Chapter 114: Escape

Watching White Night charge toward her once more, Star Whisper vanished again. In the very next instant, the black scythe in her hands came slashing down viciously from behind him.

“An ambush? Excellent!” Sensing the scythe descending behind him, White Night showed no trace of panic. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed. “That is more like it. You have inherited Liliana’s power—how could you possibly be this weak? This is the way you should be.”

The scythe struck White Night with tremendous force, only for Star Whisper to discover that she had hit nothing but an afterimage. She turned and saw him standing not far behind her, staring at her with a cold gleam in his eyes.

“And yet, I hate the way you are now!” White Night said furiously. “Liliana’s weapon, Liliana’s abilities… Star Whisper, how are you any different from Liliana? There is only one Liliana in this world. I will not allow you to imitate her—not you, nor anyone else. Liliana is unique!”

Roaring, White Night charged at Star Whisper. The magical power radiating from him surged to an entirely new level, completely suppressing her own.

“Damn it!”

The moment they clashed again, Star Whisper sensed the change in him. Her eyes could no longer keep up with his speed. One instant, White Night vanished from before her; the next, he was already in front of her. There was no time to raise her scythe and block. Acting on instinct, Star Whisper teleported backward, narrowly escaping the fate of having her chest torn open by his claws.

Even so, she could not retreat unscathed. White Night’s claws carved a deep wound across her left shoulder, cutting nearly to the bone.

“This is the end, Star Whisper. I’ll be taking your life.”

Star Whisper had only just escaped White Night’s attack and had not yet managed to widen the distance between them when his next assault arrived.

White Night looked down at her from above, his icy gaze devoid of emotion. His expressionless face gave Star Whisper no clue what he was thinking. Yet she could feel the threat of death emanating from him.

She teleported again and again, hoping to evade his attacks, but she discovered that the instant she emerged from the void, White Night’s attacks were already upon her. She simply could not shake him off. She wanted to teleport a greater distance, but White Night’s relentless pursuit gave her no time to gather enough magical power.

“I’m tired of playing cat and mouse. So die!”

At last, White Night seemed to have grown weary of the chase. His magical power exploded upward, violently shaking the entire space. Star Whisper’s teleportation was forcibly interrupted, and his claws raked viciously toward her chest.

“Have you forgotten that I’m here, you lowly vampire?”

Lilith’s knightly sword suddenly appeared between White Night and Star Whisper. His claws crashed heavily against the blade. Blood immediately seeped from the corner of Lilith’s mouth as the force sent her flying backward at tremendous speed.

Her body slammed into a wall and finally came to a stop, raising a cloud of dust.

“Lilith!” Star Whisper cried out anxiously.

“If you have enough time to worry about someone else, you’d better spend it experiencing the fear of death!”

Lilith’s sudden intervention had done little to halt White Night’s assault. His claws continued to tear toward Star Whisper’s chest.

“Damn it!”

Using the moment Lilith had bought her, Star Whisper finally teleported away and opened the distance between them. White Night’s attack missed once more, and he could not help muttering irritably.

The dust swirling nearby soon settled. Supporting herself with her knightly sword, Lilith staggered to her feet.

“How dare you injure me! Damn dead-blood vampire!” she snarled at White Night.

Although White Night’s attack had not endangered her life, Lilith had temporarily lost the ability to fight.

“Star Whisper, no one will be able to stand in front of you next time. Let’s see where you run then!”

White Night cast an angry glance at Lilith, who had blocked his attack, and charged toward Star Whisper once more.

“White Night!”

A woman’s voice suddenly rang out beside the three of them.

“Snow Orchid!”

Hearing the voice, the gravely wounded Lilith cried out in delighted surprise.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

Ashius, who had gone in search of Snow Orchid and the Duke of Wind, appeared at Lilith’s side and asked anxiously.

“I’m fine. I’m not dead yet,” Lilith replied. Then she turned angrily toward White Night.

“Heh. So everyone is here now?” White Night said with a smile, looking at Snow Orchid, who stood beside Star Whisper glaring furiously at him, and the Duke of Wind, who stood before Lilith. “But you still aren’t enough to matter. The lot of you are utterly incapable of standing against me.”

At that, White Night’s voice suddenly turned deathly cold.

“So all of you can go and die! Liliana will need companions in the afterlife!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a pair of enormous dark-golden bat wings unfurled from his back. Blood-red light flickered in his pupils, lending him an eerie, demonic appearance. The claws on both hands turned scarlet, while his long black hair stirred behind him despite the absence of wind. His overwhelming magical power seemed to freeze the very air.

