MTLNOVEL Chapter 97: Meeting The Chaos
The sudden flare of light was like the sun tearing open the sky.
SHOOOM!~
Austaire's enemies staggered back, shielding their eyes from the brilliance and overwhelming pressure.
Behind her, a set of flaming wings burst into existence, each spanning nearly three meters from tip to tip.
These were no ordinary feathers, each was a rippling tongue of fire, alive and restless, curling and snapping in the air as though they had wills of their own.
The heat radiating from her form distorted the world around her. Every beat of those wings left behind a trail of molten embers, gusts of wind scattering dust, pebbles, and the charred skeletons of leaves across the ground.
Austaire lifted herself from the earth in one fluid motion, her wings casting a golden-red glow over the scorched terrain. She rose just high enough to evade the encroaching blades aimed for her, then descended with precision, alighting on a clear patch of ground free from hostile steel.
Gondar's throat tightened, his voice breaking in spite of his spectral shroud. "No way… could it be…"
For an instant, both he and Anast'cia were swept into a shared memory- one buried deep in the flickering glow of a campfire.
It was three years ago while they were sitting close together as Gondar's father spoke in a voice heavy with reverence and warning. He told them about Auren's other form. A warrior both fire and destruction, a figure who stood wreathed in fire with burning wings that went face to face against the rampaging Vulkris.
'Could it be just like Auren's legendary form?'
That warrior had been clad in radiant golden armor, the kind worn by magical knights in ancient tales. Austaire wore no such armor now, yet somehow the vision before them matched the old story. Her blazing silhouette was a living echo of prophecy.
"This human…" Anast'cia murmured, her voice almost lost in the crackling fury of the phoenix wings. "She might be one of the descendants of King Aurelus with an awakened Phoenix bloodline."
Her gaze lowered to the broken weapon in her grip. Once a proud magical spear gleaming with authority, it was now little more than a jagged length of metal. Years of trust and triumph bound her to that weapon- yet here, in the light of Austaire's fire, it felt like a relic from another life, insignificant beside such overwhelming power.
Austaire's golden eyes flicked between them. She could feel their hesitation, the way their resolve faltered. She was not going to waste this moment.
"You have seen what I did to your weapons. And I hope you understand that I can do those things as well to you. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
Her voice held a faint rasp, the exhaustion seeping in at the edges. With one sudden burst, she sprinted toward the treeline. The wings folded inward, collapsing into themselves until the light vanished entirely. The air cooled by degrees, though the scent of scorched earth lingered after her speeding figure.
Without the phoenix avatar's constant pull, her breathing eased, but the backlash was already gnawing at her muscles. Her body felt heavier, slower- like the brief divine form had stolen years from her in seconds.
'Damn it…' Anast'cia had mixed feelings of fear and anger. She wanted to chase after Austaire but it seems her body refused to move.
"Stand down," Gondar's voice whispered from the veil of his invisibility. His tone was calm, but the undercurrent of calculation was sharp enough to cut.
"Let's wait for the others. We can't take her down yet, not without them."
"But she's getting away!" Anast'cia's voice was a hiss of frustration.
"She won't escape me. As long as my hunter's gaze is locked on her mana, I can track her no matter- "
His words cut off abruptly. The chill in his voice vanished, replaced by sudden alarm.
"Shit! Hurry! GO CHASE!"
"What? I thought- "
"It's that cocky Micha'el! He's moving on his own! If we don't warn him-"
Suddenly, the forest split open with a roar as Micha'el descended from above like a blazing meteor, his entire form wreathed in a deep red aura. Branches splintered, earth shook, and the very air seemed to bow away from his fall.
His greatsword was already arcing downward, trailing sparks and aimed at the fleeing Austaire.
"HAHAHA! YOU ARE MINE, HUMAN!" His voice was a roar of triumph, his grin the sharpened curve of a predator closing in on the kill.
SHABOOOOM!
The impact shook the world. A shockwave rolled outward, hurling chunks of dirt and rock into the air.
Dust billowed like smoke from a forge. But when it cleared, the sight that emerged was nothing that everyone had anticipated.
Gondar froze mid-step.
"No way…"
Anast'cia's mouth hung open.
"Huhp!"
A golden sword, blazing with an almost divine light, was buried to the hilt in Micha'el's abdomen. His victorious grin had dissolved into a mask of shock and agony.
His greatsword lay forgotten in the crater his landing had carved, far from its intended target.
Austaire stood in front of him, her stance unshaken. Her gaze was cold but her voice colder still.
"I thought I made myself clear a while ago..."
With a sharp twist, she wrenched the blade free.
SHING!~
Blood sprayed, sizzling faintly where it touched the still-hot ground.
"H-how....ugh~"
Micha'el's knees buckled, his breath rattling like a drowning man's.
