CHAPTER 668: [BLOOD MOON WAR] [13] LAKALROS

"Interesting. Very interesting indeed," Lakalros said, clapping slowly with an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Not many—especially not humans—have managed to push me like that. You’re clearly no Hero, so why don’t you do me the courtesy of telling me... who exactly are you?"

"S–Senior A—" Alicia’s voice cracked at that time. She called out reflexively, her tone filled with panic. But the moment I shot her a sharp look, she froze, her voice faltering mid-sentence.

"...mael," she finished weakly, clearly understanding that I didn’t want my name spoken here.

Are you doing this on purpose, Alicia?!

I knew I hadn’t exactly made things easy on her—swooping in unannounced and attacking that monster without so much as a heads-up. But it wasn’t just recklessness. I had my reasons, both here and for when we returned. Complications needed to be avoided—especially certain ones.

"Hm? Mael?" Lakalros raised a curious brow.

I turned toward Alicia. "Get that woman out of here."

She blinked, startled by the sudden command. "You mean her?" She asked, glancing at Amaya. But she didn’t argue. With a quick nod, she stepped toward Amaya, taking her gently by the arm and trying to pull her away.

But Amaya didn’t budge.

She stood rooted to the spot, eyes locked on mine.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked.

"Because I want to," I replied bluntly. "And I can see it—you don’t want to follow that freak. So go. Run with Alicia. I’ll keep him busy and catch up later."

Amaya stared at me, lips parting slightly, as if she wanted to say something more.

I sighed, taking a half-step toward her. "You don’t want to—ugh!"

-BAM!

The impact came before I even finished my sentence. Lakalros moved like a shadow given form—faster than anything I’d seen. I barely raised my left arm in time to block, but even reinforced with Ruah, the blow felt like it shattered every bone from my wrist to my shoulder. Pain lanced through my body as I was thrown backwards, sliding several meters across the ground.

Clutching my aching arm, I hissed in pain. Every joint screamed in protest.

"Senior!" Alicia called out in concern.

I gritted my teeth and glanced back at her. "Just go, Alicia. Take her with you. Force her if you have to. That woman’s connected to the Witch somehow, and we both know that means trouble. If even one of the Blood Lords wants her, she’s important. Right now, we need all the leverage we can get."

Alicia paused but nodded. She grabbed Amaya’s hand again—more firmly this time—and started to pull her away. Amaya didn’t resist. She let herself be led, but her eyes never left me. They lingered on me with a strange, lingering intensity.

"You’re not going anywhere, Amaya," Lakalros said and took a step forward, his gaze turning steely.

I surged forward and launched a kick at his side, but he caught my leg effortlessly mid-air.

He looked at me, more annoyed than angry. "What are you even trying to do, human? You don’t know her. You gain nothing by this. Yet you’re willing to die for her?"

"Anathemas Fire," I whispered.

A violent surge of purple flames exploded from my leg, dancing like cursed fire. Lakalros’s eyes widened ever so slightly before he instinctively released his grip, the flames licking at his armor.

I leapt back, landing lightly on my feet as the fire spread across my limbs, surrounding me like a second skin. My entire body was now cloaked in purple flame.

"Who said anything about dying?" I muttered, lifting my arm slowly.

Then came the rings—six of them. Glowing, rotating halos of deep amethyst light began spiraling around my arm, humming with mana.

"I’m not planning on dying here," I said coldly. "I’m planning on killing you."

Lakalros stood still for a beat. Then, a chuckle rumbled from his throat. "I always knew humans were reckless," he said, voice dripping with disdain. "But I never imagined they could be this stupid."

-BOOM!

His crimson mana erupted like a volcanic explosion, shaking the ground and painting the sky in bloody red light.

9th Ascension definitely.

He didn’t seem as strong as Navas but he was one Ascension higher than me so it didn’t change the gape between us but I had other abilities that might be able to fill the gap. I just have to be careful.

Damn it.

To be honest, fighting one of the Blood Lords was never part of my plan.

Under normal circumstances, this guy—Lakalros—was supposed to be defeated by one of the Heroes from the Resistance against the Witch. That was the way history went. The timeline, at least as I knew it, had no place for me in this battle.

Would my interference change the course of the present?

Of the future?

I had no idea.

But truthfully, I didn’t care about it right now.

These days, I follow something much simpler—my instincts.

Lakalros sneered. "I will show you how foolish you’ve been to even think of challenging me."

As the words left his lips, the air around him warped. Water burst from his body, but it wasn’t natural—it swirled unnaturally red, as though steeped in blood. A cursed tide, alive and throbbing with dark energy.

The liquid surged outward like a living serpent and in moments, it spiraled around us—forming a massive circular vortex that swallowed everything in its radius. Alicia and Amaya were caught within it too, their forms barely visible through the rippling veil.

I clicked my tongue, frustration rising.

No time to think.

My foot shifted. I bolted forward, snatching a sword that had been abandoned on the battlefield. I didn’t stop. I didn’t hesitate. I swung with every ounce of force I could muster—

But before the blade could connect, a torrent of crimson water surged from Lakalros and wrapped around my body like constricting ropes.

