Capítulo 138: Blossoming Arrogation (Aletha: Part 19)
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The battle raged on. Aletha watched the two clash against the horde of soldiers and machines. The skies grew darker, and the wind blew stronger. It picked up her hair and fluttered around her face.
Ubel and Dina were fighting together while Alai fought on her own. They had managed to wipe out a good portion of the army and were still battling, leaving behind a trail of smoke and debris. Aletha watched as they continued to fight, the sounds of metal clashing against metal, the screeches of the monsters dying to their own light.
"Hmm, what to do…."
Suddenly, from a distance, a loud reverberating, angry and frustrated voice echoed across the valley.
"ENOUGH OF THESE SILLY GAMES!"
Despite hearing his voice minutes ago, Aletha immediately knew who that was. She quickly turned to see a muscular man holding a sword atop a hill. He wore a dark magenta set of steel armor overtop his skin. His hair was long and wild, his eyes a piercing magenta color, poking out his half-destroyed helmet. His arms bulged, veins popping out on his muscles deeply caved in his metal armor.
"I refuse to tolerate more failures! The Promise only wants The Target! No one else! I refuse to disappoint The Queen!"
Nealon looked down upon the battlefield, seeing the dead bodies and the broken equipment, and he growled, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"GIVE ME THE TARGET NOW!"
As Alai heard the voice, she looked up and saw the large man standing atop an enormous mech, brandishing his blade and screaming to the heavens.
"The Promise shall be delivered!"
But before he could utter anything else, a reminiscent expression formed on his face, catching sight of a crimson-haired girl dashing and destroying the soldiers.
"Alai!"
Nealon called out her name and charged at her with incredible speed.
"Hmph."
Aletha stood up, readying herself for the upcoming battle. She grabbed her weak sword and took a defensive stance, blocking incoming attacks. She watched as Nealon dashed towards Alai, the speed and power of his movements causing her to take notice. The only thought that emerged in her mind at that moment was...
(How does he know her name?)
But then, Nealon raised his sword into the air, his arm bending at an angle, ready to swing at her. Before he could land a hit, however, Aletha blocked the attack with her weak blade and knocked him back.
"Impossible! How did you block my attack?!"
Nealon was shocked and amazed by her ability to dodge his powerful strike, but he didn't let the opportunity go to waste. He launched a counterattack, swinging his sword down towards her, but Aletha easily dodged the attack, striking her sword against his shoulder.
"What?"
The sound of metal scraping against metal rang throughout the valley. As soon as Aletha landed her blow, Nealon's body collapsed to the floor, his face bleeding. Alai, despite hearing her name get uttered by someone she hadn't known, hastily approached Nealon with Ubel and Dina, ready to finish him.
"ENOUGH!" He screamed. "I had enough pretending."
Alai raised her eyebrow and leaned her fist toward Nealon's chipped helmet, saying.
"What? How do you know my name?!"
A sad, crumbling smile emerged on his face.
"Don't worry..."
Suddenly, he freed a mighty shockwave from his fists and knocked everyone away from him.
"It's time to end this."
Seemingly countless glowing purple strands emerged from his back like a swarm of insects, hurriedly grasping onto everyone. Then, Nealon pulled them all closer, creating a sizeable purple vortex that sucked everything within it, including his own self.
"No!" Aletha shouted. "You're not taking us!"
She jumped forward, and attempted to reach the ground, but before she could touch the surface, a massive shockwave of black light shot forth from the earth, rushing through every corner of the landscape.
The vortex immediately closed up, dissipating into nothingness. Nealon stepped back and looked around, confused why his magic didn't work.
"Strange. How did that occur?"
Now that they realized they were given a chance to strike, Alai, Dina, and Ubel all tried to take advantage of this occurrence. Unexpectedly, Ubel looked around, trying to find where his wolves had gone. Something wasn't right.
He scratched his head and stepped away, mumbling.
"Where did my pack go?"
Then, Dina jumped in shock, noticing her powers hadn't worked either. The moment she tried to eject a flame in her hands, it quickly dissipated and flew around into the air.
"Eh? That's stupid. Work, dang it!"
Even Alai was quite dumbstruck by the event.
"Are you kidding me?"
As they all tried to figure out what had happened to their magic, Aletha turned around and noticed that even the remaining Wrailezan soldiers were puzzled about where their powers went.
