Transmigrated as the Villainess Princess - Chapter 168

Chapter 168: A Good Fight (Special Chapter)
Dan barely had time to react as Alexander’s blade shot toward him like a streak of black lightning.

He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the strike, but the air around the blade crackled with dark energy, leaving a scorched mark across his armor.

Alexander’s corrupted power was unlike anything Dan had ever encountered, volatile, unnatural, and deeply twisted.

Alexander moved with terrifying speed, his sword lashing out again. Dan parried, the force of the blow nearly driving him to his knees.

Sparks erupted as their blades clashed, Xevenruz humming with power in Dan’s grip. Blood from his earlier cut still coated the blade, giving it a faint crimson glow.

The spirits circling them stirred restlessly, their ghostly whispers growing louder.

Dexivdwyne flanked Alexander from behind, his sword slashing toward his corrupted cousin’s exposed side.

But Alexander twisted unnaturally, his body jerking at an odd angle as if guided by invisible strings.

With one fluid motion, he drove his elbow into Dexivdwyne’s ribs, sending him crashing to the ground.

“Stay down!” Dan shouted, swinging Xevenruz in a downward arc. Alexander caught the blade with his corrupted sword, and the impact shook the ground beneath their feet.

“You think you can stop me?” Alexander growled, his eyes glowing with malevolent energy. “I’ve seen what lies beyond this world. I know the power you can’t imagine!”

“Power?” Dan spat. “You’ve turned yourself into a puppet for those things!” He forced Alexander back with a powerful strike, sending him staggering.

The twisted figures of the forest began closing in, their shadowy forms crawling from the trees and rising from the earth.

Their hollow eyes gleamed hungrily as they fixated on the blood coating Xevenruz. Dan knew they wouldn’t wait much longer.

Alexander let out a guttural snarl and lunged again. Dan barely sidestepped in time, feeling the cold bite of Alexander’s corrupted energy skim past his face.

Alexander’s sword hit a tree, and the bark instantly blackened and crumbled to ash.

“You’ve lost control!” Dan shouted. “Look at what you’ve become!”

“I’m stronger than ever!” Alexander barked. “I’ve transcended the limits you cling to!”

“Then why do you look like you’re dying?”

Alexander faltered, his once-imposing stance trembling. His skin was pale, and dark veins twisted up his arms and neck like parasitic roots.

The spirits circling the battlefield grew bolder, whispering louder, closing in on Alexander. They could smell the corruption radiating from him.

“You brought this on yourself,” Dan muttered.

Alexander roared in fury, summoning a burst of black energy. The force knocked Dan backward, but he caught himself before hitting the ground.

The earth cracked beneath Alexander’s feet, and the air swirled with black mist.

From the shadows emerged a monstrous figure, a twisted amalgamation of skeletal limbs, jagged teeth, and hollow eyes.

The beast towered above them, its presence freezing the air. The creature screeched, and the spirits shrank back.

“By the gods…” Dexivdwyne muttered, staggering to his feet.

“That’s what’s controlling him,” Dan said grimly.

Alexander laughed darkly. “It’s not controlling me,” he hissed. “It’s part of me now.”

The beast lunged. Dan leapt aside, rolling across the ground. The creature’s claws tore deep trenches in the earth where he had just been standing.

Dexivdwyne moved in from the flank, slashing at the beast’s side, but his blade barely scratched it.

“It’s too strong!” Dexivdwyne shouted.

“We’ll make it bleed!” Dan yelled back. He surged forward, Xevenruz glowing brighter as he channeled his magic through it.

He slashed at the beast’s arm, the enchanted blade cutting deep. Black ichor sprayed across the ground, sizzling like acid.

The creature screeched in rage, spinning and swiping at Dan with terrifying speed. Alexander attacked from behind, his corrupted blade aimed straight at Dan’s back.

Dan barely turned in time, crossing Xevenruz with Alexander’s sword. The impact forced him back, his boots dragging across the dirt.

“You’re not walking out of here alive!” Alexander snarled.

“Neither are you,” Dan growled through gritted teeth.

The beast struck again, claws flashing toward Dexivdwyne. He barely dodged, tumbling across the ground. “We can’t win this!” Dexivdwyne shouted.

“We don’t have to win!” Dan shouted back. “We just need to break the link!”

The spirits in the forest began to stir again, sensing their chance. Dan could feel them, countless souls trapped in agony, hungry for release.

“Xevenruz…” Dan whispered. The sword flickered in response, the crimson glow intensifying. He slashed the air, his blade igniting with flames that spiraled outward in a bright arc.

The fiery wave surged toward the beast, engulfing it in searing light.

The creature roared, thrashing violently as the flames consumed its corrupted flesh. Its twisted limbs writhed, and the black mist around it began to break apart.

“No!” Alexander screamed. “I won’t let you!”

He charged at Dan, his corrupted sword crackling with unstable energy.

Dan braced himself, but at the last moment, Dexivdwyne appeared at Alexander’s side. He grabbed his cousin’s arm, locking it in place.

“Don’t!” Dexivdwyne shouted. “You’re not coming back from this!”

Alexander’s corrupted energy flared, burning Dexivdwyne’s arm as he struggled to restrain him.

“You fool,” Alexander snarled.

With a final surge of strength, Dan thrust Xevenruz deep into the beast’s core. The sword flared with brilliant red and gold light, searing the air with a blinding flash.

The monster let out a deafening screech as it convulsed, its twisted body disintegrating into black ash.

Alexander froze, the corrupted energy in his body flickering violently. “No…” he gasped. The dark power that once sustained him now devoured him from within.

“Dan…” Dexivdwyne called weakly.

Dan turned to see Alexander’s corrupted body rapidly deteriorating. His cousin’s face twisted in agony as the dark veins spread further, his skin cracking like dry earth.

“I’m sorry…” Alexander rasped, his voice barely a whisper. “I… I thought I could control it.”

“Rest now,” Dan murmured.

Alexander’s body crumbled to ash, scattered by the cold wind that whispered through the trees.

Dan collapsed to his knees, Xevenruz clattering from his hand. Dexivdwyne staggered over, clutching his burned arm. “It’s over…”

The spirits in the forest began to fade, their tortured whispers finally silenced. The air grew still, the forest no longer feeling as suffocating as before.

“Come on,” Dan said, his voice heavy with exhaustion. “Let’s go home.”