Chapter 78: Until the end (Last Part)

Jazor didn't let his surprise after my choice to spare my defeated opponents slow him down for long.

He wasted no time and ran at full speed until he was in front of us. Without any prior discussion, I chose to close the march to guarantee Paul and Alianelle’s safety as much as possible in this situation.

Even after witnessing such a bloody battle, neither Paul nor Alianelle slowed us down. They stayed close from one another while marching forward to follow Jazor’s rhythm.

With my three companions in front of me, I closed my eyes to get a better sense of our surroundings.

For long minutes, we were able to walk unimpeded across a large plain. Several rocky hills after that considerably slowed us down.

When I finally helped Alianelle cross the most difficult hill, the horizon was still devoid of the slightest animal.

I even started to think that the violent explosion had somehow gone unnoticed. However, the distant dots of lights in my mind, that appeared one after the other a few minutes later, destroyed this fragile disillusion.

Three large birds with black plumage and long silver wings had noticed us.

There wasn’t any cover and there wasn’t any time to avoid a direct confrontation either. They were flying too quickly toward us for that.

“Sillath!”

Jazor’s roar reached me just before our new attackers’ wings started to glow with a strange grey light. I had no idea what ability or what magic these imposing looking birds were capable of, but I certainly didn’t need Jazor’s voice to remind me that they were dangerous.

Without answering him, I violently stomp my foot on the ground and propelled myself toward them at high speed with my wind magic.

I reached their height in a ridiculously short amount of time. Much shorter than any of them thought possible judging by their surprise reaction.

I didn’t let this chance slip by.

With the support of my wind magic, I was easily able to outmanoeuvre and flank these sharp looking birds. One of them tried to release something from its mouth but I was faster.

It didn’t take me more than a few moves to make all three of them crash on the ground. None of my companions stayed behind to look at my battle. Under the impulsion of Jazor’s screams, all three of them quickly moved away.

Alianelle turned her head several times so I waved my hand to reassure her while hoping that she could leave a little bit faster from this place.

A single glance around me was enough to realize that Jazor had made the right choice by leaving immediately.

Several other small groups of the same kind of birds were already flying furiously toward me.

Jazor could have stayed to help me, but he was at a disadvantage against opponents he couldn’t directly touch especially in his current weakened state. From what I saw of his confrontation with the Donner, earthballs were probably one of his last magic he could use from afar.

Even if my ability to fly was far from perfect and prevented me from using almost all my other magic at the same time, I was still a far better choice against flying opponents.

I turned my head just in time to see Jazor cut down a large green animal blocking his path forward with a single swing of his axe.

Alianelle and Paul were following closely behind him and quickly widened the distance with me.

I was much faster than any of them and could easily catch up. The advantage to fly was overwhelming in this aspect.

That’s exactly why I had to stay behind.

The various groups of birds flying toward me would easily reach Jazor and the others if I didn’t stop them now.

I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to calm my mind and my heart throbbing with apprehension while carefully controlling my body hovering in the sky.

A few seconds was all I needed.

When the dots of lights in my mind were dangerously close, I suddenly opened my eyes and engaged my new enemies.

One group after the other tasted my ability to move in the sky almost as if I was on solid ground. There was no doubt that each of them could fly much faster than me, but that wasn't the most important in this situation.

Their numbers didn’t matter as I continued to fly closely between them to prevent the use of any of their ability, magical or not.

For long minutes, I continued to deal with any incoming threat with evasions and violent kicks until I was left alone breathing heavily in the sky.

I knew other groups would soon join me to replace their fallen brethren.

However, I wasn’t going to wait for them.

I had done enough.

I was already quite far away from my companions and it was also starting to become difficult to maintain my altitude.

That’s why, I finally decided to turn back and to rush toward them, but now that I wasn’t attacked, my high vantage point allowed me to clearly see what was really happening several miles away.

My gaze wasn’t attracted by the beautiful scenery dominated by the green of the forests or by the numerous small rocky hills all around, but by the strange rainbow that was still above the Advanced town bathing it with a strange mesmerizing light.

I had no idea what this thing was, but one thing was sure, the town was still standing thanks to that.

Loud roars of various species I had trouble to distinguish made me turn my gaze away from this spectacle.

From where I was, I could see many animals dispersed across the land and acting completely independently from one another. These hundreds of black dots were running everywhere without any apparent goal, as if the violent change in the ambient mana had simply awoken their instinct and bloodthirst.

Most of these animals were too far away to clearly distinguish their respective species with the exception of four isolated Krath dominating their own territory with their freakishly giant bodies.

A few seconds was enough to understand that there was no going back. The town was completely surrounded by hundreds of animals and the land around was no better.

It was already impossible to survive there and, according to Jazor, the situation will only get worse over time. Moreover, most of the animals seemed to have been attracted by the town but that wouldn’t last.

