19: Aftermath

As soon as Kalliste woke up, she immediately wished to go back into the darkness again.

She groaned when an overwhelming pain spread all over her body, leaving her helplessly immobile. Every muscle, every pore, and every fibre of her body felt as if a molten blade was slowly stabbing them.

She could not even utter a cry of pain and cursed miserably in her mind.

"My Lady!" Seeing the fresh stream of tears that rolled down her cheeks, Porteur's heart almost skipped a beat. Though he only knew her for a short while, he owed her his life.

"Ugh!"

Porteur was brought back to reality when the girl suddenly vomited a lot of blood.

"My Lady! Please wake up!"

Kalliste heard the loud voice; however, the searing pain took away all her attention.

After a few moments of hollow silence, Kalliste managed to utter a few sounds.

"The boy?"

"The prince is safe now. Do not worry. He just had a few minor injuries, but not enough to claim his life."

Upon hearing this, Kalliste felt like a sharp thorn was suddenly taken away from her shoulders. She heaved a sigh of relief. However, because she was so exhausted, she could not keep her consciousness with her. "That's good. Porteur, I need you to do me a favour," she managed to say.

"Anything, my lady." Porteur quickly nodded. He immediately leaned over in order to hear what she had to say. His brows automatically met in the centre, and his mouth pulled tightly in response to what he heard.

"I apologise, my lady. However…"

"I would not ask you twice."

When she suddenly grabbed his arms, Porteur stopped midway. He almost writhed in pain as soon as he felt the bone-crushing grip.

Her marble countenance was devoid of any emotion. Her authoritative voice made it appear as if he were in the presence of a powerful being. The top of the food chain.

"Alright. Worry not, my lady," Porteur mumbled under his breath.

Kalliste's face etched a small smile at what she heard. She slowly let go of his pale arms, which were now covered in dark bruises. "I owe you big time." As soon as the words escaped her lips, her body suddenly twitched uncontrollably.

"My lady! What's the matter?" Seeing the state she was in, Porteur panicked. His heart almost made its way out of his chest.

With his trembling body, he quickly placed his hands on her stomach. To his horror, he found out that her lifeblood was almost depleted.

"No! No! No! Don't you dare die on me now!"

Concentrating on his lifeblood, he quickly poured some on the girl.

"Ugh!" Drops of blood instantly flew down his mouth; however, he did not stop.

Gritting his teeth, he continued. Time seemed to slow down, and everything around him blurred. His body now felt the consequences of giving up some of his lifeblood; however, he did not care. This would be the least that he could do for saving his life repeatedly.

After some time, Porteur suddenly collapsed to the cold ground. "You have to survive this, my lady!" He closed his eyes. He had lost more than half of his lifeblood and sensed that death was imminent.

"Gasp!"

Porteur was suddenly taken aback when the little girl in front of him suddenly breathed a deep and long breath. Her eyes snapped open, and the colour on her face slowly returned.

"My lady!" Porteur could not help himself, despite being on death's doorstep. He quickly brought the girl into his embrace.

He hugged her like his life depended on it. However, she suddenly muttered something that made his blood run cold.

"Who are you?"

Porteur quickly faced her. "What do you mean, miss? It is I, Porteur, your slave."

"Get away from me! I do not know you! Who am I?"

As soon as the words escaped her lips, she suddenly grabbed her head and screamed as loud as she could.

"My lady!" Porteur could only watch in horror and confusion as she grabbed her head and screamed. It was then that realisation hit him like a ton of rocks.

"Could it possibly be…" he stopped midway. His mind was already searching for a possible answer.

'Was it a repercussion for having an overwhelming mana with such a young body? Or could it be that her mind was still struggling to accept the fact that she was on the verge of death, causing her memories to be temporarily erased?'

He was only brought back to reality when she suddenly fell to the ground.

"My la…" he suddenly stopped when the ground shook.

Looking up, his eyes widened in horror. "Not good!" Even with a weakened state, Porteur managed to grab the children and stumble backwards.

With a loud bang, he saw the sharp stalactites slammed to where they previously were, brutally piercing the ground.

'I needed to get the children to safety!' With a burning determination in his eyes, Porteur hugged the children tighter as he ran forward. Despite not knowing where the exit was, he knew he had to get them out.

"Ugh!" Porteur stumbled backwards when the ground shook violently. It was followed by another blast of sharp stalactites and huge rocks that fell from the ceiling.

