Final Struggle

The cold wind howled beneath the moonlight. The breeze crawled onto their skin, sending shivers down their spine. Everyone raised their guards as they glared at theman in sight. However, despite trying to calm their nerves, they couldn't prevent their limbs from trembling. 

Aviante shifted his gaze towards the human's strongest fighters. 

"All I wanted was the keys but you lowlifes kept spouting nonsense." Aviante gripped the spear and continued, "Don't blame me for what I'm about to do."

At that moment. 

Swish—

Aviante dashed through the human holding one of the keys. The Awakened felt the strong wind pass through their skin together with a blurry figure holding a spear. 

'So fast!!!' 

The man dashed in a blinding speed that even their enhanced sights could hardly follow. Aviante instantly appeared towards an S-class Awakened who's still in a daze at his sudden appearance. 

Without wasting his time, Aviante stabbed the man's heart. 

Stab—

Splat—

Blood sprayed to the ground as Aviante pulled the spear out. Before the man fell, the Ruined King's Sword flew towards Aviante's hand as if it found the rightful owner. 

Seeing him close, everyone jumped in retreat. Sweats trickled down their bodies as they watched the Awakened fall to his death. However, their surprise did not end there. The Ruined King's Sword was acquired easily by the man. 

"Hey, I thought those items were 'bound'?" 

"Maki, say something!" 

"It's bound, alright! I don't know how he did that."

Maki, an S-class Awakened from Japan, spoke puzzledly. The world of Awakened knew that the 5 Ruined King's gear was bound to the first owner that acquired it. Meaning, it can't be stolen or taken away. This was also the reason why no one desired to steal those. 

'How did he…?' 

What's more absurd is that the Ruined King's Sword willfully surrendered!

Maki lowered his gaze and stared at the golden-red coat trailing behind his back. 

It was the Ruined King's Coat. 

However, for others, it was hard to guess if it was truly the item because of its old faded colors and torn edges. Even then, it still functions properly. Maki clenched his staff and gradually closed his position towards the SS-Class Awakened. He thought that by being closer with them, they'd be able to protect him. 

Unfortunately, his hope shattered after a blink of an eye. 

Aviante appeared in front of him with murderous intent before slitting his neck with the tip of the spear. 

Shring—

Maki held his neck after he kneeled to the floor. 

"Cough—, why you!!!" 

Maki cursed the Awakened on the scene as his mouth gurgled with blood. 

'I don't want to die!' 

As his sight gradually blurred, Maki roared in regret. 

"Kuuahh!"

Thud—

"Hmm… what a tough pest."

Aviante commented disdainfully before shaking his head. He crouched and twisted Maki's body to get the second key towards the tomb. Now that he acquired two of the 5, Aviante can't help but smile. 

However, everyone interpreted his action as mocking them for their weakness. 

The SS-Class Awakeners stood dazedly as they watched the event transpire before their eyes. They wanted to move, however, their legs seemed glued to the ground. 

"Even though I killed 2 of them, you still wouldn't step forward?" Aviante got up and put on the Ruined King's Coat around his shoulder, "So you wanted to die that badly huh?" 

Everyone exchanged meaningful glances until a man tremblingly stepped forward. His footsteps were so heavy that it seemed he would fall at any time. 

"I-I will give it to you, p-please let us go!"

Aviante frowned and slowly walked towards the man. He leaned closer, frightening the man even more. 

"Alright, where's the key."

Without hesitation, the man pulled a battle suit from his inventory and handed it clumsily.

"H-here."

Aviante raised his eyebrows before receiving the battle suit with a satisfied grin. With this, his business is done.

'Sigh—' 

 The Ruined King's Gear is truly hard to find. The Golden Crown and the final key which he didn't know what it's called are the only two remaining. 

The Golden Crown would be very tricky as it has an invisible function that lets it hide physically even though it's equipped. According to the records, the final item is in the shape of a triangle. As for what it was, he had no idea. 

Now that his job is done, Aviante turned towards others and jovially clapped his hand, "Thank you very much, humans." 

Ashamed, everyone lowered their heads and cursed themselves inwardly. Although Aviante knew their state of mind, he just laughed it off. 

"Anyways, while it was fun being with you, I would need to go back."

As he spoke a red whirling portal appeared behind him. Aviante took the last step and gave everyone a final look, "Oh, by the way, all of you need to hurry… your friend… is already dying on the other side."

The portal burst in a cloud of smoke and vanished around their sight. Everyone stood dazed before sighs of relief permeated throughout the area. 

"Haah, thank god, we're alive."

"Fuu, I was scared silly for a second there."

"Yeah, me too." 

But this time, the pressure was strong for Freya. Although the man did not seem to care about their lives, she knew that he must be planning something. As expected, he left them all inside this unknown place. 

As the only Awakened who knew countless space attribute spells, this time everyone gave her a hopeful look. 

Unfortunately, she also had no idea how to get out of here.

..........

The previous lush green land was replaced by a blood dyed battlefield. Aviante appeared atop a mountain and swept his gaze around. As the time here in those two dimensions differ, he calculated that he's been out for 6 hours even though in his perspective only a few minutes have passed. 

"8 of my gatekeepers are dead… those thousands of servants were also reduced to just 17…" As he counted the number of his subordinates breathing, Aviante's face gradually turned grim. 

The dust whirled around his body while his mana roared around the area. 

Woooosh—

He was mad. 

He underestimated that envoy. 

Together with his appearance, the ongoing battle came to a halt. The atmospheric pressure rained down to everyone, be it allies or enemies. The ground cracked as they accompanied him with every step he took. 

