CHAPTER 113: | RESOLVES

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  “I’ve done all I can to support him. Until now I… I-I had done…”

  Her words were cut short.

  Solia realized that her decade of service to him was nothing but a fleeting moment now that he had failed in his conquest due to his own arrogance.

  The magical pledge that bound her to him was gone.

  It was the definitive proof that he had perished from the fight, not in honor, but in genuine disgrace, his body now carelessly drifting down from the currents toward the sandy ground below.

  It was a pity.

  The child she had grown fond of was now slowly dying from the wounds that her relatives had inflicted upon her.

  Earlier, she was fine, protected by the pledge that enhanced her vitality, but with the Master gone, the trauma reoccurred, the moment her vow to him vanished.

  It was such a pity that this young girl would meet such an untimely demise in this accursed place.

  Solia knew it was cruel to leave her alone, but she hardened her resolve.

  She knew the girl would die even if she brought her along.

  It was more efficient to leave her here to die.

  Perhaps, just maybe, that guy proclaiming himself a god, when he wasn't an emperor himself, would take care of her, or perhaps just let her die in this wilderness.

  Solia sighed, then gazed at the dual swords strapped to her hips.

  It was the first, and perhaps the last, gift she had received from her Master.

  She was grateful for it.

  But now, she was trapped in this place with no way to escape this dungeon, which her wise master had called a 'three segmented world.'

  She sighed with dissapointment since only if an 'Emperor' entered and took her under their wings would she have an alibi to escape from this accursed place.

  Step… Step… Step…

  Her figure grew smaller and smaller with every stride, each step propelling her tens, even fifty, meters away.

  Solia neither glanced back nor spoke.

  She continued her steps, steeling her resolve with each footfall to be trapped here forever and to forget the man she once loved with all her broken heart.

  “Alister Von Fai…”

  These words played in her mind, repeating again and again in an infinite loop.

  She knew he was an emotionless, cruel man, but something deep in her told her that if she had won his heart, then perhaps he might have changed.

  He was just a broken man with a lofty ambition, to achieve Ascendance, even if it meant losing his everything in the process.

  Solia knew it was ridiculously foolish to harbor affection for such a man, but her heart just wouldn't stop loving him, even if he… even if he loved another woman.

  Step…

  Her steps stopped entirely.

  The dust, swaying at the current’s command, was blown through the waters, passing through her in a lofty manner, like dust carried by the wind across the grassy plains in an ancient forest.

  It was ridiculous that she still felt such a lingering attachment to a dead man who had ordered her to kill her own kin…

  It was ridiculous that she still clung to her duties as his First Apostle and to the final tasks he left for her before his death.

  “Solia… you must protect Samantha at all cost, even if it cost you your life…”

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  It was the voice of her Master, speaking when her Mistress was taking a nap in his embrace on the terrace.

  His voice was extremely cold, even though they had conveyed their words through their own private connection.

  But her Master, being his usual self, merely watched her confused self during that time, leaving her questioning his intent of protecting this one woman even at the cost of her life.

  Only now did she understand a little bit of his intent at that time.

  This Mistress of hers, though she was cold-blooded and calculative, was perhaps the most devoted woman she had ever seen in her entire life, much like her own mother.

  Her Master truly did have an eye for picking a woman.

  Even when he was dead, his woman was still embracing his cold body with care as she rejected Lumicor's bold advances.

  The more she watched, the more Solia was irritated at the sight before her.

  Solia frowned at the scenery unfolding before her.

  It was disgusting to see that the man who killed her Master was now shamelessly courting her Mistress.

  It was an unpleasant sight to behold, and one that she wasn't fond of seeing.

  Now was the time for me to act as per Master’s command.

  It was now the time to step up and defend the honor of my Mistress…

  “Thunderclap Steps.”

  Her mouth parted, muttering these words coldly.

  Then, her figure instantly turned into a streak of white lightning streaking through the currents, leaving a trail of visible craters with every step in a split second.

  STEP! STEP! STEP!

  Solia knew that based on the data she had observed during her Master’s fight with Lumicor, the chances of her walking into his trap were a perfect one hundred percent.

  But even if it were, did she care about those traps?

  FWOOSH!

  No.

