Chapter 827 – I Like This

The battle surged around them in a storm of claws, roars, and shimmering mana, yet Lux remained its calm and violent center.

He pivoted on his heel. A claw missed his face by inches. He stepped in. His dagger drove upward into a creature’s jaw. He twisted. Mana blood sprayed.

He ducked low. A tail swept above him. He rolled forward and rose behind his target. One blade slit the throat. The other stabbed into its spine. The echo dissolved before it hit the ground.

A second monster lunged. Lux teleported. He vanished. Reappeared at its flank. A quick slash severed its wing. He kicked its knee joint. It buckled. Both daggers plunged into its skull.

He spun. Blocked a claw with crossed blades. Redirected the force. Elbow strike to the snout. He followed with a throat stab. Clean. Efficient.

Another came from above. Lux leapt. Mid-air twist. Twin strikes across its chest. He landed in a crouch. Slashed backward without looking. A head rolled.

He advanced without pause. Step. Feint. Reverse grip stab to the heart. He kicked the body away. Teleport again. Reappeared behind the last echo. A swift slit across the neck.

Blood dripped from his daggers. He stood tall. Grinning.

The girls fought too, but their eyes kept drifting back to him.

Naomi moved, her fists crashing into a dragon echo’s jaw with bone-shattering force. She pivoted smoothly, ducking beneath a sweeping tail before delivering a brutal uppercut that dispersed the creature into particles of mana.

Rava unleashed torrents of pressurized water. Tentacles lashed out, restraining and tearing apart echoes that ventured too close. She laughed breathlessly.

Ely’s magic illuminated the battlefield. Arrows of light pierced through multiple enemies, while protective barriers shimmered around her companions.

Mira fought with draconic majesty, her strikes infused with ancient power. Flames coiled around her limbs as she engaged the echoes head-on, her presence commanding and regal. Yet even she, heir of dragons, found herself watching Lux with a subtle, appreciative smile.

He was a contradiction made flesh.

A CFO drenched in blood.

A strategist reveling in slaughter.

And it was intoxicating.

Lux spun through another pair of enemies, his twin daggers flashing like streaks of dark lightning. He ducked beneath a claw, sliced through a wing, then drove his blade upward through a creature’s skull. Mana erupted outward as the monster disintegrated, leaving him standing amid drifting particles of light and gore.

Blood dripped steadily from his daggers.

Ely, momentarily free of immediate threats, leaned closer to Mira and whispered, voice tinged with awe, "Tell me you’ve seen this before."

Mira didn’t take her eyes off Lux. A smirk curved her lips as she answered, "I have."

She paused, watching as Lux vaulted over a lunging beast and landed gracefully behind it, executing it with ruthless efficiency.

"But this?" Mira continued, her voice dropping to a husky murmur. "Much hotter."

She licked her lips, eyes gleaming. "I love this."

Ely felt her cheeks warm but couldn’t deny the truth. There was something undeniably alluring about a man who could balance power, elegance, and brutality so seamlessly.

The battle reached its climax as the final dragon echo emerged, larger and more ferocious than the rest. It descended from the chamber’s upper shadows with a deafening roar, wings spread wide as it targeted Lux directly.

Lux met its charge head-on.

He dashed forward, sliding beneath its snapping jaws and slashing across its chest. The creature retaliated with a sweeping tail, but Lux leapt upward, using the momentum to spin mid-air and drive both daggers into the base of its neck.

With a powerful twist, he tore the blades free and landed behind it.

The monster staggered.

Then dissolved.

Silence fell over the chamber as the last remnants of mana faded into the air.

Lux exhaled slowly, surveying the aftermath. His suit was thoroughly ruined, torn, bloodstained, and smoking faintly from residual magic. He glanced down at himself and sighed with theatrical disappointment.

"Ah... another ruined suit," he muttered. "Oh well..."

With a casual flick of his wrist, he removed the damaged outer layer and tossed it into his dimensional inventory, revealing the blood-splattered shirt beneath. Somehow, even in such a state, he still looked impeccably composed.

He turned toward the girls, his expression softening into a proud smile. "You guys did well."

Naomi crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Compared to you? This was nothing. We only killed, what, a dozen in total?"

Lux chuckled lightly. "Hey, that’s not the point."

Before anyone could respond, the ancient voice returned.

It reverberated through the chamber once more, guttural, thunderous, filled with primordial authority. The sound was less hostile now, more ceremonial, like a judge delivering a verdict.

Mira listened carefully, then nodded. "It gave us a pass," she said. "We’ve proven ourselves worthy."

As if in confirmation, the sealed passage rumbled and slowly opened again, revealing a new path forward. A faint, cool wind drifted from beyond, carrying with it an unfamiliar aura.

Without hesitation, the group proceeded through the corridor.

The environment changed dramatically.

They emerged into a vast open space, yet something felt profoundly wrong. The ground was barren, composed of dark, cracked stone devoid of life. The air was still and heavy, carrying no scent of snow or mountain wind. Above them stretched an endless expanse of darkness.

No moon.

No clouds.

No stars.

Just a void-like sky that felt detached from reality.

Naomi frowned, scanning their surroundings. "We aren’t outside yet, right?"

Ely extended her senses, golden light flickering softly around her fingertips. "I guess not," she replied. "This place feels... separate. Like a pocket dimension."

Rava looked around, unease creeping into her voice. "But why?"

All eyes turned toward Mira, except Lux, who was already studying the environment with analytical curiosity.

Mira raised her hands defensively, a sheepish smile forming. "Hey, I said it before. I also don’t know."

The group exchanged uncertain glances as the eerie silence pressed in around them.

Lux did not speak at first.

His gaze swept across the barren expanse. No wind. No ambient snow. No natural sky. The d

Larkness above was too smooth. Too uniform. Artificial.