I had seen enough so I rushed with my wind magic to rejoin Jazor, Alianelle and Paul.

Despite my speed, it took me a long time to finally sense them. Apparently, I spent more time fighting than I thought.

Thankfully, they didn’t appear to have run into any kind of trouble. Jazor was still leading them while leaving a bloody trail of lonely animals foolish enough to directly attack him on their own.

I lowered my altitude when something caught my attention in the distance. I stopped in my tracks and squinted my eyes to see what it was.

After several seconds of effort, I concentrated on flying a bit higher. The violent winds threatened the control of my magic, weakened by my previous fight, but after some effort I was finally able to see with a frightening clarity what had previously caught my eyes.

This much more shocking spectacle than what I saw near the town made me hold my breath in shock.

A dense pack of animals, larger than anything I ever saw before, was rapidly getting closer. I was too far to distinguish the species making up this pack but even the most harmless animal in such large numbers would completely flatten us.

For a few seconds, I completely froze until a violent gust of cold wind nearly knocked me down. I quickly stabilized myself and started to search for a solution.

What could I do?

I was the only one able to fly and Jazor was probably too tired to bypass such a large horde even if he only took Alianelle and Paul with his magic to move underground.

Moreover, the situation would be even worse after that.

Jazor won’t be able to defend himself anymore if he used this magic.

We were too far away from any civilization to hope that I would be able to escort them on my own. This was even truer considering the current state of the wilderness.

However, maybe using Jazor’s magic to escape was really our only solution.

Confronting this kind of horde wasn’t an option after all.

It was certain death and Jazor was running straight toward it.

I maintained my flight and furiously looked around to find a solution.

I was starting to lose hope when I finally saw another opportunity.

“There!” I exclaimed to myself.

I flew higher than I've ever flown before to confirm my finding.

I quickly lost control and was forced to lower my altitude, but I saw what I wanted.

Water.

The rough trail that Jazor was currently following passed near a vast forest. Usually, there were too many risks to cross one. Too many animals and possibly lurking deviants could live in there.

However, it was worth the risk to cross it if we could reach the top of the cliff overlooking a wide river beyond it.

Hiding in the forest won’t save us.

A part of the horde was bound to cross it.

However, jumping in the water would.

It was difficult to see from so far away, but it appeared that the cliff overlooking this river was particularly steep and high.

Even with the water to welcome our fall, jumping from such a height would be fatal for anyone else other than Jazor, but I could use my wind magic to slow us down.

I wasn’t strong enough to make all four of us fly but I could certainly slow down our fall and make sure nobody was wounded.

After some thought, Jazor also probably had his own way to assure Paul and Alianelle’s safety after the fall.

I noted the direction of the forest we had to cross and clenched my fists in determination. I didn’t have any time to look for another solution or to wonder if we could really reach the cliff before being trampled to death by this horde.

I lowered my altitude and flew as quickly as possible to rejoin Jazor who was running to his death.

I was slightly out of breath when I finally landed behind Alianelle. All three noticed my landing but none of them stopped their course. My arrival didn’t change the rhythm imposed by Jazor so I had no other choice but to walk faster to keep up with them.

“Sillath! Finally! You’re not wounded right?” Asked Alianelle with relief visible on her face despite her obvious tiredness.

“Yeah. I was also starting to think that something happened to you!” Added Jazor with a tinge of reproach in his voice.

I shook my head to reassure them, but my pale face filled with concern was more than enough to understand that something wasn’t right.

Jazor also noticed this before slowing down to ask with a hastened breath.

“What’s wrong? Did you see something?”

I nodded gravely before answering.

“A horde. Bigger than I ever saw and we’re running straight toward it.”

“What!” Exclaimed Jazor while finally stopping.

“Don’t stop! I have a plan.” I urged him before he could start to curse at me for not warning him sooner.

I took the lead while Jazor reluctantly followed behind with doubt written all over his face.

I quickly explained my plan. Jazor wasn’t thrilled by the idea to continue our course on the same path straight toward this horde until we reached the forest.

However, he confirmed my thoughts about his current state. He would be left totally defenseless for at least a week if he used his magic with other people once more. Moreover, considering the sheer size of this peculiar horde, it was also possible that Jazor wouldn’t have the necessary strength to completely bypass it.

So after a few more seconds of fruitless search for a better solution, he accelerated to take the lead once again.

“Alright. We will do as you say. I hope you’re sure of yourself because if we can’t cross this forest before the horde arrives then we’re all dead meat.”

I didn’t answer, but no matter how I turned our situation around in my head, no other solution appeared. In the end, we were stuck between a running horde and hundreds of dispersed animals. The situation was doomed to become even worse over time so it wasn’t possible to turn back anymore.

