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Chapter 245: The Phantasmal Armory. [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2021-11-08 01:40:09 +0000 UTCEdit: Changes to the tearjerker moment. I tried to make it more into a tearjerker by changing the beginning of it.
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<[Symphonie des Feuergottes (Allegro)] [Battle Frenzy (Minor)] [Music Resonation (Major)] [Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Major)] [Various Spell Buffs] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
“I descend on Earth with Wings of Death! ♫
A Storm of Fury ♫
Creating Ash and Dust ♫
I am the Incarnation of the Sun ♫
I shine so brightly, I bring your death ♫
My lineage belongs to the God of Dragons! ♫”
Wind Blast! Tailwind! Rocket boosters, Dragoon Dive!
The very air was set ablaze by my flames as I crashed landed onto the ground, creating a massive explosion using my scale-dust, turning anything it hit into ash. Knowing I missed him, I locked my eyes at Eithalr once again and sent a slash-wave of flames at him before [Dragoon Jump]ing back into the air and getting ready to perform another [Dragoon Dive].
I repeated it over and over again, never forgetting to also cast spells to lead Eithalr towards my landing zone. However, he used his phantom blades to block my attacks while staying mobile with [Air Walk] and [Gale Steps]. Regardless, I was not dissuaded. I had to bring this bastard down.
“Woah!” Eithalr cried out, dodging the incoming flames from my spell song [Dragon Fire]. “Nice song there, kiddo. I would enjoy it if you weren’t trying to kill me or keep me trapped inside this flame arena with you.”
“Shut up and go down!” I shouted before [Spiral]ing myself close to him, twisting my body like a tornado. Now in front of him, I sent a flurry of strikes with my glaives and tail.
He used his three-section nunchaku to smack away any attacks, forcing me to use extensive amounts of wind spells to even hold onto my advantage. I spread my wings, scattering another round of scale-dus—
“Waaacha!”
“Kuek!”
A fast strike of his managed to hit me before I could react to [Foresight]’s warning. I didn’t receive any damage with my [Draconic Barrier] and [Panzer] up, but causing me to stop attacking for even one second was enough for Eithlar to take the initiative.
Allegro isn’t fast enough?!
He swung his weapon, striking at my arms, head, torso, legs and tail. Any time I tried to attack, he’d hit me with a counter attack and prevent me from being able to do anything. His combo chain continued and continued, before ghostly gauntlets and greaves appeared on his hands and feet respectively. He swung his nunchaku once more at my head before throwing it away, causing it to dissipate.
Before he hammered me with a punch, I let out a [Dreadflare Aura] to blast him away, canceling his incoming flurry strikes. I ground my teeth, growing a flame inside my mouth before unleashing that inferno laser at Eithalr. He didn’t even try blocking it, instead immediately fleeing.
Not so fast! Bedrock Blades, Tornado Bullet, Levin Core, Banishment Beam!
With [Dragon Fire] playing in the background, the fire arena made it impossible for Eithalr to escape if he didn’t want to get burned into crips by the inferno. His area of movement was restricted. All I had to do was to use my spells to lead him into a trap.
Earth, wind, lightning, and holy spells ravaged our battle area, sending it straight into a bullet hell status where Eithalr couldn’t come any closer while I blasted him with everything in my arsenal that wasn’t one of my trump cards. Even though, [Dragon Fire] may prevent my enemies from leaving my arena of fire, it doesn’t stop any spells from flying outside my control. This area we were fighting in was desolated, so who cared?
I definitely didn’t while I had a piece of shit to kill.
“Woah, aren’t you go— Woah! Going a bit too hard on me, kiddo? This could kill me.” Eithalr still had the leisure to speak.
How?! Dammit, I need to dial this up a notch.
“You tried killing, Ellaine! Did you honestly think I would forgive you, you bastard!” I shouted as I released another dragon breath at him, detonating a chain of scale-dust on the side.
“Shit!” The collective blasts finally hit him, sending him flying to the ground.
Before he crash-landed, Eithalr somersaulted to land softly, showing no signs of extensive damage aside from his coat catching fire. As he tried to fan it away, I did another [Dragoon Dive] at his location, but, just like before, he was too agile. But, since I was expecting him to dodge my dive again, I readied myself to follow him the moment I landed.
Gale Steps! Spark Crescent!
