CHAPTER 68: THE SECOND PHASE BEGINS

"A-are you... Lydia?" Fiona asked, voice cracking slightly. The woman didn’t look up.

Fiona’s right leg trembled, blood dripping steadily down her shin and pooling beneath her heel. Her breath came sharp, every inhale scraping against her ribs.

Across from her, crouched beside the silver-haired girl, was a woman with long black hair and a cold calmness that seemed to swallow the chaos around her.

Lydia’s eyes stayed on Sera, gently brushing away the blood on her cheek.

"You did well," she said softly. "You saved many lives."

Sera’s dull eyes flickered faintly in response. She could still hear, still feel. That was enough for Lydia.

If Fiona was left unengaged, she would have killed as many orcs as she could before finding a commander.

Merin’s camp didn’t have pre-determined matchups as they believed infinite heal can fare them agianst anyone other than Tugnier.

And they weren’t wrong according to what happened in Rune’s past life.

Behind Lydia, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed.

"Ron," Lydia said.

An orc materialized from the shadows, tall, broad, with jagged tusks and green skin streaked with dark ash.

Rune had fought him during the ritual before Grig. Ron, rank six. Lydia’s second in command. One of the few men among her otherwise female squad.

"Take her to the healing artifacts," Lydia ordered.

Ron nodded, crouched, and gently lifted Sera into his arms.

"Make sure to join us after you’re healed, alright?" Lydia said.

Even through the pain, Sera managed a faint nod. Ron vanished into the fog with her.

Now only Fiona and Lydia remained.

Fiona steadied her stance, though the pain in her leg made her footing uneven. Lydia’s gaze dropped to it, to the slow, wet drip of red.

"You got hurt by a first circle mana user?" Lydia teased, her lips curving in a faint smirk.

Fiona bit her lip, cheeks burning. "I underestimated that weakling," she muttered under her breath.

Lydia sighed, disappointed. "There’s not much left for me to do here anymore..." Her tone was flat, almost bored, as she scanned Fiona’s condition. "You can’t even stand properly."

But Fiona only smiled faintly behind her iron fan. "Oh, don’t you worry about me," she said, voice dripping with pride. "After all, we, the true owners of this land, are not like you godforsaken creatures."

She raised her hand dramatically. "Behold! The power bestowed upon us by the grace of god!"

.......

Silence.

Nothing happened.

"Pfft... was that supposed to be the ’grace of god’?" Lydia laughed into her fist.

Fiona froze. Confusion spread across her face as she looked toward the valley, where the healer’s camp should have been glowing with divine light.

Instead, there was only chaos. The strings of prayer cords dangled loose, the saints scattered, no chants, no radiance.

"Why..." Fiona whispered.

"You must’ve joined that ’god-forsaken’ list too," Lydia said, still laughing.

Fiona’s stomach twisted. Fear replaced the arrogance in her eyes. "No..." she whispered again.

Lydia’s laughter faded into something colder. She drew her twin daggers from the sheath hidden under her mini skirt, their edges glinting faintly blue in the bloody light.

"Well then," she said softly, stepping forward, "your time is up."

Fiona’s pupils narrowed. She flicked her fan open with a snap, the metal blades gleaming. "Don’t think it’ll be that easy."

With a sharp twist of her wrist, Fiona unleashed a flurry of metallic pins, each glowing with a faint green aura. They screamed through the air like angry wasps.

Lydia blurred, her body dissolving into motion. The pins struck the boulder behind her and exploded, shattering it into shards.

Dust and fragments rained down, but Lydia was already in front of Fiona, dagger lunging toward her stomach.

Fiona twisted to the side, barely. The blade sliced across her uniform instead of flesh. She retaliated instantly, swinging her injured leg in a wide upward kick.

The swing was a lot slower than her usual speed.

Lydia ducked low, dodging effortlessly. Her dagger flicked out again, stabbing deep into Fiona’s already wounded leg.

"Aahhh!" Fiona screamed, collapsing slightly, her balance breaking. But even through the agony, she forced her mana to surge.

Green sparks of aura erupted around her body, transparent wind blades forming from the air itself.

Lydia’s eyes narrowed. She could feel the subtle distortion in the air,, faint but sharp.

She leapt back just as the wind blades screamed past her, tearing craters into the ground where she’d stood. The shockwave sent dust flying in violent gusts.

When the air settled, Lydia straightened, exhaling. "You can’t even move properly," she said, brushing the dust off her skirt.

"Just give up. I’ll get to go meet Merin, and you’ll die quick, before the suffering starts. Win-win, right?"

Fiona’s lips trembled as she panted, trying to keep her stance steady. "Shut up..."

Her leg was barely holding her weight. Her breaths came harsh and uneven.

Lydia’s eyes glowed faintly violet as her aura ignited, a ripple of water rising around her like steam. "Now then..." she murmured.

Purple sparks danced through the air. Water spears began to form around her, half a dozen at first, then more, spinning and humming with energy.

Fiona raised her hand, her fan trembling slightly.

Invisible air bullets shot forward, slicing the air apart with tiny shockwaves.

Lydia smiled faintly and twisted her daggers. The water spears splintered, reshaping into thin, fast-moving shurikens. She hurled them toward the incoming distortions, and each one met an air bullet mid-flight.

The collisions lit the field in small bursts of explosions, shockwaves rippling out, shaking loose soil and splintering the rocks around them.

