Malignus became enraged at the sigh of someone holding his ground against him that easily and yet he was curious about his abilites. Hector saw his enemy as a child like man who wants to be more than he is. Both got strength and confidence out of their opponent. A being out of this world with absurd powers against a human with sheer will and determination.
"You want to challenge me? Fine, I'll take my time with you. Be assured, you will regret your words!"
"I regretted a lot of things in my life, but certainly not this one. Go ahead and show me what you can do with that weapon. And I'm counting on your support, lad."
He walked straight toward Malignus with seemingly bare hands.
" You' ve used up all your weapons already? Ah, you really think you stand a chance against me... Remorse your decision and fall at my feet!"
"You really should talk less, fella."
Leo noticed that he had his hands in a position as if he were holding a sword. The normal eye couldn't see it, but the wind shaped a blade in his hand. Malignus too recognized Hector's plan in the last moment. With one big blow he blocked his attack and lunged for the next swing. Immediately Leo faced him and hit him in the back. As the sword slashed, he noticed his blade going out of control and merely brushing against him.
("Is that what's interfering? I can't hit his vital areas, some kind of force is working against it. He has a passive defense, I can't pierce him.")
"Hmm...He's a tough nut to crack, the shell does whatever it wants. We won't get through like that. We found an advantage rather than a weakness...Well, I know what to do. Give me a moment and hold off until I give the signal."
Leo stood back and watched as Hector held his ground against Malignus. He dodged the gateways as though he figured out their pattern. Malignus' ability was thus to be of no help against this opponent.
"Tsk, pesky little bug. You' re resistance is futile, it's only a matter of time until your stamina runs out. You can attack as many times as you like, in the end I, Emperor Malignus, am the victor. If you bow to me and surrender the fight, I may grant you a quick death."
"Thank you for the offer but I have to decline. Your arrogance is quite annoying, ya know."
Their battle carried on, Hector managed to get hits but without real penetration the strikes had no effect. He himself suffered some blows, the wounds started to bleed, but he didn't stop. Hector looked like he was having fun in their fight, battling with no pressure at all and outshining his opponent in terms of technique.
"Are you done with your child''s play? I wonder why beings like you can't just realize that they have no chance? How come they don't just surrender against those who are more powerful and far superior? If it''s always been like this then this world sure wasted a lot of damned time."
" Quite the contrary, that's what makes the whole thing exciting after all. It's all the more rewarding when you emerge as the winner in a losing battle. Besides, there was plenty of chances to shut you up. Now it's your turn boy, just hit it as hard as you can."
Leo recognized what his intention really was with the exchange of blows. The attacks of his wind sword which seemed to bounce off simply lodged themselves in various spots, awaiting an big impact. Hector knew they stood no chance by attacking head-on, and so he relied on Leo to see and carry out his groundwork.
("Let's hope this works.")
He lashed out with his sword and steered a powerful gust of wind toward Malignus.
"Was that your plan? To hit me with a measly breeze?"
"Say that again in a second."
The moment the wind touched the armor it became the igniter for Hector's strikes. The pressure points exploded from the wind's force, shattering the golden armor. Hidden behind his armor was Malignus body but rather a skeleton body. His eyes glowed red as he went crazy about the damage he just suffered.
"Aaargh what have you done?! You pathetic insects dared to ruin a part of me? Outrageous, this can't be, you have to be exterminated!"
However, his outrage should find a quick end.
"Time that you shut your mouth."
Stepping up from behind, Ryu and Hiyun severed the bones and split him in two. The portals closed and the enemy was slain.
"Wow, that was one tough opponent. If only his mouth had matched his skill as a fighter..."
"Master, you just want to keep fighting. Rather, let's be glad that it's over."
As the three of them were conversing, Leo recalled some of Noxu's words.
("They are to be the transition between Evos and here. To symbolize both powers and both possibilities. Ultimately, they are supposed to meet my standards; their purpose entails more than just the apparent.")
("How could I forget?! This isn't him or has Noxus failed...no, it was too easy").