Now right in front of him, the catalyst in my glaive flared up from all the scale-dust, and I unleashed a purple flaming strike imbued with some nasty toxins. Eithalr was forced to block my strike with his ghostly greatsword, narrowly dodging the flames. But that wasn’t the end of my attack.
[Spark Crescent] was an attack using my glaive and tail. In another crescent arc, my tail struck his sword again, unbalancing him. That was when I activated the [Attack Rune: Triple Attack] on my weapon and used another [Spark Crescent]. [Triple Attack] made you do three times the damage on your next attack, so it was a great finishing combination if you used it when you know you can hit.
As my glaive seared the ground one more, Eithalr suddenly smirked as multiple phantom blades suddenly materialized in front of him, shielding him from my attacks. He then kicked his sword wall, shooting out multiple blades that scratched my armor, but most importantly, blocked my line of sight.
Once I had completely weathered the assault, I noticed Eithalr was gone from my view. I immediately activated [Detection Sensor] and focused on any sounds, reacting to one coming straight at me. While I tried to counterattack, I realized I only blocked a flying phantom sword. The next attack was another one, as was the next, so was the third, and not to mention the next few ones.
“Well, let me show you why they call me the ‘Phantasmal Armory’, kiddo.” My head snapped around to that voice, seeing Eithalr turning from being translucent to corporeal. “Armory of Avarice!”
Blood burst from his left arm’s wrist before it formed into a levitating hand. It grabbed onto my glaive and wrapped itself around it. As I tried to burn it away, the blood quickly fled from my weapon and returned to Eithalr, slipping into his coat.
He whistled before a phantom imitation of my glaive appeared in his hand, barring the catalyst. He swung it around as if it was a toy, acting smug while I was baffled at what happened.
“The ability is a finicky one. Very picky, you see. Once the hand grabs onto any weapon I want, I can create a weaker copy of the weapon with most of its skills intact. No runes or enchantment, but I’ve managed to snatch some pretty good ones in my lifetime, regardless,” Eithalr explained his ability. “But, if the ability doesn’t like the weapon or I can’t use it, the weapon turns into a dud. For example, yours. Can’t use it properly since I’m not its dragonewt owner, but I can appraise what it can do without your [Identity Blocker] activating.”
[Identity Blocker] and those appraisal blocking armlets prevented you not only from identifying people but also their items.
“Nice name, Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. I had a feeling you were a dragon, but your weapon just helped me confirm it. Good weapon, nonetheless.” Eithalr threw my glaive’s copy away, letting it dissipate into nothingness.
“W-What, you knew?!”
“Cedaraille. Dragon. Those words have been flying around in Shatu for a bit, and then you appeared in Griffonpeak. Hot-shot dragonewt noble making her name known in the noble’s world. I’m not a sleuth, but I think I have enough of a brain to put things together,” Eithalr said with a smirk, tapping his head. “You know, even if you were a dragon, I was okay trying my luck against one. But, oh boy, Kargryxmor? Kiddo, you’re an even bigger hot shot than I thought. Hah, Hamil’s compensation wouldn’t have been worth angering a whole damn empire to hunt me down, hehe. You kinda wasted your favor there, kiddo, you were never in danger of dying.”
He lost interest the moment my lineage came into play? Are you kidding me?! I could have just said that and then used my favor to have him bring Hamil to me?! Are you freaking kidding me?!
Sparks exploded around me as my emotions caused my flames to go berserk. They spiraled around me as I asked Eithalr a question before I went in, “Where is Ellaine?!”
“… Sorry, still have to stal— Woah!”
I charged right at him with my glaive before unleashing my [Dreadflare Aura].
<[Symphonie des Feuergottes (Adagio)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
Allego was sadly over, meaning my speed was now heavily diminished. In return, during Adagio, my Strength and Intelligence would increase by 50% and all my spells would cost me 50% less. I couldn’t continue blitzing him, but I could overwhelm him even more with power and spells.
Eithalr had to back away as I kept [Dreadflare Aura] activated, causing the surroundings to begin turning into a magma field. Every strike with my glaive carried along a large amount of scale-dust, turning every hit into a massive concentrated explosion, as if each hit was a grenade.
Solar Beam!
My solar core flared up as I unleashed a bright ray of solar fire, melting rocks, wood, and earth whenever it touched them. The very air in this area had its temperature raised to the extremes, and it seemed even Eithalr couldn’t handle it becoming this hellish.
