Chapter 88: When the World Trembles

  I dove downward, Wind Rush accelerating me toward Erebus.

  On my way there, my mind raced.

  Gaelith.

  What did the timer mean for him? Was it already too late? Could I still save him? If I killed Erebus now, did that mean Gaelith Alloraine would die, too?

  I didn’t want that.

  Too many people had already died due to this battle – all because they were dragged into it by a deceptive and vengeful god. Be it legendary figures from the past like General Kaelstrife, the Axul themselves, or someone from the present like Goren.

  I didn't want anyone else to die.

  As I descended, monsters poured in from all sides, lunging at me, eager to tear me apart.

  None could even touch me.

  I swapped to Dawn and Twilight – Goren’s twin daggers.

  Then, I used Wind Rush, twisting my body into a deadly spinning projectile.

  Everything around me turned blurry as all the monsters that got too close were shredded apart.

  Thousands of them threw themselves at me. They were mindless. Desperate. They tried to stop me. They couldn’t.

  All slain instantly.

  [525,000 XP converted into 1 Stat Point]

  [1 Stat Points Available: Choose a stat to level up]

  More Agility.

  Then, I finally landed on the lowest level.

  Nine minutes remained.

  I looked around – the place was different from before. There were no tendrils, no living darkness. Erebus wasn’t everywhere anymore. Heaps of treasure chest were amassed in the corner of the chamber – the kingdom’s treasures, previously covered by Darkness.

  But what drew my attention the most was the figure in the center of the chamber.

  It was mostly humanoid. A shadowy entity with appendages for feet and jagged teeth instead of a face. The all-too-familiar Gaelith’s Darkness, level 271.

  My heart raced. If this was still Gaelith’s Darkness, then where was Gaelith? Wasn’t the message triggered because they had fused just like how it happened the first time all those runs ago?

  Then, suddenly, the creature flickered.

  Something inside it was pushing outward.

  A hand – Gaelith’s.

  He was inside. Struggling. Resisting.

  His voice rang out, strained but full of resolve. “I will hold him back…I will fight him from within…for as long as I can…but you…” His eyes from within the shadow met mine. “You must not hesitate! Kill the Destroyer even if it means killing me!”

  The timer made sense now. The remaining nine minutes were the time Gaelith would be able to resist the fusion. Once they’re gone, both Gaeliths will turn into Erebus' perfect vessel, and my world will be devoured.

  I gritted my teeth.

  No way I’m letting my world fall. But I didn't want to let him die. Not him as well.

  The moment I moved, Erebus exploded forward, a tendril lashing out to skewer me.

  I activated Goren’s Mist Form, turning to mist as the appendage passed through, breaking the wall behind me. But I already reappeared behind Erebus, swinging Silverfang at his back.

  A tendril whipped back, blocking my glaive like it was a shield, then followed up with another skewer.

  I dodged backward, gaining distance before using Horizon, unleashing a devastating wave of wind.

  The attack connected with his appendages and the impact shattered the ground beneath us.

  Erebus staggered, his form flickering again, but then he lunged at me, using all his appendages for rapid strikes.

  It was nothing like the Right Hand from before. My high Agility only allowed me to follow his hyper-quick attacks and just barely dodge as Erebus kept ramping up the tempo.

  I had to change the course of the fight.

  Using Goren's Perfect Shadow, I created ten copies of myself and sent them to attack Erebus all at once. The best thing about this skill was that the copies acted on their own - I didn't need to control each one or decide their every move. I only needed to keep them all within my line of sight.

  They attacked in coordination, but Erebus was too fast, and he had too many appendages. He blocked, countered, and attacked all at the same time. Each hit sent one of my copies to its grave.

  Still, they played their part. They grabbed his attention and gave me the opening to channel Enhanced Blur Strike. I unleashed the attack just as my last copy fell.

  But while I usually felt like everything around me moved in slow-motion during this skill, Erebus kept up - matching my speed and blocking each and every one of my thousand strikes. Not a single one landed.

