Chapter 217: As One
Chapter 217: As One
“So, Elfin. What did the girl have to say to you?” Albert said with a chuckle. “Some sort of secret plan?”
“Ah… just a few things to watch out for,” Elfin said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Nothing to worry about. And… something about my future.”
“I see. Best if we don’t push it, Albert,” Bren said quietly. “Besides, I think we have bigger problems to worry about.”
The town had already been put into evacuation alert, and there was no risk of any civilians being harmed.
Then, there were four left.
“I’m a little nervous, to be honest,” Albert chuckled. “To think Breaker’s alive. What should I tell him?”
“...be honest with him, boss,” Elfin said quietly. “And if he doesn’t listen to us, then we just have to knock some sense back into him, right?”
“Right. That’s how it was always done. If Elena isn’t here, we’ll just need to let our fists do the talking,” Albert said, roaring with laughter. “Alright. As your boss, new order. None of you are allowed to die. Got it?”
“Of course,” Bren said with a smile.
“As if we’d let something so stupid happen.”
Albert then turned to Destiny, who had been watching silently.
“Kid. You sure about this?”
“This isn’t just something we’ve organized anymore, is it?” Destiny said with a light laugh. “Ever since that girl got involved, it was out of our hands.”
“And to think we tried to recruit her… right. Well, as long as we solve the problem, it’ll be good, won’t it?” Albert said with a bright grin. “I’m not trying to hog the fame. Those days are long gone. As long as people can live in peace… that’s good enough for me.”
“That’s all I’m trying to do too, sir. Even if you weren’t here, I would’ve done this myself.”
“Right, then. I’m not a fan of dealing with kids, but…”
Albert had no choice but to accept Destiny. As per Prota’s instructions, the hero had sparred constantly, training like never before. It was a bit of a shame to put him through such a thing, when he’d spent time in relative ease in their last life, but it was necessary. To save everyone, Prota had needed to rush things quite a bit.
However, in providing information and tips, Destiny’s relationship with Danjo had deepened, and his relationship with Albert was now one of respect. Prota hadn’t been present for any of it, but…
“Well, that girl’s a kid, right? And she’s a lot more than she lets on. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were the reincarnation of the hero or something,” Albert laughed. “Hey, kid. You drink?”
“You can’t ask kids if they drink,” Bren sighed. “Albert. Show some constraint.”
“Oh, please. He looks like he’s had his share of comradery. How about a toast after this is all over? All of you,” Albert grinned.
“I don’t know about alcohol, but I’ll definitely partake in a celebration,” Destiny said, taking his mask off. He stretched out his arm, hand open. “I suppose, since this is effectively over, I’ll introduce myself one more time. Destiny Windwalker of the Windwalker household. It’s good to meet you, sir.”
Albert took the hand, shaking it firmly. “Good to see the future generation’s got some promise. Let’s do it, kid.”
Suddenly, there was a rumbling noise as a cloud of dust appeared from the forest. Everyone immediately tensed up, the friendly atmosphere now gone. This was the time for battle. Nobody planned for it, but death was very well within reach.
“Prepare yourselves.”
From the forest burst a giant creature with a turtle-like shell and bear-like limbs, the ground shaking with every step.
“Ready!” Albert yelled, drawing his axes.
“Yes!”
“Let’s go!”
Immediately, the guildmaster moved to intercept the beast, axes clashing with claws, sparks flashing out as the nearby buildings began to crack from the force of their fight.
Meanwhile, Bren had already managed to cast a spell. Despite his looks, he was, in fact, a caster. A caster who could move exceptionally well, perhaps, but his role was actually at the back of the party, not at the front. Shadowy tendrils shot up from the ground, wrapping around the chimera, sapping at its strength and restraining its movements.
In that instant, the thing weakened, giving Albert the slight edge. In that moment, the guildmaster roared, his voice overpowering that of the chimera, and he pushed it back, slicing through its front.
“Get ready!” Albert yelled. “Remember what the girl told us!”
Just as Anta had warned them, the creature began to regenerate unnaturally fast. Still, the team was able to stop it from recovering. Elfin was already moving, a gust of wind pushing him upward. He landed on the chimera’s head, plunging his sword into a crack in the thing’s armour.
A wind spell wrapped around his sword went to work, twisting and tearing like the blades of a blender, seriously messing up the chimera’s flesh. It roared in pain, but Albert was already moving forward, delivering a powerful blow that cut a large gash in the monster’s chest once more.
“Kid!” he yelled.