[Dreadflare Aura] and [Solar Beam] pulsed with power. I wasn’t holding back any punches anymore. Even if I have to melt Shaturein down, I would do it to get Ellaine and my friends out of here! When my internal temperature reached its highest possible point, the scale-dust under my scales burst in fire. Crimson, white, and purple flames shot out from my armor as I flew around the area with my rocket boosters, destroying everything Eithalr threw at me.
“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!” I shouted as a glaive strike shattered one of his phantom blades. “I KNOW YOU’RE A DEMONKIN CONTRACTOR, BUT YOU’RE HUMAN! WHY ARE YOU WORKING WITH HAMIL AND HIS DEMONKIN SUPPORTERS!”
The very ground was nothing more than molten slag at this point. There was barely any solid place to stand anymore. If you didn’t have [Air Walk] or resistances against heat and fire, you’d probably die here.
“SO MANY PEOPLE ARE DYING UP THERE. I WITNESSED HUNDREDS LOSING THEIR LIVES! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!”
I hadn’t personally witnessed that number of people dying with my own eyes, but according to the amount of fans I lost during the initial attack, I was fully aware that over a hundred of them had already died. Not to mention, those who haven’t become my fans. All these lives lost… for whatever the fuck those demonkin want.
What was their goal with all of this, and why were Hamil and Eithalr working with them like this?
“WHY ARE— Arck!” As I was winding up another attack, a bolt suddenly flew through my [Dreadflare Aura] and pierced my armor, drilling itself right into my shoulder. When I looked at it, I noticed it was a ghost arrow as it disappeared. My [White Flame] began to heal me, but the fact an attack got through my [Dreadflare Aura] was unnerving.
“You really want to know, kiddo?” Eithalr asked with a frown, hoving over the magna while wielding two phantom hand crossbows. “Then listen up. Not every demonkin is an enemy to humans and beastmen like all the propaganda the church of Aurena and Folschreck Empire spews out.”
Like a gun, arrows shot from those two crossbows non-stop, showing no need for Eithalr to reload them. They blasted through my aura, but they weren’t faster than me with my rocket boosters on. So I voided or blocked the bolts, all while my spells kept Eithalr on the move.
“You are looking at this whole conflict only through one pair of glasses. Every faction has a reason to fight the others, and it’s not like it’s black-and-white. Neither the human nor demonkin population are the real enemies here, but those at the top are. The Holy Emperor, the Pope of Aurena, and the Seven Princes of Sins! They are the ones urging the ‘innocents’ to move out and kill each other!”
Ghost-like armor appeared around Eithalr’s body as he charged into my aura. The armor began breaking apart under the power of my aura but Eithalr quickly replaced them before his body became exposed. We both heaved our respective weapons, and his greatsword and my glaive clashed.
As we held this pose, Eithalr continued speaking with our faces close to each other. “I knew a very amazing demonkin once. Best cook I’ve ever met. His gluttonous appetite caused him to strive to make the best meals he could find, despite how underdeveloped agriculture and food culture was in Bole’Taria.”
I unleashed a flame breath, breaking this standoff. With him inside my aura, I couldn’t let him get away. I dashed around, striking at him, making sure he was neatly inside so he could begin melting.
“But war demands blood, even of the ‘innocents,’ kiddo.”
Tch!
I didn’t let his words distract me. I continued my assault on him, peeling his armor off and using up his phantom weapons.
“I’m not a good person, but even I can tell that there is good amongst the demonkin, even if they are descendants of otherworldly creatures bent on destroying us. But then again, the Origin Gods aren’t from this world either. Only difference is that they decided to take over instead of killing us all. That’s why we worship them and are able to tolerate dark and wind elves, right?”
The moment I tried to make another attack, Eithalr suddenly materialized a ghost blade he hadn’t taken out since the beginning of this battle. It was a one-handed sword with an extremely long blade. Mana poured into the blade as it intercepted my attack and, for the first time in this fight, I was repelled.
“There are two factions within the demon kingdom of Bole’Taria — those who support the Edjurl Gods, the ones who sent those demons to our world, and those who worship the Origin Gods with the exceptions of Aurena and Plesia. Both sides wish for a world for the demonkin, but only one side can control the demon king to enact their wishes. Guess who’s in charge?”
That parry left me open to Eithalr’s sword strike, slashing through my armor and drawing a massive amount of blood. I tried to reply with an attack of my own, but Eithalr’s answer to this was to unleash his full arsenal.