"What's going on?"
Despite the confusion, Aletha decided that it was best that they try to attack them with their primal physical strength. But, before she could even touch Nealon, Alai blocked her way and said.
"No. This one is too difficult for you to defeat. I said try your best, but that was for the others."
Ubel nodded his head and agreed with Alai, saying.
"Yes, you have no idea who you face up against."
Aletha scoffed.
"Yeah, right, I can see through you. You're just scared because I'm stronger than you guys. So, if we fight you now, I'll show you what a real woman can do!"
"Oh, so you think that's true? Well, let's test that theory."
Alai's eyes widened at those words as she felt an intense pain in her chest.
"Ahhh!!"
She fell to the ground, unable to breathe. There was something far worse than what she had expected that hit her. It was no other than Nealon's own strength. As she hunched down and tried to suppress her painful screams, Alai desperately turned to Aletha and whispered.
"No… Nealon. He's too… strong, even with this occurrence. Aletha, run! Run for your life!"
She fell to the ground, unable to breathe. Aletha, Ubel, and Dina hurriedly backed away from the man as he stripped off his armor, exposing his bulging muscles.
"You have no idea who I am."
Nealon glared at them, revealing a wicked grin across his lips. The smile Dina tried so hard to keep plastered on her face slowly faded into a trembling mouth of terror. She fought a rising panic as she slowly mumbled under her breath.
"W... Why do I feel this way? My magic... It's the only thing that can defend me. I'm too weak physical-wise. I've been told that ever since my birth."
He took a step forward and grabbed her throat, squeezing it tightly.
"I don't care how strong you may be; there's only one thing you need to know."
He tightened his grip, making her scream out in agony.
"I am one of the old sovereigns of Wraileza. The one who had shaped that nation into what it is today. I thought this task would be easy, but this is far more difficult than I expected."
With those last few words, he squeezed harder until Dina lost consciousness.
"Well, I guess that answers my question."
Aletha and the others stood back up, looking down at Dina.
"N-No…"
With her breathing heavy and body twitching, Aletha and the others knew they couldn't just leave her alone. They rushed over to Dina and began checking her pulse.
"Hurry! Someone get a healer here!"
Ubel slowly gulped down a breath of terror and mumbled.
"She has a heartbeat, but her vitals are weak. She needs immediate treatment. But I'm afraid..."
Suddenly, a large arm swung at Ubel, knocking him several meters across the ground.
For the first time, Alai started feeling fear crawl down her neck as she witnessed her most trustworthy and supposedly strong friend get battered with just one swing in seconds. Even Aletha could feel almost the same emotions as Alai's rage in her mind.
Without hesitation, Alai and Aletha rushed over and looked down and saw Ubel lying on the ground, groaning in pain. She ran over to him immediately and helped him stand up. After he regained his balance, he looked up and met Alai's gaze.
"It hurts. All of it hurts. I... I never knew my physical power was this... weak."
Ubel stumbled a bit after saying that. Alai's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at him.
"Really? But you are one of the strongest I have ever met. H... How are you losing? "
Ubel smirked, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not upset or anything. This just made me realize something."
"What?"
"Without magic, we are nothing."
They both shared a look as Ubel continued.
"Get out of here! Run before that... monster reaches you!"
Alai turned around to see Nealon standing behind her.
"Huh? What did that man call me?"
Nealon slowly approached the three, clenching his fists as Alai screamed.
"A monster. That's what I call you. A monster with powers far greater than any of us. Now, run while you still can."
Alai and Ubel watched in horror as Nealon drew closer and closer.
"Just stay where you are. Don't come any further. Or else I will make you regret your actions."
"Ha! Do you think you can stop me? Pathetic."
When he said that, Nealon unleashed another attack, aiming straight for Alai's head. With no other choice, she closed her eyes tight and braced herself.
However, when she opened her eyes again, she was shocked by what she saw.
There was a giant hole right above her head. A glowing magenta substance was scattered everywhere, including on the walls and floor.
"Wha—?!"
Before she even realized it, Nealon was knocked backward from a sudden strike and was forced into the wall, cracking it open. As he fell to the ground, he looked up to find Aletha standing right in front of him, her face filled with absolute rage.
"Get. Your. Hands. Off. Them. NOW!"
Nealon glared at her, ready to fight Aletha. However, she quickly grabbed the collar of his armor and threw him against the ground.
"You dare lay a hand on them?! If you want me, here I AM!"
Aletha didn't allow him to say anything more as she kicked him in the stomach.
"Guh!"
Her kick sent a wave of pain throughout his body, forcing him to curl up on the ground. Ubel, Dina, and even Alai couldn't help but feel shocked at what they saw.
"A… Aletha?"
As they witnessed Aletha absolutely dominate Nealon with her unexplained and shocking physical strength, Alai heard her scream with a sweaty, wrathful face.
"I have been given a choice of who I want in my life. And it most certainly DOES NOT include you!"
With a satisfied grin, Aletha walked off, leaving a stunned and shattered Nealon behind.
Once Aletha had finished her surprised act, all of their attention went back to Ubel, who was still lying on the ground in pain. He groaned as he tried to move, but every movement made him scream in agony.
"Un...believable."
Dina, despite hunching over in absolute pain, couldn't help but give a broad, tear-filled grin at Aletha. As her crimson eyes shook in total disbelief, she slowly crawled over to her and trembled.
"I... I... I never knew... such a girl like you could... be so strong."
* * * * * * *
It was a surprising sight for all to witness Aletha simply defeat Nealon like that. Not even in their dreams would they expect such a simple yet caring girl to deliver a blow so hard to where it could shatter steel. After the encounter, they found a green-haired girl wearing a bright robe sitting against the cliffside. She told them that she was only here because of the view and how clear the skies were today, but offered Dina, Ubel, and Alai help anyways.
"I don't know what is going on," She whispered to them as a green luminance emerged from the center of her palm. "But please be careful. I'm using so much energy to heal just one of you. Usually, my ability would deplete a little energy, but for some reason… it almost feels impossible to use magic anymore."
"So. I guess Dina, Ubel, and Alai were not the only ones affected." Aletha mumbled to herself as she felt the breeze whip on her face. "Sigh, I could only wonder what my brother is doing right now."
As Ubel and Dina slowly get healed from the remnants of the green-haired girl's magic, Alai crept up on Aletha. It wasn't out of hatred or anything, but in a friendly manner, like an older sibling would do to the younger.
"What's up, Aletha?"
Aletha's eyes widened as she felt a cold touch skim across her back.
"Huh?"
Caught with Alai's cold gaze of curiosity, Aletha nervously tried to tidy herself up. Sweat slid down her face as her confident posture collapsed, slouching her arms down.
"W-What do you want?" Aletha asked her as if the events prior had never happened.
"Oh… I just want to talk to you. You know… after what happened."
"Right…" Aletha replied, bending her head down. "Yeah, I don't really understand what happened either."
Alai cocked a brow in surprise.
"Are you sure? Because I swear, I saw you take down one of the strongest people in Wraileza a few moments ago."
Aletha shook her head.
"No, I mean… I did experience that circumstance happening, but it doesn't make sense. Why me? No offense, but I am nothing compared to anyone else. Even when I returned to this world, everyone was much stronger than I was. If there was someone weaker than I was, I would've seen it. So, why me? It makes no sense! I can't believe it, but I defeated that monster with strength. Who's to say I won't lose again to whoever comes next?"
Recalling the memories of the encounter when Aletha defeated and made Nelaon cower instantly, Alai grew curious and asked.
"Aletha, have you always had this strength?"
Aletha looked up at Alai and then turned away.
"I… don't know." As she looked at Ubel slowly standing up, Aletha closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I think I can recall enduring something arduous before. Maybe because I wandered several worlds throughout the years, my strength increased. Perhaps it was because of all the running, fighting, and exercise I did beforehand. I don't know. Maybe I just forgot."
"So you're telling me that you had all this strength and didn't even use it?!" Alai said with a confused and frustrated-sounding voice. "Seriously, why did you let yourself get beat up like that in Clearstar? If you had this already."
Seeing Aletha hunch over like a turtle, Alai raised her voice as she kept her gaze on her.
'What's the point of having strength if you're not gonna use it?!"
"..."
Recalling her moments, she remembered being beaten up by that monster and several others. But before she could answer, Alai continued with a radiant grin plastered on her face.
"Well, I got to say Aletha. You are already halfway there. Now all you need to do is MAINTAIN that strength, if not increase it. And it starts... here!"
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