CHAPTER 120: WASTED POTENTIAL

The maze garden trembled as Elle and Ulrich finally stopped their fight. The grey sky above them shifted, turning slowly into a false dawn.

The light brushed against their skin but carried no warmth, no sting, because it wasn’t real. Everything around them was still part of the manor’s illusion.

Elle’s breath hitched as her eyes widened in horror, one of her companions had fallen.

"Sarah!!!"Her scream echoed across the garden as the fog thinned.

The garden’s twisted maze morphed back into its original form, revealing Fleur and the others in the distance.

Rage flickered across her face as she was ready to move, until Ulrich moved.

The old man’s shadow rippled, and from it, hands of black smoke shot forward like vipers, coiling around Elle’s body. They dragged her back toward him before she could react.

Then, Elle’s body split apart as Ulrich slashed her without mercy, but instead of blood, a flurry of crimson petals scattered into the heated air. She reappeared several meters away, fury blazing in her eyes.

"YOU! STOP BEING SO DAMN PERSISTENT, OLD MAN!" she screamed, her voice cracking with rage.

A surge of red aura burst from her body, warping the world around them.

The ground shuddered violently, melting into rivers of magma as the illusion twisted. Mountains in the distance roared and split open, vomiting fire and ash.

Ulrich narrowed his eyes. "Illusion?" he muttered under his breath, almost amused.

Elle raised her hand, and the molten earth obeyed. The lava convulsed, rising into the shape of a colossal creature, stone fused with liquid fire, its body cracking with light.

The monster roared, the sound shaking even the illusionary sky.

But Ulrich’s gaze wasn’t on her. It flicked across the burning wasteland, searching. He felt relieved when he didn’t see Fleur anywhere.

Good, she and the others must have escaped through the door, into another realm, safe for now.

Even so, the illusion burned like truth. His skin prickled with heat, every breath scorched his lungs, every flicker of fire stung like it was real.

"Not bad, Crow," he said with a smirk, brushing soot from his coat as though the hellish scene bored him.

"But it seems your limit is stuck at the third evolution. What a shame."

He stepped forward, eyes glinting beneath the heat haze. "I was hoping you’d at least make this fun."

The molten ground quaked as the monster roared. Elle’s eyes burned crimson as she pointed toward Ulrich, her face twisted in frustration.

"Let’s see you talk your way out of this!"

The monster moved without hesitation. Its molten fist crashed down, shaking the entire realm. Ulrich dissolved into smoke just before it landed, the heat scorching the air where he had stood.

The fist struck the molten river, leaving a crater that hissed with steam.

The smoke swirled upward, reforming his body atop the creature’s shoulder.

"Crude but powerful," he murmured, studying it like an artist inspecting a rough sculpture.

"However, power without direction consumes itself."

"SHUT UP!" Elle’s wings flared wide, veins of blood spreading through her skin as the mutation flared.

Her left arm twisted into a claw, black scales crawling up her shoulder. "I’ll make you shut up!"

She lunged, fast but reckless. Ulrich stepped aside, his form thinning into smoke again, her claws slashing through the air.

The monster roared, sensing her rage, and swung its arm toward where Ulrich reappeared.

He raised his hand, touching the incoming strike. The entire limb turned to smoke on contact, breaking apart into ribbons of grey. The creature bellowed in confusion.

Elle froze, her breath catching. "You— you can even—"

"Turn matter into smoke, yes." Ulrich’s eyes met hers through the haze. "Everything touched by me is transient. Just as illusions are."

He can destroy this illusion completely as Elle’s evolution was lower than his. But he needs to buy time for Fleur and the rest so for now, he would have a little fun.

Her fury reignited. "You talk too much!"

She snapped her fingers, and the giant’s shattered limb reformed. Fire poured from its mouth, a spiral of molten breath that tore through the illusionary sky.

Ulrich’s body scattered again, the smoke bending and twisting through the flames like a serpent.

Elle followed with a barrage of fireballs from above, her small figure darting between falling embers. She looked feral and untamed — but to Ulrich, her movements were like a child throwing stones at a river.

He appeared behind her midair. "You lack rhythm," he said, his tone still calm, still patient.

She spun, her mutated arm blocking his smoke blade just in time. The collision cracked the illusion itself, reality flickering between the garden’s ruins and the lava field.

Elle hissed through her teeth. "Hah! I will destroy you and all of your allies for killing my nanny!"

