Chapitre 16: Nemesis

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

  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 clenched 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 distance, then what about Lay and Will?

  I shifted my gaze toward them.

  Lay was trying to heal herself, but something was interfering with her regeneration, 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 unless they 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 an execution.

  BAM!

  Lay was sent flying.

  Shit!

  She crashed onto the ground, skidding back before coming to a stop. Blood spttered the dirt beneath 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 quicken.

  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 happen? Let Lay die?

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

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

  She just wanted to be loved in this lonely, chaotic world… and all I did was take her kindness for granted.

  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.

  And yet… 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 acting 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 continued, 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 never stop.

  I clenched my jaw.

  I could hear Cire’s voice in my head.

  "Come back in 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 to bring 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 complicated?!

  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 one thing 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.

  CLANG! CLANG!

  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 racing.

  Think.

  Think!

  What is this ability?!

  Defense. Attack. 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?

  Destruction? Yes.

  But also... Hunger.

  Devouring.

  That’s it!

  From the beginning to the end, the bck aura had been nothing but an insatiable force, devouring everything in its path. It was as if it existed solely to consume, 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 understood.

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

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

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

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

  Then it happened.

  Will, exhausted, stumbled over a loose stone. The 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 desperation overtook me. Even after realizing what we were up against, I still had no way of stopping it.

  “Stop hurting my friends! Stop trying 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, ancient 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, unrestrained 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 comprehend.

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

  Will, though still injured, seemed to regain his energy and stamina.

  What… what was happening?

  The golden aura cshed against the bck domain, pushing it back, forcing it to shrink.

  “Elian… what did you do?” Lay’s voice was filled with confusion 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 damn cheat of an ability is gone, I can actually fight properly.” Will cracked his neck, his usual cocky grin repced by something sharper—something excited. “Tsk, not letting others use their strongest moves is just boring.”

  Lay took a deep breath, then turned to 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.

  Destruction and Creation—two opposing forces, two irreconcible existences, now locked in a direct csh.

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

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

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

  But the wolf… it looked stronger than ever. It had absorbed so much of our power throughout the fight that its body was practically 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 in return. 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 concentrated. More refined. Every attack it made carried the weight of destruction itself.

  The fight was evenly matched.

  Then—

  CRACK.

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

  SNAP.

  His weapons shattered. He was weaponless.

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

  The wolf lunged at him, but Lay intercepted, forcing it back.

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

  A broken weapon…

  I could fix that.

  No—I could do better than that.

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

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

  I raised my hand.

  Golden light gathered at my fingertips, condensing into shape in less than a second. 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 recognition the moment his hands wrapped around the hilt.

  His lips curled into a grin.

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

  Without hesitation, he lunged back into the fray, this time wielding a weapon born from pure creation.

  The battle wasn’t over yet.

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

  Will didn’t hesitate. The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt of the golden-glowing sword, his instincts told him—this weapon 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 intent.

  As the massive bde descended upon the wolf, the beast reacted instantly. It must have sensed the danger, as it pooled a significant portion of its devouring aura into a protective barrier.

  CLANG!

  The impact was monstrous. A crater formed beneath them, expanding outward with each passing second. The force of the collision sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, nearly knocking 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.

  Neither side backed down. The raw power of creation and destruction roared against each other, a battle of opposing forces. But then—

  SLASH!

  A sudden fre of golden brilliance engulfed the sword, as if the weapon itself had awakened. In an instant, the glowing bde tore through the bck aura, slicing 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?!

  Since the beginning of this fight, nothing had been able to breach that cursed bck aura. Every attack had been negated or devoured. Even Will and Lay had only managed to wound the beast when striking unprotected areas. And yet—this weapon had just cut through its defenses like they were nothing.

  What changed?

  The weapon…

  My golden domain—was it influencing the sword?

  Without wasting another second, I turned to Lay and began forging a spear in my hands, the same golden energy crackling 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 since the battle started, the wolf’s eyes locked onto me with the intention to hunt me. There 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 insignificant distraction. But now? Now, I had crossed the line.

  I had become a threat.

  And in a blur of motion, it lunged.

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

  Too fast—I couldn’t react in 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 considered the possibility that I would become the primary target.

  How stupid…

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

  Well, it wasn’t long, but I had my fun, and I have no regrets. I did everything I could.

  I simply smiled at both of them in peace and 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 turned to me, his stance rigid, and protruding from his torso—a massive bck cw, slick with fresh blood.

  No.

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

  No. No. No.

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

  His weight colpsed into my arms.

  This isn’t real. This can’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 then—even then, this idiot had the nerve to smile at me.

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

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

  He saved me.

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

  And he threw himself in front of an attack for me.

  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 and relentless, 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 honest from the start.”

  “Told me what?! That you were gonna get 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 next words were barely a whisper.

  “The next time 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 continued, his fingers twitching 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 stronger than you think I’ve seen it… so get even stronger. So strong that no one can 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. Come on, this isn’t funny.”

  I shook him harder.

  Nothing.

  This isn’t real.

  This isn’t happening.

  I clenched 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 monster—it 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 of rage and grief.

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

  Kill it.

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

  I clenched 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 devouring 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 illuminated the battlefield.

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

  A massive sword materialized above me, its golden glow so intense that the entire battlefield was drenched in light. The air trembled. The ground cracked beneath its presence. It was overwhelming. Divine.

  The weight of its existence pressed against my mind, yet it felt... natural. As if it had always been meant 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 clenched my hand into a fist and willed the bde to descend.

  “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 radiance engulfed the battlefield, obliterating the darkness. The very air howled, torn apart by the sheer force of impact.

  Then—silence.

  A dull ache spread through my body.

  Something warm trickled from my lips.

  I barely had time to register the taste of blood before my vision went bck.