Chapter 1831: The One Around Whom All Things Turn: Part-2

"Now... Run!"

SHHHHKKK!!!

CRASH!!

The chains slammed directly into her body.

The impact launched her backwards like a cannonball.

BOOM!

She tore through the first ruined building.

BOOM!

The second collapsed around her.

BOOM!!

The third structure exploded as her body crashed through its weakened walls.

TRRRRR!!

She dug her fingers into the ground and managed to stop herself, leaving a long trail carved into the rubble behind her.

"Ghk...!"

A painful groan escaped her throat as she slowly pushed herself upward.

Her body trembled from the impact, and she could feel several areas aching beneath her robes, but before she could even fully rise, a deep rumbling sound reached her ears.

The Prophetess looked upward.

The remains of the ruined building above her had begun to collapse.

She immediately clenched her wooden staff.

She twisted her body and swung the staff with all her strength.

WHOOOSH!

A sharp arc of white light flashed from the weapon.

SHRAAAK!

The falling structure was cleanly severed in two.

The enormous building split apart above her, its two halves sliding past her on either side.

Then—

BBBBOOOMMMMM!!

Both sections crashed into the ground, sending a violent cloud of dust and debris across the ruined street.

The Prophetess emerged through the smoke, breathing heavily.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

"Damn..."

She had barely taken a step—

Clang.

Her expression changed.

She turned.

A silver chain had appeared beside her.

Not attacking her.

It wrapped itself around the remains of the building directly behind her.

Her eyes widened.

The chain tightened.

Then—

YANK!!

TRRRR!!

The building’s roots tore violently from the ground as the silver chain dragged the entire structure toward the black-armoured figure. The ruined mass of stone and twisted metal accelerated across the area, ripping through the earth as the Prophetess was dragged along with it.

Both the collapsing building and the Prophetess descended toward the figure who remained standing near the enormous crucifix.

He still hadn’t moved an inch from his original position.

Not even after everything that had happened.

The Prophetess was pulled directly toward him.

Then his fist drove forward.

It connected directly with her stomach.

BBBOOOMMMMM!

The impact erupted like a detonation.

The entire building behind the Prophetess crumbled into dust from the force of the blow, its remaining walls collapsing outward as a massive shockwave pulsed through the ruins.

"ARRHHHH!!"

The Prophetess’s body folded around his fist for an instant as the force of the impact drove through her entire body.

Blood burst from her mouth.

Her face twisted with pain as she coughed blood directly onto the black armour covering his fist and chest.

The force launched her backwards.

But before she could even regain control of her body, the silver chains moved again.

SHHHKKK!

They shot through the air and wrapped around her body, binding her arms and torso before violently changing direction.

The black-armoured figure pulled.

The Prophetess was dragged back toward the ground.

BOOOOMMMM!!!

Her body slammed into the earth with enough force to create an enormous crater beneath her.

The ground fractured beneath her body as she lay motionless at the center of the crater, blood slowly pooling beneath her robes.

For several seconds, she did not move.

Clang... Clang...

The black-armoured figure slowly pulled the silver chain and calmly began wrapping it around his bloody knuckles again.

"Why don’t you pick someone on your level instead of bullying the little guy, huh?"

His voice carried a mocking edge, but the amusement slowly disappeared.

"I’ve been away for just a while..."

The chain tightened around his fist.

"And you dared to forget who I am?"

His voice became colder.

Then angrier.

"Wake up, bitch. I’m already giving you a handicap."

He lowered his fist slightly, the silver chain hanging from his knuckles as his ice-blue eyes remained fixed upon the crater.

"Unlike you, I fucking despise picking on weaklings. So come at me with everything you’ve got."

He slowly raised his hand.

"Come with the intent to kill me."

The faint smirk returned beneath his helmet.

"Not to fucking save me. Wait? Save me from whom? From me?"

"Hahah~"

"Cough... cough..."

The Prophetess coughed violently from within the crater.

