Chapter 232: A True Master

Chapter 232: A True MasterLyra bolted into the lab, bracing herself to find the worst—she was sure she was too late, her allies likely wiped out.

But to her surprise, Valeria was still on her feet, though only just.

Valeria’s once-spotless white uniform was soaked with dark red stains, her blood and her enemies’ mingling together.

Her graying hair had come undone, and she wavered as she fought, using sharp, efficient movements to fend off her attackers.

Then, a shadow lunged out of the darkness, driving a blade deep into her back.

Valeria staggered, but without hesitation, she turned, summoning her superpower.

Her assailant had barely a second to gasp before his body exploded from the inside, leaving nothing but a smear of flesh and bone.

The attack and blood loss had pushed Valeria to her limit, and she dropped to one knee, her breaths coming in painful gasps.

Sensing their chance, a cluster of Peculiars charged forward.

Just then, a flash of steel cut through the room. In a blink, one of the attackers’ heads dropped to the floor. The rest immediately recoiled, suddenly hesitant.

Lyra dashed to Valeria’s side and helped her back toward the exit. She quickly applied a healing ability to Valeria’s wounds, muttering, "Are you all right, ma’am?"

Valeria gave her a hard look, irritation flashing across her face. "Didn’t I tell you all to retreat?"

Lyra’s gaze shifted to the body lying just beyond them. Rowena was there, lying lifeless on the floor.

"Only Ryan made it out," Lyra said, her voice barely audible.

A dark shadow crossed Valeria’s face. "Figures," she muttered. "With so many level-nine elites here... even the Special Force was just fodder."

Lyra had lost valuable minutes getting trapped in a skirmish at the entrance. It had only taken five minutes to lose the entire Special Force.

There was no point wondering if she could have changed things—regret was pointless. There was only forward.

Summoning a pair of blades, she turned back to Valeria. "Ma’am, cover me with long-range support."

Without waiting for a reply, Lyra charged into the thick of the fight.

Her opponents looked young, each wielding dual superpowers, but their eyes were disturbingly vacant, their moves unnaturally coordinated, like puppets on strings.

They had dangerous abilities but seemed weaker than typical level-nine Peculiars in sheer physicality.

Lyra tore through them effortlessly. With every swing, she felled another one. She was halfway through decapitating yet another when she noticed something strange—a small number, "33," tattooed on the back of the enemy’s neck.

Lyra thought to herself, ’Something isn’t adding up. How was this level of resistance enough to nearly kill Valeria?’

"Watch out!" Valeria’s voice cut through Lyra’s thoughts. She threw up a barrier of compressed air just in time to block an oncoming strike.

Lyra countered from behind the shield, however, her sword sliced through nothing but air.

A gust of wind from behind made her spin, and before she could react, a powerful blow slammed into her stomach, sending her hurtling across the room.

Lyra activated a light shield just in time, deflecting the follow-up hit, and she flipped mid-air to land on her feet. Her knees buckled briefly, but she caught herself.

Suddenly, a tear in space ripped open right behind her. Sensing it, Lyra glanced back.

Her gaze sharpened as she leapt up. She vaulted over the spatial rift, her sword ready to strike.

Then, however, her blade hit an invisible wall.

Standing before her was a man, unlike any she’d encountered.

He wielded a rare trio of superpowers: invisibility, spatial manipulation, and immense physical strength—all at level nine. His psychokinetic energy was so intense, even Valeria had struggled to withstand him.

As he fully emerged, he revealed himself to be a calm, unyielding figure with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"Lyra, I’ve heard of you," he said, his voice as cold as steel.

Lyra gripped her sword tighter, breathing heavily. "A lot of people have," she replied coolly. There was no doubt—this was her strongest opponent yet.

A faint, mirthless smile flickered across his face. "I’m going to defeat you."

With that, his form dissolved, melting into the darkness like smoke.

Lyra stood still, every sense on high alert.

A whisper of movement sounded behind her, and she whirled just in time to catch him sliding out of the shadows, her eyes tracking him as he moved.

She sidestepped, only for him to vanish again, sinking back into the darkness.

The walls of space around her began closing in, pressing from every direction, threatening to crush her.

With relentless psychokinetic force, the man unleashed a barrage of attacks. He moved with such blinding speed that Lyra found herself barely able to dodge, her each motion a desperate attempt to keep up.

Around her, spatial rifts shredded the lab, swallowing every piece of equipment one by one, leaving nothing but a barren shell of the room.

Cornered, Lyra felt the walls of space closing in, narrowing her options with every step.

Across the room, Valeria clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with frustration.

The man’s stealth left her powerless; as long as he remained cloaked in shadows, she couldn’t touch him.

Then, a sudden, blinding green light exploded across the lab, flooding the vast room and banishing every shadow. The man’s figure became starkly visible, his hiding places wiped out along with the lab equipment.

Finally, Valeria saw what Lyra had already suspected—his invisibility was nothing more than shadow manipulation.

Seizing the moment, Valeria attacked without a second’s delay.

The man twisted space, evading her strike, but in doing so, he lost sight of Lyra.

Panic flared in his eyes as he sensed the danger too late—a fist, raw with power, struck him from behind.

