18: The Vine Lord’s End

"Damn it all!" Kalliste's thunderous voice echoed in the area. She could no longer see the outline of Porteur's body. Not even the tip of his sword.

"Please be alive." She cried out as she frantically looked around. However, the gruesome sound of bones continually snapping into pieces got her attention even more.

Looking up, she saw the endless barks and tendrils, as well as the vines that slithered around each other like pythons to complete the shape of a huge, sharp axe.

The Vine Lord roared once more, revealing its huge mouth with no teeth. Kalliste's gaze fell upon the unconscious body of Rowan. When she saw only his head, she narrowed her eyes.

'The beast appeared to be slowly swallowing him.' Kalliste gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly.

"Why was it so difficult to live my life without killing something? I swear! I would probably have to enter the monastery in order to live a normal life." She sighed.

"Worry not, my darling boy. You're knight in shining armour is here. I would rescue you from that demon's clutches." Kalliste immediately cringed upon saying this. She had heard this line countless times before, and it was almost unbearable to hear it again. To the point that it became taboo words for her.

As she stretched out her arms, a swirl of crimson flame surrounded her hands. It did not take long before a thunderous howl echoed all over the place.

"Come. I will play with you now."

Suddenly, the Vine Lord lets out a baleful roar; its emerald eyes unexpectedly turned to a menacing crimson. Kalliste witnessed how the Vine Lord's body slowly turned black. With a monstrous bang, it erupted to form a colossal tsunami made of endless tendrils and vines, which instantly destroyed the whole area.

However, instead of feeling scared, Kalliste burst out into loud laughter. Eyeing the incoming chaos, her eyes narrowed as she focused on the boy's whereabouts.

"Where are you? Please show yourself!" Desperate to find him, Kalliste almost stretched the fabric of reality and challenged the edges of the impossible.

"There you are!" A smile was etched on her face when she finally spotted him among the tsunami of vines. However, his body was now completely enclosed in the giant tsunami.

The smile on her face instantly vanished at what she saw. She realised that she needed to act fast.

"I would not let you get him!" Without any second thoughts, she instantly levitated. Her expression darkened as she glared menacingly at the incoming attack.

She closed her eyes as she ran her hands in a circular motion. The world around her seemed to blur as a palpable aura of crimson colour engulfed her whole body.

Her ruby eyes glowed when she opened them again and the small flames swirling in her hands grew larger.

"Super Nova." Her mouth twisted up on one side. Her rage swept through her like raging inferno. Despite her promise to herself, she was left with no other options. Besides, it was partially her fault that Rowan found himself in this dangerous situation.

Though her voice was only a whisper, an earth-shattering sound resounded all over the place. An uncontrollable storm of fire erupted from the dry atmosphere. It grew to an unbelievable height, now towering over the tsunami of tendrils and vines. It took awhile, but the Super Nova completely engulfed the tsunami of vines.

As the two titans battled for dominance, Kalliste gritted her teeth when she felt that every pore in her body gradually opened. The process was excruciatingly painful. Her face immediately drained of colour as her vision blurred. She almost lost her control over the storm of fire in the process.

She could only see specific shapes and mana particles in the air. With another loud cough, warm, sticky blood slowly made its way out of her mouth, but she managed to hold on to her consciousness.

"Damn it! The body of a child really sucked!" she cursed, struggling to hold unto the tenuous thread of consciousness.

'Not now! I still needed to rescue the two of them while I could.' Closing her eyes, she sharpened her senses.

Kalliste sensed the place's destruction. Everything turned into dust as the ravaging inferno expanded to an unbelievable level. Not even a rock was left behind.

"There!" It did not take long when she snapped her eyes open and suddenly vanished without a trace.

"Porteur!" Her scream echoed throughout the entire area as she appeared in front of the man who had bathed in his own blood. Running to his side, she immediately grabbed his wrist. His body now felt cold against hers. Having realised that he almost had no breath in him, she slumped to the side, not knowing what to do anymore.

"No! Not again!" Kalliste hissed while looking at the deep, thick blood that slowly flowed from the open wound on his chest.

'Yet again, I failed to protect a life.' Her energy seemed to be rapidly draining at that moment.

Next thing she knew, a quiet sob rose in her throat as beads of tears finally fell down her face. These kinds of situations should be normal for her. However, she found it really difficult to keep her emotions in check. "Damn it! I could not just let him die! I have to do something. Consequences be damned!"

Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth when the veins in her body suddenly opened. Just then, a familiar energy slowly travelled through her veins and into her hands.

"Urgh!" She quickly bit her lower lip to suppress the growing pain that she now felt. Soon enough, a green glow enveloped her hands. Instantly, her face took on the colour of a sheet, and her entire body began to perspire profusely.

Not wasting any moment, she quickly put her hands on his chest. This would be her first attempt to revive someone from the clutches of death. She had no idea if it would work, however; she would not give up.

