Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2161: Clean Up (bonus Chapter)

The cold voice snapped the Ninth-stage Necromancer out of his daze. He spun around just in time to see Elder Voss’s flaming sword descending toward him. He raised a hasty barrier of darkness, but the impact still forced him back several steps. Sparks and black mist exploded from the point of contact.

Elder Voss did not give him a moment to recover. Her flames burned hotter than before, the air around her shimmering with intense heat. She pressed forward with a series of rapid, powerful strikes, each one heavier than the last. The Necromancer was forced fully onto the defensive, his earlier coordination with Liora completely broken.

Liora tried to support him, launching sharp wind blades and compressed air spears from the side. Elder Voss swept her free hand outward without even looking. A wide arc of fire intercepted the attacks and continued forward, forcing Liora to leap back. The elder’s eyes, however, remained locked on the Ninth-stage Necromancer.

She had already decided the order.

A dense spear of pure flame formed above her shoulder and shot toward the Necromancer’s chest. He crossed both arms and poured darkness elemental energy into a thick shield. The flaming spear struck with a loud explosion, pushing him further back and cracking the stone floor beneath his feet. In that same instant Elder Voss turned into a streak of fire and appeared beside Liora.

Liora’s eyes widened. She was still trying to regain her footing from the earlier attack, and given how fixated Elder Voss had been on the Necromancer, she had not expected the sudden change in target.

She tried to form a wind barrier, but Elder Voss’s sword was already swinging. The flaming blade cut through the incomplete defense and sliced deeply across Liora’s torso. Blood sprayed into the air as the traitor staggered, her aura fluctuating wildly. The smell of charred flesh spread quickly.

”You...!” Liora gasped, clutching the wound.

Elder Voss’s expression remained cold. ”This is for the city you betrayed.”

She thrust her sword forward. The blade of fire pierced straight through Liora’s chest. The Eighth-stage woman’s eyes went wide with pain and disbelief. Her body trembled once. She tried to reach for Elder Voss, but her arm only stretched a few inches before her strength failed. The light faded from her eyes and her body went completely limp. Elder Voss pulled the sword free and let the corpse fall to the ground.

The Ninth-stage Necromancer stared in shock at Liora’s lifeless body. A hint of hesitation flashed across his face. Grey had already killed the three Ninth-stage Sovereigns who had been holding him down, which meant he was now free to help the others. With Liora dead, the Necromancer known as Elder Kael saw no reason to continue fighting. Staying any longer would only mean death.

He turned and tried to escape.

Elder Voss noticed immediately and flew straight into his path, snorting coldly. ”Where do you think you’re going?”

The two clashed violently once more, the force of their exchanges sending fresh cracks through the already damaged hall.

While their battle continued, Grey stood beside the motionless body of the array master. Shattered fragments of the golden shield floated around the corpse, their light flickering weakly before dispersing into the air as fading particles.

Grey stood over the body, breathing steadily. His silver scales were chipped and stained in several places, and the injury in his side still ached, but his eyes remained calm. He glanced once at the two dead Ninth-stage Necromancers not far from him, then turned his attention to the rest of the hall.

His gaze quickly found Elder Voss locked in combat with the last Ninth-stage Necromancer. On the far side, Reynolds and Void were finishing the final two lower-stage enemies. They clearly did not need his help.

Grey crossed the ruined hall in a few swift bursts of speed and arrived at the edge of Elder Voss’s battle. The Ninth-stage Necromancer noticed him at once. When he confirmed the complete absence of the array master’s aura, his face went pale. He had already suspected the outcome after seeing that final attack, yet the reality of it still shocked him.

”You... killed them all?”

Grey did not bother to answer. He simply stepped forward and joined the fight.

The Necromancer was already under heavy pressure from Elder Voss. With Grey adding his attacks from the opposite side, the man found himself completely overwhelmed. Blue flames and lightning crashed into him from one direction while Elder Voss’s relentless fire techniques hammered him from the other. Every time he tried to focus on one opponent, the other forced him to defend. Either Grey or Elder Voss would have been a difficult match for him in a one-on-one fight. Facing both at the same time left him with almost no chance.

A darkness barrier he raised to block Elder Voss was shattered by a concentrated spear of Grey’s blue flames. Before he could form another defense, Elder Voss’s flaming sword cut across his shoulder, drawing a deep wound. He staggered, and Grey followed up with a heavy palm strike coated in earth and wind that sent him crashing into a broken pillar.

The Necromancer coughed blood and tried to rise, his aura flickering dangerously. Elder Voss gave him no chance. She closed the distance in a burst of fire and drove her sword forward with both hands.

The flaming blade pierced through the Necromancer’s chest and out his back, but he managed to twist just enough to keep it from striking a vital point. Coughing up another mouthful of blood, he forced Elder Voss back with a desperate surge of darkness spikes.

Elder Voss retreated a step. Before the Necromancer could even catch his breath, Grey gestured upward with two fingers. A thick earth pillar shot out from the ground beneath the man, who was still on all fours after forcing back Elder Voss. The pillar slammed into the freshly pierced and burned wound on his chest. The clear sound of breaking bones rang out as the force launched him into the air.

As the Necromancer flew upward, Elder Voss appeared above him and struck.

He had no time to stop his momentum or raise any defense. He crashed directly into her attack. His eyes widened in final disbelief as he looked down at the sword protruding from his body, then at Elder Voss. Strength left him completely. His body slumped and fell from the air as the last Ninth-stage Necromancer of the group died.

Elder Voss dispersed her flaming sword. The flames around her body slowly died down. She glanced at Grey, who stood a short distance away with his arms lowered.

”Impressive.”