Chapter 74
Ella's POV
Mate.
The moment Ignis growled that word in my mind, my entire world froze.
The gray-white giant wolf—Sage—stood before me, his ice-blue eyes piercing straight into the depths of my soul.
I could feel Ignis trembling violently inside me, that unprecedented surge of longing nearly tearing me apart. She wanted to get closer to him, to nuzzle him, to confirm this wasn't an illusion.
Before I could even react, Ignis had already taken control of our body and moved forward.
She slowly lowered her head, and those amber eyes that belonged to me now became incredibly gentle. She cautiously approached Sage, then carefully, restraining the tremor in her heart, touched her nose to the thick ruff of fur around Sage's neck.
In that instant, all the pain, fear, and anger vanished.
What are you doing? I asked softly in my mind, my voice carrying an unfamiliar shyness.
Can't help myself... Ignis's voice turned tender, with a hint of pride. He's ours, Ella. He's our mate.
Before I could respond, a thunderous crash of shattering ice erupted behind us.
Seraphina and Aurora charged toward us, dark purple flames blazing wildly across their bodies. Their eyes burned with fury, fixed on Sage and me as if they wanted to tear us to pieces.
Prepare for battle. Sage's voice sounded in my mind.
We assumed our fighting stances almost simultaneously. I faced Seraphina while Sage took on Aurora.
Seraphina struck first. Her massive form lunged toward me with startling speed, dark purple flames swirling around her like a vortex.
I didn't retreat. Crimson flames erupted from within me, surging forward to meet her dark fire.
The two flames collided in mid-air with a deafening roar.
Seraphina's claws raked viciously across my flank, blood spattering onto the snow. I tried to drive her back with flames, but she dodged easily, then her tail whipped across my back like an iron rod, slamming me into the snow.
Damn it! Ignis roared in my mind. She's stronger than I thought!
Don't play her game with technique, I said from deep in my consciousness. Use raw power!
Ignis struggled to her feet, the pain from our ribs nearly suffocating us both. But she'd heard me—anger and defiance burning within, driving us to charge at Seraphina again.
This time, Ignis abandoned all technique, relying purely on primal strength to clash with her head-on.
Ignis's fangs clamped onto Seraphina's foreleg, tearing with all our might. Seraphina howled in pain as dark purple flames exploded outward, searing our mouth.
But Ignis didn't let go—not until we tasted her blood.
Now! I shouted from deep in my consciousness. Fire clash!
Ignis released her leg, and crimson flames burst from our mouth, aimed straight at Seraphina's face.
She simultaneously unleashed dark purple flames, and the two forces collided in mid-air, forming a spinning fireball.
I could feel Ignis's primal flames gradually suppressing Seraphina's dark fire. The dark purple flames dimmed under the crimson's devouring force.
Seraphina panicked!
Ignis seized the moment, pouring all our fire element into the attack. The fireball swelled violently, then rebounded toward Seraphina. She couldn't dodge in time—her entire body was engulfed in flames as she let out an agonized howl.
On the other side, Sage was battling Aurora.
Aurora was incredibly fast, darting across the snow like a purple lightning bolt.
But Sage's ice element was her natural counter. He didn't chase her speed—instead, he used wide-range ice spikes and ice walls to seal off her movement paths.
Under his control, ice rose from the ground, forming sharp spikes that completely compressed Aurora's movement space. She tried to leap and dodge, only to find the air above covered in frost as well.
Sage's ice element naturally excelled at control and area attacks, leaving the agile and swift Aurora with no foothold.
She was completely suppressed, her body marked with multiple wounds from ice spikes, blood staining the snow red.
From another corner of the battlefield came the sounds of intense combat.
Through Ignis's senses, I glanced over to see Brian, Gregory, and Zachary's Trinity formation locked in battle against Silver Claw, Black Claw, and White Claw's Trinity formation.
Both sides moved in perfect synchronization, every attack flawlessly countered, every defense seamless.
This was the terrifying power of years of coordinated combat experience.
But then, Zachary's movements suddenly slowed.
Having just broken his seal, he'd expended massive amounts of energy and was now approaching exhaustion. Nicholas keenly seized on this opening, commanding Silver Claw to lunge at Zachary, shattering the Trinity formation.
Brian and Gregory tried to compensate, but it was too late. With the Trinity broken, they were instantly thrown on the defensive.
Nicholas let out a cold laugh.
"All living things tire, make mistakes, and expose weaknesses," he said icily. "Better to embrace dark magic—puppets controlled by dark magic never tire."
As he finished speaking, Black Claw and White Claw released low howls, their eyes vacant, as if responding to their master's summons.
At that moment, Seraphina and Aurora finally couldn't hold on any longer. Their injuries were too severe—the combined suppression of flames and frost made continued combat impossible.
With one final agonized howl, they were forced back into human form, collapsing bloodied onto the snow.
"Nicholas!" she cried urgently. "Retreat! We'll regroup!"
But Nicholas merely glanced at her with terrifyingly sinister eyes.
"Retreat?" He sneered. "That word doesn't exist in my dictionary. Either win, or die."
He finished speaking and turned his gaze toward the tent.
Through Ignis's vision, I saw something writhing inside the tent.
The next second, a black thorn chain shot out from the tent, aimed directly at Stella.
Stella had no time to react—the thorn chain pierced through her shoulder in an instant, pinning her to the ground.
"Uma!" Stella roared in pain. "You dare betray me!"
Victoria also cried out in horror: "Mother!"
But it was too late.
Nicholas chanted in a low voice: "Silver Fang War Princess, bloom your final glory."
Stella's eyes instantly became vacant, black mist pouring from her body and engulfing her completely. Her skeleton began to expand, muscles growing wildly, skin tearing—blood and black mist mixing together to form a horrifying spectacle.
Moments later, a massive wolf-like creature appeared on the battlefield.
It was Seraphina, but five or six times larger than before—nearly as massive as the Bloodthirsty Leviathan we'd faced earlier. Black thorny vines crawled up her limbs, writhing like living things and emitting bone-chilling sounds.
The gigantic Seraphina looked down at us, her eyes filled with bloodthirsty madness. We were like ants in her gaze. She opened her mouth, dark purple flames churning deep in her throat, then suddenly sprayed them across the entire battlefield.
Watch out! Sage roared in my mind.
Ignis and Sage moved almost simultaneously. Sage released a massive ice shield while Ignis unleashed a flame barrier—the two forces enveloping Brian, Gregory, Zachary, and all the Silver Moon warriors within.
The dark purple flames crashed against the barrier and ice shield with a deafening roar.
I could feel the barrier trembling violently, ready to shatter at any moment. Ignis was fighting with everything she had—I could feel the power within her being consumed at a terrifying rate.
Hold on! I shouted from deep in my consciousness.
Ignis gritted her teeth, pouring all our strength into the barrier while Sage strained to maintain the ice shield.
But I knew this was only temporary.
Dark magic plus dark flames, plus the gigantic, out-of-control Seraphina—this was an almost impossible combination to overcome.
How could we possibly break through this?