Chapter 855 855 - So... what now?
"…pant…pant… N— Not like… like this…!"
Meilin, kneeling on the ashy ground, was panting heavily and glaring up at her opponents. Her body was covered with wounds and bruises. Obviously suffering some broken bones, she clutched her side with one hand and leaned on one of her hook swords, plunged into the earth, with her other. Her second hook sword was flung over to the side.
Erik looked down at her calmly, almost with pity, hammer slung over his shoulder. Astrid stood on her other side, grinning victoriously. High above, Emma was looking down with a serene smile and obvious pride.
"There's no getting out of this," Erik told her indifferently. "You have nowhere to go, and whatever connection you had with Imogene has been cut. One way or another, we will get what we want, the only question remaining is whether you'll surrender with some dignity."
Despite his words, Erik remained on guard. Though he and Elora were relatively certain the connection had been cut, they weren't absolutely sure. Plus, there was Gabriel, who blew himself up when he was almost out of energy. If that had nothing to do with his connection to Imogene, then Meilin might try the same thing at any moment.
"F— Fuck you!" Meilin roared, before gathering her last bits of energy to rotate the sword she was leaning on, cover it in Frostvein energies and stab it up towards Erik. Or so it seemed. At the last moment, she sneered cruelly and swivelled over towards Astrid instead, knowing her to be the weaker target.
Erik instinctively stepped forward… but there was no need. Astrid scoffed at the weak attempt, completely unsurprised.
With a flick of one of her own swords, she deflected the attack, then raised her other hand to throw a heavy punch at Meilin's face, sending her crashing back down to Earth with a sickening crunch. Adding insult to injury, she then kicked Meilin's side to send her back in Erik's direction.
Screaming from pain and hatred, Meilin ended up on her back in front of Erik's feet, where she seethed up at him. Looking down with a frown, Erik felt somewhat surprised at the lack of fear she showed. All he could see was more anger, fanaticism, and disgust aimed at him and his beloveds.
"It's not… over… yet…" the defeated confessor whispered under her breath, eyes spitting with fury and hatred, jaw clenched, fists balled. "I'll return to… my Primarch… yet…"
Suddenly, a massive and rapid surge of aetherium started rushing into Meilin's chest. Her body tensed, and she started laughing maniacally. "Hahaha! Pay the price of you—"
"Now!"
Elora's voice boomed in Erik's head, and he reacted instantly. Strangely, he didn't try to attack or stop Meilin. A focused frown appeared on his brow, and his hands started glowing with dark-blue aetherium—a clear sign he was finally able to use his spatial affinity.
Before Meilin could finish her sentence, he slammed his hands together… and disappeared together with both Meilin and the dome, leaving Astrid and Emma behind while spawning the portal to his dimension. The latter two's expressions immediately twisted into anxiety, their eyes fixated on the floating swirl of dark blue energies. Emma floated down to Astrid and stood with her.
At the same time, a tiny fairy-form zoomed past them at immense speed and plunged into the portal.
***
Erik appeared in what was clearly one of the yet-empty bedrooms in his living quarters. Meilin was in front of him, still gathering energy and mere moments away from exploding. Her attempt was different from Gabriel's, as she was conscious and trying to blow as quickly as possible, while Gabriel had been unconscious and perhaps under the influence of some automatic process.
The violent energies caused her to float slightly above the floor. The sudden change of scenery caused her to interrupt what she was saying and look around with wide eyes. However, she didn't stop her attempt at blowing up. If she even could.
Erik didn't waste any time. Grabbing her by the throat, he pulled her up and tossed her on the bed. Behind him, Elora appeared in the room and went to work without a word. Spreading her arms, she conjured dark-green energies and caused the many sigils on the bed to begin glowing. Instantly, Meilin's eyes fluttered closed, and her body lost all tension. Yet, the energy continued gathering.
As the moment to Meilin's explosion neared, Elora appeared over her chest and weaved another sigil at incredible speed.
Next to her, Erik stood still with narrowed eyes and spatial energies gathered on one of his hands, ready to snap his fingers and exchange Meilin for Astrid and Emma if this didn't work. Some of his warriors gathered there would die from the explosion for sure, which he wasn't happy about, but Erik would always prioritise himself and his family.
Ankhur would be fine… probably.
Just as Erik was about to send her out, Elora finished and pushed her hands forward. The sigil she'd weaved dissolved into one long strand of energy that mixed in with the whirlpool of aetherium being sucked into her chest—or rather, her magic core.
Despite his caution screaming at him to send her out before it was too late, he waited.
Time ticked forward at snail speed, until…
Fwoom
The whirlpool of power disappeared, and Meilin sagged down onto the bed, unexploded.
Seconds passed in silence as Elora and Erik both looked at Meilin's quiet, unmoving body with focused intensity. Then, they both heaved a deep sigh and turned to look at each other with wide grins.
"Looks like we finally captured ourselves a confessor," Erik chuckled pridefully.
Elora turned into her human form and rushed into his arms to kiss him deeply. "Yes, we did, my love," she whispered through their bond as their lips engaged in a pleasurable contest. "We were amazing."
Their moment lasted a little longer, until they were interrupted by a voice. As Erik had known they'd be worried, he'd already teleported Astrid and Emma inside after determining it was safe.
"So… what now?" Astrid asked while eyeing their capture with caution and curiosity.