I don't know how to describe it, mere mundane words would hardly be able to define it, but if I had to say it briefly, it was like a bolt of lightning that appeared in front of me with its sword pointing straight at my throat.
I didn't have time to raise my cane, my arms seemed to move slowly compared to that dizzying speed. Had it not been for Faust's rapier blocking Asmodeus ' sword , my head would have rolled on the ground.
- "Whoa, whoa. So the rumors about the infamous Faust were true. The proud draconic who gave his heart to the pathetic humans."
- " You should concentrate better on your movements if you have enough time to talk" - Using his sword as support, Faust turned with his left leg attacking with a kick to the right side of Asmodeus , who blocked that kick interposing his forearm making sparks fly that tore the fabric of his tunic.
That semi-human-looking arm had scales of a greenish tone with yellow pigments, very similar to the color of poisonous snakes in tropical forests.
Shedding his robes completely, Asmodeus revealed that bare back with a stocky build like a soldier who had experienced countless battles. On its muscular markings, hard scales began to emerge that closed together giving the appearance of body armor. Like the exoskeleton possessed by insects.
- "Girl, you are not a match for this subject. Stay out of the way and take care of the wizards who maintain that damn magical barrier" – When I heard Fausto's tone of voice, I realized that that proud dragon looked worried. I couldn't stop thinking that my presence in that field was more than a simple nuisance. But with those black eyes he gave me a look of confidence, which made me snap out of my despondency.
Putting my sword in front of me, I began to sing the chants that Grandma Sara had taught me once more. Imbuing the rainbow stone with my mana to shape my fighting staff.
The soldiers who were escorting the mages pounced, brandishing their swords, while he tried to dodge them while manipulating the air currents and land masses to make them collapse.
For their part, the two representatives of the draconic clans held a bloody battle in the night sky, at a speed that was almost impossible for me to follow with my eyes.
- "Pay attention to your opponents, damn bitch" - The cold kiss of the metal sinking into the skin of my back made me fall to the ground, while that wound gradually numbed me due to the intense pain that my nerves transmitted to my brain.
- "Concentrate stupid" - It was a thought that I repeated to myself while I stood up with each blow that they dealt me on my already battered body.
The penalty for using the oracle of the end was gradually decreasing, but the mana was insufficient for me to recover quickly enough from my injuries. Causing the loss of blood to start making me dizzy with every move I made.
- "Master, take my power. Kill them all" – The voice of the oracle of the end was constantly vociferating inside my head to make me prey once more to his frenzy. Certainly that power was incomparable, but a player who has no control over his attributes becomes a nuisance in a team game.
And there again, thinking that this is a fucking video game. This is a real fucking world, with people bleeding and dying with the slightest mistake. I had to keep my sanity, but despair took over me with the passing of the minutes.
- "Amelia, keep this in mind. Within elemental magic spells our race has several powerful enchantments for battle. But not all of them are considered noble by those who wear them. Good and evil do not exist in magic, but the people who use it can be labeled as heroes or villains for it. Use this knowledge wisely, not to be praised or hated, but so that your soul can feel calm at the moment of your death" – While I was training in that lake in the Medea forest, Sara taught me the fundamental principle of mana flow.
For a sorcerer, running out of mana in the middle of combat is certain death. Therefore, the arcane elves had developed a passive technique to draw mana from the environment around them.
From vegetation or even small animals, the currency of life could be taken by a sorcerer to recover in a disadvantageous situation.
"He has fallen again, Ortega give the coup de grace to that damn witch" – Those men had families, a home to return to after the barbarism they did to the innocent dwarf and elves villages of the Medea forest. Poor bastard Virgil had been mutilated until his eyes lost their light.
Witch? They were wrong, she was not a simple witch. But a monster that they should fear in the depths of their hearts.
- " Breviata vita!" – Sinking the tip of my cane into the ground, that spell that I chanted began to surround each person and animal that was within my range. The soldier who until recently held his sword with the intention of killing me began to put his hands around his neck, feeling the suffocation that invaded his body.
One by one the men in shining armor watched in horror as their skin withered to the point that their limbs turned to dust on contact with the air. The green grass under my feet began to rot, leaving a barren land that cried out for water.
Seeing that stark scene, the magicians who had stood their ground maintaining the magical barrier began to tremble.
Yes, in front of them a monster devoid of empathy or any trace of humanity stood up; Amelia or Hitomi , either of them had been left in the background. None existed, they were just the names of souls that stopped being one. United like Siamese twins by a thread of pain, crying out for revenge for Edith, Sara and the rest of the innocent souls who paid the price for the greed of an empress who pulled the strings behind a thick curtain of lies.
- " Ignis lancea" - Extending my arms, sharp arrows of fire began to form in all directions that attacked the magicians, who with great difficulty could hold the barrier that little by little began to show signs of weakening, in the form of small screams that resembled cobwebs.
