The manifested water dragon managed to collapse the reception room's ceiling. Not just that but there was a gigantic hole on the other side of the room.
The cold air from the artificial relic tomb flowed into the reception room.
There was a pile of rubble in front of the now exhausted Arnold.
Arnold collapsed on his knees, spewing blood everywhere.
It felt like his soul was sucked out of that one skill.
The pounding in his head felt even worse than before.
"You broke free. I'm glad we didn't lose you." Sceptim put a hand on his shoulder.
"I almost killed myself, you know…"
"Wait, did you…" Sceptim looked at the bloody bandage around Arnold's head.
"Yeah. I had to. I had no idea if it would work, though."
"Come. I must get you to the medic room. Many of my subordinates are well-versed in arcane healing magic so they should be able to help you with the pain for now. You'll have to lay in bed for a few days to recover."
"Yeah." Arnold tried to get up but he fell down again, "Shit. My legs are too tired to stand."
It felt like he had been sitting down on a toilet seat for too long.
"Oh, that's unfortunate. Then please wait here. I will bring them instead."
"Okay."
Sceptim was just about to step out of the room before a voice came from beneath the collapsed rubble.
"—You almost killed me, you bastard."
Kalda's voice came from the rubble.
A figure rose in the air amidst the smoke of the debris.
Her body and her hair was a bright cyan. Her clothes were gone and it seemed as if her hair was now just part of her skin.
Her body was inhumane.
Her pupils were gone, now replaced by a yellow light.
Arnold couldn't even react.
Sceptim just stood there silently.
"—I fell for such a simple rune magic trick. If I didn't focus so much on that skill of yours then I would've been able to prepare myself against that other bastard's attack."
She spat on the ground in contempt.
"H-How… Surely not even you can survive from such a powerful blast—"
"Silence."
Spears of pure light manifested around Kalda and was launched at Sceptim. Sceptim was sent flying across the hallway, collapsing two pillars.
The monster had lost its grip on him so it was sent flying somewhere else.
Arnold didn't have the leeway to check if the two of them were alright.
"…That… That was everything I had… Everything that they could give me…"
Kalda opened her eyes and spoke in a soft and calm voice as if the skill from before did nothing to her.
"Had you left us alone then you wouldn't have been in this position. For a weakling you brought the most trouble in this fight. No one has been able to break free from my control. I thought you would be no different. What a fool I was."
Her arm turned into a long spike.
Arnold lifted his upper body. He looked up at the hole in the ceiling caused by his last Leviathan Storm.
'Am I going to lose again like I lost against Lancelot? Dammit…'
Arnold looked at his Aura Sword which was laying on the ground next to him. It was slowly turning into particles.
This was the first time that he used all his aura. It was an unfamiliar and unpleasant feeling.
He still had demon energy left inside his body but that was useless in a fight without aura. His factor only works if he has the aura to control it. All that power in his reserves is meant to be used by a demon lord, not a factor. He hasn't bloomed yet—no, more like Oriel hasn't taken over his body yet so he can't use the demon energy as is.
The only use this demon energy has is to create a demon portal which he was incapable of doing anyway.
Kalda slowly descended onto the ground. She began walking over to Arnold.
A shadow suddenly loomed over Arnold whose head was lowered. He heard gurgling and growling.
He looked up.
"You're…."
The monster was standing right in front of Arnold as if to protect him. Its face was hidden under a blue mantle. It appears to have ripped one of the curtains off to hide itself. Its head, until its elongated neck, was the only part of its body that was concealed.
"…Is Sceptim dead?" Arnold asked the creature.
It shook its head.
"That's good… Well, we're going to die anyway so what's the point of being relieved?" Arnold sat cross-legged on the ground, "Step out of the way…"
"…."
"Take Sceptim and Siana and run. From what I've seen, you have some pretty strong legs that can even outrun that woman." Arnold looked around to see if he can spot Tanaera.
'She didn't come back…'
Tanaera would've stood a better chance against Kalda in this situation.
"Fuck…" Arnold clutched his head. His ears were ringing.
His physical exhaustion will knock him out any minute now. Blood leaked from his forehead where he shot himself. Either he collapses from his own exhaustion or he passes out from the wound once his adrenaline runs out.
"Out of the way." Kalda held her bladed arm against the monster's neck.
"…."
"I will spare your master. The two of you can leave. Once He grants my wish then Siana and I can go wherever we like."
"Rafaela…" Arnold murmured the angel's name.
"What?"
"Please spare her too… She… She just wants to go home. We met each other along the way—"
"I will not spare her as there is a likelihood that she will bring you back to life so that you can try and separate me and Siana."
Arnold scoffed.
