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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
Chapter 511 Goddess*
Alex had just turned to check on Abigail when he saw it, that shocking glow in Abi's eyes. That instant, Alex's heart pulsated loudly, and his body suddenly became hot. He didn't know why seeing her eyes like that made his body reacted strangely. Why? Why did the color of his wife's eyes turn golden? How did this happen? What was going on?
Before he knew it, Alex turned his back from the enemy to go back to Abigail. He was about to leap towards her, but the rogue vampires mobbed him from behind, taking advantage of him getting distracted.
In a split second, blood gushed out of Alex's body as the multiple attacks pierced through his flesh. A victorious gleam flashed across the vampires' eyes upon seeing the great Alexander was being mobbed and was now in a bloody state.
However, before the rogue vampires could smirk in triumph, as if something exploded in their midst, the vampires surrounding Alex were thrown away from him like rag dolls. Their bodies were in pieces as they fall to the ground.
Alex then emerged, his eyes that were peering through his dripping wet hair didn't turn gold. They remained bloody red, but they had gone completely catastrophic, cold, and ruthless.
His feet moved again as if nothing happened as he approached the circle protecting his wife. The rogue vampire had come after him from behind again, but he effortlessly slashed them all with his bloodthirsty blade, as if he had an extra eye at the back of his head.
Upon reaching the circle, Alex cleared his way through the rogue vampires, killing anyone who dared block his path. His gaze locked on Abi's face as the thick mists began to envelop them. Alex knew she was about to do it, so he leaped towards her before he would lose sight of her because of the thick mists.
When Alex was training Abi, he had realized that his sight couldn't penetrate through the thick white mists thAt Abi was controlling. He thought that it might be because he was a halfling, but he had called Kai that day, and the result was the same. It appeared that even though vampires could see through the darkness, their power of sight couldn't get through Abigail's mists.
This was why Alex didn't want her to use her power when he wasn't right next to her. Because he was worried to death, he didn't want to lose sight of her, even for a second. Gladly, he was able to make it.
The thick mists already enveloped them when Alex landed before her. And then, abruptly, the mists turned into deadly, sharp weapons floating still in the air. They were in the form of small needles and knives, and there were also bigger blades.
Abi's eyes were closed as she controlled the sharp silver-bluish crystals to move and attack the rogue vampires. The moment the weapons moved, blood poured out from the bodies of rogue vampires outside their circle. The rogue vampires fell on the ground, one after another.
The sight had the elite vampires utterly shocked. They were immobilized when the thick mist suddenly appeared and blocked their vision. Their hearts panicked because they thought it was another sorcery from the enemy and because they knew there was no way they could fight without even seeing anything but mists. Vampires we're creatures bestowed with powerful sight, they could see in the dark as if it was a day, so they never experienced having their vision blocked like this while they were in the middle of a battle.
So when they saw that the mists turned into weapons and killed the enemies, they let out the breaths they didn't know they were holding in since the mists appeared.
As the enemies' bodies covered the ground, the elite vampires turned to the middle of their circle. Their eyes glowed with nothing but wonder and disbelief as they looked at Alexander's wife.
Abigail still had her arms wide open as Alexander stood behind her. Her dark hair was floating behind her like black silk, reflecting against her silver cloak. Her eyes were closed, but her face seemed to be glowing. At that moment, everyone felt like they saw a goddess.
When she opened her eyes, the crystals that were already painted red disappeared and turned to mists again. The mists crawled on the ground, covering the dead bodies from their sights.
Silence reigned as the mists settled right below the knees. None of the enemies were left standing.
The elite vampires realized that the source of the power wasn't Alexander, nor the witch queen. It was this human they thought was someone powerless. Just who the hell was she?
They began to question why they had to protect someone this powerful, especially since they had just witnessed her protecting them all instead.
"Good job, wife," Alex whispered from behind Abi. He knew that this was the perfect time for Abi to use her power because Alex could already tell that Dinah was hiding in a closed place again. After all, that woman certainly knew about Alex's capability of controlling the wind and Alicia's ability to control plants. That woman was staying underground for these reasons, so using Abi's power now was the best decision. They needed the elite vampires' strength once they reached underground, and aside from that, they need to get through this quickly.
Abi let out a deep breath. She didn't feel right, but she was glad she could finally help. Her heart was in chaos. She didn't know what she was feeling, but her brain kept telling her that she had to do this. This was what she always wanted. To help Alex and fight alongside him, so she had to toughen her heart.
"Are they all gone?" she asked as she buried her face in Alex's chest.
"Mm. They're gone." The mists were disappearing, so she tried not to look at the bodies she had just killed. Alex knew that, so he pulled her in his embrace, and he signaled everyone to move a little farther from the dead bodies.
"Alex," Kai immediately pulled their attention as soon as they landed on the ground again. "The witch… the witch queen's gone," he said, and everyone's eyes widened.
"What? Alicia?" Abi was shocked. She looked around, and she really couldn't see the queen. "H-how? She was just standing right next to me!" she panicked when Raven, who was left standing where the dead bodies lie, as he faced another plateau from afar, spoke.
"Riev disappeared as well."
[Dear hellbounders, I know these one chapter updates are frustrating you, but I'm sorry because this is all I can manage right now. As I've said, this book is nearing the end, so I am giving my best to give you guys the best climax and ending. However, things aren't always sunshine on my end, and I feel like my brain is pretty drained, maybe because I exhausted my dear brain too much in the past months by releasing three or more chapters daily. I feel like I reached my limit, and I couldn't pump the same amount of chapters anymore, no matter how much I tried. So I hope you will understand, and please let me stick with one chapter update for now. I will still try to write more and will update more if I could. I'm so thankful that you guys are still sticking with me, and I hope you will stay until the end.
Thank you for all the love and support hellbounders,. Youguys are he best. Love y'all.
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Chapter 512 Gut*
Moments ago, as the mists started to block their visions, someone appeared behind Alicia. But Alicia immediately sensed the disturbing presence, and she swiftly turned, her sword already trusted into the neck of the man in a black cloak, stopping his advance.
Alicia's eyes widen. She knew this was Ezekiel. Was he finally here to join them? Alicia was about to drop her sword when her brows suddenly pulled together in a tight knot. Ezekiel was hiding his presence, and that was why Alicia failed to recognize him. Why? If he was here to join them, he shouldn't be hiding his presence as if he just sneaked in the midst of them to do something bad!