As the blocking magic was about to release, a dark fireball fell from the sky bathed in blood with its broken wings.
- "Faust!" – When I saw my partner's body, I immediately ran to his side trying with all my might to make him react, but it was all in vain. As I placed my fingers on the skin of her neck, the slight beating of a heart was beating slowly until it soon ceased to be felt in my fingertips.
Completely seized with despair, I tried to revive him by giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and massaging his heart, but each breath from my lips did not find an echo from his.
Descending from the air in front of us, Asmodeus delivered a kick to my face, breaking my jaw. Throwing my body to where the lady of the forest was chained, who looked at me for a brief moment, shedding a tear from that delicate face that could not express any emotion.
- " Wow ! I really haven't had fun like this in all my centuries of life! But I must admit that this has been so refreshing. Already my muscles were getting flaccid from just dedicating myself to magic." – Walking in our direction, that dragon gloated in his vanity as he touched his sword's rapier with his hands.
My face did not stop stinging and the pain was unbearable, I felt the blood pooling in my throat as I struggled to spit it out with my fractured jawbones.
Picking me up by the hair like a rag doll, Asmodeus unleashed his sadism, driving the point of his sword slowly into every part of my body. Laughing out loud as I enjoyed the moans that escaped my mouth.
Trying to put the hilt of my weapon close to his chest, that savage took my arm and broke it as if it were a thin branch. Pulling at the skin, slowly tearing at each muscle fiber until the ligaments gave way and my phalanx was detached from my body.
- "Caveat! The user's vital signs are in critical condition. The system is unable to maintain the organic stability of the host." – The world oracle display was flickering in a transition between red and blue. The values of the vital signs that appeared in my status window dropped dangerously at the time that I felt how my extremities began to go numb.
Unlike being cremated in my apartment, the way I was dying at that moment didn't seem so bad.
- "User, two abnormal conditions have been detected within the system interface range. Combination: The user's magic tool is compatible with the high-quality material present on the ground.
Soul Link: An existence that has transcended to the physical plane requests to make a familiar contract with the user. By doing so, the host and guest lifespans will be combined.
Warning: The underlying abnormal state cannot be removed. Do you wish to continue anyway?" – And I kept repeating to myself that this was not a game, but the damned goddess did not see it in the same way.
For them we are only insignificant beings, with the sole purpose of serving them as entertainment. Artemis or Freya, damn sisters. It doesn't matter which one it works for, because in the end I'll just be a puppet in their hands. But unlike the other puppets, I can see the strings of the puppeteer.
Accepting the option that the system gave me, my cane, which was lying on the ground held by my mutilated arm, began to shine while Faust's body was enveloped by a delicate light that dissolved his matter, dragging him towards it.
- "What the hell is this?" – Asmodeus 's stupefied look was comical to me, while the dragon pride saw that the blood from my arm began to join my shoulder, restoring the lost tissues to give it back its vivid color.
- "Now it's my turn" - The pupils of my eyes had slit and the iris was scarlet red, which seemed to float over the dark sclera that reflected that face, prey to fear, while I dealt a forceful hit on the cheekbone with my cane.
Falling to the ground with an impulse that left a groove due to the weight of his body, Asmodeus raised his hand to his face, feeling how an essence ate away part of the skin of his face. Despite the fact that its hard scales were covering him to protect him.
Raising my staff above my head, I cast my fire spell again, but this time without making the intonation audible. Like shooting stars falling from the sky, the arrows pierced the wizards who burned one by one screaming until only ashes remained.
- "How dare you hurt me? I am the mighty Asmodeus !" – Possessed by the anger caused by that blow to his ego, the dragon abandoned his humanoid form and recovered his original draconic essence . Furiously flapping their wings causing the resulting wind to uproot the trees. But I, remained firm on the ground contemplating him without the slightest hint of fear.
- "Amelia, can you hear me"
- "Yes, I hear you Fausto"
- "It is too early for you to use my power in its entirety. Your body won't take it if you prolong this battle. Asmodeus is not an enemy you should let your guard down with."
- "So what do you suggest?"
- "Listen to me carefully" - Concentrating on each word that Fausto pronounced inside my mind, I began to imagine a series of patterns that little by little gave shape to magic circles materializing in front of me with an intense violet light.
Picking up my cane, the material took on the shape of a stringless bow with the appearance of the black scales of a dragon's tail, while wings of incandescent fire emerged from my back and shredded the fabric of my blouse. Leaving my exposed skin covered in scales identical in shape to those possessed by Asmodeus .
- "Do you think that a pathetic human is worthy of imitating the proud draconic lineage ?" – Opening his jaws while an intense light emanated from his throat, Asmodeus lashed out with more fury beating his wings causing the wind to form tornadoes throughout the confines of the Medea forest.
- "To hell with that empress's request! Let this whole damn forest burn together with you" – Launching a bolt of energy that made the foundations of the earth rumble, Asmodeus turned his fury against me.