All of a sudden, the bones turned into a black mass shooting high into the sky and forming into a huge ball. The black turned to gold as the ball lit up until it started to crack. With an immensely loud scream, the ball shattered and revealed what no one could have imagined. A huge Wyvern, composed purely of golden bones, was flying in front of them. It possessed four arms, each equipped with a different weapon: sword, spear, axe, scythe. The legs featured razor-sharp blades that aimed straight at the victims beneath it. The eye sockets lit up brightly with light energy spewing from its mouth, pulverizing the houses around them.
"What's this now? I thought we won..."
"Don't be disappointed Hiyun, let's just think of it as a trial for our skills."
"I don't know if Master is delusional or optimistic."
"A tad of both, hahaha. Well, does anyone have a plan on how we're going to get this thing down to the ground?"
Everyone looked up in awe at their new powerful opponent. With another roar, it entered a nosedive and sped toward the group. Everyone moved out of the way and watched as the creature left a path of devastation through the city.
"Ellie and Vega! Tell me where they are!"
"We moved them to the outskirts of town. Probably the safest place to be given our situation."
" About time we came up with a solution to this problem. Anyone have any suggestions? No? I guess we'll have to improvise. Let's test how tough it really is. You two, follow me and watch."
Hector got things started and charged toward the assault. At just the right moment, he struck the giant creature's bones. In spite of his strength, the blade bounced right off.
"Tsk, this is going to be pretty difficult. I doubt we can attempt the same thing again. Somehow we'll have to pin him to the ground. Even if he can use his weapons we'll at least stand a chance to fight him."
"I don't think that's necessary. Look!"
The earth trembled as the Wyvern landed right in front of them. The giant weapons immediately swung at them. While they managed to dodge, the next attack followed straight away. It was continuous attacks non stop. Leo tried to use magic to attack from different sides with the others, but to no avail. All they achieved was to keep their defenses up.
"It's pointless, his bones are impenetrable. Surely there must be some way to damage this thing."
"I have an idea, but we would need its first form to do it. That light energy is definitely going to hurt. Leo, you wouldn't happen to have the ability to recreate something like that, would you?"
"He was in control of space, the energy pouring out was extremely pure and potent. That kind of thing is not in my skill set."
"So still no good news huh. Pretty soon we'll have to rely on luck."
Within the next moment, a fireball fired from the sky and shot directly onto the creature's skull. While no lasting damage resulted, it was dazed for a moment.
"Hahaha, so all you have to do is to ask for it."
Leo knew straight away who was in charge of this, which is exactly what made him very angry. Yoreu darted from the sky shooting his feathers in the direction of the Wyvern.
"You idiot, I told you to stay out of this! This thing is far beyond your capabilities."
"Hey, do you complain to everyone who tries to help you? You may not like it, but your companion has given us a breather. I doubt he'll listen to you until that brute lies dead on the ground."
"That's the problem, he does what he wants without a second thought. One carelessness and he's the one on the floor!"
"...Anyway, he has restored a bit of my fighting spirit. All right, it may not be injured but at least distracted sufficiently to plot our own offensive. If we can't inflict damage directly then we shall first destroy its weapons. We' ll rely on the bird's help."
Hector's plan was a solid start to turn the tide of the battle. Leo could barely keep his eyes on Yoreu, the Wyvern snapping at his tail only to miss by a hair's breadth. This allowed them a chance to partially take him out.
Hector's blade clashed with the enormous blade. Nevertheless, he kept trying until he was gritting his teeth in annoyance.
("Hmph, what a tough one, I can't create any pressure points. Well, I'll just have to show all my cards.")
His wind blade that was barely visible until now manifested as a pure white sword. On his next strike, the weapon left a white stripe. It extended to the other end of the wyvern's arm. Then, suddenly, it cracked in two, causing the Wyvern to cry out.
Meanwhile, Ryu tried to wear down the spear with his positioning. This caused the weapon to constantly crash into the ground or the hard walls, yet it showed no signs of damage. Seeing his masters actions, he ceased his attacks.
