Chapter 79

Thana's Point of View

Klasteris

Shifting around him in a way that he could not follow, I cut away at him. Tore through his cloak, pants, and skin as he merely floated there. Blood painted his skin and would evaporate at the touch, which concerned me, but I paid it no mind. After all, there was so much of it being produced, there was always blood somewhere on him. It was starting to become frustrating that he wouldn't stay down.

Several of my Demons were on standby and watching our bout. Skelds hovered in the air with some Ghouls who were able to fly. In the meantime, my ground forces roared for me to win, but I made sure all of them knew not to get involved. The fliers especially kept their distance with how much we were darting around. Our battle now took place over the most concentrated place of my forces below and outside the Klasteris shield.

Bringing my spear up across his throat, I was surprised that he finally moved with a hard glare directly at me. Slamming into me right as my blade passed him, he grabbed me and held both of my arms in place with my spear stuck between us. A child's tactic, but it was slightly amusing.

"Hugging me is how you plan to defeat me?" I asked.

Mordred didn't reply, but instead, his mouth and eyes lit up in a pure blue color that matched his magic. Confused by this, I started to scream when it began flooding from his lips and into my face. It hurt far more than I would've expected and used my mist to wrap around his head. When my eyes recovered, I opened them to see his entire body glowing.

"Mordred!" I screamed as I finally realized what he was doing.

He had been charging his own magic in his body to act like a bomb. Using my magic to try and pry him off, my eyes widened when magical claws slammed into his body from out of nowhere. His body convulsed from the sudden attack, and I smirked.

"Spell is backfiring, is it?" I giggled once again and waited for him to let me go as the claws moved through his body. "Just let me go. You did far better than most others, and I promise to treat your body with more respect than the Elf."

However, his response was not what I expected. "His name was Aydan, you stupid bitch."

The glow on his body got stronger, and my eyes widened in horror as I tried to bring my magic up to create a shield. Whether the claws were a distraction or a backlash, didn't matter. The fact remained that I had lowered my guard.

Mordred's body flickered, and I screamed out in horror as a wave of magic erupted directly in my face. "Mordred!!!"

A bellowing roar could be heard from the King, who had me in his grasp as I yelped in pain from his spell. However, his grip eventually went limp, and my arms came up as I summoned my magic to me. Pain shot through my body as I eventually crashed into a distant mountain.

With barely any magic at the ready, I felt my body convulse in pain as my mist-covered me. Using my magic mist to lift my body and examine the area, I was met with a surprising sight. My army had been utterly decimated. All that remained was a massive hole that was far deeper than I could see underneath Klasteris.

That blasted shield had kept them safe, and had I been wise enough to do the same, my situation would not be so critical. This may have been the worst mistake I have ever made as I examined my body and found parts of my organs showing. Bones were connected to melted skin, and my magic was struggling to heal it. Whatever magic that imposter of Human was using, it was deadly and was preventing my wounds from healing.

After what felt like hours of lying there and trying to get my wounds to heal, the sound of wingbeats caught my attention. Fear took hold of me once more as I thought it might be the Anomaly known as Mordred returning to finish the job. It also could have been Rudnurth or another member of the Royal Family, but I was in no condition to fight. Even teleporting would be risky.

"My Queen!" Flare cried out in horror as he landed beside me carefully. "What has happened to you!?"

My eyes shifted to his towering form, and I spoke simply. "Take me back to the Crimson Wasteland. We failed."

With more care than I thought was possible from the Ancient Demon, he carefully picked me up. "As you command." Was all he said before we flew off.

A sinking feeling filled me as we flew away from Klasteris. Mordred was far more dangerous than I thought and an Anomaly that needed studying if he was still alive. Moving forward would be difficult, and I would need to take more care, but this will not stop me. It is nothing more than another setback.

Elincia's Point of View

Helmsforth in the Future

Arthur Pendragon had only been our Knight for a short period of time and yet, the mystery surrounding the man made him more interesting than I thought possible. Unfortunately, Ayda used some manner of spell which essentially transported him somewhere unknown to us. That was three days ago, and his disappearance in the Hollow Forest has led many to believe him dead. Search parties were sent out, and Ayda was taken into custody for questioning here at the Temple.

Rubbing my temples in annoyance as I sat on one of the verandas did little to help the situation. "Where could he have gone? Someone of his power being bested by a spell from Ayda makes little sense…" Resting my hands on the stone railing looking over the mountain, I sighed. "The Hollow Forest could be hiding him…" My eyes lingered on the vast forest below.

Everything seemed to come to a halt as thunder seemed to echo through the clear skies as many began screaming in fear from the sheer sound. The Temple shook as I grabbed hold of the railing to steady myself. A blinding light soon filled my vision that had emanated from the forest in question.

Looking up, a pillar of pure magic that seemed to be eradicating everything in its way had appeared in the forest. My eyes widened at the sight of it, and I felt a small amount of fear. This was far beyond anything I could hope to compete with as I was. However, this could also be a new threat, and I needed to be ready.

Taking to the skies as the ground shook, I moved towards the light that began to wane. It only lasted for a few seconds before it quickly retreated in on itself. Arceana would likely be investigating, and I saw several Town Guards heading into the forest.

Diving down towards them, I saw that Cassidy and Floyd were standing at the edge of a crater with Captain Greigh Nasa and Sergeant Ziah Tib. They likely gave the two Humans a lift into the forest, but all of them seemed to be frozen in shock. However, as I landed next to them, my eyes widened as I looked in the large crater.

Turning to the Captain, I gave him his orders. "Inform the Temple as quickly as you can that Sir Arthur Pendragon is in critical condition."