Chapter 42
Kane's POV
I had never seen fire so pure.
That mass of crimson light exploded in the center of the ruins, heat waves sweeping across the entire West Wing manor, the very air itself burning.
I raised my arm to shield against the blinding glare, squinting to make out the scene before me—two giant wolves facing off amid the burning wreckage, everything around them pulverized by the energy they unleashed.
The silver-white wolf was wreathed in dark purple flames—that was Stella in her Seraphina form. Massive in size, nearly three meters at the shoulder, the three vicious scars on her face looked even more terrifying in the purple firelight.
And facing her, that crimson wolf—no, that was Ella, that was Ignis—her entire body burning with the most primal, purest red flames. The color of that fire reminded me of the never-setting sun over the Blood River wasteland, reminded me of the legendary Crimson Flame Warlord Xavier's terrifying power to incinerate everything on the battlefield.
"Ella!" I shouted into the heart of the inferno, my voice pale and powerless against the crackling flames. "Ella, it's me! Stop!"
But clearly it wasn't Ella herself in control right now. The red wolf's eyes held only fury and killing intent—rage that had been bound, suppressed, sealed away for years erupting completely in this moment. She let out an earth-shaking roar and lunged at Seraphina, sharp claws tearing rifts in the purple fire barrier.
Seraphina was equally unyielding. The two giant wolves engaged in a heaven-shaking battle amid the ruins.
Dust flew, rubble scattered. I could barely make out their interweaving forms—Seraphina's attacks were seasoned and vicious, each strike aimed at vital points, while Ignis, though her power was purer, clearly lacked combat experience, nearly having her throat seized several times.
My heart pounded. My hands unconsciously clenched into fists.
I wanted to rush forward, wanted to protect her, but I knew clearly that intervening now would only make things worse.
Gradually, the tide of battle began to shift.
Seraphina's combat experience gained the upper hand. She feinted retreat to lure Ignis into pursuit, then at the moment of attack dodged aside and pinned the red wolf beneath her. Ignis was held fast, letting out strangled howls, her four limbs gouging deep furrows in the ground.
No, I couldn't let Stella hurt her.
I stepped forward to rush over, but the next second I was stunned by what I saw.
Just as Seraphina was about to bite through Ignis's throat, the red wolf's eyes suddenly burst with dazzling golden light. That light spread outward like something tangible, scorching flames sweeping from inside out, the temperature climbing instantly to suffocating levels. Even Seraphina, who had been burned by dark flames for so many years, had no choice but to release her hold and leap back awkwardly the moment she touched that mass of pure elemental fire.
"Fire God's Horn—" Stella's voice rang in my mind, filled with disbelief and shock. "That's... Xavier's ultimate technique!"
Ignis raised her head and howled, powerful energy gathering deep in her throat before bursting forth as a blazing white beam of light. Wherever that beam passed, air instantly evaporated, the ground melting into lava-like liquid. This power was in no way inferior to the might the Crimson Flame Warlord had once unleashed—no, it was even stronger, because this was the most primal, undiluted elemental fire.
Seraphina likewise opened her massive jaws, releasing her prized dark flame beam. Two completely different fires collided in midair, erupting with deafening thunder.
Purple and crimson light intertwined and coiled, forming a massive energy vortex. The surrounding Omegas screamed in terror and scattered. Even I had to retreat several steps to avoid being caught in the shockwave.
But how could dark flames compare to pure elemental fire?
In the clash, Seraphina was clearly at a disadvantage, her form driven back again and again by the red flames' impact.
Just as she was about to lose her hold, a slender figure rushed into the battle—Victoria. Unable to shift due to her pregnancy, she released her own dark flames in human form. The two purple fires merged into one stream, barely stabilizing their position.
I stood in place, watching the two sides locked in stalemate, my heart plunged into unprecedented chaos.
On one side were my political allies, the key forces for seizing the Alpha position. On the other... Ella, the girl who had accompanied me through the darkest years in the Blood River wasteland, whose child I had destroyed with my own hands yet still couldn't let go.
"Kane!" Victoria's scream interrupted my thoughts. "What are you standing there for? Don't forget I'm carrying your child!"
Almost simultaneously, Stella's voice came through the mental link: "Are you going to hand the Alpha position to Julian on a platter? Abandon your mother's blood debt?"
My legs felt nailed to the ground.
Reason told me I should stand with Victoria, seize that terrible fire elemental power for my own use.
But when I looked at that crimson giant wolf, saw the flames burning on her body, another scene surfaced in my mind—Ella roasting fish for me by the ice lake, clumsily tending the fire, coughing from the smoke but stubbornly refusing to let me help.
The firelight on her face then had been warm and gentle...
I prepared to walk toward Victoria, but as I took the first step, Blaze's voice rose in my heart: "Are you really going to do this?"
"I have no choice," I responded inwardly, my voice bitter. "As long as Ella's life isn't in danger..."
Blaze sighed, that sigh full of disappointment: "You're always like this, always consoling yourself like this, then pushing that girl further and further away."
"I have no choice!" I nearly roared. "You think I want this? You think I want to destroy her with my own hands? But I have no choice! If I don't reclaim the Alpha position, if I don't avenge my mother, what meaning does my life have?"
Blaze didn't answer again. He simply silently surrendered control to me.
I shifted into my black wolf form, releasing a dark flame beam from my mouth, joining Victoria and Stella's ranks.
Three beams converged into one, forming an even more powerful purple-black wall of fire, pressing toward Ignis.
The red wolf was clearly struggling. Her form retreated continuously under the pincer attack of three forces, the red flames beginning to show unstable fluctuations, those golden eyes flashing with exhaustion.
I saw her stumble, and my heart seized.
No, I couldn't let her get hurt...
Just as I hesitated whether to weaken my output, the other two dark flames suddenly intensified, completely driving Ignis back. She was thrown dozens of meters by the massive impact, crashing heavily into the rubble, the flames on her body dimming.
The next second, the red wolf's form dissipated. Ella changed back to human form, naked, lying motionless in the pile of broken stones.
"No—!"
I rushed forward heedless of everything, but was blocked by Stella.
She had already returned to human form, looking at me coldly: "Don't forget what you promised."
I stared at her through gritted teeth, unable to say anything in rebuttal.
Stella commanded: "Uma, plant the thorn chains on her again."
The shadow witch emerged from the shadows, clutching that cursed string of black thorns in her hands.
I watched her approach Ella step by step...
Just then, urgent wolf-running sounds came from the distance.
Three massive wolves burst from the forest. The lead wolf was entirely golden, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.
They charged straight for the center of the battlefield, their target clear—Ella.
Stella whirled around, staring at the newcomers in shock.
She murmured, "Has Blood River launched the war early? The time we agreed upon for our coordinated attack hasn't arrived yet!"