Chapter 22

Although both spirits were new borns, the phoenix was visibly quite larger than the dragon.

As if saying,'hit me if you can,' the phoenix landed on the ground a few meters from the dragon.

Falling for the provocation, the dragon released its fire breath. As dark blue flames hit, the phoenix grew enraged and shot back.

Watching the two fight against each other, Noah was confused as to what to do.

As the battle continued on, Noah could feel himself getting weaker.

As the domain was supposed to be a world inside his conscience, Noah knew he wasn't supposed to feel any pain here, yet the pain he felt now told otherwise.

"Skadi, why am I feeling pain?"

"Your domain is collapsing from their interference. If your domain collapses you will die master. We need to act fast. What's the plan now?"

"How long do I have?"

"A little less than a day for the domain to collapse and less than that if the mana supply stops."

Understanding the seriousness of the situation, Noah paused for a moment before coming up with a plan.

"Skadi, can you distract the phoenix for some time?"

"Hmm…, that shouldn't be a problem. And then?"

"Then just trust your master."

Smirking, Skadi parted ways with Noah after entering the boundary.

===

Emilia Wyte felt time moving slowly. With blue flames covering her entire body, she started sprinting back.

She didn't have time to think about what caused the explosion or about the unnatural mana phenomena she saw earlier. All that mattered for her right now was to find Noah.

With Turk following right behind her the two reached the location of the battle.

Ice temple knights and mercenaries were engaged in battle as the priests maintained a barrier, separating them from a dome of mana.

The dome was essentially a large barrier created by the elder to stop the mana pulses that emerged from there to leak out.

From the armour worn by the black knights, Emilia knew that they were from the Altar.

Seven years back, when Noah had fallen from the cliff, Emilia refused to believe that she had lost her younger brother. Although many search and rescue parties were sent, they all came back without any clues on his whereabouts. Months after, even after he was declared deceased, Emilia refused to stop and continued her own search.

When she turned ten, she was finally able to awaken her fire elemental and form a contract with a spirit, becoming one of the youngest in the kingdom to form a spirit contract.

Somewhere along the line, she unknowingly became cold and distant. There was only one goal for her, she wanted to hunt and make the people who took her brother away from her, pay.

Travelling with Turk, her personal knight, she was able to find traces of the group but nothing more, other than finding that their name was the Altar.

Seeing the characteristic black armour in front of her, she felt like going berserk.

Drawing her sword out, she joined the battle without any reservation.

The young knight continued slashing one enemy after the other without break in minutes, leaving her enemy burnt. With the support from the elder and priests, the ice temple knights and mercenaries were able to make a break in their formation together with the help of Turk and Emilia.

With the advantage in numbers and strength, the drawn-out battle finally ended in their favour, capturing most of the scientists and knights of the Altar.

Even with that, the mana pulses in the dome showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

From the dome, they could see waves of black and blue flames coupled with ice erupted frequently inside. As if it could explode at any minute, the waves showed no sign of stopping.

"Elder, what should we do?" One of the knights asked.

"Evacuate the people from the village, we'll slowly cut off the mana supply before it explodes."

"I can't find Noah here, he could be inside there."

"One of the captives the Altar held had confessed to seeing the boy in the place of the explosion. He could still be in there, sir," Reynard added.

"Hmm… Mercenaries be prepared for defensive measures. Priests prepare to cut off the mana supply at my command. Reynard, lead a small group of knights and prepare defensive spells to enter the dome to search for the boy."

Formulating a plan quickly each group went to prepare for their station.

As the small team of knights made their way towards the dome, Emilia and Turk followed.

"We'll be entering the dome as well," declared Emilia.

"Young miss with all due respect, it's too dangerous for you to enter," Reynard said.

"."

"Reynard, it's okay, I'll take responsibility for her safety," Turk interjected.

Sigh."ok.."

Following Emilia, Melissa also slipped passed in.

Preparing a safety formation to cover all sides, Reynard, Luke, Edgar, Turk, Emilia and Melissa finally entered the dome with heavy mana reinforced armour.

As the group walked inside, they could see the landscape change dramatically.

Thick sheets of ice and ice crystals covered the ground, while sparks of blue and black flames seemed to erupt in intervals.

Seeing the Wyte family's characteristic blue flames, the others couldn't resist but glance at Emilia.

With wide eyes, Emilia continued walking towards the epicenter as if drawn to it, not explaining why they were seeing blue flames here.

Walking carefully they finally reached the center. Finding Noah standing in the middle of a crater covered with ice, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Although the group were happy at first to see Noah standing, they were troubled when they found he was the source of the mana pulse.

Noah himself didn't seem to be conscious either. Parts of his body that were covered with ice seemed like it was forming cracks. Other areas were burning with blue and black flames.