("It seems there really is no other choice...so be it.")
He cut into his hand and fed his blood to his sword. By using the life stealing ability, he strengthened the blade to a very high degree up to the point it glowed red.
("Do not fail me.")
The life stealing blade had been fully charged, including both rigor and edge. The two weapons met with a powerful slash. The spear got cut in half by the glowing sword.
Simultaneously, Hiyun ignited his magic fused weapon, setting the arm of the wyvern ablaze. Different from his blade, the fire erupted and began to burn off the arm. All that remained was molten metal.
"You idiots, I told you not to just use this stuff!"
"But Master, you also fought with your full arsenal. Your students should follow your example. There wasn't a better approach."
"I know that you are right but a teacher like his students never suffer. You know the consequences of these methods. Let's just give the boy a hand."
"That's not needed, have a look at him."
"Hehehe, at last he is awake."
Leo stopped worrying much and devoted himself to the fight. The scythe posed no problem for him. Rather, he tried to use it against its user. Due to the size and width of the weapon, the Wyvern had little control over his attacks. Its swings were too lengthy and imprecise. The battle of blows continued till Leo was able to steer the scythe towards the bones. Their weapons couldn't harm the golden pieces, yet its own weapons delivered damage. It missed another blow, sending the weapon hurtling toward itself. He accelerated the slash by using a blast wave to shatter one of the ribs. The Wyvern, who had been dealing with Yoreu up until then, turned away from his rival and confronted his opponents on the ground. It let out a loud scream right before hundreds of portals slowly opened up next to the creature as well as surrounding the group.
"Uh oh, this might be a little tricky. What did you say again, he is controlling the "space"?"
"To some extent, though, I didn't expect this. We have to move away from the portals immediately. If I am right, they are now bridges for energy. The ray of light goes through one portal into another. It's one infinite attack, the energy will either shoot through the gantries forever or eventually kill its target."
The portals not only allowed the energy to pass through but accelerated its flow. Unfortunately for them, additional portals would open no matter where they were running. The blast was always right behind them, even physical things such as wood or stone made only made things worse. Different from the previous energy, the light didn't destroy the matter but passed through it. This meant that narrow alleys turned out to be death traps. It was impossible to predict where the attack would come from if portals and energy weren't visible at all for a short time.
Meanwhile, blasts on the outskirts of the city were becoming louder and louder. The still shocked Ellie was ordered to stay in one of the houses. Although she was angry at her weakness, she had to worry about Vega instead. Her skin was beginning to scorch and return to its original state. Leo allowed her a bit of time, but the damage returning so soon was not planned.
"Fuck, what can I do? I don't know any healing magic, hell I don't know any proper magic anyway! Why am I just so helpless? How am I supposed to help her?!"
Then she heard loud growling coming from the direction of the city gate. Quick footsteps followed by panting rushed towards her. As she opened the door, she saw the humans gradually turning into monsters. To her horror, numerous pairs of eyes stared right back at her. These creatures charged toward the house, attempting to break in. Ellie shoved the table and chairs in front of the entrance and grabbed a knife. With their claws, they broke the windows on the left and right. The windows were too small for their bodies and yet somehow they managed to get their heads in. Glass stuck deep into their skin but all they craved was the blood of their victim.
"Fuck off you filthy critters. I've got other things to worry about!"
The scramble outside the door pressed the creatures deeper and deeper against the wall. The glass of the broken windows rammed itself further and further into their necks until the severed heads rolled into the house. Blood ran down the window frame all the way into the room. Increasing numbers of voices shrieked outside the front door until they managed to slowly push the door open. Their murderous wild eyes stared into the face of their victim. Ellie didn't know what to do. She glanced back at Vega and then ahead.
"Shit, shit, shit! I don't want to die! Come on Ellie, think of something! This can't be it! If I'm gonna go out it won't be without a fight!"