Fiona bit down hard on her lip, tasting blood. She’s toying with me, she thought, glaring at Lydia, who stood with that same calm, careless smile, as if none of this mattered.

Rage flared in Fiona’s chest, pushing against the pain spreading through her leg. She looked down at it, her once flawless, proud leg that flattened her targets now slick with blood, trembling under her own weight.

I need to end this. Fast.

She tossed her fan to the ground, the metal clattering against the rock. With a sharp inhale, she clenched both fists and pushed forward. Her weight shifted onto her wounded leg, blood spilling freely from the reopened wound.

Green aura burst from her fists, twisting and coiling, shaping themselves into two glowing dragons with gaping maws around her hands.

Her Divine Gift — Dragon Fists (S-)

.

"I might not be able to move properly thanks to that frost bitch," Fiona said, her lips curling into a half-smile, "but that doesn’t mean you can reach me either."

The dragons roared softly, their green light flickering like wildfire.

But Fiona’s smug grin wavered for a second, the color draining from her face as the Gift greedily devoured her mana.

Her body trembled slightly, but she steadied herself, forcing the dragons to hold their form.

Lydia tilted her head, unimpressed. "Is that so~?" she said, her voice calm as the air around her shimmered.

Aqua Regia, her acidic water armor, rose up her body, forming a sleek layer around her arms and dress.

Fiona struck first.

She punched the air.

Boom!

The very air cracked. The shockwave slammed forward like a cannon blast, shaking the ground and tearing a deep crater where Lydia had been standing a split second before.

Dust and debris burst outward in all directions.

Lydia landed lightly on her feet several meters away, eyes wide. "What kind of firepower is that...?" she muttered. If she had reacted even a heartbeat later, she’d have lost her lower body.

Did I die from this in Rune’s past life? Because Sera didn’t wound her? the thought flickered through her mind.

She quickly retaliated, throwing a water bomb that hissed through the air. Fiona tried to dodge, but her injured leg gave out mid-step.

Boom!

The explosion swallowed her. The blast flung Fiona backward like a ragdoll. She hit the ground hard, rolling several times before she managed to stop.

"Huff... huff..." She panted, clutching her side. Her body screamed in protest, breats heaving with ragged breaths and every breath burned her lungs.

Steam and smoke rose around her from the explosion.

Lydia vanished into the smoke.

"That won’t work on me!" Fiona shouted, forcing mana into her arms again. She punched the air once more, her Dragon Fists roaring as they blasted the fog apart. The wind cleared the smoke instantly, revealing the torn-up battlefield.

But Lydia was gone.

"What—?" Fiona whispered, eyes darting everywhere.

Phantom Cloak (S).

Lydia had vanished.

Fiona gritted her teeth. "You think hiding will help?" She spread her arms wide, summoning whirling air currents. Small cyclones formed around her, their suction tearing at the ground, but none of them pulled Lydia in.

Her breathing turned shallow. Her vision blurred. Then, pain. A sharp, stabbing pressure behind her eyes.

Mana depletion.

Fiona staggered. Her head spun.

"Ohh..." Lydia’s voice echoed behind her, playful and taunting. "Running out of mana already?"

Fiona whipped around, fists raised, but there was no one there.

"Hmm~" The voice came again, from behind her once more. "I’m tired of playing with you."

Fiona spun back, her punch ripping through the air, crack! The ground split under the shockwave, dirt and stone spraying outward.

Still no one.

Then, warmth. Arms slid around her from behind.

"See? I reached you," Lydia whispered, her lips near Fiona’s ear as she hugged her from behind.

"Huh?" Fiona barely got the word out before a sharp hiss filled the air.

Ssshhh..

The acid from Lydia’s Aqua Regia spread across Fiona’s back. Her skin burned instantly, the smell of melting flesh rising with smoke.

"AAAHHHHH!" Fiona screamed, thrashing in agony. "Stop it! Stop it! I’m sorry! Please!"

She clawed at herself, trying to tear away the dissolving parts of her clothes and skin, but the damage was already done. Her back was a mangled, red mess.

Her voice cracked. "Ahhhh! AHHHH!"

Lydia stepped back, her expression cold, her black hair sticking to her face from the humidity of her own magic.

"I didn’t know you had such a fetish for torture." Quinn’s voice came from the side, smooth and amused.

Lydia turned her head slightly. "Oh! You’re done already?" she asked, noticing the severed head of Oken in Quinn’s grip.

"Yeah," Quinn said dryly. "Finish up. We need to move to phase two."

"Okay~" Lydia said cheerfully, stepping closer to Fiona.

Fiona raised her tear-streaked face, shaking. "Wh-what are you doing..."

Lydia didn’t answer. Her eyes softened slightly, almost pitying. "Oh! by the way," she said, glancing at Quinn, "Sera will be joining us soon. She’s at the healing artifacts."

"I see." Quinn replied.

Lydia’s gaze dropped back to Fiona. She reached out, gripping Fiona’s silky black hair in her hand.

Fiona winced, too weak to resist. "Please... don’t..."

Swish

Lydia’s dagger flashed, cutting across Fiona’s throat in one clean motion.

"Hukk"

A sharp gasp left Fiona’s lips before her body went still, head tilting forward as crimson stained the ground beneath her.

Lydia exhaled slowly, her expression calm, then planted her foot on Fiona’s shoulder as she pulled her head by her hair, skin tearing around her sliced throat.

Twick

Splash

Her head came off clean breaking off the spine, blood rushed down, painting Fiona’s green dress, crimson.