The monster rose again, massive hands clapping together to crush him between them. Ulrich vanished into the mist a second before impact, reappearing behind the beast.

He reached out, touching its back and half its body dissipated into smoke before reforming sluggishly.

He watched, curious. "You have this realm of illusion, but you don’t even use it to the maximum potential, what a shame." he shook his head.

"I don’t care what you think!" she yelled, fire gathering in her palms. "I’ll win!"

Her wings burst open — now blazing entirely — and she leapt forward again, charging through her own monster’s flames.

Ulrich met her with both hands outstretched, smoke expanding around him like a dark tide.

The world became chaotic. Fire and smoke collided, creating a storm of colorless ash. Elle’s monster screamed, dissolving piece by piece.

While Ulrich’s silhouette flickered, momentarily solid, then fading again as her attacks kept landing too close.

For the first time, he frowned. "Hm. Persistent."

"I’m going to kill you!" she screamed, throwing her entire body forward.

Her blood twisted her arm into a jagged spear; she stabbed through the smoke and felt resistance.

Ulrich stepped back, his coat torn, a faint burn on his cheek. He looked genuinely surprised. "You drew blood."

Elle grinned through her exhaustion. "Told you I’m strong!"

"Strong..." he wiped the blood away with a gloved hand, "but not dangerous..."

"Wanna test it again?!" she shouted, charging one more time.

Ulrich sighed softly, his smoke coiling upward. "Children shouldn’t play with fire."

Before she could reach him, the smoke swallowed her whole. The lava disappeared, the garden returned and Elle’s body was turned into smoke.

Her clone appeared again and gasped, the illusion broken, her energy drained. The monster was gone. Only ash remained.

Ulrich stood above her, pristine again, his tone polite but distant. "A remarkable display. Reckless, emotional... but remarkable."

Elle glared up at him, trembling. "Don’t... call me reckless..."

He gave a faint smile. "Then learn control. Want to try fighting me again?"

***

The screens in front of Madeline flickered, static swallowing the image until it collapsed into a snowstorm of light.

Her fingers hovered above the runes, trying to reconnect. Every frequency, every incantation, dead. She felt the thread to Seamus severed cleanly, as if someone had taken a blade to her connection.

Her jaw tightened. She closed her eyes, forcing her mind’s vision open. The Corvane manor, standing amidst the darkness.

"Damn it... What actually happened?! Am I too late?!"

She had already guessed what this meant. Inside that place was the Emblem of Enigma’s realm. Even her eyes couldn’t pierce it.

"He... he’s fine, right?"

Madeline wanted to believe it. Seamus was strong: reckless, but resilient. Still, the dread inside her chest clawed at the edges of her composure.

Before she could act on it, the old oak doors swung open.

Isolde entered.

Her expression, as usual, carried the same placid indifference. However, her question was echoed through the library.

"Are you going to Corvane?"

Madeline folded her arms, raising a brow. "Why ask? You can teleport yourself, can’t you?"

"Why don’t we go together? I’m... worried, since Seamus suddenly vanished from my radar."

Madeline’s eyes narrowed. "Worried, huh?" A dry laugh escaped her. "I knew it. That pendant he’s carrying, it isn’t Viviane’s shard, is it?"

"You’d never let him walk around with something like that unless it served your purpose."

Isolde tilted her head, amused. "Sometimes, I’m glad Seamus isn’t as smart as you."

That answer irked her more than she wanted to admit. "What’s your plan with him, Isolde? You treat him like a pawn, but you keep coming back to check if he’s alive. You’re not the type to waste concern."

Isolde’s lips curved into the faintest smile. "You like him?"

Madeline blinked, caught off guard. "What—"

"You asked with emotion, that’s not your usual tone."

Madeline’s eye twitched. "You know what, never mind." She turned on her heel. "Spending too much time around you makes my brain rot."

But Isolde’s hand shot out, resting lightly on Madeline’s shoulder.

"I told you," she murmured. "I’m coming with you. I need to finally kill that bitch."

"You mean Roanna? Oh, that’s rich. You think you can kill Roanna Corvane?"

Her laughter lingered a little too long, filling the space between them.

"Sure, you can try. But it’s a Duel of Blood, your life’s on the table. You die, I don’t step in. I won’t judge Roanna for it either."

"Sure, why not?"

Madeline scoffed but didn’t argue. The two vanished, the library left empty as they arrived at Corvane Manor.