Chapter 116 Escaping into the courtyard

Chapter 116 Escaping into the courtyard
Her speed was unreal. At Stage 13 resonance level, Lady Safura moved like a living storm, a force of nature driven by raw maternal fury. In a blur too fast for the eye to follow, her hand clamped around Vandal’s neck with crushing force. She levitated off the ground, lifting his body into the air as if he weighed nothing. Her face twisted with hatred, veins bulging at her temples.

“You worthless insect!” she snarled, spittle flying from her lips. “I will peel the skin from your bones slowly. I will make you scream for days before I rip you limb from limb, just like you did to my Malouf!”

Profanities poured out of her in a venomous torrent as she squeezed tighter, her fingers digging into his flesh.

At that exact moment, Lady Hamisa stepped forward, her eyes glowing with cold malice. She unleashed her own Stage 13 resonance pressure. An overwhelming, suffocating wave crashed down upon the entire group like an invisible mountain. Vandal’s friends cried out in pain as the crushing aura forced them to their knees. Jaclynn gasped, Jaden’s lightning flickered weakly, and Sera clutched her chest, struggling to breathe. The air itself felt thick and hostile, pressing down on their chests and making every movement a torment.

Matron Clara turned to her daughter, ignoring the chaos around her. Her voice was urgent yet filled with deep, aching tenderness. “Sabine, I love you very much. I have made many mistakes in my life. So many regrets that weigh on my soul. But I am truly glad you found someone dependable. Someone who will protect you when I cannot.”

Sabine’s eyes widened, her heart clenching with sudden fear. She felt the heavy emotion behind every word, but confusion clouded her mind. “Mom…? Why are you telling me this now? We are all getting out together, right?”

Hamisa heard their conversation and concluded that they were mother and daughter. She laughed mockingly.

“What are the odds? So your own daughter came to rescue you. Ah, so I get to kill you and your daughter. This is so pleasurable.”

“Watch closely and learn,” Matron Clara said firmly, her gaze steady despite the danger. There was a finality in her tone that sent a chill through Sabine’s spine.

Without another word, Matron Clara formed a complex series of hand signs. A small dot on her forehead glowed brightly. In an instant, a magnificent tattoo of a great ancient tree stretched outward from that point, spreading across her entire body at the speed of sound. The intricate silver lines pulsed with powerful energy, covering her skin like living veins of power. She shifted into a strange, rooted stance and released a silver shockwave that exploded outward.

The wave instantly shattered Lady Hamisa’s oppressive pressure. Vandal’s friends gasped in relief as the crushing weight lifted. The same shockwave struck Lady Safura mid-air, slamming her violently to the ground with a heavy thud.

In that brief opening, Vandal kicked hard against Safura’s wrist, forcing her grip to release. He rolled away, coughing and clutching his bruised throat, separating himself from the immediate fight.

Matron Clara’s body began generating shimmering silver armor from head to toe. The metallic plates formed with a soft, resonant hum, covering her completely in protective layers that gleamed under the corridor lights. Without hesitation, she flash-stepped toward Lady Hamisa, closing the distance in a heartbeat. Hamisa reacted by launching searing lasers from her palms, beams of destructive energy cutting through the air.

Clara’s armored form dodged each beam with precise, economical movements. She closed in and threw a series of powerful punches that connected solidly against Hamisa’s defenses. The impacts echoed like thunder. Hamisa staggered back, confusion flashing across her arrogant face.

“How is this possible?” Hamisa growled, wiping blood from her lip. “You are weaker than us! How are you damaging me?”

Clara did not answer with words at first. Instead, she formed a silver shield in her hand and hurled it like a disc at Lady Safura, who was rising to her feet. The shield smacked into Safura’s head with brutal force, driving her face back into the ground.

Both women roared in fury and charged Clara together.

“You dare!” Lady Safura screamed, her voice breaking with grief and rage. “You are hiding behind that cheap armor! We are stronger than you! Our sons will be avenged!”

Lady Hamisa joined in, firing more lasers while channeling powerful wind blades. “Pathetic old woman! Die already so we can finish off your worthless daughter and her friends!”

Clara remained perfectly calm, her movements measured and efficient even as she faced two Stage 13 powerhouses. “Untrained power is useless in the face of skill and fighting experience,” she said coolly, dodging a devastating wind blast that shattered the wall behind her. “Come on then. Show me this so-called superior strength.”