Destiny nodded, wasting no time in charging forward. With a deep breath, he activated his ability, his curved blade glowing with a golden aura. It was a bit wobbly, and the light was faint, but it was there. An ability that wasn’t meant to be used quite at this level, at least not at this point in the [Story].
But the hero wasn’t aware of that. So the hero did the impossible anyway.
Because that is the role of a hero.
With a powerful cry, he swung down, cleaving the beast in half. His sword passed through as if cutting through molasses; slow progress, but otherwise, there was little resistance. The flesh began to reform as Destiny’s blade continued to sever the chimera, but Elfin and Bren were quick to respond. Tendrils of shadows shot forward, doing their best to hold the monster at bay, and Elfin’s sword made quick work of any flesh that did manage to reconnect.
“You got it, kid!” Albert roared. “Just a little more!”
The shell that had once been nearly impenetrable was being cut through as if it were simply another piece of armour. As if it were just regular metal, and not something this very hero had once struggled with.
But, once again, the hero was unaware of such a fact. He had not been told that this would be an impossible fight. None present were aware that the being before them possessed the raw strength of an infant Mystic, and that it was simply lacking the intelligence to use it.
All they knew was that victory was laid in wait.
With one final cry, Destiny’s blade finally sliced through the chimera, and it ceased its movements, falling over with a loud thud.
For a moment, there was silence. The sounds of laboured breaths could be heard, but otherwise, nobody dared to say anything. It was odd that they were unaware of the feat they’d just accomplished, but then again, there was no real need for them to know.
“That was just one of them?” Bren finally said. “That was…”
“Yeah,” Albert grunted, sitting down on a rock. “If that girl hadn’t given us the info on strategy and its weak spots in advance, I…”
Destiny nodded as well. If he hadn’t gone through hours of gruelling training with Kit and Albert, he highly doubted things would have gone this cleanly. He was beginning to see why Prota had given him so many suggestions.
Then again, she’d come from the future, so she must’ve known what he was capable of.
Suddenly, there was a blur of motion, just outside everyone’s field of view.
“...the cat,” Destiny said. “Alright. I’ll deal with that one.”
“The others must be coming, then,” Bren said quietly. “As planned, I will deal with the spider.”
As they were speaking, a spider-like chimera burst out of the woods. Bren immediately threw a knife at it, drawing its attention before dashing off as not to interrupt everyone else. Prota had said he could handle it on his own, and despite her oddities, the men present trusted her completely.
Then, out of the woods came one last figure.
“Breaker,” Albert called out.
“You don’t seem very surprised to see me.”
“Correct.”
“...that’s all? You don’t have anything more to say?”
Breaker glanced at Elfin, who flinched, but otherwise failed to react.
“Hm… something’s fishy. No matter. If you’re not surprised at my presence, then you know why I’m here, right?”
“Of course,” Albert called back. “It’s about time you and I had a good, long chat anyway. We’ve got a lot to catch up on, don’t we?”
“Of course.”
With that, the two leapt away, the sound of metal clashing echoing through the air as their battle quickly began.
With that, it was just Elfin and Destiny.
“...so you knew.”
Destiny glared at Elfin with cold eyes as he pointed his blade at the elf’s throat.
“I’ve known for a while. I didn’t do anything because Prota told me not to. But now that we’re here, and now that we’ve got a chimera to fight, I don’t know that I can trust you. So. What are you doing here? Why hadn’t you moved yet?”
“Are you sure you have time for this?” Elfin said quietly. “There’s a chimera moving.”
“As if you didn’t know about it-”
“I didn’t. I reported to Breaker only. To be honest, I only moved with him. I haven’t met Doctor even a single time.”
Destiny paused. This was unexpected. Then again, Prota couldn’t have known something like that. If she hadn’t brought it up, it was likely because she was simply unaware. Destiny knew her power wasn’t prophecy, so lapses in information were completely reasonable.
“Hey,” Destiny said suddenly, eyes glowing. “Say that again.”
“...I haven’t met Doctor?”
Destiny sighed. “Great. Fine. We both know this thing’s weaknesses.”
“You- you trust me?”
Destiny let a grim smile slip onto his face. “I thought there was a chimera moving. Don’t we have to deal with it?”
Elfin laughed, drawing his sword. “You’d never have made it in my day, you know.”
“You’d be surprised.”
Suddenly, a figure appeared before the two of them, claws out and ready to slice. There was a loud clang as their blades met the chimera’s attack.
“I suppose you’ve got your reasons,” Destiny said as the chimeras vanished once more. “Guess I’ll tell you how we’re gonna beat this thing.”
~~~
“Take- take my- I see! The chickling can peck!”
