90 Hell Beckons VII (1/2)

Lloyd Kressler had his focus completely set on Lya. His brows were slightly furrowed, and one felt a chill running down their backs just by the sheer coldness in his gaze. His black clothes were fluttering wildly as the air surrounding him seemed to move around his body at a dangerous speed. It was as if a hurricane was slowly starting to form around him.

”Lloyd!” The Guardian shouted, not hiding the rage in his voice. At this point, his composure was long gone. Things were already getting out of hand. The Guardian would have to do everything in its power to salvage the little bit he could of the situation.

Lloyd completely ignored the Guardian, still looking at Lya with furrowed brows. To him, her presence was an unexpected variable in a plan that was running smoothly until then.

”Who are you?” He asked a second time with an emotionless voice. With a flick of his wrist, the green sword in his hand moved, sending a sharp wave of Sword Qi in Lya's direction.

Lya didn't bother answering, nor dodging. The Sword Qi slashed past her, making her figure distort for a moment before stabilizing again.

”Indeed. Nothing more than a soul.” Lloyd said, squinting his eyes as he carefully looked at Brightmoon in Lya's hands. His eyes stopped at the red jewel embedded in the sword's guard, and a mocking smile made its way to his blank face. ”It never ceases to surprise me how much the Soul Cultivators enjoy having pets around.”

Lya still did not utter a word, but a faint light covered Brightmoon again. Her expression was solemn, and she made great effort to not show her surprise. Lloyd had used Sword Qi twice, and knew about Soul Cultivators. He clearly learned it from someone.

The thought made Lya even more worried. Maybe Nemeus was right. If Dale was the one behind all of this, then the current situation was even graver than she first thought. Because now she didn't know how much Lloyd Kressler had learnt, and whatever he wanted from the Hellblaze Secret World suddenly turned even more difficult for her to guess.

”Well, it doesn't matter. You are in my way.” A fierce wind howled in the hall and the air surrounding Lloyd started moving faster, raising dust and gravel from the floor.

A silent pressure crept up the competitors, adding up to the restraints the Guardian had set on them before. Some couldn't take it, and directly lost consciousness.

”Lya, hold him back! I need to send the children away!” The Guardian said directly in her mind, with an alarmed voice. Without wasting time, he dragged all of the competitors closer to the breach he and Lya were opening in the wall, trying to keep them as far away as possible from harm.

Lya did not answer, but directly shot in Lloyd's direction, raising Brightmoon. A thick vortex of Qi formed around the blade, gathering and solidifying around it. That layer of Qi was so bright that Amon had to take his eyes away from it.

Lloyd still had the mocking smile on his face as he watched Lya coming in his direction. He was not scared in the least. A layer of light formed around his green sword, albeit not as bright as the one on Brightmoon, as he prepared to receive Lya's strike.

Brightmoon descended, aiming for Lloyd's head. He watched the sword coming for him with surprising detachment, as if he was not the target at all. He did not move an inch, calmly watching as the opposing sword came closer to him, splitting everything in its path to take his life.

Seeing this made Lya unnerved rather than pleased. She put even more strength in the strike, trying to suddenly accelerate the sword before Lloyd could do something. At that moment, however, her expression shifted into one of utter astonishment.

Swoosh!

A sudden wind blew as Lloyd finally moved. The air gathering around him had moved to his sword in a split-second, and before Lya could react, Lloyd had stabbed in her direction at a mind-numbing speed. The target of the stab, however, was not Lya's projection.

With an alarmed expression, Lya suddenly shifted Brightmoon's path, missing Lloyd.

Clang!

A wave of berserk Sword Qi shot out from Brightmoon, obliterating the floor by Lloyd's feet and colliding with a wall, making the shadows squirm before dispersing. However, neither Amon nor Lya could be bothered with the sudden change of direction of the strike.

At that very moment, sparks were flying from Brightmoon's guard as Lloyd's sword scraped against it, making a hair-raising screech echo through the hall. That poisonous-green blade left a clear and long scratch on the iron sword, barely missing the red jewel embedded on the guard.

Lya's face paled as she watched Lloyd with astonishment. Before she could say something, however, another stab came at her with blinding speed. Lya hurriedly retreated, creating distance between her and Lloyd.

”I am surprised. I didn't expect you to be able to react to that stab.” Lloyd said, never wiping away the mocking smile from his face. ”Still, I don't think close quarters combat will be the best choice for you. Even if it is the best way to try to hold me back, my hand might slip and you will end up in pieces.”

Lya's expression couldn't be more serious. Lloyd's attainments in swordsmanship had surprised her greatly. He was clearly at his peak condition and his ability was nothing to scoff at. Lya, on the other hand, had four hundred years of isolation slowly rusting her skills away. Nevertheless, it was not the problem.

The problem was that, somehow, he knew it. He knew about the Soul Stone. She looked at him for a moment, trying to scrutinize his expression. Her gaze slowly fell onto the sword in his hands, and at the inconspicuous red jewel embedded in the pommel.

A terrifying aura exploded from her, completely taking over all of the Qi in their surroundings. Lloyd frowned when he saw that, trying to fight back with his divine sense, but his struggles were useless. Lya's soul was much stronger than his was.