A massive amount of weapons materialized around us, allowing him to constantly swap whatever weapon he was using for another, using swords, maces, spears, crossbows, fists, and so many other variants to put me completely on the defensive. His skin and clothes were being burned, the consequence of staying inside my [Dreadflare Aura] for too long, but he didn’t care. He kept attacking me while I did my best to heal myself up. I still had energy inside my solar core, I could recover from anything if I simply avoided any fatal attacks.
I will win in this endurance race.
“This war has been going on for a long time. I want it to end, but I’m not delusional enough to admit I’m a good guy. I’m terrible, a criminal. But I will do things my way. My Boss told me what I have to gain, and the only way to do this is to aid Hamil, even if he’s working for an Edjurl God supporter.”
“That does not make any of this right! The ends do not justify the means! They don’t! All the people you let die today could be a lost father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or sister to somebody else. A friend you will never meet again. A loved one you wanted to spend all your life with! Some of these people will never get this fortune because of you!”
I twisted my body and landed a tail slash to Eithalr’s side, creating an opening in his phantom armor for my aura to burn his stomach black. He closed it up but a large scar remained.
“Then strike me down if you think me evil, Princess! Be ignorant and stay in your lofty nest as this war continues until we are all too weak to fan the fires of war! Armageddon Ghost!”
Eithalr’s body turned translucent as he dashed around, striking me with even more attacks. [Foresight] was able to detect his attacks but not early enough for me to react, just like when he copied my weapon. Strike after strike, my [Panzer] broke and was replaced by white flames.
His attacks were so numerous that I was physically unable to react. I could use spells, but Eithalr’s floating swords shielded him well. I was bleeding more and more, and my frustration became worse and worse. I was stun locked.
“Haaaaa!” A roundhouse kick landed on my face, shooting me crashing into the magma river I myself created.
I jumped out from it, throwing up chunks of molten rock I swallowed. I deactivated my [Dreadflare Aura] at this point, only now noticing that I was sweating. Did I go overboard a bit?
No!
I clenched my hands and awaited for Eithalr’s next attack…
… I waited.
… Now! Humanize! Release: Solar Flare!
<[Humanize (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
As if I had turned into a bomb, extreme heat was released from my body, growing in size the longer I kept this up. This was the solar energy I had inside my solar core, all released through one singular burst of energy. I didn’t care what I hit at this point, all I knew I had to do was to kill Eithalr once and for all.
Krk! Arrrgh!
But then another surprise happened, a stabbing pain appeared around my chest, specifically, I could feel it happening inside my solar core. The light dissipated as I dropped onto my knees in the magma puddle, clutching onto my solar core in agony. [Absolute Pain Tolerance] did not activate.
My parallel minds scrambled to find the reason for this intense feeling, even reminding me that [Absolute Pain Tolerance] had not worked during the rachonoid queen battle in Cedaraille. At that event, I was overheating so much I felt like I was cooking myself.
But just like last time, this pain was unbearable. My skill wasn’t dampening it enough. I couldn’t just grit my teeth and take it. It felt like my chest was about to explode.
Uuuuuuuugh! Healing! Healing! Heal my core, now, parallel minds!
I slumped on the ground, doing my breathing technique to try to calm my racing heart. The pain was lessening with every breath, but I was getting more and more worried with every second.
What is going on with my solar core?! It feels like it’s gonna explode. What’s happening to it!
“Did you go overboard?” Eithalr’s voice echoed above me. I turned my head around slowly, struggling to move. “Yeah, you did go overboard. But, well, so did I.”
Eithalr’s clothes except for bits of his pants were reduced to ash, revealing charred areas around his leg, stomach, and shoulders. His hair was disheveled, but it seemed like he took no damage to his face.
“Yeah, you’re strong alright, kiddo. Really strong. I knew you could use [Humanization], but that sudden form change really surprised me with how much strength you were hiding. Damn, if you had taken on your dragon form, I wonder if I would have had to become serious at the very beginning. Congrats, you pushed me by a ton, but still not enough compared to the number one of the Yanderus.”
Are you kidding me?!
Eithalr was ranked five among the underbosses. That meant he was the fifth strongest. The thought of four people stronger than him was insane.
