SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant-Chapter 395: The Fall of the Thal’zar [IX]

The assault on the castle was already underway.

Valttair du Morgain and Elenara au Sylvanel advanced side by side, moving at the center of the formation. Their presence alone shaped the pace of those around them, a silent acknowledgment that this was not yet the moment to unleash what they carried.

Behind them followed the key figures of the allied force.

Thaleon au Rosenthal moved with measured steps, 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

the calm authority of a summoner who had led men through battle before. Around him advanced the heirs of the allied families, each holding their position with discipline, aware of their role and of who stood ahead of them.

Lysandra remained close to her father, blade already drawn, her posture relaxed but ready. She did not look back.

Further back, yet still clearly visible, walked the First Heir of House Sylvanel. His appearance stood out immediately. Blanchish hair fell neatly into place despite the movement. His skin was pale and unmarked, polished in a way that suggested courtly halls rather than bloodied corridors. Instead of armor, he wore noble attire, elegant and impractical by battlefield standards, yet he carried himself without hesitation, eyes sharp as he assessed the advance.

The intent of the formation was clear.

Valttair and Elenara were not meant to be spent here.

Lysandra took the forward edge, supported by Thaleon and the Sylvanel heir, their role to open the way, to break resistance, to keep the path clear without forcing the true powers of the assault to act too early.

Kaedor and Icarus were still ahead.

Thaleon au Rosenthal moved at the front with calm control, his presence steady even as the corridor filled with noise and motion. Among the allied forces, his name carried weight. He was recognized as the strongest summoner of his generation, the lord of a house whose overall power stood just short of the Eight Great Families themselves. Had the Thal’zar truly fallen, the Rosenthal could have risen to fill that space. But that had never been the objective.

Now was not the moment for ambition.

At Thaleon’s side, his primary summon advanced—a massive creature shaped like a bear, its frame broad and dense, stone plates forming naturally along its shoulders and limbs. Rock mana pulsed through it with every step. When enemies surged forward, the summon met them head-on, crushing transformed bodies with raw force and erupting stone, clearing the corridor faster than any line of soldiers could have managed.

What slipped past was handled immediately.

The First Heir of House Sylvanel stayed just behind the front, his voice cutting through the chaos with measured commands. He directed units into position, adjusted formations, and sealed gaps before they could widen. Soldiers responded without hesitation, the advance remaining tight and deliberate despite the pressure.

They were still within the upper structure of the castle.

A wide corridor stretched ahead, its height allowing enemies to drop from above while others rushed forward already transformed, claws and altered forms crashing against the allied line. Stone shattered. Magic flared. Steel rang out.

Lysandra moved.

Her blade, pale in tone and clean in line, caught what little light survived the corridor’s gloom. Her hair was tied back in a combat tail she always wore into battle, keeping her face clear as she advanced. Against the shattered stone, the blood, and the warped bodies pressing in from all sides, she stood out sharply, like a single bright line cutting through the dark.

When two enemies rushed her flank, Lysandra vanished mid-step. [Morgain’s Riftstep] carried her forward in an instant, the displacement clean and precise, placing her directly behind them before either could react. The pressure left in her wake disrupted their balance just long enough.

She struck immediately.

[Morgain’s Dual Crest] followed without pause. Two mana-charged cuts crossed through the air, tracing a brief symbol before colliding. The impact destabilized their aura on contact. Both bodies dropped where they stood, movements ending before they could even turn.

The advance did not break.

Several soldiers glanced her way, not in distraction, but in brief recognition. This was not reckless speed or raw force. It was control. Timing. A level of execution that marked her clearly as what she was.

A talent of S-rank.

Valttair watched without comment, his expression unchanged, while Elenara’s gaze lingered a fraction longer than the rest. Neither spoke. They didn’t need to.

Lysandra was doing exactly what she had been placed there to do.

And she was doing it flawlessly.

They continued forward without slowing.

For a moment, only the sound of steel and collapsing stone filled the corridor. Then Elenara spoke, her voice low enough that only Valttair could hear it.

"She’s capable," she said. Her gaze flicked briefly toward Lysandra before returning ahead. "More than most."

Valttair did not look at her. "I know."

Elenara allowed herself a faint breath. "It’s a shame," she added. "That I can’t bind her to my family. A union like that would have been... effective."

She paused for half a step.

"For the sake of peace between the Eight Great Families."

Valttair’s reply came without warmth.

"Peace?" he said quietly. "That word lost its meaning the moment the Thal’zar chose to ignore it."

His eyes remained forward. "They broke it first. And I won’t pretend otherwise."

Elenara’s expression tightened, not in anger, but in restraint. "Tempting as it is," she admitted, "joining our houses that way would shatter what balance remains."

She exhaled once. "We’re trying to preserve something fragile. Even now."

Valttair nodded slightly. "Then keep your restraint," he said. "I won’t lower myself to the level of beasts, no matter how convenient it would be."

Valttair’s gaze shifted ahead, scanning the broken stone and fractured supports lining the corridor. His steps slowed just enough for him to take it in properly.

"There," he said, indicating a descending stairway partially hidden behind collapsed masonry. He studied its angle and depth for a moment. "That leads down."

He straightened. "The lower levels. The real heart of the Thal’zar."

His voice carried the name without emphasis. "Kaedor, Icarus and the Void Creature."

Elenara stopped beside him.

The restraint she had maintained until now cracked. Her jaw set. Mana stirred around her like a held breath.

"Remember this," she said, her voice low and edged with fury. "Kaedor is mine."

She turned her head just enough for him to see the fire in her eyes.

"I will make him pay," Elenara continued. "For every sanctuary he defiled. For every life he twisted. He dies by my hand."

Her gaze flicked forward again, toward the depths.

"Icarus is yours," she said. "Once I’m done with Kaedor, we go together."

There was no hesitation when she named the last threat.

"The void creature," Elenara added. "Right now, it’s the thing I despise most in this world after Kaedor." Her fingers curled slowly. "If they truly gave it intelligence, nothing good will come of it. You know that as well as I do."

She finally looked back at Valttair.

"We deal with it," she said. "Before it becomes something worse."

Valttair accepted it without hesitation.

It was the logical course. The only one that made sense. The path they had already chosen long before setting foot in the castle.

"That was always the plan," he said calmly. "From the beginning."

Kaedor would fall to Elenara. Icarus would be dealt with by his hand. And once both were gone, they would turn together toward the void creature.

With that settled, Valttair shifted his attention back to the stairway.

The descent resumed.