."

It landed, but not clean. Her strength was fading.

Still, it knocked him back enough to keep her standing.

The last group—just two—looked at her with fear. They hesitated.

Velra walked forward, slow but steady.

"[Velvet Demon Zone]" dragged behind her like a dying flame.

They tried to run.

She spun her whip.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]!"

One fell, spine bent.

"[Velvet Demon Kick]!"

The last collapsed, body twitching.

Silence returned.

The ash and heat settled.

Velra stood in the center of the ruined field, surrounded by bodies—burned, twisted, broken.

She dropped to one knee again.

Her breath was ragged.

Her corrupted zone flickered once... then vanished.

Her arms fell to her sides.

She smiled weakly.

"Done."

Ashblade stepped closer, his boots crunching over broken stone and ash.

He looked down at the battlefield, then at her.

"Good work, Velra," he said. "You crushed them."

Velra chuckled faintly. "They were too many... and this whole place drains me."

She shifted slightly, leaning on one hand.

"This Zone was stronger than lower zones. I need to burn more energy and strenght to kill them."

Ashblade nodded. "You lasted longer than I expected."

Velra glanced up at him. "So... what about Reval? Do we chase him?"

Ashblade’s eyes narrowed. A smirk slowly crept across his face.

"No," he said. "We let him run."

Velra blinked. "Why?"

"I need him to do something for me," Ashblade said, voice low.

He turned away, his smirk widening.