Chapter 374: Elliot Verlvek (1)

The man slowly removed his hood, revealing the face of someone who appeared to be around thirty years old.

He had pale skin, crimson-red hair that was a lighter shade than Tharlyssa’s, and a pair of blood-red eyes that gleamed beneath the dim light of the burning capital.

His gaze settled on Morgana.

"Are you the sister of Vincent Celestine?"

The instant she heard that name, Morgana’s body stiffened.

"H-How do you know about my brother?!" Her voice grew louder, and for the first time, her usual composure cracked. "Who are you?!"

"Hmm. Let’s just say I’m someone who knew him in the past." The man said with quite smile.

Morgana tightened her grip around her spear.

Her amethyst eyes narrowed as she studied the man before her. His casual response only deepened her suspicions.

Noah, meanwhile, had no idea who Vincent Celestine was. From Morgana’s reaction, however, it was clear that the man had some connection to her brother.

’So, Instructor Morgana has her own story, huh? I suppose everyone does.’

Before Noah could think any further, Morgana’s sharp voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Noah, listen to me carefully. Run as fast as you can."

He looked at her.

"That man is just as strong as I am. While that tharlyssa is at mythril core, low. I can’t handle both of them at once." Her gaze briefly shifted toward Tharlyssa before returning to him. "The moment I make my move, you run in the opposite direction. Find our group and stay with them. Don’t do anything reckless. Understood?"

Noah nodded without hesitation.

"Got it."

The next instant, Morgana vanished from her position.

Noah immediately turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction, reinforcing his legs with mana. His footsteps struck the ground with enough force to propel him forward at incredible speed.

At the same time, a massive greatsword formed in front of him, its blade hovering above the ground.

Noah leaped onto it and shot into the sky.

Behind him, the red-haired man drew a sword from his storage ring, returning the dagger he had used to block Morgana’s previous attack.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he swung his sword at her.

BOOM!!

Their weapons collided, unleashing a terrifying shock wave that swept through the surrounding streets.

The ground cracked beneath their feet, and the windows of nearby buildings shattered from the sheer force of the impact.

Within seconds, more than ten black magic circles materialized above Morgana.

The red-haired man merely smirked.

A moment later, his sword was engulfed in blazing orange flames. The fire coiled around the blade, radiating such intense heat that the air itself seemed to distort.

Morgana’s expression turned cold.

The two fighters pushed against each other before abruptly separating, only to clash again in the next instant.

CLANG!

CLANG!

Their weapons collided repeatedly, each impact sending powerful shock waves through the streets.

They moved with such incredible speed that their figures became little more than blurs. Brilliant orange trajectories intersected with streaks of darkness as their swords and spears clashed again and again.

Buildings crumbled beneath their attacks. Trees were cleaved apart, and entire sections of the streets were torn open by the force of their strikes.

In one moment, they were fighting above a rooftop. In the next, they had crossed several streets, their weapons colliding in midair.

To an ordinary person, their movements would have been impossible to follow.

Every time their weapons met, another devastating shock wave swept through the surrounding area, reducing everything nearby to rubble.

Meanwhile, Tharlyssa watched the battle unfold from safe distance, her crimson eyes narrowing.

’What a troublesome woman.’

Then her gaze shifted toward the distant figure of the white-haired boy. A sinister smile spread across her face.

’Well, if she’s busy with him, nobody will stop me from playing with my little baby.’

She immediately took off after Noah.

However, before she could get far, several magic circles appeared around her.

Ten enormous black spheres of darkness materialized in the air, each one radiating a dense, oppressive aura. Without giving her a moment to react, they shot toward her from different directions, cutting off her escape routes.

Tharlyssa sensed the incoming attacks and clicked her tongue.

"Tch!"

She abruptly changed direction, dodging the first sphere before accelerating into the air.

But the remaining spheres followed her.

They twisted and turned through the sky as though guided by an invisible will, relentlessly pursuing their target.

Tharlyssa glanced over her shoulder, her expression darkening as the spheres continued to close in.

Meanwhile, Morgana’s amethyst eyes began to glow with a deeper, almost blackish hue.

Her spear was enveloped in darkness as she stared at the red-haired man before her.

"Enough!" she demanded, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Tell me what you know about my brother!"