We could hide until the horde went far away, but on this vast plain, there wasn’t any hiding spot good enough to be sure that hundreds of animals with sharpened senses wouldn’t find us.

No, if we turned back or stopped then our deaths would be inevitable sooner or later.

Our only hope of survival was to continue to move forward.

Jazor didn’t press me for an answer. Alianelle and Paul also realized the seriousness of our situation so they accelerated once more to keep up the pace.

I don’t know how long it took us to have this forest within our sight, but when we finally reached it, it was already possible to hear the distant roars mixed with the heavy steps of all these animals running together.

We didn’t have a lot of time left, but Alianelle was completely out of breath, so we let her a few moments to catch her breath while I joined Jazor to try to look beyond the shade of the trees densely packed together.

I thought the forest would be empty of most of its inhabitants too busy running everywhere in search of a prey, but I didn’t even need to close my eyes to feel the different lifeforms waiting for us to step into their domain.

“What do you feel?”

“Troubles. A lot of them.” I answered bitterly.

“We will just have to cross this damn forest as quickly as possible then. I will take the lead and open a path forward. You close the march and make sure nothing attacks us from behind.”

“Alright. I will guide you to avoid as many of them as possible.”

“Yeah. I counted on that, but even if we’re fast and discreet, we won’t avoid a few fights.” Jazor said darkly.

“And the noise will draw even more animals toward us, probably even a part of the horde.” I quickly added.

We both fell silent for a few seconds.

However, we both knew that it was already too late to hesitate.

“No way around it… Listen!” Jazor spoke louder to catch Alianelle and Paul’s attention.

“We’re going to cross this forest as fast as we can so whatever happens, don’t stop! If we’re fast and lucky enough we will be able to reach the cliff before being swarmed to death by these fuckers!”

Both Paul and Alianelle weakly nodded their heads to let him know that they understood. I put my hand on Alianelle’ shoulder to reassure her.

“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be alright. Just run forward and don’t stop no matter what.”

Alianelle put her own warm hand on top of mine and weakly nodded with a small smile to reassure me.

“I understand. Thank you… for everything.”

“You can thank him and my awesome self when we’re all safe. We’re not out of the woods yet. Literally…”

I repressed my urge to comment or simply kick him for joking in our situation.

“Let’s go!”

Jazor immediately started to run at a moderate pace with Alianelle and Paul following behind him into the dense forest.

It didn’t take long for my mana sense to come in handy.

Jazor’s axe didn’t wait for much longer to show its fierceness.

With a violent swing, he disposed of the first foe that appeared with its maw wide open.

“Stay close!”

Jazor defeated his opponent so fast that I didn’t even have the time to take a good look at its form before it was cut in two with a single blow. However, the cry it uttered when it fell was loud and clear.

For the three of us and, more importantly, for all the other creatures lurking in the shadow of this forest.

We didn’t stop for a single moment.

We didn’t exchange any other word because even Alianelle and Paul knew what this cry, that spread across the forest, meant.

It was the beginning of something much worse.

One after the other, various species I never encountered before tried to stand in our way or attack from a distance. A couple of them also emerged from the ground like a Krath. If not for my ability to sense them way before they reached us and the pure violence of Jazor’s blows, we would have already been dragged into an endless fight impossible for us to win.

Jazor didn’t bother to finish every animal he struck down.

He simply ran forward.

Merciless and unstoppable against everything that stood in his way.

Of course, a few animals managed to avoid or circle around him to attack us so I had no other choice but to step up. I wasn’t as effective as him, but the walls of water moving at high speed that I regularly invoked were strong enough to momentarily repel anything trying to attack Paul and Alianelle by surprise.

More and more animals continued to appear while those we couldn’t finish off ignored their wounds and continued to pursue us relentlessly despite my efforts to keep them away.

The trees tightly packed together prevented most of the rays of the sun from reaching us, but it did nothing against the noise of our furious opponents eager to tear us apart.

Paul’s pale face.

Alianelle’s repressed screams each time an animal suddenly appeared.

Jazor’s cold determination.

Nothing happening in this dim forest escaped my notice as Jazor continued for what seemed like an eternity to guide us toward our only hope of salvation.

I don’t know how long our mad run lasted, but when the sun once more welcomed us in its warm embrace far from any tree, Jazor was covered with blood.

“We’re almost there” Suddenly screamed Jazor while pointing at the edge of the cliff that was almost within reach.

It was already possible to hear the sound of flowing water beyond it.

However, the animals that repeatedly tried to kill us inside their forest didn’t stop once we exited it.

Like a nightmare, more than a dozen of them emerged at the same time from among the trees and tried to reach us from behind. The walls of water I created all along our escape across the forest were effective because the numerous animals couldn’t all attack at the same time with the numerous trees on their way.

However, this magic wasn’t as effective in an open space like this.

