Chapter 377: Enlightenment

’Giant Crimson Flash!’

Elara’s concentrated beam of destructive mana tore across the Gate with terrifying force, illuminating the surrounding landscape as it consumed everything in its path. It was an even more powerful version of the devastating attack that had brought down A Rank beasts before.

Despite being concentrated into a single beam, it was still massive, which went to show just how much mana Elara had poured into it. And after using the technique so many times, Elara had become extremely skilled at controlling it.

There was no wasted mana or hesitation, just pure destructive force.

The Giant Crimson Flash struck Kaela head-on.

BOOOOOOM!

The explosion of power tore through the battlefield.

Everything caught within its path was incinerated: rock vanished, dust was obliterated, and the ground was carved apart. A massive hole stretched across the landscape as far as Elara could see, the edges still glowing from the incredible heat.

Then there was silence.

Elara stood there, staring at the destruction she had caused.

She had unleashed the attack out of anger and in the heat of the moment, but hadn’t exactly thought it through. Now that the attack was over, the reality of what she had done began sinking in.

"Kaela..."

Her voice was quiet.

"Are you there?"

There was no response.

Elara’s heart sank.

She was certain Kaela hadn’t evaded.

The crazy woman had taken the attack head-on with that stupid smile on her face, despite some part of her probably knowing she shouldn’t.

Elara slowly descended toward the ground.

Her body felt strangely weak, and her hands were literally shaking.

"Did I just kill her?"

The question escaped her lips, the thought shaking her to her very core.

She had fought Kaela before, clashing and competing.

But this was different.

That attack had been meant for pure destruction.

If Kaela had really taken it head-on...

Elara’s stomach twisted.

And while she struggled with the possibility that she had just done something unforgivable, the demon inside her began laughing.

’Attagirl! That’s what you should do to people that get in your way.’

Elara’s expression darkened.

’Shut up!’

She had potentially killed Kaela after failing to be responsible and keep Mark out of danger. And now he was somewhere deeper inside an unstable B+ Rank Gate, heading straight toward a Boss Monster.

Everything had gone wrong.

Then she heard it.

A laugh.

Elara froze.

It was coming from somewhere ahead.

The laugh grew louder.

"Hahahaha!"

Elara’s eyes widened.

A figure stepped out from the dust, seeming to appear out of thin air.

Kaela.

Completely naked, covered in soot and dust, and laughing so hard she could barely stand straight.

"Did you think I died?"

Elara shot upright.

For several seconds, she simply stared.

Confusion.

Anger.

Relief.

All of it hit her at once.

"H-How?"

Her eyes instinctively moved over Kaela’s body before she quickly looked away. There wasn’t much she hadn’t seen of her body already, but she had certainly never seen her like this.

Kaela didn’t seem remotely bothered.

She was still laughing.

"While we were fighting, I figured something out."

Elara stared at her.

"What?"

Kaela looked down at herself.

"How does my body reform itself?"

Elara blinked.

Kaela continued before she could answer.

"I mean, I’ve been thinking about it. Whenever I’m injured, my body just... fixes itself."

She tapped her chest.

"But what actually makes me me?"

Elara remained silent.

"Is it my brain?"

Kaela tapped her head.

"Is it my mana core?"

Her hand moved toward her bare chest.

"Or is it something deeper?"

She looked at Elara with a strangely serious expression.

"A soul, maybe."

Elara’s eyebrows rose.

Kaela laughed.

"All that vessel talk got me thinking."

She spread her arms.

"What if I’m looking at it completely backwards?"

Elara frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Why don’t I just become a vessel for myself?"

Kaela had seemed to be making sense, but now Elara had no idea what she was talking about, and it definitely didn’t sound like it made sense.

She continued anyway.

"And to do that, I need to be cleansed. I need to test myself."

She looked toward the enormous hole left behind by the Crimson Flash.

"I’ve never been completely destroyed all at once before."

A grin slowly appeared on her face.

"And maybe that’s exactly what I had needed."

Elara stared at her.

Kaela sounded completely insane.

But somehow there was some sense beneath it all.

Her body had always been the vessel through which her overwhelming mana expressed itself. Her regeneration had always rebuilt that vessel. But what if her essence wasn’t something physical and she could always rebuild herself.

Elara shook her head.

"So what you’re telling me is that you had some kind of enlightenment..."

She looked at the massive destruction around them.

"...and you’re now immortal?"

Kaela shrugged.

"Something like that."

She immediately burst out laughing again.

Elara sighed.

"You really are crazy."

Kaela simply grinned.

She looked down at herself.

"Though I could’ve done without losing my clothes."

Elara reached up and pulled off her hoodie, holding it out toward Kaela.

"Here."

Kaela took it.

She immediately recognised it.

"Isn’t this Ethan’s?"

"Yeah."

"I borrowed it without asking."

Kaela laughed and pulled the hoodie over herself.

"Thanks, It’ll do."

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything.

The awkwardness of what had just happened finally settled between them.

Kaela had deliberately provoked Elara.

Elara had nearly killed Kaela.

And somehow, instead of leaving them further apart, the entire ordeal had brought them to an understanding.

"I’m sorry," Elara finally said.

Kaela looked at her.

"Yeah. Me too."

Elara raised an eyebrow.

"You’re... sorry?"

"Sure."

Kaela grinned.

"I probably shouldn’t have pissed you off that much."

"Probably?!"

"I mean definitely."

Elara sighed.

"Was that all really necessary?"

Kaela thought about it for a moment.

"Well, it worked out."

She clenched her fists.

"I can feel that I’ve gotten stronger and unlocked something new."

Her grin returned.

"And all that’s left is..."

Both women suddenly remembered why they had been fighting in the first place.

"Mark!"

They exclaimed in unison.

Neither needed to say anything else.

They both immediately burst off deeper into the Gate, chasing after their companion, and just like that, their clash ended almost as quickly as it had begun.