Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 1190

When Jenkins and the cat materialized, Alexia saw a man who, though young, had plain, unremarkable features, standing beside a calico that had grown noticeably larger.

Alexia chuckled softly, then raised her right hand and tapped the point between her eyebrows. A shimmer, like a transparent liquid, washed over her entire body. In an instant, she grew taller, her hair shortening and changing color while her face narrowed and elongated. She transformed into a young woman utterly unrecognizable to anyone.

They exchanged a nod. With a flourish of his sword, Jenkins led the way into the smoke-choked city center. Alexia followed closely, a blue cube rising into the air to etch a ring of ornate runes along the hem of Jenkins's black robe.

The situation was far worse than Jenkins had imagined. As they drew closer to where the two shells had landed, there was no one left standing. Mangled remains of bodies were indistinguishable from the rubble of collapsed buildings. Here and there, they spotted an unconscious survivor—a rare stroke of luck in this sea of devastation—but such cases were exceedingly few.

The city center was supposed to be the liveliest heart of the Ice and Snow Festival. Before the bombardment, the number of tourists and residents gathered here had likely been in the thousands. To make matters worse, most of Ruen’s police force had been stationed in the area to maintain order. After two blasts, everything was obliterated.

For political and other reasons, a city like Nolan could situate its churches in the urban core, but a royal capital like Ruen would never do so. Consequently, in the immediate aftermath, there were no organized groups to restore order. Their only hope was that the military garrison outside the city or the churches on the periphery would respond quickly and send reinforcements.

They were still a block away from the city hall when Jenkins scanned their surroundings and held up a hand, signaling Alexia to halt. Carried on the wind with flurries of snow was a sound—the low, dense hum of prayer. It was rhythmic but unnervingly deep, a chorus of hundreds of whispers blending into a single drone that seemed to echo from the abyss itself.

"Someone's conducting a large-scale ritual!"

Alexia came to that conclusion instantly. But the ritual was happening a block over. For now, both of them lifted their gazes to a nearby three-story building, of which only half was still standing.

A veiled woman stood atop the precarious roof. Frost spread from beneath her feet, creeping across the entire structure in crystalline white patterns that caused a subtle but distinct drop in the ambient temperature.

"Are you with the Church, or the Kingdom? Your response time is impressive," she called down. "I expected to wait at least twenty minutes before any Enchanters showed up. But this is fine. I was growing impatient waiting. I hope your skills are worth the price my employers are paying."

Her accent was even more foreign than Jenkins's own; it was clear the Hamparvo tongue was not her native language. But she had every right to be arrogant. Jenkins identified her as a level 6 Enchanter, a full level higher than their last opponent.

Alexia raised her pale right hand. As Jenkins's eyes were drawn to the skin on the back of her hand, a sudden, fierce gale erupted from nowhere, whipping dust from the ground and snow from the sky into a frenzy.

She gripped the silver-blue cube in her right hand and, with a surge of spirit, gave it a slow push forward. A sphere of blue light instantly shot out.

Boom! The woman on the roof threw up a hand, instantly condensing the swirling snow into a solid shield. The impact sent snowflakes scattering wildly as the silver-blue light arced away in all directions like lightning. Forced to raise her other hand to conjure a second shield, she still couldn't stop her momentum, her body sliding backward as she struggled to halt Alexia’s projectile.

By the time she brought herself to a stop, two long gouges were etched into the icy roof.

She had slid all the way to the edge of the roof before finally neutralizing the energy from Alexia's casual attack. Realizing her foes were far from ordinary, she abandoned all pretense. She crossed her wrists, extended her index and middle fingers while curling the rest, and rotated her palms in a gesture that mimicked a blooming flower.

With each successive chime, a white frost-flower bloomed at her feet, its petals spreading to cover half the roof and forming a colossal crystalline blossom in the air around her. The woman, standing at its center, raised her clasped hands high. As the immense petals began to rotate, beams of white light, pulsing with glacial power, shot out from between them, targeting Jenkins and Alexia.

Jenkins stepped forward and slashed, deflecting the first beam. His brow furrowed as he saw a trace of frost form on his blade. With a flick of his wrist, a shimmer of light ran down the sword as the flames of a Bestowal ignited along its length. He moved to shield Alexia. Latest content publıshed on novel·fire·net

His sword became a blur, leaving trails of light in the air as he met the barrage. The beams came thick and fast, like bullets from a heavy machine gun, threatening to tear through them both. But his blade intercepted every shot. Each blast of frigid light that met the White Bone Holy Sword was either vaporized by its flames or deflected to ricochet in every direction.

When the first volley ended, Jenkins planted his sword in the ground, breathing heavily. The ground around them was a mess of jagged ice spikes and frost-rimmed craters, all created by the beams he had deflected.

This was Ruen. Jenkins was reluctant to use his more conspicuous abilities, like [Twin Demons].

He glanced back at Alexia. She gave a silent nod, then struck his back with an open palm. The force of the blow sent him soaring smoothly into the air.

Mid-flight, he gave his sword a final twirl before absorbing it back into his body. Riding the momentum from Alexia’s push, he shot toward the crystalline flower on the rooftop.

He clenched his right fist, pulling his arm back as flames erupted to engulf his body. The intense heat melted through the flower's frosty petals, allowing him to shoot onto the rooftop like a cannonball.

The woman on the roof hadn't expected a direct aerial assault. With no time to fire another volley from the frost flower, she brought her clasped hands down from above her head. A frigid aura instantly enveloped her, and the white mist around her condensed into a swirling shroud of ice crystals.

Seeing no escape, the woman clenched her own fist.

A crimson figure and a white figure collided on the rooftop. Fire met ice; flame clashed with frost. Jenkins landed and threw his punch, flickering flames spraying from his arm. The woman met his attack with a steady, powerful strike of her own, sending a cloud of frigid energy rushing outward.

Flames danced behind Jenkins while a glacial mist swirled around the woman. Their fists met. The collision of fire and ice sent a shockwave of energy radiating in all directions.

A cloud of steam and frigid air momentarily obscured the scene. When it cleared, Jenkins was frowning, pulling his fist back and taking two steps away. He looked down in confusion as a layer of frost crept up his arm. His opponent, however, fared worse. She coughed up a spray of blood that froze solid before it even hit the roof. Clutching her chest, she stared in disbelief at her badly burned arm. Thanks to the effects of [The Stranger], even without his more unique abilities, Jenkins held the advantage in what would have otherwise been an even match of pure power.