Chapter 136: Nerissa vs Terrence (4)
Smashed down by the massive dragon’s paw, Nerissa’s movements were completely restricted, and she was having an extremely hard time escaping the pressure.
Resisting the crushing force pinning her to the floor, she knew her guard was entirely exposed, and she desperately wanted to break free immediately.
Still, she remained somewhat rest assured that Terrence couldn’t actually do any real damage to her despite this temporary opening. Her beast’s spirit was still fully active around her frame, meaning any physical attacks would simply bounce off without harming her.
"Finally... I caught you," Terrence said, stepping closer.
Nerissa hissed through her teeth, replying with a strained stutter. "Even... if I am in this position... you still can’t hurt me."
Terrence simply shrugged. "Sure, I can’t... but she can!"
"Who...?"
A sharp spark of light materialized right next to Terrence, and before Nerissa could even process what was happening, her consciousness vanished into complete darkness.
Terrence had successfully summoned the Black Fairy Beast—a mental specialist creature he had previously captured within the Nexus Network.
With various beasts still stored inside his Beast Sanctuary, Terrence had purposely avoided selling every creature he owned for this exact reason. If he ever had to launch an emergency attack on the estate, he needed specific utility beasts to aid him.
The Black Fairy Beast resembled a massive butterfly, entirely pitch-black and nearly half the size of an adult human. Its eerie aura alone was enough to intimidate anyone, as the species was notorious for its terrifying capacity for mental manipulation and brainwashing.
Up on the balcony, the Five Generals of the Elder Council watched with eyes full of deep concern. Nerissa was now completely ensnared within the grasp of the Black Fairy’s mental power, and it certainly wouldn’t be good news for the family if this continued.
Terrence turned his head and stared straight up at the Five Generals. They flinched slightly, surprised that he had known their exact location all along. But then again, this was Terrence—a wasted genius of the Lee Family—so there was no reason to expect him to be oblivious to his surroundings.
"You can’t do anything about it now," Terrence called up to them, his voice echoing through the grand hall. "I have caught her, and if any of you try to intervene, I will do the exact same thing to you. I will torture you with your worst traumatic memories, playing them back again and again until you surrender and go brain-dead. Do you want to test me?"
The five observers fell completely silent. In truth, they had been still since the beginning of the fight. Their specific job description wasn’t to dictate the overall fate of the family, but rather to observe high-level incidents before acting on explicit orders from the Elder Council.
Unable to make a decisive move without risking their own minds, they could only stand back and hope for the best.
"I see. Good... at least you are all smart," Terrence muttered.
He turned his back on them, though Avery remained floating in the air above, actively guarding his rear. Noir followed closely behind as Terrence marched over to Nerissa’s immobilized, helpless body.
’What should I do with her now...? Should I just kill her right here?’ he thought. A second later, a cold chuckle escaped his lips.
’Why shouldn’t I? She is a massive threat to me, and her loyalty to the family is absolute.’
A Dark Slash radiated from Terrence’s extended arm as he aimed directly for Nerissa’s chest. He swung his arm cleanly, and as the dark projectile connected, Nerissa’s body twitched violently from the sharp pain and sudden loss of blood.
Her defenses were broken, and with the Dark Slash hitting her directly, it should have been game over for her. Fresh blood trickled down from her exposed torso, staining the weaved fabric of her tight leggings.
’She surely is tough against physical attacks...’ Terrence thought, frowning as he realized she was still breathing.
Terrence launched a second Dark Slash, but it still failed to instantly end her life. Her body, heavily amplified by her phantom beast’s lingering spirit, was still passively resisting lethal trauma.
This was becoming deeply irritating for Terrence. Why was she still this formidable despite having her mind completely incapacitated?
Raising his arm for the third time, he swung once more. This time, the dark blade cut deep into her flesh, and blood began to flow like a mad waterfall across the marble floor.
Terrence finally allowed a faint smile to touch his face at the sight of the deep wound. Preparing the final blow, he raised his hand again, aiming directly for her neck to ensure an instant kill.
GROAN!
Unexpectedly, the Black Fairy Beast let out a painful, agonized groan in mid-air.
Terrence’s eyes widened in sheer shock as the mental specialist beast slowly lost its hold over Nerissa, suffering under an immense, sudden mental toll.
This could only mean one horrifying thing: Nerissa’s sheer willpower was violently fighting back against the brainwashing, and his strategy had failed.
’Shit!’
Terrence scrambled backward, frantically releasing multiple Dark Slashes toward her. Noir leaped in to assist, casting dark slashes of his own, while Avery unleashed a short, highly concentrated burst of Dragon’s Breath—a white torrent of blazing fire that flew straight toward Nerissa’s position.
Seeing no immediate result from the distance, Terrence barked an order to his third summon. The Stone Golem stepped forward, raising its thick, rocky arms and slamming them down onto her head multiple times before retreating back to Terrence’s side.
"Fuck! Fuck!" Terrence cursed aloud.
Nerissa endured every single hit. Despite her heavily weakened state and tattered condition, she somehow managed to withstand both the physical bombardment and the mental invasion.
Her eyes snapped wide open, glaring up at Terrence with a gaze completely devoid of human emotion.
"I don’t know why you felt the need to show me those memories..." she rasped, her voice cold as ice. "...But I have to thank you for that. Now, my resolution to destroy you is stronger than ever."
Terrence felt his heart violently skip a beat. Nerissa was bad news—a total nightmare. There was simply no way he could defeat her right now; he had already thrown every single high-tier attack he possessed at her, and she was still standing.
Before he could even fall back, Nerissa exploded forward like a flash of lightning, reaching out and gripping his neck in an iron vice-grip.
His body went flying backward with her momentum, and a split second later, his spine slammed violently against one of the hall’s massive marble support columns.
CRACK!
An intense pang of agony registered through his entire aching body. With every passing second under Nerissa’s crushing grip, it became entirely impossible for air to enter his lungs.
Avery, Noir, and the Stone Golem all rushed forward simultaneously to tear her off him, but the moment their attacks reached her, a shimmering energy barrier materialised to deflect them.
It was the work of the Five Generals up on the balcony. Noticing their sudden intervention, Nerissa offered them a brief side-glance before turning her eyes back to Terrence, her expression twisted into a mad, lethal stare.
"It is over for you now," she whispered softly. "Your luck has finally run out."
And slowly, as the oxygen was cut off completely, Terrence’s consciousness began to drift away into total darkness...