As soon as they emerged from the trees, they separated and spread to encircle us.

“Run!” I screamed.

I couldn’t take care of them all at the same time. My magic wasn’t as overwhelming as Jazor’s and I certainly couldn’t protect my companions from several directions at the same time while moving forward.

Fortunately, we were close enough to the edge of the cliff to risk it all by running.

We had already done the hardest by crossing the forest after all.

That was what I thought.

*Bam*

Before I could react, a flash of grey light flew toward Jazor who just had enough time to use his axe to parry.

He took a couple of steps back and forced us to stop behind him. My gaze was fixed on the numerous animals rushing out of the forest toward us as fast as they could. I continued to use my magic to repel them while quickly turning my head to look at what had forced Jazor to stop.

A new group of the same imposing birds with silver wings was flying several feet above the ground just in front of the edge of the cliff we desperately wanted to reach.

The dense foliage of the trees had prevented these impressive looking birds from joining in the common hunt across the forest so they had simply waited for us to emerge from the trees to attack.

“Jazor!” I screamed from the top of my lungs while repelling another animal who had jumped toward me all claws out.

We couldn’t stop.

Too many animals were still emerging from the forest.

Several large earthball were fired as soon as I opened my mouth but none met their mark. These annoying birds were too far away to be taken down by surprise with this kind of attack.

I gritted my teeth in frustration when I noticed his failed attempts.

Jazor was almost powerless when confronted with animals able to fly.

I wasn't doing much better either as I could barely repel the wave of animals threatening to drown me with their growing number.

The formation we used to cross the forest like a sharp knife was now completely useless and it wasn’t possible to change it. None of our opponents gave us the leisure for that.

Jazor’s weakened state didn’t offer him the ability to deal with all of them at the same time anymore, but he didn’t give up and stubbornly continued his attacks.

One of the birds flying arrogantly above his head was struck down and violently crashed on the ground but many of its brethren immediately took its place and furiously attacked Jazor from afar to reclaim vengeance.

Jazor couldn’t take a single step forward and I knew it wouldn’t take long to be overwhelmed by my opponents.

Several of them already succeeded to bypass the numerous walls of water and draw blood before I could repel them.

Slowly but surely, the attacks grew in number as more and more animals continued to emerge from the trees.

Alianelle was pale with fear while Paul desperately tried to hide her behind his large frame. Jazor protected them from the attacks of the birds but his hands holding his axe already covered with blood were already shaking.

He had reached his limits and none of his attempts to clear a path forward was rewarded. Numerous animals threw themselves at him to rip him into pieces and only the violent swings of his axe prevented them from succeeding.

In less than a minute of this standstill, It became evident that it was too late to hope to reach the edge of the cliff.

We were completely encircled and Jazor couldn’t open a path for us anymore.

“Damn it!” I screamed from the top of my lungs when one of my adversaries nearly chewed my head off.

I scrambled to escape and gave up my previous strategy. There were already too many of them for that.

I raised my arm and fired a large fireball toward the sky. The bird on the way hurriedly evaded but that didn’t matter. I immediately clenched my fist after my magic reached the desired height.

It immediately exploded and rained fire all around us. Many animals had to abort their attacks to avoid while others simply ran away in front of this unexpected attack from the sky.

This sudden rain of fire ignited numerous patches of the grass around us and forced many of the animals around to step back.

With a wave of my hand I used my wind magic to force this fire to obey my will. After a few seconds, I had created a ring of fire around the four of us that even the mad-looking animals desperately trying to kill us couldn’t ignore.

No matter their race, the bloodthirsty beasts were kept at bay by this wall of raging flames but I knew this wouldn’t last for long.

Alianelle, who was shaking in Paul’s arm wrapped protectively around her, raised her head to look at me when I completed my magic. The newly born fire illuminated her face and reflected in the depth of her blue eyes as it reignited her hope for survival once more.

My entire body hurted and the continuous use of so much magic had exhausted my mind.

I didn’t even know if the blood dripping my clothes was coming from new or old wounds or even if it was my own.

All I was capable of thinking with my fuzzy consciousness perturbed by the pain was that I didn’t want to betray the hope hidden in this kind of gaze.

I gritted my teeth and with another violent wave of my hand, a part of this wall of fire suddenly expended and caught by surprise several of the birds hovering above us in its blast.

The victims powerlessly fell to the ground with screams of pain that finally somehow dampened the maddening fury of most of the animals around.

The other birds flew higher while the newly formed pack of animals took careful steps backward from the raging fire fuelled and controlled by my wind magic.

A standstill suddenly installed between us. This silence was only disturbed by the crackling of the fire and my hurried breathing.

These few seconds of respite gave me just enough time to think of a solution. In fact, I didn’t really need to search for one.

I had it ready since the moment we started to cross this accursed forest.