"I'm not asking you to spare her so that she can revive me… The two of us are hardly friends so why would she risk her life to bring me back? I'm… only asking you because I dragged her into this… in the first place… So she doesn't deserve to die with me."
He didn't know whether or not he'd really be revived back in the angelic shrine. It's not like its location is a secret. All of the angels and the disciples know about it. There's a possibility that all the lives have been used.
"To think that someone would beg for the life of a stranger… I will say this: You are a threat. A threat far greater than the demigods I've slain. It's funny. I've never seen my defeat during battle with demigods yet somehow I've seen myself die to you countless times when I close my eyes. But that can't be, can it? I'm stronger. I can kill you whenever I want to. Why should I fear a weak little man? No, it's not you I fear… It's something else… Something inside of you. That power. The power is connected to it. That power from before is unlike anything I've seen before."
Arnold lifted his aching body.
He walked around the monster that was protecting him.
"You've slain demigods but you're scared of some demon lord?" his body was slowly being surrounded in a transparent energy. He shaped his hand like a blade. Pure white energy surrounded it.
Arnold stood in a certain hand-to-hand combat martial art stance with his right hand facing Kalda. It resembled the Ki Stance that Sebastian usually takes during combat.
"You're going to fight me in this state?"
"I'll rather die fighting than wait for death. Even if it's inevitable."
Though he said that, he fell onto his knees immediately after activating Sword Intent. He also coughed up more blood.
His vision was shaking.
Arnold tried to grab onto something to stop himself from falling. He grabbed Kalda. She kicked him aside.
'Huh…' He looked at his hand in visible confusion and surprise.
Something strange just happened.
It seems only he caught on to this.
"What a pitiful sight." Kalda held her bladed arm over the prostrating Arnold. The blade was right above his neck. "You had an army fighting for you but now you're going to die alone. Your companions have also abandoned you. Death is a lonely thing, isn't it?"
Arnold slowly lifted his shaking hand. The white energy surrounding his body was slowly gathering in his right hand that was pointing towards Kalda.
He gave her a cold stare out of the corner of his eye.
"Are you cursing me to death inside your head? What a futile attempt at retaliation. Whichever god you serve will only be able to answer your prayers when I die, which will never happen. I do not age and no one can defeat me. I suppose that's all the weak can do. They can only curse and die like the weaklings they are—"
There was a piercing sound, followed by a gasp and gurgling that bellowed from the throat.
"—AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
A bloodcurdling scream resounded before several explosions filled the great hall. The great hall was then filled with smoke from the explosions.
The screams belonged to that a woman.
"….."
The smoke—that was surrounding Arnold and Kalda—faded away.
Kalda was standing there with her head bent backwards and her eyes and mouth opened.
Her body was now back to normal.
Why is that?
Arnold lifted his head to look at her.
His Sword Intent blade went right through her heart.
"Ha... Hahaha… Hahahahahhahahaha! Hahahahahaha! Hahahahaha!"
Crazy laughter filled the silent great hall. The stench of blood and guts was ever present and the sounds of pained groans resounded.
The battle was over.
"Hahahahahahaha—" Arnold stopped laughing and collapsed face first on the ground.
He groaned and took out the Borati Chime.
He shook it.
The bells rang and were surrounded by a bright light. He could feel his body being healed slightly by the magic item.
Arnold took in a deep breath. Innards and blood filled his nostrils, signs that a battle took place.
Kalda's body fell right next to him.
Smoke was coming out of her eye sockets, nose, mouth and ears. Her once porcelain skin was charred. Her once beautiful red lips were now gone, burned away from the explosions from before.
A strange liquid leaked out of the holes in her head. It seems the explosions melted her brain.
"To think your weakness is a technique that was invented to deflect arrows…" Arnold muttered as he slowly stood up.
Arnold defeated Kalda with one of the game's deadliest combinations: Blood and Aether.
Well, he used Sword Intent but it still has the same effects as Aether, only much weaker. Still, the energy itself combusts when it comes into contact with blood. Of course, it depends on how much Sword Intent is used. A small amount of the energy will do nothing against an adult human.
Luckily, Sword Intent is an active power which can be used so long as the user's lifeforce is intact.
Arnold used Kalda's blood against her.
What her third form does is coat her body in her soul power which allows her to erase anything she touches.
He expected that her soul power destroyed her mortal flesh to reveal her true form: Pure energy. But it seems he wad wrong.
If he was right then Sword Intent wouldn't have worked.
How else could he use her own blood to kill her?
This is why Aether is a taboo amongst humans. This technique is any sentient being's weakness.
But how did Arnold manage to defeat her and not get disintegrated when he touched her earlier?
That was what Sceptim told him would happen if touched by Kalda's power.
