Every cherry blossom petal incinerated before Rini could even shift her expression. The pillar of lightning slammed into her, consuming skin, flesh, and bone in a heartbeat. All that remained was a single white hand, a diamond ring still clinging to its ring finger. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Night had long since surrendered to morning. The sun began its slow ascent overhead, but the conquest of Heles was nearly complete. Grey smoke billowed into the firmament, blotting out the sun and plunging the earth below into a suffocating twilight.

The stench of charred meat and molten skin hung heavy in the air. Once-lush emerald forests were reduced to charcoal, their ashes drifting like black snow.

The screams of the wretched had mostly fallen silent. Only a few miserable souls remained, wailing from their hiding spots. Unfortunately, none could hide from the Inner Eye of the Asura. One by one, they were rounded up. The men were put to the sword immediately, while the women were dragged to the camps as candidates for the Valkyrie.

It was a nightmare of ruin born from the Great War. Crying changed nothing; tears were merely a comfort for hearts whose humanity had been eroded, as the line between violence and cruelty blurred into nothingness. It was a beautiful painting rendered in the ash of a burning future. This was the nightmare known as Morning Grey.

Nevare watched Artur as he pushed aside the corpse of his comrade. The blow Sigurd had taken had not only pulverized his skull but had left behind a residual current of lightning that was now unraveling the remains of his body.

Nevare could see the fear in her brother’s eyes. It wasn’t fear of her, but the terror of someone who no longer had a meat-shield to hide behind. The delusions infecting Artur’s mind truly left Nevare speechless. Why did he still think she would let him live after this? Could he not feel her killing intent?

"Artur, I should thank you. You’ve gathered every person who could have hindered our absolute control over Heles. Do you want me to let you live? Perhaps..." Nevare said, a sadistic smile curling her lips.

Artur glanced at what was left of Rini. Would he be angry? Would he regret letting the girl who loved him so much die so pointlessly? No... he merely stared at the remains of the woman who had shared his bed as if he were looking at the scraps of a prostitute who had pleased him for a single night.

Truly repulsive. What was actually going on inside his head?

"Are you listening, Artur?"

Artur turned to Nevare. She could still feel that loathsome gaze. Her pity and curiosity had finally evaporated.

"Artur?" Nevare asked once more, searching for any trace of her cute little brother.

"Where is Anna?" Artur asked, his voice hoarse, his throat parched.

Nevare froze. What madness was this now?

"Why are you asking that?"

"Where is Anna? Where is my sister?"

"..."

Nevare was genuinely at a loss for words. She was so stunned that for a moment, she thought he was rambling about something else entirely.

"WHERE IS MY SISTER?!"

"..."

Nevare could only let out a long, weary sigh. "I told you. My name is Nevare, the Progenitor Queen!" she answered, staring directly into Artur’s eyes to extinguish whatever embers of hope remained.

She saw Artur clench his fists until they bled. Was he finally waking from his delusion? Nevare braced herself. Though Artur had seemed serious during their fight, she knew he was still holding back. He hadn’t used the artifact that helped him defeat Nash, nor had he opened his Domain. While he might have avoided his Domain earlier to spare his teammates from its range, there was now no reason left for him to restrain his arsenal.

"You’re right! You aren’t my sister—I know that! You’re just a monster! Tell me, where is my sister, Anna?!"

Nevare had expected too much. Artur seemed only half-lucid. Yet, the man finally drew another artifact. It took the shape of an ordinary sword, but Nevare could feel the weight of Law within it. Perhaps Artur realized that the Soul Spear would no longer work against her.

While soul-rending attacks were lethal, there were many ways to evade them. A powerful mage was defined not just by their destructive output, but by their tactical flexibility. Though Nevare was a "monster," she was still a mage. She could not use pure Dragon Prana like an Asura, but she could weave spells. From the mages they had captured and the grimoires they had plundered, Nevare’s arsenal of spells was sufficient to rival those of a Mana Ruling Family.

"She is dead, and all that remains is me—Nevare."

Nevare didn’t know what Law was imbued in the artifact sword in Artur’s hand, but she prepared herself. Defensive and detection spells were cast in rapid succession. She would be ready for anything.

