Their frontline fell to shambles. Draigh was inflicted in heavy burns, Alc’Bruk struggled to regain his balance after a hard hit to his head. Both Rogus and Hilaqi weren’t in any condition to continue the fight.
Salith was paralyzed with grief as she watched her remaining family slaughtered right before her.
But now wasn’t the time to mourn for Carmyn. Not wanting to let the Rozzalian’s efforts be left in vain, the first person to act was Lily.
Dozens of [Trick Orbs] orbit around the Acolyte.
Once in place, Lily loosened a giant bolt of light at the Acolyte’s chest. The Acolyte saw another arrow launched at it and attempted to catch it when one [Trick Orb] intercepted the projectile. Another [Trick Orb] hovering behind her spat out the same arrow and was narrowly dodged. One more appeared from below and directed the arrow into its side before it could move away.
Lily then loosened a fan of arrows. Some went through her [Trick Orbs], some flew straight at the Acolyte. Arrows from all directions converged and stabbed into her target.
“Did I do anything?”
No one responded, but her group followed her example to strike while the Acolyte was riddled with arrows.
A blurred figure dove in and out, cutting and stabbing the enemy as swift as lightning. The irritated insectoid knew no matter what he did, his weapons would not pierce the Acolyte’s heart. All he could was use his agility to continuously provide pressure and pinned the enemy in place.
Aten’s macuahuitl sawed into the Acolyte’s arm. He saw a kick rising from below and rolled to the left. He drew one of his javelins and stabbed its stomach before moving to a flanking position.
He readied another spear, piercing it through its biceps and pulling the enemy’s arm back.
Aten felt something tugging it on the other end and braced himself. The Dragonfly spotted a brilliantly bright light soaring towards the Acolyte.
Kihet held his sword high. A large silver flare ignited over his weapon as a response to his rage.
He planted his feet at the enemy’s shoulders and aimed his sword at its collar. The enemy’s hand bent far enough Kihet’s blade stabbed through its palm and stopped at the hilt. The sword’s tip hanged above ever so slightly.
Guilty! Guilty! You let your friends die again! Guilty!
“I know that…! Shut up!”
The voices Kihet thought were long gone whispered softly in his head. They taunted him as to wait and claim him when he would make a mistake.
He was so close. He pushed down with all his strength reinforced by the Oracle’s blessing. It was not enough.
“Salith, what are you sitting around for?! If you can’t fight, what would that make Carmyn’s sacrifice for?! Get up and fight!” He yelled.
He tossed a quick glance at Carmyn’s standing corpse. Her expression before she passed on was one determined to hold down the Acolyte’s arm no matter what.
Kihet then found the scenery around him changed.
Salith’s [Castling] exchanged places with Kihet once more. The Rozzalian shoved her shield into the enemy then brought down her mace. She clobbered the Acolyte, hitting it with every ounce of strength.
She used her lineage to enter [Wars Blood].
Salith towered over everything and everyone. Her armor grew with her. Her cracking gauntlets formed a fist and brought her full wrath down upon the Acolyte.
The Rozzalian readied a second fist and dropped it where the Acolyte stood. On the third swing, Salith’s arm rebounded into the air.
Kihet charged in to keep up the Acolyte on the defensive. He unleashed [Waxing Moon: Sparking Steel] at its back.
The enemy postured itself in a way it was about to throw Carmyn’s body. Draigh flew in with a haymaker, forcing it to block.
“Draigh, you should get those treated!”
“And you shouldn’t try to do everything yourself! I’m in tip top shape, don’t worry bout me. You got my message?”
“I heard it. Aim for its collar, right?”
“Good. Everyone’s getting tired. We need to end this soon.”
Knowing it was cornered, the Acolyte quickly cut off its trapped arm and hopped away from Kihet and Draigh’s attacks.
“It cut off its own arm?!”
“Something’s not right.” Kihet narrowed his eyes. “Someone, get Carmyn’s body away from here!”
“What? Are you two chickening out? I guess I should say thanks for leaving the final hit to me!”
Irvan dashed between them and rushed at the Acolyte.
“Irvan, don’t get close to it!” Draigh warned, but to no avail, his warning fell on deaf ears.
Irvan went in with dozens of slashes. Before his attack connect, the Acolyte-.
“RAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”
The Acolyte’s howling cry stunned him as its tattoos extend across its body. Pinkish flames burning its hair spread down its back and burned the bear’s pelt hanging behind her.
After the flames scorched the pelt, there was movement.
Its eyes loosely rolled until they fitted in place. Its dangling and floppy arms bulked up, growing long impossibly sharp claws. The spirit hovered over the Acolyte’s back and growled at the people surrounding it.
Kihet was the first to realize the Spirit which the Acolyte of Defiance mentioned.
“What is that?!” Irvan questioned.
“Get away from it!” Kihet shouted.
As Irvan was the closest, the bear slashed at him. Though Irvan’s swords were durable enough to block its swipe, his left arm snapped upon receiving the attack and was sent sliding on his back.
Salith held her fists together and raised it up. She then brought it down to flatten everything below her.
The Bear crossed its arms, stopping a Titan’s ultimate blow. It gradually pushed Salith’s hands up until it found a window of opportunity to unleash a phantom claw, scoring four large gashes on Salith’s chest. A fountain of blood rained onto the battlefield. The impact was enough to send her falling on her back and forcibly dispel [Wars Blood].
“That is merely an imitation of Crimson’s blessing!”
“Wait, stop! Don’t be reckless!” Draigh shouted.
The Dragonborn dove in with no regard of the consequences. He overpowered the bear spirit, breaking through its guard, but he hadn’t noticed the Acolyte closed the gap.
A [Chain] looped around his arm. The Dragonborn was inflicted with weightlessness was pulled away. His snout was just shy of being torn to shreds by the Bear Spirit’s claws.
“Faker! Do not interrupt my battle! If I had not been coerced to Leotharp’s scheme, I would have torn you to apart!”
“If it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead. That thing is a lot stronger than you. You have to know that.”
Alc’Bruk simply growled as he ripped free of Kihet’s magic and breathed a lance of fire at the Acolyte.
“So, you have an idea what that thing is?” Draigh asked.
“Someone warned me about it. But this also means that spirit is its trump card. It has nothing left to hide. The only thing we can do right now is to know what it’s capable of before we throw everything at it for a finishing blow.”
“Then… allow me.” A weak voice whispered.
Carried by Yizdra, Hilaqi stretched out one of his hands, asking for Draigh’s assistance.
“Hilaqi…” Draigh muttered. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Holy Draigh… My judgement, was clouded by, vengeance… but my time isss short. Oracle, pleassse make do, with Azure’s… eyesss.”
----------------------------------------
“Ainig! Ainig! It’s all right bud. I got you. You’ll be alright.”
Ainig felt a set of hand pressing down his stomach. The Tortoise looked down at his shell covered in bloodied bandages.
“Krullu…?”
“O thank the creator! Can you move? No, are you hurt anywhere?”
“My entire body aches. I don’t feel so good…”
“Don’t die on me!”
“I think… I want to-BLERGH!” From Ainig’s stomach straight onto Krullu, many things showered the Chameleon. “I feel a bit better now.”
“Ainig!”
“I’m so sorry, Krullu!”
Krullu wiped his face with his sleeves and instead of scolding Ainig, he observed the battle. Truth be told, it was a miracle he was able to find Ainig despite his wobbly legs proven to be a hinderance.
“It’s not looking too good out there.” He stood up. “This fight ain’t worth it, bud. Let’s get out of here.”
“Where do you plan on going? I-If that isn’t defeated… there’s no place safe.”
“We’ll leave Stusis and find a nicer place! Pamalyra seems too sketchy for my liking. But I heard the Oracle had helped Vivrus and Xu. If we’re lucky enough, we could travel there without worrying a thing about those monsters and towers.”
“It’s so far away.”
“With a bit of willpower, anything’s possible! C’mon, let’s scram before both of us get caught.”
Krully yanked Ainig by his shell. For a Chameleon who was four heads smaller than the Tortoise, there was no way of him dragging Ainig by force.
“What are you waiting for? Let’s run, bud!”
Ainig folded his fingers over an amulet hanging on his neck and looked out. Everyone was trying their best to defeat the Acolyte while he and Krullu were about to leave them to fend for themselves.
“Krullu, you can go first. I… want to sit for a bit.”
