Chapter 200: Catalyst

Chapter 200: Catalyst As Gregor’s words faded into the devastated air, chaos erupted anew elsewhere in the world.

Far from the scorched remnants of the Lion’s domain, Valeria and Riven were locked in a relentless battle that spanned kilometers of terrain. Neither slowed nor retreated; their clash was reshaping everything unfortunate enough to be caught in their path.

What had started as a duel had spiraled into something far more catastrophic, two titanic forces colliding with such overwhelming power that the land itself seemed unable to withstand them.

A mountain ridge crumbled beneath Valeria as she surged forward, her blade slicing downward in a violent arc. The impact tore through stone like paper, sending massive slabs tumbling into the valley below.

Riven narrowly evaded her strike at the last moment, his body blurring sideways as he glided over collapsing ground, moving with an agility that made it seem as though he were stepping across water rather than debris.

They didn’t pause. They didn’t speak. They simply continued their furious exchange. Another collision followed immediately, a thunderous BOOM echoing through the air as their powers met mid-motion.

Shockwaves radiated outward like tidal waves, flattening ancient trees that had stood for centuries and uprooting them from the earth as if they were mere blades of grass.

Low-level magical beasts caught on the periphery never even sensed danger before being swept away by forces beyond their comprehension.

Valeria pressed forward relentlessly, fury radiating off her like heat from a furnace. Her entire being was enveloped in a dense blood-red aura that pulsed with each movement. Her sword strikes grew sharper and faster; each blow was layered with an intent so focused it felt as if the very air bent around her will.

Riven sensed it, the shift brought on by her presence. Initially subtle, there was now an undeniable transformation taking place. The more fiercely she fought, the stronger she became; her aura swelled and condensed simultaneously, warping the energy around her as if space itself resisted her expansion.

The air trembled then froze not literally but in sensation. The battlefield appeared to still for fractions of seconds at a time, tightening around Valeria as though drawn inward by her very existence.

Riven’s movements slowed, not from fatigue but from observation.

His gaze sharpened; his smile gradually faded.

"Interesting," he murmured quietly amid the roar of destruction while parrying another strike that sent both combatants skidding across a collapsed hillside.

Valeria didn’t respond; her focus had narrowed into something primal. Her pupils were no longer just red, they had transformed into an endless crimson abyss, resembling a sea of blood that consumed light and thought alike.

She moved again, faster this time, her body blurring into a streak of red light before appearing above Riven in an instant. Her blade descended with such speed that it cracked through the air and sent ripples racing across the sky itself.

Riven raised his gauntleted arm to block the incoming strike, and the impact unleashed a shockwave that split the ground beneath them, sending debris spiraling upward like a volcanic eruption.

In an instant, they vanished from sight, only to reappear moments later. Their battle was no longer confined to one spot; they raced across valleys in seconds, streaking through forests and tearing through cliffs. Each collision left massive scars across the landscape.

Hills crumbled under their blows, ancient trees shattered and were flung aside, while entire stretches of earth were carved into deep trenches by the sheer force of their movement.

Valeria’s aura continued to intensify with every strike, every step, every breath she took. The blood-red light enveloping her thickened, wrapping around her until she seemed submerged within it. It pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat, growing denser and more oppressive, until even Riven felt its weight pressing against him. She was evolving right in the middle of their fight.

Riven’s expression sharpened as he focused intently on her. The casual ease he had maintained began to fade away.

"This..." he murmured, stepping back just as her next strike sliced through the air where he had been standing moments before. The ground behind him cracked open from the force. "...wasn’t there before."

Valeria lunged again, moving faster than she had just moments earlier. Her sword flashed repeatedly; each strike landed with devastating precision, forcing Riven into a constant dance of redirection and parrying. Even his movements began to lose their earlier relaxed rhythm.

Then something else emerged, a faint distortion at first that could easily be overlooked. But it returned: small flickering shapes, symbols, runic marks appearing around Valeria’s body, forming and dissolving in rapid succession like fragments of something ancient trying to emerge.

They shimmered in deep crimson tones, pulsing briefly before fading away only to reappear moments later. They weren’t stable but they were undeniably real.

Riven noticed them and his expression shifted dramatically for the first time since their battle began; his composure cracked. His eyes widened slightly as recognition washed over him, immediate and instinctive.

"You..." he started, his voice sharper now, not calm or observational anymore.

But Valeria moved before he could finish his thought. She closed the distance between them instantly; her aura flared violently as she surged forward, causing the ground beneath her feet to collapse from her acceleration.

Her blade came down again, not wild or uncontrolled but precise and deliberate, carrying a weight that felt fundamentally different from anything before.

Riven raised his arm to intercept once more, but this time the impact drove him back hard enough that his boots carved deep lines into the earth as the shockwave rolled outward.

The runes flickered again, brighter this time.

Her pupils burned deeper.

And then she grinned, not with rage but with something far more dangerous...understanding.

"Too late," Valeria murmured.

Her words, though barely audible, sliced through the chaos of the battlefield with a clarity that was almost chilling.

Riven’s gaze snapped to hers, and in that fleeting moment, the world erupted.

BOOOOOOM!!!

A deafening explosion burst forth from Valeria’s position. The shockwave was so intense it leveled everything around it in an instant, sending debris soaring into the sky and splitting the earth into massive cracks that raced outward like lightning across the landscape.

The runes ignited, and her aura surged with power.