Chapter 59: A bitter end
Auvin’s face twisted in confusion and alarm. “What is this?” he muttered, taking a step back, his grip loosening slightly.
The pressure, the energy, the bloodlust—it was all way beyond anything the old general had ever felt.
The monster was merely exuding its presence before them, yet it was as if all their strength was being siphoned away.
Auvin’s feet trembled as he stared into the deep blue eyes of the white-maned wolf.
With golden lightning dancing all around it, the threat it exuded was something even a swordmaster like him couldn’t simply dismiss.
Not long after, the hand gripping Snow’s neck finally let go as Auvin’s entire attention shifted to the wolf.
Snow, equally confused and trembling, gasped for breath, coughing and struggling to get back up. Her eyes widened with each moment as she stared at the wolf.
GRRRR!!!!
The wolf’s growl crackled like lightning, causing Auvin’s subordinates to slowly back down.
Some even fainted under the overwhelming pressure, stepping back from the small dome they had created as they made way for the wolf to enter.
The air was thick with tension. Auvin, momentarily paralyzed, could feel the immense power radiating from the beast.
This was no ordinary monster; it was a force of nature, a living storm cloaked in fur and lightning.
He knew he couldn’t fight it head-on and expect to survive.
Sure, he might have stood a chance if he and his subordinates were at full strength. However, for some reason, the power he could muster was far below what one might expect of a swordmaster like him.
He was certain his subordinates felt it too; they were trembling even more intensely than he was.
The mages under his command were coughing up blood, struggling to maintain the anti-magic field around the area.
With the field slowly breaking apart, any advantage they had against the magically infused wolf would be lost.
The notion of using his spare subjugation stone crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
In front of that monstrous wolf, he felt that attempting to subjugate it would lead to his immediate death.
The wolf’s presence was overwhelming, its power palpable in the air.
His mind raced for alternatives.
The tactical retreat they were executing now seemed like the only viable option, yet retreat stung his pride.
Auvin was a seasoned warrior, a veteran of countless battles, and the idea of fleeing from a single beast gnawed at his very core.
He cast a quick glance at his subordinates.
They were in disarray, some barely holding onto their weapons, others visibly shaken.
The mages were in the worst shape, their faces pale and their breathing labored.
Snow, still on her knees and gasping for breath, glanced at Auvin with a mixture of defiance and relief.
She could see the turmoil in his eyes, the realization that his plan was falling apart.
The wolf’s intervention had turned the tide, and she could sense Auvin’s growing desperation.
The wolf then slowly entered the area of their battle and proceeded to kneel down in front of Auvin, causing confusion to etch upon his face.
His eyes widened even further as he saw a figure of a man emerging from the wolf’s back.
With a bloodied form that seemed like he had been mangled by some beast, the man looked like a walking corpse, struggling to even stand upright.
And yet, for some reason, gazing into the young man’s indifferent eyes, Auvin felt an overwhelming urge to kneel.
‘What’s going on?’
Questions popped up in Auvin’s mind as he found the entire situation ridiculous.
There was no way that he, the great General Auvin, would even entertain the notion of kneeling before someone after he had abandoned his duty to the empire.
There was no way that someone like him, who had fought for and truly believed in the cause of wiping out the nobility and the royals who had been manipulating the masses to their whims, would allow himself to kneel before anyone again—not after all this time.
There was clearly no way that would happen.
And yet, here he was, feeling an inexplicable compulsion to submit to this man.
The sheer presence and aura that radiated from the young man were unlike anything Auvin had ever encountered.
It was as if the very essence of power and authority were emanating from his battered form, demanding respect and obedience.
The man’s eyes, cold and unfeeling, locked onto Auvin’s with an intensity that seemed to pierce his very soul.
Auvin could feel his resolve wavering, his defiance crumbling in the face of this inexplicable force. It was a sensation that both terrified and infuriated him.
Slowly, the young man walked toward Auvin. Although the distance between them was only a few meters, and the figure before him was of a smaller build than his own, it felt like a giant was approaching.
Auvin was sure their gazes were locked onto each other, so why did it feel like he was being looked down upon?
With each step the young man took, the pressure in the air increased, making Auvin feel an overwhelming urge to flee.
It was then that Auvin finally realized the source of the weird tension, the unsettling feeling that had plagued him ever since he locked eyes with the wolf.
The intense power didn’t emanate from the wolf but from the young man before him.
As the distance between them closed, the young man finally spoke.
“General Auvin…”
“…You know of me, young man?” Auvin’s voice came out in a slightly nervous and respectful tone. Confusion clouded his mind as he noticed the pity etched across the young man’s face, as if he had known him all his life.
“Yes, I know you….” the young man replied, his voice calm but laced with disdain. “Though I did not expect to see a roach like you here… did I mess up the scenarios once again?”
“What are you talking about?” Auvin asked, his confusion deepening.
The young man sighed, a hint of exasperation in his eyes. “Well… it matters not. All I have to do is clean up the mess, right?”