Raising his sword and settling into a combat stance, Artur’s face shifted into a mask of absolute resolve. There was no more mercy in his eyes. To him, the being before him was no longer Anna, but a monster named Nevare. There was only vengeance, bitterness, and the venom of hatred burning in his gaze. He came now solely for blood.

The air around him hummed, and electricity danced across his body. The phantom Lightning Tiger vanished, absorbed back into Artur’s form.

Nevare did the same. Her Indra manifestation was pulled back into her body. The Vajra disappeared from her hand, transforming into a lightning serpent that coiled around her, covering her entire frame.

"Domain!"

"Pringgadini!"

As that form rose, the secret of the Valkyrie’s power was unveiled. Though Nevare called herself a mage, the reality was different. Mages were those beloved by Mana. Valkyries, conversely, seemed to be the targets of Mana’s hatred. It was impossible for them to ask Mana to lend them strength.

However, that didn’t mean they couldn’t use it. Dragon Prana was a far more potent energy—one could even call it a natural predator of Mana. With Dragon Prana flowing through her veins, Nevare could forcibly manipulate Mana to create miracles equivalent to spells. But because Nevare and the other Valkyries merely subjugated Mana rather than being recognized by it, they could not summon a Mana God Form.

This should have made a Valkyrie—even one at Level 4—inferior to an same Constellation level mage. However, their King, Moku, had devised a mad solution. If Mana refused to grant them a divine form, why not borrow the form of entities that did not fall under Mana’s dominion?

The answer lay in the Mind Realm—a place born from the ideas, imaginations, and thoughts of every sentient being. In that lethal plane resided creatures with power far exceeding any Mana God in the history of the Meer Continent. Moku had even remarked that he had yet to see the limits of Mak Lampir’s power. It was said that a single feather from the Garuda of the Mind Realm could easily lay waste to this entire continent.\

Securing entities capable of granting power equivalent to a Mana God Form was, in truth, a simple task. Using the Pandava as a medium, Moku forged contracts with these formidable beings.

As payment for lending their strength to a Level 4 Constellation Mage Valkyrie, these Mind Realm entities were allowed to experience the Valkyrie’s current emotions. It was an intoxicating trade for them; the greatest fear of a Mind Realm entity is dimensional erosion—a process that turns them into emotionless husks, like walking statues. The raw sensations of the Valkyries provided a temporary reprieve from that oblivion.

The true obstacle, however, remained the Domain. Because they were loathed by Mana, Valkyries were naturally incapable of forming one. At its core, a Domain is the act of borrowing the world’s governing laws from Mana within a confined area. Mana assists a mage in subjugating reality inside their Domain, aligning the space with the specific laws they have mastered.

Consequently, for one who does not possess a Domain, fighting an enemy inside theirs is akin to fighting the world itself. Fortunately, the solution to this problem was not as complex as manifesting a Mana God Form.

The answer was Pringgadini—the art of using Dragon Prana to control Mana located outside the user’s body. Originally, Pringgadini was used only to manipulate the organs of mutated beasts. However, as the applications of Dragon Prana evolved, the Weapon Path emerged, using external Mana to forge armaments. Pringgadini was nearly abandoned until a new, far more terrifying application was discovered.

It was not Nevare who perfected Pringgadini, but Gupita. The woman who followed Nevare like a shadow possessed a genius rivaling the Alrunes of R-18. She researched the incantations and realized that Pringgadini could control not just mutated organs, but raw Mana itself.

The problem was that it required absolute spiritual strength to erase the Will of Mana in the physical world. As a result, in its early stages, Pringgadini could only control Mana within a one-meter radius of the user.

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Hey everyone! Are you ready for next month? 🔥

The conflict in TROC is reaching a boiling point, and I know many of you are dying to see what happens next. To keep the momentum going, I’ll be opening up a massive Privilege access of up to 30 Chapters next month!

You can choose the tier that fits your coin stash best. Honestly, the 5-Chapter tier for only 12 Coins is an absolute steal if you want to stay ahead of the curve. And for those of you who want to go on a full-blown reading marathon, you can unlock all 30 Chapters for 291 Coins.

What do you think of this setup? Are you ready to save up those coins and witness Moku’s next move?