He could only try to protect himself as the Qi itself crashed down on him, pressing his body from all sides, trying to crush his bones and stop his breathing. His movements turned sluggish, and before he could do anything, Brightmoon was pressing against his neck.

The polished iron blade had already penetrated his skin, making blood slowly seep down his neck before disappearing in the darkness that were his clothes. He looked at Lya with unwavering eyes that glinted with hate.

”Who sent you?” Lya asked with a dark expression.

”Take a guess.” Lloyd said in a mocking tone. He still had that annoying smile on his face, as if looking down on Lya's attempt to get information.

Brightmoon sank further on his neck, making even more blood flow. Lloyd didn't make a sound, still looking at Lya with those unyielding eyes. This made her greatly displeased.

”I find it strange that whoever sent you would even think that a weakling like you would be enough to defeat Hati.” Lya whispered in a venomous voice, showing disdain in her blue eyes. She didn't bother with Lloyd as her gaze fell on the red jewel on his sword.

She sent a wisp of her divine sense to probe into the red jewel, but to her surprise, something blocked her. As Lya tried forcing her way in, a terrifying force pushed her back, making her alarmed.

If the divine sense she had used to probe the jewel was a river, the opposing force was actually an ocean!

”Hati, be careful! Lloyd is not alone!” Lya shouted as she realized what was going on.

The Guardian was solely focused on forcefully creating a breach on the spatial seal that had locked the hall. Hearing Lya's words, it suddenly turned around, only to see specs of light gathering in front of Lloyd, eventually forming into the figure of a woman.

”Too bad, Lloyd, you lose. Although I can't say it was your fault.” A beautiful voice suddenly echoed through the hall.

That melodious, coquettish voice gave Amon shivers, making him and the surrounding cultivators enter in a daze. That voice was far too charming. It gently tickled his ears, making its way into his mind, subtly calming him and making him relax.

A sudden warmth slowly spread through his body, making him feel very comfortable. He couldn't even feel the restraints the Guardian had placed on him anymore. His body was light, as if he was floating.

He wanted to close his eyes and immerse himself in such sensations, but he somehow forced himself to look at the new figure that had appeared between Lya and Lloyd.

It was a woman that had long, flowing green hair that reached her waist. It sparkled with a faint light, looking like grass covered in morning dew. Her beautiful amber eyes shone with an intoxicating light, enough to entrap the minds of any man that dared to directly look at them.

”It really was you.” The woman said with a charming smile, waving her hand dismissively as she looked at Lya.

A formless wave of divine sense swept through the hall, throwing all of the Qi in disarray. The pressure on Lloyd suddenly disappeared, and Lya's face paled as her divine sense was forcefully pushed back.

Like Lloyd before her, she tried to struggle, but the foreign divine sense had taken over the entire hall. It was incredibly stable, and incredibly resilient. As Lya desperately tried to fight back, it started to slowly enclose around her, encroaching her soul and intercepting her attempts of regaining control.

As Lya froze in place, her figure started to crumble. Having lost control over Qi, Lya couldn't maintain her projection anymore. The strange woman made sure to let Lya sense what was happening in the hall, but not be able to do a thing besides that.

Lloyd slowly rose from the ground, throwing Brigthmoon away as if it was trash. He absent-mindedly wiped the blood tricking from the wound on his neck. After a few moments, the long gash stopped bleeding, and slowly started to close. It was nothing but a shallow cut, after all.

The competitors fell to the ground as the restraints the Guardian had placed on them were undone. Nevertheless, all they did was stay unmoving on the floor, still dazed by the woman's voice.

Amon's mind was trembling and his limbs were surprisingly numb, but he somehow managed to raise his upper body and look worriedly at Brightmoon that had been thrown to the corner.

The green-haired woman smiled, locking eyes with Amon and giving a bewitching smile. She started walking in his direction, never taking her intoxicating eyes from him.

Her long and pale legs peeked out of a green dress that clung tightly to her body, looking especially tight on her plentiful chest. Every movement her body made as she slowly walked in the Amon's direction was enthralling. Somehow, her movements looked at the same time very natural and very calculated.

Amon shuddered as those amber eyes entranced him. His body felt limp, and he could feel a strange prickling in his mind. There was a strange buzz ringing in his ears, disrupting his thoughts and making him confused as the woman approached. He lost the little control he had over his body and fell powerlessly to the ground again.

Looking at the woman, the Guardian was taken aback. That woman was far stronger than even he was. He was as helpless as Lya was in front of her soul's strength. He had lived for thousands of years, and had experience more than a human could even imagine being possible, yet, somehow, that woman overpowered him.

Very few beings would be able of such a feat. He focused his divine sense, carefully probing the red jewel in Lloyd's sword. The Guardian was sure had never seen that woman before, but the aura she gave him was very familiar.

The woman smiled as she felt his intentions. Surprisingly, she didn't stop him at all.

As he carefully analyzed her aura, feeling incredibly anxious.

”Oura?” The Guardian asked in shock after a name finally appeared in his mind.

”Oh, you recognized me? I am so happy, Hati!” The woman said with a bewitching smile as she continued to get closer. She seemed to slide through the floor as her waist waved charmingly with each step she took.

”It's you!?” Lya asked in astonishment. Oura, however, completely disregarded her, further enclosing Lya's soul with her divine sense.