With last determination she awaited the inevitable fight. Then the voices began to cease. A sword emerged from the head of the monster in front of the door. The body sank to the ground when someone knocked on the wood.
"What kind of mess are you making here? You are truly helpless without Leo."
Ellie knew the voice. It was coming from a man she could barely stand.
"I'm not! I would have thought of something by now!"
" Whatever you say. Now open the door already, or do you want to stay in there forever?"
Ellie pushed the furniture aside and let Volt enter the house.
"Looks cozy in here. Back then we didn't have a house this big, I'm kind of jealous of its owners."
"Why are you here Volt?"
"Hey, don't I deserve a thanks first? I was just going to look for stuff of my parents in the city, but I wasn't expecting that.
It's him again isn't it? What has he done this time? A walking package of danger...really. By the way, who's that back there?"
"An old friend of Leo's I assume. She's gravely injured and nobody knows what to do. Leo managed to restore her appearance but the wounds are returning fast. I'm sure she's on the verge of dying again."
Volt was looking at her face and became thoughtful.
" Say, what's her name?"
" It's Vega. Is that really important now?!"
"More important than you think. Judging from the face and the armor, I have a hunch. You guys met her in a fortress didn't you? The way you are looking tells me enough, so it really is her."
"You know her? How?"
"After I fled this place, her father took me in for a while. I remember I was frail and weak at the time. I spent some time practicing with her and the soldiers. Eventually, I got the offer to remain there as a soldier. The conditions were good, it was a generous deal, but I declined. I simply am not made to live with others. Now, tell me what exactly is happening with her, perhaps I can repay the favor to her old man."
Ellie told him everything Leo had done to her to keep her in this condition.
"Hmm, nearly half of it sounds impossible. From what I understood, he 'lend' her a piece of vital energy cause he couldn't do any thing more. There might still be a chance for her. Hopefully I can give her a piece of life energy back, my sword may be able to merge a piece of its essence into her. One way or another, her time is almost up so let's give it a shot."
Volt sliced his hand, this was the same ritual Ryu performed to activate his blade. The weapon absorbed the blood and took on the same glow. Right then, Volt grabbed around the sword and extracted a glowing red sphere.
He aimed the floating object at Vega. It dissipated into Vega's body while the blade lost its glow. The gradually apparent wounds stopped spreading, her breathing getting louder.
"Seems like it worked. It was quite the favor, now she''s carrying the spilled blood of hundreds of people. Actually, if it wasn't for her father, I probably wouldn't have been able to do it, so it's okay."
"Does that mean that the essence of your blade, that sphere, is the blood of your victims? What a crude strength."
" View it any way you want. It' time for this mess to end, you stay here and hope she wakes up. Before you talk back, you should reflect on your utility against this opponent. Besides, you're not quite as useless as I said, if it wasn't for you, they probably would have eaten her long ago."
"If not for your appearance, we both would have been eaten by now. In the end, I was of little use after all."
"Man, and I wanted to be nice for once. If you feel that way then think about what you're capable of outside of combat. You''ll find something, wallowing in self-pity doesn't do any good."
He left them with these words and made his way into the heart of the city. The houses further ahead had all been demolished, he kept the Wyvern in his sights as a bright beam suddenly flew towards him.
"Watch out, don't let it touch you!"
The elf's words were too late. The beam suddenly accelerated, aiming directly at Volt. Unable to react, he let the attack happen. Once it touched him, it suddenly dissipated like he was immune to it.
"How is this possible? Who are you?"
"Someone this light can't seem to hurt. I guess you belong to him, to Leo, don't you? Don't worry, I'm here to help this fool. I have a feeling wherever he goes, chaos follows. So, what is it with this stuff? No doubt it's coming from that giant critter."
"Deadly to us, harmless to you. Spreads like wildfire on contact, it' best to dodge or like you...watch."
"Found any weakness in this thing?"
"Not really, the angrier it gets the less you can really look for one. We did hurt it to some extent but it doesn't seem to have any beneficial effect as you can see."
"How about feeding it its own medicine? You might want to try that."
