Preparation (3)

Aurora Earhart

I quickly glanced at my knights to assess their condition. Kiall was helping two knights to their feet—they seemed unharmed and had managed to brace themselves before landing. On the other side, the remaining three were also ready and awaiting my next orders.

Letting out a mental sigh of relief, I turned my attention back to the woman, whom I suspected to be the cause of the lightning-fast attack from earlier.

— Why are you staring at me like that? Sorry, but I'm not into girls, — she smirked.

— Tsk, — I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

Her playful tone didn't unsettle me, but the absurdity of the situation did. We were surrounded by about fifty guards, all with their swords and spells aimed at us, and at the center of this chaos stood the woman, mockingly watching me as if I were a toy in her hands.

Judging by her power alone, I could tell she was at least at the first stage of the Raging Flame. That was a level most mages—even elite academy instructors—could only dream of reaching. While not the pinnacle of magical mastery, it made her a formidable opponent. I was at the second stage of Blazing Spark in mana and the first stage of Starry Whirl in aura.

The rest of the guards and mages surrounding her were significantly weaker—most were at the first stage of Blazing Spark or the second stage of Moonlit Slice, which was manageable for my knights and Kiall. But the woman herself was a different story—only I could handle her.

My eyes met Kiall's, and with a subtle nod, I silently gave him the order. He returned the nod, understanding my signal perfectly.

I focused my aura around my sword, causing a radiant glow to appear as if thousands of stars danced along the blade. The woman's eyes widened slightly in surprise, as if she had never seen anything like it.

With my left hand, I channeled mana into the sword, wrapping the aura in blue flames, forming a blazing blade.

— Wow, wow! How beautiful! — she exclaimed, clearly impressed. — When I cut off your legs, can you teach me that?

Her mocking tone only fueled my irritation. Did she really think I wasn't a threat to her?

I may not be the strongest in the Earhart family, but to underestimate me to this degree?!

Frustration boiled within me, and without wasting another second, I lunged at her, releasing a stream of blue flames from my sword, enhanced with aura. The attack roared toward her, obliterating everything in its path.

But instead of facing the attack head-on, the woman surrounded herself in lightning and vanished with incredible speed, dodging the strike. My flames crashed into the cave wall, leaving a massive hole in its wake.

Meanwhile, my knights and Kiall had charged into battle, engaging the guards and mages, leaving me to focus solely on my primary target.

I scanned the cave, searching for any sign of her presence. Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine—I felt someone behind me.

— Looking for me, friend? — her mocking voice came from right behind me.

I reacted instantly, spinning around and slashing with my sword, but all I hit was empty rock, leaving a massive gouge where my blade had struck.

In that moment, I saw a flash of yellow light above me. A bolt of lightning shot down from above. I raised my sword, infused with aura and mana, to block the strike.

I quickly glanced around to confirm that my men were still okay. They continued fighting without being caught in the blast of lightning, which gave me a momentary sense of relief—but not for long.

— Wow! The Earhart Guardians really are as strong as they say. Or are you just an exception? — her voice echoed from the left.

Her sickly sweet voice filled the air, followed by three bolts of lightning from different directions. I barely managed to deflect the first with my sword, dodged the second, and immediately spun toward the source of the third.

But just as I was about to reach her, she vanished again in a flash of lightning.

This is starting to get annoying.

If I didn't find a way to stop her, she'd continue this cat-and-mouse game—striking and fleeing over and over.

She was truly a master of her element. Her control over lightning was so precise, it was as if she had fused with the element itself, becoming an embodiment of the Thunder God. But she had to have weaknesses.

I expanded my mana, searching for her magical signature.

There!

I whirled around 180 degrees, honing in on a single signature that stood out from the others, apart from Kiall's, whose energy I knew intimately.

The woman sat perched on one of the cages, a smug grin plastered across her face, as if flaunting her superiority.

Either she was provoking me, or I had worked myself into such a state that every one of her actions irritated me.

Pushing aside unnecessary thoughts, I drove Graving into the ground and channeled my mana into it. A wave of fire erupted from the blade, surging toward her like a tsunami, incinerating everything in its path. The strike obliterated several guards and mages who hadn't expected such an attack.

But when the flames reached the woman, she merely smiled and vanished again in a flash of lightning.

Wasting no time, I refocused on her mana signature and, enhancing my legs with mana, leaped toward her, propelling myself with a burst of fire. In an instant, I was right in front of her, locking eyes with her. This time, her pupils widened in surprise—she hadn't expected me to close the distance so quickly.

It seems she truly underestimated me.

I swung my sword, aiming for her head, but instead of using her lightning to escape, she blocked the strike, channeling mana into her hands.

— Kkh! — the woman let out a small grunt.

My brow furrowed. First, she hadn't used her teleportation, and second, she managed to stop my blade with just mana, though with visible strain.

