Lucavion''s smirk widened as his dark eyes swept over the remaining elders. The five figures stood tense, their weapons drawn and mana ring in a futile attempt to mask their fear. The blood-soaked courtyard was silent except for the faint crackle of energy radiating from his de.


    "Well," he drawled, his voice calm andced with mockery, "it seems we''ve dwindled down to just five. A pity. I was hoping for a more lively wee."


    His gaze settled on the wiry elder, who stood rigid, his sharp features tight with wariness. Then it shifted to Varos, whose amber eyes zed with fury, his grip on his axe white-knuckled. Finally, Lucavion turned his attention to Jayan and the two scarred elders beside her. His smirk faded, reced by a cold, piercing stare.


    As he regarded them, Vitaliara''s voice echoed in his mind, heavy with both sorrow and anger. [Lucavion… listen carefully. Jayan and the two with her—those are the traitors. They betrayed the Azure Blossom Sect. They''re the ones who sold us out to the Crimson Serpent Sect.]


    Lucavion''s eyes flickered with understanding, though his expression remained unreadable. ''And the others?'' he asked silently.


    [Varos and the wiry elder…] Vitaliara''s voice softened slightly, though it still carried an edge of disdain. [They were once part of the Crimson Serpent Sect''s original leadership. They may be cruel, but their loyalty lies within their own twisted sense of order. The true corruption, the betrayal, rests with Jayan and her allies.]


    Her tone grew harsher, trembling with suppressed fury. [Jayan… that girl. I gave her everything. My [Fire of Life], my guidance, my protection. I saw potential in her—potential to grow, to lead. And she repaid me with treachery. She didn''t just betray the sect; she betrayed me.]


    Lucavion tilted his head slightly, his dark eyes locking onto Jayan. Her silver-streaked hair glinted faintly in the moonlight, but herposed facade was cracking under the weight of his gaze. "You," he said, his voice sharp and unyielding, "must be Jayan."


    Jayan stiffened, her de twitching in her grip. "What of it?" she snapped, her tone defiant, though a flicker of unease crossed her face.


    Lucavion chuckled softly, the sound devoid of warmth. "I heard you were quite the prodigy. A disciple with untapped potential, nurtured and protected by a certain someone."


    Jayan''s eyes narrowed, her knuckles tightening around her de. "I don''t know what you''re talking about," she said tersely.


    Lucavion stepped closer, the glow of his de illuminating his face in the dim light. "Don''t you?" he asked, his voice dripping with mockery. "You had a guardian once. A protector who saw something in you worth saving. And you betrayed her."


    Jayan flinched, herposure slipping further. The two scarred elders at her side exchanged uneasy nces, their confidence faltering.


    Varos growled, stepping forward with his axe raised. "Enough of this! If you''vee to kill us, then stop your games and face us!"


    Lucavion didn''t even spare him a nce. His focus remained on Jayan, his smirk widening as her defiance crumbled under his unrelenting gaze. "You''re right," he said softly, his tone chilling. "It''s time to pay for your actions."


    He moved in an instant, his de a blur of ck starlight. The scarred elder to Jayan''s left barely had time to react before the estoc pierced his heart with precision. Blood spurted from the wound, and the man copsed with a strangled gasp.


    Jayan let out a sharp cry, her de shing as she lunged at Lucavion. But he sidestepped easily, his movements fluid and deliberate. "You''re quick to strike," he remarked, his voice calm, "but I wonder if you''re quick enough to save yourself."


    The remaining elders exploded into action, mana ring as they charged. Varos''s axe swung with deadly force, but Lucavion met it with his estoc, the sh of metal ringing through the courtyard. The wiry elder circled behind him, attempting a nking strike, but Vitaliara''s glowing form leapt from Lucavion''s shoulder, intercepting with a sh of celestial fire.


    Jayan shouted orders, her voice sharp with desperation. "Focus on him! Take him down—"


    She was cut off as Lucavion''s de whirled toward her, forcing her back with a calcted strike. He smiled coldly, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement. "You betrayed your guardian, your sect, your people. Do you think you''re worthy of giving orders now?"


    Jayan''s silver-streaked hair whipped around her face as she snarled, her de igniting with a burst of mana. "I don''t need your judgment," she spat. "You don''t know anything about me."


    Lucavion''s smirk faded, his gaze hardening. "I know enough," he said simply, his voice cutting like a de.


    And with that, he pressed the attack.


