Chapter 385: All The Strong People Are Here [Part 1]


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    Back in the heart of the inferno, Ate and Shade continued their deadly dance. Shade was bleeding from a dozen small burns, his clothes singed and smoking.


    But he refused to back down, his attacks growing more desperate with each passing moment. Ate, for her part, seemed to grow stronger as the battle raged on.


    The mes responded to her will, forming shields to block Shade''s strikes andshing out with deadly precision.


    "Is this all you''ve got?" she taunted, her voice carrying over the roar of the fire. "I expected more from Afkon''s personal guard."


    "Shut up! I am not even strong enough to guard Afkon!"


    Shade snarled in response,unching himself at her with reckless abandon.


    His fist shot out towards Ate''s face. For a moment, it seemed like the blow would connect.


    But at thest second, Ate''s hand came up, catching Shade''s fist in a grip of iron. The fire swirled around their joined hands, and Shade''s eyes widened in pain and shock. "My turn," Ate growled.


    She twisted, using Shade''s momentum against him. In one fluid motion, she hurled him across the yard.


    He mmed into a wall of the castle with bone-crushing force, leaving a spider-web of cracks in the stone.


    The battlefield was a chaos of fire and smoke, the sh of steel and the cries of the wounded filling the air.


    Amidst it all, Ellis fought with a desperation born of fear and determination.


    His dagger felt heavy in his inexperienced hands, but he swung it with all his might, felling one drifter after another.


    Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.


    He spun around, barely in time to see a wall of twisted vines surging towards him.


    Ellis stumbled backward, his eyes widening in shock as he recognized the figure controlling the nts.


    "Braham," he gasped, raising his sword in a trembling defense.


    The betrayer''s lips curled into a cruel smile. "Hello, Ellis. It''s been a while, hasn''t it? Finally, we get to put our discord to bed."


    Vinesshed out like whips, forcing Ellis to dodge and weave.


    He shed at them with his dagger, but for every vine he cut, a few more took its ce. It was an endless tangle of green that threatened to overwhelm him.


    "WHY?" Ellis shouted, his voice cracking with emotion. "Why are you even doing this?! What did I ever do to you?!! You''ve made your point already by making my life miserable already, why did you have to go so far?!!"


    Braham''s eyes hardened. "Huh? You still think this is about you?" He grinned, "No, Ellis, this is not about you, not at all, this was bound to happen. It''s just sad that you don''t have the white-haired junk to save you this time around."


    A particrly vicious vine caught Ellis across the chest, sending him sprawling.


    He rolled to his feet, gasping for breath, his armor dented.


    Jeci and the mysteriousdy continued to lunge at each other.


    Thedy had a cunning and annoying form, one that Jeci never imagined she''d be utterly vulnerable against.


    The problem, however, was that fatigue had settled into her body and soul.


    Aside from the effect of using her ability eating up her reserve of essence, she was already physically tired from before.


    Usually, she wouldn''t have had her defense broken so much, but the fight with Northern had taken a great toll on her.


    But she was still fairly holding out, even though every miss, every dodge was by a hair''s breadth.


    Ate and Shade had met again, in a deafening and trembling sh:


    Shadeunched himself at Ate, his fists burning with purple smoky air.


    She met his charge head-on, her own hands zing with fire.


    Their sh sent shockwaves rippling through the air, knocking nearby drifters off their feet.


    "You can''t win this," Shade growled, pressing his attack. "You''re outnumbered, outgunned. Give up now, and maybe we''ll show mercy."


    Ate''s response was a savage grin. "Mercy? From the likes of you? I''d rather burn."


    She thrust her palm forward, unleashing a torrent of me that forced Shade to leap backward.


    The fire caught several unfortunate drifters, their screams cut short as they were reduced to ash in an instant.


    But even as she fought, Ate''s keen eyes took in the rest of the battlefield.


    She saw Ellis, desperately fending off Braham''s relentless vines. She saw Jeci, surrounded and slowly being overwhelmed.


    A cold knot of fear formed in her stomach.


    They were losing. All her power, all her rage, and still they were losing.


    ''No,'' she thought fiercely. ''I won''t let it end like this.''


    With a roar of defiance, Ate unleashed her full power.


    The mes around her exploded outward in a nova of heat and light, so intense that even Shade was forced to retreat.


    "Ellis! Jeci!" she shouted, her voice carrying over the din of battle. "To me!"


    Ellis, hearing her call, gathered hisst reserves of strength. With a cry of desperation, he shed through the vines holding him and sprinted towards Ate.


    Braham''s curses followed him, but the betrayer dared not venture too close to the inferno surrounding Ate.


    Jeci, too, heard the call. With a burst of superhuman speed, she disengaged from her opponents and raced across the battlefield, her spear clearing a path through any who dared


    stand in her way.


    As they reached Ate, she grabbed them both, pulling them close.


    The mes parted around them, forming a protective cocoon of fire.


    "Hold on," Ate growled, her eyes zing with determination. "This is going to be


    rough." With a gesture that seemed to defy the veryws of nature, Ate called forth a pir of fire so intense it burned blue-white. It engulfed them, and swirled around them in a vortex of


    me.


    Zephyr from the balcony narrowed his eyes. Something in the depth of his blue eyes sparkled. He extended his hand forward and instantly, without shards of sparks, a mighty white bow


    appeared in his hands.


    This bow looked like a heavenly mantle. It looked like it had been forged with clouds.


    He pulled its strings, as he did, the bow generated an arrow of light that grew brighter as he drew further back.


    And just as the vortex of mes leaped off the ground, Zephyr released, firing off an arrow of light that streaked across the short distance with a screeching sound, like it was burning the


    very air.


    The arrow collided with the vortex of mes and caused a tremendous explosion that separated every plume of the mes and threw all three of them across the air in different


    directions.


    A grin formed on the corner of Zephyr''s lips, "Think you can run away from me... hmph" However, before any of them couldnd, something fell from the sky.


    He couldn''t see it, as the speed was too quick to follow. Then the next fell and the next fell.


    Such that the state of the three of them became the least of his worries.


    Then onest of those things fell on the battlefield, and slowly rose to his feet.


    His face was aged, beards full and connected with his brown hair with a couple of white


    strands. His eyes were fiery and cold.


    His physique was stoic and although his shirt and waistcoat had be so smeared with dirt that they had lost the right to be called that, he still represented an aura of formidable


    strength.


    Zephyr grabbed the balcony so hard that the cemented surface cracked and peeled away.


    "Gilbert..."


    Not just him-Zephyr turned his head around.


    "Helena... too?"


    All of the strong people are gathered here.