Her lips opened to speak when the man moved closer, not minding Alicia's sword at all. Alicia gritted her teeth in hesitation. She didn't know why, but her gut told her to fight him and not let him get closer to her, as if her body recognized him as an enemy. But Alicia didn't listen to the whispers in her head and let him approach her.
Her sword was in between them as the man bent closer to whisper. "Come with me," he said, causing Alicia to look at him with eyes filled with suspicions and questions.
"Tell m –"
"Hush, " he cut her off, placing his forefinger on her lips. And before Alicia could even react, his hands were already wrapped around her waist, and leaped away, taking her.
Alicia struggled, not knowing what to do. She tried to break free from him without using deadly magic, but the man's arms were like iron chaining him.
"Ezekiel! I'm warning you! Let go of me! Now!" she said. She knew they were already far from where the group because of this vampire prince's insane speed.
But Ezekiel remained unbothered as if he didn't hear anything. When Alicia saw that they were leaving the plateau, her palms started to glow because she realized he was trying to kidnap her, to separate her from the group. "Where are you bringing me? Why are you doing this?! Speak now, Ezekiel!"
In seconds, they already reached another plateau, far from where Abi and others were. Ezekiel remained silent as if he had gone mute. Alicia could no longer contain herself, and she finally used magic to break free from him. A strong silver glow hit Ezekiel's chin, forcing him to let go of her. The two landed on the ground, and Ezekiel's face was finally visible. The impact of Alicia's attack blew his hood, and it settled behind him.
A glint of anger flashed in Alicia's eyes as she looked at him. "Please don't anger me, Ezekiel. What the hell are you planning to do? At least say something! If this is a part of your plan, then tell me, and I will cooperate! No one can hear and see you right now that you're with me. There is no more reason for you not to speak!"
Ezekiel didn't respond, and he walked closer to her again, causing Alicia to step back. "Speak, damn it!" she yelled at him. Alicia really wanted to trust this man at all cost, but right then, the chill that his eyes conveyed made her feel that feeling of doubt she used to feel towards him before he saved her that night in the Ziggurat.
She tried not to listen to her instinct, but his eyes that moment held no warmth at all. Ezekiel was always like this since the first time she met him. He was always cold and shrouded with mystery, but this time, the look in his eyes made her feel scared of him. No matter how much she denies it, her body was reacting. She was a queen now, and she thought no one would scare her like this anymore. But it seemed she was wrong, and she didn't know why but at that moment, to her, those cold, calculating, and emotionless calm eyes of his were scarier than those immortals.
Gripping the hilt of her sword, Alicia tried her best to calm down as she continued stepping back. She wanted to think rationally. Why? Why was Ezekiel acting like this? She tried to see if he was under hypnotism or spell, but he wasn't. Anyone's magic wasn't controlling him, meaning he knew what exactly he was doing.
"Please… just tell me this is a part of your plan, and I will follow," she uttered, raising her sword as she prepared herself to fight. But then again, Ezekiel still didn't say a word.
"I… I want to trust you, Ezekiel, but what you're doing right now makes no sense to me. Or…" Alicia swallowed. "Could it be that you wanted me to fight you?"
The pitter-patter of the rain was the only sound that could be heard for a short while. And then, like a lightning strike, Ezekiel charged at her to seize her. But Alicia defended herself with her mighty silver sword. Her eyes glowed, and magic surrounded her. She looked like a breathtaking porcelain doll glowing under the rain when she was standing still. But the moment she wielded her sword and attacked him seriously, the doll turned into a warrior.
She was fast, and her sword skill was superb, but Ezekiel caught her hand and tried to disarm her, but Alicia used her other hand to punch his stomach. Of course, the intense magic cloaking her fists turned the hit ten times stronger.
Ezekiel had been pushed away from her, and he landed on the ground meters away from her. His eyes peered at her through his dripping wet locks. A slight smirk flashed on his face that didn't reach his eyes as he licked the little blood that flowed out of his lips.
Alicia had wounded him with her sword, but she didn't put any poison that could harm vampires, so his wound instantly healed. Despite Ezekiel's actions, she didn't want to hurt him, although she knew that the man wasn't even using half of his power yet because his eyes were still black.
He cracked his neck as he nonchalantly approached Alicia again. Alicia immediately lifted her sword when Ezekiel halted a few steps away from her. The silver glow she was emitting reflected in his eyes, creating a beautiful glimmer in them, but his stoic face remained as unchangeable as marble as he finally opened his lips.
"If you wanted to escape, come at me like you wanted to kill me, Alicia."
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Chapter 513: Dont...*
Alicia’s eyes scrunched in confusion. She hadn’t been expecting those words to come out of Ezekiel’s mouth. She was clearly at a loss as she stared at him as if trying to figure out a puzzle.
Even though she always knew it was futile to try figuring out anything from his stoic face, Alicia still tried and, as expected, failed.
Gripping the hilt of her sword, Alicia steeled herself as she spoke. "Is this what you really wanted?" she asked. This was the last time she’d ask him. If she still receives no response, then...
As she waited, Alicia’s heartbeat pounded against her chest as second ticked by. She realized that she really had no choice but to decide now whether to still put her trust in him or not. The dark grey sky thundered once again as lightning strike a tree meters away from them.
None of them flinch, but the color in Ezekiel’s eyes started to change. The lightless moons in his eyes turned red, causing Alicia’s eyes to widen slightly.
Her gaze on him turned fierce. Her long silver hair danced behind her back like black silk. It was dripping wet just a while ago, but now, it was flying like silver silk. She whispered some words under her breath, and lights once again surrounded her.
She always knew there was only one way to deal with this man, and that was to listen to whatever he says. No matter how insane it sounded, defying him was not an option because, in the end, what he wanted to happen will eventually happen.
As power spread out in Alicia’s body, the silver glow gushing out of her skin was a sight to behold. But her power and beauty that moment was something that would make any halfhearted man fall to their knees, not to worship her beauty but to ask for her mercy.
A high-pitched clang echoed in the desolate piece of land. Alicia had finally attacked, but as expected, Ezekiel defended himself with ease.
"Too weak," Ezekiel said. "Are you even trying?"
His tone was void with emotion, but what he said made Alicia’s blood boil. Was he trying to aggravate her? If this were his aim, then Alicia would gladly show him what he was asking!
