Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 263: Emperor has returned

Chapter 263: Emperor has returned

Douglas steadied his breathing as he stared down his opponent, his fists balled and ready for action.

Though rearing to go, he didn’t immediately charge forward, as he’d come to realize just how futile that was.

His opponent’s weapon moved strangely and even his body movements were impossible to read.

It seemed as though the right was left and the forward was backward.

A twisted form of combat that left Douglas unable to fight straightforwardly.

But that was because he was moving monotonously.

Since it was clear that his opponent’s moves were unpredictable, he had to become unpredictable as well.

But how?

Hardly had he begun to figure it out when Carlos moved.

’From the left...’ Douglas moved to the right as he thought to himself, already prepared to move in whichever direction his opponent chose to attack from.

Alas, he was still too naive.

"Ugh."

The spear pierced through his chest, causing thick blood to flow.

Douglas met Carlos’s cold gaze as he held the spear, ensuring it wasn’t pulled out.

"You are an honorable man, but that doesn’t change the fact that you have brought disaster to this city."

"I haven’t," Douglas replied. "I’m only here for the girl."

"No more words. Just die." As Carlos spoke, he tried to pull out the spear but found himself unable to.

Douglas had frozen it in place.

"Useless," Carlos muttered in vague annoyance as he suddenly let out a howl after which the spear heated up rapidly.

Douglas’s expression shifted but he made no effort to remove the spear, instead, using even more frost to counteract Carlos’s attack.

For a moment, the duo entered a lull.

In the meantime, Alex watched on with interest.

Arthur had indeed mentioned that his people had a unique way of fighting but seeing it in person was incredible.

A technique that allowed one to harness the unpredictability of the wild and turn it into a tangible concept.

Alex wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t intrigued by it, of course, being intrigued and getting it were two different topics entirely.

He decided to keep calm for now, at least, until he met with the King of Aragon.

Just then, he noticed a change in the aether, no, not just him, everyone did.

The fact that Alex was able to sense the shift went to show just how potent it was.

He glanced at the fight ahead only to notice that something was off.

The area about Douglas and Carlos seemed to be vaguely covered in a crystalline structure with nothing moving within.

"He did it," Victoria muttered excitedly while standing beside Alex.

Alex glanced at her. "He did what?"

"Douglas owns dual domains, Frost and Psionics. I have been trying to get him to merge the two but so far, it has been... fruitless. Who would have thought all he needed was a near-death experience?"

Alex furrowed his brow as he had a feeling Victoria would have pushed Douglas to death if she’d known that it was a worthy trigger for his enlightenment.

Shaking his head to get rid of the thought, he glanced back at the fight.

A merger of Frost and Psionics?... It reminded him of his Evernight domain.

But then, what sought of domain would emerge from Douglas’s unique combination.

At this point, Alex was seeing its potential as Douglas froze the flow of time around himself, causing Carlos to be caught in it.

Moments later, Douglas extricated himself from the frozen space and turned to face Alex, a triumphant look on his face.

"... I did it." He muttered breathlessly.

Alex nodded. "Indeed, you did."

"..." Douglas wavered for a moment as he took a step forward only to fall over.

Whoosh

Thankfully, Victoria was there to catch him.

"You did well." She muttered softly as Douglas drifted off into an unconscious state.

The remaining BeastMen looked on in terror, unwilling to just let Alex and the others go but also sure that they wouldn’t be able to stop them even if they tried.

Regarding them casually, Alex remarked. "We shall be leaving now."

Leaving those words behind, Alex walked over to place his hand over Elena’s ice coffin before snapping after which he disappeared in a flash of black and white.

Victoria snorted before taking her leave as well, ensuring they left as quietly as they arrived.

With Douglas gone, Carlos’s frozen time resumed with the latter gasping for air as he fell to his knees.

Clutching his neck while keeping his gaze on where Douglas once stood, he muttered to his brethren. "Inform Aragon, let them know of what has happened here tonight."

***

There were a few places that could be considered important locations in Zion, such as BlackWatch which bordered the Eastern Highlands and served as a home for the Great Families, and the Defense Headquarters or Cance which housed the Imperial University but none were greater than Reburn, the capital city.

Also known as the Heart of the Empire, it was strategically placed at the center of the imperial map, away from the four corners of its borders to ensure that to get to it, one would have to go through quite a few obstacles.

The rays of the Lightbringer lit up the beautiful city, revealing buildings that seemed to be made from cleanly cut stones and strengthened with steel.

Against its pristine white walls that measured more than 10 meters, incredibly large golems bearing swords and donning armor that were of similar height were placed, with each facing a certain direction.

The paved roads that had seen many occasions seemed to be on course to host yet another as several of those within Reburn came out in droves, clear excitement visible on their faces.

They seemed to be waiting for someone as murmurs flew about with the main topic on everyone’s lips being the defeat of the rebels.

It was great news that ensured that the Empire would reign supreme for many more years.

Just as the excitement began to turn feverish, the tolling of a bell was heard and immediately, the crowd erupted in a cheer.

It would seem the emperor had returned.