Shortly afterwards, Aviante arrived before the remaining 12 gatekeepers who's now reduced to bloodied pigs. Their legs trembled. The back of their throats became numb. They couldn't even utter a single word. As they felt the gaze probing their bodies, everyone finally sprawled on the ground. 

The fear was just too much for their muscles to function. 

"What names should I call you besides 'useless fools', huh?" Aviante then shifted towards the strongest of these 12, "I have so many expectations from you, Hakka."

"T-thank M-my l-lo—" 

"But you disappointed me." Aviante lifted his hair and pulled it out from his scalp. 

"Ahhhh!!!" Hakka's face scrunched in agony as he softly touched his head. His lord, Aviante, just pulled his hair which contains almost half of his mana from him. 

"This would be your punishment… Now, get out of my sight."

Hearing his words, the 12 gatekeepers scrambled away hastily. It doesn't matter if their hands were cut off as long as they are alive, it's considered a win. 

Meanwhile, Aviante's gaze shot towards the lone necromancer glaring at him with killing intent. As a response to his provocation, Aviante responded with a murderous aura of his own.

"What an spectacular day to see the power of an envoy." Aviante clapped his hand in praise, "To be honest, I did not expect you to win… Well, it was my fault that I underestimated you but even then, to think you can fight 20 gatekeepers at the same time was truly amazing."

The last time he heard about Urs Hassan was 10 years ago at the Indigo Dungeon in Cairo. At that time, Urs barely managed to defeat an S-Class monster. To think that after only 10 years, he had grown to this point is somewhat unbelievable. 

Aviante landed on the ground and glanced at the thousands of death armies ready to swarm his way. However, with just a flick of his finger, all of these monsters vanished in the shadows. 

"Now that your main firepower is gone…" Aviante raised his weapon and aimed it in Urs' direction, "How would you fare against me?" 

.........…. 

Pant—, pant—

With the disappearance of his summons, Urs struggled to keep his balance but even then he still maintained his confident posture. 

'So we're finally done now?'

He's exhausted. The amount of mana he has was too low to even cast a spell. 

Urs could be said to be special. His summons contained mana of their own that he could harvest anytime, giving him some sort of infinite mana glitch in a short time. The more summons he has, the more he could harvest. 

Now, his own mana is already drained from having to spam skills after skills. His sources of mana, which is his summons, were gone as well. He tried calling them back but they seemed to be trapped in some kind of prison. 

Urs looked at his side and saw Hans leaning on a pile of rubbles. His clothes were stained in blood. His sweats and sluggish figure also hinted that he was tired too. They both stared at each other and smiled sadly. 

"Do you, haah, still think… I can fight?" 

Urs stared at Aviante, waiting for his answer. The man spoke. 

"Hmm… indeed you're beaten up now but still, it wouldn't cover the fact that you killed 8 of my gatekeepers." The man laughed mockingly and spread his hand, "Come on, show me more of your power!!! You're an envoy, at least give me some fun!" 

The man stopped laughing. He stabbed the spear on the ground and rested his hand on its hilt. 

"Throughout my life, I have fought 3 envoys far stronger than you… but this is the first time I saw someone this interesting." 

Although Urs could not comprehend the words, he still attentively listen. 

"Unfortunately, those three couldn't even hold their toes for a minute before their heads fell off. Sigh… what a pity."

After listening Aviante's ramblings, Urs closed his eyes and took a deep breath. With a determined look, he picked up the sword he lent to Hans. The sword is far from its previous appearance now. Its edges were chipped and its tip was already broken. The blade was also slightly tilted too. But even then, Urs raised it forward and took a basic sword stance. 

In the meantime, seeing Urs pathetic figure, Aviante subconsciously chuckled but his eyes also showed bewilderment. 

"Ha, haha… you really are pathetic. Even in your last breath… why are you protecting that guy?" 

Aviante's sight darted towards Hans. 

"You must be mistaken, I'm not protecting him." 

"Pfft." A light giggle escape from Aviante's mouth, "You're really terrible at lying. Should I kill him first then?"

At that moment, Urs aura intensified, "I'm your opponent." 

"Sigh, well… it's not like you'll last longer anyways…" 

Swish—

Swish—

The two dashed towards each other and swung their weapons together. 

Clang—

The spear and sword clashed. With a smile on his face, Aviante easily overpowered the opponent. 

Clang—

However, Urs blocked it, making his hand even more numb in the process. As their eyes met, Aviante spoke. 

"It must be hard being alone, isn't it?" 

Clang—

"Your comrades can't even help you shoulder these burdens." 

Clang—

"It's frustrating right?" 

Clang—

"They treated you like a hero but in the end…" 

Clang—

"You're just pawn being used."

Clang—

Urs put his strength towards his sword attempting to push back the enemy. However, his efforts came to naught when Aviante kicked his chest. 

Baaam—

He flew in the air, landed on the sandy floor, and rolled around. Urs sprawled on the floor for a second before he got up once again. His eyes remained at Aviante, who was also looking at him with amusement. 

"Cough, damn it." 

"Oh, you're done already? What a shame for an envoy. At least last for a minute, will you?"

Urs kept his head high, trying to hide the fear creeping into his bones. He took a final glance at Hans before his legs finally surrendered. 

"Haha, look at you… the Legendary Necromancer of the human race finally fell. You also failed to protect anyone." 

"..." 

"In the end, you also die alone."

Silent permeated around the battlefield. The desolate winds cried out as the battle finally reaches its outcome. 

With a pained smile on his face, Urs muttered. 

"Indeed you're right."