Chapter 163: Salvation (3)

Adrian’s glowing blue eyes landed on the group of figures inside. Their pointed ears and beautiful features marked them unmistakably as Elves.

Adrian knew it instantly: these were the ones he’d been searching for.

Some Elves stood, leaning casually against the walls, while others sat on chairs or crates. But the moment Adrian entered, every pair of eyes locked onto him, wide with a mix of surprise and wariness.

The air became filled with unspoken tension, the drumming rain outside the only sound breaking the silence.

Adrian didn’t strike. He stood still, his gaze sweeping over them assessingly. Then, in a voice calm but edged with authority, he asked,

"Explain yourselves. Why are you hunting humans?"

He wanted both sides of the story before he acted. Rash decisions led to mistakes, and he wasn’t about to make one now.

But no one answered. The Elves stared back at Adrian in silence.

Only a single second went by, but it stretched like an eternity. Then, movement.

Princess Nyra’s voice rang out quickly:

"Serpentes fulguris, flectite voluntatem meam!"

Snakes of lightning burst from her outstretched hands, crackling with raw, electric fury.



They surged toward Adrian, thick coils of energy twisting and hissing through the air, illuminating the room in a blinding flash of white and blue.

The bolts were massive, their jagged forms splitting and forking like living creatures, each one aimed straight for him with deadly intent.

Nyra hadn’t hesitated. Adrian’s strange, formidable appearance, coupled with the ease with which he’d shattered the door, had set her on edge.

She wasn’t even sure he was human. Whatever he was, he was a threat, and she’d unleashed her most powerful spell to end him in a single, devastating strike.

But to Adrian, the lightning moved in slow motion.

The distance between him and Nyra was short... barely a few meters. But in that moment, he had time to marvel at the snakes.

He didn’t flinch or step aside. Dodging was pointless; the snakes were enchanted to track their target, slithering after him no matter where he went.

The only way to avoid it was to have them destroyed mid-air, but Adrian didn’t. He simply stood there, rooted to the spot, watching them come.

~CRACK~

The lightning slammed into Adrian with a thunderous roar. Arcs of electricity danced across his armor, sparking and sizzling as the force almost rocked him backward.

[Durability: 99%]

Adrian had absorbed the blow with ease.

Nyra’s mouth fell open, her breath catching as she stammered, "What... how?"

Her wide eyes reflected disbelief, her mind scrambling to process the impossible: her strongest spell had barely scratched him.

Her shock didn’t last. The other Elves, who’d been frozen spectators until now, snapped into action.

Their voices overlapped in a chaotic chorus of chants, hands weaving through the air as they unleashed a barrage of magic.

"Ignis globus!"

"Aqua flagellum!"

"Terra spinae!"

"Ventus lamina!"

The room became a battlefield. Fire illuminated the walls, water hissed as it met the heat, and the ground trembled under the force of the stone.

The attacks converged on Adrian from every angle, a storm of elemental fury meant to overwhelm him.

But in Adrian’s mind, one thought cut through the chaos:



’Too slow.’

He’d waited long enough. In a blur of motion, he executed Phantom Flow.

His body became a streak, weaving through the onslaught with effortless grace.

To the Elves, he seemed to vanish, reappearing only to sidestep a fireball or duck beneath a water whip.

The earth spikes stabbed at empty air, their tips crumbling as he slipped past. It might’ve looked like a masterful martial technique, but it was simpler than that.

It was because of his speed... pure, raw speed. Adrian’s 9-Star body, amplified by the suit’s enhancements, made him untouchable.

In a fraction of a second, he closed the gap to Nyra.

Adrian’s armored arm moved with casual, terrifying speed. Not a punch, not a weapon strike. A simple, dismissive backhand.

The flat of his gauntleted hand connected solidly with the side of her head.

~THWACK!~

The force sent the Princess flying, her body crashing into a wooden table. It shattered beneath her, splintering into fragments that scattered across the floor.

Before she could recover, Adrian was there.

He grabbed her by the collar, lifting her effortlessly from the wreckage, and pinned her against the wall with an unyielding grip.

"I’m going to ask you one last time," Adrian stated word for word. "Explain yourselves."

Only silence existed in the room. The other Elves, who moments ago were attacking with fury, now stood frozen, their eyes wide with a mixture of terror and disbelief.

They had witnessed the ease with which Adrian had toyed with their Princess, a 9-Star Mage whose power they revered.

Her strongest spell had barely registered on this... this anomaly. And now, with Nyra pinned against the wall, her life seemingly in his grasp, no one dared to move.

Adrian didn’t need to speak. He didn’t need to project his overwhelming aura either. The sheer disparity in strength was enough.

Nyra’s defiance crumbled, replaced by a raw, naked fear. She had seen true invincibility, and her will, once so fierce, simply weakened in its presence.

Without hesitation, her voice, though strained, began to explain.

She spoke of everything that was happening. Her words painted a vivid picture of the evil that befell her race.

Everything she said had the conviction that the humans were undeniably at fault.

Adrian listened intently, taking in every detail. He sifted through her narrative, cross-referencing it with the fragmented ideas he had. A clearer, though still incomplete, picture began to form in his mind.

’The king... I never knew him to be such a person.’



When she finally finished, a tense silence descended once more. Adrian released his grip on her collar, and Nyra sagged against the wall before slowly righting herself.

"Where are those you captured?" Adrian’s voice came calmly.

Nyra blinked, surprised by his sudden shift in demeanor. Seeing that his initial hostility had seemingly waned, that he wasn’t immediately condemning them, she began to explain more readily.

Adrian absorbed it all. His next step was clear: he had to free them. But what of the Elves? If he simply left them here, they could escalate the conflict further. They were clearly the strongest mages present in the Kingdom, and it wasn’t safe to let them wander about.

His decision was swift. He couldn’t afford to leave such a volatile element behind.

"I can’t just leave you here. You’re still a threat to the peace, and potentially, to yourselves." He paused, allowing his words to sink in.

"But I have a place where I can keep you. As long as you remain compliant, I’ll store you there. It might not be to your liking, but you’ll be safe, and I will return you to your kingdom once this is resolved."

Nyra’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of suspicion returning. She glanced at her companions, then back at Adrian. "Or...?"

"Or I kill you," Adrian answered simply, his tone chillingly devoid of emotion.

"It’s that easy. I can’t force you into this place, so if you struggle, I’ll have no other choice than to unalive you instead."

Nyra stared at him as her mind raced. She wondered if they could still challenge him, despite his earlier dominance. But reason won out. The fight would be spectacular, but ultimately, futile.

With a reluctant nod, she muttered, "Fine. We’ll go."