Her blade locked onto Ezekiel’s sword, but she didn’t retreat. Instead, out of nowhere, another silver sword appeared in her free hand. She lunged her new weapon at him, but he was too fast. Alicia ended up cutting not him but the air.
"Not bad." A smirk flashed across Ezekiel’s stoic face. He was already a few steps away from her.
Alicia attacked again, slashing and whipping both the swords in her hands at him. She was planning to distract him with the new sword in her left hand, but as expected, Ezekiel could block both of her raging blades.
The sound of clashing swords continued until Alicia’s twin blades were like a whirling tornado. Ezekiel’s eyes glimmered. She managed to push him back more than three steps. And then, a silver glow flashed across her moonlit eyes as her power increased. Her blade finally touched Ezekiel’s skin, wounding his neck.
But the sight of his blood flowing down his pale skin seemed to distract Alicia instantly, and she was stunned to stillness for a split second. That was more than enough for Ezekiel to turn the table around.
Before Alicia knew it, her back was against Ezekiel’s chest, and his blade was already pointed at her neck.
It was too sudden, but Alicia wasn’t even surprised anymore. Her chest heaving as her other blade disappeared, a sign that she had conceded.
"Didn’t I tell you to come at me like you wanted to kill me?" his deep voice rang in her ear, causing Alicia to frown. She decided to fight because she was still trying to figure out if he really wanted her to fight him to death. As she fought him, her gut told her to listen and fight him with all she got, but once again, she decided to go against herself. For the first time, Alicia chose to trust someone else more than her own intuition. She didn’t know why, but maybe, this was all because he saved her that night. Moreover, as she attacked him, he merely defended and didn’t lunge an attack at all.
"I don’t want to waste any more energy on you, Ezekiel. I’d rather save my power for Dinah." Alicia reasoned. She couldn’t see his face, but his grip on her tightened a little. Alicia could only think that he might be displeased.
"What, you think I am not strong enough to go against her?" she narrowed her eyes.
"You want to go against an immortal, huh... isn’t that the same as wasting your energy?" he asked blankly, now grabbing her sword, disarming her.
"Even if I couldn’t kill her, there’s a lot of things I can do to assist Abigail."
"If you want to assist Abigail, then why aren’t you escaping from me?"
Alicia felt like her head was about to explode. She gave up. There was no way she could understand what the hell this man really wanted!
A long silence reigned between them as Alicia’s heavy breaths slowly calmed down. "Because I know you’re doing this for a reason," she then uttered.
Ezekiel didn’t respond, and Alicia so wanted to turn to look at him, but Ezekiel didn’t let her. However, she felt him bent closer and whispered. "Don’t... trust me too much, Alicia."
Before Alicia could digest what he just said, Ezekiel grabbed her tiny waist with his iron arm and leaped along with her.
Alicia was speechless. His voice... those words kept resonating in her head. She didn’t understand. Why? Why was this man like this? Why the hell was he suddenly saying that?!
All she could do is hold onto him as he continued leaping in the air, fast as a bullet. Alicia refused to believe those last words of his and told herself that there must be another reason again behind those words. She wanted to speak, but she wasn’t going to confront him on it anymore because she knew she’d never get anything out of him.
A sigh escaped her lips as she braced herself. She felt that unease again, and she couldn’t help but feel tense. What was going to happen next?
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Chapter 514 Spark*
The cave where Ezekiel and Alicia entered started to open up, both wider and taller until they reached a large cavern that must have been the plateau's center. The cavern was well lit by countless torches hanging by the massive pillars. But the ominous atmosphere was dark and heavy. It was almost suffocating. Men in black cloak were everywhere in every corner of the cavern. There were too many of them, and she couldn't see any other path. The cave was also too deep that escaping from this place might not be possible even for her.
A loud groan welcomes them as it filled the vastness of the cavern, and Alicia's calm heart hastened because she knew who's the owner of these agonizing groans. It was definitely Zeres.
Glancing at Ezekiel, Alicia steeled herself as they finally landed in a large chamber, behind the large circle of men in the black cloak. His blade was still at her throat when everyone turned to look at them. Upon seeing them, the men in black cloaks cleared a way for them to enter the circle.
Alicia's eyes immediately fell on the man in the middle, and she felt her heart slightly trembled at the sight of Zeres. He was kneeling on the floor, and he looked like he was in so much pain. His untamed silver hair cascaded from her head, past her shoulders were damp with sweat. The nails on her fingers and toes were black and long, and black horns jutted from beneath his silver hair. Pitch black scales had covered his skin, and a leathered wing was jutting past his broad shoulders.
He no longer looked like a human nor a witch.
Subconsciously, Alicia clenched her fists as her silver eyes blazed as she dragged her gaze away from the man to look at the woman who was circling Zeres like she was a merchant trader assessing a piece of artwork. Alicia's gaze at her was sharp and deadly. At that moment, all she wanted to do was to slash her throat.
As Ezekiel walked towards the center with her, Dinah finally stopped circling Zeres. She faced them, and finally, Alicia met her gaze. Alicia didn't flinch. She glared at Dinah with a challenging and raging look.
But Dinah's face lit up with a devious smile, and she finally broke the silence.
"Good job, Kiel," Dinah said as soon as Ezekiel halted a few steps before her. "I wonder what smart trick you used to grab this witch and made her follow you so easily." She lifted a brow as she looked Alicia from her head to toe and then back again. But soon enough, a glint of jealousy seemed to flash across Dinah's eyes, as if she was jealous of Alicia's otherworldly beauty.
Not letting Ezekiel respond, Dinah's eyes turned sharp as she continued speaking. "It seemed you sacrificed everyone. I'm not really impressed with you this time, Kiel. I expected you to do something more impressive," she said. "But oh well, never mind."
Dinah then turned her back from them and touched Zeres' chin with her forefinger.
"Zeres," she called his name. "Do you want the pain to finally stop?" Her voice was smooth as honey – honey that was filled with venoms. "Here's the food for you." She cupped his face and made him look at Alicia. "Drink her blood, Zeres. She's the cure of all your pain."
Shock immediately painted Alicia's face. She never expected this at all! Did Ezekiel brought her here for this?!
"Release her, Kiel," Dinah ordered.
Ezekiel didn't drop his sword, causing Dinah to straighten and walk towards them.
