The White Haired Demon Slayer (Part-17)

***Sylvie Bransford***

The final straw...

We saw it coming... Yet when she fell, I couldn't believe it. Didn't want to.

One arrow is all it took. Not the greatest of injuries, but the final one.

I had been losing a lot of blood. The deep gash across my back was unlike any pain I ever experienced. It hurt so much; I didn't know what to do. All I knew was that this was no time to fall.

So, I fought.

But Elaina, she took it worse than I did. Since the night began, she had been blaming herself for everything.

When she found the younger brother's body, when she thought the sister died because she found her too late, when she could not track enemies clearly in the forest, when she couldn't create a better tracking magic for the monster spawn, when her magic got lured by the bait...

And now she blamed herself for my injury. She blamed her weakness for everything.

So, she fought even harder. She struggled and fought to be anything but weak. She hated herself...

But Elaina... beyond that pained expression, what lies... I know.

I know it all, for I have started consuming my life force to keep us alive. I will die, but even as I do, I can connect to her on a deeper level.

Because I know it all... when the arrow finally pierced her. I felt her fear. Not for herself, but for me.

As her knees buckled, she held out her hand, looking at me with bewildered eyes.

"Run."

I did, but towards her. Deflecting every attack coming my way, swinging through enemy forces, I made my way to her.

Even as a spear stabbed through my shoulder, I grabbed Elaina and dashed towards the wall. Anything to give us a little more safety.

Elaina, this fool who could barely even keep her eyes open, cast a shield of wind around us. A grave mistake. A terrible shock went through her body as she literally spent her last bit of mana for it.

Her eyes glazed over. Elaina Evreux, her end was here. Every moment counted her final breaths...

Elaina...

Please, someone... save her. Please. Don't let this happen...

I looked deep within my heart and called for the one person I knew could save us all.

"SAVE US... REEEEEENNNN!!!!!!!!"

....

Did my voice reach him? It didn't, right? How could it? I didn't even know where he was...

Elaina, her eyes slowly closed as her breath turned shallow. Even with blood all over her, she looks so peaceful. Is this how people die? Is this how Elaina is going to die? In my arms? Even when I have so much I want to talk to her about...?

No.

No, no, no... I AM ENDING IT ALL. I DON'T CARE IF I HAVE TO SPEND ALL MY LIFE FORCE. I WILL DIE RIGHT NOW. ELAINA WILL LIVE.

I readied myself to pull the life out of every cell in my body... To save a life in my last moments, I couldn't think of a better end.

Live on Elaina...

....

And then everything stopped.

I wasn't the only one who sensed it. Death. All the monsters froze, dropping their weapons. The shield of air turned purple, trembling uncontrollably until it shattered.

Power was in the air.

From blood to bone, every part of me was screaming. Run run run run.

RUN!

My vision was turning blurry, my magic was becoming unstable, and my hands were shaking. I couldn't breathe, it was there, right there, the air, yet no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't breathe.

What was happening?

As I nearly choked on my fear, suddenly the spell broke.

The ground shattered in front of me, debris flying high into the air, as a blade streaked with purple magic cut through every monster in a wide, circular arc of death. Missing my face with a millimeter to spare.

Through the dust, debris, blood, and magic, I saw a figure standing in the middle of the hall. Mana crackled in contact with his skin. Purple streaks of magic surrounded him. The air trembled at his very presence and chaotic waves of turbulence emanated from his body.

Fear didn't grip my heart anymore as the figure looked at me. It was happiness.

White Hair, glowing purple irises, marks over his left arm, and wielding a blade that only rested on his back till now...

His magic was no longer that of turning skin to metal.

He looked so different... yet I knew exactly who this was.

He came to save us.

Ren Kaizel.

One moment death filled the room and the next there was nothing. Just silence.

Ren walked towards us, his eyes staring right into my soul.

"Sylvie."

As soon as I heard his familiar voice, tears started flowing down my cheeks. He was here. Ren.

