Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

While Nero clashed fiercely against the demonized mage, on the opposite end of the battlefield, Khione faced her own storm—an enemy no less terrifying.

The demonized knight had completely transformed, his humanoid form twisted into a grotesque form of man and salamander. Mottled crimson scales rippled across his muscular body, gleaming under the faint sunlight. His limbs were thick and coiled with reptilian strength, and his tail—long, spiked, and whipping with molten heat—slammed the ground with violent anticipation.

Then, his maw split open, jagged teeth glistening with venomous saliva, and from within the furnace of his body came a hiss—

"Frrrshhh—!!!"

A torrent of purple flame erupted, a concentrated beam of corruption and fire hurtling toward Khione with terrifying speed.

Siiii~

The flame twisted like a living serpent, hissing, burning the earth beneath it, and leaving trails of blackened ash in its wake.

But Khione didn't flinch.

Her icy blue eyes reflected the roaring flame, her expression a sculpture of focused stillness.

"Ice Shield!"

Her voice was soft—calm in contrast to the violence approaching her. Raising her wand, she summoned the full might of her prana. The air around her dropped in temperature instantly, freezing the very mist, as snowflakes materialized from thin air, dancing to her will.

WHOOSH—!

In a burst of frost, a massive ice shield erupted before her—crafted of condensed mana and elemental precision. It stood like a glacial wall between her and the inferno.

BANG!!!

The moment the purple flame collided with her shield, the entire forest shook violently.

''!!"

Kaboom!

An explosion of fire and ice sent shockwaves outward, kicking up debris, tearing bark from trees, and cracking the very ground beneath them.

Steam and sparks burst in every direction as two opposite Laws clashed—pure fire against absolute cold. The energy surged skyward like a typhoon, ripping apart nearby foliage.

Khione stood unmoving behind the shield, her long white hair fluttering wildly, caught in the fury of the magical storm. Frost crawled across the earth beneath her, while cracks glowed with residual heat near the impact zone.

The ice held.

But only barely.

CRACK! CRACK!

A massive fissure split through the center of the glacial wall, signaling the end of the clash.

With one last hiss, the purple flames died down, leaving behind only smoke and molten earth.

Khione lowered her wand.

Her breath left her lips in a cold stream, the mist of exertion rising even in the heat. Her expression remained unchanged—but inside, she knew this fight would take every ounce of her strength.

Across the ruined clearing, her enemy stepped forward, still smoldering, purple fire licking from the edges of his scaled limbs.

"So the little princess has claws…" the salamander-man growled, grinning through jagged teeth.

"Let's see how long they last."

Khione didn't respond.

But the ice beneath her feet cracked slightly—a quiet promise of what was to come.

Immediately, Khione moved—with the grace of a queen and the precision of a predator.

No longer the silent defender, she took the offensive, breaking from her usually patient stance. Even though the disparity in raw power was clear, she remained composed, as if she alone held the rhythm of the battlefield in her hands.

"Control the cold... wield the storm."

Raising her wand, she summoned the shards of ice still suspended in the air around her, remnants of her earlier defense. They shimmered like snowflakes caught in moonlight, but her intent turned them into weapons of war.

Crack!

With a flick of her wrist, a new surge of icy prana erupted, freezing the moisture in the air. Crystals bloomed like flowers across the battlefield—razor-sharp and deadly.

"Ice Arrows!"

A flurry of over seventy arrows made of gleaming glacial ice materialized above her, circling like a flock of birds mid-flight. The temperature plummeted, frost spreading across the ground, and a gust of icy wind howled as the arrows responded to her will.

Whizz—WHIZZ—WHIZZ!

She launched them in a sudden wave, and they rained from the sky like a meteor storm, each arrow spinning and glinting as it sliced through the cold air with a shrill, shrieking sound.

The demonized knight, in his salamander form, didn't flinch.

Instead, he stomped hard on the earth—

BOOM!—sending cracks spiraling outward as molten magma burst from below.

"GRRRAAAHH!!"

Lava surged upward, forming a wall of superheated molten earth, rising to block the incoming arrows. Then, with a roar that sent a pulse of flame across the field, he unleashed another blast of purple fire from his gaping maw, colliding with the descending arrows.

KA-BOOOOM!!!

