The Truth (2)
Alkrevas withdrew his hand and crushed Sigmund’s heart until it shattered in his grip, coinciding with Beth’s body exploding, filling the room with the stench of blood and his body drenched in it. Alkrevas laughed with satisfaction, a sound that sent chills down everyone’s spine.
Meanwhile, Abigail and Zyne quickly took cover on the other side, creating a protective shield. Alkrevas stretched his neck to the right and left, and bones cracking echoed. “You made me kill the knight I was proud of.”
“You deserved that! You’re just a monster who has taken countless lives!” Abigail hissed, readying herself to attack Alkrevas with her powers.
Alkrevas sighed heavily and glanced at Zyne. Then, he created a sword with his mana and slashed the tentacle binding Markus, causing the man to crash hard onto the floor with a groan escaping his lips. “Could you give me a warning first, you crazy cousin?” Markus grumbled sarcastically as he slowly got up, his strength gradually returning. Alkrevas drew a blood-stained sword from the sheath at his waist and tossed it to Markus.
Markus caught the sword immediately. He glanced at Sigmund’s mangled body lying on the floor before turning his gaze to the two remaining threats, still alive and breathing. “At least you’ve taken out two troublesome creatures; our job is a bit easier now.”
Abigail began attacking Alkrevas with her dark magic. Still, Alkrevas easily deflected the attack with one hand while extending the other toward Markus. “What are you doing?” Markus asked as a teleportation portal opened near him.
“Get out of here. You’re bothering me; you’d better go take care of my soulmate.” Then he kicked Markus into the portal. Just before it closed completely, he told Markus, “I can’t concentrate on the location point, so don’t blame me if you end up somewhere else. I’m busy.”
“YOU BASTARD!” Markus shouted before the teleportation finally shut entirely. Alkrevas then focused on Abigail and Zyne.
“Handle him,” Zyne said, tapping his walking stick, conjuring a black cloud around him before slowly disappearing. Alkrevas growled, preparing to shift into his wolf form to chase the man. Still, Abigail’s relentless attacks forced Alkrevas to defend himself.
‘Damn it!’ he cursed inwardly as Zyne indeed vanished, leaving Abigail as bait and a sacrifice.
Alkrevas sighed slowly and retaliated against Abigail’s attacks, sending her flying out the window, plummeting from the palace height to the ground. Alkrevas exited the room through the window, shattered by Abigail’s impact. He landed gracefully on the ground just as Abigail stood up with a different body.
Abigail no longer appeared as the beautiful adult woman she was; instead, she was now a monster. Her body, wrapped in tattered cloth, looked so wrinkled and worn, with patches of peeled skin revealing raw black flesh. Her lips were black and drooled black saliva; her eyes were entirely white, her hair grey, and her nose sharp but crooked to one side. Her posture was hunched, slightly leaning to the right, her hands and fingers resembling twigs, her tongue like a snake, and the symbol of the black witch clan marked her forehead. Alkrevas smirked, seeing the proper form of the black witch. It had been long since he had seen such an ugly black witch, even more so than a monster like himself. “Aren’t you supposed to be the monster, Abigail?”
Abigail hissed and roared, causing black clouds to swirl above them. Then Abigail raised her hands, and the black clouds formed into shapes like the living dead.
‘Should you be the one to kill her, Norris?’ Alkrevas asked nonchalantly.
-You know, I don’t like the smell of black witches; they make me nauseous. Eww… you handle it. I don’t want to deal with that disgusting creature,- Norris replied with a tone full of disgust.
Alkrevas rolled his eyes with his inner wolf’s playful spirit, then summoned his mana sword from his hand. He stood relaxed in his place and said, “Let’s bet who will fall first. You or me?
Hmmm, five minutes? I bet that in just five minutes, you’ll already be turned to ashes.”
Annoyed by Alkrevas’s condescending tone, Abigail immediately moved her puppets. Of course, Alkrevas effortlessly slashed through them all. He walked casually, occasionally throwing his magic power at Abigail. But suddenly, he couldn’t move, and when he looked down, he saw shadows starting to emerge, coiling around his body. Abigail giggled, and then she felt his blood stop flowing.
‘Blood manipulator? Abigail is a blood-controlling black witch.’ Alkrevas growled, feeling like his body was about to explode, and then unexpectedly when the sword in his hand disappeared, his claws emerged, and he stabbed his chest as if his body were being controlled.
Alkrevas took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. If he let Abigail take control of his body, he would surely die by his hand. Alkrevas roared as his claws began to pierce his skin, digging into his body and causing blood to spill from his mouth.
