CHAPTER 40 - ONE AFTER ANOTHER
Their blood splattered all around the place, landing on my clothes and more importantly on my weapon.
I felt disgusted by their blood that I instantly wiped it off using an Alacryan's headless corpse. The Numbers which came in great were now diminished to a single battalion that was in turn afraid to even get close to me. Muttering the words, "Monster" and "Demon" before trying to scatter away in fear of their lives.
"No you won't." I lightly said, conjuring ice shrapnel in the air before sending it as a gift for their parting to the afterlife. Those who were close to me got it easier, being stuck inside of glaciers and in a later moment cut in small little pieces.
My attention turned to the sole person I was trying to kill all this time and yet there he stood, motionless and thoughtless. Bewildered by my actions, Draneeve couldn't step another foot closer to the portal. The self-proclaimed next "Retainer" was frozen in fear because of my actions, something many Dicathens will do when the war starts. But he doesn't know that, nor will he ever do.
With my left hand unarmed, a swift gentle breeze of wind quickly turned to a deadly form of a javelin. I inhaled deeply before gripping tightly the wind spell, focused mana into both of my legs to act as anchors and launched the attack.
A loud and deafening sound of the javelin breaking the sound barrier like it was nothing echoed all over the place until it landed square on the face of an captain Alacryan who was helping Draneeve move.
Intentionally, that was my aim. It was a warning to Draneeve, letting him know that the next time there was a deafening noise he was going to be the next one to land on the ground.
I let out the inhale and my exhale was visible.
I had my deviant active all this time? Turning my attention from Draneeve to the path behind me, where I had come from. Stunned by the aftermath, I could only take in all I did in my wake.
Cold ice…The surroundings of the tunnel that was a path towards here was completely frozen. The walls. The ground. The ceiling. Everything.
I– I like this power. My power–now–consisted in being the Salvation of everything that was the Destruction to this world. Humans. Dwarfs. Elves. Alacryans. The Vitra. The Asura.
They were all problems, and the only solution was my power that was given to me. For me to be the Salvation of this world…
In conclusion, "You must die."
Waves of ice poured into the giant open cave, freezing everything that was non-living and living, no exceptions. Even I was affected, more like a slight touch rather than the fierce layer that surrounded the dead corpses around me. Turning them into nothing more than a snowman laying down, no, they were lumps of risen dirt that was in my way.
Small fragments of ice formed around me in the air. The circles of ice cubes turned to thick needles facing the portal just a hundred feet away from me.
"Go." My voice became cold and emotionless, just like this blizzard.
The frozen needles flew towards Draneeve with one thing in the path, the Alacryan.
With the portal activated, before I even laid eyes upon it, more soldiers came through. Unbeknown to them, their death was already set on stone before they left their blood estate. Confused but with some eagerness in them, they formed their known formation. But it was too late.
I laughed.
Not as insane as I thought it was, barely conscious of it, but I found it amusing when they tried to block my attacks. Futile. That was the only word that is properly put for their display.
One after another.
Falling like the trees when a lumberjack sees them as a stone in their way.
However, I wasn't a lumberjack nor a soldier fighting for a general excuse. I was their executioner. The reason why they will be in the afterlife as they step out the portal.
"Keep going! He is the only one!" A soldier behind the Shields announced. "Strikers go and kill–!"
Seconds before he could finish his sentence, a blade pierced through his spine and exited through his sternum. Blood spilled out of his mouth and wound, words barely being able to leave. "H-How?"
"You were so concentrated in ordering that you forgot about your own security." I leaned a little closer to his ear and whispered, "Your blood is next."
He looked for words to respond but I didn't give a shit, instead I twisted my sword in his wound and cut my way through his unaugmented body and arm. As he fell on his knees, I delivered the final blow by cutting off his head.
The dark red haired head rolled next to my feet, his two small horns were the reason for the head to stop.
"Even during your final moments, you still are worthless."
I kicked his head towards the unaware Shields in front of me. Hitting one of the Shields' backs, she turned and to her surprise it wasn't her companion but rather her leader's head. She screamed in fear when her black eyes locked with the red eyes of her leader.
