BOOM!
Two light streaks collided with each other above an expanse known as Heindal Continent.
It was mere two minutes for this struggle to begin, yet the result was visible beneath this collision of wills.
CRUMBLE
The whole ground was shaking at a tremendous rate.
The intensity at which shockwaves were destroying the land beneath seemed to shorten the length of the entire place to mere ten minutes.
An approximate time at which the whole of Heindal will be split in half, erasing its existence, while killing half a billion of the population residing on this land.
BANG!
SWISH
Deflecting each other to a distance before again colliding with each other, two amber gazes were fixed on each other, reflecting the enormous power emitting from them.
“You know that she will die soon,” Angelica’s eyes were shining, her body covered in a hazy amber aura, illuminating herself to a huge extent while intensely looking towards Alisia.
“Before Laila’s body vanishes, I will kill you,” Alisia’s mind had lost all the will to live. Normally, Flagbearers are the most patient and sharp-minded, but right now, even at the cost of burning her own and Laila’s life force, she would kill Angelica, inevitably dying with her.
CLANK!
Both of them collided again, their swords vibrating due to the enforced aura of two Zenith Powerhouses covering them.
The metals were already destroyed from within, but the energy supplying kept them intact.
It had already been three minutes, yet things were taking dangerous turns.
Once a forest, now completely barren, lands were plunged, cracking and swallowing everything, but among all this chaos, Ryuk’s body remained safe.
⟨It should be enough of you both.⟩
A voice resonated throughout the darkened space. Gaia’s rays were split in half by the surrounding sword strikes, causing darkness to descend upon the land, centered on two individuals.
‘!?’
Both Alisia and Angelica halted in their tracks, slowly turning towards the very familiar yet unexpected voice.
A figure descended on the land, a beautiful woman with features similar to both of the women looking towards her with widened eyes, her presence exuding a different charisma and calmness.
It was Veronica Devereaux, the first Flagbearer and eldest sister among the previous three titleholders to reach the peak.
“What are you doing here, Veronica?” Angelica narrowed her gaze, surprised to see someone least expected among everyone she knew so far.
Ignoring Angelica’s words, Veronica first looked towards a small boy’s body lying on the ground before turning towards Alisia. She stated, “Mother wants you to return, Alisia.”
“Now she is calling me back. Where was she when they all destroyed my energy core?” Alisia gritted her jaws, her pain turning into pure rage upon seeing their arrival like this. Neither of her sisters was present when her Core was destroyed.
It was a pathetic move done when she was pregnant.
Her Core wouldn’t have been destroyed, nor would she have had to hide in some small corner of this world just to protect her child, who inevitably met his fate in the end, if not for her mother and sisters remaining silent.
Their relationship was not like a normal family’s, but their current act of friendliness only added fuel to her rage.
“You seem to not be thinking rationally, Alisia. Calm yourself,” Veronica narrowed her gaze, observing the entire battlefield.
Instead of focusing on her two sisters, her attention was centered on the boy whose body remained protected after all this chaos.
‘….’ Contemplating something, her gaze turned towards beside the boy, looking at the empty space. Her lips parted, “Why are you here, Sword Maiden?”
Those words caused both Alisia and Angelica to turn towards the direction where Veronica was looking, observing two figures slowly becoming visible.
SWISH
Within a moment, two individuals appeared: a woman with pink pastel hair standing while holding a sword with both her hands, her eyes covered with a white cloth revealing her lack of eyesight, and another small cloaked figure leaning while green light emanated from her small hands, falling on the boy lying on the ground.
‘!?’
Alisia’s anger slowly started to turn into something else. Her mind began to gain clarity as she realized, in her anger, she had forgotten about her child’s safety.
Her eyes reflected the gasping figure of the small cloaked child, using her own life force to help another.
‘Please, no, come on,’ Yui was trying her best to transfer even a mere amount of vitality into the boy’s body, which had lost its vigor. Despite her Master’s assurance about the boy’s safety, her heart seemed to think otherwise.
WHOOSH
‘Why isn’t he waking up?’ Increasing the amount of life force, Yui forced herself to limit, but due to her small body, it became harder with each moment. “Haaa…Haaa…Master, he is not waking.”