"Kyak!" The obliterating pain spread quickly throughout her body, like wildfire. She felt blinding whiteness explode in her head, causing her face to contort and cringe. It made her dizzy. The pain felt like millions of knives brutally jammed all over her body. An endless voltage of electricity shot straight into her spine, replacing her arm with ice.

Her mind screamed at her to just let go; however, she only gritted her teeth. When she took him under her wing, his safety became her responsibility.

After awhile, Kalliste could no longer feel her body. Her consciousness was now on the verge of collapse; however, she stood her ground. Especially when she noticed that the extensive injury on his chest had begun to mend. His flesh slowly regenerated.

"Please, come back." It was the last thing that she said. Before she gave in to the welcoming abyss, an irritated groan snapped her back to reality. Even though it was difficult, she resisted the call of the darkness.

"Why are you yelling? It's too loud."

"Porteur, you idiot!"

Porteur was taken aback when she suddenly lounged herself to him.

"Ow!" He howled in pain. It felt like all of the bones in his body were being crushed by an invincible force.

"What happened? I thought I was dead." He managed to voice out, only to have his eyes widened in fear and disbelief.

"What in the world was that?" Beads of sweat rushed down his face. In front of him was a colossal storm of fire that rapidly consumed the tsunami of vines and tendrils.

'A battle of the gods!'

"Stay here. It's time for me to end this now."

Porteur could only stare at the child. The child's innocent demeanour had vanished from his sight. In front of him, he saw an afterimage of a real beast. A true savage demon of nature. He could tell just by the look in her eyes.

Just then, the space around them suddenly distorted, as the ground beneath their feet cracked from the overwhelming mana that now surrounded her body.

Porteur could see the vicious mana rampaging around her.

"Kuh!" Porteur gasped aloud. Just by standing beside her, she almost drove him crazy. He could feel the growing temptation to obliterate everything around her. Nature seemed to bend to her will, as if she were one with Gaia.

"Holocaust Dragon!"

At her command, the Super Nova came together, and with a terrifying roar, a fearsome dragon made of molten lava stood in front of them. The dragon had golden runes all over its body.

Porteur's jaw comically dropped as he stared in awe at the scene in front of him.

"You're a…" He did not get to finish his sentence when another thunderous crash jolted his attention back to reality.

"Play with me, Vine Lord." Kalliste growled, revealing a devilish smirk. Even though her body was in no condition to fight, she would not go down until she killed the Vine Lord and rescued Rowan from it.

Kalliste felt as though the whole world moved around her in slow motion as she leaped upwards. She quickly positioned herself on top of the dragon. Silver flames engulfed her hands once more. However, instead of being hot, the silver flame instantly froze the moisture in the air.

Gently, she laid her hands on the dragon's head. As soon as she did, the silver fire engulfed the dragon's whole body, absorbing it as its own.

"Screech!"

On its back, two giant silver wings appeared with a thunderous roar.

With the last of her strength, she issued her final command.

"Go!" With a monstrous growl, the dragon propelled itself at the veins, which now resumed its humanoid form.

The Vein Lord pointed its huge weapon upwards before snapping it towards the dragon, with all the intention of cutting it in half. The might behind its attack created a shockwave that sent Porteur flying a few meters away.

"Gah!" Though he managed to balance himself, the might behind its attack forced him to cough a lot of blood. His visions became blurry; however, he still saw another surge of black flames that coiled around the dragon's body as it effortlessly dodged the Vine Lord's incoming attack.

When the dragon opened its mouth, black and silver flames formed around its mouth. As soon as it grew big enough, it launched towards the Vine Lord. The might behind its attack created a massive crater that spanned around hundreds of meters.

On its humanoid form, the Vine Lord moved slowly. The mixture of flames hit its chest and instantly obliterated its body, leaving a huge hole in the middle. The Vine Lord stumbled backwards, and with a loud bang, it finally fell to the ground.

The endless tendrils and vines immediately slithered towards the gaping hole. However, the black flames rooted itself around themselves, withering and engulfing the Vine Lord's body at a rapid speed.

Suddenly, the Vine Lord gave out its loudest screech as it moved. It slowly opened its mouth. Just then, Kalliste saw the magnificent glow that emanated from within.

"Not good!" Kalliste was shocked to see the bright light emanating from its body.

However, her young body was already too worn out. The recoils from using such an overwhelming amount of mana were too great. Her body trembled, and she fell on her knees. Her face was now devoid of any color as she heaved out another mouthful of blood. Her last attack truly wore her off.

'Damn it! My body was already at its limits!' Without any strength left, she began plummeting down. Her insides twisted like knots as her whole body felt crushed. She groaned in excruciating pain, but she held herself.

It did not take long before a deafening bang reverberated in the whole area. Finally, the Vine Lord exploded. Its body shattered like fragile glass. Not even its ashes were left.

"Urgh!"

The Vine Lord's ultimate attack, self destruct, was successful. Kalliste was caught in the middle, devoid of the strength to resist.

"Living Armour!"

Before she gave in to the abyss of darkness, the last thing she heard was the familiar cry of Porteur.

"My lady…"