“You’re not so crazy after all! I’ll go get our things then!” Krullu rushed off.
Ainig sat down, trying to rest his aching body as long as he could. He couldn’t help but keep his eyes on the battle.
Everyone dove at the Acolyte only to find themselves barely avoiding attacks that could take their lives. There were those with sturdier bodies and even they struggled to stand back on their feet after being hit.
Didn’t he wanted to change? For what reason did Ainig had to go risk his life if there were others more capable than him? Why did the Pale Dragon choose him in the first place?
“Pale Dragon… Ish.. Ishvera…? For why, umm… why did you choose me?”
“It’s Ishverial, Herald.”
“O-oh right. Thank you. Pale Dragon, Ishverial-. Huh?! I can hear you?”
“As can I, my beloved Herald. Such a rare occasion for you to offer a prayer to me. I had thought my holy moniker was lost from the last priest. For what I owe my honor to my only follower and champion?”
“Am I making the right choice?”
“I believe I require more context. I am unable to make sense of your current meaning of your words.”
“S-sorry. I, umm… I’m doing my best but it’s not enough. One of the Oracle’s friends died because I wasn’t able to fulfill his expectations. He’s angry at me for not being able to help, isn’t he?”
“Herald. I do not see the relevance to your prior question.”
“O-oh… I’m not good at explaining, sorry. I just want to run away. I’m just a hinderance. I’m not a hero like what the Oracle said I am. Running is the best decision, isn’t it?”
“Hmm… I know not what goes through your mind. I do know, I despise your train of thoughts. They are the opposite of the imagery of my ideal champions!” The Pale Dragon growled.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“But I shall lend you my wisdom since you have offered me this prayer.” Ainig heard a snort. “There are no right nor wrong choices. There are only those who gamble everything to achieve their goals or hold back and later regret it. Each decision branch to different paths, different stories. Each paths contain their tragedies and happiness.”
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“So if I run, I might regret everything?”
“You only have two of those paths in front of you. Fight or flight, Herald. I shall add both do not guarantee your life.”
Either fight with a slim chance of survival presented in this moment or run until the nightmares manifested into reality. Ainig could recognize that much with the truth of the disasters he experienced.
“Herald, a question. What is it you desire? To reiterate, what is your ideal self you wish to become?”
Ainig casted his gaze on the fractured ground.
“I… I really want to be a hero. I… I want to be able to protect everyone around me. I know I’m greedy, but right now, I-I want to be someone as strong and confident as the Crimson’s champion, Holy Draigh and the Oracle. If I’m stronger, if only I’m stronger…!”
He began hitting his head, scolding his lack of courage when standing before the Acolyte. His soul shattered immediately the moment the enemy plowed through his efforts, training, and the Pale Dragon’s Blessing.
“The sin of Envy, Greed and Pride do not inherently make one evil. It is one’s responsibility, one’s purpose and willpower to wield those sins for the greater good.” The Pale Dragon laughed. “Such as now, I shan’t be inflicted by the sin of sloth no more, but your Greed and Pride. for I, Ishverial, the light of Stusis, shall now break the covenant of Elder Dragons to grant my fledgling’s wish!”
----------------------------------------
With Irvan injured, his team stopped contributing to the fight. Lidian had disappeared to try to heal Justiva. Elius and Haku had withdrew from the battle to give treatment to Irvan’s injuries.
Rogus’s wounds were being treated by Tama. Carmyn became a casualty. Hilaqi’s consciousness was hanging onto a thread.
As a result, Kihet, Lily, Aten, Salith, Draigh and Alc’Bruk were the only ones keeping the Acolyte and its Spirit’s attention.
“Dammit! This voice… ugh! Oracle…! Return… the key…!”
“Kihet, it’s after you!” Draigh warned.
The Acolyte beelined at Kihet.
Aten, Lily and Draigh tried to stop it. No number of arrows would slow it down, no amount of spears could fell the beast. No amount of strength would be able to halt the unstoppable force.
Kihet narrowly avoided a claw. He retreated with [Crescent Dance], however, the Acolyte was keeping pace with his feints. It flew at him with a flurry of punches and kicks, stopping Kihet from casting spells.
Aten spiked his spear at the enemy’s back. A hand reached behind, throwing him onto the ground and pulverized his chest with an earthquaking stomp. His innards and blood splashed everywhere, activating his curse to piece himself together.