Her scream of horror was cut short by my blade. The others didn't have the same luxury as her and instead met an end without knowing it.
The Strikers not being able to see me turned to the dead Shields and realized they got played by a mere human boy. Rushing with vigor, the Strikers pulled everything they had to arrive at me, but the ice pillars below them made sure they were just paper pottery hanging like puppets without strings.
Not a single word came out of my mouth. Yet in my mind I had every single word known in the dictionary.
Having forgotten about my main purpose, I turned to the single man who was arrogant but now was obedient. His eyes were not narrowed but widened in awe.
"I told you that your death was close." I said, making my way towards the man who was the invader of Xyrus Academy. Now he remained nothing more than a puppet who had lost his strings and meaning.
I raised my sword, aiming at his neck before taking action. The jet-black sword swissed down, already favoring the taste of blood.
When I got a sharp pain in my head leaving me no option but missing by completely the target in front of me. "You've got to be kidding me." I let out, holding my head–and now my hurting sternum–with my hands. What is going on?
The mana around me started to dissipate, fleeing away from me like I was a plague.
"W-What is g-going on…?"
The pulsing of my head brought me to my knees, it had gotten worse in less than a minute. Not only that but my strength was leaving my body, it was being drained or maybe it was just a superficial effect? Like a buff or along those lines.
Not skipping a beat, Draneeve immediately ran towards the still opened portal. "You are not g-getting away…!"
I pushed my arm towards the portal, ordering the mana left in my core to initiate a blizzard with what it had. There was no answer and instead another sharp pain rushed, this time even stronger. I gritted my teeth in hopes of focusing the pain somewhere else, yet it was double the pain.
I cursed out loud, echoing through the cave like the fish in the river. My sights began to blur, though I was almost sitting down, the world around me spun at an alarming rate.
I wasn't able to feel the mana fluctuations around me like before. A sensation of horror and possibility of me losing my mana arts.
It would be impossible with the logic and common sense, I didn't lose my mana core or shattered it in any way. Nevertheless my connections to mana, fire, water, earth, wind, and the deviants were unstable, nonexistent.
In my mind I called for every spell I knew.
A wind spell, a simple one.
Nothing.
Next was water.
Nothing.
Earth.
Nothing.
Ice…
Lightning…
Illusion…
Finally, I got to the one where I already knew what the outcome was but still my hopeful self pleaded to check once more.
Fire…
A void. Again.
I had lost my connection to fire for a while now…
A specific fight against some mana beast left me with no use of fire or even a spec of a path. My knowledge about this is only when a core is shattered or damaged beyond repair, but mine was healthy, far healthy. It didn't make sense, my loss of the fire affinity was a crucial part, I needed fire to open the path towards lightning. At least logically but I could still use the deviant as much as I wanted.
M-maybe elder Rinia could know about this… The sentence reflected in every corner of my head, like a logo of a tv when there is no service.
If I wanted to ask elder Rinia about this, first, I need to destroy the device.
My legs that couldn't stand my own body weight cried out as I stood. Using my sword as a cane, I hurried towards the opened portal. If any more Alacryans, whether it be a normal soldier or a Scythe, I will be a free kill. The only thing I can rely on is my own physical strength. Mana right now isn't an option.
Aside from that… they must be heading over right about now…
After what felt like an hour, the reminisce about my mentors being here with me only was brought up now. Maybe my own mind was sabotaging me in thinking I wasn't going to any backup but there was.
Their voices were finally heard not too far from me.
""Luke!""
"D-destroy the device…"
Aya was the one who sprinted to the portal while Alea stayed back, holding me from falling.
I cursed at my own weakness, at my own body for not being able to hold on while I used it.
Before I closed my eyes, my consciousness was already fading into the comfort of the dark void and later into a sweet and traumatic dream. I caught a small glimpse of Aya's wind lance and how it connected to the device, destroying it and the connection between Alacrya and Dicathen.
"Thanks." Those were the final words I let my mouth release before falling from what felt like a thirty story building from my old world.