  I swapped to Dawn and Twilight and decided to meet the onslaught with a flurry of counterattacks.

  Steel met Darkness. Every attack I dodged left an explosion behind. Every counter I landed sent a shockwave through the chamber.

  I waited for an opening and when I saw it, I used Mist Form, allowing Erebus to land an attack against my mist dummy, before reappearing at the other end of the chamber and driving Convergence into the ground.

  A pillar of magic erupted upward, engulfing Erebus in an explosion and tearing through the roof.

  But he regenerated immediately, returning all of his lost HP back.

  Suddenly, he shrieked so loudly, the entire ceiling began crumbling, debris raining down on us.

  I switched to Nightfall and activated Moon Barrier to block the falling rocks, while Erebus just pulled through the destruction, his appendages slicing through everything as he remained focused on me.

  He extended his multiple arms, grabbing chunks of collapsing ceiling and hurling them at me, breaking through the barrier. But I stayed one step ahead, blocking them with Wind Wall.

  Then, introducing a new move, Erebus shifted all of his appendages forward, pooling them together into a massive vortex of shadow.

  A second later, a surge of Darkness erupted from its core, tearing through the chamber, aiming at me.

  I evaded, one Enhanced Dash Step after the other, but Erebus didn’t stop. He kept moving the surge, trying to catch me, sweeping the destruction while it carved through the walls and floor of the entire chamber.

  The walls shattered, the already collapsing ceiling was now completely breaking apart.

  I couldn’t keep this for long.

  If Erebus was too busy focusing his appendages to fire this thing, then his back should be wide open. This was my chance.

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  I jumped and used Switch, switching places with Erebus, reappearing directly behind him, Convergence in hand as I poised the sword into his back, hoping it won’t kill Gaelith.

  But the instant I materialized, Erebus turned around in an instant, his form shifting, as the surge of Darkness was now firing at me.

  There was no time to dodge, especially not when I was airborne.

  But my perception and senses were heightened enough for me to use Mist Form again.

  My body dissolved, turning into black mist as the surge hit me.

  I reappeared at the opposite side of the chamber, panting.

  But now…the surge was aimed upward, where I had been during my jump, and the ceiling ripped apart. The entire tomb quaked and everything was falling apart.

  I was suddenly not fighting only against Erebus, but also against being buried alive.

  But Erebus didn’t care about the tomb’s destruction. He reappeared next to me in a blur, his appendage lancing forward faster than I could fully register, capitalizing on my momentary loss of concentration.

  I twisted just in time – instead of impaling me through the heart, the spear-like shadow drove through my shoulder, tearing flesh and punching out through my back.

  I screamed in pain as in an instant 50% of my HP was gone. An entire health bar if I didn’t have Goren’s now too.

  A wild idea crossed my mind.

  I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain, activating Flight – and then Wind Rush.

  A burst of wind shot me upward as I dragged Erebus with me.

  I didn’t stop. Didn’t let him pull away his appendage.

  I forced him up with me, still skewered through the shoulder, but now he was the one taking the damage as I smashed his back into the falling ceiling before he could strike me with and additional appendage.

  Then another.

  Then another.

  I ripped through every floor of the collapsing tomb, smashing Erebus into the stone over and over, breaking through every level, dragging him with me.

  Through the main antechamber’s ceiling.

  And finally – into the open sky.

  Behind us, the entire tomb collapsed inward, imploding into the earth, raising a huge dust screen.

  I could only hope the rest of the adventurers managed to escape in time.

  I shoved Erebus away from me, un-skewering myself from his spear-like appendage.

  Blood sprayed through the air, but it didn’t matter as long as he fell to his demise. Surely, a fall form such height would kill him.

  For about half a second, it looked like I was right.

  Erebus plummeted downward, but then his appendages shifted – merging, expanding, spreading wide – and suddenly a pair of massive, black wings erupted from his back – wings made of writhing shadows.

  Two appendages remained free, and one lashed at me immediately.

