The moment Clara fell, the flow of the fight twisted into something sharper.

The two controlled fighters pressed forward again, chains scraping against stone as if pulled by an unseen hand. Noel didn't move at first. His eyes stayed on Clara's still form, on the way Selene had instinctively shifted to stand between her and the next incoming attack.

A clean finish was within reach. He could feel it. One decisive release of power and it would be over.

But that wasn't the goal.

Selene bought them time. She stepped forward and thrust her hand out, voice steady despite the tension in her chest.

"Frozen Lance."

Condensed spears of ice tore across the street, angled low and precise, forcing the pair to halt and retreat a step. The intent was clear. Slow them. Push them back. Create space.

The response was immediate. The girl raised her arm and answered with fire.

"Fireball."

The blasts struck the incoming ice head-on, detonating in bursts of steam and shattered frost. The lances disintegrated before reaching their targets, leaving the space between them briefly obscured.

That was enough.

Noel vanished.

"Shadow Step."

He emerged beside Clara in the same heartbeat, scooping her up before the dust could settle. She was breathing, shallow but steady. No time to check more than that. He tightened his hold and vanished again, this time reappearing beside Selene, one arm securing Clara, the other closing around Selene's wrist.

A third step carried them away.

They emerged inside a half-collapsed building, shadows clinging to broken walls and cracked floors. Noel lowered Clara carefully and guided Selene down with her, making sure both were out of sight and out of reach.

Selene stared at him, stunned. "Since when can you bring people with you?"

"Recently," Noel replied, already turning back toward the entrance. "That's how we crossed the islands."

Her eyes sharpened. "Let me go back with you. They're Ascendants—"

"No," Noel said, calm but absolute. "Stay here. Protect her."

Selene frowned. "Noel, they're being controlled. You don't know what they'll do next."

"That's exactly why," Noel replied, his voice lower now. He glanced at Clara, then back at Selene. "They're not acting on their own. If something goes wrong, they won't hesitate. Clara can't move, and I won't risk them reaching her again."

Selene hesitated, fingers curling slightly as she looked down at Clara's unconscious form. After a second, she nodded, jaw tight.

"I'll keep her safe," she said.

Noel gave her a brief smile, softer than the moment allowed. "I know."

"Shadow Step" The shadows folded around him once more, and he was gone.

Noel emerged from the shadows a short distance away, the ruined street stretching between him and the two controlled figures. For a few seconds, they turned in place, scanning, chains clinking softly as they tried to locate him. Their eyes were empty, focused only on threat and command, not on choice.

"Well then," Noel said quietly, rolling his shoulders once. "I guess I can raise the output a little now."

Mana gathered in his palm, dense and heavy. "Dark Sun."

A sphere began to form, small at first, then tightening in on itself. Fire compressed beyond its natural state, darkening until it lost its glow and became something closer to a void wrapped in heat. The air around it bent and shuddered, pressure rippling outward as if reality itself disliked its presence. This wasn't a spell meant to wound. It was meant to erase.

The boy and the girl both froze for a heartbeat.

Then they looked at each other.

They understood.

The boy struck first, slamming his staff down as spikes of earth burst upward in jagged lines, racing toward Noel's legs. At the same time, chunks of stone tore free from the street and shot forward like cannon fire. The girl followed instantly, hurling a "Fireball," then another, the flames screaming as they crossed paths with the twisting earth.

Noel moved through it all.

He stepped aside, weight shifting just enough for the spikes to tear past where he'd been. Stone shattered against the ground behind him. Fire washed close enough to heat his skin, but never touched him. The dark sphere in his hand remained perfectly stable, his focus unbroken.

When distance failed, they chose desperation.

Both charged.

That was what Noel had been waiting for.

The instant they closed in, the black sphere dissolved without an explosion, its energy collapsing inward and vanishing as if it had never existed. At the same time, Noel whispered, "Shadow Step."

The space between them folded.

He appeared behind the boy, close enough to feel the heat of his mana. One sharp, controlled strike with the pommel of Revenant Fang landed at the base of the skull. The boy dropped forward without a sound, chains rattling as he hit the ground unconscious.

Noel was already turning.

His free hand caught the girl by the chain at her neck, stopping her mid-motion. She struggled once, flames flaring instinctively, but Noel leaned in, voice low.

"I'm sorry."

He drove his forehead forward.

The impact was precise, restrained, final. Her body went limp in his grasp, chains clinking softly as she sagged.

Both of them lay unconscious at his feet.

Noel exhaled slowly, shadows loosening around him at last.

Noel lifted Revenant Fang, the blade humming as mana and shadow flowed into its edge. He slowed his breathing, narrowing his focus until the world reduced itself to angles, distance, and intent. This wasn't about power. It was about control.

"Eclipse Rend."

Shadow swallowed the light.

The blade traced a clean arc through the air, not wide, not violent, but exact. The void-edged cut slid along the chains wrapped around the two unconscious bodies, severing metal without ever touching flesh. Links split and unraveled, collapsing to the ground in dull clatters as if their purpose had finally been stripped away.

The pressure vanished.

The chains lay broken, inert. The boy and the girl remained unconscious, free at last.

Noel dismissed the mana from Revenant Fang and sheathed it. Then he bent, hoisting one body over each shoulder with practiced ease. With a soft breath, he slipped back into the dark.

"Shadow Step."

The world folded again.

He reappeared beside Selene and Clara, lowering the two freed islanders carefully to the ground. Selene stared at him for a long moment, cyan eyes searching his face before a slow smile formed.

"You did exactly what you said you would," she said quietly.

Noel straightened and tilted his head. "So… can I get a reward?"

She blinked, then laughed once under her breath before stepping in and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Satisfied?"

"No," Noel replied lightly. "But it'll do for now."

He closed his eyes for a heartbeat and reached out mentally. 'Noir. It's done. Follow my trail and bring the others.'

Her response came almost immediately, warm and proud. 'We're close, Dad. You did well.'

Noel let out a small breath. 'Thanks, Noir.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.