"Who are you really, Ceti…" Asher mumbled with a baffled look, unable to believe the Ceti he knew was actually going toe-to-toe against the Moon Guardian.
How could Ceti be that strong? He wouldn't have found it this shocking if Ceti was a peak Soul Devourer.
But she was only a peak Soul Purger, and he was sure Ceti would have revealed it if she was hiding her true power, especially the fact that she was actually a peak Soul Devourer.
However, thinking about his own situation, where he never willingly revealed his past to anyone, he felt that there was also a chance Ceti might have kept it hidden even though it may not have seemed like it.
If that was the case, he knew he had no right to call out Ceti on that. But this made him realize how his women would feel if they came to know about his past, with the difference being that they might not look at him in the same way.
Asher's gaze drifted back to the unconscious forms of Rowena, Isola, and Flaralis, their bodies motionless on the ground.
Relief washed over him as he once again assessed their condition; the injuries they bore, though rendered them unconscious, were not life-threatening.
But the lightning that had coursed through their bodies had effectively shut down their mana circuits, holding them in a deep slumber from which they could not easily awaken.
He knew that it would take at least a couple of hours for them to wake up without the aid of an expert physician.
Gritting his teeth, he decided to sacrifice some of his life force to replenish some mana and try to wake them up.
Sickly dark green veins began to travel across his skin as he started the painful process, his face contorting with agony.
His body buckled under the strain, collapsing to the ground as he endured the torment of converting vitality into magical energy.
Meanwhile, Lupus and Luna were engaged in a vicious battle.
Each meeting of their claws sent ripples through space, distorting reality around them, while the ground beneath their feet bore witness to their might, giving way to form a vast crater that served as an arena for their conflict.
Neither werewolf was willing to give the other an inch, hurling crimson lightning bolts and swiping at each other with their lightning-infused claws. Their blurred figures moved at a blinding speed, making it difficult to discern one from the other.
With a roar, Lupus summoned a barrage of crimson lightning from the skies, aiming to ensnare Luna in a deadly trap.
Yet, Luna, her agility unmatched, danced between the bolts, her form a blur of motion that defied the assault, narrowly avoiding each bolt as they exploded around her, leaving trails of smoke in their wake.
But just as it seemed she had escaped certain doom, a relentless Lupus materialized before her, his claws, crackling with crimson streaks, raking across her back, leaving trails of blood that marred her pristine fur.
Undeterred by the pain, Luna retaliated with a ferocity of her own, her claw connecting with Lupus's face, forcing him to stagger back, a momentary lapse in the indomitable front he presented.
Lupus, wiping the blood from his snout, sought to pierce Luna's resolve with his words, "You know how this will end. So stop rebelling against your own people and come back to us. I can help you be who you truly are meant to be," he implored, a mixture of command and entreaty in his tone.
Luna, her response tinged with defiance and resolve, let the blood from her wounds serve as a testament to her refusal to yield, "I know how this battle will end, but that doesn't mean I need you to become who I want to be," she declared, her voice a cold rebuke to the path Lupus offered.
With that, she transformed once more into a streak of crimson lightning, continuing the confrontation. Lupus matched her, his form also blurring into motion as they collided once again, moving like shadows against the darkness, illuminated only by the flickering light of their figures that streaked through the air like meteors.
Quite some distance away, a small sanctuary of calm formed around Asher as he drew upon his newly replenished mana.
With a focus borne out of desperation and hope, he reached out, taking Rowena and Isola's hands in his own. The moment he initiated the flow of his mana into their bodies, it was as if he had struck a match in the darkness, reigniting the dormant energy within them to jumpstart their mana circuits. The subtle glow of revitalization spread through their veins, allowing mana to continue flowing through their bodies.
Within mere moments, the first signs of consciousness flickered across Rowena and Isola's faces, their eyelids fluttering open to the dark skies looming over them, their bodies momentarily wracked with the numbness of their forced slumber.
"Rowena, Isola, are you two alright?" Asher's voice, laced with concern and relief, was the anchor that drew them back to full awareness. They turned to him, their expressions a mix of confusion and dawning comprehension as memories of the last thing they remembered came flooding back in.