"Neither had a chance nor time. There' s no end to its portals, there isn't much of a plan really."
"Portals? Like what, is space his power?"
"Hard enough to believe. That's why it's really difficult to get close with those attacks."
"I see, then I'm something like your wild card huh? I mean, somehow this creature has to die, to slay such an enemy is arguably the greatest accomplishment ever. Any ideas on how to draw these things towards you?"
"I don't think I have any way of figuring that out. From the looks of it, those kinds of problems are made for you."
"I guess that's true, it's not the first time I've been the exception, this time in a good way I guess. Now let's see what can be done.
Volt approached one of the portals, immediately energy beams blasted out and targeted him. However, they couldn't harm the swordsman, they shattered into sparks before they reached his body. As he looked through it, he saw Leo together with Hector and Hiyun evading the portals attacks. Once he touched it, it turned out to be a wall; there was no way to pass through. With this knowledge, he took his sword and cut the portal itself. The object shattered and all light vanished,
("So it works like a mirror huh? It takes too long to search and destroy them all, I think I have an idea.")
Further ahead, the three of them were clueless, with no time to think. Their opponent himself posed little threat but it was impossible for them to get close to him. Despite his master's warning, Hiyun risked an attempt to steer the attacks back to its creator. This effort almost backfired, as the direct path was filled with additional portals spawning new rays. Despite the numerous incoming beams, he somehow reached their opponent and directed the light right at the bones. Once it touched the skeleton, the Wyvern screamed loudly and dropped to the ground.
"His own power has become his undoing. If only we knew its origin we would have far fewer troubles. Using portals to travel is arguably the most powerful thing there is."
All of a sudden, her opponent illuminated. What followed was the worst thing imaginable. Its severed weapons reattached themselves to the skeleton. Now there was another big problem for them, to avoid both the light and the attacks of the creature itself.
"Are you kidding me? That destructive power is for healing him? Can' t something just go our way for once?"
"No time to sulk, mind where you're going. They're transforming!"
The attacks abruptly stopped heading in their direction. All the energy gathered in one place and flew into the middle of the city. Suddenly, portals that were still near them disintegrated. Like a painting on a wall, they were torn apart and dissolved. A short distance away, it lit up brightly right before an eruption shook the ground. It was then that their opponent suddenly became extremely enraged. The eye sockets lit up as the Wyvern chose to ignore Leo and instead speed towards the site of the blast.
"I suppose this is our moment, go after him. As long as he's distracted we'll have to do some damage somehow!"
They followed the trail of destruction till they witnessed the giant creature fighting Ryu and Volt. Hector was intruiged by the swordsman
"Oh, just look at him. His posture is excellent, his balance almost perfect."
"Master, you can rate him when we have won."
The portals disintegrated into white sparks flying towards their creator. The reason became clear to everyone very quickly, as the golden protective shell was fading. The essence and energy of the portals acted as a kind of regeneration. Still, before they could blend into the skeleton, Volt cracked it deeply. Upon the impact of his weapon, all the sparks faded away and the golden glow disappeared even faster.
"Seems he didn't like me destroying his works."
"This is our chance, let's put an end to this critter."
Everyone charged at the creature at once. Yoreu, who had to recover in midair flew toward his opponent yet again but this time he suddenly halted.
("Stop Yoreu, you have done enough. Your aid was of great significance, but from now on you would only be a risk to our safety. No tricks or talking back this time, thy service herewith ends for the time being!")
Suddenly, a light blue glowing ring became visible on the bird's neck. Its eyes took on that color and the Phoenix faded out of the sky all at once. Then Leo too assisted the group in eliminating their opponent. The battle went on for several minutes until absolutely no trace of portals or gantries remained. The golden glow of the skeleton and its weapons had evaporated. Then suddenly it tried to spew out more energy, but nothing was forming in its skull.
Its weapons destroyed, the bones cracked deeply just about to crumble. Everyone struck the creature a powerful blow as the monster's skeleton shattered and it collapsed in on itself. It was in those moments that a loud voice rang out.
