I stared into his eyes. His expression had turned sombre and no defiance was left in his gaze. Blood trickled from the holes in his skull and wet the fingers that dug into them. His body lay on the ground, ravaged by the fierce battle. Its humanoid form was barely recognisable, with only what little remained of his broken armour keeping the inwards from spilling everywhere.

I too suffered significant damage from the battle that had just ended. My flesh was skewered by several spears and gashes adorned the entire surface of my skin. One of my eyes was missing and my internal organs had become a homogeneous blend.

I collapsed on the ground, my enemy’s hand still in my hands. I had won, but the fight had taken a great toll on me. The power he had borrowed from beyond made him a difficult opponent to face.

No matter how much I hit him, he refused to fall down. The golden hue that covered his body protected and healed him from my every attack, while he continued to chip at my mind, not to mention my body. Every spear thrust and sword slash made me feel as if I was becoming duller, but I gritted my teeth and continued to fight on.

It was during our fight that I understood what my past opponents felt while confronting me. An enemy that refuses to go down, no matter how much you tear his body apart. It was bothersome, but my annoyance sprang from the source of his borrowed resilience.

The fight had lasted a mere two days, but it felt endless. Our confrontation involved just a few hundred square kilometres of territory, but the impact it had made on the land was severe. Hills had been replaced by large craters tens of metres deep and the ground has been covered by a thick layer of glass.

I rose up, breath heavily. I tried to fuel my body with ichor, but the toll of the battle had left it with almost no energy at all, and the remains of my opponent provided no nutrition, so full of hostile energy they were. I had to trust my body and his natural recovery capabilities.

I limped outside of the canyon of my own creation and made my way home. I started at a walking pace and increased my speed as I healed. I’d need a long rest to return to pristine condition, but even just a few hours would be enough to be operational again. I’d simply be incapable of exerting other capabilities for the foreseeable future.

I finally reached the Perimeter. As I delved further inside, I could finally witness a friendly face approaching me.

“John! Are you alright?” Lily’s worried voice reached my ears.

A grin formed on my face as I held my victory trophy over my head. Lily’s mouth opened wide at the sight of the torn head of the Patriarch of the Epsilon, impaled on my fingers.

“Emh… good work?” she welcomed me back with a quizzical smile.

She gazed at my tattered body and focused on the spears and lances protruding from my back and limbs. She immediately got to work and pulled everything out without saying a word. I groaned as she did so, but relief immediately washed over me as the sources of discomfort got removed. I felt my circulation going back to normal and my strength beginning to return.

“Thank you,” I expressed my gratitude, while leaning on her.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“It’s my pleasure,” she flashed me a sincere smile.

We crossed the flat land until we reached the foot of the mountain range. Isaac was there, waiting for us, amazement plastered on his face.

“Isaac! Come here and give me a hand! We must bring him to the other side and as you know…” Lily shouted at Isaac.

“You aren’t very delicate, I know,” Isaac completed her phrase.

“... you could have said it nicer,” she grumbled while passing me to him.

Isaac approached me carefully and respectfully, his gaze wandering between me and Sandoval’s torn head.

“... Was this the only way?” he asked regretfully, his question more directed to himself than to others.

I didn’t answer him, but my silence was explanatory enough.

“Patriarch Doe, if you wish…” Isaac offered me his back and I leaned on him, offering my thanks.

Once he had me secured with a rope, we began our climb. The two of them weren’t yet mature but still showed great physical fitness as we ascended the mountain. In terms of pure physical might, Lily was the superior of the two, but the degree of control Isaac had of his own body was uncomparable.

He had reached a level quite as mine, an achievement made possible only by the hard training he had sustained during his youth. Every movement of his was perfectly calculated and executed, reducing to a minimum, if hardly anything at all, the uncomfortable vibrations.

We went over the peak of the mountain and rapidly went down the other side. Isaac eased me down his back and I stood on my own two feet in front of the great verdant cocoon isolating the core of the Perimeter from the outside.

My two companions looked at me in silence while I rested my hand on top of the rough bark. The cocoon flinched at my touch. The roots and trunks began to move quickly and the inside of the cocoon revealed itself. A figure rushed to me and before I could tell who it was a pair of familiar arms wrapped around my body.

“John!” Faye's clear voice entered my ears.

Her concern for me was palpable, but her words were firm. In the year I had been away she had grown even stronger. I returned her hug and softly embraced her in my arms.

“I’m home,” I said softly. “Welcome back,” she greeted me at the same time.

She separated herself from me and I could finally see her figure. She was pale, her hair was dishevelled and she had bags under her eyes. She appeared as if she could faint at any moment, but still stood strong, pushed forwards by her sense of duty.

There were many things I wanted to tell her, but as I was about to open my mouth, she put her fingers on my lips.

“Don’t talk. You need treatment. Lily, give me a hand. Isaac, please go help Hector and the rest of the guard with the defence against the enemy,” Lily spoke in a firm voice.

“Yes miss!” Lily laughed, standing at attention. She took hold of my body and guided me inside the shelter.

Isaac answered with a simple nod, turned around and ran towards the other side of the Perimeter.

As soon as we set foot inside the tunnel digging through the mountain, the arboreal cocoon closed behind us. The inside of the mountain was a labyrinth of tunnels illuminated by suffuse electric lamps. Only the sound of our steps could be heard. There was no signage, yet Faye’s certain steps guided us across the corridors.

In the meanwhile, she sometimes spewed out orders to Hector and other forces of the Perimeter, creating ripples in the sparse ambient mana . It appeared that while I had been fighting Sandoval, the conflict on the other side had resumed.

At last we reached a medical bay. The instrumentation was meagre and the stone walls gave it a semblance of inadequacy.

“Lay him down on the table,” Faye requested Lily.

Lily lifted my body from the ground and gently rested me on an elevated metallic surface in the middle of the room. I turned my gaze towards Faye and opened my mouth.

“Faye…”

“I already know you will soon be fine. But please, let me help you,” she interrupted me. Her hands were steady, but her eyes were trembling.

I closed my mouth and entrusted my body to her. She removed what little remained of my clothes and inspected my body. Her gentle mana flowed through my veins. I closed my eyes, savouring the moment.

After all I had been through, having finally returned to the side of the person I cherished the most gave me peace.