Meanwhile, Lily decided to close the gap and unleashed a flurry of precise slashes with [Waning Moon: Falling Petals]. She dodged wild punches as she circled the enemy, leaving deep gashes which she saw rapidly close.
“Hiya!”
Draigh swung a hook at the enemy’s face. The blow connected, throwing the Acolyte’s balance off. Draigh took another swing, socking the Acolyte’s chin.
“Keep it there!” Kihet rushed in with his flaming sword.
Draigh kept wailing at the Acolyte, but soon noticed something odd. He couldn’t find the Bear Spirit.
“The bear…-! KIHET!”
Pinkish fire burned from below. Lurking within the Acolyte’s shadow, the Bear Spirit emerged from the floor, its maws wide open, waiting for Kihet to be within reach. Its razor sharp teeth would snap shut like a bear trap.
If it wasn’t for Draigh’s warning, he’d lost his entire arm.
Kihet casted [Quagmire Sphere] on himself, decelerated enough the bear snapped its fangs at the air in front of him. He canceled his spell, climbing onto the Bear Spirit and gouged his blade into the back of its neck.
The Bear Spirit thrashed around, trying to fling Kihet off its back.
“[Rolling Crown]!”
A Lycanthrope dragged his bent greatsword through the air, bashing it on the Bear’s side. The beast howled in great pain as a magical weapon bit into its dense blubbery body.
“Oracle, I’ll lure away dis beast! You take care of de other! C’mere and get some!”
“Rogus, your wounds aren’t fully healed up. You still have bone fractures everywhere.” Tama reminded. “Scalemen, yer up!”
Yizdra stopped in front of Rogus and raised the figure hanging off her back. The Naga’s eyes locked with the Bear Spirit’s, temporarily immobilizing it.
“You have, but momentsss…!” Hilaqi said.
“Thanks, snake guy!” Rogus spun around, bringing his greatsword into the air.
The Lycanthrope bashed the Bear Spirit’s face, snapping out of its daze. As the creature dragged its claws to him, Yizdra slashed at its side with a poisonous weapon.
“Your attacks are not effective, but we need to buy time!” Tama shouted.
“Hitting it is annoying de shit out of it though.” Rogus chuckled. “But it’s not like we can do that forever. We need another hard hitter to buy time for da Oracle to get back up-. Hey…! What’s that?”
“That’s…”
As if a deity of Stusis heard Rogus, a figure loomed over the battle. Its massive claw clamped onto the hill of rubble as its heads proudly stood tall and observed the state of battle.
“That’s the Pale Dragon!” Yizdra gasped.
A creature bestowed its majestic presence to those looking up at it. It towered over the field, looking down on all participants.
A long slithering neck swam through the air and snatched the Acolyte. After tossing the enemy into the air, the Bear Spirit cut the Acolyte free. However, three more emerged, biting and tossing the enemy higher and higher while every second, one of its five heads would be decapitated.
It looked to be a serpent, a part of a Hydra, but it was much more majestic. It was translucent, faintly sparkling. The neck connected to a body shared with five other heads. Its wings spread wide apart, demanding everyone’s attention.
Black suddenly light folded over the city. Under the black dome everything was strangely well lit as though the sky only lost its color. Everyone had a faint glow over them except the Acolyte.
“Hang on. This is...” Draigh muttered with a smile. “It’s Ainig!”
“The Heretic of the Pale Dragon has casted his [Eclipse].” Alc’Bruk tugged Kihet’s shoulder, prompting him to stay back. “Stay clear of the enemy, Fake. What I experienced was not a fraction of this Draconic Pressure of this magnitude but more.”
“Eclipse?” Kihet asked.
“Withdraw if none of you Heretics wish death to greet you.”
Upon the Dragonborn’s warning, everyone back away from the Acolyte and the battle was temporarily suspended. Without the rumbling and explosions from devastating impacts, everyone felt like they were sent to another world.
It was ominously quiet. The Pale Dragon was the first to cast its eyes up, anticipating something to drop from the heavens.
And suddenly, a flickering, a star blinked from above.
In a split second, a blinding light engulfed the black dome and a violent quake suggested something had crashed down from the dark skies.