"I failed you my liege, my resolve was not sufficiently strong."
The remnants of their opponent all at once turned a dark red glow and vanished into thin air. That was the end of the battle, leaving the city and its residents as the cost. Despite the knowledge of the aftermath and Malignus deeds, there was at least some reason to be relieved.
"Whew, what a close call. Things almost fell apart had it not been for this talented young man showing up. So what do you say, want to be my student? The conditions are good."
"How good can they be if you nearly failed against that critter? I'll pass, I do best on my own."
"What a loose mouth though, he is talented enough to back it up. For once, I have to admit defeat."
" Good to meet people who know when to give up. Now, which one of you is responsible for this battle? If I had to guess it would be this fool over there, whoever follows him only ends up in difficulties that usually someone else has to deal with.
"Your flattery is too much volt. I must admit that you were the leading actor, but a rather unfriendly one. Tell me, how is it that you're here?"
"Charm can have many roots. As you know, I want to erase all the traces of my parents. They once lived here with me, that' s reason enough to look for remains. Needless to say, I didn't expect anything like this."
"Anyway, you have our thanks, your skills have been the core for this victory, young swordsman."
"Young? Ha, a compliment which no longer does me justice. This problem has been taken care of but more may quickly follow. Your companion was practically ambushed by monsters. Apart from being demoralized, she's okay."
"What about Vega? Is she still alive?"
"Just as I thought, it is her. She is still alive though I don't know how much longer or even how in the first place. My little experiment was successful, but I don't know if it's good enough. She probably needs further vital essence, but my capacity is quite exhausted. I don't want my sword to lose its abilities, someone else who knows life stealing in both forms must be found."
"You filled it with the sword's essence? Your expertise must be very high, few people are capable of doing that."
"Hoho, now you've piqued Ryu's interest. He's been familiar with the technique since he was little, maybe you can learn from each other."
"I doubt there is any need."
"Haha, this is not about necessity but curiosity. Plus you never stop learning or do you have all the knowledge in the world about life stealing? Give it a chance at least, once he''s interested in something he doesn''t give up so easily. For now, let's take a closer look at this woman's condition."
When they saw the mountain of corpses in front of the house, inquisitive eyes fixed on Volt anew.
"This is your work isn't it? Say, how about a training match hereafter, I really want to see your full potential."
"As long as it's against an opponent worthy of the time I'm up for it. Likewise, I am interested in the strength of you."
Just outside the house, they suddenly heard Ellie discussing.
"Stay here, you can barely walk! Your wounds haven't healed yet, and you don't know what condition you're in!"
When they opened the door Vega was standing right in front of them.
"Hello miss, seems like you are doing better than we thought. Since we don't know how exactly this came to be we would like your cooperation."
"I don't need assistance, my body works as I want it to. I would rather know the very reason why I am still alive in the first place."
"What a coincidence, these two are wondering the same thing. Your condition is most likely unstable, any strain poses a danger. Why don't you just sit there and rest. Surely all questions can be answered then."
After she settled down, she accepted his proposal and had her questions answered. The answers, however, triggered very mixed feelings in her. Once she knew who was responsible she let her feelings roam free.
"What are you doing Leo?! When did you get to decide my fate?"
"What are you talking about?! Are you out of your mind?! You would have been dead, DEAD, of course I'll try to save you if I still see the chance! The soldiers had long been dead, there was no hope for them!"
"I deprived them of that hope, I was incapable of protecting them. That's why I should have died together along with them, but now it's their leader, of all people, who is the only one to survive."
" For fuck's sake, drop your pride in your authority! Dissociate yourself from this bullshit about following them to their deaths."
"Bullshit?! Who gives you the right to portray honor as bullshit?! Many warriors, many leaders died this way and didn't regret it until the end! Do not speak like this if you have no idea!"
" I have no idea huh?! Believe it or not, I too once put the lives of soldiers before my own, would rather have died in their place, but that' s not how it works! Stop being a coward saying that you should have died with them!"