"Why are you disobeying me again? Huh? Kiel?"
"Dinah, didn't you say –"
"He needed more blood to complete the transformation," Dinah cut Ezekiel off.
"It's your blood that he needed, Dinah," Ezekiel replied. His tone was emotionless but firm.
"I can't give him any more of my blood, Kiel. Can't you see he already drained my blood to its last bits?"
Now that she mentioned it, Dinah looked like a corpse. Unlike the skin of vampires, her skin was now worse than the common witch's skin. There was no more blood flowing in her veins. "It's not enough, Kiel," Dinah added.
"But she's just a witch. She can't –"
"She can, Kiel." She cut Ezekiel's words again. "He had enough of my blood. He is more than ready now. All he needed now is a spark to ignite the fire inside him."
"And you're saying the witch queen's blood is the spark?"
"Yes, Kiel."
Silence crawled through the ancient pillars and walls until Ezekiel spoke again.
"You're not doing some experiment in this situation, are you?" he asked, and a burst of sinister laughter echoed.
"Oh no, Kiel. You're making me laugh," she said, but her eyes were filled with malice. She reached out and held Ezekiel's hand. She slowly pushed his hand down as she spoke. "Don't worry. This is not an experiment. I am certain for this one because I was able to successfully turn Zeres into a full dragon using the previous witch queen three months ago," she explained, causing Alicia's eyes to widen in utter shock again.
"Y-you…" as Alicia stammered, Dinah flashed an evil smile at her.
"Yes." Dinah suddenly said. "I managed to draw blood from that stubborn queen before she enveloped herself with that damn crystal."
Disbelief and anger filled Alicia's eyes as she gritted her teeth.
"It appeared that Zeres will only fully transform if he consumes blood that is much more powerful than his original blood. And the only blood that is more powerful than his blood is the blood of a pure blooded witch queen." As Dinah said these words, she grabbed Alicia from Ezekiel and pushed her towards Zeres.
"Now, Zeres! Drink her blood. Now!" Dinah ordered, shouting to be heard.
As if awoken from his deep, intense state of painful meditation, Zeres opened his eyes and looked at Alicia with those glistening golden eyes.
"Do it now!" Dinah ordered, once again. And this time, Zeres growled low in his throat, and he finally rose.
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Chapter 515: Something unexpected
Alicia gasped, further startled by the sudden and forceful action. Her heart slightly wavered the moment she realized she was few inches right in front of Zeres.
Their eyes met. The golden hue in his eyes was moving as if the fire in them were blazing in utter chaos.
They stood there staring at each other with Alicia holding her breath. Was he going to attack her? She felt like Zeres still have some rationality left in him. She could tell by the way he looked at her, giving her a little reassurance that she wasn’t in a totally hopeless situation yet.
However, that word yet was the very thing that gave her both assurance and fear at the same time. Assurance because perhaps he was still able to fight back or even overcome whatever influences that was overwhelming him at this particular time. But on the flip side of this very finicky coin, was that fear – that comes from "what ifs". What if Zeres was truly going to attack her? What if he was not acting but truly and wholly being overcame by what was forced onto him. What if she couldn’t wriggle herself out of this very big problem that she has gotten herself into?
So many questions, so many doubts, so many thoughts – all whirling about in her head in that split second. But on the outside, she maintained her stance. Keeping emotions off her face, ice-cool and composed. However, only she knows that every single nerve fibre in her body was fired up and all on edge to respond to whatever stimulus that would come her way.
Time ticked by but Zeres didn’t attack Alicia. He remained rooted on the ground, gazing up at her before he groaned in pain once again.
It was then that Dinah burst in anger. She was gritting her teeth, seeing that Zeres wasn’t listening to her order. Curses were overflowing within her – just dammed up by those lips, tightly pressed together into a straight and unflattering line. Dinah knew that she could only fully control Zeres once he has completely transformed. However, he first needed to transform! That’s why she had to make him drink the witch blood now!
With a face twisted in anger, Dinah grabbed her sword and started walking towards Alicia when she suddenly halted. Her head slowly tilted slightly to her left and there was that short pause that gave everyone chills running up and down their skin if they looked at her. Those facing her could see very clearly that a slow and bone chilling smile was spreading across that usually elegant face, turning it into a twisted visage of a hidden psychopath which is currently revealing itself. Alicia who was facing her suddenly had a feeling that she might not get out of this situation totally unscathed – if she even manages to be lucky enough to squeeze herself out of this.
Dinah turned and faced Ezekiel. A dagger flew from her hand towards him. As Ezekiel caught the dagger, Dinah spoke. "You do it, Kiel," she said. "Draw her blood and feed it to him."
Alicia’s head snapped towards Ezekiel. Though she managed to restrain her emotions, she could not help but have her eyes widen a little, slightly thrown off – not by the request itself but by the person that was asked to do the deed. But the man wasn’t looking at her. His eyes locked towards Dinah.
"What? Don’t tell me you can’t do it," she added, her brows raised, obviously taunting and provoking Ezekiel into making a move and acting in haste.
When Ezekiel remained silent, her arched brows pushed towards one another and with sudden fake concerned expression, she dragged her gaze from Ezekiel to one of the men in black cloak. "Fine. It seems like our Kiel here is not in the mood for some fun, so you do it for him instead, Darwin."
Before the man named Darwin could take a step closer to Alicia, Ezekiel suddenly moved, saying in a blunt deadpan voice, "No need. I’ll do it."
That made Dinah smirk with a triumphant smile.
Ezekiel moved forward, cautiously, as he approached Alicia. The atmosphere turned incredibly tense as their eyes met.
Alicia didn’t know what to do or think. She tried to calmly search for something in his eyes to settle her heart but as always, it just wasn’t possible for her to decipher anything from those unfathomable eyes. What exactly was happening? Did Ezekiel really had no idea that Dinah would do this to her?
It was hard for Alicia to believe but she didn’t have the luxury to think about that anymore. Because here he was again, approaching her like he wouldn’t hesitate to stab her. His steps were heavy, slow, but measured – each one seemingly thudding in the same cadence as her heart was beating, which was excruciatingly agonising. Was this the reason why her gut feelings kept nagging at her? It had seemed to be telling her something, boggling her mind – what it was, she did not know, as she had ignored it initially, and chose to trust him. For a split second she wished she had just taken the time to stop and think more about it. But regretting now when the milk is already spilt is truly of no point. Was trusting Ezekiel really a mistake?
