Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Winter...had come. Chapter 250 – Winter...had come. Not even a nanosecond had passed, but the destruction was already off the charts. They had spammed skills and techniques with the intention to kill, even if Eric didn’t like that, there was no other choice. Because they were fighting a World Dominator rank, and if they didn’t strike to kill, they wouldn’t even be able to pass the passive barrier her divine body granted her. The space and the landscape around them were completely ruined. They didn’t leave anything—whether alive or not, whether solid or abstract—in one piece. Everything was torn apart, compressed, frozen... and after all that, "Arise," Malrik’s voice echoed as he raised the dead around him while at the same time calling upon his death army from the realm of death. Soon, the space was flooded with the stench of death. Malrik looked at the collapsed space, time, and even the shredded threads of causality in front of him. The sight was horrific and mystical at the same time—but all he, and the others too, cared about was the being inside that broken space. But the answer was obvious, they could still sense her presence, as strong as ever. If anything... it only kept getting stronger. Soon, the shadow realm itself acted, healing its surroundings with speed faster than light, restoring space back to its stable form and finally, they saw how Aerica was faring. And as they looked at her, or what they assumed was her, they couldn’t be sure anymore. Because the only thing in front of them was a cloud of dark grey dust that seemed to phase in and out of existence. "Ah... my love... this harsh...?" A feminine voice, filled with deep love but also obsession, echoed through the now empty, fractured landscape. Aerica’s voice. Soon, the dust began to gather, and from it Aerica’s body was reconstructed still as beautiful and deadly as ever, without a single wound. She didn’t look at anyone else. Only Eric. "Do you mean your words?" Aerica asked, her heart beating with hope and unfiltered eagerness. At the same time, she raised one single slender finger and blocked a slash made by one of the Death Knights. She turned her head, looked at it with an expressionless face, and then let her gaze fall on the rest of the undead standing behind Malrik. "Don’t interrupt me when I speak to my love. This is your first warning..." She said it softly, before flicking her finger nonchalantly and immediately dust erupted from it and shot toward the undead with speed beyond mere SSS-rank comprehension. "...but also, your last." BOOOOM! The moment the dust touched the undead, they exploded in a fury of light-gray flames, burning them all to ash in a matter of seconds. Then, without the slightest care for what she had just done, she turned her gaze back to Eric and instantly, her cold, blank expression faded, replaced by eyes brimming with love. "Were you serious, my love? Will you go with me if I win?" she asked again. This time, no one interrupted her. Selene, standing at the side, watched calmly, even silently rooting for Aerica. She liked this kind of girl very much. So, she didn’t say anything. She simply observed. ’You do know you might die if she truly decides to go for the win, right?’ Luminira’s voice echoed in her head. But Selene’s answer was instant and unshaken. ’I won’t die. And also, it’s your turn to act. So get out.’ And at the same time, Eric responded, "Yes," he said truthfully. Because if they lost, it’s not like he could save himself from this woman’s clutch anyway, so he simply accepted. But what a mistake. Because after all Eric had done to her, Aerica had long surpassed the limit she could endure without him at her side, so, Right now, she was extra motivated to finish the fight quickly. In one attack. So Aerica didn’t say anything else. She just... "Domain: Shallowed Dust." ...activated her Domain. And the moment she did, the space around them was flooded with dust that swallowed them whole, dragging them into a realm of dust. But it wasn’t ordinary dust, this dust devoured mana and disrupted the mind, corroding thought itself. The longer you remained inside, the less energy you had to fuel your skills, and the more your mind was weakened...until you could do nothing. And already, the group was starting to feel the effects creeping in. Sensing how dire the situation had become, Luminira finally decided to appear, manifesting in her white cat form with glowing purple eyes on Selene’s shoulder. She looked at Aerica for a long moment, then sighed and leapt down, walking toward her with slow but confident steps. Aerica looked at her with calm amusement. ’A divine beast, huh.’ And the more Luminira walked, the colder this dust-filled world became until finally, when she was just a couple of meters away.... "Divine Beast Transformation – Ba’astara of Frigid End." And, Winter came. ... At the same time, a duo of destruction had just appeared atop the massive Castle of Mortis. "How do you think we should make our entrance?" Red asked, eyes gleaming with bloodlust and war. And indeed, she was The Elysiari of War, the only one in Noah’s group with such an affinity. War. That’s why right now, with battle erupting all across the realm, Red was at her peak after all she was empowered by the tension, the conflict, the anticipation. She didn’t want anything else. Just war. She was still only a Supreme rank, since she hadn’t gained influence in Laeh yet, but her combat ability... even Aphasia and the others were wary of it. Because she was relentless. Because she was war incarnate. She didn’t need to think, she knew instinctively how to fight to win. Anya at her side bore the same expression. She too wanted nothing more than destruction. And so, "You know my ways," Anya said, raising her hand. "Everything I do must be linked to destruction. That’s why..." She paused. Red didn’t need instructions, she raised her hand too, as if already knowing what was coming. "Let’s destroy this castle, shall we?" Anya said with a half-smile, before whispering: "Vaelgrim’s Style – The Pit of Chaos." Red followed, voice low and calm, "Vaelgrim’s Style – The Drum of War." And then, A deep, abyssal, hollowed pit opened beneath the Castle of Mortis, releasing a heavy energy of destruction that cracked and destabilized space and time, swallowing the entire castle whole. At the same time, a goddess-like illusion appeared in the sky of the shadow realm. She wore battle armor and resembled Red closely. That illusion opened its mouth wide and let out a shout and instantly, a sudden drumbeat with a deep, war-driven melody echoed through almost all of the shadow realm, causing enemies below SSS rank to collapse unconscious. The Castle of Mortis crumbled like it was made of sand. And in that very moment, 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖 "WHO DARES?" A deep and furious voice of an Original echoed through the entire realm, so powerful that even the realm itself began to corrode. Including Anya and Red. —End of Chapter 250—