Doctor burst out in laughter, covering his face. Prota simply stared at him. He was laughing, but…
He was most definitely upset as well.
“Well, then? Make your move, miss prophet. Half dragon- that’s a lie, isn’t it?”
Prota didn’t reply.
“Hm… in all my time, I’ve never quite encountered a being that stood up to me as much as you did. What are you-”
Prota didn’t let him speak any longer. She immediately launched a barrage of icicles, all of which were easily dodged by the enemy.
“Oh, please, take this seriously-”
Doctor’s eyes widened as the air turned cold. Just in time, he moved out of the way, the space he’d been standing turning a freezing cold. He turned to look at Prota, who was panting, visibly disappointed that her surprise attack had failed.
“Ah. So you intended to take me seriously. Hm… perhaps you are a prophet after all, to know what I can do.”
“Shut up.”
Doctor began his counter attack, dozens of tendrils shooting forward. Prota immediately began to move, weaving through the attacks with ease. Still, each tendril was just a hair away from hitting her, occasionally nicking her skin, drawing small drops of blood.
It was less of a question of skill, and more of a question of the clash between the two’s powers.
“Hm… as I expected. You’re different,” Doctor muttered. “But what? What are you? And how are you doing that?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to NovelFire for the genuine story.
Prota didn’t answer. She simply formed an array of Blossoms, the light refracting off a thousand petals of ice, turning the forest into a beautiful display of rainbows. Then, they shattered, each and every petal immediately homing toward the monster before her.
Of course, he remained uninjured. His body expanded, the black goo that he was made of absorbing the whole thing. Still, he had barely reacted in time. As if the power that made him invincible were just a bit weaker than it was meant to be.
“You… what are you?” Doctor hissed. “You shouldn’t be capable of that.”
“...you need to die. No one likes you,” Prota muttered.
Rage began to course through her veins. Doctor had tormented her so much in her past life. He’d tormented John. Treated her like an object. All for her soul, something he’d created and forgotten about.
Her whole life. All her suffering. She couldn’t quite pin it on the true individual responsible for her suffering, but this was close enough.
“How?!” Doctor screeched. “How are you still alive?”
“You are weak,” Prota said simply.
“I am not weak! I am god! And you are just-”
“Stronger than you. Too bad.”
Prota leapt up, getting close as she held a Frozen Flame. Shoving it directly into Doctor’s goop, she leapt back as the spell detonated, blowing Doctor to bits. Still, his goo began to reform, and while it looked like he was a little hurt, he didn’t seem to be severely injured in any way.
“You… you… how dare you?!”
While he was seething in rage, Prota had already prepared her next spell. It was a shame this was only the second time she was using it, but there was no time like the present.
The torrent of wind holding her compressed Frozen Flame back was released, and there was an incredible explosion of ice and fire as it made contact with Doctor, coating the area in dust. Prota coughed, waving the dust away, squinting to try and find her opponent.
“Soul Steal, Prota! Try to use Soul Steal!” Anta suddenly reminded her.
“Nn.”
She closed her eyes, and just like before, she could sense a strange, alien power. It wasn’t quite [Deus Ex Machina]...
But it wasn’t too far off.
“It must be mixed with his mana,” Anta said in disgust. “That’s gonna be hard to take.”
“...when?” Prota wondered.
“We’ll do it soon. I told you. We can’t risk doing too much. One chance. You’ll get once chance.”
“Nn. Tell me earlier.”
“I didn’t know what fighting him would be like!”
The dust settled, and Doctor remained present. There wasn’t even a hint of damage on him. It were as if he hadn’t been hit at all. The only proof that the attack had landed was the look of indignation on his face.
“How could you do such a thing to me?! I am the mastermind! The one behind the scenes! You dare degrade me to a mere combattant?! I’ll-”
“No. You are… not mastermind,” Prota said quietly. “Just a [Character]. Just… anta- antag- [Antagonist]. So you will die here.”
“I will do no such thing!”
“Nn. Then kill yourself.”
Doctor twitched in rage, so consumed by his anger that he could barely speak. Prota, too, was incredibly upset, but truth be told, her emotions were somewhat dulled.
John had already killed this man. She’d watched him take his own life with his own hands. Was that not poetic enough.
“No,” Anta said.
From her tone, her teeth were grit.
“We need to take his life with our own hands. I won’t settle for anything less.”
Prota closed her eyes and nodded. Right.
She was here to live her life as well. There wouldn’t be any settling. She’d been holding herself back in order to play things safe and logical, but was there really a need to do that?
“Right.”