“Hahaha, you should be fine with your healing magic, right? Well… since you’re down for the count, how about you answer some of my questions now.” Eithalr sat down, levitating on air with [Air Walk].
<[Humanize (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
“Fuck off…” I forced out.
While the pain around my chest was getting worse and worse, I still found myself petty enough to spit those words out. Using [Telepathy] to say it didn’t have the impact I wanted it to have.
The damage in my solar core wasn’t disappearing, even with my white flames treating it. At this point, I bet Astalos had caused some serious damage to it that couldn’t heal right now.
“Now, now, you have nothing to do, right? Come on, I think you might enjoy answering my question. I need to delay you for longer, after all.”
… Delaying?
“… Sure,” I acquiesced.
“Huh? That was quick.”
It is like he said. If I could answer some questions and delay him for longer, then I should be able to heal my core. Eithalr might not look injured but I bet he was only hiding the damage behind his grin.
“Great, so, first things first, your name… ‘Hestia Atsuko.’ Not a very common one. Is it a draconic one or did it perhaps come from somewhere else? Something otherworldly?”
What? Are you joking? This guy can’t be actually asking such a question, right?
“What do you mean by that?”
“News of the heroes, kiddo. Everybody in the underworld from here to the Empire knows about the otherworldly heroes Aurena summoned. Getting their names through official channels was impossible, since the church forces them to use pseudonyms in the form of their unique skills. But, since they also registered as adventurers, things are easier. You can’t cheat the Divine System if you don’t have a specialized manatech, right?”
For example my ID card and party bracelet. I could hide certain information from them.
“And, you see, your name is pretty similar to theirs, no? Your middle one, I mean. Also, you used a moniker during the slave auction raid, right? ‘Licht?’ Funny name, also doesn’t seem Peolyncian. Coincidences?”
And this guy doesn’t call himself a sleuth?! All these deductions make him so like a detective, hello?
“What do you want to imply with all of this?” I didn’t give him any straight answers. I slowed down my breathing, maintaining it with a deep breath seeing as it was weakening the pain.
“You’re pretty close lipped despite agreeing to answer my questions, kiddo. Well, if you won’t confirm that you’re an otherworldler or not, I’ll just presume whatever. So, what does ‘Licht’ mean?”
“Nothing special, just light in my own language.”
“Your own language? Ahhh, I see, then why did you call those pastries ‘Berliner?’ In fact, most of the pastries you sold at that concert of yours had weird names. Names I never heard about. Duke Greenveil is selling them, but I am so sure all of these recipes come from you.”
“You really are curious about these sorts of questions, huh? Why?”
“I was asking you, but well, whatever, kiddo. Just a gut feeling that my Boss might be interested in all this.”
His Boss? Well, I guess he would be.
“Anyways, back to my question. What do, urgh— What do, urk, bleeeegh!” As Eithalr tried to question me again on it, he suddenly groaned and bent over, puking purple-colored bile into the magma puddles.
Hahaha! Yes, it finally kicked in.
“What? How? When? I never got hit by those purple flames of yours… Urk, bleegh!”
I forced myself to stand with a smirk, still trying to weaken the pain in my core. “My armor. Did you forget how it was made from purple flames? I’m immune to my own poison, but I can make that obsidian armor tough and lethal once broken. As it turned to gas, you probably got a sniff when I cut your armor with my tail.”
My Health was back to full, although my chest still hurt. [Battle Frenzy], albeit a tricky beast most of the time, did come in handy today since it made me fully focused on fighting. [Instant Heat Ignition] turned my tail and glaive on fire.
“You should still have [Dread Burn] from all that flame damage, right? You can’t heal yourself and that toxin will eat you up until I’m done with you.”
The toxin’s effect couldn’t be that strong. It took a while for the toxic gas to affect him so he should have a high level [Poison Resistance]. Fortunately for me, he didn’t have full immunity. If he had, then I could have only wished that I had taken [Purple Pyromancer] as my Job to have poison able to ignore normal immunity.
“Hehe, yeah, you got me good there.” Eithalr snapped his finger, summoning his armory. “But, I’m used to fighting with venom inside my body. I have my own pride as the fifth head of Yanderu Elusuess, so let’s see if you stand a chance with me like this.”
Eeeeeiii! The nerve this guy has! His body has third-degree burns, toxic gas is pumping through his veins, and he was standing inside an area where his sweat was literally getting evaporated the moment it left his pores! Why is he acting like such a badass for a damn criminal!
