The unnatural darkness that loomed over the Blood Forest, slowly lost its vitality.
Alaric Arthedain staggered back with haggard breaths, his hands trembling, unable to bare the weight of his broad sword. He punctured the forest soil with it, and gazed far at the linear crater before him that stretched for over twenty metres.
He had divided the earth in his swing to end Ulak.
After seeing the darkness vanish completely, he placed both hands on the sword's hilt and dropped his head, regaining his breath. As much as he had tried to end Ulak in one swing, he had also held back to keep everyone safe from the aftereffects, because in that very short moment that Aziel blessed him with an Invoker's spell, he could feel the energy of his prime brewing in him.
If he had gone all out, everything around him might have been wiped out or sent flying for miles.
But him holding back took a toll on his body. He should have released everything.
"Uh... Lord Alaric, are you okay?" the blonde Light Mage asked as she stood beside him, placing a hand on his back.
Alaric exhaled roughly as his breathing stabilized, "I've felt worse, Lyla. Thank you."
He raised his head and turned to her, "What about you? The spell you cast was potent enough to overcome his darkness. Your body must be screaming in pain right now."
"Yes..." she nodded with a subtle smile, bringing out an empty blue vial. "I had a healing potion with me. It has only mitigated the pain though, but I'll be able to move fine till we get back to the district."
Alaric smiled, adjusting his shoulder joints, producing cracks and whines, "Ah, I guess I should listen to Achlys and Hazel more often. I only carry my sword into every battle."
"Speaking of..." Lyla started, pointing at the broad sword that was about half her size. "Should I help you with that?"
She had seen him struggle to hold the sword about a minute ago, which was quite odd to her, considering his Berserker-level strength. But she could easily tell he had grown fatigued. He was also getting older anyway. She felt she should help as a younger elf.
Alaric sized her up for a quick moment or two, before taking a glance at his sword. Then he returned his gaze back to her and shrugged, walking away afterwards.
"Just don't hurt yourself," he said in passing.
"Hmm?" Lyla creased her brows as she watched Alaric walk past the elves, who bowed at him, elated at the victory against Ulak.
"It can't be that heavy, right?" she asked no one in particular, moving closer to the sword. She took out her hands and wrapped them around the sword's hilt. The hilt alone was twice the length of both her hands.
Leaning on her toes, she exhaled deeply and pulled... A very short clang proceeded but the sword didn't move an inch. Letting go of the sword with quivering hands, she looked down at her hips, knowing very well what had made that sound.
Alaric waved the surviving elves in passing until he got to his wife, who was now seated by a tree, her face a little brighter. The tree on the other hand, had gotten thinner with dried leaves.
She had absorbed most of the tree's life energy to resuscitate hers.
Kneeling by her sides were Hazel, Powder, and Aziel. James was standing at the other side of the tree, his eyes fixated on the small battle axes in his hands.
He squeezed his hands around the wooden handles, chastising himself in thought, 'All I did was stand there and watch him kill one elf after the other. I wanted to move, but I couldn't. What kind of aura was that? Even Tusk didn't cripple me in our first encounter. Does that make Ulak stronger?'
'I mean, yes, he's a Deity, but that was only an avatar that wielded a fragment of his power. Does that mean I've gotten the rankings wrong all this time? Gods... Deities... Every other being that parades the cosmos.'
His inner muttering was soon interrupted by Alaric's heavy footsteps. James raised his head and sized the sturdy elf up. He looked exhausted but he had no injuries.
At that moment, a warm feeling filled everyone, alleviating their stress and most of their worries. They could tell it was an unnatural feeling, but it brought smiles to their faces.
"Another Light Mage..." Lyla whispered in reminiscence with a hand on her chest.
A hefty man soon appeared in their midst. He was very tall with rough black hair and brown irises, donned in a black leather coat and fur boots to match.
"Hunter?" Alaric muttered with puzzled eyes.