CHAPTER 218: CHAPTER 218- VIOLET

Sebas fired first.

The recoil from his cannon sent sparks across the deck as a stream of concentrated plasma tore through the air, striking Lucy’s chest and forcing her backward. The blast left her carapace cracked and smoking, but she barely flinched.

"Keep the pressure on!" Veronica shouted, charging forward. Her enchantments flared like radiant sigils across her arms, amplifying her strikes.

Aya crouched behind a shattered pillar, her mechanical crossbow glowing crimson. "On your mark!" she called.

"Now!" Sebas barked, adjusting his aim. Aya’s explosive bolts flew, syncing perfectly with Sebas’s next discharge. The projectiles collided midair, exploding in a flash of red and gold that blinded even Lucy momentarily.

Veronica seized the opening.

She dashed through the smoke, every movement precise, an elegant storm of aggression. Her fist sang as it struck Lucy’s abdomen, punching through layers of mutated flesh. Sparks of corrupted energy flared as Lucy retaliated, slamming a clawed hand into Veronica’s side.

The impact hurled Veronica several meters back. She coughed blood but forced herself to stand, aura trembling yet defiant. "You hit like a monster," she hissed, wiping her mouth. "Too bad you fight like one too."

Lucy laughed, a chilling, broken sound that echoed across the platform. "You’ll die first."

The beast lunged—massive, swift, unstoppable. Veronica crossed her arms to brace for the hit, but before Lucy could crush her, dozens of spectral petals filled the air.

A sudden gust swept across the battlefield.

Cherry blossoms—soft, glowing pink—swirled like a storm.

And then—

A silver arc cut through the haze.

Rea appeared from behind Lucy, her sword flashing once, twice, thrice—each slash leaving trails of luminescent petals that sliced into the monster’s flesh.

[Ultimate Skill : Thousand Bloom Waltz].

Lucy staggered, roaring in agony as the sakura storm intensified. The blossoms erupted in radiant energy, consuming her in a bloom of light and silence.

Aya exhaled shakily. "Is... is it over?"

Sebas lowered his weapon, scanning the readings on his device. "The mutation’s collapsing... it might actually—"

A violent crack split the air.

Before any of them could react, a dark tendril burst from the remains of Lucy’s body, impaling Rea through the abdomen and flinging her backward.

"REA!" Veronica screamed, sprinting toward him.

The petals scattered into ash as Rea hit the ground hard, blood splattering across the metal floor. The monstrous silhouette of Lucy began to reform within the smoke, her voice twisting into a guttural snarl.

"Did you really think..." she growled, her body reshaping, eyes burning like molten fire, "...a few flowers could kill me?"

Veronica’s instincts screamed.

She took one step forward, her aura flaring as she felt the pressure in the air twist and pulse with murderous intent. "Aya, Sebas—fall back!" she shouted.

But it was too late.

Lucy’s newly reformed body erupted from the smoke with terrifying speed. Her massive arm—no longer human, but a grotesque blend of muscle and chitin—swung wide.

"MOVE!" Veronica roared.

Aya tried to dodge, Sebas turned to shield her—

—but the blow hit like a shockwave.

The two were thrown through the air, crashing into the metal barricades with a deafening clang. Sparks scattered. The cannon Sebas had been holding shattered beside him. Aya’s crossbow spun out of reach, skidding across the floor.

Veronica’s eyes widened. "No—!"

Lucy straightened, her monstrous frame towering beneath the artificial lights. Her wings spread wide, feathered and insectoid at once, dripping with black ichor.

A slow, cruel smile split her face. "Finally," she said, her voice thick with venomous delight. "The annoying little gnats are gone."

Veronica gritted her teeth, summoning the last of her enchantment energy. "You’ll regret touching them," she hissed.

Lucy’s gaze snapped to her, eyes glowing an unholy crimson. "Oh?" she purred, stepping closer, her claws dragging across the metal floor.

Veronica’s gaze hardened. Without a word, she reached up, gathering her hair and tying it into a high ponytail.

A golden light began to shimmer around her fingertips. Then—whoom!—her aura burst outward in a radiant explosion. Her hair ignited with golden fire, swirling like molten silk, and intricate sigils of light spun across her outfit.

Lucy grinned, lowering her stance. "Ah... this is what I’ve been waiting for."

"I should’ve done this from the start," Veronica said, her voice echoing with magic, the ground beneath her trembling under her rising power. "I let my arrogance dull me. But not this time."

She took a step forward, her boots cracking the metal beneath her. The golden flames roared higher, shaping into a gleaming halo that burned behind her.

"This time," she declared, her eyes locking on Lucy’s monstrous form, "I’ll fight with everything I have, and I will end this."

Lucy’s claws flexed, her fanged grin widening. "Then come, Veronica," she growled, wings spreading wide. "Let’s see if your light can reach a supreme being like me."

The air crackled as Veronica’s golden aura clashed against Lucy’s monstrous energy. The ground beneath them split like fragile glass, shards of debris suspended midair under the force of their power.

Lucy lunged first, her massive claws glowing crimson, slicing through the air with a thunderous boom. Veronica sidestepped, her golden trails bending with her movement, and countered with a sharp kick imbued with raw light. The impact sent a blinding shockwave across the field, pushing Lucy back several meters.

Lucy roared, her voice shaking the sky. She beat her wings once, creating a violent gust that blew away the smoke. "Still too slow!" she snarled, thrusting her arms forward. Dark tendrils burst from her hands, slicing toward Veronica like whips.

Veronica raised her arms, summoning a radiant barrier of light. The tendrils struck—crack! crack!—splintering the shield, each hit echoing like thunder. Then Veronica released her enchant in a burst, shattering the whips into dust.

She dashed forward, spinning midair and channeling her energy into her fists.

"[Solar Flare Impact]!"

Her golden strike connected cleanly with Lucy’s jaw, sending the beast crashing into the ground below. The explosion lit up the battlefield—dirt, fire, and shimmering embers spiraling upward like dying stars.

But before Veronica could catch her breath, Lucy burst from the crater with a guttural roar. Her body expanded, her muscles bulging grotesquely, veins pulsing with blue fire. Her claws lengthened, dripping with venom. "You think that’s enough?! I’m not done yet!"

She vanished, appearing right behind Veronica and slammed her massive fist forward.

Veronica twisted midair, crossing her arms just in time. The impact shook her entire body, sending her spinning backward. She landed hard, her knees digging into the ground, sparks scattering around her like molten rain.

Lucy charged again, each step breaking the earth beneath her. Veronica met her head-on, both of them screaming as their powers collided.

Light and darkness twisted together, gold and violet clashing, burning, devouring each other.

Veronica shouted, "[Radiant Overdrive]!" Her aura exploded outward like a sun reborn. Lucy countered with a monstrous bellow, her body radiating black fire.

Their powers collided again, light and shadow fusing into a storm of raw energy.

When the smoke began to clear, both of them stood panting, their bodies battered but their eyes still fierce.

"This is what you wanted, isn’t it?" Veronica said through heavy breaths.

Lucy grinned, blood dripping from her mouth. "Exactly."