By that point, Leo was only a few kilometres away from the Pavilion when Shamar caught up to them.

  Sensing that, Leo gnced back at Lance as he came to a sudden stop.

  Lance may not have been able to truly unicate with the lion, but he uood the meaning behind that look, not that he .

  The moment he felt the overwhelming presence of Shamar once again chasing after them, he ignored Milianna’s protests and tears as he forcibly scooped her into his arms and began hurrying through the air in the dire of Yin-Yang Mountain.

  “You lot think too highly of yourselves!” Shamar snorted when he saw that.

  He knew Leo was a Divi, but as it was still only at the sixth rank, as incredible as its innate abilities and prehension were, it wasn’t at the point where it could threaten a saint.

  Shamar flew straight through Leo’s sky-c fiery paw-print and casually spped the top of his skull, sending it crashing into the ground.

  If it were another beast of the sixth rank, Shamar’s strike would’ve killed it, but he had already seen the power of its body from its previous fights. He k could take that much of a beating and live.

  Lance felt a shudder ing from the very depths of his soul as Shamar’s fist was mere inches from turning his skull into paste. Still, he mao suppress his fears and keep running.

  Shamar oher hand, had felt a familiar aura crash into him. Though it wasn’t particurly strong, it had been enough to make him falter.

  Looking at the boy in his hand, he saair of jet-bck, ice-cold eyes trying to pierce his soul.

  “You should kill me,” Ace voiced with an ice-cold indifferehat made Shamar’s soul shudder. “If you allow me to live…

  I will make you watch as I kill your master, and then I’ll kill you!”

  As much as he believed in his master, the longer Shamar looked into Ace’s eyes, the more he began to believe in Ace’s decration.

  It wasn’t that he thought any less of O’Brien, but after everything he had e to learn about Ace, especially knowing what his master had doo offend the teen, he couldn’t see any way of Ace being vio put down his hatred, and even less of a ce of stopping him after he matures.

  The only way to proteot only himself but also his master is to kill Aow before he gets the ature.

  Because of the speed at which Leo was moving and the way Lance had been holding her, Milianna couldn’t see much previously. But with Lanow carrying her like a princess, it was easy for her to see over his shoulder.

  Hell, with her senses, even with the rushing winds, she could hear everything Ace had said and even feel Shamar’s rising killing i.

  “Noo…

  Don’t…

  Please…” Milianna whimpered in an almost i tone. “Lance, please! I’m begging you! Please Turn around!

  LANCE!”

  This was by far the hardest decision Lance had ever made. After all this time together, he had also grown to love Ace like a son, but before leaving for War God’s Mountain this m, Ace had pulled him aside for a chat, during which Ace made him promise that no matter what happens to him or anyone else, Lance would prioritise the safety and prote of his mother.

  No matter what happened from then on, Lance had every iion of keeping his promise – even if it meant Milianna hating him iure, but what her he nor Ace could’ve foreseen was what happened .

  Like Ace’s, Milianna’s soul was a carbon copy of her with her eyes closed, but unlike Ace’s, her soul was shrouded in darkness with only a few specs htness but as Milianna watched Shamar raise his hand as if to pierce her son’s chest and rip out his soul, something ged – her soul maion opes eyes!

  As Milianna’s soul awoke, the few specs htness began to multiply, rapidly engulfing the veil of darkhat threateo devour them.

  “I SAID STOP!” Milianna ordered.

  As soon as she opened her mouth, an all too familiar energy exploded out of her knog Lanscious and causing him to fall to the ground.

  Shamar’s fingers had just torn the skin around Ace’s chest; he was mere inches from being able to his hand around the teen’s beati when Milianna’s [queror’s Hak crashed into him.

  Shamar was currently going through an odd inner battle, the likes of which he had never experienced before, or at least not on this level.

  He desperately wao finish ripping out Ace’s heart, but he couldn’t. The sound of that voice was simply invioble!

  In the end, all he could do was turn back around to face the voice, and as he did, he saw something he would never fet.