“What incredible power. Is this his true strength?” the Duke of Wind murmured as he sensed White Night’s might. “He certainly has the strength to be arrogant.”

Then he smiled.

“But that makes things interesting, doesn’t it? I haven’t been wasting these years. Let me see just how far I still am from the power of a prince.”

Powerful magic began to surge from the Duke of Wind as well.

“Wind Serpent!”

With his roar, a colossal blue serpent formed from raging winds appeared before White Night. Its enormous body crushed the entire abandoned building into ruins.

“Hmph. What a boring little trick!”

Above the rubble, White Night hovered in the night sky, beating his wings as he looked down at the blue serpent before him. His eyes were filled with contempt.

“Blood Knight, take Her Highness Lilith and that boy called Star Whisper and leave this place.”

The Duke of Wind, sheltered within the serpent’s coils, spoke to Snow Orchid.

“Duke of Wind?” Snow Orchid asked in confusion.

“I hate to admit it, but there is a considerable gap between our strength and his. Anger and determination alone cannot make up for it. Right now, we have no chance of victory.”

The Duke of Wind gave a bitter smile.

“So I will hold him here while you take them away. I am not his target, so I will not be in much danger. But you, Her Highness Lilith, and that boy called Star Whisper are different. This madman now considers everyone connected to Her Highness Liliana a target.”

“Understood.”

Snow Orchid clenched her teeth.

“Be careful. Come back alive.”

“Do not worry. In any case, I am the third of the Thirteen Judges. He is not qualified to kill me.”

The Duke of Wind smiled at her.

“Star Whisper, Her Highness Lilith, we are leaving!”

Snow Orchid called out to them.

“Leaving? White Night is right here! How can I leave? Haven’t we been waiting for this very moment? The one who killed Lilith is standing right in front of me. How could I possibly walk away?”

Star Whisper shouted at Snow Orchid.

“Take revenge for Her Highness Liliana with the strength you possess now? If you want to die, I will not stop you. I will avenge Her Highness Liliana myself.”

Without waiting for Star Whisper’s response, Snow Orchid turned to Ashius and said, “Ashius, take Her Highness Lilith and leave.”

Then she spread the bat wings behind her and flew in the direction opposite White Night. Ashius followed close behind, carrying the badly wounded Lilith.

Watching Snow Orchid depart, Star Whisper clenched both fists.

“What is it? Do you want to die here?” the Duke of Wind asked. “You can choose whether to avenge Her Highness Liliana or throw your life away for nothing.”

“I understand.”

Star Whisper forced the words from his throat. He glared furiously at White Night hovering in the night sky, then spread his wings and flew after Snow Orchid and Lilith.

“Trying to leave?”

Seeing Star Whisper depart, White Night sneered. He unfurled his enormous bat wings and shot after him at incredible speed.

“Your opponent is me.”

A gigantic serpent’s head blocked White Night’s path as he tried to pursue Star Whisper. Standing atop the Wind Serpent’s massive head, the Duke of Wind confronted him.

“Do you really think you can stop me? You overestimate yourself!”

White Night looked at the Duke of Wind blocking his way with disdain.

“That remains to be seen. We have not fought yet—who can say who will win? Be careful. The proud sometimes stumble in the gutter.”

The Duke of Wind smiled. Then he commanded the serpent beneath his feet:

“Wind Serpent!”

At its master’s command, the Wind Serpent opened its enormous jaws and lunged at White Night.

“Persistent nuisance!”

White Night furiously swung his claws. Several blood-red blades shot toward the Wind Serpent, carving deep gashes into its body and nearly severing it. Yet the serpent seemed unaffected. It continued lunging toward White Night, its wounds rapidly healing.

“What a tenacious creature!”

Seeing that his attack had achieved little, White Night cursed angrily. He spread his bat wings and charged toward the serpent’s enormous head as it lunged at him.

“I wonder whether you can continue to exist after I kill your master.”

He spoke coldly to the Duke of Wind standing atop the serpent.

“You will find that killing me is not so easy!”

Facing White Night’s charge, the Duke of Wind showed no panic. Instead, he smiled.

“Wind Serpent—Prison of Wind!”

At his command, the Wind Serpent’s immense body coiled around them, enclosing both the Duke of Wind and the oncoming White Night.

“Wind Serpent—Windburst!”

Following the Duke of Wind’s order, the entire body of the Wind Serpent exploded. Endless gales swept across the whole area.