Alicia clenched her fists as those words Ezekiel whispered to her just minutes ago when she let him seize her echoed in her head. But still, she shook her head inwardly. Still wanting to believe that she didn’t make a grave mistake.
Their eyes remained glued on each other until Ezekiel finally halted before her.
Alicia was holding her breath as she waited for what he would do next, hoping that it would be something unexpected. A good kind of something unexpected, of course.
However, Alicia’s hope was shattered the moment Ezekiel lifted his sword. The tip of his blade almost pierced the skin at her throat. She wanted to scream at him but she managed to get by with clenching her jaw and gritting her teeth, glaring daggers at him.
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Chapter 516: One condition
Alicia was utterly speechless as she took a step back, closer to Zeres. When Ezekiel also took a step, Alicia’s expression changed and she smirked at him, not to mock him, but to prove she was not afraid of him.
A strange light flicked in Ezekiel’s eyes the instant Alicia gave him that smirk. But then, he retracted his sword, raised it again to slash at her when...
A gasp of surprise escaped from Alicia’s lips as something metallic and cold grabbed her from behind. She fell on the ground, leaning against a hard as steel object. She turned and realized that it was Zeres who pulled on her and he was now sheltering her from Ezekiel.
As Alicia returned her gaze to the man in front of her, her eyes widened in shocked surprise. Zeres growled and his powerful arm that was almost like a dragon’s claw hit Ezekiel, sending him flying. The hit was so strong that the pillar where Ezekiel had landed broke into pieces, creating a strong earthquake.
Everyone’s jaw fell open as they looked at the crumbling pillar.
When the dust settled down, their gazes fell back to Zeres. Dinah screamed in anger. Bloodlust consumed her as she stared at Alicia.
Alicia’s instinct told her that the insane woman was prepared to kill her. She saw her sword that Ezekiel had dropped, and she immediately grabbed it, thankful that the sword was right within her reach.
Dinah pointed her sword at her Alicia but Alicia didn’t even flinch. Having Zeres right behind her calmed her down like nothing else ever did.
"You think Zeres will save you from me?" Dinah asked, her voice shaking with anger. "In your dreams, witch." She snorted. "Zeres will never hurt me. I am his master, after all. Wanna see for yourself?"
Without a warning, Dinah swung her sword at her. Alicia dodged her but because she was trapped within the confines of Zeres’ chest and arms, she couldn’t move back. And she was right, Zeres didn’t shield her from Dinah.
Blood started to drip down Alicia’s cheek. It appeared that Dinah’s blade managed to reach her skin.
"I always wanted to destroy that face of yours, witch." Dinah said, laughing like a maniac and she swung her sword again.
This time, Alicia blocked her attack. Anger blazed in Dinah’s eyes and she swung even harder. Knowing that the upcoming attack was definitely strong, Alicia’s other blade appeared from her other hand and moving as fast as she was able, she raised both of her blades and crossed them.
Dinah’s sword stopped in the intersection of Alicia’s blade.
Gnashing her teeth, Dinah looked down at her. "So, you wanted to fight? Huh? Witch? You think you can defeat me? You think you can still escape?" she asked.
Alicia’s eyes fell to the men in black and saw their eyes blazing red as they stared down at her like she was a their prey to be devoured. Looking at them, Alicia knew Dinah was right. There was no way she could defeat everyone. It was basically a suicide mission fighting them by herself.
It was hard for her to utilize her power’s full potential in this place because it was too cramped. She needed space to fight but there were too many of them. She could already imagine these horde jumping at her before she could even finish uttering her chants. It appeared that Dinah was well aware of the witches’ powers. It was obvious that she knew that witch queen’s weakness were close range battles.
Thankfully, Alicia was exceptional in swordfight. She could fight them with her sword but with these numbers, she didn’t know how long she could last. If only she had even one ally who would watch her back, she might stand a chance and buy more time until Abi and the rest will arrive.
But she had no one. What should she do? She glanced at the crumpled pillar. Ezekiel seemed to be buried inside the debris and there was no sign of him coming out.
Alicia gritted her teeth. How could she still think that Ezekiel would help her?
"Now give in and give me your blood, witch." Dinah whispered. "There’s no hope for you," she laughed contemptuously.
However, Alicia’s silver eyes suddenly glimmered and a devilish smile curved on her angel face. "You’re right, Monster. There might be no more hope for me," she trailed off, still smiling. "But let me remind you that I am the witch queen. I still have a trump card that would totally screw you over."
The smile on Dinah’s face slowly faded.
"D-don’t do it, witch," Dinah looked shaken. She knew that if this queen cocooned herself, Zeres would never transform completely. Her plans will be doomed if that happens!
"Why can’t I?" It was Alicia’s turn to smirk as if she already won the fight.
"You will die if you do that!"
"What’s the difference? You will kill me anyway."
"No!" Dinah shook her head. Her expression changed again. From a serpent to a saint. "I promise you witch queen. I will not kill you. I only needed a few drops of blood from you."
"You’re expecting me to trust you?" Alicia chuckled, causing Dinah to slightly waver once again.
"You’re still too young queen," Dinah forced her smooth voice out. "Think about this carefully, and if you don’t give Zeres your blood, he’ll be in pain forever."
Alicia’s eyes moved sideways. She could hear Zeres groaning again, in pain.
"Fine," Alicia stared at Dinah intensely. "I will give you my blood," she added, causing Dinah’s face to light up. "However, there is one condition."
Dinah lifted her brow.
Alicia laughed, the sound was clear and tinkling like silver bells. "Don’t tell me a person like you expects to get a free lunch?" an amused smile accompanied that statement. "Come on...now you’re making me laugh!"
Dinah gave a small sniff and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. However, she still went along with Alicia’s request. "State what you want then, witch queen."
"Let’s fight." Alicia replied. "If you defeat me, I will give you my blood."
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Chapter 517 Many times over
The request seemed to startle Dinah and gave her significant pause. But Dinah eventually forced a smirk. "How foolish," she said. "You want to fight an immortal like –"
"My condition is not to kill you," Alicia cut her off. "It’s for you to defeat me," she added, her gaze at Dinah was unwavering and fierce.