The answer is: His body was still surrounded in Sword Intent during that time.
Which means that Kalda's soul power doesn't work on Aether or Sword Intent.
Imagine water and oil: two things that can never mixed. The same theory surrounding water and oil can apply to Sword Intent and Kalda's soul power.
"I almost fucking died today." Instead of feeling remorse, he laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed some more.
"Lord Arnold!"
He suddenly heard Siana's voice coming from the direction of the stairs.
He looked back.
Siana was right next to him when he turned around.
"Are you okay? Can you walk?"
"'Tis but a few scratches." He said with a thumbs up but he groaned when Siana touched his head.
The magic item he used earlier didn't seem to work on all areas on his body. His self-inflicted wound was the worst injury at the moment.
"What is it with men and acting tough? I used to treat Sceptim's battle wounds all the time. He always smiles confidently but cries when I touch his wounds. The two of you are very alike."
"I see… If I'm being honest, I'd prefer dying over this pain… By the way… Kalda…"
Siana nodded.
She looked over to Kalda who was laying motionlessly next to them.
"I already grieved for my friend when she died long ago. This isn't my friend. I've always told myself not to think like that but I… I couldn't help but hate her. I hated her so much. I… I just wanted my Kalda back… The sweet girl I found out in the rain was nowhere to be seen." Siana held Arnold's hand, "I… No, I won't say anything more. I'm grateful for what you did for me. Thank you."
Arnold pulled his hand back and stood up.
"Thank the knights who risked their lives to help us," he said with his back turned to her, "Hold proper funerals for all of the ones that died."
Siana lowered her head.
"…Yes, sir Arnold…"
Arnold was about to walk away but stopped to ask her something, "Do you have Godworm silk?"
"Uhm, what's that?" Siana asked in confusion.
"If we don't stop Kalda's soul from leaving her body then everything would've been for nothing. A blanket made out of Godworm silk will prevent that. Since you don't even know what that is, I should assume you don't have any. Then I'll have to tell Rafaela to make holy water and soak a blanket in it so that we can wrap Kalda's body in it. She'll need to make a lot of holy water and keep the blanket wet. This will keep Kalda's soul contained within her body."
"Sir Arnold…"
"Is there a room where I can rest?" Arnold pretended not to see her expression.
Why did she look sad despite telling him that she grieved for her friend long ago?
Isn't she the one acting tough?
Siana spoke with her head lowered, "I prepared a room for you down the hall on the same floor my bedroom is located. Please have a good rest…"
◇◇◇
Arnold disappeared up the stairs.
Siana looked down at her friend's lifeless body.
She didn't even shed a single tear for losing Kalda. Whoever this woman was before she died wasn't Kalda.
"The two of us used to dream together. Didn't you share my dream of having a family and a home? I would've given up my royal title just to be with you."
Siana remembered that meek girl she picked up on the streets. Then she remembered that monster who saved her when she was kidnapped by that slave trader.
Siana had never been so scared of her life, not even when she was kidnapped. Of course, she quickly forgot about it for a while since Kalda only showed that evil side of herself once. She went right back to normal a few days after that incident.
However, Siana saw that same monster every single day when she left her kingdom and began her journey to find a new home.
She feared for her life everyday. Her knights and Sceptim offered her no comfort.
"Do you feel guilty?" Sceptim suddenly appeared next to her. The monster was holding him up as usual but it seems that he can't walk on his own yet.
Fatigue or mental exhaustion breaks their symbiotic bond which makes it difficult for the monster to know what he wants to do or where he wants to go.
Siana responded with a "No…"
"You passed on your burden to a stranger so it's right that you feel that way. However, he accepted your burden so you have nothing to be sorry for."
"But you… you almost died… What… What would I have done if I lost you as well…?"
She looked up at him. Sceptim smiled gently. His golden eyes stared deeply into her own.
"Protecting you is my only purpose for going on living. If you didn't ask me to be your personal artist that day then I would've been rotting in the ground 6ft deep. I'm half a man. A man like me doesn't have a purpose as a human being. I don't even deserve love. But I found you—well, you found me and gave me a purpose. For that I intend to protect you to fulfil that purpose. Putting my life on the line to protect you is my duty."
"…." Siana's cheeks flushed red. She quickly lowered her head.
Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest.
Deep down Siana wished to be with Sceptim instead. The two have been through a lot, even before they left their home world.
Throughout the years he's been protecting her without regard for his own life. There were even multiple instances where he placed his own life in her hands. The first one was travelling with her throughout the nine realms in search of a new home.
Her power alone was a danger to everyone she holds dear to her. Because of this she wanted the two to go their separate ways. The knights also shouldn't have stayed.