A Draconic Defender unleashed a berserk battle cry as he clashed with the Bear Spirit. Much like Alc’Bruk’s final transformation with the vestige of Crimson wrapped around him, there was a slight difference with the Pale Dragon’s version.
Ainig was enveloped in suit of armor formed by black and white crystal. They were easily shattered by the Acolyte, but it quickly regrew. Disposable crystals dispersed the force from armor piercing attacks which would’ve struck through his defenses, leaving Ainig completely unharmed.
The Bear Spirit claws clashed against Ainig’s crystalized arms, rebounding each other’s attack with equal strength.
To everyone else, there were two mad beasts were fighting each other. There was no opening as Ainig and the Acolyte wailed on each other. No attacks pierced, no defenses shattered.
Black light emitted from the Tortoise’s beak. Ainig unleashed a black beam at point blank, burying the Acolyte into the ground. The black beam continuously dug a deeper hole as Ainig stomped forward until he was above the enemy.
He dropped onto all fours. Five heads sprouted from his back, all aiming their breaths at the crater he created. A web of cracks gradually expanded, light escaping through crevices. The earth violently trembled then erupted.
Everything within his vicinity was engulfed in an explosion. At the same time, boxes of light sheltered the spectators.
“Oracle, my Herald is unable to maintain this form for long. You must defeat the invader. Now.” The Pale Dragon spoke.
“We’ll finish this while Ainig is keeping the bear busy.” Kihet spotted Salith slowly standing up. “You good?”
“I blacked out for a second, but I’m alive.”
“Alright. Kihet gave a quick glance over at the situation. “Lily, take Aten, Rogus, Yizdra to help Ainig keep the Bear in check. Alc’Bruk, you’re with Draigh, Salith and Hilaqi, I’ll carry you. Make an opening for me.”
“En!”
“Got it! Let’s win this!” Draigh shouted.
Kihet looped Hilaqi’s arms over his neck and secured the Naga on his back.
“Sorry in advance. This won’t be a pleasant ride.”
“I will tolerate, it… to the bessst of my ability.”
A thought crossed Kihet’s mind as he approached the Acolyte. Where has Irvan and his group gone at this time? Irvan wouldn’t miss this chance to try to steal the glory from under Kihet’s nose. Kihet couldn’t find them but decided it was not worth thinking about it while a larger threat was in front of him.
The first eager to lunge at the Acolyte was Alc’Bruk.
The Dragonborn’s rage pressured the Acolyte to shift farther and farther from its Bear Spirit. Sensing the opportunity, Draigh and Salith jumped in, forcing the Acolyte to take defensive actions. All three heavy hitters tested its durability against their onslaught of attacks.
Though it was missing an arm, the Acolyte expertly defended against the three.
Meanwhile, the Bear Spirit was desperate to return to its summoner. It tried to move away from Lily’s group, but Ainig stood in its way like an impenetrable wall. The Pale Dragon’s vestige over his head relentlessly barraged breaths of light energy at the spirit.
Kihet kept an eye on the Acolyte and the Bear Spirit’s position before committing to an attack.
He timed his assault with Alc’Bruk the next time the Dragonborn attacked. Kihet caught the Acolyte in a pincer attack with [Waxing Moon: Sparking Steel] at its rear and Alc’Bruk’s burning half chakarms slashed at its front.
Draigh and Salith sandwiched the Acolyte to prevent it from escaping. It tucked in its body, absorbing the barrage of attacks from all directions.
“Kihet, it’s about to use magic!”
“Not on my watch!” Kihet doused the Oracle’s flames at the enemy before it was able to drive its fist into the ground.
The Acolyte clawed through the curtain of silver fire and found Kihet on the other end. Its fingers straightened, throwing a chop when suddenly, its body froze mid swing.
Its eyes met the Naga’s paralyzing gaze. Upon meeting Hilaqi’s eyes, the Acolyte felt as if the Azure Dragon constricted its body with its claws.
“Hilaqi’s stopped it!” Kihet shouted.
“Now, hold it down!” Draigh signaled.
Salith, Draigh and Alc’Bruk closed in at the Acolyte. Salith grappled its outstretched arm, Draigh reached around and held it in a chokehold, Alc’Bruk tackled its lower half to prevent the Acolyte from being able to kick.
