Chapter 174
His sword hummed in hunger, storing the stolen pain and heat within its cursed steel.
Kael didn’t hesitate. With a vicious roar, he counterattacked, lunging forward, his blade slashing in a brutal diagonal arc. The stored energy from Maledict Counter unleashed all at once — a shockwave of blackened force exploded outward, amplifying the slash until it roared like a cannon blast.
Mira barely managed to leap back. The shockwave grazed her side, sending her skidding across the cracked ground, boots carving trenches in the dirt.
But Mira wasn’t just strong — she was relentless.
Snarling, she spun and unleashed a rain of fire missiles, each one screaming through the air with burning fury.
Kael ducked behind a rusted container, grunting as explosions peppered the area. One missile clipped the edge, sending shards of burning metal spraying across his back.
He hissed in pain but pressed his hand to his blade again, muttering under his breath. Dark magic crackled from his fingertips, and he cast Hexbrand.
A thin, almost invisible glyph blinked into existence on Mira’s back — a brand of creeping misfortune.
Mira didn’t notice it immediately, but Kael smirked through the blood on his lips.
The longer this goes... the more you’ll screw yourself.
And indeed — Mira’s next move, a sharp high kick laced with flame, missed Kael’s face by an inch, when before she would have hit dead-on.