Chương 167: The Awakening

Felicity staggered backward, barely managing to block Ravetrisk's devastating attacks. She was utterly exhausted. Her muscles burned from the strain, and she struggled to breathe. The pain in her burned face intensified with every passing second. Every slash she blocked sent a shock through her spine like an electric current. She felt pain in every fiber of her body, even beneath her bare feet, where the scorching sand only added to her suffering.

Ravetrisk was tired as well, but he still had more energy than she did. At the next strike, Felicity finally couldn't hold on. She dropped to her knees in the sand, gasping for breath. With trembling arms, she managed to keep her swords crossed in front of her.

"It's over, Prinz…you've lost". Felicity tried to catch her breath, inhaling the scorching desert air. Ravetrisk raised his sword, ready to finish her. Then he sensed movement behind him. He spun around. Ethan was standing behind him. His eyes were empty and distant, but the sword was held firmly in his only remaining arm.

"What… how is this possible?!" Ravetrisk growled. Felicity saw him and, for a moment, felt relieved. Not only because he had saved her once again, but because she was glad to see that he was still alive. Ethan lunged forward with a clean slash aimed at Ravetrisk's head. He put all his strength into the attack. At the same time, Felicity lunged forward as well, attempting to drive one of her swords into Ravetrisk's heart. Two simultaneous attacks. Two decisive blows.

Sand erupted into the air, engulfing the three of them in a thick cloud. The sound of flesh being torn apart could be heard. As the sand began to settle, the outcome became clear. Ravetrisk had pierced Felicity through the heart. The sword protruded from her back. With his other hand, he gripped Ethan by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

"You disgusting worms", he said with contempt. His grip tightened. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Ethan began to suffocate. Felicity spat blood. Her vision rapidly blurred, and despite the suffocating heat, icy chills ran through her body. Ravetrisk pulled the sword from her chest and let it fall to the ground. Then he turned his attention back to Ethan. With a desperate effort, Ethan managed to move and slammed his forehead violently into Ravetrisk's.

Ravetrisk felt a sharp pain and staggered, loosening his grip. Ethan grabbed his sword, ready to strike. Ravetrisk, however, blocked the slash and, with a swift and precise movement, cut Ethan's throat. Blood gushed out. Ethan fell face-first onto the ground. His face slammed into the scorching sand as blood continued to pour from his throat. Ravetrisk remained motionless for a few seconds, breathing deeply, exhausted.

"You resisted longer than expected…" he muttered.

"But you never stood a chance". He turned around and walked away slowly, his steps heavy with exhaustion. Felicity stared at the sun, partially obscured by clouds.

"Am I really dying? After everything I've done to survive…is this how I'm going to die?" Her life flashed before her eyes like a broken fragment. Her harsh childhood in the clan. The slaughter of her family. The years she spent surviving bounty hunters. Her isolation. Her loneliness. Then her meeting with Leah and Xia, and all the adventures that had brought her to this moment. But now there was a hole in her chest. The cold grew stronger as her heartbeat slowed more and more.

"I've had such a pathetic existence…all I've ever done is kill and stop others from killing me. I built nothing…but what's the point of having regrets now? It's over". She spat more blood. Then she closed her eyes. Ravetrisk approached the hideout. Only now was he beginning to feel the weight and pain accumulated throughout all the battles.

"It's likely they weren't alone. They must have come here with a team. It doesn't matter. I'll kill them too. The losses we suffered today are serious, but the system will survive… I'll make sure it survives". He had almost reached the destroyed wall of the hideout when he heard a loud noise behind him. He turned around. A blinding purple light forced him to squint. Once he could make out what was happening, he slowly approached. An intense purple aura enveloped Felicity and Ethan's bodies.

The sky had grown even more overcast.

"What the hell is this?!" Ravetrisk exclaimed. The purple aura enveloped Felicity's body and began regenerating her wounds. The hole in her chest. Her burned face. The various cuts. The scars. Everything. Her body returned exactly to the way it had been before. The aura reached Ethan as well, closing the wound around his throat. Felicity stood up. The purple aura still surrounded her body. She picked up her two swords. As she gripped them, the aura spread over their blades as well.

Her gaze was cold and distant, completely determined. There was no hesitation left in her. Ravetrisk felt an overwhelming spiritual pressure and fell to his knees.

"This power… is this the power of that demonic Clan Prinz?!" Felicity began to walk forward. With every step, the sand trembled beneath her feet. Ravetrisk gritted his teeth and raised his sword toward the sky. More shards of ice began falling from above. Felicity simply kept walking. With movements almost imperceptible to the naked eye, she dodged the shards with slight movements of her head and body, while disintegrating them with her swords. When the last shard fell, Felicity stopped and looked at Ravetrisk.

Then she moved. The sound of the sand being kicked up came only afterward. She had surpassed the speed of sound. In an instant, she was standing before him. Ravetrisk tried to raise his sword, fully aware that he had no chance. At that moment, his hardened expression broke. For an instant, he became the traumatized child he once was.

"Why, when I was a child…did no one make such an effort to save me?" It was his final thought. The strike was clean. Precise. Ravetrisk's head rolled across the sand while Felicity was already standing behind him. The rest of his body collapsed in front of her. The purple aura suddenly vanished. Felicity lost consciousness and fell to the ground. The battle was over. Felicity had won.