Blood stained her pure white robes. Her fingers slowly moved. They searched for the wooden staff lying beside her.

She found it.

Her trembling hand wrapped around it.

For several seconds, she remained on one knee, using the staff to support herself.

Then she began to stand.

Slowly... Painfully.

Her legs trembled beneath her weight.

Her breathing was ragged, and blood continued to trickle from the corner of her mouth.

Yet she refused to stay down.

With trembling legs, she forced herself upright.

She looked like a wounded hero who had already been pushed beyond the limits of her body, yet something within her still refused to surrender.

Her fingers tightened around the staff.

Her head slowly rose.

Beneath the shadow of her white hoodie, her eyes stared directly at the black-armoured figure.

The warmth that had once existed within them was gone.

Only a dead-cold determination remained.

THOM!

She struck the ground with her staff.

The sound echoed through the ruins.

The space surrounding them suddenly began to twist.

Buildings bent.

The horizon warped.

The ground curved unnaturally as the entire world seemed to fold into itself like a colossal kaleidoscope.

THOM!

She struck the ground again.

The Prophetess’s white robes suddenly flared outward as an immense golden-white radiance began gathering around her body.

The light grew brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter still!

It poured from her like a rising sun, swallowing the darkness surrounding her and illuminating every broken stone, every shattered building, and every fragment of debris scattered across the battlefield.

Then—

FLASSSSSSHHHHH!!!

The entire world disappeared beneath brilliant white light.

Every direction was consumed by an overwhelming radiance so intense that the ruins, the sky, the ground, and even the distant remnants of the Crucifix vanished beneath it.

Everything was white.

Everything... Except him.

The black-armoured figure remained standing within the impossible radiance.

The light surged toward him from every direction, carrying enough force to erase every darkness caught within its reach.

Yet just before it touched him—

He casually raised his hand.

Only one finger moved.

His pinky finger lifted.

!!

The advancing light suddenly stopped.

It halted directly before the tip of his pinky finger.

It did not touch him.

It could not.

An invisible force stood between them, holding back the entirety of the Prophetess’s overwhelming radiance as though the countless tons of power rushing toward him were nothing more than a gentle breeze.

The white light compressed against that unseen barrier.

It bent.

It twisted.

It flowed around him.

Streams of golden-white radiance curved around his body, splitting apart on either side before continuing into the distance.

The black-armoured figure remained completely still.

His raised pinky finger did not tremble.

The entire world was drowning in light.

Yet around him...

The light itself was forced to kneel.

"Now that’s what I’m talking about."

He muttered the words with a faintly satisfied tone, as though he had finally seen something worthy of his attention.

Then he casually flicked his pinky finger.

SSssrrrhhh!!

The overwhelming radiance instantly dimmed.

The golden-white light that had covered the entire world vanished so abruptly.

The black-armoured figure lowered his hand.

"See? You can—"

His voice suddenly died.

There was nobody standing before him.

He stared at the empty space where the Prophetess had been only moments ago.

He blinked once.

Then twice.

His head slowly tilted to the side.

"...Did she run away?"

He remained completely still for several seconds.

Run away?

The Prophetess?

The woman who supposedly knew everything?

The ancient and terrifyingly wise Prophetess who had witnessed countless ages pass before her eyes?

The one whom even the world itself seemed to acknowledge?

There was absolutely no way she would run away.

She wasn’t afraid of anything.

She had stood before gods without lowering her head.

She had confronted beings capable of destroying worlds.

She had endured things that would have shattered ordinary minds.

There was simply no way she would run away from—

"GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!!"

The Prophetess’s scream suddenly echoed through the ruined city.

She sprinted between the ruined buildings at full speed, her white robes whipping violently behind her as she twisted around fallen structures, leapt over collapsed walls, and desperately changed directions whenever another piece of rubble blocked her path.

"...Deja vu?"

The black-armoured figure only muttered while nodding.

Meanwhile, Prophetess ran through the ruins of the distorted city, her footsteps barely touching the fractured ground.

The buildings around her twisted.

