Echoes of the Lost Elf-Chapter 28 - 27 : Under Attack (2)

Their breaths were heavy, their movements sluggish. The battle had been going on for far too long, and it was starting to wear them down.

Their injuries, small at first, had begun to accumulate, slowing their movements.

Yet, the monsters didn't relent.

If anything... they were acting strangely.

It wasn't just mindless aggression—they had a target.

Kael, between heavy breaths, finally voiced it out. "These monsters... they're specifically targeting you and Adriana."

Adriana, still cutting through another void beast, scowled. "That makes sense for me. I'm from the Imperial family. If someone wanted to cause trouble, I'd be an obvious target."

But then Kael turned his gaze to Historias, frowning. "But why you? What did you do to piss them off?"

Historias dodged an incoming strike, his expression as calm as ever, though his golden eyes flickered with curiosity.

"I have no idea," he said honestly.

But then—

A voice cut through the battlefield.

"Think it has something to do with Aldren?"

Everyone froze.

Historias' movements paused, but it was so brief that most wouldn't have noticed.

Adriana and Kael turned their heads toward Zephyr, who had just spoken, his silver eyes sharp despite the exhaustion on his face.

A tense silence fell between them, only broken by the distant screeches of the void creatures still surrounding them.

"Like Adren Vaelthorn? one of the great heroes of the void war"

Kael narrowed his eyes. "What... relation do you have with Aldren?"

Historias glanced at them, the usual amusement in his gaze dimmed slightly. Then, in a rare moment of what almost seemed like frustration, he sighed, running a gloved hand through his silver hair.

"Well... it wasn't supposed to be leaked."

Adriana, Kael, and Zephyr all stared at him.

Historias simply smirked.

"Oops?"

Adriana's eyes narrowed. "Historias."

He chuckled, raising his hands in a show of surrender. "Fine, fine. If you must know..."

He swung his sword casually, cleaving an approaching void beast in half with effortless grace before continuing.

"Aldren was the one who sponsored me."

A brief pause.

"He's a distant relative. That's how I was able to enter the exam at the last minute."

Zephyr's expression darkened. "That kind of information... it wasn't public, was it?"

Historias nodded. "No. Only a select few higher-ups at the academy were aware."

A weight settled over them.

Adriana clicked her tongue. "That makes perfect sense now."

Kael clenched his jaw. "If someone wanted to target Aldren, they wouldn't be able to do so directly. But you—"

"Would be a convenient alternative," Historias finished for him, his golden eyes gleaming with sharp amusement.

Zephyr exhaled, shaking his head. "This was an assassination attempt, then. Both you and Adriana are the targets."

A deafening roar cut through the air.

A larger presence emerged from the depths of the forest, its form far more twisted and corrupted than the other creatures.

It was no longer just a test.

This was an ambush.

And Historias knew that whoever was behind this...

Had just made a very dangerous mistake.

The earth trembled.

A deafening roar shook the forest, the sheer force of it rattling their bones.

From the dense shadows of the trees, something massive emerged—a towering void-corrupted behemoth, its body pulsating with dark energy, its deep, soulless eyes locked onto them.

Its four muscular arms flexed, claws digging into the ground as if testing its strength. Faint wisps of void miasma leaked from its body, twisting the air around it.

Adriana's breath hitched. "That's... a C-rank monster."

Kael tightened his grip on his bow, sweat dripping down his temple. "Where are the professors when you need them?"

Zephyr clicked his tongue. "Forget them! We need to focus. We're on our own!"

Yet, in the midst of their rising tension, a voice cut through the air.

Low. Cold. Deadly.

"They are going to regret this so fucking much."

The others froze for a split second.

Adriana's head snapped toward Historias.

Did... Did he just curse?

Kael stared at him, mouth slightly open. "Wait—did he just—"

Zephyr muttered under his breath. "He's mad."

And indeed, he was.