It was my last trump card.

The magic I created and slowly developed behind the safe wall of the Advanced town.

With this I had one last chance to break this encirclement and save us from a horrible death.

I had it waiting in the corner of my mind until this very moment because I didn’t want to use it.

The risks were too great.

That’s why even in this situation, even when it appeared as my only option left, I hesitated.

The numerous animals tightly packed together eagerly waiting for an opening couldn’t prevent me from seeing the edge of the cliff.

We were so close now.

Just a little more and we would be safe.

My determination wavered as another solution crossed my mind.

I closed my eyes and focused on the control of the wall of flames. Slowly but surely, the flames in front of Jazor started to advance and forced many animals to hurriedly back away.

I snapped my eyes open.

I could do it.

I could control this ring of fire to escort us toward the edge of the cliff. With this new solution, I quickly discarded my previous thought of wanting to use my new magic.

“Jazor! I’m going to escort us toward the cliff. When we reach it, take Paul and Alianelle with you and jump. You can protect them from the fall, can’t you?” I asked without looking at Jazor’s face. I was too busy concentrating on my magic for that.

Jazor simply acknowledged my words with a short grunt.

I controlled my magic as carefully as possible to make the ring of fire move forward while maintaining its overall size. We all took careful steps to stay at the center of this moving circle while the animals around all followed our slow march.

I already used this tactic of defense by fire once across my journey, but the situation was different. I didn’t try to make it move at that time. The ring of fire was also much smaller because I didn’t have to worry about the safety of anyone else.

However, the most complicated thing for me in this situation was to keep an eye on all the animals that were staring at us with undisguised hunger. Each of them was waiting for an opportunity and this wall of flame was only fuelled by my own magic.

If I let my concentration slip for a moment, a part of the flames will recede and open a path for them.

Moreover, even if I didn’t make any mistake, I was also aware that most of the animals around were only wary of the flames because of the tragic fall of the birds I burned to death a moment ago. Once they overcame their fear or gave up on their caution, they would definitely try to attack even if they had to jump through the flames.

That’s why, each time an animal came a little too close from this last line of defense, I released a burst of wind to fuel the fire and force it to retreat.

“Don’t stop Jazor!”

With an understanding nod, Jazor continued his walk toward the cliff with his axe raised, ready to strike at any surprised attack.

With renewed determination, Paul who was tightly holding Alianelle’s hand, followed him as closely as possible while eyeing with obvious fear the various animals behind the curtain of fire.

We were able to walk more than half the distance separating us from the cliff in only a few minutes.

My improvised strategy worked better than I had thought but it was beyond tiring mentally to maintain. My senses were put under hard strain to feel all the lifeform around me at the same time and to control the density of the flames according to their movements.

A few stronger animals finally ignored the flames and simply chose to jump through.

I immediately intensified the flames and burned two of them to death before they could jump on Paul while Jazor intercepted the last one with his axe and killed it shortly afterwards.

The numerous roars and cries of rage that followed were enough to make my heart skip a beat.

It was as if the time that had been frozen since the flames appeared was resuming its natural flow.

Several animals woken from their torpor jumped together to kill us despite the raging flames. Only a single one was able to survive before I killed it with an earthbullet at point blank range.

However, more were coming.

Like a nightmare, more and more ignored their safety to attack only to be welcomed by a fatal magic or a violent swing of an axe already drenched in blood. However, no matter how many we killed or incapacitated, we couldn’t be everywhere at the same time.

“Careful!” Screamed Jazor among the flurry of roars from the animals and the flames surrounding us.

One of them evaded Jazor’s attack and bypassed him before immediately jumping at Alianelle’s throat. The fangs of the agile green beast tore flesh before I could react.

Alianelle's slim neck couldn’t bear the strength of the blow, but Paul’s arm that appeared in its way at the last second was sturdy enough for that.

The blood that flew everywhere after its attack didn’t seem to satisfy the beast. Denied its fatal attack, it tightened its jaw in retaliation and made Paul scream in pain and anger.

“Dad!”

With surprising strength, Paul shook off the beast with a violent swing of his shoulder.

Jazor didn’t waste this opportunity.

With a violent cry, he repelled his three adversaries and turned to punch the head of the beast directly. It’s open mouth ready to bite at him was instantly pulverised as soon as contact was made.

His back unprotected appeared even more enticing than Alianelle’s throat and convinced many more animals to join the fray.

“Ah!”

With a scream filled with mixed pain and anger, I amplified my magic to its limit. The thin curtain of flames immediately grew denser, hiding at the same time the faces of the animals waiting for an opportunity beyond it.

The beasts that had tried to take advantage of Jazor’s distraction to jump though the flames were burned to a smoking crisps before powerlessly crashing on the ground next to us.

