Chapter 47: Venom of the Victor


    <hr>


    The figure that stood was me.


    Tired. Bloody. But alive.


    And Orvos?


    He lay in a crater of shattered stone, his armor cracked, broken, his abyssal axe split in two.


    He wasn’t moving.


    <blockquote>


    [BATTLE WON.]


    [LEVEL UP: LIVING BLACKSMITH – LVL 6.]


    [NEW ELEMENTAL AFFINITY ACQUIRED: POISON.]


    </blockquote>


    I barely had time to process it before the system flared again.


    <blockquote>


    [FORGE-BORN VENOM UNLOCKED.]


    Your creations now inherit a deadly, evolving poison, adaptable to any foe.


    </blockquote>


    My breath came slow. Poison?


    That was new.


    And dangerous.


    I looked down at my hands, feeling a strange energy pulse through my veins.


    My weapons hummed in response.


    The forge had changed me again.


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    And now?


    I was more lethal than ever.


    <hr>


    The Resistance Arrives


    The moment the dust cleared, they rushed in.


    Iris was first, blades drawn.


    She barely slowed down before checking me over, eyes sharp.


    "You look like hell."


    I smirked. "Feel worse."


    Darius grunted, eyeing Orvos’s fallen form.


    "That’s one hell of a body count."


    Raika raised a brow. "He dead?"


    Noctis snickered. "If not, I can fix that."


    I took a step forward—then staggered.


    Emilia caught me instantly.


    Her magic flared, scanning my wounds. "You pushed too hard again."


    I shook my head, trying to stay steady.


    "Had to."


    Her gaze softened, but she didn’t argue.


    <hr>


    A Warning Left Behind


    Zephyr moved past the group, studying Orvos’s body.


    Then, he frowned.


    "Something’s wrong."


    We turned—just in time to see a black sigil burning into Orvos’s chest.


    An abyssal mark, twisting and shifting.


    Before we could stop it—


    His body disintegrated into shadow.


    Iris cursed. "Damn it! They won’t even leave a corpse?"


    Darius’s grip tightened on his shield. "No. This was intentional."


    Raika’s voice was cold. "They don’t want us learning anything."


    And that meant one thing.


    The Black Gull was watching.


    And they knew we were getting stronger.


    <hr>


    What Comes Next?


    We won the battle.


    I leveled up.


    And now, I had a new power I didn’t fully understand.


    But this war?


    It was far from over.


    I looked at my team, standing together, stronger than ever.


    Then turned to the horizon—where our next fight waited.


    "Let’s move."


    We weren’t stopping now.


    Not until we had destroyed the Black Gull completely.