novelraw Chapter 268 268: The Invisible Difference
Chapter 268 268: The Invisible Difference
Boom.
The shattered wedding hall exploded again as Ron and Maera attacked Ul from opposite directions at the same time.
Ron thrust his black spear forward, blue flames spiraling violently around its tip while the heat distorted the air itself. At the same moment, Maera lunged from the other side with savage speed, her clawed fist tearing through the ground beneath her feet.
Ul didn't move from his spot.
With his left hand, he casually stopped Ron's flaming spear by grabbing the blade with his clawed fingers.
And with his right—
He caught Maera's fist.
The impact shook the hall.
Then, with monstrous strength, Ul simply threw Ron away like dead weight.
Ron crashed through broken marble debris and skidded across the floor before forcing himself back up immediately.
Ul looked at Maera with slight curiosity in all four eyes.
"You are a beastman."
"What exactly is this form—"
Before he could finish, Maera suddenly twisted her body violently despite him restraining her arm. Her other claw slashed directly toward his torso with brutal wildness.
Shnk.
Ul's free hand moved instantly to block, but Maera's claws still barely touched his skin.
A shallow scratch appeared.
Ul looked down at it briefly.
"…You would become troublesome."
The next second, he forcefully pushed upward with the arm holding Maera.
Maera's body lifted helplessly into the air.
Then Ul straightened the fingers of his free hand.
His claw-nails elongated sharply like blades.
And pierced directly through Maera's torso.
Ron's eyes widened instantly.
"MAERA!!!"
Blood splattered across the ruined floor.
Even Lia, Selene, and Drevin, who were busy fighting Si, turned toward the scene in shock.
Ul held Maera in the air like a broken doll.
Then he slowly pulled his arm out of her stomach.
A massive hole remained in her torso.
He released her arm.
Maera's body dropped heavily onto the ground.
Selene instinctively tried rushing toward her—
But suddenly every instinct in her body screamed danger.
Si had already appeared beside her.
A punch was coming directly toward Selene's head.
But before the strike landed, one of the nine floating runes behind Selene automatically moved on its own. The rune expanded instantly into a glowing runic shield.
Boom.
The shield shattered immediately upon impact—
But it bought enough time.
Another rune detached from the rotating circle and attached itself to Selene's shoes.
Wind burst beneath her feet as her speed increased dramatically, allowing her to retreat backward and create distance.
Meanwhile—
Ron stared at Maera's fallen body with fury burning in his eyes.
"Damn you…!"
Ul looked at him calmly.
"It is not you who felt the pain and di—"
For the first time—
His expression paused slightly.
A claw suddenly appeared inches from his face.
Ul immediately leaned backward to avoid it.
Maera stood there.
Breathing heavily.
The giant hole in her torso was slowly regenerating while fur and flesh rapidly repaired themselves.
Ron stared in shock.
"Maera… I thought you were…"
She smirked weakly.
"Don't worry."
"In this form…"
"I heal really fast."
She glanced briefly toward Lia, Selene, and Drevin.
The three nodded while continuing their battle against Si.
Ul slowly touched his face.
A tiny drop of blood slid from the scratch Maera managed to leave behind.
Even after he dodged—
She still reached him.
"So you heal like a beast as well…" Ul murmured.
"I do not believe normal beastmen possess forms like this."
His four eyes narrowed slightly.
"How did you obtain it?"
Maera clicked her tongue.
"Shut up."
Then she glanced toward Ron.
"Ron."
"Again."
"We have to attack together."
"Power up your flame, increase it's temperature to maximum."
She pointed toward the scratch on Ul's face.
"From that hit, I felt his durability."
"I can tell it's absurd."
"We need to hit with everything we have."
"Even if it damages us too."
Ron nodded immediately.
Blue flames erupted around him once more as he gritted his teeth harder.
The color of the flames slowly began changing.
Dark blue—
Becoming lighter.
Hotter.
The surrounding air screamed from the temperature.
At the same time, Maera released a savage roar as shimmering green-grey aura exploded around her body.
Across from them, Ul quietly observed both of them.
"Boy…"
"There is remarkable concentration in your eyes."
"And beast girl…"
"Your instincts are fascinating."