The other mad animals ready to attack immediately stopped and gave Jazor enough time to get rid of the last half-burned animal who had bypassed our defenses.

With a wall of fire much more menacing than before, I continued to make the flames move forward, but maintaining such raging flames was even harder than I thought.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold for long.

“Continue Sillath, just a little more. Look!”

My face strained by the effort looked in front of me to see the edge of a cliff. The noise of water was clearly beyond it.

Salvation was just a few hundred meters away but it was too much for me.

I had already reached my limits.

“I can’t hold on!”

“If you let go, we’re all going to die!!!!” Screamed Jazor.

“Sillath!”

“Courage son!”

Their respective voices filled my determination as we continued to move forward as fast as possible.

However, if determination alone was enough to overcome any obstacle, this world wouldn’t be such a cruel place.

The dizziness of my head grew stronger and my vision started to blur.

If I continued to constantly use my wind magic and strain my senses like that, I would soon lose consciousness.

I could feel it.

“I can’t! Not anymore...”

“Sillath! Don’t give up!” Immediately started to plead Paul without hiding the fear and despair in his voice.

“Jazor!!! Use all your strength left to open a path forward!”

“It doesn’t matter if I open a path or not. As soon as you stop, they are going to swarm us from all around!”

“Do as I say! When the flames are gone, run as fast as possible.”

This couldn’t be the end.

Not like this.

If I couldn’t use my magic to lead them to safety, then I didn’t have a choice anymore.

I had to bet everything on my next magic.

With a violent movement filled with frustrated anger and determination, I spread my arms. The powerful gust of wind I released all around me dispersed the ring of fire in a violent burst of flames that swallowed many unprepared animals too close to hope to avoid.

The explosion was sudden and strong enough to open a wide circle all around us and wound, or at least disorient, many of the surviving animals.

With a scream Jazor also plunged his axe into the ground. Numerous cracks spread in front of him. The animals directly in front were propelled dozens of meters away while many others were caught by the many flying pieces of earth.

“Run!”

I didn’t know if it was Paul or Jazor who screamed this simple word.

With a blurry sight and a heavy body, I ran as fast as possible.

The path toward the edge of the cliff was open and no animal was left to prevent us from reaching it.

“Huh!”

Something hard violently collided with my back and directly sent me to the ground face first. I ignored the wound on my back and hurriedly turned around.

A large green Otsoll was running at high speed toward me with its impressive jaw filled with razor sharp teeth wide open. All the animals around still had troubles to stand or were simply more careful after my last attack but this one was different.

With each step, the monster crossed several meters at once and made the ring on my thumb burn hotter and hotter.

A deviant.

In a few seconds, this deviant who attacked me from afar was almost upon me. It’s green eyes filled with unrestrained desire for blood and violence made my blood turn cold.

Jazor was at the front of the formation and couldn’t save me.

I raised my hand in reflex to launch an earthbullet, but I missed.

I didn’t know if it was due to my fatigue, to the pain coursing through my entire body or because of my precipitation but the result was the same.

The mad glint in the beast’s eyes reflected in my own as I saw long deadly fangs coming closer to my face. I just had enough time to put my hands defensively in front of my eyes before the beast tackled me.

However, the violent charge followed by a confrontation with the deviant on the ground didn’t happen.

I lowered my arms and saw with incredulous eyes that Alianelle had jumped in front of me.

The beast tackled her with its entire weight and brought her to the ground before plunging its long fangs in her exposed flesh.

“No!”

Paul’s cry melded with Alianelle’s own screams of pain.

“Bastard!”

Anger overwhelmed me as I finally blasted the head of the Otsoll with an earthbullet. The corpse of the beast powerlessly fell on Alianelle and covered her frail body with its own.

“Alianelle!”

None of us knew if the large puddle of blood tainting the scorched grass came from Alianelle or her assailant. Paul hurriedly pushed the beast aside to look at his daughter.

She was lying on the ground completely covered with blood. My jacket gifted by Hirillë was covered with various claw marks and had apparently protected her from many vicious wounds. However, the teeth of the beast had still pierced it and deeply plunged into her left shoulder.

However, it wasn’t this wound that gathered our respective gaze and made Paul unable to repress his tears.

A large part of Alianelle's belly had been cut open. My jacket, too short for her, was simply unable to protect her there. I felt my entire body turn cold from the shock when I realized that this wound was so deep that her guts could be seen among an unending flow of blood.

A single glance was enough to know it was a fatal wound.

Alianelle's face, contorted by pain, was paler than ever while her beautiful eyes usually filled with life started to lose their focus.

“How? Why? Don’t!”

Paul’s confusion and despair mixed together as he kneeled beside her and awkwardly tried to prevent her from bleeding to death. However, even his large hands used to plow the fields didn’t seem strong enough for that.

Nothing was.

