Villain: The Play of Destiny

Back on Gaia...

A golden Runic Shield shattered as a Draconic Claw smashed into it, and then a second one, which had just been erected, cracked as well.

Yingying lost her balance due to the sheer force that Yexuan had put behind his attack, and her feet left the ground as she was sent crashing into the invisible barrier around the vicinity.

She was completely open and vulnerable as she tried to get back on her feet, and Yexuan, who tried to take advantage of it was blocked by Kiara, whose amethyst eyes were dangerously narrowed.

Her kick collided with the fist of her enemy, and terrifying shockwaves erupted from the contact.

To her dismay, the boy did not even budge under the force and let out another enraged roar, making the wild yellow flames covering his Aura Soul and body go berserk.

It was a good thing that Kiara was nearly Invincible against these yellow flames as the heat did not even bother her.

Her own Azure Flames killed the yellow flames as soon as they came in contact, not letting them reach her, and she was very tempted to make Yexuan have a taste of his own medicine and burn him to crisps, but she was already pushing herself to the limits, and she could not maintain her flames for long.

However, the desire to see this man burned to crisps took root in her mind.

As soon as they separated, a Water Serpent suddenly crashed into Yexuan and coiled around him, distorting his Aura Soul, which struggled to maintain itself.

Minami supplied even more Mana to the Serpent, forcing Yexuan to truly exert himself to his limits if he wanted to free himself, and this allowed Yingying and Iseul the time to catch their breath.

"Help them."

Amelia frowned a little at Rebecca's words and looked in the eyes.

"Don't worry. I can maintain it on my own for a while." The blonde assuringly smiled.

Yexuan had proven more tenacious than they had anticipated, and his constantly rising strength was a subject of worry now.

Amelia too realised that it was the best decision to have either her or Rebecca stop maintaining the barrier and join the battle to prevent any accidents, and since her sister-wife had made her decision, she quickly rushed forward and stood next to Minami.

The Runic Princess immediately used her golden chains, wrapping them around the struggling Monster, who was soon rendered immobile, but his Aura burst out some more, his strength rose again, and she found herself hard-pressed against him.

Engaging with him in close combat was not an option as Yexuan was just too experienced with it, and now that his strength touched the limits of the Primal Desolation Realm, it was extremely dangerous to get involved in the battle.

Suddenly, the ground under their feet started shaking, and web-like cracks appeared where Yexuan was locked, soon creating a crater around him.

Kiara gritted her teeth as she felt that she could only maintain the form for a few more minutes, and she glanced at her sister, meeting her eyes.

"We won't be able to hold him for long," Minami told her, and she nodded her head.

"Fine," Deciding to take a gamble, she utilised all of her remaining Mana and Aura to create a huge ball of Azure Flames, and soon the temperature in the surroundings rose sharply, even melting the frozen lake and boiling the water.

Yingying and Iseul retreated in a scare, guarding themselves with their Aura, and even Amelia had to pour a lot of her Aura into shielding herself from the heat, which still managed to reach her and irritate her skin.

The heat reached a point where they all felt like they would melt under it, but they still had a task to finish so they bore the pain.

"Iseul..." Kiara whispered, and the girl immediately understood her intentions.

Utilising the powers she had only recently gotten acquainted with, she controlled the shadows and locked Yexuan into the place, pouring everything into it.

Amelia and Minami nodded to Kiara when their eyes met, and then the girl jumped up in the air as she lunged at Yexuan, swinging her arm and throwing the ball of flame right at him when she got close enough.

Her sister suddenly intensified her Power to disrupt Yexuan's Aura Soul, and at the very last moment, she made the water Serpent disappear, allowing the ball of flames to land squarely on its target.

*Boom*

An apocalyptic explosion sounded out, along with powerful shockwaves, and the girls did not take any risks and erected their Runic Shields without a second thought.

They heard them shatter one after the other, and keeping the count, their hearts palpitated in fear.

Minami took some damage as she ignored the shockwaves and rushed toward her sister, who was falling from the sky, no longer having her Azure Flames to protect her.

Kiara had poured everything into the last attack, and she was now on the verge of falling unconscious due to the exhaustion that crept in. Her eyes closed as soon as she entered Minami's arms, and the girl immediately took her to Rebecca's side, where they quickly moved her out of the Barrier.