  She wasn't the least bit worried about the trap he had set up to capture her.

  What worried her was whether he would be able to give her a decent fight after being utterly exhausted by her Master.

  STEP!

  With her last step taken, Solia’s figure crackled with pure lightning as she bent down on her knees.

  Then, she leaped with her eyes closed.

  She clenched the hilt of her swords before unleashing a single, focused strike with all of her might.

  “STORM SWORD ART: TWIN LIGHTNING DRAW!”

  In an instant, the world was enveloped in whiteness, followed by white lightning streaking through the water in an absolute blur.

  “!!!”

  He sighed at the sight unfolding before his eyes.

  He was amused to know that his plan had successfully worked, but he just couldn't believe the ridiculous scene playing out before him.

  Solia, an aide of that ridiculously powerful guy, could unleash such an attack.

  He wasn't baffled at the impressive technique she had unleashed, which he blocked with a mere celestial shield.

  Instead, he was baffled by how she, a woman with a weak foundation, would be able to unleash such an impressive technique.

  It was something he least expected from this woman, who had casually blocked some of his spells while he was battling Alister earlier.

  Like birds of the same feather always flock together, this level of competency was expected when you are mentored by someone as wise as Alister Von Fai.

  But this woman still fell short of his teaching due to her meager talent.

  Perhaps, as someone wiser than her, he should do her the favor of teaching her what true talent was.

  Maybe it would allow her to come to the realization that a great teacher is useless when that very mentor teaches a talentless scrub that could be found on the roadside...

  “What an unpleasant sight to behold.”

  With her first attack, Solia had gauged her win rate against this godlike figure, and it was an astonishingly zero percent if she fought Lumicor, even with Tellus at her service.

  So, she improvised her battle strategy and muttered those words in an attempt to provoke Lumicor, which successfully worked, since he immediately deactivated his celestial shield and met Solia in a sword fight.

  FWOOSH! SWOOP! FWISH!

  It was by the third exchange when he noticed that Solia was actually gaining the upper hand with their every exchange.

  He was now completely locked down, unable to cast a single spell, even with his insane casting speed, because Solia’s swift swordplay left no room for him to be distracted.

  CLANG!

  Their swords were interlocked in a furious clash.

  Lumicor smirked, knowing that while his opponent was a surprisingly agile woman, when it came to raw strength, he, Lumicor, triumphed over her.

  He smiled and pressed his sword, which was made of concentrated light, harder against her blade.

  But Solia merely smirked back as she clenched her hands.

  Then, she swung her sword in a diagonal slash, surprising Lumicor by unleashing her true strength as a Titaness before she muttered coldly.

  “TEMPEST FANGS!”

  Time dilated into a standstill.

  A streak of blinding light flashed into existence, followed by a sharp gale blowing through the currents as bright blood exploded outwards, instantly tinting the surrounding waters red.

  It was a pain he least expected to receive from this woman.

  He couldn't help but laugh at his own arrogance, thinking that everything would go well after he defeated the supreme existence of Alister Von Fai.

  But no, he was wrong, since his subordinate was able to wound him, Lumicor, the God of the Lake of Dreadnought, at his base form.

  It was impressive indeed.

  It was impressive that a mere mortal would be able to physically harm him.

  “I guess it's time for me to stop playing.”

  The atmosphere shifted drastically at his words.

  Moths of embers rose from the ground before flaring to a ridiculous temperature in an instant.

  This heat was followed by the moths quivering like a caterpillar molting as they instantly transformed into thousands of sharp swords simultaneously.

  “…”

  Silence.

  A deafening silence followed, with Lumicor staring at her from head to toe, then directly into her eyes as he smirked, watching Solia be helplessly surrounded by the thousands of swords encompassing her from all sides.

  “It seems that I am meeting my end, just like my Master…”

  She muttered with a touch of nostalgia, thinking of her Master being skewered to death by the thousands of thin, needle-like spikes riddling his body with holes.

  THUD!

  Then, silence ensued yet again.

  Both of their faces were filled with shock as they violently turned their heads to the source of the sound, a single gunshot.

  They discovered Samantha, who had just fired a single round into the sky before she pointed the gun to herself.

  "This life is worthless without him by my side!"

  BOOM!