As Astra energy was about to pulse through Asher's body in order to boost his physique and consequently increase his speed, he suddenly paused as he felt something profoundly wrong.

Malice.

Pure, unadulterated, unfiltered, crushing malice.

Asher's body froze for a fraction of a second, his instincts screaming danger before his conscious mind could even begin to react. His purple eyes snapped behind him with sharp intensity, locking onto the corpse of the assassin who was supposed to be nothing more than that, a corpse. Blue's lifeless body lay exactly where it had fallen, yet something was terribly different.

From Blue's corpse, Malice radiated outward in overwhelming waves, saturating the surrounding air to such an extent that it felt thick and unbreathable. The forest itself seemed to recoil under its presence, leaves trembling, branches creaking faintly as though even nature wished to retreat. Asher did not speak. He did not hesitate. In the very next instant, his body vanished from its position, space folding around him as he teleported several meters away.

He reappeared atop the branch of a towering tree, his posture low and balanced, eyes never once leaving Blue's corpse. Watching from a safer distance was the only rational decision; remaining close to such an unexpected twist would have been nothing short of suicidal.

Asher's gaze remained locked on the body below, unblinking. He dared not take his eyes off the assassin for even a single second.

'What is happening?' Asher thought, a deep frown forming as tension coiled throughout his entire body. Every muscle was wound tight, ready to react at the slightest provocation. His instincts were screaming at him to prepare for the worst. If it was something he could handle, he would deal with it decisively. If it was something beyond his capacity, then he would leave without hesitation in the very next millisecond.

Survival always came first.

The next heartbeat passed.

Then Blue's corpse twitched.

The movement was subtle at first, so slight it could have been mistaken for a trick of the eye. Then it stopped. Silence followed, thick and oppressive. A second later, the corpse twitched again, this time more violently. What began as sporadic movement rapidly escalated into full-blown spasms, as though Blue's nervous system was somehow still alive and reacting to an unseen force.

In the very next second, Blue's body twisted unnaturally, contorting into a grotesque and horrifying shape. Bones bent where they should not bend, flesh warped as if reality itself were losing cohesion around him. His body churned violently, folding inward upon itself as though it were becoming a gateway, a portal, for something else.

Or someone.

From the spatial gate formed by Blue's corpse, Malice poured out with terrifying intensity. The pressure was suffocating, overwhelming, and ancient. Then, slowly and deliberately, a leg stepped through the warped space. The movement was calm, almost regal, completely at odds with the carnage surrounding it. Bit by bit, the figure emerged until it stood fully within the forest.

In the next instant, Blue's body exploded outward. Flesh, blood, and shattered bone rained down violently, splattering the forest floor with a sickening wet sound.

The enemy had arrived.

It stood nearly seven feet tall, its physique a perfect balance between speed and strength, displaying no deficiency in either aspect. Its form radiated lethal elegance, every muscle honed for combat. From the center of its forehead, a single horn stretched skyward, black, sharp, and menacing. On its back, a lone wing unfurled, bat-like in shape yet far larger, wider, and more powerful than any natural creature's.

A long tail swayed behind it lazily, curling and uncurling as though the creature were momentarily curious about its surroundings. Black teeth extended slightly from closed, obsidian lips, and long black hair flowed freely down its face, framing features that could only be described as disturbingly handsome.

Asher did not need time to identify it.

He already knew the moment he sensed the Malice.

An Emovira.

And not just any Emovira.

A Rank 5 Emovira had stepped onto the stage.

'How?' Asher thought, shock rippling through his mind as his eyes narrowed. He could not comprehend how such a being had appeared here, nor how it had been concealed so perfectly until now. However, the very next moment, Asher forcefully cleared those thoughts from his mind. There were only two things that deserved space in his head right now, understanding his enemy and killing it.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

What Asher did not know was that this particular Emovira had been implanted by the Assassin Leader directly into Blue's body. The Assassin Leader had etched the Emovira into Blue in the form of a hidden mark, one designed to activate only upon his death. The moment Blue's life ended, the seal would break, summoning the Emovira into the battle with a singular purpose.

To kill the Tenth Sun.

The Assassin Leader had thought far ahead, far beyond the immediate battle between Blue and Asher. It was not that he lacked faith in Blue's ability to kill the Tenth Sun. Rather, he trusted the terrifying potential of the Wargrave bloodline more, and so he prepared a contingency.

Within the Assassin Leader's calculations, even if the Tenth Sun managed to perform a miracle and defeat a Flare Swiftstar Life Rank assassin, he would never survive what came next. Exhausted, injured, and drained, the Tenth Sun would then be forced to face an Emovira, beings that could not be challenged on a whim.

A Swiftstar Life Ranker would normally require another Swiftstar Life Ranker to defeat a Rank 5 Emovira, despite Swiftstar being the fifth Life Rank within Crymora's hierarchy. Even then, victory was never guaranteed. And while there were always exceptions to such rules, the Assassin Leader did not believe Asher would be one of them.

In his mind, it was the perfect checkmate.

A tired Tenth Sun versus a Rank 5 Emovira capable of battling, and killing, Grave Rank monsters, beings that stood an entire rank above it.

"I see… so that is why I am here," the Emovira spoke.

Its voice echoed calmly through the forest, clear and composed, as though it fully understood the reason for its summoning. It sounded as if the command had been delivered directly into its mind.

"Human," the Emovira continued, its tone flat and eerily human-like. "I have more important matters to attend to. Lay down your head, and let us get this over with."

Asher's eyes widened slightly.

'It can speak,' he thought in genuine shock. He had never imagined that an Emovira could possess speech. 'That means it's extremely intelligent…'

Normally, Emovirae attacked on sight, their minds consumed entirely by Malice and the negative emotions that birthed them. Yet before Asher stood something that completely shattered that assumption.

In the very next second, Asher moved.

His body erupted into brilliant white light as he instantly entered Star Form. Space distorted violently around him, and then he vanished as though he had never existed. Before the Emovira could even register what had happened, before it could form another thought, its worldview flipped upside down.

All it perceived was a fleeting trail of lightning.

Then its head soared into the air.

'I've been… decapitated…' the Rank 5 Emovira thought in absolute disbelief.

With a heavy thud, its head and body struck the forest floor. The next moment, both disintegrated into fine dust, dispersing silently from the world of Crymora as though the creature had never existed at all.

———————-

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone, I'm in China, invited by Webnovel as I mentioned earlier. And due to some reasons within China, the update will be unstable for now until I return to my house at my home country. Thanks for your patience and reading.

Also, help me thank AuraNova for the support, she sent me another Magic Castle, and I was also having a VPN issue, which she quickly paid for one and helped me out.

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.