The explosion was immense—ice and fire detonated in a violent symphony, blinding light and steam consuming everything in the area. Trees were incinerated. The air shook.

Even the mist parted from the force of it.

But Khione was already gone.

Unseen during the chaos, two of her ice arrows had bypassed the knight entirely—landing behind him, unnoticed.

Those weren't mistakes.

"Ice Movement Technique."

With perfect timing, she activated the frozen energy in those arrows. Her body shimmered, then vanished, dissolving into a spiral of frost and snow before reappearing silently behind her foe, as if born from the falling ash itself.

Her steps were weightless, her breath calm, but her wand moved like lightning.

Yet the demonized knight reacted just in time—his instincts sharp.

''Eh! That's some nice move, you should switch to Assassin.''

With a snarl, he spun mid-turn, his clawed arm slicing through the air with terrifying speed. The wind from his swipe alone split trees nearby.

Khione's eyes narrowed. Her perception slowed time.

"Too fast to counter—but not too fast to evade."

With flawless movement, she controlled the ambient frost slowing down then she altered her posture, twisting slightly. Time seemed to slow further—she allowed the tip of his claw to graze past her cheek as she sidestepped, just barely avoiding a fatal strike.

FWIP!

She retaliated instantly, swinging her wand at the side of the knight's exposed head. The head of wand was encased in thick ice.

The beast only sneered.

"Fool! My body is fire-tempered steel!"

He turned to meet her strike head-on, baring his scaled face in arrogance.

But Khione's voice rang out, flat and emotionless:

"Explode."

BOOOM!!!

What seemed like a simple wand strike detonated at point-blank range—the ice condensed around the wand's tip had been super-compressed, hidden until the last second.

Thousands of razor-sharp micro-shards burst from the explosion, piercing his face like a storm of needles.

''Gyaaaaaah!"

The knight shrieked in agony, his blood turning to steam upon contact with the cold.

Chunks of scale and flesh tore from his face, his eyes forced shut, his mouth opening in a distorted scream.

"GRAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

He was blown backward, body spiraling like a meteor as he crashed through trees—but even as he flew, his long tail lashed out one last time—a flash of violence through instinct.

Khione didn't see it in time.

WHACK!!!

The salamander's massive tail slammed into her midsection, and despite the small ice armor she'd conjured for close combat, the sheer force broke through.

CRACK!!

The armor shattered, and her body was lifted clean off the ground. She gasped, her ribs compressing under the force, and—

"Hrrghhh—!"

A spray of blood burst from her lips, mixed with stomach acid and pain. Her eyes widened, body twisting midair as she was flung like a ragdoll into the distance.

CRASH!!!

She smashed through a tree, splintering it completely, before slamming into the earth with bone-jarring force. She bounced once—twice—before coming to a halt against a mound of scorched dirt, sliding down in silence.

Blood trickled from her mouth, her cloak torn, her breathing ragged.

On the opposite side of the clearing, the demonized knight rose slowly, his face shredded, but otherwise unharmed. The rest of his powerful body bore only superficial damage. He was still a juggernaut—but now, he was enraged.

"You'll regret that, little Ice Queen..." he snarled, flames licking from his cracked jaw.

"I'll burn you until even your bones beg for warmth."

Khione, though battered and bloodied, looked up calmly.

Her eyes didn't waver.

"Try it."

"Eh? Will you look at this... Hehehehe!"

The demonized human knight's face twisted into a grotesque, eerie smile.

"You'll be begging me to kill you soon—I can assure you."

With those chilling words, he finally summoned his true weapon—a spear, nearly two meters long, forged from some unknown blackened metal. It radiated a sinister, suffocating aura, like the whispers of damned souls clinging to its blade.

The very moment the weapon appeared, his entire presence shifted.

If before he exuded strength, now he emanated pure menace—a terrifying aura of bloodlust that made the air itself grow heavy, thick with killing intent.

"!!"

A cold shiver ran down Khione's spine. Her muscles tensed involuntarily, a subtle quake in her fingertips. If she were more expressive, fear would have clearly marked her face—a rare sight for one as composed as her.

Still, she refused to fall.

With grit in her eyes, she forced herself upright, wobbling briefly before regaining balance. She held her wand tightly, her knuckles pale, her body battered.

She could feel it in her bones—

This opponent could kill her.

And yet...

She wouldn't back down.

Even if this fight led to her death.