534 Chapter 534: Demise of a Legend

Teresa Taylor clashed with Fan Fu Qing, the collision of their mana exploding violently and almost incinerating the entire place.

"White Witch Bitch!"

Spitting, Fan Fu Qing rallied all of his blood spears to fire them at Teresa Taylor, but the elderly headmistress immolated them with a swing of her sword. Those blood spears that were not destroyed harmlessly disintegrated when they struck her angelic halo or great wings.

There was nothing Fan Fu Qing could do that would hurt Teresa Taylor. Or so she thought.

"Eternal Blood Fortress!"

The blood spears rained down on Teresa Taylor, but as usual she incinerated them with a single swing of her holy blade. Despite the gentle white glow of the sword, everything it touched combusted instantly. Pressing her advantage, Teresa Taylor flapped her angelic wings and soared toward Fan Fu Qing, the latter desperately parrying her strike with a spear he produced out of his sleeve.

"I see you are concealing another weapon, Fan Fu Qing."

"One can never reveal the entirety of his hand right from the beginning," Fan Fu Qing replied with a grin. Gritting his teeth, he forced Teresa Taylor off with his greater physical strength and blasted her with several blood spears from the ground. Teresa Taylor managed to burn them away, but she was forced to parry Fan Fu Qing's next strike. The both of them exchanged several blows, and to the Saint Teresa Academy headmistresss surprise, Fan Fu Qing's spear was not destroyed at all.

"I see…so this is your real weapon. A spear."

"Indeed."

"But…it's no use."

With holy strength bestowed upon her by God Himself, Teresa Taylor swung her sword. Even though Fan Fu Qing parried it admirably, the impact blew up the ground beneath the dueling duo, sending the vampire king skidding backward. Heaving, Fan Fu Qing gritted his teeth as he struggled to endure the blow, but he managed to force Teresa Taylor away and sent a row of blood spikes lancing after him.

Teresa Taylor didn't even bother to dodge. Her wings lashed out and smashed aside whatever projectiles that streaked toward her, rendering them to nothingness. Still, Fan Fu Qing's attack brought him time to retreat, and lowering his hand, he glared at his old enemy.

"Impressive. You must be the only one in this world who can block my blood spears so easily."

Teresa Taylor merely stared at Fan Fu Qing impassively, but the king of the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan smiled in acknowledgment.

"You're truly a hero worthy of the Global Federation. No wonder they used to call you the strongest paladin."

"I appreciate your praise, king of vampires," Teresa Taylor returned graciously. "And for you to survive this long against me, you are no ordinary opponent either."

"Don't underestimate me."

"Your subjects." Teresa Taylor glanced around. Not only You Shou, but a few of the elder vampires of the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan were gathering, waiting for their chance. But they were not reckless enough to assault the legendary ex-paladin, for they knew it would be suicide to charge right into her holy fire. "Are you not going to rally them to fight with you?"

"Do you take me for a fool, the White Witch of Flandor?"

Fan Fu Qing scoffed and shook his head, tightening his grip on his silver spear. His crimson mana darkened, swirling around him like a hurricane.

"They will only get in the way. I have no time to protect weaklings when fighting against someone of your caliber."

"I see."

"What's with that smirk?"

Fan Fu Qing's eyes narrowed. Teresa Taylor merely shrugged.

"You haven't changed, Fan Fu Qing. Still always thinking about your subordinates and treasuring them. Taking the responsibility of leading and protecting them upon your shoulders alone."

"What is it that you want to say?" Fan Fu Qing snapped, but Teresa Taylor raised her left hand to placate him.

"Don't misunderstand me. I am not mocking you. I am complimenting you. Your love for your subjects is admirable. However…"

Teresa Taylor's white wings unfurled and her holy halo flared like an inferno, scorching the ground around her as her purifying mana intensified. Taking a step forward, she left a molten footprint in the scorched earth.

