Atonement

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

A giant claw covered in lightning swiped over, but Jeanne seemed to transform into a streak of white light, appearing beneath the giant bear's massive frame in the blink of an eye.

Another strike, and blood sprayed forth.

A gash over a meter long appeared on the Storm Bear's belly, while Jeanne had already vanished behind it, the cross-sword in her hand still dripping with blood.

She did not linger, flashing away in another direction.

ROAR—!

The giant bear bellowed; it was thoroughly enraged, determined to tear apart the creature that had made it bleed.

It ran on all fours, giving chase.

Watching the giant bear grow smaller in the distance, Aurelian, who had been observing the battle, exhaled a turbid breath, though his heart remained heavy with worry.

Jeanne's method of drawing the Storm Bear's aggro was undoubtedly dancing on a tightrope; one wrong step would lead to certain death.

"Sigh."

Unable to help himself, he let out a sigh and forced himself to pull it together. He had to recover his magic quickly to join the battlefield and relieve the pressure on Jeanne.

The magic capacity within the body of a human at the lower magic rank was far from enough to sustain continuous magic projection. It was like water in a pool; once exhausted, it was gone, and could only recover slowly over time, though auxiliary methods—such as mana replenishment—could accelerate the process.

However, in this barrier, it was clear there was no one to help him with mana replenishment, and the only candidate, the little maid Jeanne, had gone to lure away the Storm Bear.

"I must recover my magic quickly. There is only one choice: utilize the Star-Forging Bloodline flowing through my body to further unleash my potential in a short time."

But choosing to do so was extremely risky; one careless move and he would end up like the original Aurelian—magic going berserk, followed by a one-way trip to the afterlife.

Aurelian sat cross-legged and took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his mind. Every step now would influence the final outcome.

"Feel the flow of magic within my body, then match its rhythm to trigger resonance with the legendary bloodline and awaken the power hidden within."

He followed the ancient methods passed down by the Star Royal Family, circulating the Star Magic flowing through his veins.

On the other side, Jeanne was still entangled with the Storm Bear, and several new, conspicuous wounds had appeared on the beast's body.

Now, the giant beast had completely lost its last shred of reason; it would not rest until it tore Jeanne to pieces.

Meanwhile, Aurelian had allowed his mind to sink into a state of total focus.

The magic within his body accelerated its circulation. Before long, sweat dripped down his face, and his body endured unimaginable pressure.

The Star-Forging Bloodline was a legendary bloodline; its power usually lay dormant within the body, not affecting its possessor.

It would only begin to take effect once the possessor's magic rank reached the upper level, where the body's strength was sufficient to withstand the power of the stars. This was one of the foundations upon which the Star Royal Family had built their kingdom.

For Aurelian to force its use now was a gamble; once the Star Magic spiraled out of control, he would instantly become a human bomb.

Waves of intense, scorching heat rose up. Aurelian's veins bulged, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

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

He gripped Innocent Starlight with trembling hands and stood up.

"Jeanne, now!"

His voice, like a roar, seemed to echo throughout the entire barrier.

Jeanne, who was still rapidly dodging the Storm Bear's attacks, saw the opening. She immediately shifted her direction and moved quickly toward Aurelian.

The Storm Bear was covered in lightning, blue patterns flickering incessantly beneath its white fur, and it pursued her while wreathed in waves of thunder.

Aurelian held Innocent Starlight high, the blade blooming with magic as brilliant as the stars.

"Come on!"

Aurelian held Innocent Starlight aloft, his hair dancing wildly under the influence of the surging magic within him.

ROAR, ROAR, ROAR!

Thunder rumbled. The Storm Bear exerted its full strength, charging forward. Its sharp claws churned with rampant thunder-element magic, transforming into a surging torrent of lightning.

Jeanne had already reached behind Aurelian, and the giant bear was nearly upon them.

If he didn't dodge, he would likely be smashed into meat paste by the incoming thunder!

"Come on! Today, I'll let you beast know what the strongest hard-support is. I'm going to crowd-control you until you can't even take care of yourself!"

The sword held high radiated brilliant Star Magic, like radiant starlight illuminating the earth.

"Wind King Hammer!"

Aurelian had thoroughly ignited the Star-Forging Bloodline within him; he gave his all, squeezing out every last drop.

Layers of magic storms swirled around the blade, this time on a scale even greater than before!

In that instant, on the field, blue-white lightning and brilliant starlight seemed to occupy opposite sides of the world.

BOOM—a massive, thunderous roar.

They collided, kicking up boundless smoke and weaving chaos into the air.

Gradually, the starlight gained the upper hand, piercing into the surging thunder, flowing against the current, and striking the giant beast's body, sweeping away everything in its path.

The starlight-like magic formed a storm over ten meters high, churning and raging.

Even the massive body of the Storm Bear was enveloped by the hurricane-like storm, its immense power sweeping the beast up in its wake.

It roared in fury, but it was to no avail; the pressure, heavy as a mountain, suppressed it, binding it fast so that it could not move a muscle.

"Jeanne!"

Aurelian spoke with great difficulty, bearing immense pressure himself, his internal mana on the verge of exhaustion at any moment.

Jeanne appeared from an unknown direction, moving like a bolt of white lightning, arriving before the suppressed Storm Bear in the blink of an eye.

Her expression was icy, and the silver cross-sword in her hand trembled incessantly as she whispered, as if in prayer.

"Heaven above, after my judgment, please receive the sinful soul of this overlord."

The silver cross-sword seemed to hear her prayer, its blade beginning to fill with golden light.

"Atonement, pass judgment."

As soon as Jeanne's words fell, a dazzling golden light erupted from the cross-sword she called Atonement.

It was like the first ray of light released after the gates of Heaven were thrown open.

Holy and majestic, it seemed intent on purging everything distorted by time.

Jeanne held the glowing cross-sword high, her sky-blue eyes now replaced by gold, inexplicably radiating a hint of arrogance, as if looking down upon all things in existence.

Like a legendary arbiter, sword in hand, ready to sanction all directions!

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

The golden light tore through the sky, as if cleaving everything, splitting the world in two.

The golden light pierced the beast from the inside out; the blue patterns on its skin resisted, but it was futile, as they were torn through as easily as thin paper.

There was no whimpering, no violent screaming.

The giant beast simply collapsed amidst the starlit storm, then gradually transformed into an ice sculpture.

Watching the beast fall, he stopped channeling his mana, and the storm naturally ceased.

Collapsing powerlessly to the ground, Innocent Starlight fell from his hand.

Aurelian truly felt as though he had been drained dry; had Jeanne not resolved the situation quickly, the giant beast would likely have broken free soon.

Jeanne returned Atonement to its scabbard and turned to look at Aurelian, who lay on the ground like a corpse, a flicker of complexity hidden deep in her eyes that vanished in an instant.

She hurried over, lifted Aurelian up, and asked anxiously, "Master, are you alright?"

Aurelian kept his eyes closed, enjoying the girl's faint fragrance for a moment before saying weakly, "Jeanne, I can't go on. I think I need to replenish my mana."