Chapter 12: Aftermath

     The surrounding air began to gather towards the greatsword. Reika didn't know what was happening, so she activated her ability.

     When her purple eyes began to glow, she saw that the gray fog she encountered before began to gather towards the greatsword.

     The fog began to condense as the sword absorbed it. Seconds later, the sword glowed bright red, which is called "aura". The red substance completely assimilated the sword, imbuing it with heavy aura energy.

     Alguis was shocked by the intense surge of energy in his eyes.

     "That heavy aura of his... such strong pressure!"

     Agnar held the greatsword tightly with his two hands. Preparing to unleash a massive attack, he fixed his stance in order to balance his weight and his greatsword.

     "Fourth Style: Descend!!"

     With a single, giant cleave, the intense energy quickly approached Alguis. Alguis swiftly swung his hammeraxe in the air.

     "Earth Surge!!"

     With all of his might, he smashed the hammeraxe to the ground. The earth began to deform, and waves of soil surged towards Agnar's technique in order to counter it. 

     "YOUR RESISTANCE IS FUTILE ALGUIS!!"

     In an instant, the massive cleave and the surge of soil clashed with each other, creating a large boom across the field. Even though Alguis managed to counter it, large tremors managed to reach the houses of the villagers, destroying them in the process. His attack wasn't strong enough to absorb the impact caused by the sword, but it was enough to keep him and the people around him away from danger.

     "Huff... Huff..." Alguis panted while holding his hammeraxe.

     "Is that all you've got, Alguis!?"

     Agnar raised his greatsword once again.

     "Let's see if you can block the other one!"

     An exhausted Alguis noticed Agnar charging up his greatsword. He looked around and saw the unconscious Völun and Aeden in the distance.

     Damn it! If he unleashes that attack once more, it will destroy the village completely!

     While Agnar was waiting for the sword to begin to condense the fog into an aura for the second time, he noticed something approaching in his peripheral vision.

     "Wha- "

     Without hesitation, he stopped the process in order to block the incoming attack with his sword. His attack was cancelled, and the approaching projectile exploded upon contact with the greatsword's blade.

     As the flame began to subside, he looked around to see who initiated that sneak attack on him. In the distance, he saw two shadows and a weird silhouette floating beside her.

     "I... I did it! I managed to hit him!"

     "I can't believe it! With the help of your ability, you can access all my abilities as well! Uh, what was it called again? Sub...Subjective—"

     "Who are you people!?" Agnar shouted at them. Veylir got surprised and fell silent.

     "Uh..." Reika mumbled in a soft tone.

     Agnar raised his greatsword.

     "You dare interrupt my fight!?"

     Agnar took a stance that was directed in their direction.

     "Since you have the guts to throw a fireball into my face, then it means you're one of his subordinates!"

     Agnar immediately jumped and made a swift run in their direction. Reika panicked at first, but thanks to Veylir's guidance and its ability, she managed to invoke the second attack in time.

     "F-Flame Blitz!"

     In an instant, five fireballs began to appear around her. 

     "Go!"

     At her command, the fireballs began to scatter and flew towards Agnar in quick succession. However, Reika was facing a top Swordmaster on the continent, and fighting one was no joke.

     Agnar stretched his hand towards his greatsword, imbuing it with aura. Aura energy began to cover the sword, and it covered the whole sword in a second.

     In an instant, all the fireballs reached Agnar, but he effortlessly blocked and sliced the fireballs in half with his swift movements. One by one, all of the fireballs were severed, and none of them even managed to injure him.

     All of her bombardments failed horribly. Even though she managed to hit the target, it meant nothing to Agnar.

     "What the hell was that? It looks like he could see all the approaching projectiles, as if he knew when and where they would land!" Reika exclaimed.

     In the distance, Alguis saw the entire situation and struck up an idea.

     An opening!

     Reika, on the other hand, increased the output of the fireballs in order to outnumber Agnar with her attacks.

     "Ghk! I can't...!"

     "Reika! Don't just stick with just one ability! I have several others in my arsenal that you can try!" Veylir exclaimed.

     "Can't you see what was happening? If I switch another ability in just a mere second, that dude's going to kill me for sure!"

     Agnar released a massive slash, and all of the approaching fireballs began to explode upon contact with his aura blade.

     "Playtime's over."

     Agnar quickly dashed towards her with no sign of halting. Reika couldn't react as she was trying to set up the ability again.