He turned, attempting to block it, but Lyra’s strength broke through, sending him flying across the room until he slammed into the wall, visibly dazed.

He was stunned that Lyra possessed such sheer force, independent of any superpower boost.

Shaken but determined, he created another spatial tear, tearing the room apart to put distance between himself and Lyra. But Valeria clenched her fists, channeling her energy into a dense wave of air that sealed the tear.

"Now!" she shouted, her voice urgent and commanding.

Lyra moved, a blur of speed, her blade cutting through the air. He swung a fist in defense, but she sidestepped effortlessly, gliding behind him.

In one smooth motion, her sword sliced across his throat, silencing him in an instant.

As she looked around, the lab was a wreck—walls and machines reduced to rubble, as if the room had been made of paper.

Lyra made her way back to Valeria. "Let’s get out of here..."

But a slow, mocking clap broke the silence. From a concealed doorway, Westros stepped into view, eyes glinting with twisted admiration. "Well done, Lyra. You keep exceeding expectations."

Beside him stood an old man, frail but wrapped in dark robes, emanating a terrifying, oppressive energy. The air itself seemed to vibrate around him, waves of dark power rippling out like a living force.

Valeria’s face went pale as she moved protectively in front of Lyra. "A Supreme... Run, Lyra!" she cried, her voice sharp with urgency.

A Supreme Peculiar? The words barely had time to register when Valeria suddenly collapsed, her body seized by tremors, as if caught in a hellish nightmare.

She mumbled incoherently, trapped in some unseen terror.

The old man gazed down at her, almost pitying. "I could have let her go peacefully, in her sleep," he murmured. "But I don’t leave loose ends."

With a flick of his finger, the air around Lyra thickened, filled with razor-sharp wind blades whipping toward her like a lethal storm.

The superpower particles crackled, each wave threatening to crush her.

Lyra’s reflexes took over; she summoned her superpower, casting a glowing shield of light.

Her healing energy shimmered bright green, expanding around her and Valeria just in time as the wind blades struck.

The shield deflected most of the attack, sustaining Valeria for a few precious seconds.

Westros’ eyes lit up, a mix of fascination and excitement flashing across his face.

For Lyra, those three seconds felt like eternity. Her powers drained rapidly, and she collapsed to her knees, utterly spent.

Valeria lay beside her, still trapped in a nightmarish daze.

Gritting her teeth, Lyra reached into her pack and pulled out a rare plant extract. It was a superpower-restoring potion, and she swallowed it in one gulp.

Westros watched with mild amusement. "Surprising, really," he remarked, eyebrow raised. "Risking your life for someone else—doesn’t seem like your style."

Lyra shot him a defiant look. "Are you going to kill me?" she asked, her voice unwavering.

Westros didn’t miss a beat. "Of course not."

"Then that’s all that matters," she replied.

In that instant, a powerful wave of psychokinetic energy exploded, catching the old man off-guard and forcing him back, his expression stunned.

By the time he looked up again, Lyra and Valeria had vanished, already far beyond the shattered remains of the lab.

Westros gave a sly, almost affectionate smile and nudged the old man beside him. "Well, what are you waiting for? After them."

A flicker of fear crossed the old man’s eyes before he bolted in pursuit.

Behind Lyra, a storm of roaring wind rose, thundering like a thousand horses bearing down on her. She pushed herself to the limit, legs burning and muscles numb from exhaustion.

The exit was so close, but just as it came into view, a violent gust ripped her off her feet, tearing Valeria from her grip and hurling her away.

Panic flooded Lyra, her mind racing for any solution. Just then, a withered hand gripped her arm, yanking her out of the cyclone, and she saw Valeria being dragged to safety as well.

"You did well, young one." Reinforcements had finally arrived.

Elden Prime had indeed sent its own Supreme to stand guard—something Lyra had gambled on when she refused to leave Valeria behind.

A white-bearded elder now stood between her and their attacker, his face fierce.

He gave a scoffing laugh as he faced the man in black. "A Supreme of the Empire?" he boomed, his voice carrying like a storm. "Violating our alliance terms? You won’t be leaving Elden Prime in one piece!"

Just then, another powerful figure dropped from the sky, landing with enough force to crack the ground beneath him.

A tall, muscular man with a hardened expression, he shot the elder a fierce look. "Enough talk, Lynn. Let’s finish this."

With no further words, the three of them collided in a clash of overwhelming power.

Their attacks churned the very air, and across the entire planet, Peculiars felt the surge and thinning of superpower particles, as if a storm was sweeping through the atmosphere itself. Some even lost their abilities mid-battle as the particles dispersed around them.

Standing on the edge of the battle, Lyra struggled to control her own powers as they spiraled wildly.

She now understood why level-nine Peculiars rarely fought openly—such battles had the potential to disrupt the very fabric of the world.

In Alliance territory, Lynn and his ally fought with caution, containing the force of their strikes to minimize the damage.

Meanwhile, the Supreme was obviously trying not to damage the Everlongest Mountains. He carefully limited his destruction to avoid collateral damage in the areas.

After securing Valeria in a safe place, Lyra quickly drank another energy-restoring extract and sprinted back to the lab.