I could barely speak, but even more now from sheer happiness. "Ren... We need to do something. Elaina is in a terrible condition. Liam and Luca–"

Ren cut me off. "Heal yourself first."

"But..."

Ren knelt beside us, putting his glowing left hand on Elaina's chest, and suddenly I could feel her condition stop deteriorating. He turned to me again with a commanding look. "That is an order."

Those glowing purple irises no longer created fear in me, but warmth and strength. This was such a unique feeling, all night I had spent in fear and concern. But now, looking into his eyes, I felt safe. So safe...

I nodded and slowly took my hands off Elaina. I wanted to heal myself. The pain was truly unbearable. But I had no mana...

"You are low on mana. Go ahead." Ren said, offering his hand to me.

Yes. This was something only I could do, the transfer of mana. But I had never taken mana from anyone before. I had always been the one to give.

This was a new feeling, to have someone offer me mana for the first time.

What I felt next though... it was something I can never truly describe. But I will give it my best attempt.

Divine...

As I took his hand, my skin tingled against his. The mana density just around him was too much. I wondered how much mana he would have inside him, and soon my question was answered.

I connected my magic to his body, and immediately a wave of power crashed against my soul. Everything changed. I was in a different place. The world around was pitch black, yet nothing was dark. For right in front of me, holding my hand was a massive concentration of turbulent mana and chaotic magic in the form of a human. It glowed so bright and purple, my eyes were struggling to look without getting blinded. Even then, I refused to let go of the form in front of me. It was comforting, warm and emanated a sense of safety.

A power that felt so grand and ancient. If divinity was a feeling... would this be it?

Still wary of what I was about to do, I started pulling mana. Suddenly, I was back in the hall, staring into Ren's eyes. His expression remained unfazed and kind.

I used his powerful stream of mana to replenish my own and heal myself. Never has mana felt so potent to me. It felt as if every flaw in my body got healed perfectly. The deep gash across my back was gone before I even realized it.

"Heal Elaina and replenish her mana, too. Send my mana into her through your body. That will filter the... unnecessary effects. Only you can handle it with your Cell Activation magic."

I knew what he meant. He wanted me to reduce the potency and normalize the mana in my body before sending it into hers.

I started the process as I began healing Elaina slowly.

Ren watched silently as his expression turned grim. With my magic, I can link with people on a deeper level if I connect to their magic system, such as mana flow, or use my life force to support them, such as healing.

It was through my magic I knew what he was feeling. Like Elaina, he, too, blamed himself for what happened. But more than that, he was confused.

"Liam and Luca. Where are they?" Ren asked.

I sighed. The answer to his question is exactly why all this happened. "They are gone."

"What happened?"

"Soon after the fight started, a girl came running to us chased by monsters. Liam saved her, but she said something to him. She had tears in her eyes. Liam... he disappeared. Just took the girl in his arms and ran off in that direction, all by himself. Luca followed to bring him back. It's been hours. No one has returned."

Ren... His expression changed. All his confusion disappeared, changing to anger. For Liam.

I don't know what happened, but I remember Ren saying something to Liam as we fell from the floors above.

I slapped my cheeks to focus myself. There were more important things to do.

Soon I finished healing Elaina and replenished her mana. Her condition was critical, but if there's anything my Cell Activation can do, it's bringing back people from a critical state. She should wake up any moment now.

Ren stood up with a sigh and stepped back, calmly wrapping the chains around his right hand again. His hair turned black as the marks disappeared and his eyes returned to their normal shade of deep brown. The sword, too, was back in its original place.

I couldn't take my eyes off Ren. What had just happened? That black space, the glowing form, his purple irises and white hair...

It was beyond contemplation. I didn't have words that could justify what I had witnessed. Unreal beyond compare.

The feeling of death seeing him like that for the first time, followed by the warmth of his power.

Who is this man...?

"What do we do now?" I asked.

Ren turned to me, once again turning his arms to metal. An expression of determination on his face.

"Now we save everyone."