Seeing the struggle of the child trying her best to help another person, Alisia’s mind shrouded in guilt, causing her to swiftly approach Ryuk.
With trembling hands, she too started to do the same.
“Is that child your disciple?” Veronica observed everything, then turned towards Seraphina, who stood calmly with her eyes fixed on Yui.
“Yes, isn’t she like me?” Seraphina said before continuing, which would have caused a reaction if it were any other day, “Sacrificing so much for her Dear, fufu~”
“S-sister, wouldn’t you stop Alisia?” Angelica, seeing Alisia using her own life force to help Ryuk, tried to call out to Veronica, who seemed unfazed by anything, even though she came here to retrieve them.
“Let her do whatever she wants, it’s after all her choice,” Veronica answered calmly, her composure even in this situation causing Angelica to bite her lips.
“You are giving the same answer again! She will die at this rate!” Angelica burst out, hearing the same answer she received when she proposed to help Alisia on the day she was banished from Ardoros.
Angelica’s eyes turned towards Alisia and the little girl. Both of their faces started to lose color as they burned through two percent of their life force.
Life Force is an inborn energy that flows through one’s veins to sustain vitality until the inevitable end, causing death.
Unlike Soul Energy, which binds one’s soul to the body, founded on the time of reincarnation, Life Force is formed after the body gets bonded by Soul Energy to provide nourishment to both body and soul.
In the normal sense, Soul Energy is a link and Life Force is something that maintains the link by providing energy to sustain that bond.
“Ughh!…Damn it,” Angelica gritted her teeth, seeing Alisia struggling.
SWISH
Swiftly closing her distance, arriving above the both of struggling people, she offered her hands before glaring at Veronica and shouting, “This is the reason why I never call you Elder Sister, You Damn Veronica!”
SWOOSH
A huge amount of green light surged out of Angelica’s body, directly bathing all three of the people lying on the ground: Ryuk, who was unconscious, and both sitting figures of Yui and Alisia.
“…..I see.” Finally understanding the reason why Angelica always referred to Alisia as Sister but not her, Veronica nodded, her eyes reflecting both of her sisters who were engaged in a battle between life and death just a moment ago.
None of them ever revealed their own feelings, having separate personalities, but at the end of the day, it all worked out somehow.
‘Come on, give at least a signal,’ Yui bathed with emerald aura, her amethyst eyes fixed on Ryuk who doesn’t seem to show any movement, did her best even after knowing about someone providing an enormous amount of life force from above.
‘It was all my fault, please, Child,’ Alisia’s eyes after so much time finally started to become wet, neither when she lost her Core, nor when she was alone to fend off this world ever her eyes showed weakness but right now, she blamed herself.
It was her who tried to keep her son away from the outside world, but in the end, everything found its way to him.
If he was aware of Devereaux Bloodline, this could have never happened.
It became her life’s regret.
‘I lost my Zenith Rank,’ Angelica bombarding a vast amount of life force which seemed suspicious from the outside.
It was impossible for anyone to have such an amount of naturally inborn energy.
‘Now, I’ve fallen to Middle Legendary,’ Angelica’s eyes started to become teary seeing her all hard work slowly crashing in front of her eyes.
Looking towards Ryuk’s lying body, her frustration visible due to her losses, but thinking about the ways to recover it, ‘You should have to take responsibility.’
Thump
Suddenly a soft yet vivid sound resonated throughout the place. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Ryuk, clearly understanding the source of this sound was his heart.
“Child—”
“T-thank god, You are safe!” Before Alisia could even utter a word, Yui hugged Ryuk’s lying body, causing her Master standing beside her to give an expected reaction.
“Congratulations for Saving your hubby, Disciple,” Seraphina nodded, feeling satisfied with the end result of the struggle her new disciple had to go through.
“W-what!?” Yui swiftly retreated back before realizing everyone was now able to see her.
Standing before hiding behind Seraphina, she stated, “Master, Why did you remove the Stealth?”
“Hehe, forgive me. Should have given some privacy,” Seraphina only laughed off, before gazing towards a direction in the empty space above the Heindal Continent, her eyes covered with clothes.