I stayed petrified for long seconds, my mind completely blank unable to register what had happened.

It’s only when I heard Jazor’s scream of rage a dozen meters away, as he hurriedly ran to rejoin us, that I finally came out of my torpor.

As if waking up from a nightmare, I hurriedly pulled out my last vial of potion. Despite the strength of the blows I received or the violence of the fights I had along my journey, the small transparent vial was as immaculate as the day I received it.

The liquid inside was also just as pure but only half of its content was left.

I didn’t have the luxury to wonder if it was enough to save her.

I had to try.

In this instant, nothing else mattered than giving her this potion to offer her a chance of survival.

*Bam*

I was only able to take a few steps forward when a violent blow to my chest projected me backward. My breath was taken away and my eyes immediately blurred. I barely held onto my consciousness to see Alianelle’s figure covered in blood on the scorched grass quickly getting farther away.

“Sillath!”

I barely registered Jazor’s distant scream before violently hitting the ground with my back. It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened.

To realize that Alianelle’s wound didn’t mean the end of the relentless attacks of all the animals around us driven crazy by the ambient boiling mana.

To remember that our last attempt to break through failed.

To understand that even if I gave this potion to Alianelle, we were already doomed.

I straightened myself up, ignoring the ringing in my ears and the blood flowing from my chest. My blurry eyes were glued on the scene of my friends surrounded by dozens of bloodthirsty animals with only Jazor’s whirlpool of violent attacks to prevent their immediate death.

I still held the small vial of potion, the only way to save Alianelle, tightly clenched in my hand. However, the magic from one of the birds with silver wings looming above our heads projected me too far away from them.

Ironically, I was never as close to the edge of the cliff as in this instant. Most of the other animals were also distracted by Jazor’s last desperate outburst.

It knew it was my last chance to leave on my own and save myself.

However, leaving on my own was never an option.

Why was I reincarnated?

Why was I given another chance?

For what purpose?

I still hadn’t found the answers to these questions, but I was sure it wasn’t to live a life of guilt once more.

If I could only live thanks to the sacrifice of my friends then, all of this would have been meaningless.

If after all this, I was the only one able to survive, then it was better to die here.

While I was apparently left alone for now, I finally stood up without letting my eyes leave the rest of the miraculous potion that saved my life so many times along my journey.

This potion that represented my last lifeline against the dangers of the wilderness but also against the violence of my own final magic.

Now, I couldn’t use what was left of it if I wanted to save Alianelle.

This was the price to pay for my hesitation and my fear.

If I used this magic without the regenerative power of this potion then my fate was almost certain.

I stayed motionless for long seconds. The beasts around already closed my last escape route and were baring their fangs at me. Their bloodthirst continued to climb and further clouded their minds even for the most intelligent of them.

However, none of them dared to come any closer from me in this instant. Even if any rational thought was already beyond them, I knew that their instinct was screaming at them to run away.

I knew it because I could feel mine screaming for me to stop too.

“Leave them alone!!!”

I shouted as loudly as I could while releasing a dense burst of mana that spread like an unstoppable wave among the dense crowd of animals ready to finally tear my friends apart .

The ambient frenzy and Jazor’s violent confrontation abruptly stopped as if everything until now was a lie. Time itself seemed to have slowed down as I captured everything happening around me.

The dozens of beasts carefully turning their heads toward me with caution written all over them. The distant stunned look from Jazor covered with blood and completely out of breath.

Our eyes crossed in this instant.

At this moment, I wanted to tell him so much. To thank him for everything, to tell him to take care of them for me.

However, this single glance was enough.

Yes, no other word was necessary between us.

I had already made my choice.

With a strangely strong clapping noise that resonated all around us, I forcefully joined my forearms together in front of my face.

The most perceptive animals turned tail to run. It wasn’t the strength of my body nor was it the mastery of my magic that made them react this way. Jazor was far better than me in these aspects.

It was simply my true nature finally revealed and ready to be unleashed.

The nature of a distorted soul made to be overwhelmingly stronger than others.

I became aware of it inside the Advanced town while looking at the guards practicing their magic. It took me a long time to understand why I was feeling something different from them, but when I did, I finally realized that all these years, I underestimated the gift I received while gaining this new life.

While their respective magic were getting weaker when they neared their limits, mine didn’t. Each time I overused my magic and despite the reaction from my body, my magic always stayed at its strongest.

This could only mean a single thing.

Unlike them, I never truly exhausted my mana. My monstrous soul was simply too strong for my young body to use at its full potential.

This was the simple truth that all these animals could feel in this instant.

My abnormal soul made it currently impossible for me to exhaust my mana just like it was impossible for my young and frail body to process and use so much of it. Once aware of it, I could force all this sleeping mana to become mine.

I ignored the pain in my body along with the fear in my heart and persisted in reaching for this sleeping power.

