Chapter 80: Envoy Of Death
Cortist began chanting again, and held his arms forward as a brilliant flash of light shot forth from them and pierced the monster, making it decay from the injury once more.
As Cortist was bracing for its inevitable return, his attention was drawn to a heavy crash from where his brother had stood supporting his father.
Jagón Venatus had erupted into seizures, frothing at the mouth while his eyes rolled back to their whites. His body was dying.
Cortist rushed over in that moment, desperately thinking of what he could do. He didn’t have prayer magic, so he couldn’t heal his father.
All the power he had been born with, and he was still to only watch helplessly as his father died from a wound he had received protecting the very mage.
Cortist began to panic once more, desperately searching for some way to spare his father, while he still had some chance. But nothing came to him. There was no miracle before him. There was only his growing awareness of his own uselessness as he could only feebly watch as his father convulsed in the dirt.
The panther mage hadn’t even realized the demon had reappeared right behind him... Not until it spoke.
"... Interesting. If I told you I could return your brother, that human to you... Or save your father... Which would you choose, young panther?"
Cortist looked up wide-eyed, stunned by the question as his thoughts stirred.
’There was a way to save Father? There was a way to get Aster back?’
Talan interrupted the demon, jabbing his spear deep into the creature’s eye socket, forcing the monster to respawn once more while the older brother shouted.
"CORTIST! WE HAVE TO GO! We need to run, NOW! Father wouldn’t want us to linger... He would tell us to leave... I have to keep you safe, brother... Please... I promised mom I would keep you safe... I failed with Aster... The real Aster... I failed with our father... Don’t make me fail here, too... Corty... Please."