"What's cowardly about it?! It's a sign of loyalty, of passion from their leader who followed them to the very end!"
"I can't believe this! Passion? Is that so? Then you should know one thing: The reason I found you still drawing breath was because your soldiers remained faithful to you to the death, lying on top of you in the hope of absorbing the damage with their bodies so that you might hopefully survive! Nothing is more cowardly than to wish you were dead now! All that you would achieve is to betray the wish and the will of your followers! I am not your judge, I am just informing you about your situation. I don't care if you like my words or not but you yourself already know that there is truth in them. If you' re upset, then save it until we know about your state. Work with them if you don't want to meet your death anytime soon!"
Leo furiously left the house, letting the others take care of Vega. Volt and Ryu checked to see if she was indeed carrying the life essence of Volt's weapon. Both soon agreed and enlightened Vega about the matter.
"The situation is that the essence in you is not fully adequate. Several vital parts will soon cease to function and thus no healing will be possible. Your body is in an unstable condition which could get worse at any time. All we can do is add more of the essence."
"And that essence is coming out of your weapon? Bottom line, then, is it dead people that give me life?"
"Not exactly, they provide the substance but it depends on your body to deal with it. Life stealing itself absorbs life essence but can also release it to a certain extent. This depends on the user and their skill and experience in using this tool."
"If one is really able to do this, it is still not known how much essence is needed to preserve a life. This depends on the condition of the patient."
"But I was pretty close to death, the amount of essence has to be huge."
" Well yes, it must have been 5 years of hard work now gone. However, since your body is still unstable that means you need even more than you already have. My reservoir is empty, it will take time for my sword to be fully usable again. And I can't really slaughter hundreds of people for fun."
"That's why I'm going to help out. Since neither of us has dealt with such a case yet, we can only speculate. Let's hope your condition normalizes once there's enough of the essence in you. A lot depends on your body."
"Is there anything I can do to make things easier?"
"Not consciously, your vital points just need to function well enough to receive a full repair. And from the looks of it, they're miraculously in pretty good shape for the fact that you were already half-dead."
"What do you mean? How is that possible?"
"Because the young man restored your exterior, Miss. Admittedly, he does not possess any life stealing ability but at least he provided the template for this process. Let's take a vessel as an example: its use is to contain liquid, but when it is broken, everything runs through it and no permanent substance is created. No matter how much you add to it, nothing changes until it is fixed. Leo has not only restored the shine of the cup, but also the structure itself. Now all that is missing is liquid, the essence, to give the cup a use. In the end, he created the foundation for this method."
"Just lie there calmly, you don't have to do anything but keep still. The transfer will be quick and won't leave any harm behind."
Ryu took his sword and extracted a sphere as well.
" It seems much more glaring...how many have you killed so far?"
"Enough to help her hopefully."
Volt was curious about Ryu's story. He had easily extracted a larger amount of essence without weakening his weapon. This is an extremely rare case, only one explanation was possible: his weapon had a excess of essence, it didn't need any more " feeding " so he could use it without any dangers until it needed to devour again. In a way, he had "mastered" his life stealing ability. Volt was stunned, never before had he seen anything like it.
"Tomorrow morning...I want a fight against you tomorrow morning, Ryu."
"So be it, there is strength in rest, Volt."
"Volt? I know that name."
"So I'm not the only one whose bells are ringing. It's been a very long time. Your old man used to take good care of me, consider this repayment for his solicitude."
Meanwhile, Leo made his way to a leftover piece of the broken wall to peer into the distance. He didn't understand himself as to why he was so emotionally and passionately resistant to Vega's statements. When he thought about it, a woman's face suddenly popped into his head. She had azure blue eyes and snow white hair, tears were rolling down her face. He didn't know what that was, and yet it felt not that distant. He started to get a headache and put his hand in front of his forehead.
" Overwhelmed by this day? I admit it was quite exhilarating, but not in a way that leaves me helpless. Even though you're basically correct, those were pretty harsh words for her."
