Frostfire Legacy

Chapter 276 Face Off!

It took Vanessa no less than fifteen seconds to make her way down from the floating island to the altar that was located underneath. At least she did not crash land, despite the fact that everything was so quickly. She was still in charge of the situation.

*FLAP!*

Her body came to a complete stop with a forceful beat of her wings, and she did so by landing directly on her two feet. As soon as she landed, she retracted her wings, which resulted in it being completely obscured from view.

"So this is...?" As she stared at the enormous gem in front of her, Vanessa said something.

It was a scalenohedral prism that stood around five meters tall and radiated with the tranquil color of calm mana, which was similar to a pale blue. The Altar it was on top of was closer to a Ziggurat than a platform, being an over 30-meter-high truncated pyramid. On the flat altar top, a large magic circle was drawn with the crystal right at its very center.

As soon as Vanessa took a short look at the drawing, she immediately understood what it was. "A teleportation circle? The coordinate set is..." While she was quickly scrutinizing the drawing, she whispered something to herself.

It didn't take long before she figured everything out.

The magic circle served as the "entrance" to the core area, which was where Lorelai was supposed to be staying. At precisely the moment that she was attempting to figure out how to activate it, the crystal began to light. A bright white flash washed her vision, causing Vanessa to close her eyes for a moment.

"...!"

At that very moment, she experienced the rush of mana that was filling the magic circle that was beneath her feet. While remaining vigilant and cautious, she utilized the blood that she had collected earlier and covered her body with it as if it were armor.

Her senses were then assaulted for a brief moment by a sensation of weightlessness, which disappeared as soon as she landed on flat ground.

But even before her vision returned, she was greeted by a pleasant and recognizable aroma that tickled her nose. It was the scent of blood, coming from someone "important" to her, enough to memorize its unique aroma.

In a flash, Vanessa's senses spread, detecting everything that was within that space. The closest to her were two figures, one man and one woman whose presence was slightly familiar. The man was stepping on top of the woman's head, keeping her down and in check.

When the other two were in the thick of the fight, they were—

'No...'

Instead of referring to it as "middle," it seems to be more accurate to state that it was almost finished. Of the two combatants, one was already so weakened that it wouldn't be strange if he kicked the bucket any second now.

And the other was a person with a mysterious presence—a presence that was almost as powerful as her own. "Hold on!" Suddenly, she became aware of the person who was being pummeled to the point of utter submission.

Without delay, Vanessa activated a simple movement-type skill, vanishing into the shadows and moving in front of the half-dead man—Aster.

"Hold it right there~!" She raised her voice, before lifting her hand and catching the other party's weapon, a simple-looking wooden staff.

"...!"

An expression of horror flashed on the face of the other party as soon as she was able to seize the weapon. Lorelai wasn't expecting Vanessa to appear so quickly! Things kept going outside of her predictions that it was making her feel irritated!

Naturally, Vanessa's vision was already beginning to return, and as a result, she grinned and turned her head to look at Aster behind her.

"We were gone for only a moment, and you're already on death's doorstep. You're lucky we made it just in time." She muttered.

"You..."

Lorelai's eyes narrowed as she frowned, keeping watch over Vanessa's every move. However, her voice filled with anger at getting interrupted didn't reach Vanessa's ears. Since the enticing aroma of Aster's blood continued to tickle her nose, she found herself wishing she could take a bite out of him.

"You should really stop playing with my meal," She muttered, her thoughts slipping out of her mouth as she licked her lips.

Seeing her antics, Lorelai took a few steps back, before checking Aster and her alternatingly. "You've made a grave mistake by interfering," she exclaimed in a displeased voice.

"Is that it?"

The expression on Vanessa's face changed from one of awe to one of a sneering grin, and her eyes flashed a predatory glimmer. She inclined her head in anticipation. "Oh, darling, I live for mistakes like this."

*WHOOSH!*

Vanessa was unable to allow Aster's condition to worsen any further, so she swiftly shared her energy with him. She let the blood that she had gathered cover Aster's body, which not only healed his wounds but also removed the curse that had been placed on him.

"No way...!" After witnessing the ease with which her curse was lifted, Lorelai was unable to believe what she was seeing. "Do you have holy blood or something?!"

"Hmm?" Vanessa hummed as she contemplated whether or not to joke about with her. "Well, no." But she decided to simply tell the truth. "The blood I collect just has a passive dispelling effect, so don't think too deeply about it."

The time bought from their short chat was enough for Aster to return to full health. Although he was healed, it wasn't like his energy would simply return too, as such, he remained sprawled on the ground for now.

"... Vanessa?" Aster muttered, finally realizing who was the one who saved him.

His expression turned bitter as if lamenting his weakness. "Sorry, I... couldn't even win against Lorelai." He apologized.

"It's fine." Vanessa dismissed his depression casually. "Lorelai's level is more than ten times yours, anyway. The only way you can win is if she stood in place doing nothing."

*WHOOSH!*

Vanessa gathered the blood once more, before morphing them into one solid object—a rapier, with a red rose motif as the handguard.

"Rather, allow me." She exclaimed full of confidence. "I'll show you that levels alone aren't everything."