Doctor lunged forward, but Prota easily managed to sidestep the attack, grabbing one of Doctor’s extended tendrils. Freezing it solid, she snapped it off, then used an explosion to launch herself forward, plunging the thing directly into Doctor’s head.
The man screeched in pain, black liquid flowing out of his head. Apparently, that was the only part of him that was even remotely human. Good.
He could be hurt.
“How?! How are you doing that?!”
“Stronger.”
The back and forth was getting monotonous, but Doctor likely wouldn’t accept the truth as an answer. Still, although Prota was taking much delight in his suffering, it was true that he wasn’t dying.
“...now?” Prota thought.
“No. Stun him one more time.”
“Nn.”
Suddenly, Prota’s eyes went wide as she felt something warm in her stomach. She looked down with shaking eyes to see a tendril, plunged through her stomach.
“I…”
A thin line of blood trickled out of her mouth.
“You… you… I recognize you,” Doctor hissed as he stepped forward.
His gait was unsteady, his face scrunched up in rage. The man’s voice was no longer human, instead being something between a screech and a growl.
“I should’ve known. I made you. Prota Char. That name should’ve been familiar. You’re my creation! You dare rebel?! You dare treat me like this?! You should be bowing in reverence toward me! You should worship me as your creator!”
Prota didn’t reply. She couldn’t. Her body felt cold. Was it really going to end, just like this?
“Ah… so that was the missing link. Imbuing you with that power… I suppose that would work. But once I realized who you are, it just took a bit of tinkering… I see.”
Doctor, now towering over her, held a pointed tendril up high.
“I’ll whip you back into obedience.”
~~~
Destiny was sweating buckets, blood streaming down his face and arms. The chimera was strong. Stupid strong. Even while knowing its abilities, fighting it was nearly impossible.
As Prota had explained, the thing turned invisible. Thus, having Kit around was crucial to tracking its location, as she was vaguely able to sense mana. However, having someone able to see the beast and having that information relayed were two entirely different things.
Even though Destiny was fast, the chimera was faster. God Slaying Sword had the ability to hit the beast, even in its invisible form, but actually getting to that point was the hard part.
“This is no good… at this rate, both of us are going to die before anything happens,” Elfin said, panting.
He, too, was quite heavily injured, although not nearly as much as Destiny. His status as a guild staff was well warranted. His magic was incredibly powerful, his movements well practiced, and even Destiny had to admit that his fighting prowess was incredibly well-trained.
That was when it clicked. Elfin was a former adventurer. His abilities weren’t suited against people.
They were meant for slaying monsters.
“Hey,” Destiny said quietly. “Any plans?”
“No. I presume you are the same,” Elfin panted. “The girl said they were strong, but I did not anticipate this level of… trickiness. It seems to be bending the laws of the world.”
“Yeah… interesting.”
Destiny wiped his mouth, smearing the back of his hand red. He thought back to what Anta had told him.
His ability was to “cut through anything.” Anta had told him this meant space, time, mana, whatever he wanted. Of course, as Destiny was still untrained with the skill, he had no clue what that meant, but…
What if he could? If, when Kit announced the creature’s location, he simply cut through space itself and reached out, just like that—
“Kid!”
Destiny snapped back to attention. He hadn’t even realized he’d spaced out. Now that he thought about it, his head was feeling light. Had he lost too much blood?
Suddenly, his vision swam back into focus, and the sight that greeted him immediately woke him up.
Elfin was standing before him, five claws piercing through his chest, blood trickling down. Even still, he was holding on to the creature’s arm, trying to hold it in place.
“Quick! What are you doing?!” Elfin yelled. “Finish it!”
“You-”
“Finish it! Before it slips away again!”
Destiny didn’t have time to argue. In a split second, his mind made a decision, and his blade glowed with a golden aura once more. Leaping forward, he saw the fear in the chimera’s eyes for just a second before decapitating the thing. It fell to the floor silently, its body so light it didn’t even kick up dust.
Then, a louder thump rang out, that of Elfin’s body hitting the floor.
“Hey! Hey, stay with me!” Destiny yelled urgently. “You’re losing too much blood! Hold on, I’ve-”
“No. Don’t bother, kid,” Elfin gasped, coughing up blood. “To be honest… I think the girl expected something like this to happen.”
“For you to save me? No, she told me you were a traitor, she-”
“She’s not a prophet, is she?” Elfin laughed faintly. “I think she expected me to betray you all. For me to not be involved in the fight to begin with. That’s why she split you and Bren up. Because she was accounting for my absence.”
“...why did you change your mind?”
Destiny was worried. This was the tone of a man who had given up.