I quickly realized that this woman wasn't some average mage. Her strength and speed were impressive.

— Who are you? — I demanded, searching for answers in her smug expression.

— Just a servant to my master, — she replied with her usual smirk.

— Then who is your master?

— That's something you don't need to know, Aurora Earhart.

As soon as she finished speaking, she pushed my blade away and unleashed a bolt of lightning at me. But something was off. Easily deflecting the attack, I noticed that the lightning changed direction mid-air, heading straight for one of my knights.

— Hey! — I shouted, trying to warn him.

But it was too late. The lightning bolt pierced through the knight, and he collapsed to the ground with a final gasp.

Grinding my teeth in fury, I turned back to the mage, but she was already upon me, her fists crackling with electricity, aimed directly at my chest. I met her strike with my sword, and the moment our powers clashed, an explosion rocked the cave. The force flung me backward, but I managed to twist in midair, using the rocky wall to push myself back toward her. Yet, another charged blow from her fists sent me flying again.

It seemed like those punches were charged with a special kind of lightning.

As I landed, I quickly assessed the situation. The woman wasn't giving me a moment's rest—her lightning bolts came at me one after the other. Dodging each one, I glanced at her. Now, in her hands was a bow made of pure lightning, and she effortlessly conjured arrows from thin air, pulling back the string with astonishing ease.

Incredible mana control…

She reminded me of Raphael. He, too, was adept at adapting his tactics mid-battle, manipulating ice with the same grace. But unlike him, her attacks could actually kill me.

I decided to stop overthinking. I conjured a barrier of fire around myself and strengthened it with aura, deflecting several of her attacks that no longer had the power to break through my defense.

If it weren't for the aura, she could've easily shattered my barrier… terrifyingly strong.

— My lady! — I heard Kiall's familiar voice. He was covered in blood, finishing off the last guard.

— We'll assist you! — shouted the remaining knights, now reduced to just three, as they charged at the mage.

— No! Stay back! — I yelled, knowing they stood no chance against her.

Dammit, even I, an Earhart Guardian, was barely keeping up with this woman. Those knights were walking straight into their deaths!

But they didn't listen, already halfway to the bow-wielding mage. With a mocking smile, the woman muttered:

— Fools…

She leaped into the air, releasing four lightning arrows—one aimed at each of them, and one at Kiall. I instantly activated my barrier, protecting the knight closest to me, trusting that Kiall could handle the attack on his own.

As expected, Kiall used his wind magic to evade the arrow and even managed to save one of the knights. But the last knight couldn't dodge in time—an arrow struck him, igniting his body in an instant. Within seconds, he was reduced to a blazing torch, leaving behind nothing but a smoldering, charred corpse and a discarded sword beside him.

Dammit… That's on me. My incompetence led to this.

I turned my gaze back to the mage, who had landed gracefully on the ground. Her expression showed dissatisfaction.

— Tsk, I thought I'd kill more of them... — she said with a hint of disappointment.

I kept silent, trying to gauge her condition. Despite the intense, albeit brief, battle, she didn't look the least bit fatigued.

— Well, — she continued with a sly grin, — time for me to go. But don't worry, you'll still have plenty to entertain yourselves with.

She pulled a device from her cloak, something resembling a remote, and pressed a button. The massive iron doors that had been locked began to creak open slowly. A horrifying stench poured from beyond them, so foul that I had to cover my nose.

— Have fun without me! — she taunted mockingly.

I whipped back toward her, noticing she had pulled out an artifact resembling a cube with an elliptical spiral rotating around it. It started glowing brightly, clearly preparing to aid her escape.

Fuck it, if I don't stop her now, she'll get away.

I poured every ounce of my aura into my sword, raising it high, preparing for a final strike. For the first time, I saw a flicker of fear cross her face.

— First forbidden technique of the Earharts—Crescent Cleave! — I shouted.

The blade slashed through the air, releasing a dark beam of light. For a moment, time seemed to freeze, and then the space before me split apart. In the next instant, the woman vanished, consumed by the bright light of the artifact.

But left behind, lying on the ground, was her right hand.

Dammit… I still couldn't land a proper hit on her.

— My lady, we have a bigger problem! — Kiall's urgent voice snapped me out of my frustration.

Turning toward my bodyguard, I followed his gaze to the now fully opened iron doors.

Emerging from the darkness were enormous claws, followed by the hulking form of a ten-meter-tall creature that resembled a lizard standing on two legs.

It let out a deafening roar so powerful we had to cover our ears. When I looked back up at the monster, I saw a familiar red aura surrounding it, and its eyes blazed with the same unholy fire I had seen in other beasts. But this… this wasn't just an animal. It was something far more dangerous.

At that moment, the only thing I could mutter was:

— Oh, for fuck's sake…