Chapter 334: When Blood Turns Against Blood [5]

Henriette floated higher, the hems of her clothes rippling as dozens of glowing runes circled her in complex constellations.

She looked down on her daughter "You were never fit to bear the Bleaufort name, Florence. You let love soften you and let weakness rot your will."

"I will burn that frailty from you... until nothing remains but strength."

Florence’s golden eyes flared brighter and pebbles began to rise around her feet, then chunks of stone, then entire fragments of floor torn from their foundation.

"I’ve carried your definition of strength my whole life," Florence shouted back.

"And all it gave me was fear, loss, and a daughter who forgot what love feels like!"

She thrust her arms outward.

*SWOOSH* The floating debris around her blurred as each fragment glowed gold and then streaking skyward at impossible speed.

They struck Henriette’s rune shield one after another *BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!* like artillery fire.

Henriette didn’t flinch and raised her cane, tracing it through the air.

The runes swirled into a new pattern, spinning like a halo and each rotation ignited an explosion of blue ether that disintegrated Florence’s projectiles mid-flight.

Then, with a flick of her wrist, Henriette countered.

Blue spears of rune-light rained downward in a spiral pattern.

*FEEN* *FEEN*

Florence gritted her teeth and slammed her heel into the ground, and the gravity around her warped into a dense shield.

The spears hit the invisible dome *KRRAAACK!* and exploded.

She spun in a full circle, sweeping her palms through the air.

The ground beneath Henriette erupted in concentric waves and the waves expanded outward, cratering the earth beneath her feet.

Henriette’s floating form wavered and she scowled, thrusting her cane downward.

Runes flared beneath her feet, forming a glowing blue array that steadied her in midair.

"Defiant child. You would turn the very weight of the world against your own blood?"

Florence’s lips trembled, "If it means ending the cycle you began and for my Kael... yes."

With that, she clapped her hands together.

THOOM!

The gravity field condensed instantly and the entire courtyard shuddered; cracks webbed across the earth as though it were glass.

The air around Henriette twisted, pulling at her from all sides, up, down, inward, and outward, as gravity no longer obeyed any single direction.

Henriette gasped as her own ether shield distorted, dragging her body through chaotic vectors.

The runes around her flickered wildly.

She growled, her voice echoing like thunder, "ENOUGH!"

The sky above the mansion ignited with light.

Thousands of runes appeared in a vast circle that stretched across the skies like an array that dwarfed the entire estate.

The symbols pulsed in sequence, channeling torrents of blue ether downward.

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

The runes erupted and pillars of light fell from the sky, striking the ground in rapid succession and each one was like a meteor of pure ether.

The earth split apart; trees disintegrated and walls were vaporized.

Florence raised her hands, pouring everything she had into her power.

A gravity barrier formed like an invisible sphere around her that swallowed the falling ether bolts, bending them sideways.

But the onslaught didn’t stop and every impact made the barrier flicker.

Her vision swam and blood streamed down her temple. The pressure was immense, like holding up a collapsing mountain.

Still, she gritted her teeth and stood her ground.

When the barrage finally ended, Florence’s knees buckled and she gasped for breath, her whole body trembling under the immense strain.

"Ugh..." She coughed blood and kneeled down on the ground as blood streaked down her lips.

Henriette descended slowly through the haze, "You see? You cannot bear the heavens. That’s your limit... Florence."

"The reason you couldn’t become strong even after having such a powerful ability is... because of your frail body."

"So much potential, yet born with a frail constitution where you can’t even channel your ability to its utmost strength."

"Useless junk. You should have just stayed quiet and followed my words like you always do."

Florence’s fingers twitched and her vision blurred "Then maybe it’s time the heavens... learned to fall."

She slammed her palms into the ground and the world around her convulsed.

The shattered marble beneath Henriette cracked apart as glowing lines of golden light spread outward and then, without warning, the gravity reversed.

Henriette’s body lurched downward, slammed by an invisible tidal wave of weight.

