Chapitre 16: Nemesis

  Not only were we growing weaker, but Fenrir’s chosen was growing stronger by the sed.

  What in the world is this ability? First, it could defend, then attack, and now... what? Absorb our strength?

  Something doesn’t add up.

  I ched my fists, feeling the subtle yet persistent drain on my stamina. It wasn’t immediate, but I could feel it—like an invisible force siphoning away my energy, little by little. If it was this bad for me, standing at a distahen what about Lay and Will?

  I shifted my gaze toward them.

  Lay was trying to heal herself, but something was interfering with her regeion, slowing the process to a crawl. Normally, her wounds would have already closed by now, but the gash on her shoulder remained open, bleeding sluggishly.

  And then there was Will—still grinning, as if this was the most fun he had in years.

  Damn lunatic.

  But even I could see it. They were weakening. Their movements weren’t as sharp, their attacks weren’t as fierce. They couldn’t afford to waste energy on reckless strikes—not uhey could finish this fight in a single, decisive blow.

  At this rate... they were going to lose.

  And if they lost, they would die.

  The realization hit me like a hammer to the chest.

  This wasn’t like fighting regur monsters. It wasn’t just about surviving anymore. This was aion.

  BAM!

  Lay was sent flying.

  Shit!

  She crashed onto the ground, skidding back before ing to a stop. Blood spttered the dirt beh her.

  I saw her struggling to get up, her breathing uneven. Her arm—limp. A rge cut ran across her shoulder, deep and vicious. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been too bad. She could have healed it.

  But now?

  She wasn’t healing.

  I felt my heartbeat qui.

  She was almost out of the fight.

  And now Will had to cover for her.

  Damn it. Damn it!

  I swallowed, my throat dry.

  Am I really going to let this happe Lay die?

  The first person I had bonded with sihe apocalypse, one of the only friends I had ever made?

  I never even paid her back for everything she did for me.

  She just wao be loved in this lonely, chaotic world… and all I did was take her kindness franted.

  Then there was Will—annoying, reckless, borderline psychotic—but... I owed him more than I could ever say.

  If it weren’t for him, I probably would have given up on this world, just like I did before the apocalypse.

  A… despite his arrogance, his insanity—he never abandoned me.

  Then there was Larry.

  I never liked him much. He was an ass. Always belittling me. Always ag like I was a waste of space.

  But… even then, I didn’t want him to die.

  None of them deserved to die.

  Lastly… there was me.

  If this tinued, I would die too.

  I was the target.

  Even if I ran, this monster would hunt me down.

  No matter where I went, no matter what I did, it would op.

  I ched my jaw.

  I could hear Cire’s voi my head.

  "e ba one piece, alright?"

  Would I betray her as well?

  Would I let everyone down?

  No.

  I refused to let it end like this.

  I had too much to do.

  Too many ideas t to life.

  Too many things to discover.

  Too many people to protect.

  I still had to finish the walls around the dorm like the president had asked.

  Why the hell was life always so damn plicated?!

  For the first time, I had something to live for.

  And I was going to fight for it.

  I didn’t think.

  I didn’t hesitate.

  I just ran.

  My body moved on its own.

  I had to do something. Anything!

  If I didn’t…

  I’d lose everything.

  "Elian, stop!"

  Larry’s voice rang out behind me, his tone filled with raw frustration.

  "What the hell do you think you’re doing?! This is suicide!"

  I barely heard him.

  His words didn’t matter.

  Only ohing did.

  Saving them.

  If I died, so be it.

  At least I would have tried.

  At least I wouldn’t be a coward, waiting to be sughtered.

  As I ran, my strength was leaving me faster and faster.

  I didn’t care.

  Lay and Will were dying.

  That was all that mattered.

  I ran like my life depended on it.

  Because it did.

  Up ahead, I saw Will struggling to hold the beast back.

  G! G!

  His strikes had lost their edge. He was still moving, still fighting, but it was different now.

  Before, it was a battle.

  Now?

  The wolf was toying with him.

  It wasn’t a fight anymore.

  It was a hunt.

  And we were the prey.

  I gritted my teeth, my mind rag.

  Think.

  Think!

  What is this ability?!

  Defetack. Absorption.

  No.

  I’m looking at it the wrong way.

  This ability isn’t just some random power.

  It’s a blessing.

  A blessing from Fenrir himself.

  So… what does Fenrir represent?

