As Blanche dove toward Blackwind Marsh, she fought the urge to turn back and help Aveline and others. She pushed her speed to its absolute limit as she plunged into the treacherous land, shrouded year-round in a gray-black, poisonous miasma.
The moment she entered the marsh, her vision and divine sense became severely restricted. The air reeked of rot and toxins, while the ground beneath her was a treacherous sprawl of soft bogs. Occasionally, strange black shadows flickered beneath the murky water’s surface.
She didn’t dare slow down. Guided only by a hazy memory of the terrain, she flew deeper into the marsh toward the core region rumored to have the most chaotic magnetic interference. Snowy stayed close by her side, nimbly avoiding puddles and hidden dangers.
Blanche could feel the violent spiritual energy from the sky far behind her, an echo of Alarion’s raw killing intent. She could sense Aveline and the others’ energy waves fading, their presence flickering out like dying embers.
Her heart twisted with anguish, but she forced her grief into a desperate burst of speed. She flew until the roar of battle began to fade. Yet, the sensation of being hunted, like the feeling of a predator’s gaze locked onto her, remained.
Blanche knew Alarion must possess a tracking technique that could pinpoint her even through the thickest miasma.
Suddenly, a strange area appeared in the marsh ahead. The fog ahead took on a dark red hue, and the air hummed with chaotic magnetic forces. The pressure made her spiritual energy sluggish and limited her divine sense to only a few yards.
Strange, jagged black rocks, magnetized by the environment, lay scattered across the ground.
“This is it,” Blanche muttered. “It’s the edge of the Crimson Magnetic Abyss in Blackwind Marsh.”
Her heart finally eased a little.
The extreme conditions here were her best hope for throwing him off her trail. She landed on a relatively dry mound partially sheltered by a cluster of massive magnetic stones and quickly set up a small concealment formation.
Blanche gripped the pendant Dustin had given her. Its cool surface seemed to steady her mind and ward off the marsh’s oppressive weight.
She sat cross-legged, trying to seize every moment to recover. However, her mind refused to settle. She couldn’t stop worrying about Aveline and the others. High above, the battle was already nearing its end.
Alarion struck with a fury that was nothing short of terrifying
Though Aveline and the other three fought desperately in formation, the gap in strength was too great. After enduring over a dozen of his savage lightning volleys, the sword formation finally shattered.
Aveline took the brunt of the final blow as a bolt of lightning slammed into her chest. Blood sprayed from her mouth as she spiraled downward, going limp midair.
“Aunt Aveline!”
The other four watched in horror, their eyes wide with helpless rage. They lunged forward to save her, only to be snared by a web of lightning Alarion cast with a flick of his wrist.
“Pathetic weaklings! You really thought you could stop me?”
Alarion didn’t even spare them a glance.
His divine sense had already locked onto
the faint but distinct icy aura belonging to Blanche in the marsh below. With a cruel grin, he transformed into a streak of light and dove downward.
Then, something unexpected happened. From somewhere deep within Blackwind Marsh, a brilliant pillar of golden light suddenly shot into the sky.
The pillar contained pure and vast spiritual energy that instantly dispersed part of the miasma and even temporarily calmed the chaotic magnetic forces.
The sudden transformation made Alarion pause mid-flight. Even the gravely injured and barely conscious Aveline, along with the four Frost family disciples trapped in the lightning web, instinctively turned toward the golden pillar.
What surprised everyone even more was that the pillar seemed to have risen not far from the edge of the Crimson Magnetic Abyss, where Blanche was hiding.
Alarion narrowed his eyes. He’d never heard of such a phenomenon in Blackwind Marsh. But the spiritual energy in that pillar made even him feel a twinge of unease.
“Could it be some kind of rare treasure appearing? Or…”
His thoughts raced, but his thirst for avenging his wife quickly suppressed his curiosity.
“I don’t care what it is. I’ll deal with Blanche first.”
Alarion was about to continue his chase when he noticed two figures faintly appearing within the golden pillar. One of them felt strangely familiar, and it filled him with an unexpected sense of dread.
Down in the marsh, Blanche was still tightly gripping the white pendant as she meditated. The sudden eruption of the golden pillar so close to her position jolted her from her trance.
She looked up in shock, peering through the faint shimmer of her concealment formation. To her surprise, the white stone in her hand began to glow, radiating a gentle warmth that seemed to pulse in sync with the massive pillar of light.
“Is this…”
Blanche’s heart pounded as an incredulous thought flashed through her mind.
“Could it be… Mr. Rhys? But he renounced his cultivation to live as a mortal. This spiritual energy in the golden light…” 2
She didn’t have time to finish the thought because after Alarion’s brief pause, his killing intent locked onto her again.
Ignoring the golden pillar’s phenomenon, a sharp cyan condensed sword aura tore through the miasma and slashed down ruthlessly toward the mound where she was hiding. The concealment formation shattered under the furious strike of a Core – Forged Arcanist.
Blanche’s face went deathly pale. She barely managed to gather what little spiritual energy she had left to form an ice shield in front of her while retreating quickly.
As the condensed sword aura struck down, the mound exploded, and mud splattered everywhere. The ice shield shattered, and she was caught by the shockwave.
She coughed up another mouthful of blood and stumbled backward into the muck, her energy waves growing even weaker.
Snowy was also thrown back by the blast and landed some distance away, crying out Yanxiously.
Alarion’s figure emerged through the settling dust and the fading golden light, landing in front of Blanche. His eyes were cold and cruel, like a venomous snake eyeing its prey.
“There’s nowhere left to run, Blanche.”
He slowly raised his sword, which gleamed with flowing cyan light.
“First, I’ll cripple you and strip you of your power. Then, I’m dragging you back to my estate to bleed you dry before my wife’s grave. Once you’re dead, I’ll ensure your soul knows only agony for eternity.”