  Till now, other than O’Brien, no one had seen the failianna, who had had the hood of the shadow robe up the eime. In fact, even now, it was still up, but floating elegantly in the skies behind her was an enormous phantom of whom Shamar could only describe as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

  Fwless milky white skin, pierg bronze eyes that looked almost golden uhe sun’s gre, and long wavy brue hair.

  She wore a pristine white dress that showed little of her skin but still hugged her body enough to make just about anyone, man or woman, stare in awe.

  And sat on her head was a thin silver tiara that only added tal ahereal aura.

  For the first time since O’Brien made his appearance, a genuinely warm smile appeared on Ace’s face.

  He didn’t quite uand what was happening, as nothing like this had ever happeo him, but what he did know was that Milianna’s soul was healed.

  For the most part, those with pure souls abhor viole’s why they don’t get very far in the martial world, with most choosing to lead a simple life of pead kindness as mortals. But there are a few who, for one reason or another, are forced to e to terms with violend are still able to retain their pure souls.

  For those, as much as they still dislike violehey also uand that by being kind to their ehey’re effectively being cruel to their loved ones.

  As of that moment, Milianna is one of those few.

  “All those who dare harm my son,” Milianna said softly, her voice resembling that of an angel, whily made the tent of her words that much more frightening. “Deserve Death!”

  As she said that, a wave of [queror’s Hak erupted from Milianna, or more specifically, the phantom she jured. Hers was so powerful it somehow even dwarfed that of Ace’s.

  Fag that, Shamar couldn’t even st a breath before his sciousness was snuffed out like a dle. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his body seemed to stop breathing.

  If oo perform an autopsy on him, they would be left speechless as there would be no signs of foul py. It was as if his body simply lost the will to tinue living.

  Still, even as his body fell lifelessly to the floor, Milianna paid it no attention. All of her focus was on her son.

  Her phantom quickly dispersed as she threw herself towards Ace, so she could catch him before he fell.

  Previously, it was unknown how, but presumably because of her jured phantom, Milianna was somehow able to float in mid-air, but now that it had vanished, as well as her still being too weak to use Geppo, she wasn’t able to levitate any longer.

  In the end, because she was so worried about her son’s injuries, Milianna had to cradle A her arms as she fell backwards, so she absorbed as much of the impact as possible.

  A fall from that height was no small impact, even for those more powerful, let alone someone like Milianna, who was still only a rank three warrior.

  All she could do was coat her ba [Armament Hak, but she was still forced to cough a mouthful of blood as her inner ans rattled. Still, she ignored all her injuries to focus on her son, who didn’t seem to care about his injuries as he looked up at her with the warmest of smiles.

  “Your soul,” Ace murmured feebly. “It’s healed.”

  “Shh,” Milianna said softly as she id Ace down, holding her palms over his chest. “That’s not important right now.”

  “Okay,” Ace smiled as he looked at the calm fidence his mother silently exuded as she began to heal him.

  The aura she now radiated made him feel safe, like no matter what happened, she would take care of it.

  ‘So this is the real Milianna – my mother…’ Ace thought to himself as his eyes started to close. “Mom…”

  “Yes, son?” Milianna replied gently.

  “I’m tired,” Ace expined, his voice getting softer with each word. “I think I o sleep for a bit…”

  “That’s fine, you sleep,” Milianna’s replied, her angelic voice almost hypnotic as it put Ace to sleep. “Mommy will be right here when you wake up.”

  Thousands of meters in the air above the mother and son pair, the mysterious ruler of the forest of darkness hovered, looking down at them with visible sho his face.

  “That woman… That was a divine ability… As a mortal… Just where did this family inate from?” He mused aloud, his thoughts moving at a million miles an hour as pns began to formute in his mind. “If I bet ohen maybe…

  Looks like I’ll have to open the doors a little early this time!”

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  P.atreon./ACoilingDragon

  Book 11: Part 16 – Suspected Betrayal