However, they quickly realize their hold of the enemy was about to break. The Acolyte contested their strengths holding down parts of its body.
“Dammit, I won’t be able to hold down its arm much longer!” Salith grunted.
“Faker, we are losing our grip! End this monstrosity!”
Kihet’s burning blade raised up as he flew towards the Acolyte. The weak spot was located at its collarbone.
His [Chain] harpooned into its shoulder, rapidly reeling him in. He readied his blazing knife and took careful aim as he soared towards the Acolyte for the final blow.
“My blessing has faded from the Herald!”
“This creature is breaking free!” Yizdra shouted.
“Kihet, hurry!” Lily warned. “We can’t hold it down anymore!”
The Bear Spirit immediately passed Ainig as soon as the Pale Dragon’s blessing expired. Aten struck at it from different angles, slowing it down but not enough. The creature lunged at Kihet, quickly closing the gap.
The Acolyte shook off Salith and Alc’Bruk. It reached back and crush Draigh’s wrist. It stomped forward as Draigh tried his best pulling it back in place for Kihet to land the final blow.
Behind them, the Bear Spirit caught up and took a swipe.
Kihet suddenly felt lighter.
“Oracle, go!” Hilaqi yelled.
The Naga shielded Kihet with his body as he clenched onto Bear Spirit’s claws piercing through his scales. Hilaqi shot the Azure Dragon’s glare at the summoned spirit to buy Kihet precious seconds in his sacrifice while his consciousness trickled away.
The Acolyte’s hand formed a fist and shot it forward.
The next instant, they exchanged attacks. Kihet’s blade sank plunged into the Acolyte’s weak spot. He felt a sharp pain on his right foot and was suddenly unable to feel anything. Every pain in his body was nulled by adrenaline pumping through his veins to end this battle once and for all.
“Kihet, do it!” Draigh yelled.
“HaaaAAAHHHHH!” Kihet roared as he pushed down his knife.
But it was caught in the Acolytes’s arm. He pushed down with all his might, amplified by the Oracle’s blessing and still, it wouldn’t budge.
“Nice try, but if this is all you people… can do… the world’s going to… die…” The Acolyte warned.
Shadow vapors began flowing out of cracks and crevices around them and formed into fodders serving to buy time for the Acolyte to regain its posture.
Alc’Bruk and Salith were swarmed with numerous foes and pushed back. A mass of Tower Creatures crawled out of the ground and flooded the area. Their numbers prevented anyone else from approaching leaving only Kihet and Draigh within a ring of silver flames to try and defeat the Acolyte of fury by themselves.
Kihet’s stamina was draining quickly as he maintained the curtain of Oracle’s Flames to drive the creatures back.
It was frustrating. His blade was inches away from the Acolyte’s neck. He was so close, but that was all he amounted to. He could feel victory slowly fading from his grasp as the Acolyte pushed back.
“Kihet!”
He heard someone faintly calling his name. He couldn’t look back, but he recognized it belonged to Lily.
Then it hit him. It was never the Oracle’s job to defeat the heroes in the first place.
“Ha… that’s right. It wasn’t my job to kill you.” A pained smirk formed across his face.
Dozen [Trick Orbs] materialized over the battlefield. Floating in the air, an archer with a shining arrow drawn onto her bow was pointed at the mass of enemies.
Lily took a second to calibrate her aim before loosing a storm of shooting stars. All of them went through her [Trick Orbs], mowing down Tower monsters who stood in between them. Projectiles flew left and right, missing allies and striking enemies from unpredictable angles until only the Acolyte was left.
She drew her bow again. This time, it materialized a needle thin arrow of light.
The Acolyte struggled hard.
“Hold it there! You’re going nowhere while I’m here!” Draigh declared. “Tomoe, take the shot!”
Kihet gathered every ounce of his strength and pried the Acolyte’s arm from covering its core. “Lily, do it!”
“En!”
A shockwave shook the air as the projectile soared under the reddened sky and finally, struck the Acolyte’s core. It injected a powerful blast of the silver light into the Acolyte’s body. Silver cracks formed webs all over it until the enemy was consumed by Oracle’s light.
The enemy was unmoving. Its body was covered in cracks made of silver light poisonous to its kind. No one could tell what expression it made, not even Draigh who continued to hold the Acolyte in case it decided to attack again.
