1301  End of an Era

Diana could feel her overflowing spiritual energy take hold of the surroundings. Although she had never fought using it, only using it to fuel her Soulfire, Alaric was right again about this. She could feel the elemental mage lose his control over the elements as they scattered, abandoning him.

"What is this feeling?" asked Rolan with a smirk as he clutched his chest, raising defiant eyes to glare at her. "How can I be so… helpless?"

Earth had one glaring weakness in comparison to Alka, and that was witches. Gala brought spirits to their world and allowed them to manifest, teaching Diana about the benefits of spiritual energy that stemmed from the soul. Diana would have never believed it was effective in other scenarios, like fighting.

As her energy flowed outward, she could feel it being different. When she trained with Gala, her spiritual energy was high, but not unusual. Diana could guess the reason behind the increase in her energy: the one hundred and fifty years of waiting. In the end, she opened the dam and allowed her spiritual energy to roam free.

"Although I am tempted to kill you, I will give you one last option to survive," said Diana as she raised her ice sword toward the kneeling Rolan. "Release the sand thieves now, and I will let you leave this place alive. You have five seconds."

Rolan looked at her with a sweaty face, once again summoning his mana but failing to make it follow his commands. His soul was disturbed by the presence of the woman before him, and he could not focus or control his elements. Even before the five seconds were over, he knew that he had lost.

"How can I guarantee that you won"t attack me?"

"You cannot, but I am not someone to go back on my word," said Diana as she stared down at him. "You have no other option, either. Your five seconds are over. Decide now, or suffer the consequences," she finished her words with a flick of her sword, letting it freeze the hall. Rolan gulped and nodded, and Diana called her spiritual energy back to her body.

Although she expected Rolan to run or resist after she called her energy back, he did no such thing. Instead, he released the sand thieves as instructed, and they collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Most of them lived. The first to rise was a muscular man who wanted to attack Rolan.

Woosh!

An ice wall appeared in front of the man, who turned to Diana with confusion. "I promised that I would let him live," said Diana with a frown. "Are you the leader?"

"I am," said the man with a nod. "My name is Thorn. I met Lord Arthur a few days ago."

"Alright, Thorn. Take your men and leave now. This a.s.sa.s.sination attempt is over," said Diana as she released her spiritual energy again while turning to Rolan, who stood there with a frown. "Once they leave, I will leave as well."

10:56

"My lady, since you are here, we can finish what we have started," said Thorn with confusion, hoping to draw the Princess of Ice and Fire to his side. However, Diana glared at him, and he gulped down before calling to his comrades to gather and leave.

The sand thieves rushed out of the hall, leaving Alaric, Diana, and Rolan. Her mission was accomplished, and she could leave this place now. Rolan, however, seemed to have some questions before she left.

"What is your goal here in Sourna?" asked Rolan.

"Would you believe me if I said that we have nothing against Sourna itself?" said Diana as she retracted her sword and spiritual energy. Rolan did not attack, knowing that he was not her opponent anymore. "Sourna happens to be an important place."

"Because of the Netherborne Clan?" asked Rolan with a knowing smile. Diana did not answer him, but it was clear. "You dragged yourselves into a bigger mess than you think."

"We are not ones to fear battles."

"This is not going to be a battle, but a war," said Rolan with a frown. "You cannot win wars alone. There is a limit to how powerful one can be, and numbers are far stronger than individual strength. If you join every fight that you come across, one of them will spell your doom."

Rolan did not seem to be threatening them, but sending a warning. As Diana frowned and tried to read the hidden implications in his words, a resounding explosion came from above them. The entire palace began to shake while the ceiling cracked and a fissure appeared.

"This place is collapsing!" shouted Alaric as he stared at the ceiling. Diana rushed toward him and created an ice dome around the two. The ceiling came crashing down toward them, colliding with the ice, but failing to break through.

Once the place settled, Diana pushed through using her dome until she saw the lights outside. Then, her ice thawed, giving them a clear image of the battlefield. The hall was gone, and most of the pillars were destroyed. Atop the debris stood two figures, one impaling the other.

"What is happening?" asked Diana with confusion. Alaric climbed beside her and watched the two women, before his eyes widened with surprise. "Do you know them?" she asked.

"The swordswoman is Jian Ba, a member of the l.u.s.t Pirates, and the one with a sword through her chest is none other than Valeria Storm herself," muttered Alaric with confusion. Diana turned toward the scene and realized that this was bad.

Jian Ba raised Valeria Storm with her sword before throwing her away, letting her roll and crash to the rubble. Valeria coughed blood as more leaked from her chest, but was unable to stand. As for the swordswoman, she cleaned her long sword with a handkerchief.

"I was surprised by the trick, but I shouldn"t expect more from an old dog," said Jian Ba with disappointment. "This is the end of your era, Pirate Queen."