Her taunts were deliberate, egging them on. Safura and Hamisa grew more reckless with every word. Safura unleashed a barrage of solid glass-like wind blades from her palms. The compressed air was so dense it looked like transparent swords. “I will tear your heart out for what your group did to Malouf!” she shrieked. Her attacks became frenzied and less controlled.

Hamisa laughed maniacally as she poured more power into her lasers. “Feel the burn of true resonance! You think your little tree tattoo can save you? We will crush you and then make your daughter watch as we torture the boy before killing them both!”

Clara weaved between their assaults with masterful precision. She parried a laser with her armored forearm, absorbing the impact with a grunt, then countered with a calculated palm strike that sent Hamisa sliding backward. Every one of her movements was rooted in experience, turning their raw power against them. She blocked, redirected, and struck at openings they left in their anger.

Sera watched in awe from the side, still catching her breath. “The wind from her palms… it looks like solid glass. That is qualitative use of echo elements. That other lady is incredible. She is fighting smarter.”

Jaclynn and Jaden exchanged stunned glances, their bodies still aching from the earlier pressure. Chan gripped his sword tightly, torn between helping and following Clara’s command.

Clara continued to provoke them as she danced through the fight. “Is that all? Your sons died because they relied on power without discipline. Just like you right now. Come! Hit me harder!”

Safura’s eyes blazed with tears of fury. “Shut your mouth! I will make you suffer for every second my son endured!” She flew forward with a wild overhead smash, wind energy exploding around her fist.

Clara sidestepped calmly and delivered a sharp elbow to Safura’s ribs, cracking them and drawing a pained cry. Hamisa followed up with a point-blank laser barrage, but Clara tanked several hits with her silver plating before launching another shield that forced Hamisa to dodge awkwardly.

The corridor shook with the intensity of their clash. Sparks flew, walls cracked, and the air filled with the scent of scorched stone and blood. Clara was breathing harder now, but her eyes remained focused and serene. She was the weaker opponent in raw power, yet her skill made her a nightmare for the two enraged mothers.

“Enough of this!” Clara suddenly shouted to her group. “Go! There is no time! I will catch up to you later. Save yourselves!”

Vandal hesitated for only a second before grabbing Sabine firmly. “We have to move!” he urged, his voice thick with conflict. The guards were surging forward again, drawn by the explosive fight.

Sabine’s heart tore in two as Vandal dragged her away. The rest of the group followed reluctantly, casting worried glances back at the fierce battle. They sprinted toward a nearby window, the sounds of combat echoing behind them.

Without slowing down, the group leaped out of the high window, launching themselves into open air from a dizzying altitude. Sabine quickly generated a translucent blue shield around everyone. Sera gathered swirling winds beneath them, cushioning their fall as best she could. They crashed into the courtyard below with heavy thuds, rolling across the ground and collecting bruises, but they were alive.

At that moment, high above, Matron Clara threw one last look at her daughter. Their eyes met across the distance. Clara’s eyes began to bleed, crimson tears streaming down her face as her enhanced speed faltered. She coughed violently, spraying blood across her silver armor. The backlash of the forbidden technique was hitting her hard now. Piece by piece, her beautiful silver armor started dissipating, fading into glowing particles.

“Mom!” Sabine screamed in pure anguish, her voice cracking with heartbreak. She tried desperately to run back toward the building, tears flooding her eyes. “No! Mother, please!”

Vandal held her tightly in his strong arms, his own face etched with pain. “Sabine, we can’t! She’s buying us time!” He dragged her away even as she struggled against him, her sobs tearing at everyone’s hearts.

A single tear fell from Matron Clara’s eye, glistening in the light. Despite the agony wracking her body, she let out a fierce battle cry that echoed across the courtyard. With her remaining strength, she sealed the entire floor with thick, impenetrable silver shields, trapping Lady Safura, Lady Hamisa, and the swarm of guards behind the barrier.

Then a massive explosion erupted from within the sealed section, shaking the entire building and lighting up the sky with silver and crimson light.

The group stared in stunned silence. Sabine’s screams filled the air as the weight of her mother’s sacrifice crashed down upon them all.