Historias' usual air of effortless amusement was gone. His golden eyes, sharp and unreadable, now burned with fury—a cold, unshakable rage.

Attacking children.

That was the lowest of the low.

The behemoth lunged.

And the battle began.

.............

The moment the behemoth charged, the ground split beneath its weight, sending debris flying.

Adriana dashed forward, mana surging through her body as she reinforced her blade, its edge glowing faintly. She sidestepped its massive claws and delivered a swift arcing slash to its forearm—

A deep gash—yet it barely flinched.

"Damn it!" she hissed.

Kael, from a distance, pulled back his bowstring, his fingers glowing with blue mana.

"Don't stop moving!" he called, releasing a barrage of arrows, each one coated in condensed water magic. They struck the behemoth's hide, piercing into its flesh like spears.

Yet it kept coming.

Zephyr appeared behind it in a blur of motion, his dual daggers glowing with wind energy. He aimed for its tendons, moving with inhuman speed—

But before his blades could land, the behemoth twisted unnaturally fast, its massive arm swinging toward him like a battering ram.

"Shit—!"

Zephyr barely managed to twist his body midair, the wind carrying him away before the impact could crush him.

Even still, the shockwave sent him crashing into a tree.

"Zephyr!" Adriana called out.

He groaned but forced himself back up. "I'm fine—keep going!"

The behemoth roared, the corrupted energy around it pulsating violently.

Historias stepped forward.

His golden eyes flickered, his patience snapping.

"Enough."

The air shifted.

With a single movement, he raised his hand—and the wind obeyed.

A sudden burst of elemental energy erupted around him as figures of light materialized beside him.

Spirits.

Naiad, the spirit of water, formed in a swirling current beside him, her translucent form shimmering with ethereal beauty.

"You called, Master?" she murmured, her voice like the sound of flowing rivers.

"Drown it."

With a flick of his fingers, a torrent of water shot forward, shaping itself into a massive spear. It pierced through the behemoth's shoulder, sending it stumbling back for the first time.

Adriana and Kael didn't waste the opening.

Kael conjured two water-formed wolves, sending them tearing at the behemoth's limbs, while Adriana rushed in, her sword glowing brighter than before as she landed a devastating slash across its chest.

Zephyr reappeared at its flank, slashing at its Achilles tendon.

It howled, staggering.

Historias took one final step forward.

With a single motion, he raised his sword, a cold smile on his face.

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

"Disappear."

The wind howled—

And in an instant, a spear of compressed air and water blasted through the behemoth's skull.

For a moment, silence fell.

Then, with a final, gurgling breath—

The behemoth collapsed.

.........

The battlefield was eerily silent, save for the distant howls of monsters still roaming the Nazara Forest. The lifeless behemoth lay sprawled across the ground, its corrupted energy dissipating into the night.

Kael exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulder. "That was a mess."

Adriana wiped the sweat from her brow, her grip on her sword tightening. "This whole thing is wrong. These creatures shouldn't be here in the first place."

Zephyr nodded, his usual smirk replaced with a serious expression. "Someone orchestrated this. The monsters, the bracelet failures, the targeting—it's all connected."

Historias dusted off his sleeves, his expression unreadable. "They certainly went through a great deal of effort."

Kael shot him a look. "You sound awfully calm for someone who was just nearly torn apart."

Historias smiled faintly. "Would panicking have helped?"

Adriana shook her head. "Regardless, we need to find the others. Who knows how many students are still trapped out here?"

Before anyone could respond, the ground trembled with another distant impact—an explosion of mana, far off but strong enough to shake the trees.

Zephyr's eyes narrowed. "That came from the northern side."

Historias adjusted his sleeves, his golden eyes flickering with something unreadable. "Then we'd best not waste any more time."

With silent agreement, they set off into the dark forest once more. The night was far from over.

..............

Hey guys author here, if you enjoyed reading this please leave a comment below

And Power stones too (pleaeeeeease!!!!!!!!!!!)