More and more animals started to run away as my body continued to emit an increasing amount of mana, but there were still so many left.

So many separating me from my friends.

So many preventing me from saving them.

I knew, I wouldn’t have much time.

I needed to crush them with pure power.

The temperature around me started to drop while the mana I released became visible to the naked eye.

“Don’t!”

My last magic was already activated, almost ready to be unleashed when a voice reached me. My heart jumped in my throat when I realized it didn’t come from one of my friends.

How could this be?

No other Human could be here.

A sudden dizziness assaulted me and reminded me that I couldn’t stay like this forever. I couldn’t hesitate or I would crumble before accomplishing my goal.

“Don’t sacrifice yourself!”

The same voice but much closer than before once more reached me. It had a strange soothing effect and forced my turbulent rampaging mana, that I was releasing from deep within me, to calm down. I wanted to ignore this voice and activate my magic before being left powerless, but it was already too late.

The power of this strange voice, seemingly resonating only in my head prevented me from gathering my mana the way I wanted. The dense mana around dissipated while my arms quickly became too heavy to stay near my head.

I was still trying my hardest to fight this strange power when the sky suddenly changed color.

I already saw this phenomenon and immediately recognized it.

It was the same thing that happened and saved me when the Advanced town was almost obliterated.

The unnatural but imposing rainbow above our heads finally completely forced my arms down and cancelled my magic. I could only stay frozen while this rainbow, as vast as the sky, quickly became denser.

All the animals around me quickly made way for this ball of light. None showed even the slightest bit of hostility when the distinct form of a deer materialized. With a body of ever-changing color that seemed to hover above the ground, this strange creature finally opened its intelligent brilliant eyes and immediately bathed me in a vivid multicolored light.

All the pain, hopelessness and anger I was currently feeling suddenly seemed to vanish as if it was never there in the first place. It took me a few seconds to realize that I wasn’t the only one experiencing this strange phenomenon. After just a few seconds, the menacing looking animals retracted their claws and closed their mouths to hide their fangs. The silver-winged birds simply flew away while many other animals on the ground also left.

“Too many died today, don’t make this day even sadder.”

The head of this strange creature was turned toward me when these words echoed in my head.

For an instant, nothing else than these words mattered. The image of hundreds of bodies, human or not, flashed in my head and made me experience an insurmountable feeling of loss.

“What are you? What do you want?” I asked in a rushed voice.

“The guardian of the harmony of these lands. This is all I want, all I ever wanted but today I failed. Today, I came too late to stop this folly. I’m glad, I wasn’t too late to save you.”

“Why…”

“Too many questions, so little time. ”

The beasts interrupted me and immediately after, its body seemingly made of light started to glow and spread its light forcing me to put a hand in front of my eyes. It only lasted for a second, but when I opened them once more, something was different.

My entire body was glowing with the same multicolored light.

“This is my last gift for you. Your soul is monstrous, your hands tainted with blood, but your heart is good. I saw how you spared these children and know you will save many more lives in the future if given the chance.”

I didn’t realize what he was meaning by children until the image of the two animals I previously spared because of their mutual love appeared in my head.

“This is not the end of the road for you. Not yet. Use this blessing to leave. It won’t last long but it will be enough to lead your friends away from here.”

“A blessing? What do you mean by that?”

This time the creature didn’t answer me. Its body started to disappear, almost as if it was evaporating.

“The time for questions is over, child. Leave these lands before it is too late.

These last words echoed in my head at the same time as the final and abrupt disappearance of the creature. Only a vast rainbow above our head took its place, and confirmed to me that everything that had happened wasn’t a dream.

My entire body felt lighter, ready to once more fight but, none of the animals stood in my way this time. I rejoined my friends and gave Alianelle my last potion under the stuned gazes of Paul and Jazor.

The regenerative potion started its miraculous work while Alianelle was still unconscious.

None of the animals tried to stop us as we made our way back across the forest. The multicolored blessing ondulating around me that the creature talked about was obviously responsible for this. Without knowing how long it would last, we contined to walk away as fast as we could without exchanging a single word between us. Neither Jazor, still covered in blood, nor Paul carrying Alianelle’s in his arm asked me a single question.

I could feel their confusion while they followed my lead.

Everything was too sudden, too confused, but the wave of dizziness and weakness that assaulted me along the way was more than enough to understand how closely I truly escaped death.

The time to explain what happened to me before the appearance of the creature would come.

But now wasn't the time.

I had the feeling Jazor, Paul and Alianelle wouldn't like that I tried to sacrifice myself to save them.

However, even several hours later when the sun started to set, my heart was still firm, without any doubt to cloud it.

No matter what the future had in store for us, I was ready to open the path for them with my life on the line.

This was my resolve.

To stay true to this choice until the end.