CHAPTER 175: ADELIA AGAINST LYNIRA

Adelia didn’t blink.

The air around her warped from the sheer pressure of her mana. Golden light spiraled with crimson heat, forming a burning aura so bright it cast dancing shadows across the ruined forest.

Lynira steadied herself, brushing dust off her robe with a pout. She was actually enjoying it.

"Heeey... that actually pushed me back," she giggled. "How rude. I was having fun with your little toys. Tch! You ruined it."

Adelia’s jaw tightened.

Flames crackled around her fists.

Light gathered around her feet.

The ground beneath her trembled.

"Step away from them," Adelia said, voice cold enough to freeze molten rock, "or you will not leave this forest alive."

Lynira’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Oooh~ scary teacher mode. I like that."

In the next instant. Her aura burst out.

A suffocating wave of pitch-black mana erupted around her.

Like living smoke. Like claws scraping the air.

Darkness.

Darkness element. Her aura matching that of Adelia.

"You must be Adelia Evangeline," Lynira hummed. "The famed Light-Fire mage. The one all those little students worship. But now working as healer in Academy."

She twirled her dagger lazily.

"I wonder how your light tastes when I slice through it."

Adelia didn’t wait. She made her first move.

FWOOOM—!!

She vanished in a flash of radiant gold.

Lynira’s grin sharpened. "Oh, fast—"

BANG!!

Adelia’s knee smashed into her ribs, folding her body inward. Her strength was monstrous.

The impact cracked the ground beneath them, shockwaves blasting outward.

Lynira coughed, but her smile never faded.

"So that’s—"

She disappeared.

A shadow flickered.

Adelia spun instantly. Instinct, training, rage.

CLAAAANG!!

Lynira’s dagger met her flaming gauntlet in a spark of fire and darkness.

The forest exploded with the collision. The impact sent shockwaves around.

Lynira, while fighting, glanced at her two men. Her eyes signaling them to finish their task.

The masked men nodded.

---

Amon shielded his eyes weakly as wind tore across the battlefield.

Even from far away... he could barely breathe.

Seraphina’s fingers twitched, her gaze blurry.

"P-Professor... is fighting that monster... alone..."

Amon got on his feet. Pain shot through his body. He put his sword and hatchet in the storage ring. Then took out a potion and drank.

He gritted his teeth and went towards Seraphina.

He knelt beside her. "Are you okay?" He helped Seraphina get up.

Her hand holding her belly where Lynira had punched. "I am okay." She took out a healing potion and drank it.

BOOM!

The fight was going on.

"Stay here. I will go and check on Arnold and others."

Just then Eliana and Marcus came towards Seraphina and Amon.

Their state was no different from them. Marcus was using a spear to walk. His wounds were healing. It seems he had drunk a potion.

"Hey, guys, stay together. I will go to Arnold."

"Yeah. Go check on him. Also see if Aisha is okay," Eliana said with a rough voice. Her breathing was fast from pain and exhaustion.

BOOM!

The shockwaves of heat and darkness spread around. Trees were torn, broken by their fight.

’Fuck, they are crazy strong,’ Amon thought. His eyes trying to find Arnold. He saw him lying at one side.

’Tch! He’s in bad condition.’ Amon ran towards him.

He found Arnold lying far away, half-buried in shattered branches.

’There!’

Amon ran.

Arnold lay motionless, chest barely moving. His broken sword lay beside him.

"Arnold! Hey!"

Amon knelt quickly, lifting him halfway.

Blood covered Arnold’s chin. He opened one eye. "...Amon...?"

"Drink this." Amon pressed a healing potion to his lips.

Arnold forced it down, groaning as the liquid burned through his injuries.

Amon exhaled. "How’s your condition? Can you move? We need—"

His words stopped.

Every hair on his body stood up.

Someone was behind him.

No– charging.

Amon turned instantly.

SHIIIING—!!

A masked man was already mid-swing. His blade aimed at Arnold’s neck.

"Shit!"

Amon summoned his sword with his shadow moving up to cover its blade. His hand trembling and thrust it forward.

CLAAAANG!!

Metal clashed.

The impact felt like an avalanche.

Amon was thrown backward, feet dragging trenches through the dirt.

"Aghhh!!"

The masked man didn’t pause. His killing intent focused entirely on Arnold.

Arnold coughed blood, forcing himself upright.

"Not... happening..."

He grabbed the broken hilt of his sword and lunged.

BAM!!

He collided with the masked man, pushing him back. The masked man snarled and exchanged blows with Arnold, their clash turning into a messy, desperate fight.

Amon gritted his teeth. "Damn it... he’s still this strong even injured?"

