Chapter 17.2: For your smile

[Darwen Pov]

Awaken from the maddened state of that whole berserker ordeal, I feel my body slowly falter. The allocated pain from the rush of bloodthirst quickly takes effect. The axe with the scratched handles, stained with my blood from the hasten blows. At least now, you are safe, Violet.

Now brimming with tears, huh? The face doesn’t suit you at all, Violet. Where is the condensing “I have told you so” or “You aren’t that young anymore.” Though there is still a foe left in front of us, your looming death hasn’t been resolved yet…else I wished if it could be paid with my instead.

“Such a strong camaraderie, I commend your lowly mortal,” The giant frost lizard opens its mouth and its breath stinks of cold winter. If the face were humanoid, I think it would be smug by how much chaos its lackey caused.

“What is a cowardly lizard,” I provoke it with a growl. A king who stands on top of his subordinates’s corpses and acts with such arrogance deserves no respect. Once again, this axe must be used for the sake of slaying lizards again; a great white one this time, I wonder if its blood is as cold as its heart?

“Fall back, Darwen, You don’t need-“ Another babbling again, doesn’t she realize what kind of fight we have caught ourselves into? Making my blood boil again, how much blood must be shredded before the lizard finally bites the dust? How much are you willing to make suffer, Violet?

But those words can never come out without consequences, so I just continue with my promise before the damn thing begins, my oath, my resolve “I have already told you, haven’t I? This is my last battle, I won’t heed any object from you, Violet.” I answer.

It is her choice to walk away or fight with me, I don’t push her to make a suicidal attempt at stopping the beast…

How unsurprising, she decided to stay. This is why I was so in love with someone so on par with me in both battle and spirit and the reason for my blood to shed and lives to forfeit.

“I shall accompany you on the last journey to hell itself.”She vows as the damn lizard fires the attack at her. I shield her with the last bit of my dexterity, thank goodness having a wide back served some purpose now.

Stop playing around with useless thoughts, this is the battlefield and will be your grave if you don’t stop.” I scorn and pour some healing potion on the wounds. The chilling turns the affected area blue, it hurts with every movement yet it doesn’t affect my battle capabilities that much.

“Oh still standing? Normal creatures would have been dazed about it, I guess I have underestimated you ants,” The damn lizard taking a different strategy for battling now as it doesn’t seem to charging the breath again. I better charge while Violet repositioned herself to vantage points.

“The wings! Immobilized it quickly!” Violet commands me while charging at her magic, with complex circles of flame spouting on her feet. ‘With these hands offering, I shine the beacon of hope.’

“Ha!” Quicken my movement, I ran toward the left wing. Rushing wind through as I run the barren field, Violet continues with her casting kindles flame waning toward her surroundings ‘Listen to the ripple of my heart, twist fate’s order’

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Focusing the wind current like the master has taught me, at a certain point of the storing of mana. The strange imagination makes my curiosity to peak as how with that much mana we can do anything. I should be able to imitate my dream.

“Not going to happen, little worm.” {ataxis} Zadori whisp with light green magic, the dragon’s wild magic. It doesn’t seem to affect that much so my dream shall continue moving then!

“Splitting the moon!” [‘Luna Secans’] The vision of the moon cluster crash solidified in my mind as imbued myself with a blue aura and slashed through the wings of the great frost with a clear cut. Zadori screams in pain as blood begins to rush through the massive wound that once was its left wing.

“You worms will pay for this!” {koinonía tou pónou}Zadori begins to invoke the same light green light, this time strange spell hits. My back begins to rush a splitting wound with the shape of its wing. It seems like resonating its pain with me.

How foolish as Zadori takes the shape of a human with an old man with a flowing beard and long hair, coughing blood nonstop and begins having intense pain. If experience on the battlefield taught me anything, it would be my façade to look more intimidating than what I am.

“What is this pain? What kind of monstrous being you are?” Zadori growls as it clutches its chest while I stand straight from the attack while still being drenched with blood. This much can only be for a simple spar, however, it makes Violet begin to be dumbfounded again.

“Sharing pains spell huh? You must be a fool to look down on an ant’s pain.” I say with a chuckle…wait, it shares the pain and receiving it. That would mean…

“Violet, do not heal me. I will buy us some time for you to make the spell capable of killing the normal me. The link hasn’t severed completely, your attack will reach him.” I say with a reassuring tone, she doesn’t too believing. But there isn’t much time before it begins to nullify over the same pain.

“Darwen, I don’t understand any-“ She begins to falter again, however, she seems more willing this time.

“Trust me on this. For it shared its immortality with me, I won’t die.” I lie to reassure him, at each moment now I feel my soul becomes more and more fleeting. I don’t know how much time in this world I have left.

I stand in front of the damn human Zadori, the lizard looks like a damn scholar rather than a hard-fought warrior. It seems it begins to reach its mental limit now. Looking at me with fear won’t help it any good.

‘With these hands offering, I shine the beacon of hope.’

I restrain the damn thing as it tries to make wild magic with its tongue again. I quickly cut myself out with a swift motion so it wouldn’t have disruption of her again. Without its tongue, it can only scream voiceless pleading to the sky which turned deaf ears of its dying light.

‘Listen to the ripple of my heart, twist fate’s order’

With a futile attempt, Zadori begins to take offense on Violet but all fails with my pain aching and the restraint of its body. The arrogance dragon is just a harmless lizard now

‘For my mind as its sacrifice, I pray’

I take a good look at her one last time, before saying goodbye to my love. Through my voice coming undone with the tongue severing, I can convey my thoughts.

‘Susurrus Lucis’

As the light begins to come with a great beacon that spreads the gloomy sky, I see myself waning. Dragons don’t completely mitigate the damage of physical, they transfer into their soul as corrosion. With my soul full of wounds and drained below empty, my existence becomes thin as well.

“Darwen, why?” Violet cries, I don’t want to see you like this, you should be grateful for the mission to be successful with the least casualty. With you still alive, my quest finally coming to an end.

“My life has waned, I wish I could have been there until your end. You have to find someone to argue over,” I say those mulled-over words. The flickering existence of myself signals the end.

“I had loved you, Darwen. I had always been loving you.” Violet's statement shocks me as to how correct the prophecy is, nowhere I can run from fate…but

“I love you until my last of existence.”

The end