  I dodged with Wind Rush, but my System followed up with a worrying message.

  [Status Ailment: Bleeding - Health drain at 1% per 5 seconds]

  Fuuuuck! Not again…

  Then, I turned to the timer.

  [Déjà vu System Alert]

  [Darkness Ascension Imminent]

  [Countdown to the End of the World: 00:04:06]

  [System will collapse after this event]

  Four minutes or it’s all over.

  Still, I managed to drop him to half his HP.

  He looked like he was about to regenerate again, but I was having none of it.

  I swapped to Dawn and Twilight. Wind Rush surged through me, and in an instant, I struck Erebus from all directions.

  Left. Right. A blur of motion.

  But Erebus didn’t even flinch. His wings weren’t just for flying. Whenever I got close to him, they closed on his form and protected him like a shield.

  Impact after impact sent shockwaves rippling through the sky, and burning pieces of shadows crashing to the ground.

  The air itself shook.

  And below us – the world trembled.

  I caught a glimpse of Moonvale – the small village which was once inhabited by the Axul, but was now just a regular village. The houses there shuddered, collapsing under the relentless tremors caused by our aerial battle, and the falling pieces of burning shadows that exploded like falling stars.

  Damn it!

  But I couldn’t focus on the villagers. Not now when humanity’s greatest threat was still in front of me.

  A risky thought crossed my mind, but that was my best bet considering how perfectly he kept defending my attacks and wasting the remaining of the time I had left.

  Before, I hoped he would crash down when I shoved him away. Now? I’m going to help him get there.

  I shot straight up, twisting through the air as Wind Rush propelled me, placing myself above Erebus.

  I pulled back my arm, summoning a Charged Wind Arrow. The arrow condensed instantly, and I shot it downward.

  Erebus raised his wings, blocking the attack. The impact sent another shockwave rippling through the sky, rattling the world below.

  But I wasn’t done.

  Another arrow. Then another. And another.

  I let them fly in rapid succession, the cooldown practically non-existent at my current level.

  On after the other, striking, hammering, forcing him into defence.

  That was the whole point. Keep him on the reacting side of things.

  Then, when I felt the moment was right, I swapped to Astral Spear and hurled it downward at him with Shooting Star.

  It hit and the explosion sent Erebus reeling downward despite his wings defending him.

  He lost altitude.

  Good, Aidan. Keep going. Again.

  I recalled the spear and hurled it down once more, forcing him even lower.

  I repeated it, again, and again – my speed unrelenting, my assault merciless. I wasn’t about to give him even a moment to regain his footing.

  And then, I gripped the spear and dove.

  I rushed down toward him, spear-first.

  Our collision erupted with force. The shockwave shattered the skies themselves, sending birds in the vicinity plummeting, the ground below cracking under the sheer pressure.

  I pressed down harder, pushing against his wings shield.

  Erebus resisted, but I could feel it – he was losing more and more altitude, and his appendages weren't attacking - likely thanks to Gaelith.

  Cracks spread along his wings, and I pushed even harder, against his power, until finally – his wings shattered.

  I continued the dive with my spear, straight into his chest.

  We plummeted.

  A falling star, a meteor strike. Hurtling toward the ground.

  Erebus kept resisting, and an appendage speared through my gut, dropping my HP down to 5% and shifting our trajectory a little.

  I clenched my teeth, choking down the pain. I couldn’t use Wind Fortification. Not until the last second, or I’d die on impact. But I had a different defence against this.

  Right on cue, Revitalization activated – an advanced Durability skill that restored 70% of HP instantly upon reaching 5% HP. I only got it thanks to Goren's stats.

  The ground rushed to meet us.

  Moonvale was there…fuck.

  BOOM!

  Erebus crashed first, still impaled but my Astral Spear, his body slammed into the ground with devastating force.

  At the very last second, I activated Wind Fortification.

  The explosion of wind saved me from fatal damage, and expanded outward, practically sandwiching Erebus between the unforgiving ground and an explosive burst of compressed air.