  Destru? Yes.

  But also... Hunger.

  Dev.

  That’s it!

  From the beginning to the end, the bck aura had been nothing but an insatiable force, dev everything in its path. It was as if it existed solely to e, to erase. When the beast shrouded itself in it, it nullified Lay and Will’s attacks. When it shed out offensively, it devoured Will’s aura and sword. And now… now I uood.

  The wounds it left on Lay—was that why her healing was so slow? Was the aura still ing her, even after the attack?

  And this zo was feeding on our strength, draining us bit by bit. That was its true nature. That was Fenrir’s blessing.

  But now that I uood, what could I do about it?

  Nothing in my arsenal allowed me to teract it. My ability wasn’t suited for this kind of direct frontation. But I had to do something.

  Then it happened.

  Will, exhausted, stumbled over a loose stohe wolf, covered in those eerie red glyphs, seemed almost amused. It didn’t even go for him. Instead, it shot past him, heading straight for Lay.

  No… No!

  A surge of desperatioook me. Even after realizing what we were up against, I still had no way of stopping it.

  “Stop hurting my friends! St to devour them!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, my voice raw with desperation.

  Lay—she was about to be ripped apart right in front of me.

  I REFUSE to let this happen!!!

  Something within me cracked wide open.

  A force, a and unfamiliar, stirred in the depths of my being. It wasn’t just awakening—it was unleashing itself.

  A golden glow erupted from my body, expanding outward like a pulse of raw, urained power. The light surged forward, smming into the beast, pushing it away from Lay as if it had been repelled by something it couldn’t prehend.

  Lay gasped, and for the first time sihe battle started, I saw relief fsh across her face. Her wounds were finally healing. Her strength was returning.

  Will, though still injured, seemed tain his energy and stamina.

  What… what was happening?

  The golden aura cshed against the bain, pushing it back, f it to shrink.

  “Elian… what did you do?” Lay’s voice was filled with fusion as she stared at me, her violet eyes wide with disbelief.

  “I… I don’t know,” I admitted, my breath uneven. I couldn’t expin it. I had no idea what this was.

  “Let’s figure it out ter. Now that his dam of an ability is gone, I actually fight properly.” Will cracked his neck, his usual cocky grin repced by something sharper—somethied. “Tsk, not letting others use their stro moves is just b.”

  Lay took a deep breath, then turo me with a small smile.

  “Thanks, Elian. You saved me again.”

  She didn’t wait for my response. She stepped forward, her aura fring as she faced the wolf once more.

  The beast was livid. Its glowing red eyes burned with fury as it gred at me, as if my very existence was an insult to it.

  I could feel it trying to summon its domain again, attempting to drown us in that bck void.

  But I wouldn’t let it.

  This time, I pushed back.

  The golden aura surged outward, suppressing the darkness.

  Destru and Creation—two opposing forces, two irrecible existences, now locked in a direct csh.

  The wolf let out a deafening howl of frustration. Its prey had escaped. It had been des feast.

  Will finally removed the spear strapped to his back, gripping it in one hand while holding his sword iher. Was he pnning to dual-wield against this thing?

  Lay, now back to full strength, didn’t hesitate to unleash her power pletely. Her fmes burned brighter, hotter—untamed, raw, aating.

  But the wolf… it looked strohan ever. It had absorbed so much of our power throughout the fight that its body ractically overflowing with stolen strength.

  And just like that, the battle resumed.

  Lay and Will attacked in perfect tandem. Lay, weaving through the battlefield like a phantom of fire, occasionally taking minor wounds just to deal devastating burns iurn. Will, relentless and brutal, used his spear for quick strikes and his sword for heavier blows. Both of them were finally in their element, free from the suppression of the wolf’s domain.

  Yet the beast was still powerful. More than powerful. Its bck aura had shrunk, but what remained was more trated. More refined. Every attack it made carried the weight of destru itself.

  The fight was evenly matched.

  Then—

  CRACK.

  Will aimed a devastating strike at what he thought was a oint, but at the st sed, the wolf’s bck aura fred. His sword struck it, and—

  SNAP.

  His ons shattered. He was onless.

  Will’s eyes widened in shock as he instinctively backed away, avoiding the wolf’s terattack by mere inches.

  The wolf lu him, but Lay intercepted, f it back.

  Will cursed under his breath, gng at the broken remnants of his sword.

  A broken on…

  I could fix that.

