Chapter 891: The Weakness That Cannot Be Killed
Arthur stood frozen, heart seized by a painful vice of disbelief, eyes fixed helplessly upon the dark figure standing before him. Her dark yellow eyes glowed with cold, mechanical emptiness beneath the shadowy mask, their piercing gaze devoid of even the faintest trace of recognition or humanity.
“Anna...?” Arthur breathed, voice trembling with raw anguish, fingers gripping his white staff until his knuckles turned pale.
There was no way she would come out and stand against him unless she was being forced or blackmailed again.
His heart thundered in his chest, each beat echoing with aching desperation. “Anna, it’s me—Arthur! What are you doing?”
Anna merely tilted her head slightly, lightning-like mana flickering ominously around her slender form, sparks hissing viciously from her mechanized legs. No response came from her; she stood unmoving, a silent sentinel cloaked in darkness and malice, the silence painfully louder than words.
No...she wasn’t being forced or blackmailed...she was being mind controlled! He could feel how dead her gaze was...This wasn’t Anna but Derek or his people controlling her.
“Anna!” Arthur called again, his voice cracking, louder, pleading. “Remember me! Remember yourself! This isn’t who you are!”
But his desperate pleas were suddenly cut short as Anna surged forward, vanishing in a blur of crackling yellow lightning, faster than thought, faster than hope. Arthur barely managed to react, instinctively raising his staff, forming a barrier of radiant white mana. She collided violently against it, shattering it effortlessly, forcing him to stagger backwards from the sheer force.
“Protect yourselves!” Arthur cried urgently, voice torn with anguish. Yet his words came too late. Anna moved mercilessly, swiftly cutting through his forces, tearing them apart like shadows caught in a hurricane. Her lightning-infused hand carved lethal arcs through armor, flesh, and bone. Each strike resonated with brutal finality, a dance of death that Arthur didn’t know how to stop.
“No!” Arthur screamed, watching his comrades fall one by one, each death gouging deeper into his heart, guilt and horror twisting within him. His breath hitched, vision blurred with tears, as he turned desperately to confront her. “Anna, stop! Please, this isn’t you!”
She didn’t pause, didn’t even flinch at his words. Arthur clenched his jaw, desperation fueling his power as he unleashed torrents of radiant frost fire, ice-white flames surging toward her, hoping to restrain rather than harm. But Anna effortlessly evaded his strikes, maneuvering impossibly fast, weaving gracefully between bursts of fire, appearing again at his side, striking him viciously across his chest.
Arthur gasped, blood spilling from his lips, pain radiating from broken ribs rapidly healing due to his regenerative powers. He staggered back, grief gripping him even tighter as he realized the brutal truth—there was no way to stop her without hurting her. Derek’s twisted control had hollowed her, transformed her into this unrecognizable entity, the infamous Thundering Reaper.
His Hunters screamed desperately, fighting bravely yet falling helplessly before her lightning speed. Arthur’s heart shattered with every life lost, each one etched bitterly into his soul.
Yet even amidst the relentless violence, Arthur could not bring himself to unleash his full strength. Each strike he aimed toward Anna faltered, restrained by memories, crippled by his own breaking heart. He saw only her face, her warm smile replaced by cold indifference, laughter replaced by silence, her soul trapped beneath this ruthless, armored shell.
He knew he should fight her without holding back and that he might have to kill her lest she kills more.
But Arthur hesitated, his strength wavering, choking back grief. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt her. He had the strength to take her down but not the heart.
In that fleeting hesitation, Anna struck. Her mana-powered leg crashed viciously into Arthur’s side, hurling him violently across the battlefield. He landed heavily, the ground splintering beneath him, pain blazing through his body. Despite his powerful regenerative abilities, he could feel his body weakening rapidly under her relentless assault.
“Anna... please...” he gasped weakly, struggling to rise once more. He looked toward her desperately, voice thick with sorrow and desperations, “I know you are still in there...”
But Anna advanced silently, her lightning-wrapped figure blurring ominously forward again, hands gleaming lethally. Arthur’s heart seized, grief overwhelming his senses, knowing she would never recognize him—not here, not now.
Still, he tried once more, reaching out a trembling hand towards her, voice breaking helplessly. “Anna, wake up—you’re stronger than this!”
“Urgh! Argh!...”
She ignored his plea, striking him again and again, relentlessly, mercilessly. Arthur’s defense crumbled beneath her inhuman speed and devastating power. Her blows crushed his armor, her hands cutting deeply, spilling blood freely onto the scorched ground. His healing powers struggled desperately against the relentless injuries.
Finally, Arthur collapsed, gasping and broken, vision blurring in agony and heartbreak. He looked up weakly, meeting those haunting, empty yellow eyes one last time. “Anna...” he whispered faintly, consciousness slipping from him. “I’m sorry...I failed you...”
Her lightning-infused figure stood above him, silent and unmoving, watching him fade into unconsciousness without a single trace of hesitation or emotion. Without a word, she reached down mechanically, gripping Arthur’s limp form and hoisting him effortlessly onto her shoulder.
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