     "Hyaaaaah!!"

     While he was focused on eliminating Reika, Agnar didn't know that Alguis had already caught up to him. For Alguis, Reika's actions are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to defeat Agnar. 

     Without making a sound, he turned his hammeraxe, and by using the head of a hammer, Alguis swung it with all his might, down to the last bit of strength he could exert.

     Agnar was so fixated on her that even though he managed to block it with his blade, the force was too strong to stop the impact, and he managed to break the blade into pieces. 

      When the surface of the hammerhead landed on his face, an intense shock coursed through his body, sending his body flying and rolling several times upon contact with the ground.

     "GHAAAK!!"

     Due to the severe blow he received from Alguis, an intense concussion shocked his head. A huge amount of blood was dripping from the injured area. His ear was ringing, followed by blood spurting out nonstop. 

      Seconds later, the ringing sound began to subside, and he could hear the sound of a dragging footstep. The concussion followed, and he could see the silhouette clearly. It was Alguis, struggling to reach him.

     "This is the end, Agnar! "

     Agnar's eyes began to shake violently. He tried to stand up, but the attack he received from Alguis greatly impacted his movements. 

     "No... I won't let it end like this..!"

     Alguis raised his hammeraxe, tilted it and pointed the axe at Agnar's neck.

     "I know that this is too much, but I can't forgive you for those innocent lives that died in your hands!"

     With a swift swing, Agnar's head was chopped off from his neck.

     SPLAT!!

     In the eerie silence that engulfed the area, his head rolled on the dusty ground. Reika, Soru, and Veylir fell silent as they witnessed the death of a Swordmaster.

     Agnar, one of the strongest sword users on the continent, died at the hands of the former Dwarven King, Alguis.

     Alguis let go of the hammeraxe, which was still being pierced on the ground. He stared into Agnar's lifeless eyes and remained in silence.

     "Hah... Hah... Hah..."

     Moments later, he looked around and saw his unconscious companion, Aeden, who had also received a massive blow during her fight with Agnar. He quickly approached her and opened his pocket, searching for something inside of it.

     Seconds later, he finally found the object that he was looking for and opened its lid. A green substance was found inside a small, elongated bottle. Alguis opened her mouth and poured the green substance slowly.

     Reika tried to help Völun when she saw Silas and several others entering the scene. She approached them, with Soru following her behind.

     "What happened here?" Silas asked.

     "A lot of stuff happened, but that man ended the fight..." Reika told the old man and pointed at him.

     Alguis approached Völun and opened his mouth in order for the green substance to enter his body.

     After a while, Aeden and Völun coughed in unison. Völun opened his eyes and saw Alguis in front of him.

     "M-My king... Cough Cough"

     "Relax, Völun. Take a deep breath and recuperate..."

     On the other side, Aeden groaned in pain while holding the wounded part on her shoulder. She tried to stand up on her feet.

     "Ghk!"

     Alguis noticed her reckless movements and tried to prevent her from moving further.

     "Don't make unnecessary movements, Aeden!"

     Aeden heard the king and slowly sat on the ground.

     After Alguis managed the situation, he approached Reika and bowed his head.

     "Thank you, young woman, for helping me deal with him..."

     Völun and Aeden saw their king bowing down to a human, so they stood up and slowly approached him.

     "My king! You don't have to do that!"

     Alguis tilted his head a little bit on his left side.

     "It's fine. Doing this is an act of courtesy."

     "But my king, you're a person with a high stat-"

     "Being a noble has nothing to do with this. Besides, I am but a former nobleman now!"

     Their expressions changed upon hearing his remarks. Alguis released a deep sigh.

     "Sigh. I couldn't protect this village properly without the help of others. I am unfit as a king..."

     Völun clenched his fist and placed it on his chest.

     "But still, killing Agnar is one of your greatest feats, my king! That's why my loyalty will remain until my last breath!"

     Aeden followed Völun and also clenched her fist against her chest.

     "I agreed! We will follow you till the end of our lives!"

     Alguis just smiled at them.

     "I told you to drop that honorific already..."

     In the middle of the discussion, Reika tried to confront them by asking a question.

     "Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but would you mind telling me what was going on?"

     Alguis heard her question. However, Völun got irritated and scolded Reika.

     "For a human to disturb our king's conversation—"

     Völun didn't utter any more when Alguis raised his hand. He fell silent as Alguis confronted Reika.