The darkness surrounding her intensified. "Who are you?!"

"Since you’re asking with such a fierce expression, I suppose I should at least introduce myself." The red-haired man smiled faintly. "My name is Elliot Verlvek."

CLANG!!

Their weapons collided again, sending sparks scattering through the darkness.

Morgana twisted her spear, deflecting Elliot’s blade before thrusting toward his chest. He leaned aside, allowing the tip to pass within inches of his body, then retaliated with a horizontal slash.

She raised her spear to block.

BOOM!

The impact forced Morgana backward, her boots scraping across the shattered pavement.

"That doesn’t tell me anything about my brother!" she shouted.

"There’s no need for that." Elliot’s smile widened. "You might be dead before you learn anything more."

His expression changed. In an instant, he stomped his foot against the ground.

CRACK!

The pavement fractured beneath him. A network of cracks raced toward Morgana, spreading across the street like a monstrous spiderweb.

Her eyes widened.

The next moment, pillars of fire erupted from the fractures.

BOOOOOOM!!

An enormous explosion engulfed the street.

Flames surged into the sky, swallowing everything in their path. The nearby buildings trembled as their foundations cracked, while the scorching air swept through the surrounding streets.

Yet Elliot didn’t bother looking at the destruction.

His crimson eyes remained fixed on the center of the explosion.

A dark silhouette emerged from the flames.

Morgana stood amid the inferno, her spear held firmly in one hand. A dense veil of darkness surrounded her body, shielding her from the worst of the flames. Her violet blouse and black trousers were slightly singed, but she appeared otherwise unharmed.

Her amethyst eyes glowed ominously.

The darkness around her spear surged. The atmosphere changed.

A terrifying pressure descended upon the battlefield as the darkness gathered around Morgana’s weapon. It twisted and writhed, gradually taking the shape of a colossal dragon coiled around the spear shaft.

Its black scales seemed to absorb the surrounding light. Two crimson eyes opened within its shadowy head, and a low, guttural roar echoed through the street.

Elliot raised an eyebrow.

She vanished.

[First Form: Black Dragon’s Fang]

A black streak pierced through the air.

Morgana appeared directly before Elliot, thrusting her spear toward his chest. The attack was terrifyingly fast, and the darkness concentrated at its tip possessed enough penetrating force to pierce even reinforced magical barriers.

Elliot’s smile disappeared. He twisted his body and raised his flaming sword.

CLANG!

The spear struck the blade.

The two weapons remained locked together. Then the darkness concentrated at the spearhead erupted, releasing a narrow wave of destructive force.

BOOM!

Elliot was blasted backward.

He landed several meters away, his boots carving deep grooves into the pavement. Before he could regain his balance, Morgana was already upon him.

"You’re not going anywhere!"

She swept her spear sideways.

Elliot ducked beneath the attack and swung his sword toward her waist. Morgana rotated her weapon, catching the flaming blade against its shaft before driving her knee toward his abdomen.

He blocked with his forearm.

The collision sent another shock wave through the street.

Both fighters retreated simultaneously, creating a brief distance between them. Elliot glanced at his arm, where a thin trail of blood trickled from a shallow wound.

His expression grew slightly tense.

She thrust her spear forward again.

[Second Form: Abyssal Coil]

The darkness surrounding the weapon suddenly expanded.

Instead of attacking in a straight line, it spiraled outward like a gigantic black serpent. Its twisting body swept through the air, wrapping around Elliot’s sword arm before coiling toward his torso.

The dark coils tightened.

KRRRKK!

The pavement beneath Elliot’s feet cracked as the enormous pressure dragged him toward Morgana. His expression revealed genuine surprise.

"That’s troublesome."

He released his sword with one hand and snapped his fingers. The flames covering his weapon exploded outward.

BOOOOM!!

Fire and darkness collided, filling the street with a blinding flash.

The abyssal coils trembled under the heat, but Morgana immediately tightened her grip on her spear.

The dragon-shaped darkness roared. Its coils tightened around Elliot once more, dragging him forward despite the raging flames.

Morgana pulled her spear back.

The moment Elliot entered her range, she thrust with all her strength.

He barely managed to turn his body aside.

The spear grazed his shoulder, tearing through his clothing and leaving a deep wound. And it’s force left a destruction behind him.

Blood splattered across the air.