The piercing pain in his head lingered albeit at a lesser degree. He panted and looked at Edward gratefully as cold sweat drenched his back.
"Thanks," Yu whispered breathlessly and held on to Edward.
"Go. Elise and Eugene are there," Edward pointed towards their direction and pushed Yu.
"What about you?"
"Don't worry about me," Edward smiled and started to get up.
Yu grabbed Edward's arm and stopped him. He shook his head.
"We'll go together."
Edward wanted to brush Yu away but he hesitated. The latter's deep gray eyes shone with determination. It was impossible for Edward to reject Yu's words.
Their eyes locked for only a brief second before they understood each other's intentions. With their weight against each other, they rose to their feet. Edward winced as pain flared up his side. Yu furrowed his eyebrows when he felt Edward wincing.
"I'll get Greysen. You get Cenric," Edward said with a wry smile.
Yu nodded and they detached from each other. He stumbled towards Cenric. Although he was not frozen in spot from the dense energy like before, it was still oppressing that he had difficulty walking. He finally reached Cenric, panting.
Cenric was struggling to move his limbs. His heightened perception made him more susceptible to energy interference. He tried to collect his own magical energy but his concentration was cut short by the buffeting energy before it could coalesce.
"Cenric, come on," Yu reached out to Cenric who was kneeling on the ground.
Yu had almost touched Cenric when they felt another source of magical energy. He reflexively turned to the source and saw a ghastly light glowing from the wooden dwelling.
Frenetic chanting in the Old Language reverberated through the air. A greenish glow from the magic circle underneath Fulton illuminated his angular face from below, creating a sinister look from the green highlights. His black robes flapped in accordance to the waves of magic energy; in his hand was a twisted, charred staff, while a piece of parchment was in the other.
The staff in his hand disintegrated and was absorbed into the magic circle. Runes clicked and the spell was released. Fulton's knees slammed into the ground, his face pale. However, a smile was etched on his face. He had succeeded.
The large liana monster stirred, as if waking up from its temporary slumber. A magic circle appeared underneath the monster together with the one that appeared beneath Fulton. As both spells were released, the liana monster screeched. Runes shot up to its stems and imbued it with the Laws of Magic. A similar rune appeared on the back of Fulton's palm.
Yu frowned at the sudden development. He could feel a connection between the liana monster and Fulton. The muscles in his body tensed as he watched the liana monster regain its vigor. Its stem flailed awkwardly in the air as Fulton tried to gain control over the monster.
Warning bells went off in Yu's mind as the scene unfolded in front of him. He instinctively knew that he had to kill Fulton in order to stop the monster. Yu glanced around until a cold gleam caught his attention. A steel arming sword lay on the ground beside the kneeling Cenric. Yu lunged over and grabbed the sword without thinking.
"Hey--" Cenric who had partially recovered from his stunned state was startled by the Yu's sudden movement. However, what stopped his words mid-sentence was not the unexpected move from Yu.
White light enveloped Yu. Together with that light, the emblem carved onto the blade of the sword glowed. Yu brought the sword up at and looked at the emblem in wonder. Something familiar clicked in his mind as the sword vibrated in his hands.
That was a sign that a person was highly compatible with a knight's sword. The common understanding among knights was that an untainted person could trigger resonance with a knight's sword, since the swords are the representation of purity. That person would be blessed by the deities and able to perform feats.
However, such compatibilities were very rare. Even Cenric did not get such a response from his own sword when he first held it. He watched in amazement with his mouth agape until the light faded out. It was like a miracle.
Yu blinked a few times and regained his bearings. The white light that was pure magic rejuvenated his entire being. His muscles felt energized while his previous fears and anxiety were washed away.
His gaze fell onto the enemy mage that was still struggling to control the liana monster. The light in Yu's eyes changed as he stared resolutely at Fulton and the monster that was flailing its stems.
Yu widened his legs and bent his left leg forwards. His sword lowered behind him as his torso lowered. The muscles in his body were tensed like a drawn bow and arrow. His grip on his sword handle tightened until his knuckles turned white.
Yu could feel a faint wind blowing against the back of his neck. This sent tingles through his nerves throughout his body. Realizing that he was too tensed, he let out a long and deep breath.
The burning determination in Yu's eyes changed into deep whirlpools of apathy. His grip on his sword relaxed for only a split second before he shot out towards Fulton. He was so quick that he looked like a blur to the eyes of a normal person.
