Atticus's gaze narrowed into pinpricks as Jezeneth's overwhelming aura slammed into his body like a sledgehammer. He tried to move, tried to retaliate, but his body felt unbearably heavy.
'She's strong,' his mind raced.
Jezeneth was nothing like Yorowin. Her powers seemed to be on an entirely different level. Overwhelming. Absolute.
Atticus's eyes abruptly blazed as he clenched the hilt of his katana tightly. In the next instant, his will roared to life as a blinding crimson erupted from him, breaking her hold.
His hand moved, katana flashing toward the incoming attack. Despite the intensity of the situation, Atticus calmly assessed the circumstances.
'I can't escape this clash unscathed.'
The attack neared, and as they were about to collide, the world seemed to hold its breath, the paragons' eyes fixed on the scene.
But suddenly, the heavens tore asunder.
A brilliant streak of azure light cascaded from the ruptured sky, descending with unthinkable speed. It was as if the heavens themselves had intervened, hurling a divine force between Atticus and Jezeneth.
The spear of blood met the shield of radiant energy in midair.
The impact was cataclysmic.
Time seemed to fracture for an instant, as though reality itself struggled to comprehend the sheer force unleashed.
Then, a blinding detonation erupted, its light swallowing the battlefield in a searing flash that burned into the retinas of all who were watching.
The sound followed, a roar so deafening it felt alive, tearing through the air like the scream of a wounded god. The shockwave exploded outward in a ring of raw devastation, ripping through the constructs and sending fragments of earth and stone hurtling like missiles.
Dust and smoke surged upward, forming an impenetrable shroud that engulfed the scene, choking out all visibility.
For a heartbeat, all was still. A ringing silence fell, heavy and oppressive, as though the world had drawn in a single breath and forgotten to exhale.
Then, the smoke began to clear. Slowly, the figures on the battlefield narrowed their gazes toward the center of the impact.
Hovering amidst the rubble was a man, his form glowing faintly in the dissipating light. His blue hair shimmered like the sea under moonlight, and his crimson eyes glowed with mischief.
He had a face so sharp and handsome it seemed almost inhuman, his lips curled into a devilish grin.
"Heyya!" his voice echoed, light and casual, as though he weren't standing in the middle of a battlefield.
Whisker Von Pounce.
The sovereign of the beast race had arrived.
The world paused, and every gaze focused on the scene in the sky.
A translucent blue glow had materialized in front of Whisker, just in time to block the piercing abyssal spear from clashing with Atticus.
Many were shocked beyond words. It wasn't because of Whisker's sudden appearance. No. It wasn't even because, despite the chaos, he was still smiling. No.
It was for one reason. He had stopped the attack of Jezeneth, the Blood Queen of the vampyros race. And he had done it so casually.
Whisker didn't appear to care about their shock. In fact, to him, it didn't seem like he had done anything at all.
Whisker's grin widened as he turned his back to Atticus, flashing him a wink and nodding slowly. His meaning was clear:
"None shall interfere. Finish your battle."
Atticus couldn't help but smirk, shaking his head at the sheer audacity of the beast. He was crazy.
With a nod of acknowledgment, Atticus turned to Yorowin, his violet eyes igniting with an unrelenting intensity.
His form blurred, and within moments, the battlefield erupted in a furious cacophony of collisions. Blades and bodies clashed with the force of storms, shaking the ground beneath them.
Whisker turned his attention to Jezeneth, his grin shrinking into a small, unreadable smile.
Jezeneth's abyssal gaze narrowed to slits, her hand trembling as she gripped her spear tighter. She had poured more power into her attack, yet the shield hadn't yielded.
Her instincts roared in warning. Without hesitation, she retreated, reappearing at a safe distance. Her icy glare fixated on Whisker.
'He's strong.'
Jezeneth swept her spear to the side, the motion sending shockwaves rippling outward, carving fissures into the ground. Her eyes scrutinized Whisker like a predator sizing up prey.
Silence reigned.
Whisker broke it with a hum, his head tilting as though in thought.
"Hmm… You're supposed to be the great Blood Queen, terror of humanity, destroyer of lands, bringer of chaos." His smile widened. "But damn, I've gotta admit, you're beautiful. How about we stop this madness and go have some fun instead?"
The silence that followed was deafening.
The very air seemed to turn crimson as a bloodlust so thick it could be tasted descended on the battlefield. The sky darkened, and the world seemed to tremble under the weight of her fury.
Jezeneth's voice came low, each word dripping with venom.
"You humans have desecrated our lands, slaughtered our kind, and reduced our legacy to ashes. There will be no peace. No truce. No compromise. This ends only with human blood soaking the earth and your kind eradicated from existence."
As she spoke, her aura surged, swelling like a tidal wave. Blood pooled around her feet, rising in tendrils, twisting and coalescing into another army of crimson constructs.
Their sheer numbers blotted out the horizon, their oppressive presence suffocating the battlefield.
Whisker let out a low whistle, his grin returning.
"Damn, you've got enough blood for a river, yet you still want more? Greedy, aren't you?" He scratched the back of his head. "A pretty lady like you shouldn't be here, raging on a battlefield. You should be treated like fine porcelain, not smashing spears around like some brute."
The paragons, watching from the sidelines, stared in utter disbelief. Was he truly speaking to the Blood Queen Jezeneth this way? They were completely baffled.
A chilling wind swept over the battlefield, silencing even the whispers of the battle. Jezeneth's gaze locked onto Whisker, her lips unmoving, her expression unreadable.
Then the air around her vibrated violently as her body brimmed with unrestrained power. Her spear trembled in her grasp as abyssal-black blood streamed from her form, converging into a radiant, otherworldly armor.
The very earth shuddered beneath her might as her gaze glowed with an intense, suffocating black.
Her voice was a whisper, yet it carried like a thunderclap.
"I will kill you."
The blood constructs moved as one, surging forward in a tide of crimson.
Jezeneth moved, her form blurring into motion with impossible speed.
But the chaos was only beginning.
From the corner of their eyes, the paragons of humanity saw streaks of red slicing through the sky, roaring toward the battlefield. Their faces hardened as the realization hit.
The grand elders of the vampyros race had arrived.