"Ugh..." A raw groan tore from my throat.

The pressure was unbearable. It felt like my veins were being siphoned dry—like my very blood was being pulled out of my pores. My vision dimmed at the edges.

With clenched teeth, I summoned Anathemas Fire. Purple flames burst from my core—but even that otherworldly power seemed dulled in the face of Lakalros’s dense, tainted waters.

Still, I didn’t back down.

My right fist tightened. One of the Rings of Vysindra flared to life, a radiant purple halo exploding from my hand.

-BOOM!

The blast of fire detonated between us. The shockwave sent both our bodies tumbling backward.

I landed hard but scrambled upright, breath ragged, eyes locked on my blade—now nothing more than a rusty, corroded hunk of metal. Lakalros’s water had aged it decades in seconds.

Annoyed, I tossed it aside and grabbed a lance nearby. Spinning it once in my palm, I infused it with Ruah and faced him head-on.

No more stalling.

I stepped forward and thrust the lance toward him.

-BOOM!

The lance pierced the swirling waters, and I watched as the outer layers of Ruah began to rot and peel away, dissolving like paper in acid. I yanked it back, re-coating it quickly in Ruah and coiling another Ring of Vysindra around the shaft. The weapon ignited in a violent blaze of purple flame.

As soon as the lance met the cursed water again, clouds of scalding steam exploded into the air.

He felt the danger. I saw it in his eyes.

Lakalros reached for me, his hand slicing through the mist like a scythe. I launched myself backward instinctively. My footing slid, but I recovered fast enough to hurl the lance with all my might toward his outstretched arm.

He was quick—managed to pull back just in time—but not quite fast enough.

The lance carved into his arm, ripping out a chunk of his flesh with a wet, sickening sound.

-BOOM!

But before I could even smirk, something slammed into my side like a speeding freight train.

"Aghh—!"

Blood spurted from my mouth. My body soared through the air, bones groaning from the impact. My vision flickered like a dying candle, dizziness overtaking me.

Even through the blurriness, I could see him. Lakalros was already on the move—coming at me.

I barely managed to lift my arm to shield myself.

-CRACK!

The pain was immediate. My right arm snapped under the pressure, and I hit the ground with a heavy thud.

-BAM!

"Ugh!"

The taste of iron filled my mouth. I forced my eyes open, even as the world spun around me.

Lakalros was there, floating just above—expression cold, hand outstretched.

Water burst forward like a living beast, ready to consume me whole.

Damn it.

I knew it from the start—but now there was no doubt. Lakalros was a 9th Ascension.

That made him a nightmare of a foe. Still... he wasn’t the first monster stronger than me that I had stared down.

And he wouldn’t be the last.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself up from the ground, my body aching with every breath. My right arm hung limp, pain blooming from deep within the bone. I grimaced and grabbed it with my left hand, fingers trembling as I felt for the break.

"Alright..."

-CRACK!

A pained groan tore from my throat as I forced the bone back into place. The pain was sharp, blinding, but I didn’t have the luxury of hesitation. I summoned Fate, willing the healing energy to act. Wisps of white sand swirled around my fractured arm.

It was always harder to mend damage within the body than without. Stitching a severed limb was one thing. Trying to coax shattered bone to realign under living skin? That was something else entirely. My breath came out shaky as the magic set to work, dulling the pain but not erasing it.

Finally, I steadied myself and lifted my head, eyes cold and focused as the roar of falling water echoed in my ears. The red tide that had once encased us was now crashing downward toward me like a collapsing cage.

-BOOOM!!

A wall of crimson water came hurtling in, its impact shaking the ground. Somewhere within the chaos, I heard Alicia’s voice—sharp and panicked.

"Senior!!"

But I shut everything else out.

I summoned Anathemas Fire once more, letting it swirl and coil around me like a shield. The flames licked at the air, burning purple and fierce, reacting to the presence of taint around me. As the infernal heat ignited, my body began to change.

Scales formed along my arms—sleek and black as onyx, with a subtle gleam that caught the flickering firelight. Around my eyes, more scales etched across my skin like ancient armor. My irises narrowed, transforming into vertical amber slits that glowed dark.

Then I raised my palm, and from it, particles of Wrath began to materialize.

)BOOOOOM!!!

The cocoon of water surrounding me exploded outward in a blast of steam and fire as I launched myself forward, propelled by Samara’s Reach.

Lakalros didn’t even have time to react.

His eyes widened in utter disbelief—he hadn’t expected me to survive, let alone counterattack with this much force.

Too late.

I reached him in an instant, my fist glowing with layered power, and smashed it directly into his face.

-BAM!!!

His skull contorted under the force of the blow, facial structure warping from the sheer pressure. The sound of the impact was deafening.

For a moment, everything fell still—no sound, no movement, just the aftershock of raw power. Then, like a ragdoll, Lakalros was flung backward at tremendous speed. His body tore through the cursed circle of water that had imprisoned us, shattering it in his wake, and was sent hurtling into the sky.