The Grand Duke's Son Is A Heretic-Chapter 481

Ariana's body suddenly began to glow.

At first, it was faint, like a soft shimmer clinging to her skin. Then the light grew brighter, denser, and heavier, as if something deep inside her had finally broken free. The air around her twisted violently, and the ground beneath her feet cracked with sharp sounds.

Her breath turned uneven.

Pain surged through her body, but she did not scream. She clenched her teeth and endured it, her veins glowing faintly as raw power flooded her limbs. Mana poured into her like a raging tide, washing away exhaustion and weakness.

The pressure exploded outward.

BOOM!

A shockwave rippled across the battlefield, forcing nearby debris to scatter. The man standing before her staggered back, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"What… what the hell?" he muttered.

Ariana lifted her head slowly.

Her aura had changed.

It was no longer restrained or hesitant. It was sharp, commanding, and overwhelming.

She bent her knees and leaped.

CRACK!

The ground shattered beneath her as she shot forward, tearing through the air like a golden streak. Before the man could react, her blade had already reached him.

CLANG! CLANG!

Their weapons clashed violently, sparks bursting with every impact. Ariana did not stop. She pressed forward relentlessly, her strikes heavy and precise. Each swing forced the man back, his footing breaking apart under her pressure.

He tried to counter, but her strength was crushed through his defense.

SLASH!

A deep cut opened across his shoulder.

"AHHH!" he screamed, stumbling sideways.

"What the hell is this?" he shouted in panic.

"Even if you become stronger, you shouldn't be able to overpower me! How?"

Ariana stepped forward, her eyes cold.

"You can ask that in hell."

She moved again and her blade flashed.

The man screamed once more as her strike slammed him into the ground, dust and blood erupting around him.

...…

Meanwhile, Kael stood amidst a field soaked in blood.

Bodies lay scattered around him, broken weapons buried in the ground. The air reeked of iron and smoke. Screams echoed in the distance, but around him, there was an eerie calm.

Kael calmly took a puff from his cigar.

He inhaled slowly, then exhaled, blowing out a thin stream of smoke that drifted lazily through the chaos. His expression did not change.

Ahead of him stood two figures.

Two S-rankers.

They watched him cautiously, weapons raised.

"You two are some of the defective ones, right?" Kael said casually.

His eyes moved from one to the other.

"Count Silas and Baron Fen," he continued."Care to explain why you changed sides?"

Silas lifted his blade slightly and snorted.

"Of course we can," he said. "It's simple. We want to be on the winning side."

Baron Fen stepped forward half a pace, his voice cold and steady.

"Don't hate us, kid," he said. "No one wants to lose."

Kael removed the cigar from his lips and glanced at it briefly.

Then he flicked it into the air.

"You're right about one thing," Kael said quietly.

"I hate losing too."

The moment the words left his mouth, his figure vanished.

BOOM!

A brutal shockwave exploded outward as all three forces collided. The ground caved in, rocks and blood spraying into the air. Steel screamed as blades met flesh and bone.

The battlefield shook violently under the impact.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Every clash sounded like thunder. Sparks burst in all directions as blades met, and the shockwaves from their collisions rolled across the ruined streets, tearing up the ground and flinging broken stones into the air. Craters formed one after another, overlapping as if the land itself could no longer endure their presence.

Count Silas's brows twisted in frustration.

There was no rhythm he could grasp.

"There isn't any opening," he muttered through gritted teeth while twisting his wrist to deflect another strike. His arm went numb from the force alone. He tried to turn his eyes toward Baron Fen, hoping to signal a change in formation.

That was when death brushed past him.

A chilling sensation crawled up his spine. His legs weakened without warning, and his footing slipped. Silas tumbled backward into a crater, rubble sliding beneath his boots as his body tilted helplessly.

WHOOSH!

An unseen slash passed inches above his head.

The air screamed as the attack continued onward, smashing into the structure behind him. The building split cleanly, as if cut by an invisible blade, before collapsing in a storm of debris.

Dust filled the air and Silas stared, frozen.

"…"

"Holy shit…"

Kael stood several steps away, his expression dark and clearly annoyed.

"How can you be so lucky?" Kael cursed, irritation dripping from his voice.

This was a rare miss. And he hated it.

Baron Fen did not hesitate.

The instant Silas slipped, Fen surged forward, boots crushing stone as he closed the distance. Silas forced himself upright and joined in without a word. Years of battle had carved this coordination into their bones.

They attacked together.

Silas pressed from the front, his blade slashing in heavy arcs meant to lock Kael in place. Fen circled low, his movements sharp and predatory, striking from blind angles. Their swords moved in overlapping patterns, one attack flowing into the next.

CLANG! CLANG!

Kael countered calmly.

His sword danced between their blades, turning lethal strikes aside with movements so small they were almost invisible. Every step he took left cracks in the ground, and every swing carried crushing force.

The city around them died piece by piece.

The walls collapsed and pullars shattered. The air itself trembled under the pressure of their mana colliding.

Fen narrowed his eyes.

Now.

He shifted his stance and deliberately widened his swing, leaving a clear opening in his guard.

A gamble.

Kael noticed it instantly.

His senses sharpened, tracking heartbeat, muscle tension, breath. He adjusted mid-strike, ready to punish the mistake.

Fen lunged again.

Kael turned to counter—

And Fen twisted his body sharply. Instead of completing the swing, he rotated and snapped his blade downward in a vicious sweep aimed straight at Kael's legs.

"KEEE! IT'S OVER!" Fen roared.

Kael leapt and his body shot upward, barely clearing the blade as it carved a deep groove into the stone below.

That was the moment Silas waited for.

He appeared behind Kael, mana surging violently as he swung with everything he had.

SWOOSH!

The blade tore through Kael's body.

Silas's eyes widened as Kael split apart.For a heartbeat, relief flooded him.

Then the body began to fade.

An afterimage. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

CLICK!

The sound was soft, almost polite.

Silas's blood froze solid.

He tried to turn midair, muscles screaming as he twisted his neck—

However he was too slow.

Above him, Kael stood, sword raised high. His eyes were cold, empty, and merciless. Space around the blade warped, bending inward as if reality itself was being dragged toward its edge.

The sky trembled.

The air split.

[Dimensional Slash: First Form.]

The blade descended.