"You should have considered that I treasure my staff and students just as much as you do your subordinates, perhaps even more. Yet you came in here, and in your folly, killed a huge number of my precious teachers and students. Don't think you'll be able to get away. I swear, I will definitely avenge my important staff and pupils. I'll hunt you down to the end of this world if I have to. And I'll kill your subjects in front of your eyes, just as you slaughtered mine."

"You…" Fan Fu Qing shifted uncomfortably, but he held his ground in firm defiance of the terrifying enemy before him. "Do you think you possess the power to face my entire clan alone?"

"I don't fear facing an entire vampire clan on my own," Teresa Taylor replied ominously. "Have you not said it so yourself? I am the White Witch, formerly the strongest Paladin of the Global Federation. My holy magic is antithesis to your blood spells and vampire nature. I am your natural counter…your biggest weakness. You can do nothing to me while I single-handedly annihilate your entire clan before you."

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Interesting!"

Fan Fu Qing burst out laughing, not at all intimidated by the outrageous claim his foe had made. Chuckling, he slammed the butt of his spear against the ground. "You don't fear facing my entire clan by yourself, you say? I wouldn't expect anything less from the White Witch herself! However…"

He lowered his stance, lifting his spear and raising his hand as his deadly mana intensified. The hurricane of darkness had now coalesced into a single maelstrom that saturated the grounds of the devastated academy.

"…you've already fallen for my deadly trap!"

Swinging his unarmed left hand, Fan Fu Qing sent a barrage of blood spears lancing toward Teresa Taylor. The elderly Paladin slashed them apart with astonishing ease, and for a moment it looked as if Fan Fu Qing had just made a fool out of himself with his tragic boast.

Then…

"Gah!"

Blood spurted from a stunned Teresa Taylor's mouth as blood spikes suddenly burst through her body from within, impaling her from the inside out. Even her wings and radiant halo couldn't protect her from an attack originating from inside her body. She staggered back, clutching at the newborn spears that emerged from her torso.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but my blood magic isn't restricted to blood spears alone."

Gloating, Fan Fu Qing triumphantly strolled through the incapacitated Teresa Taylor, who was kneeling over and coughing out blood.

"My Crimson Blood Demonic Night magic is the concept of 'being skewered by spears.' That's why…"

Even as Teresa Taylor rose to her feet, she was suddenly brought low again by a dozen more spikes bursting from within her body.

"As long as you remain inside my Eternal Blood Fortress, you cannot escape my Crimson Blood spells!"

Fan Fu Qing raised a hand, and all of a sudden, an onslaught of blood spears lanced from the ground and pierced Teresa Taylor's entire body, bypassing even her formidable holy halo and wings. The holy flames demolished the blood spears with a vengeance, but the damage had already been done. Teresa Taylor was held aloft by the blood stakes that cruelly spiked out of the earth.

"Well, let's end this."

Teresa Taylor raised her head helplessly as Fan Fu Qing approached. With a smirk, the king of the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan raised his hand triumphantly and shouted.

"The White Witch of Flandor!"

At his command, thousands of blood spikes burst out of the ground and flew into the air before arcing downward in the heavens to rain down on the hapless headmistress.

For a moment, the light turned into shadow as the numerous blood spears blotted out the sky, obscuring whatever sunlight that was being cast on Teresa Taylor's position. Hurtling down mercilessly, they sought to tear the White Witch into shreds.

But Teresa Taylor wasn't done yet.

"Heavenly Cremation, Flames of Purgatory."

Raising her head ever so slightly, the headmistress of Saint Teresa Academy whispered an incantation.

In an instant, the shadows vanished, replaced by a blinding conflagration that was as bright as the sun itself. The inferno not only razed all the blood spikes impaling Teresa Taylor, it incinerated the incoming hail of blood spears, rendering them into ash. The flames were so huge they literally consumed almost half of the courtyard, melting concrete into slag and turning trees and grass into soot.