Fulton felt a sudden chill and looked up to see a figure rushing towards him. He panicked at the sudden change and frantically ordered the liana monster to protect him. The liana quickly complied and whipped its stems towards Yu. The woody liana stems slapped the ground beside Yu but missed by a huge distance.
"Damn it!" Fulton cursed.
He had not fully integrated with the liana monster and could not control it well. With his life at stake, Fulton concentrated hard and controlled the liana monster to his will as if the stems were an extension of his limbs. Blood trickled down from his nose from the mental exertion.
The liana stems got more coordinated and were striking closer to Yu. Soon, Yu had to actively avoid the stems. He only needed to think to evade and his body moved instinctively. It was a strange disconnected feeling but it was not the time to dwell upon it. Oddly enough, he did not feel the strain on his muscles like what happened in his previous fight with the corrupted wolf.
Fulton was increasingly frantic as the distance between him and Yu lessened rapidly. His chaotic mind did not help his condition as it reduced his control of the liana monster. Sensing this, a burst of energy filled Yu's legs as he made the final rush towards Fulton. Liana stems collided in mid-air as they missed Yu once more. He broke through the final line of offensive liana stems, only to be met with more stems that crisscrossed each other-- forming a barrier between Yu and Fulton.
This was the final defense mechanism of the liana monster. After the spell, it was bound to its human master and instinctively knew that when its master dies, it dies too.
This, however, did not deter Yu. He sidestepped the barrier and thrust his sword between the gaps of the stems. Unfortunately, he only managed to slightly wound Fulton on his shoulder. Yu quickly pulled the sword back before the gap closed in to trap his sword.
The barrier took up precious time and the other stems were back to assault Yu. However, Fulton was distracted by his wounded shoulder and the movement of the stems were discoordinated. Yu avoided them without much effort and he went in for the kill once more.
Yu stepped on one of the stems and jumped from one to another in a series of steps to bypass the barrier. He drew from his experience during the fight against the wolves from before: rapid change in direction mid-air to confuse his enemy. He finally reached near Fulton's back where the barrier was the most sparse and thrust his sword towards the latter's heart.
Fulton realized that he did not have a chance against the youth and resorted to a final trick. He pulled out a gem-like seed from the inner pocket of his robes. Unfortunately, he was a second too late when the tip of Yu's sword stabbed through his heart from his back.
Blood spurt out from Fulton's chest as Yu pulled his sword out. Fulton's body went limp and fell onto his back with his eyes wide open. He saw the youth standing over him, his face expressionless.
"Heh..." Fulton chuckled. He was defeated by a mere boy. However, at that moment, the boy did not look like a boy at all-- he looked like a seasoned executioner.
Yu did not let his guard down as he watched Fulton breathe his last. There was also the liana monster that was not dead yet. After Fulton's death, the liana monster screeched, its death throes echoing through the forest. Its stems flailed one last time, attempting to clutch at the last straws of life. Finally, the stems withered and dried out. It was then still.
All was silent except for Yu's soft panting. The adrenaline left his body and he felt some weakness in his limbs. Fortunately, it was not as bad as before. He could still stand.
Yu looked at Fulton's body. It suddenly dawned upon him that he took a life. He felt that he should feel something, even if it was hate or relief from eliminating a threat. However, there was none. The act of killing was natural, like waking up from sleep. He frowned but shrugged the thought off. There was still some unfinished business.
The dimensional rift was still open, but it was gradually closing as nature took its course. Yu took one last look at the crimson eye from the other side of the rift. This time, he was not stunned because the energy fluctuations were reduced with the closing rift. Also, he was blessed by the white magic from the sword.
The creature had witnessed the whole fight between Yu and Fulton. Something that changed within the boy piqued the interest of the creature. It happened with the combination of both the Crimson Gloom and the blessing from the sword.
It continued to lock gazes with Yu until the rift sealed itself. The image of a youth with red hair and dark gray eyes burned into its memory. It may not have succeeded in entering the human world, but it had witnessed a seedling that would eventually grow into a tree that could potentially impede their agenda. This was important news to the Zetearoph homeworld.
More silence ensued after the rift finally closed. The tense atmosphere was released as everyone can finally take a breather.
Yu sat with a thud. He closed his eyes and gave a long sigh. It was finally over.