Thankfully, they all managed to avoid any serious injuries, but they were now almost out of Runic Shields.

Iseul was extremely tired now as she panted heavily, and her dark eyes looked at the crater that was still burning due to the horrifying Azure Flames covering it.

They soon heard the cries of a man who was in immense agony, and rather than feeling relieved that Yexuan was hit, they were dismayed that he had survived such an attack.

It took a while for the light and flames to clear, and their hearts finally calmed down when they saw a man surrounded by a pale yellow Aura, naked, and bald, with his body almost entirely scorched.

"I will kill you..." He coughed up some blood as he said those words, but then he raised his hideous head, and his yellow and slitted eyes menacingly looked at all of them.

"Fall back!" Amelia immediately shouted, and both Yingying and Iseul complied as they pulled back to stand next to Rebecca, leaving Yexuan at the hands of Minami and the Runic Princess.

"Here." Rebecca threw an Aura Recovery Potion to them, one of a few that she had received from Keith, and both the girls drank half of it before they started utilising the Recovery Art to recuperate.

Yexuan suddenly stepped forward, staggering a little, but kept coming towards them. And with every step, his momentum rose, his Aura became denser, and just when they were trying to make sense of what was happening, he suddenly lunged forward at a terrifying speed.

Amelia was unable to keep up with him, but Minami managed to arrive in front of Rebecca and meet the draconic claw head-on with her Aura Soul's tails blocking it.

She narrowed her eyes when she saw her Aura Soul break, but her hands were already on the ground now, and soon a water pillar erupted from it, crashing into Yexuan, breaking his momentum and sending him flailing up in the air, where he was soon caught by the Golden Chains that Amelia had quickly summoned.

Minami did not even bother taking a breath and jumped straight up, creating an Aura Blade, and then she slashed the man who was bound and struggling in the chains, almost about to break free of them.

Yexuan's eyes widened in fear when the blade touched his Aura Defence, disrupting it, but he still managed to survive as he twisted himself with all his might at the very last moment, escaping death yet again.

A fountain of blood erupted when his arm was severed from the shoulder, and with it, another agonising cry escaped from the lungs of the man who was not even recognisable anymore.

The blade reached for his head again, but in that very instant, the ground under Amelia's feet cracked.

Out of instinct, she tried to save herself, and it caused her to lose focus and allowed Yexuan the opportunity to escape the chains completely and block the blade that was about to end his life.

He expertly created an Aura Disc under his left foot to stabilise himself, and then he spun his body, landing a powerful kick into the girl who was after his life, sending her crashing into the barrier.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes when she saw Minami get hit, and immediately used the locket she was wearing on her neck, surrounding herself and the two girls by her side in a purple barrier.

Just as she had expected, Yexuan came straight after them instead of going after Minami, who was back on her feet, having only sacrificed a Runic Shield to survive that attack.

Seeing Yexuan come down from the sky, surrounding his body with his Aura Soul, which was a menacing winged dragon, the blonde slightly smiled, confident that he would not be able to break past the barrier she had erected.

However, she never got the chance to test the strength of her barrier against him as his yellow eyes suddenly widened in horror before they closed.

To everyone's confusion, his Aura Soul dissipated, and just when he was about to crash into the purple barrier in an unconscious state, his figure disappeared into thin air.

Rebecca kept the barrier up for a minute, not taking any risks, and only dropped it when Amelia and Minami arrived by her side.

Everyone stayed silent and vigilant, ready for Yeuxan to suddenly appear again, but even after minutes, he did not show up.

"He's dead." Iseul suddenly said, and the Inheritor of Hecate nodded to her words.

"I guess so. Keith is already inside the Steele, and Yexuan was unconscious when he disappeared. I would be surprised if he survives again." She giggled, and it brought smiles to all their faces.

"I am glad Keith decided to deal with him sooner rather than later." Amelia tiredly said, and they all nodded their heads in agreement.

Having witnessed how dangerous Yexuan was, they truly were relieved that such a danger was now dealt with.

Yingying reacted as soon as she saw Minami sway on her feet and caught her before she could fall.

The girl had truly pushed herself to her limits today, and she deserved a good rest just like her sister, who was already peacefully asleep outside the Barrier.