Capítulo 603: Chapter 603 – Taming the Swarm – 18 – End – Part 2

Selphira screamed, but not only from pain. Her connection to her beast and ice control was abruptly interrupted.

Julius also collapsed, the effort of maintaining so many mineral formations had drained his mana to the limit. His fusion was canceled, his body trembled as he tried to stand, but his legs refused to respond.

Below, Ren rose free. The tendrils of corrupted energy moved around him like hungry serpents, and his violet eyes fixed once more on the two defenseless figures on the wall.

But there was something different now. The predatory calculation was still there, but underneath it, something else flickered. Pain? Recognition? It was impossible to tell.

He raised his hand again, power gathering around his fingers like dark lightning preparing to strike.

Zhao, who had been coordinating the retreat before hearing the prison explosion, saw what was happening and dove downward, his wings forced to their maximum as he tried to close the distance between himself and his fallen companions. He fused to the maximum extent possible, pushing his body beyond its limits.

But even with his speed enhanced by complete fusion, it was obvious he wouldn’t arrive in time.

Selphira, with the gaping hole in her shoulder bleeding freely, clenched her teeth until her jaw creaked. Refusing to give up, refusing to heal herself, and refusing to let the child she had promised to protect become the monster that would destroy everything they loved.

She forced a final fusion with her beasts. A complete fusion that she knew would absorb the last vestige of her remaining energy and leave her helpless, but she was desperate.

Her hair turned white as fresh snow and her eyes became pools of deep blue that reflected centuries of accumulated power and wisdom.

With the last reserves of her power, she created… not solid ice. But a single drop of water, imbued with all the purifying energy she had left.

It was her final attack. Her last hope.

The drop condensed slowly, every molecule charged with intent. It was such a simple thing, but it contained everything she had learned about purification, about healing, about fighting corruption in all its forms.

Yet she knew it wouldn’t be enough. Ren was too strong now, too corrupted. The drop wouldn’t reach him before a frontal attack from the boy could disintegrate it. The corrupted energy surrounding him would simply consume her purification attempt like darkness swallowing a small candle flame.

Unless she put herself in front and…

It was then that an intense light appeared in the northern sky.

Ren, with his supernaturally sharpened senses, diverted his attention for a fraction of a second to observe the strange phenomenon. His head tilted slightly, a predator momentarily distracted by unexpected movement.

The light disappeared immediately, as if it had been only an illusion.

Selphira didn’t waste the chance. She launched her purifying water drop with all the speed and precision that centuries of combat had taught her. Every muscle memory, every instinct honed through countless battles, guided the projectile’s path.

The drop cut through the air like a liquid bullet, its trajectory perfect, its intention pure. It left a trail of crystalline mist in its wake, the very air seeming to clarify in its passage.

And then the light reappeared.

Not in the sky this time, but directly behind the water drop that had reached just in front of Ren’s face, amplifying its brightness until it became a miniature star that exploded upon touching the corruption.

The intensity was blinding. The light reflected off the drop’s particles and multiplied exponentially, creating an explosion of purity that swept the corruption from his face like a shockwave of clarity. For a moment, the dark energy that had wrapped around him like living armor simply evaporated.

For an instant, it revealed the face of the ordinary young man he had been before absorbing all that alien energy.

And in that instant of clarity, he saw something that left him paralyzed with terror.

Larissa’s face was there, only centimeters away, with her eyes closed. It was she who had created the light, who had somehow amplified Selphira’s attack. Her full fusion fairy wings and lynx horns were visible, both glowing with the same purifying radiance, their combined power focused into that single moment of intervention.

The fear that pierced Ren was more intense than any physical pain he had experienced.

In his microsecond of lucidity, he expected her to open her eyes.

He expected to see hatred in them, rejection, confirmation that he had forever lost one of those who mattered most to him.

He expected her to tell him how much she hated him for what he had done, for the decisions he had made, for the monster he had become.

He braced himself for the words that would shatter what remained of his heart.

But Larissa didn’t open her eyes.

She simply moved forward without saying a word and pressed her lips against his.

The kiss was soft, warm, completely human in contrast to the energy that had been consuming Ren. It tasted of tears and resolve, of forgiveness and…

And with that contact, something changed in the nature of the energy surrounding him.

Was it Larissa’s light that finished the purification? Was it Selphira’s water drop? Or was it…

Probably some part of all three.

The corrupted energy that had wrapped around Ren like hungry tentacles began to disintegrate, piece by piece, layer by layer. The violet patterns in his eyes faded, slowly replaced by the familiar green that Larissa remembered from more innocent years.

The process was gradual, like watching dawn break after the longest night of their lives. The dark veins beneath his skin faded. His hair stopped floating, settling back to its natural state.

Each second of the transformation seemed to take an eternity, yet passed too quickly. The monstrous aura that had made the air feel heavy and oppressive lifted like fog burning away in sunlight.

And when it finally ended, when the last trace of corruption vanished like smoke in the wind, Ren collapsed into Larissa’s arms, completely human once more.

There are two images in this chapter… make sure you did check them out… I spent quite a while on these, ǝʌol ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ǝʌol

This marks the climax of the arc, and soon we’ll be moving on to the next time skip!

Anyway, as always…

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