  No—I could do better than that.

  I could feel my domain—the golden force c through me—pulsing with crity. More than ever before, it was w in perfect harmony with my thoughts.

  Creating a sword should be easy. No… I could fe the best bde I had ever made.

  I raised my hand.

  Golden light gathered at my fiips, densing into shape ihan a sed. A new sword materialized in my grip, its form radiating power beyond anything I had ever created before.

  “Will—catch!”

  I threw the bde to him. He caught it in one fluid motion, his eyes flickering with reition the moment his hands ed around the hilt.

  His lips curled into a grin.

  “Alright. Let’s see what this baby do.”

  Without hesitation, he lunged bato the fray, this time wielding a on born from pure creation.

  The battle wasn’t over yet.

  Normally, I ’t keep a on materialized away from me, but now...

  Will didn’t hesitate. The moment his fingers ed around the hilt of the golden-glowing sword, his instincts told him—this on was different. His grip tightened as he immediately went for a powerful strike.

  “True Edge!”

  The sheer force behind his swing was unlike anything I had felt before. Even from where I stood, the weight of his aura pressed down on me, making my knees buckle slightly. The energy radiating from his sword surged, pulsating with pure destructive i.

  As the massive bde desded upon the wolf, the beast reacted instantly. It must have sehe danger, as it pooled a signifit portion of its dev aura into a protective barrier.

  G!

  The impact was monstrous. A crater formed beh them, expanding outward with each passing sed. The force of the collisio shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, nearly knog me off my feet. A violent csh of energy ensued—Will’s golden-infused bde colliding against the abyssal darkness of the wolf’s shield.

  her side backed down. The raw power of creation aru roared against each other, a battle of opposing forces. But then—

  SLASH!

  A sudden fre of golden brilliangulfed the sword, as if the on itself had awakened. In an instant, the glowing bde tore through the bck aura, slig deep into the wolf’s head, leaving behind a searing wound that refused to heal as easily as before.

  My eyes widened in disbelief. It worked?!

  Sihe beginning of this fight, nothing had been able to breach that cursed bck aura. Every attack had beeed or devoured. Even Will and Lay had only mao wound the beast when striking unprotected areas. Ahis on had just cut through its defenses like they were nothing.

  What ged?

  The on…

  My golden domain—was it influeng the sword?

  Without wasting another sed, I turo Lay and began f a spear in my hands, the same golden energy crag along its surface. If this worked for Will, then Lay—

  “Lay! He—”

  Before I could finish, a chill ran down my spine.

  For the first time sihe battle started, the wolf’s eyes locked onto me with the iion to huhere was no mistaking the sheer malice burning within those blood-red irises. It had ignored me for most of the fight, treating me as an insignifit distra. But now? Now, I had crossed the line.

  I had bee a threat.

  And in a blur of motion, it lunged.

  Faster than ever before, its massive form tore through the battlefield, closing the distaween us in a heartbeat. A suffog pressure crashed down on me, freezing my body in pce.

  Too fast—I couldn’t rea time!

  Will and Lay’s expressions twisted in horror as they realized what was happening, both of them moving instinctively to intercept the beast. But they were too far. I could see it in their desperate movements, in Lay’s outstretched hand and Will’s gritted teeth. They wouldn’t make it.

  I barely had time to process what was about to happen.

  I was reckless.

  I had been so focused on helping them that I never sidered the possibility that I would bee the primary target.

  How stupid…

  That’s it for me… I’m sorry, Cire. I really did my best to e back. At least, after this, Lay and Will should be able to finish the fight, right? I could feel it—the on I created in this state wouldn’t disappear.

  Well, it wasn’t long, but I had my fun, and I have s. I did everything I could.

  I simply smiled at both of them in pead closed my eyes, waiting for death to cim me.

  …

  It should be soon now.

  …

  What’s going on? Am I already dead?

  I opened my eyes to see…

  Larry.

  His back was turo me, his stance rigid, and protruding from his torso—a massive bck cw, slick with fresh blood.

  No.

  The wolf retracted its a slow, deliberate motion. Blood spilled freely, spttering onto the ground… onto my face.

  No. No. No.

  Larry staggered, his legs bug beh him, and before I even realized what I was doing, I caught him.

  His weight colpsed into my arms.

  This isn’t real. This ’t be real.

  “L-Larry…?” My voice barely came out. It was weak. Shaky. Useless.