However, they refused to leave her side. They even asked to follow her until her dying breath.
Siana became immortal when she obtained her soul power so she would've lived forever if not for the power's side effects. Siana granted their wish and made them all immortal as well.
They've served her ever since she left her home world.
Sceptim was no different.
Siana wanted to at least see what he would say if she said she wanted to be with him before she dies.
Of course, she had no right to wish for something like that. She was disrespecting Sceptim's resolve to protect his purpose by imagining "what ifs".
Plus, there's no way the two could ever be together as lovers. They've journeyed together for a century and not once had she thought about how things would've been different if he wasn't born a… a cripple.
While he can fulfil his duties as a knight splendidly, it's a mystery whether he can fulfil his duties as a man to her.
'It was never meant to be… is probably what he would say…'
"You should go talk to him, Lady Siana."
Siana broke out of her daze.
"Lady Siana? You're not calling me by my title anymore?"
"Well, you've given up your palace that was the last proof of your title as royalty."
"Ah… right… I did promise to give everything I have, didn't I…? Yes, I did… I did…"
A part of her still couldn't believe what happened so she was still a little confused.
She'll finally become a normal girl again.
The thought of finally being able to make friends and find love was making Siana excited. This was an emotion she hadn't experienced for a while.
"Go talk to him, Lady Siana. If not for him…" Sceptim looked around. The knights were still struggling to get up after that intense fight. Arnold was the only one who could get up and walk away even though he bore the heaviest burden in this fight, "…then we would've lost much more."
"I know… But, I'm sure he doesn't want to talk about what he did for me. I valued his life the same as some artifact that was useless to me. This palace is also not something you trade for a human's life."
"Your kindness blinds you sometimes, Lady Siana."
"How!? For all I know he probably never killed someone before in his life! You know what something like that does, don't you!? I… I know that feeling as well. To take someone's life as if you're a god… That's something humans should never be able to comprehend. They shouldn't know what it feels like…"
Those who do are murderers.
"I will repeat myself, Lady Siana: Your kindness blinds you," Sceptim looked down at Kalda. His smile vanished, "Watching someone fight with the intent to kill can teach you many things about that person. What you saw earlier wasn't his regret for killing someone. I can tell that he's killed many people before."
"Why do you think so…?"
"He laughed."
"Eh?"
"He burst out into laughter when he killed Kalda. I don't know what power he used but he seemed upset that something so simple could defeat someone like her. He was even resistant to her soul power's touch. I heard him say something along the lines of 'a technique used to deflect arrows'. I could hear the disappointment in his voice. It was as if he wasted his time."
Sceptim continued, "If he didn't gain back control of his body then Kalda would've won. I'm surprised he's even alive right now with that head injury."
"What did he do to break out of Kalda's control?"
"Weren't you watching the battle?"
Siana's ice had already spread through every inch of this palace so she can observe every room and hall.
"I… I stopped at a certain point. I couldn't continue watching my knights dying one by one. Miss Rafaela informed me that the battle was over. I came running as soon as I heard."
"I see. From what Caerwyn told me, Lord Arnold injured himself to break free from Kalda's control. I don't know if he actually thought it would work. I didn't even know that breaking free of Kalda's control like that was possible."
Whether he was really trying to kill himself or not, the good thing is that he managed to break free of Kalda's control by taking that risk.
"He truly is one of the strangest individuals I've ever met," Sceptim said with a wry smile, "Taking such a risk to break free from mind control is… well, it's the kind of things crazy people would do. Did he even think for one second that it would work?"
One of the knights approached the two. It was a young woman with long pink hair.
"I apologize for interrupting your conversation." Caerwyn bowed, "What are your orders, Lady Siana?"
Siana looked around the great hall.
She stayed silent for a minute straight just to take in what happened.
Did every noble feel this amount of sorrow she was feeling when they watch their knights return from battle?
"Collect all the pieces of armor and take it to the treasury room. It will be given to my benefactor, Sir Arnold. Next I want all of you to fetch every available construction spell sheet we have. We can't hand the palace over to Sir Arnold in this state."
"Will that be all?"
"No." Siana looked down at Kalda.
Her face was unrecognizable since her skin was charred and her lips melted away. Her eyes were mere holes and only small patches of hair remained.
"Before doing anything else, I want you to take Kalda to Miss Rafaela. She will be waiting in my room."
"Understood." Caerwyn quickly left their side to call two other knights to help with the body.
Siana watched in silence as she watched her former friend's lifeless body being carried up the stairs.
The sun's light that was shining through the big window above the stairs made it seem as though Kalda was being carried off to heaven by angels. Of course, that was just Siana's imagination.
"…Goodbye, Kalda…"