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Chapter 290  [Event] [The Fallen Prophetess] [16] Manuel Hylkren

"I\'ll handle it..." Celeste hurried towards me, kneeling with urgency. She extracted vials and began tending to my wounds.

Her head hung low, yet the tremors coursing through her were palpable. Even her healing touch betrayed an unsteady rhythm, and her breaths came in ragged waves.

"How have you been, dear Celes?" Manuel\'s voice rang out amidst the clash of blades between him and Victor.

Celeste flinched at his voice, clearly haunted by the memories his voice stirred.

It must be a chilling echo for her.

"I\'m alright," I halted her cold hand.

"Ah, yes, and... thank you for saving me," Celeste managed a smile, noticeably different from her usual expressions.

I rose to my feet, glancing at John, who was still locked in combat with the unknown adversary.

"Raven Sword, third movement!" Victor roared, bringing down his sword. However, Manuel effortlessly parried the strike, showing a wary demeanor towards Victor\'s prowess.

"Tempest." Cylien crafted a swirling mana circle, unleashing emerald blades of wind that tore through the restaurant\'s ceiling. Though they reached Manuel, he emerged with just a scratch on his cheek. Wiping away the blood, he smiled before vanishing.

-Thud!

"Agh!" Cylien, despite raising her sword at the opportune moment, found herself flung backward, crashing onto a table.

"Anuket! Drown him!" Amelia extended her hands, summoning water to engulf the restaurant. Sinister dark hands emerged from the liquid, dragging down Manuel.

In resistance, Manuel fought against the watery restraints, but additional hands emerged, intensifying the force pulling him downward.

"Tepes Art." Elizabeth unsheathed her rapier, directing it at Manuel. A magnificent dark red mana circle materialized before her. "Blood Drill."

"Interesting." Manuel\'s smile widened as he cast his sword into the water.

-Boom!

Abruptly, the water parted, revealing several dozen blades emerging. They swirled around Manuel, forming a protective barrier against Elizabeth\'s impending attack.

-BOOOOM!

An explosive shockwave sent us sprawling.

What was she attempting?

I clicked my tongue, seizing Celeste\'s arm to steady her. "Pull yourself together, Lady Celeste."

"S-Sorry…!" Celeste\'s face turned even paler, her composure slipping.

Sensing danger, I yanked Celeste away. Manuel\'s blades left multiple cuts on my arms, sending searing pain through me.

Damn.

These tiny, imperceptible blades threatened to penetrate my skin and wreak havoc within my body.

"Argh…" I believed I was somewhat immune to pain, but apparently not.

Meanwhile, Manuel skillfully faced off against the other five, exploiting their restraint in this crowded locale. Victor and Elizabeth, despite having the potential to perform better, held back like Manuel, constrained by the circumstances.

His sole focus was on Celeste.

With a swift leap, he charged toward us at incredible speed.

"Celeste!" I called out to her as she remained frozen, seemingly paralyzed by fear or something else.

"...!" Celeste snapped back to reality, summoning a long blade from the void. She swung it before us, conjuring a potent icy wave to block Manuel\'s onslaught.

"Oh? You\'ve truly become very strong, sweet Celes. Your mother would be proud of you," he remarked with a faint smirk.

"Y-You…!" Celeste\'s teal eyes welled up with tears of anger and anguish.

"You look just like your mother, Celes…" Manuel muttered. "Her face, her eyes, and that expression when I killed her. She dared to choose that incapable Harvey over me, who was chosen to be the Apostle of Nihil!"

-Bam!

Several of Manuel\'s blades struck Celeste\'s icy barrier, shattering it. Shards of ice reached us, but they dissipated upon contact with our bodies.

Celeste raised her blade again, but her stance was awkward, much like in the Game and evidently under the current circumstances.

And then, it happened.

-BAM!

Victor\'s powerful punch met Manuel\'s defense, but he slid back several meters, colliding with a pillar.

"So, you are the one who made Celeste suffer?" Victor\'s demeanor shifted instantly, surrounded by powerful mana.

Manuel furrowed his brows slightly before summoning his blades again. They whizzed at great speed, threatening to pierce Victor. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

However, Elizabeth landed behind him, a bloody wave of her sword repelling all the blades.

Amelia followed suit, conjuring sharp hands of water that seized Manuel\'s shoulders, threatening to break them.

Despite the threats, Manuel remained calm, his eyes scanning each one of us. Then, he opened his other palm, summoning yet another sword.

"...!" Blood spurted from Victor\'s cheeks as he jumped back, narrowly avoiding a potentially fatal strike.

"V-Victor!" Celeste shouted worriedly, rushing angrily toward Manuel.

"No, stay away!" Elizabeth warned, but Celeste was overwhelmed.

I could have stopped her, but instead, I chose to observe the unfolding events.

-BOOOM!

Celeste\'s blade was easily parried by Manuel, but ice began to encase his body slowly. He smirked and effortlessly cut away all the ice with his blades before fixing his gaze on Celeste. "The resemblance is striking. Even more wonderful and saddening is that you have been chosen to be the next Prophetess, Celeste."

"Huh?" I blurted out, utterly astonished at Manuel\'s revelation.

Prophetess?

Celeste widened her eyes in shock before biting her lips.

Wait.

She was the Prophetess?

From her reaction, she knew it...

Victor, Cylien, and Amelia all showed expressions of shock, while Elizabeth remained relatively composed, her focus fixed on Manuel. It seemed she had known this for quite some time now...

But how in the world did Manuel become aware of that?

Even I wasn\'t aware.

"What a cruel twist of fate, isn\'t it, sweet Celes?" Manuel asked, a sinister smile curling his lips.

"Shut up…!" Celeste\'s anger surged as she swung her blade with tremendous speed, each strike sending an icy shockwave that froze what remained of the restaurant.

"Do you know how happy I was to find that out? The daughter of my beloved Sara is the new Prophetess? I couldn\'t stay still, so I came to take you with…me!" He delivered a powerful downward slash with his sword.

Celeste attempted to shield herself with her blade, but she lost her stance and was flung away.

"Celes!" Victor managed to catch her, glaring fiercely at Manuel.

-BOOOOOM!

"I don\'t like you, brat," Manuel suddenly appeared beside Victor, swinging his leg. Victor shielded both himself and Celeste, unwavering.

"You will regret this," Victor gritted his teeth and summoned a tremendous amount of mana, a massive circle materializing above Manuel.

"Oh…" I smiled in recognition of Victor\'s attack.

Manuel\'s eyes widened, sensing the impending danger, but it seemed too late to evade. He attempted to reach out, but—

-BAM!

"Urgh!"

John collided with Victor, and both tumbled to the ground.

"J-John?" Amelia mumbled, clearly taken aback.

He had discarded his mask and seemed to have shed his clothes, making his presence here even more suspicious.

"Tch…" John grunted, lying on the ground next to Victor.

"What in Eden, are you doing here, J-John…?" Victor asked, rubbing his head.

Surveying their pitiful states, I redirected my attention to the man fighting him. I noticed a brief exchange of glances between Manuel and this figure at the outset, so I suspected he was from Behemoth.

They had formed a temporary alliance. It was uncharacteristic of Behemoth, but after what we did to Nora, their wariness was understandable. It was a predictable reaction.