"That piece of shit crow!"
"What is Quagung planning?" Viben pinched his chin.
"Dunno, but I'm sure it's not anything good."
Out of all the Seven Beasts of Circles, Quagang, the 4th Beast of Circle iss one of the biggest pieces of shit I've ever met. An unfeeling, uncaring, four-eyed crow that's willing to do anything for its shady goals. It's even worse than Nafar.
While we were complaining, the conversation between them continued.
｢I can assure you that this will open up a portal to End Emptiness.｣
｢And why should I believe you?｣ Trikeus' eyes narrowed.
｢The very fact that you are here shows you have some semblance of belief in me.｣
｢Answer my question.｣
｢Alright.｣ The crow sighed. ｢This will indeed open up the way to End Emptiness. Once it does, we can go in and rescue Anthasia and Viben, assuming they are still alive. Well, they should be.｣
｢I see.｣ Trikeus' gaze softened. ｢You better not pull any stupid stunts.｣
｢You think I can?｣ The crow rolled its four eyes. ｢You've been working with us since the very beginning, overseeing every single part of it so that our plans would proceed smoothly and perfectly, without the slightest possibility of things going wrong. At this point, there's nothing I can do, even if I wanted to.｣
｢I hope you'll stay true to your words.｣
｢You have my word.｣
"So… she's not being deceived?"
Really? That crow is going to help her? Just like that?
"Seems like it." Vibe nodded in disbelief. "I have scrutinized the magic formation from every possible angle, yet I cannot find anything wrong with it."
"But no portal was ever opened to End Emptiness, was it?"
We wouldn't have missed one if it did appear.
"No. Did something go wrong then…?"
As if Viben's words were the cue, Trikeus started walking towards the centre of the magic formation. The core of the formation was empty except for a strange symbol inside it, as if it was reserved just for her.
After taking a deep breath, she crouched and rolled over, until she was lying on her back. Her taut body relaxed while she closed her eyes, making her look like a corpse.
When she opened her eyes again, the crow flew towards her while grasping a broadsword in its talons and hovered above her.
"What… are they doing?"
"…"
The moment I asked that, the crow released the sword.
"Noooooooooo!"
The following set of scenes was disgustingly detailed.
The sword fell down, and as if thrown by an expert at the peak of their realm, it pierced straight through Trikeus' chest.
｢Ugh.｣ She eked out a low groan.
The smell of blood wafted in the air, while a large amount of blood spurted out and pooled at the ground below.
"That-"
"She won't die just from that." Viben held my arm, which made me realise that we could move now.
"So what?!" I shook off his arm. "This still doesn't give them right to just stab her!"
You don't let someone clip your arm just because you can regrow it! Only an idiot would do that.
I looked back, and the magical formation below Trikeus started drinking her blood with voracious thirst, like a starving goblin which hadn't drank anything for 3 years. The formation started glowing with a crimson hue. The air surrounding us trembled, making the humans and demons exclaim in awe.
"Ahh… I see what they're doing." Viben spoke.
"What?"
"She's using the magic formation to turn her very lifeforce into mana."
"Wha?! That's insane!"
"No." He shook his head. "That's love."
The words I was going to say vanished without a trace, and only then did I understand why Trikeus was doing this.
All her actions, were for me.
Back then, during the time of the First Holy War, she was my partner in fights. Our bond ran deeper than that of mere friends.
We weren't like a contracted beast and its tamer, or a Dragon and its rider; we were partners in the truest sense of the word. We had laughed together, cried together, faced life-threatening situations together.
It was our duty to protect each other.
And yet, back then, blinded by my fervour to exact vengeance for my lover, I had abandoned her and entered End Emptiness.
I had no right to refute her actions, because I would have done the same for her.
My brain understood the logic behind that, but I couldn't accept it. So what if she was doing this for me? I did what I did so that she could live a normal life. But here she was, sacrificing that very life to bring me back.
And so, with bated breath and choking voice, I looked back at the scene transpiring before us.
After the grand chamber was filled with mana fuelled by Trikeus' lifeforce, the formation hungrily gobbled it up. A ripple in space formed in the air. It expanded and reverberated until it started turning into a teleportation portal.
However-
｢Now.｣ The crow muttered with a small voice.
With its words as the signal, four hooded figures took out crossbows from their robes and took aim.
"Wait- what?" My scream turned into a question as the arrows fired by the figures pierced the crow.
"…" Beside me, Viben wordlessly frowned, which meant he had some inkling to what was going on.
Blood flowed from the wounds of the crow, and following the laws of nature, the blood dropped down on the wide-eyed Triekus as well as the formation beneath her.
The formation, just like with Trikeus' blood, hungrily gulped down the crow's blood.
Contrary to my expectations, small sparks crackled on top the formation, and its crimson hue turned into azure.
｢What should we do now, Lorad Quagung?｣ The leader of the group asked.
｢You just angered an Ancient Beast.｣ The crow calmly looked down on Trikeus, despite its wounds. ｢So get ready for your glorious deaths.｣
｢What?｣
｢YOU IGNORANT FOOLS!｣ Trikeus roared with the might of a thousand beasts, her space-shattering voice bringing everyone down on their knees.
The shockwave from her roar turned into wind blades as they hacked the humans and demons to death.
｢W-why…｣ One of them looked up at the crow, but the latter didn't even spare him a glance.
Some of those wind blades headed towards the crow, but it easily dodged them, causing more of its blood to fall on the formation and being consumed.
"W-what is he doing?"
I could not understand; what was the goal of this shitty crow? Why did it allow them to shoot at it with arrows?
"It's usurping the control of the formation." Viben sighed exasperatedly.
Trikeus extracted the sword stabbing her chest with her claws and threw it aside. Her body's healing capabilities should have healed her wound within moments, but fresh blood continued to flow out of it.
"That sword…"
Did it have a special ability which made its wound unhealable?
I don't like this; I don't like this one bit. After all, it reminded me of a horrible event. An event that no human should have to experience.
My heart was gripped by an uncontrollable fear as the sounds I was hearing vanished. I could feel my body tremble, and a sudden urge to turn my head overpowered me.
I could not do it; I simply could not bear to witness another of my beloved's death again.
"Don't look away." Just then, Viben gripped my hand and my trembling stopped.
The fear faded away and I gasped for air, making me realise that I had stopped breathing.
"I-I'm sorry." I eked out, but I didn't let go of his hand.
Ironic, isn't it? It was none other than my greatest foe's presence which brought peace to my mind and made me feel safe.
"I know how you feel, but you must watch till then end." He gazed into my eyes for some moments, and then turned back to the scene. "Besides, it's not over yet."
I stiffly nodded and turned back.
After checking the wound on her chest, Trikeus looked back at the crow and bellowed.
｢So much for you word, huh?!｣
｢As the saying between humans goes, 'Promises are made to be broken'.｣
｢You are associating with the wrong humans!｣ Trikeus rolled her eyes. ｢What are you planning?｣
｢Something which doesn't concern you.｣ The crow replied back to her.
｢Oh yeah?｣ Trikeus flapped her wings and raced towards the crow.
That hot-headed idiot! She should have escaped! The crow might be weaker than her in pure physical combat, but he was still a Beast of the Circle.
Trikeus opened her maw and bit down on the crow's wing, ripping it apart. However, contrary to my expectations, the crow didn't even resist and let her take away its wing.
What was this bastard up to?