Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1561: Beatrix’s Struggle (Part 1)

As Yellum scanned the battlefield, two individuals immediately caught her attention. Now that Tonto was handling Alen, her focus shifted to the other problem, the radiant woman cutting through their ranks like a flash of light.

Beatrix.

Yellum turned sharply, her eyes locking onto the figure who glowed amidst the chaos, sword in hand. There was something about her presence, a steadiness, a confidence, that made her stand out even among the chaos of spells.

The Cerebus Guild member who had been fighting Beatrix raised both hands. Golden energy gathered at his fingertips, condensing into eight separate blasts that flared out in all directions.

The beams curved, homing in from every angle.

Beatrix didn’t hesitate. The moment the air around her began to hum, she released a surge of Qi, propelling herself upward. Her body shot off the ground, and the attacks collided with the spot where she’d been standing, erupting in a deafening blast.

"Ha!" the Cerebus mage laughed. "I thought you might dodge, but the energy’s still coming for you!"

As his words echoed, four of the golden beams twisted midair, tracking her movements. The magic was adaptive, almost alive, chasing her as she soared higher. Then, with both hands extended forward, the man unleashed one final blast, a massive golden ray that roared straight toward her.

The trap was perfect. There was nowhere left to run.

But Beatrix didn’t feel fear.

She understood exactly how powerful their energy was. She knew that even with her Pagna-hardened body, a single hit could shatter bones. The key wasn’t to block it. It was to never be hit at all.

Her hand tightened around her staff as it shifted, its form dissolving into light before reemerging as a nearly translucent blue sword. The weapon shimmered like liquid crystal, humming with otherworldly energy.

The beams struck. From every side, golden light crashed into her at once, engulfing her in a violent explosion that illuminated the entire field.

The Cerebus mage grinned widely. "That’s what happens when you fight us," he said proudly. "You, "

His words cut short.

A figure burst through the explosion, completely unharmed. The light peeled away, revealing Beatrix, her blue sword gleaming in the haze. She moved like a streak of wind, appearing in front of him before he could even raise a hand.

It was the sword that Raze had given her, the cursed weapon that allowed its wielder to phase through anything. But every time she used it, the cost was steep. Her body aged. Her life burned away piece by piece.

Still, she didn’t hesitate.

"I’ll just heal whatever damage you deal to me!" the Cerebus mage shouted, raising his hand.

Beatrix’s blade sliced through the air.

In a single, clean motion, she cut across his neck. His body froze for a heartbeat, then his head slid from his shoulders, falling to the ground with a dull thud.

Normally, Beatrix avoided killing when she could. She preferred to incapacitate, to bring her enemies in alive. But this wasn’t one of those times.

After seeing the horrors inside that facility, after watching the innocent suffer at the hands of these so-called researchers, she knew mercy had no place here.

And when she saw the man’s body collapse, his golden light flickering and fading away, she knew this was one wound even the Cerebus Guild couldn’t heal.

Her breath steadied. For a moment, the battlefield seemed to slow.

Then, without warning, Beatrix felt a surge of mana behind her.

She turned sharply, jumping backward just as multiple energy blasts tore through the spot where she had been standing. Golden streaks ripped across the air, one after another, forcing her to move side to side in quick bursts. Her reflexes saved her, but only barely.

When the barrage finally stopped, Beatrix looked ahead.

Yellum had landed.

Her dark hair framed her face like blades, and her expression was cold. Her eyes lingered on her fallen ally before lifting to meet Beatrix’s.

"Damn," Yellum said flatly. "Too late." She exhaled sharply. "I knew you’d be trouble."

Her gaze shifted back to the corpse at her feet, her tone turning sharp and bitter. "What a waste. After all that energy, years and years of development, and for what? To fall here? He was supposed to contribute to something greater."

Her voice grew harder, tinged with conviction. "You people don’t understand. We’re not meant to die here. We’re meant for something bigger. You’re getting in the way of everything we’ve worked for!"

Beatrix didn’t respond.

She charged.

Her feet tore through the ground, her Qi flaring as she weaved side to side. The air cracked under her momentum.

Yellum raised her hand, her expression still calm. Streams of golden light erupted from her fingertips, thin, precise, continuous. Beams of energy, like glowing threads, sliced through the air.

They weren’t blasts; they were lasers. Each one moved with deadly precision, following Beatrix’s movements like guided blades.

Beatrix twisted her body, ducking and sliding through the barrage. The beams sliced through her cloak, but not her skin. Then, seeing no other option, she invoked her sword’s ability once more.

Her form shimmered. The golden energy passed through her body harmlessly, distorting the air around her like heat waves.

In the same instant, she surged forward, appearing at Yellum’s side in a burst of speed. Her sword swung for the woman’s neck, aiming to end the fight in one clean strike.

But Yellum was ready.

From her other hand, a single beam of condensed light shot out. It wasn’t a wide blast this time, but a needle-thin stream, so dense and focused that it met Beatrix’s blade and stopped it cold.

The two forces clashed, Beatrix’s cursed sword against Yellum’s piercing light. Sparks of golden and blue energy scattered between them.

Yellum’s eyes hardened. "Why?" she demanded, her voice shaking with fury. "Why are you standing in our way? Don’t you understand how much we’ve sacrificed, for all of us?"

*****

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