- "Do it now Amelia" - Just at the moment that the scorching heat of that ball of fire began to dry the air causing the treetops to begin to burn, I tensed my bow and channeled a large amount of mana in the shape of an arrow.
Which went through the fireball making it explode in the air, impacting squarely against the body of Asmodeus . Who fell to the ground losing his original form to become a humanoid again.
- "I lost?" Struggling to get up, Asmodeus knelt awkwardly pushing himself back to his feet. Reeling from the effect of the mana arrow he had fired at him, he staggered along, swinging his upper body.
- " Stay where you are!" – Aiming my bow defiantly against the draconic sorcerer , I felt my pulse quicken while Fausto told me to keep calm. But it was at that moment that intense pain hit me from head to toe, causing my body to burn, letting smoke out of my skin.
- "I told you stupid bitch. A human like you is not worthy of the power of the glorious dragon race." – Pointing his index finger, Asmodeus fired a beam of energy that went through my shoulder without touching the vital organs.
- "You failed"
- "Who said he was aiming at you?" – Immediately turning behind me, I saw that Callisto's chest had a hole about the size of a fist where her heart should be. When I turned my eyes to the unfortunate Asmodeus , in his hand rested that throbbing organ with its core of mana attached to it.
- "Not the best result. But that old witch will have to settle for this" – I tried to run to catch up with him, but my legs collapsed just halfway. While that sorcerer smiled meanly while a wind wrapped him completely disappearing.
- " Queen Callisto!" – The fairies surviving the battle of the Medea forest, one by one began to arrive surrounding the body of the queen of the forest. Who little by little was losing the breath of life that still remained in his being.
At the moment he breathed his last, the vegetation that flourished in the greenery of the forest soon began to wither, leaving the trunks of the trees completely bare. The fairies that fluttered around their queen soon fell to the ground turned into small brilliant gems that rested at Callisto's feet.
In a few minutes, the imposing Medea forest became a barren wasteland with that imposing spring turned into a dry bed where it was impossible to harbor life.
I couldn't stop crying, that spectacle in front of my eyes was a complete nightmare for me. That place that until a few days ago was overflowing with splendor, where elves, fairies and dwarves lived in harmony, was now nothing more than a graveyard without tombstones. Mute witness to the ignominy and excessive ambition of those with power.
My tears fell on the dry earth, letting the pain of my heart sprout as I hugged the corpse of Queen Callisto. Screaming and blaspheming loudly, until sleep overcame me and I fell asleep next to my friend.
The next morning when the sun began to sink into my skin, I opened my eyes wishing that all this had been a terrible nightmare. That when I woke up I could see the fairies mockingly pulling my blankets and Virgilio would be staring at me while Callisto reprimanded him.
But the sunlight bathed that scene in front of my eyes, turning me to the harsh reality of the world that hit me in the face: the Medea forest had ceased to exist.
Walking among the remains of the belongings of the infamous army, the smoking pyres of the corpses penetrated deep into my nose while I walked on the pebbles with my bare feet, holding Callisto's corpse in my arms until I reached where Virgilio's body was found. Using some of my mana, I weaved fine stitches over the edges of the wounds on the satyr's body parts, stitching them together as if I were patching up a rag doll.
When I finished composing her body, I began to dig with my hands into the hard earth until my nails began to bleed. The sweat that ran down my fingers with the scorching heat, penetrated deep into my nerves making me moan as the morning sun gave way to noon.
Having finished my work, I dragged their bodies to that makeshift hole in the ground and covered them with the rocks I was carrying from the dry lake bed. Kneeling in front of her tomb, I laid my hands on it and chanted a runic chant with a preservation spell passed down through generations of the arcane elf race.
- "Amelia, have you finished paying your respects?" – Keeping silent before Fausto's question, I got up leaning on my cane and began to collect from among the belongings of the fallen some clothes to cover myself and any valuables that I could carry to exchange for money.
Approaching one last time to the shore of what was Lake Medea, I let my imagination fly trying to recover the essence of the memories where Edith was still alive. Smiling, willful but very much in her own way, an innocent girl. The ghost of the young elf crossed my body, extending her arms to receive a hug. Vanishing suddenly turning my heart into a bitter feeling of loneliness.
- "Stop torturing yourself with those who will not return. I know very well that this feeling will not lead you to anything good" – Fausto's voice was heard melancholic in my mind, as if for a moment our feelings had synchronized.
Rising up from the ground, I picked up one of the little gems that the forest fairies had turned into. Keeping it in a small leather bag that I tied around my neck, pressing it against my chest for a moment.
- "Let's go Faust."
- "Where will we go now creature?"
- "Anywhere far from here. Where the empress and her minions cannot find us" – Raising my gaze towards the vast horizon, I started walking once more. Taking my feet towards the unknown, to find a solution that would free me from the curse of the goddess Freya.