A faint smile formed.
"How about…"
"I take them from you?"
---
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Si effortlessly dodged Lia's sword strikes despite Lia moving at incredible speed.
Pink butterflies of mana scattered through the air with every slash.
Behind shattered pillars, Drevin silently aimed another shadow arrow.
At the same time, one of the floating runes behind Selene glowed brightly.
Dozens of fiery rune bullets suddenly formed around her.
Thirty.
Then fifty.
Crackling flaming projectiles filled the air.
Selene raised her staff and chanted calmly.
"Illusion Magic — Second Circle: Fakeout."
Instantly, the number of fiery runes doubled.
Then tripled.
Real projectiles mixed together with illusions, making it impossible to tell which attacks were genuine.
At the same moment, Drevin's shadow arrow disappeared into the shadow of nearby debris—
Only to emerge from Si's own shadow behind her.
And directly in front—
Lia gathered all her mana into her white sword.
Sharp wind currents spiraled violently around the blade.
"Wind Butterfly: Butterfly Slash!"
She swung with all her strength.
A massive crescent pink slash filled with sharp pink wind and glowing butterfly trails shot directly toward Si.
For the first time—
Si smiled.
And all the attacks landed at once.
--
High above the palace, Zane and Zayne silently watched the battle unfold through the castle walls as if the stone itself did not exist for them.
Priest Paul remained trapped in Zayne's grasp, barely able to breathe, yet the madness in his eyes had only grown stronger while watching the battle below.
Zayne's expression slowly became uneasy.
"Even after powering up… they're still struggling."
His eyes moved across each battlefield carefully.
"Maera already reached low five-star level with that transformation."
"Ron and Lia are around peak four-star now."
"Selene is almost there too."
"And Drevin… maybe mid four-star."
He frowned slightly.
"But even with all that… the Abyssals are still playing with them."
Beside him, Zane continued watching calmly, his expression barely changing.
"They're doing fine."
Then after a brief pause, he added,
"The Abyssals still haven't started using their actual abilities yet."
Those words immediately made Zayne's expression darken further.
Meanwhile, Priest Paul suddenly laughed hoarsely despite barely being conscious.
"Ahahaha…"
"Those little rats are going to die…"
He looked toward Zane with fanatical delight.
"Your stubbornness will kill them, Zane Creed."
Zayne's eyes instantly turned cold.
"Shut up."
His grip tightened around Paul's throat hard enough to nearly crush it.
Paul immediately began choking violently, desperately gasping for air while his arm twitched uncontrollably.
---
Inside the ruined wedding hall—
The battle continued.
Lia breathed heavily after unleashing Butterfly Slash.
"Hah… hah…"
The air around her distorted from mana exhaustion while the pink butterflies of energy slowly faded around her sword.
Smoke and dust from the combined attacks slowly settled.
Then—
Lia's eyes widened.
Selene froze.
Even Drevin's calm expression slightly changed.
Si stood there completely unharmed.
Not a single injury existed on her body.
Lia's Butterfly Slash had stopped inches away from Si's skin, unable to move forward any further.
Behind her, Drevin's shadow arrow was also frozen in place in midair.
The dozens of fiery rune bullets surrounding Si were the same.
It looked as though an invisible barrier surrounded her body.
Then—
Crack.
Lia's slash shattered apart.
Drevin's arrow crumbled into dust.
The rune bullets exploded harmlessly before falling apart.
Si smiled slowly.
A monstrous smile.
"Looks like…"
"You cannot harm me."
Before any of them could properly process what had happened—
Something invisible moved.
Selene suddenly felt overwhelming danger.
But it was too late.
Shnk.
Her left arm detached from her shoulder instantly and fell onto the ground.
Blood exploded outward.
For a brief second—
Selene herself didn't even understand what happened.
Then pain struck her nervous system all at once.
"AAAAAHHHH!!"
She screamed in agony while collapsing backward.
The cut was impossibly clean.
As though sliced apart by an invisible blade sharper than anything she had ever encountered.
Lia's eyes widened in horror.
"SELENE!!"
Across from them, Si smiled wider.
All four black eyes trembled with visible pleasure.
And for the first time since descending—
Si genuinely looked excited.