“Heh… seems like… there are good fighters out there…” The Acolyte quietly laughed. “Guess ya’ll… do fine… against the others.”
Thinking this was the end, Kihet took one big gulp of air, not releasing his grip of his knife as the silver lights died.
Minutes past. He accidentally let down his guard for one moment.
A sharp object suddenly sprouted out of the Acolyte’s chest and everything Kihet saw on his left side went black. He felt a sharp cold pain speared into his left eye.
“AaaAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!”
Kihet let out a blood curling scream as he thudded hard against the ground. He desperately covered his face to stop blood from gushing out. His hands were drenched with blood profusely bleeding from his left eye.
“Ahahaha! I did it! I killed the Acolyte!”
The culprit was none other than Irvan. As the Acolyte’s body flaked apart by specks of silver light eating its ashes, Draigh looked down at the sword sticking out from his heart.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Draigh. Your sacrifice isn’t in vain. You should be happy I was able to take down the Acolyte.”
“Irvan, you bastard! Ugh…! I… I’m not going to die… like this before I… do… this!”
Draigh pivoted his foot and spun. His fingers curled into a fist and hurled it at Irvan’s face. Upon impact, Draigh felt his fist broke Irvan’s nose. A few teeth scattered over the floor as Irvan crashed onto the floor unmoving.
Draigh noticed Elius casting magic and looked around for anything to throw. He snatched Irvan’s ankle and hurled him at Elius. The Enuis collided, knocking them down. Elius seemed to hit his head against a stone a bit taller than the ground and fell unconscious.
Draigh then collapsed onto his knees, grasping his wound.
Kihet’s soul shattered. Deep scars engraved within the darkest corner of his mind began to resurface.
He made a promise to Megith he’d definitely save Draigh and yet, laying helplessly, Kihet watched his friend killed in front of him.
-Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY?!-
“IRVAAAAANNN!” Kihet screamed.
Kihet launched his [Chain] at Irvan’s unmoving body, but Haku swooped in and deflected it.
A cloud of miasma form into a large hand above him. A pillar of silver flames shot into the clouds as a result of his anger. Kihet staggered onto his only leg and pulled towards Haku.
“Good. Come over here.” The Ogre smirked, drawing his daggers laced with the poison made from ‘White Star’. Haku unleashed a flurry of slashes to which was blocked by a Vivirian.
Aten unleashed multiple jabs, piercing the Ogre in the shoulder and thigh. Unfortunately, two panels of light sandwiched Aten before he could kill Haku.
“Cease your fighting this instance!” Alc’Bruk howled. “The battle is over. If you wish to continue, be prepared to face Crimson, Heretics!”
The remainder of the Dragonkin army fell from the skies and surrounded them. They pointed their weapons at both Kihet and Irvan’s group.
Using this chance while the Dragonkins separated Irvan’s group from Kihet’s, Lily rushed over to Kihet’s side.
“Kihet! No… this isn’t good!” Lily cried. “I need cloths, healing ointments, anything!”
“I have them!” Yizdra dropped everything her satchel carried. “Herald, go find any curatives you can salvage!”
“G-got it!”
“Tama, please! You have something, right?” Lily sobbed, pressing a cloth over Kihet’s eye. Meanwhile, Salith hurriedly applied pressure on the wound from his missing foot.
“The Grumpy one won’t make it even if I used full moon dew on him. He’s lost too much. We nyeed to do a transfusion.” Tama shook her head. “But, I’m not familiar with that type of things. I can’t help…”
“You, Vivirian. Find Lidian and pass this note to her.” Suddenly, a heavy tome dropped in front of Tama. “If we’re going to save Kihet, I’ll need all of your cooperation. Open it. Page four hundred thirty eight, section C-K.”
“Why should we listen to you?” Tama hissed.
“I want to save Kihet.” He adjusted his glasses. “Draigh, I’m sorry I put you in this state, but we need still save Kihet. I need something from you.”
“Lemi once said… I had the same… blood type as Kihet’s.” A hoarse voice faintly whispered. “Do it. Glad… I could knock some sense… into you.”
“I’ll read the instructions once, Devil Folk. Pay attention. You can’t mess this up. I don’t have a lot of time before I’m no longer in control of my body.”