“She told me… told me something interesting. I… I just though it’d be worth banking on.”
“But-”
“Kid. Don’t worry about it. I’ve lived a full life. There were good moments. But there were a lot of regrets. If anything… I wish I hadn’t been so wishy washy. So on the line.”
“What… what do you mean?”
“I was a spy. But I tried to make excuses. I wasn’t doing any harm. I wasn’t actively helping. I was just trying… trying to keep my friend safe. But those were excuses. I should’ve… should’ve just made up my mind. Fully gone to Breaker. But I was a coward. I…”
Elfin’s voice was growing faint.
“Well. This isn’t too bad. I don’t know what that girl’s source of info is, but… it seems I was never meant to live anyway.”
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Kit appeared. She looked incredibly annoyed, but she was there.
“K-Kit?!” Destiny exclaimed. “What are you-”
“She saw this too, actually,” Kit sighed. “I need to heal that guy, so move aside.”
“Who- wha-” Elfin gasped.
Kit didn’t bother answering the question. Instead, she put her hands over Elfin, healing his wounds.
“She seems to have a plan,” Kit said quietly. “One bigger than any of us. Des. We know her end goal. So… something like this… don’t get too surprised.”
“But… you…”
“She owes me a favour now,” Kit grumbled. “And she told me to save that guy no matter what if he ended up doing something good. He saved your life. That’s good enough for me.”
Destiny clenched his teeth as they all sat there in silence. Elfin was visibly confused, but he held himself back from asking questions.
“Hey,” he finally said. “I’ve never met him, but… I heard that Doctor guy is strong. Incredibly strong. So strong Breaker wouldn’t even dream of beating him. Will… will that girl really win?”
Destiny stood up, pulling a roll of bandages out of his cloak. He took out a potion and downed it, his wounds beginning to heal.
“...she wouldn’t do all this just to lose. Right?”
~~~
Prota was bleeding out. Her vision was swimming, her legs having lost all their strength. She was only standing because of the tendril holding her up.
“Prota!” Anta yelled. “Wake up! Wake up!”
Prota could barely hear the soul, even though the voice was coming from inside her own head. What was Anta saying?
“Ugh, seriously! You’re always doing something stupid! Fine, just…”
Even now, Prota could barely hear her own soul. In her blurred vision was a black mass, but even still, she could barely make out its features. What was she doing here? Why was everything so cold?
She could feel something hitting her, but she didn’t know what. It was so numb. So dull. So—
“Get up!”
A burst of energy filled her. There was a bright, blinding light as warmth entered Prota’s body once more, vaporizing the tendril in her chest and closing the wound. Time seemed to stop as she healed back to perfect health, returning her body back to its original state.
When the light faded, Prota could feel herself in control of her body…
But there was something else.
“It’s me,” Anta said.
Somehow, her voice felt a lot closer. That was impossible, but still, that feeling was there.
“I had to use [DEM],” Anta continued. “So you’d better figure out how to steal some from that guy.”
Prota blinked. But… it wasn’t her blinking. Yet, at the same time, it was. She was in control of the body, and yet at the same time, she wasn’t.
“Oh, my god, you don’t get it- pull up a block of ice. Use it as a mirror.”
Prota cast Doctor a glance, but he was still too stunned to do anything. Doing as she was told, the sight that met her eyes stunned her.
Her right eye was ice blue, as usual, but her left eye…
Was a crimson red.
Similarly, the colour in her hair was a blend of blue and red, as if Anta and Prota had fused into one person—
“That’s right,” Anta said. “I didn’t do much. A little energy to heal us. But the rest… that woke me up good.”
Prota felt her lips curve into a smile. It was a foreign feeling… yet comfortable, at the same time.
“I won’t be needing rest anymore. We can swap whenever we need. And… well, you don’t need your body to cast spells, right?”
Prota’s eyes widened. Right. She could still access her core. But if Anta was also in the body…
“I’ll pilot this thing and fight. You just focus on casting spells. Got it? We need to distract that guy enough to pull his energy.”
“...thank you, Anta,” Prota thought quietly, her voice almost on the verge of tears.
Anta laughed. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m your sister. We’re twins. I won’t abandon you this time around.”
Anta took on a fighting stance, bouncing on the balls of her feet to loosen up. Meanwhile, the mana began to flow through their veins, an arc of Blossoms forming overhead. Anta’s fists coated themselves with crimson flames, and their eyes lit up brilliantly.
Doctor, who had just gathered himself, flinched as he saw the individual before him.
“Like I said. With our own hands. We’ll be taking his life.”