It was a staring contest Dinah eventually lost. Her serpent eyes turned to a slit before she finally agreed. "Fine. I shall let you taste the –"
Before Dinah could even complete her statement, Alicia used both of her swords to pull Dinah’s blade sharply to the left, throwing her off balance and sending the woman a few steps back.
Dinah’s eyes widened in shocked surprise. She hadn’t expected this witch to attack her while she was talking and she was surprised at the sneak attack. Her eyes blazed in anger and she suddenly lunged at Alicia like a madwoman. Alicia didn’t let that opportunity slip and she slashed one of her blades against the incoming weapon and stabbed the other sword straight through Dinah’s stomach.
The silver blade pierced through Dinah, causing the woman to halt and look down at her stomach. There was almost no blood dripping from the wound but the pain seemed to be there, twisting Dinah’s corpse-like face into an expression of fury. A silence filled the room for one short second before a bone-chilling scream echoed inside the large cavern, as if a monster burst out from Dinah’s insides. And then a maniacal laugh followed. Dinah was definitely riled up and she had a crazy look in her eyes as she walked forward, pushing Alicia’s blade deeper into her stomach.
Alicia knew what this madwoman was planning - to trap her between Zeres and herself in order to kill her.
So before Dinah could proceed with her plans, Alicia pulled her blade out of Dinah’s body and she swung it again towards Dinah with all her might, pushing the madwoman back once again. Zeres’ hold on her loosened with her movements and she found an opening from his hold. She immediately left Zeres’ shield, leaping towards the staggering Dinah and landing before the woman with her blades crossed in front of her. Her stance was perfect and graceful, more than ready to attack.
Zeres staggered backward from her launch and his back hit the wall. He looked up to see the witch queen surrounded by a silver glow of light, giving off a calm aura, like delicate snow circling around her. Zeres’ mind was still jumbled from the pain. He had instinctively moved to shield her from that vampire’s attack but he couldn’t protect her from Dinah’s attack.
Alicia’s gaze never left Dinah in her crouched position. "Is that all you’ve got, Dinah?" Alicia asked, her tone condescending and mocking, trying to anger this woman even more. Her plan was to make this woman lash out at her violently without thinking about what she was doing and that way, she would have the upper hand. This also meant that Dinah’s attention would be focused solely on her.
The woman who was consumed by her anger cracked her head and for the very first time, Alicia saw Dinah’s eyes turn golden. The atmosphere turned darker as pure bloodlust enveloped the entire cavern.
Alicia’s grip on the hilt of her blade tightened. It seemed they were initially wrong when they thought that this woman was a mere immortal who was powerless. Damn! This woman definitely had something up her sleeve that she’d been hiding from them all. What power was she hiding from them?
"I’ve lost my patience. Well, never mind. Now it’s time for me to teach you a lesson about respecting your elders, bitch queen!" Dinah said as she laughed and one hand began to turn black. Unlike Zeres and Alexander, Dinah didn’t groan in pain. She looked like she was in full control of herself. How? Why? How could she freely control herself like that when even Alexander couldn’t?
Her left hand transformed in the way as Zeres’ arms did. Black metal-like scales enveloped her arm, becoming larger in size, and her nails grew into sharpened claws.
Holding her blade with her other hand, Dinah’s sardonic laugh died and she looked at Alicia with a triumphant expression.
"Move!" she ordered her minions and the circle expanded, giving them enough space for an all-out battle. Alicia was glad that this Dinah was now taking her seriously. She had actually been dreading the moment when this woman decided that she couldn’t be bothered with this anymore and just signal her minions instead to attack her while she was busy fighting Dinah. She was glad that this woman seemed to really hate her and that she was easily aggravated by her. She needed this woman to fight her so she could buy time for her comrades to arrive. She believed that Abi and Alexander were getting close. She just needed to hang in there a bit longer.
She was not afraid of this woman. Even if this woman was much more powerful than she had expected - more than anyone of them had expected - she would show them all what she was capable of. Even if her opponent was unkillable, she would defeat her many times over, to buy time for her comrades and to give herself the strongest chance of survival. She would cut this deranged woman countless times and make her feel all the pain and suffering she caused on others - all the pain she inflicted to her queen, Zeres, and everyone else who suffered because of her. Alicia swore that she would give this woman a taste of her own medicine, a taste of how it feels to be cut over and over and over again without mercy.
"Now come at me, witch," Dinah challenged, smiling evilly.
The delicate and calm snow-like particles that were floating around Alicia began to move faster and in a blink of an eye, a deafening clunk echoed.
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Chapter 518 Goddesses show
Alicia’s blade smashed onto Dinah’s but the woman wasn’t pushed back this time. It was apparent that Dinah’s strength dramatically increased with the transformation. It seemed that she wasn’t just a mere immortal lunatic human that they thought she was. Alicia didn’t know why they hadn’t thought of this possibility! If Alexander and Zeres were exhibiting the same symptoms, then surely it would have been logical to think that this woman would be as well. But then again, Alexander and Zeres were not just humans. They had powers from their lineage; a witch and a vampire and halflings at that. It was easy to assume that the transformation was because of their inherent powers.
It seemed it was a mistake to assume that just because this woman was human, she wouldn’t have any special powers.
"Haha, try harder, witch!" Dinah’s loud mocking voice echoed inside the cavern as she swung her claw at Alicia.
Alicia instinctively blocked it with her other sword. However, the moment her blade hit her dragon’s claw, the blade exploded into tiny crystals, showering them both with sparkling dust, as if a glitter bomb had exploded above them.
For a split second Alicia fell in a trance unable to believe that her blade exploded so easily like that. It seemed she underestimated the power of that dragon claw. How strong could she be that she was able to shatter her sword into a million tiny pieces like that?!
Now that she thought about it, Ezekiel, who was directly hit by Zeres’ claw, was still buried under the rubble. It would take a whole lot of power to knock a man like Ezekiel out like that - that was if the man was indeed knocked out. Perhaps, he could also just be pretending in order to not draw Dinah’s unwanted attention again. Well, whatever his reasons, Alicia no longer cared. She was done thinking about him. Her thoughts were now focused on no one else but this troublesome woman.
"Ha! Is that all you’ve got, you cocky bitch?" Dinah snorted but thanks to her blabbering, Alicia was able to react quickly and she leapt back, away from Dinah’s reach. She put her original blade to her left and a new blade appeared in her right hand. She eyed the woman, like a wary prey, as she readied herself.