"Gah!" Porteur cried out in pain when a stalactite pierced his shoulders, nearly crushing his collarbone. He instantly fell on his knees; however, he had no time to agonise in pain when he saw the ground cracked in half.

"Spiritfire Wings!" Despite nearly depleting his mana, he had no other option. They needed to get out of here. He bit his lower lip as the two large wings stretched out on his back.

"Ah!" Another agonizing screech left Porteur gasping for air. His whole body twitched in excruciating pain. At that moment, he wished that he had died earlier.

"I won't die just yet! I still needed to take these children out of here!"

With a flap of his wings, they were already in the air. Beads of sweat trickled down his now-pale face. Using the last bit of his strength, he propelled forward. Porteur knew that his body had already reached its limits. It doesn't help that he had to dodge every object that fell from the ceilings. After awhile, his vision was already failing him, and his senses became dull.

----------------

An earth-shattering explosion awoken the whole of Macaram Mountain. It was heard by every creature that lived within.

From the deepest part of the mountain stood a majestic castle. An invisible and powerful barrier protected the whole area. Two large stone statues stood in front of the huge door. A gargoyle. However, they suddenly moved after hearing the explosion from far away.

Their stone bodies slowly morphed into a humanoid form. Two muscular men replaced their stone bodies. Their ebony hair danced in the wind as they glanced at each other with a serious look on their faces.

With a slight nod, the guy on the right immediately turned and made his way inside the castle.

The darkness welcomed him, but it posed no problem to him. On his way, he spotted several gargoyle statues that positioned themselves all over the huge hallway.

With every step, each of the statues came back to life; their eyes glowed crimson in the darkness.

Without hesitation, they all trailed behind him. They all felt the heaven-defying aura that engulfed the whole Macaram Mountain.

Their steps were heavy as they marched towards the throne room.

----------------

"We welcome your sacred presence, Your Majesty. King of Macaram Mountain." All of them chanted at the same time as they kneeled in front of a gigantic, golden statue of their Lord.

They all stayed silent. No one dared to say anything else as they waited for their Lord to come to life.

Suddenly, the golden statue crumbled. A thunderous shrill followed, causing the entire mountain to tremble with fear.

"Long live, His Majesty! Long live the king!" Their voices became one, echoing throughout the entire place.

With another ear-splitting shrill, the gigantic statue finally morphed into a humanoid form.

He was tall and muscular. Standing at almost six feet two, he was taller than anyone in the room.

"We greet Your Majesty, King Abraxas."

The king did not even glance at his subjects as he stretched his arms. Just as he did, black clothes suddenly enveloped his entire body. He now looked like a normal human.

"Hm. How long has it been since I sensed such an overwhelming power?" King Abraxas closed his eyes, reminiscing about a distant past.

"Even that fool of an Emperor, Mallus Credia, was not as powerful as this one. His was only a drop of water in a vast ocean."

The others remained silent. They did not dare to move or even talk as they waited for their king's command.

After a while, the king acknowledged their presence.

"Go back, and do not leave your posts until I give you permission."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After his subjects dispersed, the king sat upon his throne.

'A powerful foe had emerged. One that was overwhelmingly powerful than that human emperor,' the king thought as he unconsciously touched the deep scar on his chest.

"How interesting. Let us see just how powerful you are against me." His demonic laughter filled the throne room, leaving a terrifying grin on his face.

----------------

Meanwhile, Porteur managed to get them out of the dungeon, albeit with so much difficulty.

Without any strength left, he instantly slumped to the ground while making sure that the children were unharmed.

Beads of sweat flew down his face as his chest pumped up and down rapidly.

However, when he heard heavy footsteps coming in their direction, Porteur had no time to rest. It appeared that the explosion caught the attention of those in the vicinity.

"Who are you? Identify yourself!"

Even when his unconsciousness almost left him, Porteur still managed to see the Knights of the Empire standing in front of them.

He wanted to say something, but he just could not lift a finger. His throat was parched. With every swallow, it hurt like a bitch.

"Captain! Isn't that the third prince? His Highness Rowan? What is he doing here?"

Porteur wanted to do something when they suddenly snatched the boy away from him, but he was already too worn out to even speak.

"The prince was hurt! Let us return to the empire!"

Before the darkness completely consumed him, their loud voices were the last thing Porteur heard.