Atonement

Thanks to her magic, Jeanne could remain in the air for only a very brief moment.

A massive claw crackling with lightning swiped at her, but Jeanne seemed to turn into a streak of white light, appearing in an instant beneath the giant bear's enormous body.

She swung her sword again, and blood sprayed.

A gash more than a meter long opened across the Storm Bear's belly. Jeanne had already appeared behind it, the cross-shaped longsword in her hand still dripping with blood.

She didn't stop, darting off in another direction.

Roar—!

The giant bear roared, thoroughly enraged. It was going to tear apart the one who had made it bleed.

It galloped after her on all fours.

Watching the giant bear grow farther and farther away, Aurelian, who had been observing the fight, let out a breath. But worry still crept into his heart.

Jeanne had chosen to draw the Storm Bear's attention this way, no doubt dancing on a tightrope. One wrong step, and she would die without a trace.

"Sigh."

Unable to stop himself from sighing, he forced himself to rally. He had to recover his magic as quickly as possible and join the battle to ease the pressure on Jeanne.

A human body with Lower Rank Magic could not hold enough magic to sustain prolonged use. It was like water in a pool: once it was gone, it was gone. It could only recover gradually over time, though auxiliary methods could speed up the process, such as replenishing one's magic.

But it was obvious that no one in this barrier could help replenish his magic. The only person who could, his little maid Jeanne, had gone off to lure away the Storm Bear.

"I have to recover my magic quickly. There's only one choice: use the Star-Forging Bloodline flowing through my body to unleash more of my potential for a short time."

But that was extremely risky. One misstep, and he could end up like the original Aurelian: his magic would run wild, and then he'd blast off into the stratosphere.

Aurelian sat cross-legged and took a deep breath, doing his best to calm himself. Every step he took now would affect the final outcome.

"Feel the flow of magic within my body, then match its rhythm and awaken its resonance with the Legendary Bloodline, releasing the power hidden within."

Following the ancient method passed down through the Star Royal Family, he set the Star Magic within his body in motion.

Meanwhile, Jeanne was still entangled with the Storm Bear. Several fresh wounds now stood out across the creature's body.

The beast had completely lost what little reason it had left. It wouldn't stop until it had torn Jeanne apart.

Meanwhile, Aurelian had fully calmed his mind.

The magic within his body began flowing faster. Before long, sweat ran down his face, and his body strained under an unimaginable pressure.

The Star-Forging Bloodline was a Legendary Bloodline. Its power lay dormant in the body under normal circumstances, without affecting its bearer.

Only when its bearer reached Upper Rank and their body grew strong enough to withstand the power of the stars would it gradually begin to take effect. This was one of the foundations upon which the Star Royal Family had built its kingdom.

Now Aurelian was forcing its power into use, and it was a gamble. If his Star Magic went out of control, he would become a human bomb in an instant.

Wave after wave of searing heat surged through him. Aurelian's veins bulged, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Then he opened his eyes. They were bloodshot, but a faint purple gleam flowed within his pupils.

With trembling hands, he grasped Innocent Starlight and rose to his feet.

"Jeanne, now!"

His roar seemed to echo throughout the entire barrier.

Jeanne, still dodging the Storm Bear's attacks at high speed, brightened at the sound. She immediately changed course and raced toward Aurelian.

The Storm Bear was covered in lightning. Blue patterns flashed beneath its white fur as it chased after her, sweeping along with a wave of thunder.

Aurelian raised Innocent Starlight high. Magic as dazzling as a sea of stars blossomed along its blade.

"Come on!"

Aurelian held Innocent Starlight aloft. The surging magic within him sent his hair whipping wildly.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Thunder rumbled. The Storm Bear charged with all its might, its sharp claws surging with rampaging lightning-element magic that coalesced into a torrent of thunder.

Jeanne had reached the spot behind Aurelian, and the giant bear was almost upon them.

If he didn't dodge, that oncoming torrent of thunder would smash him into a pulp!

"Come on! Today I'll show you, you beast, what the strongest support can do! I'll keep you locked down until you can't even take care of yourself!"

The raised sword blazed with dazzling Star Magic, its brilliance spreading across the earth like radiant starlight.

"Wind King Hammer!"

Aurelian unleashed the power of his Star-Forging Bloodline to its limits, giving everything he had and draining himself completely.

Layer upon layer of magical storm swirled around the blade, its scale even greater than before!

For an instant, blue-white lightning and dazzling starlight seemed to occupy opposite sides of the world.

Boom—the deafening crash shook the air.

The forces collided, stirring up boundless smoke and churning together into chaos.

Gradually, the starlight gained the upper hand. It drove into the raging thunder, surged upstream, and slammed into the giant beast, sweeping over everything.

Starlike magic formed a towering storm more than ten meters high, churning and raging.

Even the Storm Bear's enormous body was swallowed by the hurricane-like storm. Its tremendous force seized the beast.

It roared furiously, but to no avail. The crushing force bore down on it like a mountain, pinning it in place until it couldn't move.

"Jeanne!"

Aurelian spoke with difficulty. The immense pressure bore down on him too, and the magic bursting through his body could run dry at any moment.

Jeanne appeared from somewhere, a streak of white lightning. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of the Storm Bear, which had been pinned down.

Her expression was icy. The silver-white cross-shaped longsword in her hand trembled incessantly as she murmured softly, as if in prayer.

"Heaven above, once I have passed judgment, please accept the sinful soul of this Overlord."

The silver-white cross-shaped longsword seemed to hear her prayer, and golden light began to fill its blade.

"Atonement, pass judgment."

As soon as Jeanne finished speaking, a dazzling golden light rose from the blade of the cross-shaped longsword she called Atonement.

It was like the first light released when the gates of Heaven opened.

Holy and solemn, it seemed ready to set right everything twisted in time.

Jeanne raised the cross-shaped longsword, its light stretching far beyond the blade. Gold replaced the sky blue in her eyes, and an inexplicable hint of pride filled them, as if she looked down on all things in the world.

Like a judge from legend, sword in hand, passing sentence on all!

Ignoring the giant beast's furious roar, Jeanne brought her sword down.

Golden light cleaved across the sky, as if it could cut through anything and split the world in two.

The golden light pierced the giant beast from the inside out. Blue patterns on its hide resisted, but to no avail; they were pierced as easily as thin paper.

There was no mournful cry, no agonized scream.

The beast simply fell amid the starlike storm, then gradually turned into an ice sculpture.

Watching it fall, Aurelian stopped channeling his magic, and the storm naturally came to a halt.

He collapsed limply to the ground, and Innocent Starlight fell from his hand.

Aurelian truly felt as if he had been drained dry. If Jeanne hadn't finished the beast off so quickly, it would probably have broken free before long.

Jeanne returned Atonement to its sheath. She turned to look at Aurelian, sprawled on the ground like a corpse, and something complicated flickered deep in her eyes, only to vanish in an instant.

She hurried over and helped him up, asking anxiously, "Master, are you all right?"

Aurelian closed his eyes, savoring the young woman's fragrant presence for a while, then said weakly, "Jeanne, I can't go on. I think I need you to replenish my magic."