Chapter 382: Battles of Life and Death (1)
After fifteen days of hell in the nightmare land of the Ultras...
The Elite Class finally reached the gate that was supposed to lead them home.
Selena had no trouble casting her spell and linking the portal to the Empire. She was confident .. they were going to make it.
The map hadn’t been a lie. Such maps couldn’t be tampered with; they were created years ago with unchangeable magic.
But the trap was much simpler than they ever imagined. Beatrice hadn’t altered the map. She had merely guided them step by step .. toward the destination she had chosen, setting her trap right in front of the gate.
"I couldn’t teleport you all while Phoenix was still nearby. So I had to draw you here... where my spell was already waiting."
Adriana rose slowly into the air. Her clothes transformed into a luxurious violet gown, her hairstyle changed completely, and a graceful witch’s hat now adorned her head.
The trap had been inevitable. It swallowed them all .. everyone except for Adriana and Sansa, who stood alone together.
"Adriana... you’re the traitor?"
Sansa’s voice trembled, unable to process what was unfolding.
Adriana had always been that timid, quiet girl .. afraid of her own shadow. She had lived with them for two years in the temple, suffered alongside them, fought to survive with them.
When the Ultras attacked ..
during the island trial ..
the Victoriad ..
Adriana had been right there with them.
"No need for that face, Sansa."
Beatrice, now speaking through Adriana’s body, smiled—revealing the wicked grin she had kept hidden all this time.
"Adriana Hajgevorn hasn’t existed in a long, long time. I killed her myself .. before you even entered the temple. Then I created this sweet little doll... a homunculus, to infiltrate your ranks and build a false identity."
From the beginning, every reaction Adriana had, every awkward moment, every lie—
It had all been a performance directed by Beatrice.
"Why?!"
Sansa unleashed her shadow powers, finally beginning to grasp the scale of the betrayal.
"Why would you go this far?!"
Using her shadows, she lunged at Adriana. But the witch effortlessly dodged, vanishing and reappearing with a flash of speed that resembled teleportation.
"Why? For this game, of course!!"
Adriana raised her hand, conjuring dozens of violet celestial spheres that began floating around her.
"This is the grand culmination of the Witch’s Game!"
The spheres fired in rapid succession toward Sansa, who responded by shaping barriers from her shadows to deflect the magical barrage.
But her defenses barely held under the sheer force Adriana unleashed through her puppet.
"One game... that shook an entire world. A game that warped destinies and led the future into chaos! There’s no greater show! Nothing more satisfying than this! A spectacle that could even entertain him! "
Adriana cackled with wild laughter, the truth finally coming to light.
She was the one who had orchestrated the invasion, turning the Empire and Ultras against each other.
She had lured the new generation, and forced the old one out of hiding.
For years, she had quietly woven her web—playing the long game with perfection.
The western region of the Ultras continent was now surrounded on all sides by enemy armies, while the players had been scattered across the center.
"Everyone will face their chosen opponent. Whether it’s someone they want revenge on... or someone who matches their strength. And if not .. then fate will decide. Luck will determine who lives and who dies!"
Adriana continued firing relentlessly, her magical orbs bombarding Sansa, who struggled to keep up.
Behind them, the gate shattered completely. The land crumbled beneath their feet.
"They’ll fight each other to the death. Escape is no longer an option. The armies are on the move .. and they’ll be here in just one hour."
In other words ... even if some from the Elite Class survived their individual battles . they would still have to face the incoming armies.
No gate.
No exit.
Only death.
A final game of survival, where each would fight until their last breath.
"You’re insane..."
Sansa whispered, horror etched into her face.
The land of Ultras was about to become their grave.
"Don’t be like that, Sansa. Aren’t we friends? That’s exactly why I made myself your opponent."
Adriana pulled out a slender wand and smiled wickedly.
"This doll is the weakest of all my homunculi. So your chances aren’t zero. Give it your all, dear Sansa!"
As the witch revealed her true strength without holding back, the princess clenched her fists, fury rising within her.
Dark celestial spheres formed around her. Enormous shadow tendrils writhed behind her.
"I’m going to wipe that disgusting smile off your face."
"That’s the spirit!"
Adriana laughed maniacally ..
And so it began.
A war of fire and shadows erupted between the two, both women unleashing torrents of aura and clashing with ferocious might.
The first battle had officially begun.
Sansa Valerion vs Adriana Hajgevorn.
...
...
...
The portal swallowed everyone, and each of them found themselves facing their chosen opponent.
However, some had been standing too close together .. so they were transported as pairs.
Snow Lionheart had no idea what just happened.
When he opened his golden eyes again, he found himself standing in a place completely different from where he’d been moments ago.
As he turned around, he spotted Lara Croft, who had clung to him when the red portal engulfed them both.
"Lara..."