     "We were chased by several men who tried to assassinate us, including that person over there. Unfortunately, the village got caught up with this mess..."

     "What did you do to make them go to such lengths to chase you this far?" Silas added.

     Alguis sighed and lowered his head.

     "After my son did a coup d'etat at the palace, the first thing he did was to exile me, never letting me set foot on the Dwarven Kingdom again!"

     Aeden and Völun clenched their fists when Alguis told the truth about their problem. 

     "Since you're the only one that got exiled, why did these people who accompanied you come along?" One of the villagers asked.

     "Of course we're loyal to the king!" Völun exclaimed.

     "That's right! We'll follow him till the ends of the earth, whether he's exiled or not!" Aeden added.

     Upon hearing their heartfelt response, a smile appeared on Alguis' face.

     "You guys..."

     As he stared at his loyal subordinates, his vision suddenly blurred. His body wobbled and shook slightly.

     "Urk..."

     Aeden and Völun noticed Alguis' condition and immediately helped him.

     "My king!"

     "Let me... rest a bit over there..."

     Alguis pointed his finger in the direction he wanted to rest.

     "We are sorry to interrupt your discussion, but our king needs some rest. Now, if you would excuse us..." Aeden said.

     Aeden and Völun accompanied the king as they walked away from the crowd. One by one, the crowd began to scatter.

      Meanwhile, Silas ordered everyone to search for their belongings. Anything that could still be useful: clothes, food, tools, and any valuables they could find.

      Luckily, no one died in this accident. Due to their quick judgment, all of the remaining villagers managed to survive thanks to the protection that his house gave them.

      "Look how marvelous the house's architecture was. It can even survive even the largest tremors! But still..."

     Others looked around and saw how devastated the village was. Due to their structure not being suitable for tremors like in the last battle, all of the houses fell into pieces. Only the house of the village elder, Silas, was seen standing. Even the well, which is their only source of water, got destroyed as well.

     "Sigh... Rebuilding these houses would take several weeks to finish. But even so, our manpower is too low to accomplish that task!" One of the villagers said.

     While they were busy with their conversation, Silas noticed them and approached them with haste.

     "Hey you, muscle for brains! Why are there corpses lying on my house?" Silas said as he approached some of the village men.

     The village men were shocked as they remembered the corpses they had gathered before.

     "Uh... We initially p-planned to bury them hours ago, but your presence is required. We looked around and we didn't see you, then we caught up in this problem and the burying got postponed..."

      "That's because you delayed it! And who told you that a burial needs the presence of an elder? You can proceed even without me!"

      The village men present on his front fell silent.

      "We thought that-"

      "Enough making excuses! Look for the tools and bury them in an instant!"

      "Yes sir!"

      All of them immediately walked away and began searching for the materials. Silas sighed and looked around the village. Everything that lay before his eyes was full of destruction and hopelessness.

      "Sigh... How do we even fix this mess?"

      ...

      Alguis watched over the villagers, who were busy gathering their belongings after the previous incident. Some others cried as they found their home destroyed.

     Damn it! If only I were strong enough to resist his attacks... Maybe I could...!

     Alguis felt something poking at his left arm. He turned around and saw a young girl carrying a flower in her hand.

     "Mister, thank you for saving us from the bad guy!"

     Upon seeing the wide smile of a child as he handed the flower to him, Alguis' worries faded away in an instant. He smiled and patted the child's head.

     "No problem!" he replied, and he gave her a thumbs up as he received the flower.

     The girl's eyes brightened up, and she smiled even more.

     "Ehehe!"

     "Alex! Don't bother that mister, and help me get these!" Her mother called her in the distance.

     "Coming!"

     Alguis stared at the flower that the young girl gave him. Filled with happiness, he stood up and wiped off the dust from his buttocks.

     "I made up my mind. Instead of sulking here, I must repay them for the problem and damages I've brought upon them!"

     Alguis saw Aeden and Völun taking a rest on a nearby tree.

     "Aeden, Völun! I have something to discuss!"

     Both of them heard Alguis and immediately picked up their weapons. They walked towards him with haste.

     "Do you have any spare time?" Alguis asked them.

     "Uh... yes, my king! After we rested for a bit, our strength finally came back!" Aeden said.

     "Now that you have such vigor, I need you to help me with something. Come with me."

     Aeden and Völun followed Alguis as he discussed the plan on his mind. The path they took was the one that leads towards the forest. The three of them vanished into the darkness.