  The result? A crater. And not just any crater – a massive one, the ground splitting apart for miles in every direction.

  Shockwaves surged outward destroying each and every house in the village, tearing nearby trees from their roots.

  The world shook, and I could hear the screams of innocent people.

  My stomach twisted.

  Before I could process anymore, I was knocked back by Erebus exploding outwards.

  I slammed into the ground, rolling violently across the broken terrain.

  Pain flared through my body, but I forced myself up, my head pounding, my ears ringing.

  There were around twenty seconds left until the end of the world.

  In the distance I saw him. He had less than 5% HP, but he was regenerating.

  I just needed to hit him once.

  Seeing all the destruction we had caused. The countless lives this battle took.

  I knew I had to end this.

  I could do nothing but apologize to Gaelith in my mind.

  I charged forward, Astral Spear in hand, activating Speed of Light.

  Massive tendrils erupted from the ground, lashing out with terrifying speed. Even with my current enhanced velocity, I barely dodged them.

  Then, one of them slammed into my arm as I attempted to sidestep, knocking Astral Spear from my grip.

  But I kept moving, summoning Convergence mid-run.

  Another tendril struck. The sword went flying.

  I switched to Dawn and Twilight, but the tendrils coiled around me, squeezing hard. I slashed through them, severing the binding – but lost the daggers in the process.

  Still running.

  I snatched Lightning Claw, activating Stormpierce for a guaranteed hit – only for another tendril to come out of nowhere and slam into my side, cancelling the channel, and knocking the dagger away.

  My vision blurred, my body still bleeding, but I pressed on. Just a few more steps. Just one more hit – that’s all I needed.

  I summoned Silverfang, cutting through the tendrils in my path, closing in.

  But another one wrapped around my wrist, yanking me backward. I twisted, cutting through it with the glaive – losing Silverfang as it was wrenched from my grip.

  I didn’t stop.

  Inches away from Erebus, ten seconds on the timer – there was only one weapon left. The one that never left me.

  Nightfall.

  I summoned the trusty sword, my heartbeat pounding as I swung it at Erebus, activating its unique skill.

  But a surprise tendril intercepted the attack. While another one pierced my gut, dropping my HP to less than 10%.

  My sword stopped just short of Erebus’ head. A breath away.

  Erebus shrieked, the sound almost celebratory.

  He thought he won.

  Oh, how wrong he was…

  I smiled.

  “Maybe this will teach you to respect humanity more.”

  Nightfall’s unique skill – Time-Delay Swing – activated.

  The strike repeated itself instantly, his protective tendril not ready for it.

  The sword sliced through it and stuck in his head.

  His HP hit 0%.

  A monstrous explosion of darkness erupted as Erebus shrieked in pain, blasting me away and crashing against the ground.

  I won.....But at what cost?

  ***

  I woke up on the ruined ground, a male healer tending to my wounds.

  I recognized him - the same healer who had died to the wolves’ attack at the start of the raid. The one who had called for help.

  At least, I managed to save him.

  A circle of adventurers had gathered around us. Some still stared at me in shock, others with fear, and a few with what looked like admiration.

  “Lady Mikaela!” The healer called out. “He’s waking up!”

  The crowd parted as Lady Mikaela pushed through, her voice commanding. “Let me through!”

  Our eyes met, and compared to earlier, I saw neither suspicion or fear – only curiosity and respect.

  “How are you feeling?” She asked, looking worried. “I have many questions about what happened, and…well, about you. But if you need time to recover, I won’t press you.”

  I ignored her.

  “Yana…” I murmured, barely able to form the word. I just wanted to see her.

  Lady Mikaela’s face darkened.

  A cold pit formed in my stomach at her reaction. “Where is she?”

  Lady Mikaela inhaled deeply, her expression breaking, a tear rushing down her cheek.

  “She rushed here right after you. She helped evacuate and save many Moonvale villagers, but…” Her voice cracked. “She didn’t make it, Aidan. I’m so, so sorry.”