Snow’s mind raced, trying to make sense of what had just occurred, while Lara stood up in concern, scanning their surroundings.
"What happened?"
"That’s the damn question I’m trying to answer."
Snow’s voice carried frustration.
Did something go wrong with the portal? A mistake from Selina?
He tried to stay optimistic, but immediately dismissed the thought.
No... this wasn’t a mistake.
He had seen it with his own eyes...
The way the portal turned red before swallowing them whole.
"...It’s a trap."
Snow’s usually calm face twisted with fury, startling Lara where she stood.
"You’re right, Hero of the Empire."
Aside from Snow and Lara, there was a third person at that location.
Snow slowly turned toward the voice, his golden eyes flaring brightly ..
And there he was.
A figure Snow hadn’t seen in a long time, standing in wait.
Wearing the same mask, the same dark armor that radiated a cursed aura—
The masked man, V, had returned.
"You again."
Both Snow and V began walking toward each other slowly, their auras pressing against one another like two forces of nature.
"I see you’ve grown stronger since last time," said V in a serious tone .. far removed from the mocking one he had used in the past.
"I could say the same about you," Snow replied.
The pressure radiating from V was far more intense than it had been a year ago, during the Ultras raid on the Temple.
Snow Lionheart, who had grown immensely in power...
And V ..who had mastered the SSS-ranked Marvas Contract.
V summoned his Moonlight Sword—the same weapon from their last fight. Snow, in turn, called forth Vermithor, his blade blazing with sacred aura.
"Don’t think for a second this will go like last time," Snow warned, unleashing his full power and bloodthirst that he had suppressed until now.
"I’ll bury you right here."
"Oh? Grown cocky, have you, Hero of the Empire? Just because you got your hands on one of the legendary swords?"
V replied coldly, shrouding himself in writhing black flames as his aura surged beyond even Snow’s.
"You’ll all die here."
Their clash of auras and killing intent was so intense that Lara Croft could only stand aside, helpless to interfere.
"Run, Lara. Get as far away as you can while I kill this bastard."
"Snow!"
She reached out to him, but the violent burst of aura from both warriors sent her flying backward. She screamed, trying to steady herself.
"War King form !" Snow roared .. just as V echoed back:
"Berserker form !"
Snow transformed into a killing machine, his body covered in glowing golden runes...
While V was cloaked in burning black armor, madness seizing his gaze as his eyes turned fully white.
And then—without warning—
The two of them lunged.
The Moonlight Sword clashed with Vermithor in a deafening explosion of metal.
Snow pushed his Star Aura to the limit, while V unleashed his cursed black flames.
They roared as they fought, clashing with ferocity that turned the battlefield into a whirlwind of blades.
Black fire vs. star aura.
The cursed Moonlight vs. the sacred Vermithor.
Their battle was utter chaos.
Snow twisted the terrain beneath V, trying to bury him alive, but the masked man shattered the ground and soared out—only to be met by a volley of massive ice spears hurled by Snow.
V shattered them one after another, firing black flames without pause...
Until Snow descended from the sky and crashed into him, sending them both smashing through a mountain.
Vermithor left trails of light in the air from its sheer speed as Snow struck again and again, trying to bury V deeper into the rock.
"RAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
V screamed wildly ..
An eruption of black fire burst from within his body like a dam breaking, launching Snow backward.
The dark flames surged like a tidal wave, with V at the center, aiming to consume Snow whole.
But Snow, too, pushed past his limits .. his golden runes glowing brighter than ever as he prepared for the next clash.
Unleashing a terrifying surge of Star Aura, Snow clashed with V once more.
Blow after blow, they exchanged strikes without pause, uncaring of the blood that spilled from their battered bodies.
V’s Darkfire burned through Snow’s star-born energy, trapping him completely.
Taking advantage of that, the masked man launched wave after wave of dark flames, trying to kill his opponent and incinerate him alive.
But then—Snow let out a roar unlike any before, and began his counterattack with reckless fury.
A wave of Star Aura. Then another of lightning. Then a third of devastating blue fire.
Earth, light, darkness...
The Hero of the Empire unleashed his full arsenal of elemental power without restraint, pushing back V’s dark flames and matching him blow for blow.
"You’re not winning this time!!"
"Then show me what you’ve got!!"
BOOOOM!
Explosion after explosion shook the land. This wasn’t a battle .. it was a natural disaster unleashed upon the earth.
Lara Croft barely escaped in time, having been caught in the epicenter of their clash...
Both V and Snow ..
"They’ve lost their minds..."
Two raging beasts, unleashing Aura with output at SS-rank and rising...
Lara realized that a single stray attack from either of their swords would end her life instantly.
As their roars echoed and their battle made the very ground scream for mercy...
Thus began a mad duel between two heroes—each forged in a different world.
The second round had begun, headed toward an unknown conclusion ..
Snow Lionheart vs the Masked V.