The celestial runes in the sky shuddered and began collapsing... drawn toward the ground by the immense gravity.

"What-?" Henriette’s eyes widened as the very runes she conjured in the skies bent under Florence’s command.

Florence rose to her feet and her whole body was trembling in pain "You looked down on me all my life... now look up to me for once."

She clenched her fists and the sky fell.

The runes shattered like glass, raining shards of ether that exploded on impact.

"ARRRRHHHH!" Henriette roared, wrapping herself in a last-ditch sphere of blue light.

But the gravitational collapse crushed even that, pinning her to the ground with a deafening BOOM!

THOOOOMMMM!

For a long moment, the surroundings were filled with nothing but light and impact.

When it cleared, the once-grand Bleaufort courtyard was a wasteland... cratered, burning, trembling.

The mansion behind them had half-collapsed, its towers leaning at fatal angles.

Florence stood at the center of the devastation, her hair disheveled, blood streaking her lips.

Henriette lay embedded in the cracked marble several meters away, coughing and her cane was shattered beside her.

Florence took a step forward, breathing heavily "Mother... it’s over."

Henriette glared up at her through the dust and ruin. "You... dare think you’ve won?"

Florence’s voice softened, trembling between exhaustion and resolve "No. I don’t want to win. I just want you to stop."

Hearing this, Henriette’s eyes narrowed in anger "If it wasn’t for my broken core... I would have easily crushed you, Florence."

With a faint nod, she settled down on some debris "I am aware... I know I won’t stand a chance against you if you have your whole core intact."

Her eyes glowed faintly gold one last time, and Henriette’s body lifted an inch from the ground and then gently settled back down.

The fight was done.

For the first time in her life, Florence had stood as an equal to her mother... no, as a force her mother could not command.

And beyond the smoke and ruin, in the distance, the sounds of Brandon and Kiera’s battle still echoed while the matriarchs of the Bleaufort bloodline had finally broken theirs.

Gazing at the distance, Florence’s gaze trembled.

She wanted to get up and go there to stop the fight... but the strain of using her powers with a weak body weighed on her heavily.

Turning to her mother, Florence muttered "Do you understand the consequences of touching... Kael?"

Lying on the wreckage, Henriette gazed up at the pale morning sky "I am aware... His Sister, an Empyrean, would kill me."

Florence let out a sigh "Then why would you ask Kiera to kill him? This could get our whole House destroyed, Mother."

Henriette turned her head slightly, her sharp profile outlined against the light.

Her hand, streaked with blood and dust, clenched into a fist until the veins stood out on her wrist "Because... he is a mistake. I know I will be killed, but if I kill him now... in the future the world will praise me for killing such an abomination before it grows fully."

"He alone would tip the power of the world we women have created if we let him go."

Florence tilted her head back and closed her eyes "So... in the end, it’s all about power and rule."

"I can’t be like that mother... Sorry for not being the ’strong daughter’ you always envisioned me to be."

Her gaze flickered toward the distant flashes of ether, where Brandon was fighting "I love Brandon and... I don’t want to let him go."

For the first time since their fight began, Henriette’s expression faltered and her fingers loosened from their rigid grip on the broken cane.

Her gaze shifted slightly toward Florence "You are overly sentimental... You have chosen a man."

She pressed her palm into the cracked earth, forcing herself to rise.

Around her, faint blue sigils sparked "I see it now... you were never meant to inherit my throne. You lack conviction. You’ve always lacked it."

"Since you have chosen that man, you will make yourself an enemy to most of others and you will fall."

Hearing this, Florence smiled faintly "It doesn’t matter, even if I fall... I will fall in the arms of the person I love."

The ground beneath them trembled faintly because of another shockwave from the distant duel.

Dust rained down from the fractured archways and Florence turned her head toward the sound, "Kael..."

She turned and began to walk, limping slightly, toward the sound of Brandon and Kiera’s battle.

Looking at the fleeting figure of Florence, Henriette’s gaze flickered "...It’s not over yet."