"I have to end this now and quickly. I’m done wasting my time on you, ugly witch. I will crush that face of yours!" Dinah said with utter disdain as she looked at Alicia’s face and this time, Dinah was the one to attack.
Their blades collided and Alicia was now being pushed back, overwhelmed by Dinah’s inhuman power. But in that single attack, Alicia realized something. Dinah was not faster than her. Even though Dinah’s strength had increased, her agility remained on par with Alicia’s. She wasn’t quick enough to catch Alicia off guard, giving Alicia enough time to react and defend herself.
Alicia smiled, her lips moving slightly as she chanted a quick spell, one that would increase her strength and also her agility. While her strength would not be nearly on par with the dragon woman, Alicia’s agility would be greater than hers. Alicia was able to easily dodge Dinah’s dragon claw with one swift and elegant movement. She was like a floating white thread, dancing elegantly in the wind.
Feeling her frustration increase because she was unable to deal any damage to Alicia, Dinah grunted in anger once again and she suddenly swung her claws aimlessly like she had lost her mind.
Alicia took a hit, barely, but she was still thrown to the ground hard. This woman’s strength was unbelievable! And what was worse was that it seemed to increase when she was angry!
Alicia hissed in pain but she immediately rose. Her heart was beating erratically. The power within her was like boiling water, making her body feel hot. She took a moment to collect herself and steel her resolve at what she was about to do. She took a couple of deep breaths and without wasting another second, Alicia screamed as she charged at Dinah with everything she had. She impulsively launched an almost choreographed sequence of attacks. She slashed using both swords at the woman, one arm swinging above her head and the other swinging across her body. She twirled around, her hair dancing from the movement as she swung down with her swords towards the woman’s shoulders. Alicia bombarded her with one attack after another, not giving Dinah a chance to counter.
Alicia’s attack almost looked like a silver whirlwind, giving Dinah no chance to swing her claw at all because she was busy shielding herself.
Alicia’s twin blades were moving even faster. This was a now or never type of situation for Alicia. Even if she wanted to drag out this battle, she couldn’t because Dinah was becoming too impatient and would probably end up killing her before her friends arrived. She was better off fighting Dinah to death now than give that woman a chance to bring her to her knees.
Moreover, Alicia also knew that her using two blades would soon tax her, so she needed to unleash her full attack now while she still had the strength!
Dinah lost her temper once again but Alicia’s blade met her anger with an even more intense rage Alicia didn’t know she had. It could be because she was still unable to really weep for her dead queen, her dead mother figure, and only now was she able to release that pain and anger on the woman who had taken her mother from her.
Her intensity forced Dinah to step backwards. Her blows smashed down harder and harder and nothing could be heard anymore but the sound of metal clashing against each other. The minions were in a trance, mouths agape as they watched the exhilarating attack. They never thought that a raging witch queen would fight so damn intensely. They never thought that a fight would actually look like a goddesses show to entertain mortals.
But their awe didn’t last because a sword finally fell on the ground with a sliced hand still gripping its hilt.
The minions in black cloaks looked at it and their eyes widened in horror because the sword that fell wasn’t silver and the hand wasn’t the witch’s.
It was their immortal queen’s hand.
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Chapter 519 Chopped potato
In an instant, there was a multitude of sizzling light balls with blackened auras which appeared in the air circling the dueling pair. These bolts of black light balls whizzed towards their target and hit Alicia from behind. The strong black magic was from the two witches on Dinah’s sides. However, the heart wrenching thing was that these two witches were Alicia’s childhood friends. They had grown up together as how true siblings would and learned and even fought together, side by side until the three of them became the new generation’s most powerful witches.
It really was not any hidden secret but was considered as common knowledge that every single witch knew that ultimately, it would be only one of the three who will soon be crowned queen. But on the exact day that Alicia’s hair started to turn silver and everyone had acknowledged her to be the next queen, her two friends, her bosom buddies, started to change. They turned green-eyed with jealousy which had, in due course consumed them until they eventually rebelled and left the Black Forest. Alicia saw it in the late queen’s memories that these two were the reason why the late queen was captured and they were also the ones who drew blood from the late queen.
Gritting her teeth in anger, she shot a deadly glare at the two witches who were once her so-called, sisters, her best friends. She swore that she would surely make them pay – and her payback would not be something small and itty-bitty.
"Oh, hell no," Alicia whispered silently, those words only audible to her own ears. These green-eyed bitches truly have crossed the line. Betraying their long-time friendship, their sisterhood – that is still something that was done perhaps due to personal feelings and their own private covetousness over what she had, and they did not receive. That she could still accept. Alicia would perhaps deal with it with just some personal revenge and getting back on even terms. However, this type of betrayal is more than personal. It involved their loyalty to the family that raised them, their oath they had vowed to their witch clan and above all, it involves the numerous lives that depended on the late queen’s influence and power. They had basically betrayed their own nation! And if that – Alicia viciously thought – was not considered high treason with the outcome of the cruelest form of punishment or death, she really do not know what is.
With the earlier duel, Alicia had focused all her senses on Dinah that she was careless and failed to protect herself from the sneaky attack of her fellow witches. Those black magic balls were lethal. They were spells made to weaken their target as the black magic will suck the strength that is contained inside one’s body.
If Alicia was not queen, she would have been forced onto her knees right now. Quickly, she chanted a spell to counter the black magic, to at least minimize the effect on her. As she was chanting, she returned her gaze back to Dinah who finally snapped, breaking the spell Alicia had casted on her right before she leapt back and away from her.
Dinah’s body was covered with wounds. When Dinah looked down and saw her body being slashed like it was some kind of chopped potato, a high-pitch scream filled the vastness of the cavern. Dinah finally started to feel the pain from the hundreds of cuts Alicia had inflicted on her. Her face too was not spared, and she suffered some cuts. Even though the wounds have already started healing, Alicia made to thoroughly coat her blade in a various concoction of poisons to slow the enemy’s healing and give them the most agonizing pain they deserved.