“Tsk, well, if you want to be like this then I’ll jus—”
<Hestia, get to Eshe now!>
Huh?
But this was the end of the match, without question.
<Go to her now! The demonkin has engaged her! Go to her NOW!>
Aurena? Eshe?
<What are you standing around like this! This is urgent, Hestia, go to her! She’s going to die!>
Die? Eshe? Wait, no, I-
<1 human follower lost>
<Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 2683>
“Nooooooooooo!”
The music stopped. I ignored everything before me as I [Dragoon Jump]ed into the sky, flapping my wings as fast as I could. I tried to activate my rocket boosters, but I’d used up all my stored dust after I activated [Solar Beam]. But, I didn’t care, the moment I recovered some, I used them.
I could feel my solar core aching and aching similar to my heart, which was suffering from the anxiousness I felt from Aurena’s words. It became even worse when that System message appeared, updating me on how I lost a follower.
This is just a coincidence! This is just a coincidence! It can’t be real! Aurena, you’re lying!
Alikar, Anivh, Eshe. Three. Three. Three. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! It can’t be them, it can’t be them!
IT CAN’T BE THEM!
I ditched the idea to get to the entrance and turned my eyes to the ceiling. Channeling all my mana into my mouth, I unleashed my dragon fire at it, melting through the earth as I flew through it.
At first, I made fast progress, but the moment I hit the fairnite plate separating Griffonpeak from Shaturein, I slowed down considerably. Still, I didn’t care. I didn’t care if I got into major trouble ‘cause of this, I had to make sure Eshe was safe.
<1 human follower lost>
<Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 2682>
Eshe. Ellaine. Why? Why? Why? Why is this shit happening to us?!
Light.
As my flames burst through the ground, the sun’s radiance began to shine on me, despite all the dark clouds gathering up there to block it. It filled me up with solar energy, soothing the pain in my solar core. As one part of my annoyance was gone, I was able to calm down a bit. I turned to Aurena to have her tell me where Eshe or even Ellaine was.
Goddess Aurena, where is Esh—
Booooom!
<1 human follower lost>
<Total follower count updated. Total follower of [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]: 2682>
An explosion from where the orphanage was located, followed by this very message.
No…
<H-Hestia…>
Nooooo!
I flew over to the source of the explosion, landed there and saw the orphanage in ruins. In fact, everything around it was in ruin as well, but what caught my eye the most were two large metal beings, laying on the ground with large chunks of their bodies ripped in pieces. The bright light I remembered emanating from their eye sockets was no longer there.
“N-Nooieeee!”
I touched the bulky giant’s body first, swaying its body to check if it was asleep. I cast [Major Heal] on it, but there was no response. “S-Sir Alikar? No…”
I turned to the lanky, who was holding its twin khopeshes tightly in its hands. I cast [Major Heal] on it, but there was no response. “Dame Anivh? H-How? No… Eshe?”
But the worst was about to come. There, in front of the ruined orphanage’s garden, a woman was laying on the grass. Red tainted her pure white robes as she continued laying in that red liquid puddle. She showed no signs of moving.
“ESHE!” I ran up to her, tears in my eyes as I instantly cast eleven [Major Heal]s on her body, desperately trying to close up the wound. As I saw the large hole in her chest closing, my lips began to twitch into a smile, relieved that the spell worked.
I then turned to heal the wound on her right eye. It seemed to have exploded for some reason, but as the pieces were only hanging out from her eye socket, I was able to heal it up after imagining the anatomy of an eye. As it was whole again, I noticed her eyes looking at me and a smile forming.
“Eshe!” I cried out, elated to see I make it.
…
But she didn’t respond. She still smiled but the look she g-gave me… So distant. So unfocused.
“Eshe? Hey, Eshe, can you speak? I healed your wound. No worries, I’ll get to Sir Alikar and Dame Anivh in a second. Please, come up and help me heal them.”
…
She should be alive. She smiled at me when I came just in time. I came JUST IN TIME!
“Eshe? You shouldn’t be sleeping with your eyes open. All the blood will just, hic, stain your clothes. Eshe, please, let’s wake up…”
Mana Eyes.
<Human Corpse: The corpse of a human>
“… Eshe, please, wake up. Please… Not you… Not Ellaine. I even left Tasianna and Ellaine’s parents down in Shaturein… Please, don’t go. Please, Ilsaphone, hic kec kec — Please, don’t take her. No, no, no, noieeee, ack, ack…”
I caressed her face. I used my white flames to find if she had any wounds on her body. But nothing.
