Supreme Magus novel Chapter 321

"Indeed, but at this point of his evolution it’s too early to tell." Leegaain explained.

"Most of those traits are common in reptile Guardians. He may become a dragon, a basilisk, a leviathan, or maybe something new entirely. As for her, she hasn’t undergone a single tribulation. What you see is a lost soul drove mad by pain.

"Her appearance means that her grudge is so deep not even death can stop it. That woman is likely to turn into an undead if her body isn’t cleanly disposed of."

***

Nalear tumbled on the floor with Jirni in hot pursuit. Her blade followed Nalear’s major arteries’ every movement, ready to strike as soon as she was close enough. Nalear suddenly Blinked, but Jirni was expecting such a move.

She sidestepped while executing a circle slash, putting her back against the wall and hitting the space 180° around her at the same time. Yet Nalear wasn’t there.

She appeared in front of a stunned Orion, hitting him squarely on the jaw with the iron gauntlet. He didn’t lose consciousness, but he would be incapacitated for a few seconds. More than enough to put an end to the fight.

She Blinked again, a split second before Lith could exploit the opening at her back. He cursed his lack of true dimensional magic which made him slower than Nalear while using a healing spell on Orion, hastening his recovery.

Nalear Blinked back to Jirni, a knife dripping poison in the left hand and the sword in the right one. Normally Lith would have admired her mastery of spirit magic, which allowed Nalear to move even better than when she was unscathed.

The burden on her body had to be enormous and so the pain, yet she endured it like it was nothing. The knife was all Lith needed to set his course of action.

He interrupted the healing and prepared the next spell as fast as he could.

Nalear clashed with Jirni for a split second, disappearing again just to reappear behind Phloria’s back with her knife already lunging forward. Instead of Phloria’s flesh, the knife bit Lith’s stone gauntlet, making sparks but no damage.

Lith had Switched with Phloria at the last second, headbutting Nalear in the nose before she could recover from the surprise and Blink again. The nose broke, filling Nalear’s eyes with tears and her mouth with blood, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Lith slashed downwards while holding the Gatekeeper with both hands, aiming for her neck. She used her own blade to block, reinforcing her weakened arms with spirit magic. Lith followed suit.

The Gatekeeper was already infused with great elemental energies and now was boosted by Lith’s enhanced body, fusion, and spirit magic, while Nalear’s sword was at its weakest.

The blade shattered on impact, still exerting enough resistance to deflect the hit but not enough to prevent Lith to adjust the trajectory and cut Nalear’s left arm. Before the glove could reach the ground and emit a metallic clang, Lith spun on himself to exploit his own momentum.

The Gatekeeper rose and fell again, this time chopping Nalear diagonally from the right shoulder to the left hip. Lith had the sword reduce its size, short enough to decapitate her and stab her heart in a single fluid motion.

The energies coursing through the blade consumed the corpse like fire burning dried grass until nothing remained.

***

"Does that qualify as ’clean disposal’?" Milea asked.

"It surely does." Tyris nodded.

***

Nalear’s death marked the end of the hostilities inside the White Griffon. Once the master ring lost her imprint, it turned to dust and so did all the slave items. It was one of Hatorne’s safety features to leave behind no traces after the deed was done.

Lith fell on his knees. The rushed Switch and the use of spirit magic to overcome his limits had drained him of any strength. Phloria helped him to get up. His legs were too shaky to sustain Lith anymore.