While standing there silently watching Dinah throw her tantrums and having a bitch-fit, she gave an internal shrug. "Well, whoever can force me to draw my swords will definitely deserve this torment caused by the blades as well as the poisons," she thought. She was not one who draws her swords out on a whim. Only in distressing or harrowing circumstances is she willing to pull out her twin blades – reason being, those poisons she coats her twin blade with, were not the usual run-of-the-mill ones. These were only privy to the queen witch that is succeeded when the mantle of queen is passed down. And the best thing was, there are no antidotes for the poisons that she concocts. The only way one can survive was by having enough magic power to overcome the toxins running in their bodies – but at an exceedingly high price. They would lose half of their inner power if not more.
Dinah continued screaming as Alicia wordlessly observed her from her spot. "I will kill you, bitch!!! I will goddamn kill you!!!"
"Be my guest...if you can..." she drawled her reply and just had her sentence trail off, driving Dinah into an even heightened screaming frenzy. That scene was something she didn’t regret watching, even though she knew she was not in a much favorable position herself.
Dinah lifted her right hand to attack her with her sword, and it was only then that she realized that she had lost her right hand. Another scream echoed as the hand on the ground slowly flew back to its original place.
The intense pain seemed to have killed the last bits of her sanity and she roared like a beast. Her fiery golden eyes, zeroed at Alicia, now more than prepared to take her life.
Alicia breathed deep. She managed to counter the black magic and it had left her body. But the magic had also drained quite a lot of her energy. The all-out attack she launched at Dinah also consumed her body’s power. Alicia knew she wouldn’t be able to last for much longer. But she would never give up.
Gripping her sword again, the witch queen raised her twin blades and was prepared to fight until the end. She uttered another short series of chants and Dinah started to gnash her teeth and fall on her knees. The poison Alicia put on her blade was still circulating on the inside of Dinah’s body. Even though her wounds have already somewhat healed, the poison was still trapped inside.
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Chapter 520 So cool
Even though no poison could kill Dinah, she could still feel the same level of pain mortals felt. Unlike Alexander who wouldn’t even flinch from pain like this, Dinah looked like she was going crazy. It appeared that this was the first time she was ever cut and poisoned like this.
Seeing her, Alicia forced a smiled. She finally made her taste her own medicine.
The two rebel witches jumped behind Dinah as Dinah screamed at them to help her deal with the pain.
The witches immediately helped her but they couldn’t counter a witch queen’s spell. They could only give Dinah an illusion that the pain wasn’t there anymore.
"Kill her!!! Now!!!" Dinah screamed at her minions while the witches were dealing with her pain.
Here it comes, Alicia thought. She knew that once she defeated that lowly woman, she would order her minions to come after her.
The lights started enveloping her. But this time, the glow was dramatically weaker.
Rogue vampires jumped at her, three at a time. Alicia swung her blade, killing two vampires in one strike. But the following attacks came after her like a horde. Charging in every sides of her. Alicia swung her twin blades harder, and swifter than she had ever done in her entire life – using everything that she had.
As those silver, razor sharp blades were slicing back and forth, bodies of vampires toppled over and piled around her as she fell on her one knee, resting her hand on top of her blades. She was exhausted. An errant blade from one of the vampires had managed to get in a lucky strike at her from behind, tainting her snow-white dress scarlet. She forced herself up, her silver hair now damped with sweat and blood.
Her body swayed a little but she steadied herself. A smile curved on her beautiful warrior’s face as she challenged the vampires.
And then, they came at her. Alicia could no longer watch her back. She knew she can no longer protect herself. It was getting hopeless for her. All she could hear now was her blood pumping in her veins and the thumping of her heartbeat. She never thought she would ever fight a battle like this in her life, in her reign. The era of battles was long over that it was almost useless for witches to learn fighting skills in the past hundreds of years. Who would have thought that she will end up fighting a battle so intense like this?
Ironically, she didn’t feel the regret she thought she would feel. Maybe because she had been dreaming to fight with everything being put on the line. When she was young, the possibility of becoming queen didn’t excite her. Alicia always like action and adventure. She liked peace of course, but the thought of becoming the queen and sitting there on her throne, watching over her people and waiting for the day she will reach her age limit was... utterly boring. This was why she insisted on learning how to fight, without relying on magic and she sometimes thought if she was the right person to sit on the throne. But this kind of battle, having gamble it all – her position, her power, her life and everything she held dear – this exhilaration is undeniable! Her eyes sparkled even in this dire situation that she has found herself in. Even in the event that she perished, there truly was nothing to regret in her mind – at least this was what she thought at this moment in time.
But now, it seemed that she was indeed the right person to be chosen as the rightful queen after all. Because she happened to be the queen during this chaotic time the immortals created. This battle pushed her potential to the very edge, and she managed to break through the limitations and exhibited the power she thought she never had. That’s why she wouldn’t regret. She would fight until everyone falls, or she fall.
As Alicia sunk deeper and deeper in her own battlefield, she saw the vampires behind her on the blade of her sword, about to strike her. It was too late for her to move and her blade was occupied with the enemies in front of her. She chanted a quick spell but the magic was too weak.
Knowing that it was hopeless, she gritted her teeth and lunged at the enemies before her. This was it, she uttered to herself. But... the strike she was waiting for didn’t come.
Someone slightly brushed her back as the vampires stepped back in retreat.
Alicia who was holding her breath wanted to look back but she couldn’t remove her eyes from her enemies.
"Thank you for holding on, witch prin- I mean queen." The man behind him said and Alicia let out a breath of salvation.
"R-riev," she uttered his name as she panted. She could see him wearing a black cloak.
"I followed you. I already sent the signal to Alexander. They’re about to reach us. I only managed to infiltrate by acting like one of these rogue vampires. I am sorry for being late," Riev said, his voice filled with regret and worry.
"Don’t mention it. You came here just in time Riev."
"Thank you." Riev’s voice lightened a few notches. "You’re so cool, queen. You’re amazing! Such a badass as always!" he suddenly showered her with praises, causing Alicia to chuckle.
But their conversation was cut short when the vampires attacked them once again.
"Please hold on a little longer," Riev said and Alicia just smiled despite her battered situation.
"Of course, I’m a queen after all," Alicia’s regal response came and the fight went on.
Riev was at his peak, doing everything he could to destroy her opponents and at the same time support the weakened witch queen. He was mesmerized and completely awed by the witch queen. He never saw a woman as cool and awesome as her. Her fight gave him a tremendous boost in power and his determination deepened even further causing his strength and power to be doubled, no, it tripled, and it was all thanks to her. To this amazing woman they all call the queen of the witches.
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