He had to regain control of his body. With that determination, he tried to pull his hand back, fighting with all his might. When he saw Abigail appearing to panic as she began to lose control, Alkrevas quickly freed himself from the blood manipulation spell, retreating and hiding in the dark shadows, where Abigail couldn’t see him. Although Abigail could use shadows, she could only use the shadows of living creatures, not inanimate objects.
Alkrevas stood still, panting, allowing his body to regenerate. Once fully healed, Alkrevas needed a new strategy because blood manipulation magic was one of the forbidden dark magic categories.
-You’re too weak, mortal. Let me kill her! Just stay put.- Norris growled, taking complete control of Alkrevas’s body. After transforming into a Lycan, Norris straightened his posture, stretched his muscles, and observed Abigail, who was scanning the surroundings. ‘Don’t be reckless, Norris! A blood manipulator can’t be underestimated!’
-I know, idiot. Use your transparency magic!- Norris commanded irritably.
‘You know that’s dangerous for us. If I use mana while you’re in control of the body, our heart could suddenly stop beating.’
-I won’t die! I don’t want to leave our mate! So could you hurry up and do it?-
‘What are you going to do?’
-The same thing you did to Sigmund. I’ll do it to that stinking witch, but I want to separate her head from her body. I’ll sprint toward her, making her focus on one point so she’s unaware of her surroundings. That’s when you use your magic, and I’ll attack her from behind. I’m more intelligent than you, mortal.-
Alkrevas sighed heavily. He didn’t want to admit it, but Norris’s strategy was good despite the high risk. ‘We can only do this for ten seconds. No more. I don’t want to take any risks. You remember what the late father said, don’t you?’
-I know, I remember his warning. Now, please do it!-
‘Alright, I’ll count. By the time I say ten, you should have killed her.’
-Fine.-
Norris readied himself and, with a fierce roar, dashed out of the dark shadows and ran towards Abigail, who was looking left and right. Noticing his presence, Abigail immediately attacked with her shadows, preparing to use her blood control magic. This time, he dodged easily, having read Abigail’s movements. Once he got close enough, Norris was ready.
-Now!- He shouted to Alkrevas, and immediately, his body turned transparent, invisible to Abigail.
‘One…’
Norris kept running.
‘Two…’
He paused to dodge Abigail’s blind and random attacks since he was invisible again.
‘Three…’
‘Four…’
‘Five…’
Norris moved a few meters behind Abigail.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.
‘Six…’
‘Seven…’
Norris resumed running at full speed to attack Abigail. Then, in the remaining seconds of the count, Norris reached Abigail from behind, choking her neck as she struggled and kept casting dark magic in retaliation. The undead she had created also began to target Abigail-more precisely, Norris, who was still invisible but whose location was now known.
‘Eight…’
‘Nine…’
‘Ten…’
Suddenly, Norris became visible, and at the same time, he pulled Abigail’s body effortlessly, separating her head from her torso.
Norris then tossed Abigail’s body and head to the ground like trash. He looked up, narrowing his eyes at the man floating above before disappearing.
Zyne.
Norris growled. -Do you know why that old geezer betrayed us?-
‘He’s definitely part of the black witch clan or a descendant of one.’
-I told you, I never liked that guy. Too old-fashioned and suspicious.-
Alkrevas sighed loudly. ‘We’ll find out when we imprison all his family members in the dungeon.’
-So, are we going to see our mate now?-
‘No. We’re heading to the border. I think I know where Zyne is going…’
But suddenly, Norris’s vision blurred, and without warning, his body collapsed, losing consciousness in an instant.
The Lycan’s body slowly reverted to its human form, and the Emperor lay helpless and unconscious in the middle of the palace courtyard.
…
A few days later
Markus groaned, grumbling inwardly. He cursed Alkrevas for sending him away without permission. He kept slashing at the Goblins that came at him one after another. Alkrevas did send him to Veniam, but more precisely to the area outside Veniam’s borders, and he had been battling Goblins for several days.
He desperately wanted to rest but couldn’t afford to, as he needed to reach Veniam Duchy as soon as possible. He had to protect his territory and his sister, whom he had just found.
Markus kept swinging his sword. He was exhausted and could no longer transform into his Lycan form, leaving him to fight with whatever strength he had left. When overwhelmed, he would hide in the trees. His eyes fixed on the border wall of Veniam, and he breathed a sigh of relief. At least he would be there soon.
With that thought, he mustered his remaining strength. He attacked relentlessly until he finally encountered the knights of Veniam Duchy, who were also fighting Goblins. “Your Grace, the Duke?” the knight asked, surprised.
Markus just smiled and mumbled, “Hi.”
…