“We don’t have much time. Alisia, take your Child and also Free Laila now,” Veronica also felt something amiss in the surrounding, not that she cared, but her work was to bring back Ryuk.
“But,” Alisia’s dilemma was visible. Without Laila’s help, she will be helpless at Epic Rank. A missing Energy core was enough to cut off her all support she will need in Ardoros to support her Child.
Veronica understanding everything turned towards Angelica, who was looking downward with her dull eyes, grief of losing so much life force, ignoring her. She stated, “Give that Body to Alisia for using as Energy Core.”
“What! Why Would I!” Angelica’s eyes widened suddenly hearing Veronica’s words to give her Precious body to Alisia.
After all, it was her lifetime achievement.
“It’s Mother’s Orders, and don’t forget, You made it using her Essence,” Veronica turned towards Alisia, looking at her to make her also understand that she was never left alone, it was just how things were complicated for everyone to express themselves.
WHOOSH
“No! I will never give it!” Angelica’s Aura burst out, her anger surging seeing how even after losing so much of life force to help Alisia, now she had to sacrifice her life’s hard work like this.
SWISH
Her figure vanished without turning back, gritting her teeth feeling hatred rising not understanding why only she needs to compromise things what belonged to her, only so that her Sister can have it.
BANG!
Before she could cross the borders of Heindal Continent, her body was hurled towards the same position she disappeared, thrown freely before directly crashing on the ground.
BOOOM!
“Kughh!…” Angelica’s eyes widened, feeling a tremendous force hitting her body. She looked at Veronica, who stood without any movement before her eyes become blank.
The strength was prove of difference between Legendary Rank and Zenith.
Due to using the life force of her artificial body, Angelica’s rank fell by one rank, causing Veronica to overwhelm her within a blink of a moment.
⟨You break it, Veronica.⟩
Another voice reverted, no one seemed to look upward to observe the figure since the voice was very familiar—it was Angelica’s real body.
Slowly descending to the ground in a more pitiful state, seeing her lifetime’s hard work now broken like that, her anger surged. Still knowing the priorities, she moved to lift the fake body.
⟨I will make another one for her, don’t take it. This one has a unique personality.⟩
SWISH
Taking her artificial body, Angelica disappeared from there, not caring about others stopping her, knowing none of them were going to try anything this time.
Her eyes reflected hundreds of battleships arriving at Heindal Continent.
“Let’s go, Alisia. It’s time for us to leave,” Veronica moved towards Alisia who had thrown her bracelet, its gem enlarging to three meters, revealing a sleeping figure inside it.
CRACKLE
Before they could leave, space just a small distance from them started to tear.
A handsome shining in Crimson aura was visible coming out of empty space, making Seraphina recognize the figure, causing Alisia to clench Ryuk’s body tightly before Veronica placed her hand on her shoulder.
SWISH
All three of them vanished from there, leaving Heindal Continent to face off against the outside world’s invasion.
Hundreds of battleships had covered the whole airspace of Heindal Continent, not leaving a shadow to form on its land.
“Master, will Ryuk get that sword?” Instead of caring about the battleships which could turn whole Heindal into a bloodied land, Yui inquired about the sword secretly Seraphina had implanted in his body.
“Fufu~, you really care for him,” Seraphina lightened the mood while space in front of her slowly tore open.
SCREEEEECH!
Sharp sword intent cut through the space, revealing a figure slowly coming out of it. The silhouette’s body was shining in crimson aura, pure sword intent shrouding a human’s body.
“You came at the right time,” Seraphina lightly tilted her head, looking towards the very familiar figure, before glancing towards those hundreds battleships adding.
“It seems Heindal needs to tell the outside world why every strong person chooses this land for retirement, Ronen”
You can suggest anything you would like to see improvement in second volume, but from my side, I am changing some things.
which are
1. Splitting Chaps in half due to major reasons of Chaps being Costly for some readers, Not able to use Fast Pass, Feeling confused due to packed information
2. Try to keep flow of story much intent as Possible and also There will be 5 Years Time skip.
Ryuk is already 11 year ( Just a month and he will turn 12), So, After time skip he will be 18 Years, of course in Comma.
~ Spoiler but yeah, will continue from Tomorrow, will try to do my best in writing daily, Thanks you for your support till now.