Arnold clenched his teeth and jumped back from the man. He threw the broken sword aside. Another sword similar to before appeared in his right hand. Arnold has always kept an extra sword with him in case he lost one or broke it. Just like now.

His body slowly healed from the potion. His body started to glow. The masked man dashed at Arnold in blinding speed. Hard to see any move.

But just then a lightning spear dashed from the other side in the direction of the enemy. He stopped so as not to get hit by it. The spell hit between Arnold and the masked man.

BOOM!

There stood Aisha. "I am still here you bastards."

Amon sighed. ’With three of us together. We can kill this man

.’

---

Meanwhile.

Some distance away from them, Adelia and Lynira were still fighting. The forest was cleaned.

On their other side.

Seraphina, Marcus, and Eliana remained together, struggling to stand.

Seraphina steadied her breathing. "Amon went to Arnold... I hope they—"

SHHHHH—

A cold chill crawled through the air.

Eliana froze. "Wait. Do you feel—"

A figure dropped from the trees behind them.

A masked man.

Dual daggers aimed directly for Seraphina’s throat.

Eliana’s eyes widened. "Move–!"

Seraphina’s eyes flashed. "Damn—!!"

The masked man struck first.

Seraphina ducked down.

At the same time—

Marcus swung his spear up in desperation.

CLANG—!!

The spear barely caught the dagger.

The masked man’s second blade slashed toward Eliana.

She stepped back, panting.

Her body still broken from Lynira’s earlier hit.

Another fight began.

One masked assassin against three wounded students.

---

And in the distance.

Lynira, bound in Adelia’s golden chains, smiled with insane delight.

As if everything was going exactly the way she wanted.

Lynira reappeared above Adelia, upside down mid-air like a ghost.

"Surprise~"

She swung down.

Adelia caught the dagger with her bare glowing palm. Fire wrapped around it, melting the blade’s edge.

Lynira’s eyes widened.

"Oh. That’s new."

Adelia snarled. She was fighting with her all.

"Ignite."

WHOOM—!!

A pillar of red fire erupted point-blank, engulfing Lynira completely.

The heat blasted through the forest, burning trees to cinders in seconds.

Amon and the others felt the shockwave even from the ground.

But...

As the flames cleared.

Lynira stood there.

Clothes charred. Mask burned. Revealing her beautiful face.

But smiling.

A massive sphere of black mana whirled around her like a living shield.

It absorbed the attack. The darkness writhing like tendrils.

"Hehehe~ spicy. I like spicy."

Her eyes gleamed under her half-broken mask.

"Darkness devours light, teacher."

She dashed.

Adelia raised her guard.

But Lynira was already behind her.

BAM!!

A dark-coated kick slammed into Adelia’s side, sending her crashing through a boulder.

CRRRAAAACK!!

The rock split apart like it was made of glass.

Adelia panted.

But she rose from the rubble, wiping blood from her lip.

Her voice was a whisper.

"Today... you... will not escape from here alive..."

She vanished again.

The air screamed.

BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!

Light and darkness clashed again and again. So fast that if students tried to watch, they could only see flashes. Every impact shook the sky, ripping trees from their roots, turning the forest into chaos.

Lynira appeared above Adelia again, laughing hysterically.

"Hehehahaha!! This is fun!"

Dark mana spiraled wildly, condensing into her palm.

A black sun formed. Pure darkness.

"Let’s see if you can handle this~!!"

Adelia raised both hands, flames exploding outward.

"Solar Burst."

The golden sphere formed. Brighter, hotter, purer than sunlight.

They hurled the spells at the same time.

KAAAAAAAAA—!!

The clash was blinding.

The world shook.

For a moment

It looked equal.

Then.

A silhouette shot through the explosion.

Lynira.

Her clothes burned. Her mask shattered.

Half her face revealed. Smiling like a lunatic.

She shot straight toward Adelia, hand coated in swirling darkness.

"Got you—"

But Adelia moved first.

Her voice shook the trees.

"Radiant Lock."

Golden chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around Lynira mid-air. Binding her limbs, torso, legs, neck.

Lynira froze, eyes widening.

"Oh?"

Adelia stepped forward, hair glowing like wildfire.

"You will not... lay a hand on anyone again."

She clenched her fist.

The chains tightened. Light burning through darkness.

Lynira grinned. A wide smile.

Then whispered.

"Interesting."

Adelia gripped the golden chains tightly and pulled them with her monstrous strength.

She slammed Lynira on the ground by using the chains.

BOOM!

The ground shook from impact. A huge spiderweb crack formed on the earth. Dust spread everywhere.