CHAPTER 191: 191. PHASE 2

The creature that he cuts into half rose again as the flesh twitched and the wound knitted together in a matter of seconds.

Leo’s jaw tightened, his patience wearing thin. "Regenerating again?" he spat.

He gripped the katana tighter, his crimson Aura surging out, a shimmering crimson energy that wrapped the blade, boosting its destructive power. His movements turned into a deadly precision storm. The first mutant lunged once more, but Leo was quicker, making three fiery arcs with his katana in just one heartbeat.

In a matter of seconds, the creature was reduced to pieces, the pieces sizzling on the ground.

They twitched in an attempt to change, but Leo persisted. The second mutant’s tendrils snapped at him as he spun toward it. The flames burned the flesh to prevent regeneration as his katana danced and sliced it into a dozen pieces.

The third mutant roared and charged, its arms tangled with spikes of bone. With a sickening crunch, Leo’s katana sliced through its skull, causing it to split apart as he leaped. In a barrage of flaming blows, he landed and slashed again, destroying it to indiscernible pieces.

The fourth mutant, clutching its severed head in one clawed hand, let out a deep bellow, its tendrils thrashing. With a metallic thud, Leo’s chained dagger whipped out, pinning the creature to a tree.

He quickly drew closer, his katana cutting through its body with unrelenting precision, each blow a torrent of fire that reduced it to smoldering ash.

The air was filled with the strong smell of scorched flesh.

Amid chaos, Leo stood with his katana’s glow fading as he caught his breath, his dark cloak smeared with ichor.

His crimson eyes scanned the scene, ensuring no piece stirred. "Stay dead this time," he said, his voice low and sharp as he flicked the last of the ichor from his blade.

[Threats neutralized. No further mutations detected.] Elynn’s voice chimed in his mind.

His crimson eyes narrowing as the Symphonic Link with Nimbus sending quick flashes of Rin’s desperate fight against the white-masked cultists.

"Tch, Nimbus is tough, but he can’t babysit her forever," he muttered, his voice laced with frustration. He flicked his wrist, his katana and chained blood dagger vanishing into his item space with a shimmer of mana. He pulled out a glowing blue mana potion and a bright green energy potion, drinking both in quick gulps.

A rush of power surged through him, steadying his breath and sharpening his senses.

A sleek black bow appeared in his hands, its frame faintly glowing with mana, paired with an arrow.

"Time for phase two," he said.

At Point B, Lucian stood in a blood-soaked clearing, facing thesix mutants.

Their grotesque forms—spiked limbs, writhing tendrils, and glowing red eyes—had been tough, but now they were just ash and bone.

A mutant’s massive, steaming fist hurtled toward him, but Lucian’s crimson Aura shield flared, blocking the blow with a deep hum, the impact rippling through the air. He rolled to the side, yanking his longsword from the ground. His gray eyes gleamed with cold confidence as he faced the remaining mutants.

"Now this is worth my blood technique," he said.

The longsword ignited with crimson Aura, the air crackling with energy. A mutant lunged, its bone-spiked arm slashing wildly, but Lucian sidestepped with easy grace, his blade carving a fiery arc through its limb. The severed arm hit the ground, twitching and steaming, but Lucian was already moving.

Crimson blood swords appeared around him, hovering. With a flick of his wrist, they surged forward, continuously piercing the mutant in a flurry of strikes, shredding it into pieces before it could regrow. The corrosive blood magic ensured its flesh dissolved into nothing.

Lucian spun, blood chains bursting from his hands, their glowing crimson links humming with mana. They lashed out, ensnaring two mutants, snapping their bone spikes like dry twigs. With a sharp tug, the chains tightened, slicing through muscle and bone, reducing the creatures to broken husks. Their regeneration failed, the corrosive mana eating away at their remains.

The final three mutants charged in a wild assault, their claws and tendrils slashing frantically. Lucian’s eyes narrowed, his third blood technique igniting. A crimson mist exploded outward, enveloping the clearing in a choking haze.

The mutants staggered, their movements slowing as the mist corroded their flesh from within. Lucian surged forward, his longsword a blazing streak, carving through each mutant in turn. Their bodies crumbled into ash under the combined assault of his Aura and blood magic.

As the mist dissipated and the clearing grew quiet, Lucian stood with a steady smirk and a heaving chest. He flicked blood from his blade and muttered, "Too easy."

His head snapped up as a sharp whistle sliced through the air. Leo’s signal for phase two was a fiery arrow streaking into the sky high above, exploding in a bright burst of light. Lucian’s gray eyes hardened as he sheathed his swords.

"Velmera," he muttered. Driven by the desire to keep her safe, he ran toward her location, his cloak following him like a storm.

In a hidden glade deep within the Forest, a group of mercenaries and white-masked cultists worked with quick precision.

At edge stood a black masked cultist. At the glade’s center, his followers carved a complex rune circle into the earth, its lines shimmering with sickly light.

A white-masked cultist, his mask streaked with dirt, approached the black-masked leader, his voice urgent. "The barrier spell is nearly complete, Lord pillar. We’ll be ready to activate it soon."

The cultist in the black mask nodded, his voice steady and cold, his eyes focused on the glowing rune circle. "Start getting the vessel containment ready. We can’t afford to be late."

Before he could continue, the silence was broken by a sharp whistle. A fiery arrow blazed across the sky, exploding in a radiant burst, and all eyes turned to the sky.

The cultist in the black mask cocked his head and spoke in a tough, urgent voice.

"They’re moving. Activate the circle now. We secure the two vessels before they interfere."