  He coughed violently, blood dripping from his lips, staining his teeth crimson. Even thehen, this idiot had the o smile at me.

  “From your expression, I bet you didn’t see this ing, huh?” he rasped, his breath ragged, forced.

  I could barely process his words. My mind refused tister what had just happened.

  He saved me.

  Larry. The guy who always looked down ohe guy who thought I was a liability. The guy who never missed an opportunity to remind me how useless I was.

  Ahrew himself in front of an attae.

  My hands trembled, gripping his shoulders. “Why? WHY, DAMN IT?! I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t ask you to—”

  Larry weakly raised a shaking hand, pressing it against my arm as if to stop me. His fingers barely had any strength left.

  “Shut up and listen.”

  His voice… it was fading.

  Tears blurred my vision, hot aless, dripping onto his bloodied shirt.

  He tried to chuckle but ended up choking on his own blood instead. “Damn… I guess this is karma, huh? I gave you so much shit… I should’ve just be ho from the start.”

  “Told me what?! That you were gon yourself killed for me?!” My voice cracked. My whole body shook with frustration, grief—pure, undiluted rage at how unfair this was.

  Larry’s gaze softened, his eyelids heavy. “You… remind me of someone, my son… We had a fight, it was stupid and meaningless. He left for the army just to spite me, yet… I never called him. Never even tried to reach out.”

  He swallowed, his throat bobbing, but his words were barely a whisper.

  “The ime I saw him… was in a coffin.”

  A violent tremor shot through my spine.

  “I told myself I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice,” he tinued, his fiwitg as they gripped my sleeve weakly. “I was wrong about you, Elian. Your not like him, you’re not weak. You’re not useless. You’re strohan you think I’ve seen it… so get even stronger. S that no one ever take you down. And most importantly—”

  His lips quivered into a small, genuine smile.

  “Be happy.”

  His hand slipped from my arm.

  His breath stilled.

  The st flicker of life in his eyes vanished.

  No.

  NO.

  “Larry?”

  I shook him.

  “Larry, wake up. e on, this isn’t funny.”

  I shook him harder.

  Nothing.

  This isn’t real.

  This isn’t happening.

  I ched my fists, my nails digging into my skin, the warmth of his blood still fresh on my hands.

  Lay and Will had forced the wolf away, but I didn’t care anymore.

  This thing—this mo had taken Larry.

  I wasn’t thinking anymore. I wasn’t hesitating. I slowly id Larry’s body on the ground, my hands trembling as I closed his lifeless eyes. His words still echoed in my mind, but my thoughts were drowned in a whirlwind e and grief.

  I rose to my feet, my body moving on its own, guided by something beyond my prehension.

  Kill it.

  The wolf, still standing tall, watched me with renewed i. The amusement in its red, glowing eyes made my blood boil. It wasn’t just a beast—it was a huhat took pleasure in its prey’s despair.

  I ched my fists, and for the first time, I stopped holding back.

  A golden light erupted from my body, no longer just an aura—it was something deeper, something primal. It wasn’t fire, it wasn’t energy. It was creation itself. The very air vibrated around me, and the oppressive darkness of the wolf’s dev aura recoiled against the force that cshed against it.

  The beast growled, stepping back. It was afraid.

  Without thinking, I raised my hand toward the sky, and I willed my domain to take form.

  A fsh of radiant gold illumihe battlefield.

  At first, it was just light, an abstract cept. But then, it began to shape itself—a bde f not through metal, but through sheer will, a on born from the essence of legends.

  A massive sword materialized above me, its golden glow so intehat the etlefield was drenched in light. The air trembled. The ground cracked beh its prese was overwhelming. Divine.

  The weight of its existence pressed against my mind, yet it felt... natural. As if it had always bee to be here.

  Excalibur.

  A sword not just of kings, but of hope, will, and defiance against fate itself.

  The wolf roared in fury, sensing the threat that loomed above it. Its bck aura swirled violently, trying to resist.

  I ched my hand into a fist and willed the bde to desd.

  “Die, dog.”

  The moment my words left my lips, Excalibur fell like divine judgment.

  A pilr of golden light crashed down, swallowing everything in its wake. A blinding radiangulfed the battlefield, obliterating the darkness. The very air howled, torn apart by the sheer forpact.

  Then—silence.

  A dull ache spread through my body.

  Something warm trickled from my lips.

  I barely had time tister the taste of blood before my visio bck.