I tried [Telepathy] but I got no answers. My tears dropped down on her face, washing off some of the blood on her fine, untainted face. And then it began to shower.
Rain.
The blood was washed off, the puddle flowed away. Eshe’s blood-stained robes began damp from all the droplets. But, still… Eshe did not give a single sound.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
If I only had saved Ellaine faster! If only I hadn’t separated from the others and just went to that other house, we would have gotten Hamil and saved Ellaine in time for me to get here! If only I wasn’t in Shaturein when it happened, I could have reacted to Aurena’s warning! If only—
“Kkacck… Her blessing was more formidable than I thought. For a saintess not known for combat, she and her knights surely were a force to be reckoned with. If she had received more resources from the church and had more chances to train, I alone probably wouldn’t have been enough.”
My head turned around slowly. My wet hair blocked my sight while the rain made it harder to see the person in front of me. But in my current mental state, I could see it all. All the details. Nothing escaped my eyes.
A ripped outfit with an eyed gavel as a badge hanging loosely on his chest. His dark yellow hair was shoulder-length and as I looked into his eyes, I saw his irises colored yellow and red, split between them right in the middle.
But that was just the normal parts. Two small horns grew from his forehead while a short tail was attached to his butt. Black streaks ran along his face and neck, and I could see him gritting his teeth in pain.
… It never was Pestrodus. It was just a random lycerepthor.
“I had to use a tonic meant for you to win against her knights, even with an ambush. Hehehe, I underestimated her. Thankfully, you appeared before the tonic ran out. If I kill you too, then that means that two more of Aurena’s blessed will die. All of them will die today.”
… Kill.
<[Battle Frenzy (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
<Hestia, listen! It is I, Kargryxmor! This is our first time speaking like this but listen to my warning that your solar core requires rest before you use it again. It might have recharged on some solar energy, but you have not maintained it well enough for you to use it once again.>
… Kill
<… I see, so we were too late. It seemed I have no choice. I cannot allow you to cripple or even kill yourself. If you unleashed your battle frenzy now, you probably would not be able to control yourself. Parallel minds of my granddaughter, obey me!>
<[Symphonie des Feuergottes (Minuet)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
… KILL!
<You must learn how to unleash this for yourself one day, but for today only, I shall assist you, Hestia. Indulge yourself in the true power of our bloodline and the blessing I have granted you! Behold!>
<Restrictions on Additional effect of [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] has been temporarily lifted. Linking title to other blessings… Found. [The Light] and [Divine Inferno] linked with [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood].>
… KIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
<Show this worm the true power of a scion of the Black Tyrant of the Skies!>
<[Battle Frenzy (Major)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
<[Battle Frenzy] activated. Necessary requirements fulfilled. Releasing linked blessing power on individual>
“KRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Comments
Oops. Thanks.
Kale Daley
Yep, the fact that Krag is just helping her with this makes better for me. This is also my personal favorite trope in fiction, the protagonist getting pushed over the edge and the antagonist not realizing they f'ed up. Also still can't wait for the Tasianna fight. It really feels like she hasn't had any time in the spotlight in a very long time. I understand it, she is a supportive member of the team. I'm am very hyped to see her prove to herself that its only because Hestia and Saori are so overwhelming that she has to take a back seat.
KazukiNero
Thanks for the chapter, also only mistake I found was this. The means do not justify the means! -> The end do not justify the means! Or The means do not justify the end!
On the other side awaits you the berserk chapter cliche.
Also, since we have multiple Aurora members, there are a lot of fights to go through for their character arc development. Ellaine and Klea'Hatma. Saori and the Dark Gods. Hestia and… well, this.
Alphafenrir401
The Cliff is strong with this chapter lol
And temporary. Hestia turned a part of Shaturein into a magma stream, not it's like to turn Griffonpeak into a lava hole! Yay!
Kale Daley
I usually dislike sudden power gains in the middle of fights. But here I can make an exception since Krag is essentially just unlocking a restriction on her power. Hopefully after this she'll start to try and embrace rather than shun her dragon heritage. Also I've loved all the fights recently. Can't wait to see Hestia at full power and hopefully some violent retribution.
D:
Tarodan
D:
