章節 10: Chapter 10 - A Slim Fortune
[A man's dignity lies not in what he has, but rather in what he had sacrificed.]
" Do I have heart, you asked? "
Sargaroth huffed a black smoke from his mouth. His twin-majestic horns grow larger and curve upwards. As fabulous as a crown, it's etched with spiral patterns, covered in glowing reddish light. His body is swirled by blazing fervor, and more spikes appear on its surface. His eyes glow and leave a trail of reddish lines every time he moves, signifying him being terribly aggravated.
" I used to... but your ancestor took it from me. "
Rein began to feel sorry for his words. True, that his intention was to catch the dragon's attention to buy time for the traps to be laid, but it does seem like he has done something that he shouldn't. Horribly miscalculated.
In the depressing fettle, half of Rein's hair turns back to white. Artelia's consciousness has returned, but only to be surprised once again by how the battle had turned out, by how the dragon's appearance has turned into something even more atrocious than it was before.
" Huft. You truly impressed me by how talented you are at making situations worse than it already is, Rein. "
" I'm sorry. "
Sargaroth sticks his tail deep like an anchor. His claws grip the ground and his wings spread up. He's preparing something great, even much greater than what he has shown. However, Rein looks calm and confident.
" I will unleash the very same fire which burns your ancestors to nothingness. Feast this into your memory. For even I cannot control its power. "
" Do your worse, dragon. "
Maddened, Sargaroth rise to his challenge. Once again, the dragon took a breath so deep as if it could even forcibly pulling out the trees of their roots. But instead of preparing to dodge or anything, Rein stands firmly as he turns Faelmir back to its ring-form. His hand is slowly reaching out to the back of his belt, preparing to take something out of it.
" Rein what are you doing?! "
" I'll handle this alone. Please, keep fusing instead! I can feel that we're almost there. "
" B-But...! "
" Trust me! "
Emphasizing how confident he was, Artelia decided to trust him. Thus she focuses on fusing their mana. Since although Santa Gladia allows its user to pool their magic resource with the spirit that merged with them, there are several cases when their resources are incompatible due to differences in quantity or quality or even both.
If such a phenomenon occurs, then commonly, there would be two outcomes; Either the difference was too big to adjust, rendering the user's mana flow unstable, thus heavily injured them in the process before the spell was canceled. Or it could be merged even though it takes a fair amount of time to do so.
That's why the spell is considered one of the most difficult to master, even among the other celestial art magic. As the potency of the user and the spirit they summoned must evenly match each other respectively, and they also have to be able to cooperate with each other to utilize its true potential.
But in this case, it was the other way around. It was Artelia who had it difficult to match Rein's mana. Hence, she needs more time to fully connect her resource and his, even though she's already doing it ever since the art was successfully performed. 'Ugh, how come his mana is far more abundant than mine?', she thought to herself.
They may have their own plan, but whether they are ready or not, time will not delay. Thus the dragon discharges, with the very intent to kill.
" As'hail Daorah (Flame of Extinction) "
Sargaroth let out a burst of dark flame, bleaker than the night, and much more sinister than shadow itself. The ebony flame burns those which didn't directly come into contact with, since those which it touched were not burned, but rather simply vanished, completely ceased from existence.
Fire is the power of creation, the progenitor of the universe. Therefore, it's also fire who would make it undone to nihility. An epilogue to all.
Rein quickly took what he had stored inside the holster on his belt. It was a small scroll, tied with a golden ribbon. As soon as the ribbon is removed, Rein pours his mana to activate the spell it contained.
" Come forth, Shield of Malfred! Fulfill your oath and the solemn wish of the world! Eurea! "
A spell of the highest order in magic was unleashed. A shield rises from inside the scroll. A shield that was manifested from the soul with the greatest devotion to protect. Blessed with its ability of ultimate nullification, Rein withstand the flame.
For Rein to possess the most prized heirloom of The House of Marrenstead in his hand, it's an absolute must for him to honor the direct descendants of Malfred The Great Martyr, by successfully carrying out this mission.
" Sky art: Mantle of blizzard, Leather of crystal! "
" Sky art: Grand restoration! "
His men support him with unending buffs and heal, knowing that although the shield might be able to fend off the column of breath, the lord commander will not going to last against the vicious heat it emits if he were to be left on his own.
And they were right, it is as if Rein was burned alive. His hands were literally melting from the heat by every second, causing him excruciating pain. Hence, he would have long died as his body fluids dried out, had it not for the regeneration and resistance provided by his allies.
The unstoppable heat of As'hail Daorah recolors some part of the wonderous Great Valley of Promise. The greeneries around the battleground has been turned into a black sea of ashes, while the lake vanished into thin air. Even the raindrop didn't reach the ground.
The dragon finally stopped. Everything was dark, everything was silent. Sargaroth raised his head, not even thinking of looking for the remnants of his enemy. However, after a while, he realized that the scent which he despised so much has not faded away.
Sargaroth focused his gaze forward, only to be surprised once again. Seeing how they are still alive even after he had used his most powerful attack, the dragon was astonished by how intractable these pitiful creatures are.
" You irritate me well, humans. Why bother so much to delay the inevitable? "
Rein fall on his knees and the shield shattered to pieces. He's gasping for air as the fire almost burned out every oxygen around him. His friends who were sheltering behind him are now rushing to his side, and there they found their lord commander.
His gaze was blank and his pupils are fading. Aside from his body that is fully covered in dried bristle, both of his hands were also melted, leaving only the bones in-tact. They can even smell the stench of burned flesh that spreads through the air.
They immediately cast every healing art that they have mastered. Deeply touched by the lord commander's act of sacrifice, they care not about the amount of their mana which was at its limit. As the result of forced-casting, their veins surfaced and turns dark-blue in color. Their skin turns as pale as a dead man, and they finally vomited blood. A common sign of mana deficiency syndrome.
Sargaroth who witnessed their struggles finds himself in wonder.
" You didn't have to go through all those pain and suffering, had you not challenged your own destiny, Laharlal Rein. "
Suddenly Rein regained his consciousness. His pupil reappears and his flesh rapidly grows back. He choked a bit before finally regained his strength. Artelia who witnessed everything that happened resurfaced herself in Rein's mind.
" Seriously, that's quite a crazy gamble that you did. "
" ...Yes, but I win the bet. "
Had Rein fails to regain his consciousness, then that's it. Mission failed and they all die. Still, what truly happens is that before the dragon unleashes its breath, Rein has cast aside Artelia and took full control of its body. This process rendered their shared senses being cut-off. Therefore, Artelia can focus on fusing their magic resource.
After Rein regained his consciousness, the fusion has already complete, and its power started to take effect. Like having two bodies in one, their magic resource increased along with their regeneration capabilities, and physical prowess. But the most tremendous advantage about this celestial art is that they can share their memory with each other.
" Thank you, both of you, I owe you my life. Now, you can rest assured. "
Rein taps the shoulder of his worn-out subordinates accidentally knocked them unconscious. It was as if he had been reborn, he is overflowing with strength. At this moment, Rein fired a magic flare into the sky, giving the signal to its subordinate.
Meanwhile, Sargaroth who had been observing Rein since then, had his interest picked for the second time.
" You never ran out of surprise. How were you able to survive my breath? "
" Maybe it just simply wasn't strong enough? "
Sargaroth laughs. Thinking that such an inferior creature could boast like that in front of him. This has never happened to him, not even once.
" Is there any more trick that you had in your sleeves, Lord Commander? "
" That was the last... Now, this will be the final showdown, Sargaroth The Crimson. "
" Very well then, it has been so much fun. "
Sargaroth once again sticks his tail and claws deep into the ground, with his wings spread upward. He attempts to do the very same thing for the second time as he still couldn't believe that his most vicious attack had failed.
When the dragon is about to let out its burst of flame, in the nick of time, Rein screamed.
" Now! "
Suddenly from the pile of sand and ashes, the remaining eight of the assailing party members emerge. Two of them jumped high into the air, throwing their purse in front of Sargaroth.
" Ignite! "
" Ignite! "
The spell triggered the magical gems inside to explode, emitting a blinding light right before Sargaroth's eyes. The dragon flinched, unintentionally changing the trajectory of its burst into the sky. Then they throw another purse to the dragon's ears with the same technique but resulted in a deafening blast instead.
It doesn't end there, the rest of them are casting earth bending magic. Three people stand on the right side of the dragon, trying to bend the earth upwards. While the remaining three on the left side of the dragon bend it downwards. They did it simultaneously in hope that the dragon would lose its balance and thus creates a great opportunity for Rein to finish it.
Although there are some difficulties due to its monstrous size, they are finally able to pull it off. Having successfully carried out the plan, they retreat into where Rein stands in order to keep themselves safe from the attack that was about to be launched.
" Now, Lord Commander! "
" Let's put an end to this, Lady Artelia! "
" Understood! "
Rein called out Faelmir and proudly hold it with both of his hands in front of his chest. He then pours all of their mana into the sword. It's a strike with no pulled punch, the final blow to seal the deal, the last decisive gamble.
" O Holy Mother Aurania, I beseech you, grant me your blessing to purge this evil, for shall I fall, then shall be your sacred land. In the name of the heroes of old, all light shall be one, and all darkness shall be none. "
An ancient art that was belonged to Artelia has been chanted. All of Rein's body turns white, and the overflowing mana scatters all around him, creating an image of fluttering angelic feathers. As if all of the light in the whole Aerdrin gather around in a glorious cyclone of heavenly glows, it’s a truly beautiful sight that no one expected to see on such a dreadful night.
" Sacred art: Solden Mistelia "
Rein was about to swing his sword, unleashing a mortal strike towards the dragon due to the sword's unique power and the immense magic that was imbued to it. Victory is within their grasp until suddenly Sargaroth released a fireball towards Rein.
As Rein was absolutely vulnerable and has no means to anticipate the coming fire, it turns out to be a trade of life between the two.
" Rein! "
Unexpectedly, Ludwig jumps before Rein. He is trying to protect his dear friend at all costs, even if it would cost him his life.
" Ludwig, No! "
It was too late; Rein cannot stop the swing of his sword. Therefore, he swerved it, trying to avoid killing Ludwig in the process.
.
.
.
Unfortunately, the attack missed the target, while it also fails to save Ludwig who was burned to his death. Rein fall headfirst as he lost every bit of his power and his volition. His vision began to blur and he can no longer hear anything except for the voice of Artelia within him.
" Too bad we didn't make it. But at least, now I know why the girl had fallen in love with you. "
As the effect of Santa Gladia starting to disappear, he can faintly see a figure of a female knight with a short rose-colored hair in her iron armor crouched down in front of him, though he isn't sure whether it's real or just a part of his pre-death hallucination.
" You are a very kind man, Laharlal Rein. I wish you the best of luck.
and uh... Well, if you don't make it, I don't mind seeing you again on the other side. "
Rein finally gives in to the strain and fatigue that overburdens him. He rests his eyes, leaving fate alone to decide whether it is going to be the last time he closes it or there were still some other purposes that he had to fulfill.
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