Austaire's golden eyes darkened to a molten crimson. Her grip on the sword's hilt tightened until her knuckles whitened. The air thickened with the raw weight of her killing intent.
"Begone."
Her sword blurred toward his neck-
CLANG!
Suddenly, steel met steel in a flash of light.
An elegant, rune-etched blade had intercepted hers, just a few inches from its target. The sheer force of the block vibrated through her arm, forcing her to adjust instantly and slide into a defensive stance.
Her eyes locked on her new opponent, who quickly followed up.
CLANG! CLANG!
SHOOSH!
The exchange was swift, a flurry of calculated strikes and counters between two elite swordmasters.
This mysterious man was not like the others.
His swordplay was clean yet unpredictable, every motion a balance of speed and weight that pushed even her reflexes to their limit.
'This guy...'
Her arms numbed under the relentless pressure. She flooded her blade with mana, golden light coursing along the edge like liquid fire but the runic inscription on the Divine Rapiers seems to deflect her scorching mana.
Before she could force an opening, the mysterious fighter's offhand flicked. A strange metallic tube shimmered into being, its surface lined with unfamiliar runes.
"Target locked," he said, voice as flat and calm as a clock's ticking.
'PRINCESS, WATCH OUT!'
A warning roared in her mind. It was Ovan's voice.
"Don't worry I got thi- "
KABOOOOM!
The explosion was pure chaos. Fire, force, and noise collided into her all at once. The ball of glowing solidified mana projectile struck with the weight of a mountain, sending a shock through her golden aura and bending it until it nearly shattered.
THUD!
She hit the ground hard, skidding across the dirt and leaving a shallow trench in her wake.
'Ugh~'
Her golden shield- her true, hidden defense- had barely absorbed the impact.
Austaire coughed hard, the copper tang of blood coating her tongue. While her awakened bloodline started doing their recovery magic.
In the distance, the elven spectators had their eyes almost bulging out of shock.
'What in the gods' names was that…?'
Anast'cia's eyes widened. A memory surfaced in her mind- one of Auren in his forge, tinkering with some strange, tube-shaped contraption. She had brushed it off back then, calling it too bulky and impractical. Never in her life had she imagined feeling the devastating force of that very weapon on the battlefield.
'How are you feeling, Princess?'
Ovan's voice pressed into her mind again, tight with concern.
"I'm fine… I have the phoenix blood, and the Solguard, remember."
Austaire straightened slowly, her boots grinding into the dirt for balance. Her left arm lifted the golden relic shield, instinctively brought to life the instant Auren had pulled out the strange bazooka-like weapon.
Solguard's polished surface caught the light, glowing faintly as if answering her will. In her right hand, her gold-plated sword shimmered with a muted gleam, its edge poised and ready for the next clash.
Her opponent didn't advance. Instead, with a casual snap of his fingers, a vial appeared in his palm. The red liquid inside sparked faintly as if alive. He poured half over Micha'el's wound, and the rest down the injured elf's throat.
"T-thank you… A-Auren," Micha'el rasped, his voice trembling as the potion's magic worked to knit flesh and bone back together.
"You've got a strong body, a strong weapon… and you're supposed to be the so-called genius," Auren said, not even glancing at him.
"But charging in like that? You looked more like a headless moron."
His eyes stayed fixed elsewhere, as though Austaire were little more than a passing thought.
From the distance, Austaire's gaze sharpened, locking first on the black mask that concealed his face, revealing only those deep, smoldering red eyes. Her attention slid to the weapon in his hand.
The Divine Rapier was exquisite! Its steel threaded with golden lines that pulsed like living veins. and the faint shimmer of the mana and runic inscription on its edge tells her that it is not ordinary sword.
His armor was a deep shade of crimson hunter's leather, the joints reinforced with dark steel plates that lent both protection and weight.
Silver runic gloves caught glimmers of light with even the smallest shift of his fingers, each movement betraying precision and control.
His boots were crafted for speed and endurance, their design promising swift, lethal strikes rather than drawn-out battles. Behind him, a short crimson cape swayed and snapped in the restless pull of the wind.
But above his head, there was nothing.
Her chest tightened.
'Wait… where is his Divine Frame?'
Without warning, a memory struck her- unbidden, yet as vivid as the day it happened.
Thirteen years ago, her mother's voice had been cold as winter steel."The King ordered the execution of children because of one single child he failed to kill. Our suffering, the countless innocent lives taken- all of it began the day that child was born."
Her mother's hand had clamped around hers then, the grip sharp enough to hurt."That child is your half-brother… born of a commoner woman. He is the third prince of Austerra."
Austaire's gaze darkened. "Why would the King wish the third prince dead?"
Her mother's eyes had burned with a mixture of hatred and loathing."Because he was born without a Divine Frame."