    ********


    Lucavion raised his head, his smirk widening as his dark eyes flickered with a dangerous gleam. The five elders surged toward him, their mana ring in a chaotic symphony of colors and energies. But Lucavion remained unfazed, his confidence palpable as he raised his estoc.


    SWOOSH!


    The de glowed with a ck starlight that pulsed with eerie vitality, as though it drew power from the very fabric of the cosmos. Simultaneously, his other hand ignited with a brilliant ck-and-orange me—the signature of his [me of Equinox] core. The heat radiating from his hand was oppressive, twisting the air around him into distorted waves.


    "What? What is this?"


    "How can he have two different elements?"


    "Artifact!"


    "Heh! Just because you have an artifact….." Jayan spat, her voiceced with both anger and disbelief. "Do you think that makes you untouchable?"


    Lucavion chuckled, the sound low and mocking. "It doesn''t just make me untouchable," he said, his tone sharp with finality. "It makes you irrelevant."


    He surged forward, his de shing with starlight as he met Varos''s iing axe head-on.


    SWOOSH!


    Varos brought his axe down with a roar, its massive weight fueled by a fiery crimson mana. But Lucavion''s estoc, enhanced by his [Devourer of Stars] core, intercepted the strike with a resounding CLANG! The energy coursing through the de absorbed the impact, deflecting the axe with a burst of shimmering ck light.


    In the same motion, Lucavion''s me-d hand thrust outward, releasing a jet of searing fire toward the wiry elder who had been circling him. The man let out a startled cry as he dodged to the side, the mes scorching the edge of his robes.


    "You''ll have to do better than that," Lucavion said, his voice dripping with disdain as he twisted his body to avoid a thrust from Jayan. Her de missed by a hair''s breadth, and Lucavion countered with a precise thrust of his own, forcing her to leap back.


    Lucavion''s movements were a blur of precision and chaos.


    「Void Starfall de. Eclipse Star Trail」


    SWOOSH!


    In an instant, his estoc darted like a serpent, piercing through the defense of the scarred elder on Jayan''s right.


    STAB!


    The de struck true, ck starlight surging through the man''s body as he copsed with a strangled gasp.


    At the same time, with his me-d hand, Lucavion released a wave of fire toward the wiry elder. The ck-white mes consumed the space between them, forcing the elder to retreat with a desperate shield of mana.


    SWOOSH!


    Varos''s axe came swinging again, but Lucavion sidestepped with unnerving grace, using the opening tosh out with his de. The edge of the estoc skimmed Varos''s side, drawing a thin line of blood and eliciting a growl of pain.


    The three remaining elders regrouped, their mana pooling together as they prepared a coordinated assault. Jayan''s voice rang out,manding the others. "Surround him! Don''t let him control the space! Just wait until the patriarches out!"


    Lucavionughed, the sound dark and unhinged. "Control the space?" he repeated, mockingly. "It''s mine already."


    The elders attacked in unison.


    Jayan lunged forward with her mana-infused de, her silver-streaked hair whipping around her face.


    Varos came from the side, his axe zing with renewed fervor as he swung with crushing force.


    The wiry elder aimed a spear-like projection of mana directly at Lucavion''s core.


    Lucavion''s response was seamless.


    SWOOSH!


    He raised his estoc, its ck starlight ring brighter than ever.


    「Void Starfall de: Starlight Needle」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The de danced through the air, parrying Jayan''s strike and redirecting her momentum into Varos''s path.


    「me of Equinox: st of Death」


    At the same time, his me-d hand surged with power. He thrust it outward, a concentrated burst of fire obliterating the wiry elder''s mana projection and forcing him to stumble back.


    Finally, Lucavion pivoted, his estoc slicing downward in an arc of destructive starlight that struck Varos''s axe mid-swing. The weapon shattered under the force, sending shards of molten metal flying.


    CLANK!


    "ENOUGH!"


    Jayan roared, her mana ring wildly as she unleashed her aura.


    The energy of a peak 3-star surged forward, as she rushed.


    Jayan surged forward, her de trailing brilliant arcs of azure mana as her technique ignited the battlefield. The energy coiled and pulsed like living vines, a hallmark of the Azure Blossom Sect''s [Blooming Petal sh], a series of rapid, unpredictable strikes that overwhelmed opponents with speed and precision.


    Lucavion''s smirk widened as he stood his ground, his estoc raised in a loose, unhurried grip. He could sense it—the faint but unmistakable traces of Vitaliara''s presence lingering in the technique. The irony was delicious.


    "Using the technique of the sect you betrayed…" he said, his voice dripping with contempt. "As expected of a rat."


    He was smiling, still.