"Papa is so awesome, Mama! He beat the bad guy!" Eterna cheered, bouncing in Seraphina's arms, completely oblivious to the danger they had just faced.

​Seraphina smiled, her eyes filled with pride and a trace of lingering shock. "Yes, he did."

She realized how far Vahn had come. From being an outer court nobody to a person the entire continent wanted captured, he had grown immensely, both physically and mentally. His power was frightening, but it was now dedicated to protecting them.

​Vahn sheathed his sword, his gaze already scanning the horizon. He didn't waste a second lingering on the defeated Gryphus.

​"Let's go, Seraphina. We need to meet with Lilith, then leave this Secret Realm. It's becoming really unstable," Vahn urged, his tone grave. The fight between the Guardian Emperors was tearing the dimension apart.

​

Seraphina nodded, equally worried about the instability of the realm.

As Vahn and Seraphina sprinted toward the canyon, the instability of the realm was suddenly overshadowed by a more immediate threat.

A brilliant streak of blue light flashed across the rugged landscape, moving faster than any ordinary cultivator. It solidified a few hundred meters ahead, cutting off their path.

"Aria!"

Aria Stormsong stood there, her presence radiating power. Her form was like a lightning battle goddess, her features sharp and fiercely beautiful, perfectly matching the fury of her intent.

"Stop right there, Vahn Necrotis," Aria commanded in forceful tone. Her eyes went directly to the Dragon Pearl in his hand.

Aria's gaze swept over the small group, lingering only momentarily on Eterna before addressing Vahn. "Surrender yourself and the Divine Treasury. The chaos ends now."

Vahn stopped, his expression turning cold. He felt a deep, genuine disappointment in the woman who was once meant to be his wife.

"Is that how a War Saintess should be?" Vahn expressed with bitter sarcasm. "Supporting the evil work of your elders and Patriarchs? They stripped my rights, my power, and used you as pawns."

Aria remained utterly unflinched. Her loyalty was not to men, but to an ideal. "If they did it for the betterment of humanity as a whole, I wouldn't care," she replied coldly. "I have killed countless men, elderly, and children from the Demonic Faction. My heart is accustomed to being heartless when it comes to the enemy. You are the greatest enemy of all."

Aria's cold, calculating eyes suddenly settled on Eterna, the child cradled securely in Seraphina's arms. Her pupils narrowed, perceiving the immense, yet chaotic, power flowing from the little girl—a power that should not exist.

Vahn saw the shift in her gaze, the moment the hunter decided on a new, vulnerable target. That was the final line.

Without a word, Vahn released a roar of pure Spirit Power and attacked, even though he knew he couldn't win this confrontation at that moment.

Buzzz!

The Nuclear Dragon Sword buzzed with destructive ferocity as Vahn channeled the newly infinite energy of his dual cores into a strike meant to cleave mountains.

"Humm!"

The greatsword slammed toward Aria, yet she barely blinked an eyebrow. She didn't dodge. She simply raised her hand.

With an impossible display of strength and cultivation, she caught the massive blade of the greatsword with just the pinch of her index and middle fingers. The devastating force dissipated instantly, the sword held rigid by an invisible, immovable force field.

Aria looked down at the humming black blade, an expression of admiration replacing her contempt.

"A magnificent weapon indeed," she purred, a predatory desire entering her eyes. "It suits me better than it suits a child like you."

Before she could forcefully rip the sword away from Vahn's grip, Seraphina intercepted. Her face was no longer just worried; it was enraged, a look of furious maternal instinct mixed with the power of the Light Dao. Her entire body shone with the brilliant, intimidating light of her new, boundless power.

"You will not touch my Husband or my Daughter!" Seraphina's voice rang out, her radiant aura briefly suppressing Aria's lightning power.

​Hearing this, Aria was dumfounded. "Your daughter? Don't joke with me Seraphina. How can you two have a child when you just met a month ago? Do you think me some kind of fool that I would fall sympathetic toward this pretense?" she mocked, her confusion morphing into cold suspicion.

​Eterna stuck out her little tongue in clear displeasure. "Aunty is so mean... I am my Mama and Papa's daughter!"

​Aria still refused to believe it. "Enough with this nonsense! Hand over the Divine Treasury to us, Seraphina. You know you can't win with your healing arts alone. You can't protect anyone."

​Seraphina still didn't yield. The Light Saintess's resolve was absolute. "He is my life now. I cannot do as you said. You have to kill me first."

​"Wife, stay back." Vahn took a determined step forward, facing Aria directly. He refused to hide behind his wife and put them in danger anymore. He would fight, even if it meant facing death.

​"You wouldn't learn your place, Vahn Necrotis," Aria roared, charging toward Vahn with her own Lightning Greatsword, the air around her crackling violently.

​Ignoring Seraphina's plea, Vahn leapt forward with his Nuclear Dragon Greatsword.

​Buzzz, Crackle!

​The very air trembled and crackled before the clash could even happen.

​

​But before Vahn's sword could connect with hers, Aria flashed forward with lightning speed, bypassing the sword's reach and striking him squarely on the chest with her foot.

​Bang!

​As the Saintess of Lightning, her affinity and speed were obviously superior to his, even with his Black Hole Core fueling him. As a result, Vahn instantly crashed onto the ground, skidding violently on his back.

​Vahn felt the searing pain but quickly regained control of his body, instantly charging again.

​This time, he threw the Nuclear Dragon Greatsword into the air, simultaneously activating the Red Lightning Storm technique. The sword hung suspended, creating a vortex of destructive lightning meant to block and stop Aria's march.

​But Aria simply dashed through the vortex of lightning storm without a hitch. Vahn instantly understood that his lightning-based attacks wouldn't affect her.

​He immediately activated the Shadow Transformation Art before she could get a hold of him. He dissolved his body into a mere shadow form.

​Aria's hand met empty air. "Oh, you're quite sneaky, aren't you?" she said, smirking.

​Her special eyes sharpened, working like an X-ray, instantly penetrating the environmental illusion and tracking the signature of his Necrotic energy.

Very soon, she found his shadow form blended into the shadow of a nearby, sprawling tree.

​"Found you!" She immediately rushed forward and hacked down onto the shadow with a focused Lightning Force.

The lightning energy instantly countered the shadow form's properties, neutralizing the defense and bringing Vahn back to material form, leaving him vulnerable.

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