"She's stronger than people think. Once she gets her head straight and her health back she'll understand them."
"Hahaha, don't you have any sense of compassion? If you really think she'll be back to her old self in a day or , you're an idiot. She lost a lot of men, and now her whole existence has collapsed. There is nothing left for her, the legacy of her ancestors has been destroyed and there is nothing she can do about it. She can look as serious or show a rough temperament, but inside she is just broken. Once she has had a night's sleep over it in a normal state, the effect of these losses will reveal themselves. No one can simply withstand such a tragedy. Its going to be a tough road to lead her back to actual living, her body alone is not enough."
Leo understood his words, Vega's life had come to an end of sorts. Now she was the last survivor to carry all the memories of her people on her own. Generally he wanted to stay away from these topics but dealing with an old ally this was hardly possible.
"Do you think it was wrong to have saved her? Perhaps in the end it is just a shell of a being that once was."
"It's true that hard times await her now, she has to get used to the idea of living on. It sounds truly like a cruel fate to go on like this, death would have been easier."
"So you think I'm a fool?"
"Not at all, I would have done the same thing a hundred times in your place... though I have my own reasons for doing so. I rather think that you are a fool for questioning this decision. After all, who knows how long you've been trying to save HER, an eternity based on this era."
Hector confirmed Leo's guess about his identity, his secret was revealed.
"So you really are that Hector...I've heard your name and your origin but never really thought about it."
" About there being another human being in Evos? Well now you have an example sitting in front of you. Chances are I have more questions than you that you wouldn't answer for me haha. Your appearance has changed tremendously but I knew you were the one. My hunches never fail me."
"Does this mean you've seen me there? When was it you were in Evos?"
"Hahaha. How am I supposed to know that? Exactly when I was in a "timeless" place? I can tell you that during that time, four years have passed by here, and it felt like just a moment over there. You're likely older than all of us put together. I still remember you with long hair, that's why it's really strange to see you like this right now.
"So you've seen me but I never met you. What else do you know about me?"
"As I said, your goal to save that woman from her fate. If it really is true then it's no wonder you're so invested in Vegas situation."
"Maybe because I failed in the end. Still, I dont think of this situation as an redemption."
"Hm, if I really think about it it really is pretty normal to see your efforts being wasted even though they could've been successfull. Right now I'm just opening old wounds, aren't I?"
"Maybe, but it's not bad to be reminded of the past. Rather I'm losing touch with my memories."
"That is an after effect of Evos, a slow process of forgetting that place. It's rather cruel to be send off like that."
As Hector suddenly saw Leos shocked face he got serious.
"They didn't tell you this, the process of memory loss of that place? I'm sorry you had to find out like this."
Leo was in utter disbelief, the headache was getting bigger as reality set in.
"Is this what makes my memories fade? Is this the punishment for my attempts to release her fromt this place? I...don't know anymore."
"I understand that it's hard to deal with right now, but there's always some hope. As long as you still have memories, keep writing them down and you'll never lose them. It' the only thing you can do right now."
"Maybe it is..."
Leo recalled his conversation with Noxus, his words, "You know where to find us." However, suddenly he couldn't make sense of it, so if there was a way it was gone now.
" Make a note somewhere of all the names you still know. You need a foundation for those memories. I think I know what meant the most to you, have her start it off. Tell me, what's her name?"
Once again the woman jumped into his head, once again tears rolled down as she suddenly disappeared. Unaware of it, tears suddenly rolled down Leos face as well. Hector got upset about the situation.
"Damnit, If I would have asked about it back then. You really don't recall?"
"No, I don't remember her name anymore...this can't be."
A sudden sadness filled him, the realization of having lost something very precious was now clearer to him than before.
"I didn't think you'd end up like me. In that sense, we're not so different. I too can't recall those treasured moments in my mind...truly a tragedy..."
Evos itself was slowly turning back into a mystery for the person who found meaning through that place. One more time he tried to recall them, those past memories, those past bittersweet moments....