Fan Fu Qing watched, frustrated, as his burning spears fell around him like comets, sparks flying off as they harmlessly struck the ground. He gritted his teeth, his lips quivering with rage, as he watched his immense attack reduced to flames in just one spell from Teresa Taylor.

In the center of the holy inferno, Teresa Taylor swung her sword and extinguished the flames with that single movement, the bloody projectiles falling harmlessly as they evaporated from the sheer heat. Standing up straight, almost as if she was unscathed, she gave the vampire king a cold glare.

However, Fan Fu Qing's frustration did not last long. His lips curled into a smile and he smirked.

"Interesting."

Not done yet, he raised his hand and conjured another wave of blood spears. Thousands upon thousands of them twisted and snaked through the heavens, trying to rain down on the evading Teresa Taylor. She seemed to have realized that even her vaunted holy halo and wings were no longer proof against the formidable barrage. The spears slammed into the ground, embedding themselves deeply into molten or solid concrete, trying to seek out the White Witch, whose agility belied her age. Soaring across the courtyard, she swerved upward to dodge a persistent onslaught of blood spears, but they suddenly switched direction and followed her doggedly, even as she escaped them.

Those spears that she could not evade, due to the sheer number of them, she swatted away with her sword, which immolated the offending projectiles. Still, a stray spear or two managed to graze her cheek, drawing blood.

Falling from the skies, Teresa Taylor landed on the ground. At that moment, Fan Fu Qing grinned.

"From below!"

Blood spears impaled Teresa Taylor's foot, pinning her to the ground and causing the White Witch to wheeze in pain. Dropping to the ground, the ex-Paladin incinerated the blood spears, but Fan Fu Qing crowed as she threw up her hand.

"Too slow! From above!"

Teresa Taylor just barely managed to burn away the blood spikes in time to roll away, the hail of crimson spears falling upon her former position and puncturing the ground where she had been. Getting to her feet, Teresa Taylor took a deep breath and conjured a ball of holy fire with her free left hand. Looking like miniature white suns, the fireballs streaked across the space between the two old adversaries, but Fan Fu Qing calmly raised his hand.

"Oh, Bloody Wall!"

A wall of blood rose, a crimson fortress that sprang between the two mages to block the cascading fireballs. The fiery projectiles detonated against the bloody wall, razing it to the ground, but at the same time the majority of them dissipated harmlessly in the explosion. A single fireball managed to get through, but Fan Fu Qing raised his spear to cut it in half.

As he did so, Teresa Taylor sprang from the billowing smoke, twisting in midair to land behind Fan Fu Qing. For the first time, flames sparked to life on the tip of her sword. Fan Fu Qing spun around, his eyes narrowing when he recognized the threat. Blood barriers sprung up protectively, filling the space between the two foes.

"Her Angelic Descent and holy magic, huh?"

He was right. Teresa Taylor condensed her holy mana to the tip of her sword for a final attack.

"Angelic Descent. Wrath of God. Deliverance of the Apocalypse."

And just like that, everything vanished in a blinding light.

When the light cleared, all that remained of Fan Fu Qing was a charred skeleton that slowly crumbled away into ashes. Teresa Taylor turned away from her vanquished foe, but her rage continued to simmer underneath. Yes, she had defeated Fan Fu Qing, but that didn't mean her dead staff and students would return to life.

"You…!"

You Shou was yelling, but he managed to turn around and order the remaining elders of the Crimson Blood Demonic Night Clan to flee. They were wise enough not to attempt vengeance.

"Retreat! His majesty has perished! Scatter and escape! Make sure that his highness is safe!"

Obeying You Shou immediately, the elders split up and sprinted in different directions. However, Teresa Taylor eyed them, her sword still drawn threateningly.

"None of you are getting away alive."

Then the video ended.

Leaning back in my chair, I couldn't help but shake my head, at a total loss for words. Apparently, a student had recorded the entirety of Teresa Taylor's fight with Fan Fu Qing and uploaded it online. That was why I was watching it.

Well…at least I was treated to one hell of a fight scene…

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