"A-Asher...what happened? You...You were..." Isola's voice trailed off, her eyes wide with disbelief and relief, not yet fully grasping the shift in the tide of battle. Last time she saw, Asher was near-death under the Moon Guardian's attacks.
Rowena was also astonished, but she was glad he was safe and with her now.
But then she noticed a certain someone missing among them, "Ceti...where is she?" Her voice carried the weight of dread and hope intertwined, her gaze scanning the horizon for any sign of her.
Asher furrowed his brows as he wondered how he was going to explain it to them.
But then he answered, "Would you believe it if I told you that Ceti is the one fighting over there with the Moon Guardian?" His words hung in the air, a question that seemed to defy the reality they knew.
"You are serious..." Isola's response was a whisper, her disbelief mirrored in her eyes as she struggled to reconcile Asher's claim with the world as she understood it.
Rowena focused her attention on the distant storm, wanting to see for herself.
"How..." The question died on her lips as she observed the clash of the werewolves, the realization that Ceti, her Battlemaster and friend, was now something more.
Asher, sensing their confusion and disbelief, ventured into an explanation, his words a rapid recounting of the events that had unfolded," Well…"
Rowena and Isola listened, their expressions a mix of shock, awe, and a dawning understanding. With each revelation, their grasp of the situation—and of Ceti's, or rather, Luna's, true nature—deepened.
"So all this time, she was hiding her strength?" Rowena mumbled with a subtle shake of her head while rubbing Flaralis' face to help soothe its pain.
"I am not really sure. Both seemed like different people. I don't think Ceti is that good at hiding her true self like that. But I can be wrong," Asher said with furrowed brows.
But he wondered...who was the real Ceti? The one he knew or the one that just showed up with a different name?
"He is right. I may not have known Ceti for long, but we have spent enough time together for me to really understand her. She might be a bit hot-headed, but she is a very simple woman at heart. I don't think she purposefully deceived any of us. Even if we ignore all that, she saved us all and is still fighting," Isola said confidently with a hint of worry in her eyes.
Rowena looked at the thunderstorm once more as she mumbled, "I had known her my entire life, and yet I had no idea that the Moon Guardian's successor was beside me the entire time. Could my father have known when he assigned her to be my right hand?"
Asher furrowed his brows as he felt like some of the puzzle pieces were falling into place. It always seemed odd that a Bloodburn King would happily accept werewolves with open arms and even give one of them a very distinguished position beside his only daughter.
And now, after he came to learn about Ceti's true strength, Asher felt that Rowena's father must have appointed Ceti to be her right hand because he must have known who she truly was.
Was he planning to use Ceti as leverage against the Moon Guardian since she was his granddaughter?
That was the only explanation he could think of for that scheming old bastard.
The air, thick with the scent of mana and blood, bore witness as one of the crimson streaks materialized into the figure of Luna, her fall to the earth marked by a grimace of pain and a spray of blood.
Lupus, his majestic white fur marred by the evidence of their brutal encounter, stood over her, a victor yet visibly worn from the battle. As the light in Luna's blood-red eyes dimmed, a profound transformation overtook her. The fierce visage of the werewolf receded, revealing her humanoid form beneath. Her once radiant fur receded into her red skin, replaced by a cascade of long, white hair that fell over her shoulders, framing a face marred by battle's toll. Dark red blood trickled from her nose, a small contrast against her red skin as she slowly wiped it off and looked at it with her lips pressed together.
Lupus, too, shifted back to his humanoid form, his injuries less severe but nonetheless a sign of the battle's intensity. He stood before Luna, an offer of allegiance and power extended in his outstretched hand, "Your other half is holding you back. You have to get rid of her if you are to achieve your true potential. I can help you do that if only you would stop being stubborn and return to your rightful place," he proposed, his voice resonating with a deep, persuasive timbre.
He stood before Luna, an offer of allegiance and power extended in his outstretched hand, "Your other half is holding you back. You have to get rid of her if you are to achieve your true potential. I can help you do that if only you would stop being stubborn and return to your rightful place," he proposed, his voice resonating with a deep, persuasive timbre.