She moved with them.

Whenever the world shifted, she shifted with it, using the distortions to disappear between collapsing structures and broken streets. She knew the black armour was searching for her. Worse, she knew that hiding from him was becoming increasingly difficult.

"What are you waiting for? Get me out of here!" she shouted again.

The desperation in it was almost absurd, like a woman desperately fleeing from an enraged husband who had finally caught up with her.

"Fate..."

"What?"

"Do you still think... you are right?"

Prophetess’s lips twitched. "Now is not the time for that. Just let me out first. His current body cannot handle this stress. Sooner or later... he had to go back. Then we take Aether out of here."

"Hmm... Interesting."

Prophetess’s expression tightened. "Don’t tell me he took control of your personal realm?"

"No... He didn’t."

"Okay—"

"He just took control over the exit point."

"..."

"..."

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

They were both horrified.

And, despite themselves, both were slightly impressed.

Clang~

Prophetess barely turned.

The silver chain crossed the distance between them with terrifying speed and slammed directly into her face.

BOOM!!

Her body was launched through the side of a ruined building. Stone exploded outward as she crashed through one wall, struck another, and rolled across what remained of a shattered kitchen.

Broken plates and pieces of furniture scattered beneath her as her body finally slammed against the far wall.

"Cough... Cough..."

Blood spilled from her mouth.

She tried to breathe, but the first breath stabbed through her chest. Her jaw throbbed violently, and when she coughed again, several broken teeth fell from her mouth and clicked against the floor.

For a moment, she simply lay there.

Then instinct took over. Her fingers tightened around her staff.

She immediately bent backwards.

SHRAAAK!!

The silver chain swept through the level above her.

The entire floor disappeared.

Concrete, steel, furniture, and walls were sliced apart in a single merciless sweep, the upper portion of the building collapsing into a storm of dust and debris.

Prophetess kicked against the broken floor and leapt through the opening.

She fell.

For several seconds, there was nothing beneath her except the distorted city.

Her robes whipped violently in the air as she dropped between buildings that were rotating slowly around her, their windows reflecting a world that no longer obeyed the laws of perspective.

She twisted her body in midair.

Clang~ Clang~

The silver chain followed.

It curved through the air like a living serpent, correcting its trajectory every time she moved.

Prophetess gritted her teeth.

"So persistent..."

She swung her staff downward and struck the approaching chain.

BOOM!!

The collision detonated mid-air.

The shockwave threw both Prophetess and the chain in opposite directions. She spun through the air before landing hard on the roof of a ruined tea shop.

CRACK!

The roof beneath her feet collapsed.

She caught herself before falling through the structure and staggered forward, breathing heavily. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth and dripped from her chin.

She looked around.

The tea shop was barely recognisable. Half its roof had been torn away, tables lay overturned beneath layers of dust, and a broken wooden chair rested beside her.

She lowered herself onto it.

For the first time since the chase began, she allowed herself a few seconds to breathe.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

Her fingers trembled around the staff.

"I... I... How does he keep finding me?"

There was genuine confusion in her voice now.

No matter how many times she escaped, no matter how violently the world itself twisted around her, he always appeared.

She slowly wiped the blood from her mouth and stared at it on her fingertips.

She knew what he wanted.

He would not stop until her head was in his hands.

But she still had one advantage.

Time.

As long as she could drag this fight out, she would win eventually.

That was the plan.

That had always been the plan, the moment he appeared!

She only needed to survive long enough.

Just as she leaned back and allowed her exhausted body a moment of rest, an authoritative voice rolled across reality itself.

"Look... you forgot your gift."

Prophetess’s eyes widened.

She looked up.

The enormous crucifix suddenly shot directly in front of her face... spinning like a fidget!

WHOOOM!!

It spun violently through the air, passing so close that she felt the wind tear across her skin.

Her pupils contracted.

For one brief instant, everything slowed.

The spinning crucifix filled her vision.

The crucifix tore through the ruined tea shop.

BOOOOM!!