Auvin’s heart pounded in his chest as the young man’s words sank in.
He could feel the weight of the young man’s power pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.
The realization that he was utterly outmatched was like a cold knife to his gut.
The young man then looked at his surroundings, scanning the faces of the men who encircled them, before opening and closing his hand.
“Anti-magic field, huh… That explains a lot” he said, his eyes shifting to the struggling Snow who met his gaze with a mixture of wonder and confusion.
Turning his attention to his wolf, he locked eyes with the beast for a few seconds before issuing a command.
“Kill them all.”
It was a blunt and very direct order. The wolf seemed to smile at its master’s command, snarling like a rabid beast.
GRAAACK!
With a loud roar, it blitzed out of sight, launching into a rampage at lightning-fast speeds. It began tearing apart Auvin’s men, who stood no chance against its fury.
“Noooo!”
“General! General!!!”
“Please hel—”
Screams echoed across the empty field as blood splattered in the air.
Flesh turned to ashes as a golden ball of lightning danced across the battlefield, slaughtering every human in its path.
The wolf’s jaws were soon bloodied, a grim testament to the carnage it wrought.
Auvin watched in horror as his men were decimated.
The once formidable general felt a deep, sinking dread.
Gripping the handle of his sword, he knew he only needed one attack, one successful hit. At this distance, cutting down the young man in front of him should have been easy.
He was a swordmaster, a master of aura, a warrior who had fought countless battles and killed thousands of people.
“Haaaah!” he screamed in anger, the frustration building up inside him finally bursting out. Momentarily forgetting the gripping pressure that seemed to weaken his strength and resolve, his powers came back in fortitude as a blue aura wrapped around his blade. Raising his arms, he resolved to end this now in a single strike.
“Kneel…”
But it only took a single word for all of it to come crumbling down.
The strength, the power, the speed, the resolve—all of it vanished as his feet touched the ground and his knees bent before the young man in front of him.
Confusion and a sense of overwhelming fear flooded Auvin’s mind. He struggled to comprehend what had happened.
How could he not resist the young man’s command?
What exactly was going on here?
Why was he acting so pathetically?
His voice felt like a command that could never be broken, a command that could never be denied, a command that bound one’s will to his authority.
The young man approached General Auvin in the most brazen of manners, instilling a surge of panic within him.
Auvin’s heart pounded in his chest as the young man’s hand shot out, seizing him by the throat and effortlessly lifting him off the ground.
“You… you’re a monster,” Auvin choked out, his voice barely a whisper.
The young man stared into Auvin’s eyes, his expression cold and unyielding. “No, General. I am merely a consequence of your actions…. If you had just waited for your intended end, maybe you would’ve had a different outcome, from a different man.”
Releasing his grip on Auvin, the young man let him stumble to the ground before delivering a punishing kick to his face.
Teeth flew from his mouth as the aura-infused attack nearly shattered his jaw.
Auvin coughed up blood, struggling to maintain consciousness.
He attempted to rise, the sword in his hand never leaving his side, trying to infuse aura into his body to strengthen himself.
But it was futile.
Foohhhh…!
As he sensed the bloodied breath of the creature before him, squinting his eyes, he quickly realized what awaited him.
“HAHAHA—” he laughed bitterly at his pathetic end as the jaws of the monster in front of him ripped his head from his body.
With General Auvin’s demise, the young man turned his attention back to the princess, who watched the scene unfold with astonishment in her eyes.
Slowly approaching her with his battered body, he knelt down in front of her.
“Riley…?” the princess asked in confusion and slight fear, unable to recognize the overall presence of the man before her.
Riley’s hands reached out towards her cheek, touching them gently as he wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes.
Scanning her overall condition, the indifferent gaze from him slightly faltered as he locked eyes with her.
“Please forgive me for being late, your highness… you’re safe now” he said in reassurance before patting her head gently.
Those were his last words as his body finally let go, and sleep took over.
…..
Waking up, I found myself under a familiar ceiling, surrounded by white walls and minimalist yet grand designs.
A sense of dread and déjà vu washed over me as I took in the softness of the pillow beneath my head and the comforting weight of the blanket.
It all felt too familiar.
‘Isn’t this my room?’
Not the dorm rooms provided by the academy but rather the very room that I grew up in….
As confusion gave way to realization, my heart rate quickened, and I felt a mixture of relief and apprehension.
“Riley~”
The voice, like that of an angel descending from the heavens, reached my ears, accompanied by a gentle trickle of sensation on my cheek. I turned slowly, hoping against actuality that this situation wasn’t real.
“You’re awake, dear~”
But there she was, my beloved fiancée, her face beaming with joy as she enveloped me in a tight hug.
“I’ve missed you so much~~”
“….L-Liyana?”
In that moment, I knew that this was indeed reality.
But…. I was still battling it out with the tempest wolf right?
‘How the fuck did I get here?’
