A house shattered as Thor crashed down on it. Wendy, who was riding on its back, got thrown off and fell down a few meters away from the gravely injured beast, unconscious.
Blood spilled at the side of her lips, and injuries riddled her body.
Thor forced himself to stand up, and walked shakily towards her. He then used his body to shield her from the spells that were flying in every direction, not caring if they hit friend or foe.
The only thing that was on his mind was to protect Wendy, for he knew that William would be sad if she lost her life in this battle.
Ashe was the first to fall after she had shielded Est from the attack of Drakon Nalzrig. The King of Serpents had zeroed in on her after Dia appeared on the battlefield.
The Mermaid had unleashed her full powers, but against the might of a Myriad Beast at its peak, she was like a puppy challenging a full grown tiger to a biting contest.
Icarus and Daedalus came to Est’s rescue and pushed the Winged Serpent back from its one-sided bullying. Although neither of them were Myriad Beasts at the moment, their ranks were half a step away from it.
Eneru had once again fought against Jekyll, while Ezkalor and Zyphon watched from the side. The two Guardians felt distaste at the current state of things and refused to participate in the fight.
They were Myriad Beasts, so no one could order them to do anything. Besides, Zyphon didn’t want to antagonize William because both of them had a unique relationship, due to him being the disciple of the God who ruled over them.
Ezkalor had never wanted to participate in the war in the first place, so he was fine with watching from the side. He only joined last time due to William’s threat. Now that the Half-Elf couldn’t be seen anywhere, the Ancient Dragon simply spectated and watched as blood flowed freely like a river.
The Protectors of the Kraetor Army were no longer at their encampment. Empress Sidonie had sent them to the city to look after the people that were important to William. All of them had been tasked to protect Wendy, Est, and the girl with light-blue hair.
The purple-haired woman was assigned to Wendy.
Nero was the one that looked after Est.
And the teenage boy with light-blue hair was assigned to Ashe.
Empress Sidonie only told them to interfere if their wards were about to die. Until then, they could just observe the battle and see how it ended.
Among the three, only Est remained.
Dia flapped her wings and summoned powerful wind blades that cut through the bodies of the Elves that tried to target Est, who was riding on her back.
Celine and Oliver, reaped lives like cutting grasses, but they stayed near Est’s vicinity so they could come to his aid if ever someone decided to attack him.
Right now, the handsome boy was the only one that was commanding the Defenders in the siege that was happening all over the city.
“Stay out of my way, Bastards!” Nalzrig shouted as he transformed into his true form. Icarus and Daedalus had managed to push him back for a quarter of an hour in his humanoid form. Although the King of Serpents didn’t want to admit it, he couldn’t overpower the two unless he took on his true form.
A ten-meter long White-Winged-Serpent roared in fury as he lashed his tail towards the two Champions of the Minotaur Race.
Icarus and Daedalus deftly evaded this attack and even managed to do a counter attack that pushed the Winged Serpent back a few hundred meters in the air.
Although they still hadn’t reached the rank of Myriad Beasts, Icarus and Daedalus were equipped with Mythical Ranked Equipment that allowed them to fight those that were a realm above their ranks.
Feeling humiliated by his failure to get the upper hand, Drakon Nalzrig finally decided to get serious. He soared towards the sky where he opened its mouth in preparation for a Dragon Breath Attack.
However, before he could even unleash his attack, King Minos managed to throw Drauum in his direction. The Ancient Golem collided with the Winged Serpent’s head, cancelling its attack.
Nero laughed when he saw the disgruntled look on Nalzrig’s face, and Drauum’s irritation as the Ancient Golem landed on the ground.
Clearly, he was enjoying the hardships that the two Guardians of the Silvermoon Continent were experiencing.
‘I finally caught you!’
Alessio silently declared as he cast a fireball in Est’s direction. Due to the chaos that was happening in the surroundings, he managed to sneak right next to Dia, using a special invisible spell, and unleashed a Fireball at Est’s blindspot.
The fireball exploded and almost dismounted Est from Dia’s back. Due to the bond that Dia had shared with him, Est managed to acquire the skill Union of Man and Beast. This allowed him to stay mounted on Dia’s back even with the fireball’s explosion.
If Est hadn’t been wearing any special kind of armor that resisted magical attacks, he might have become a charred corpse by now. However, William didn’t skimp on their protection and forged light-weight mithril armor that resisted both physical and magical attacks.
Caught in the unexpected attack, Dia angrily turned around and fired a Dragon Breath in Alessio’s direction. However, the Leader of Deus in the Silvermoon Continent dodged to the side as he activated his invisible spell.
Dia screeched angrily as she flew high in the air to prevent Alessio from taking her by surprise again.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Est said through gritted teeth as a burning sensation spread across his back. Although his armor had mitigated the damage, it still left him with serious injuries.
He hastily drank the Elixir in his possession, and the pain on his back immediately disappeared. However, at the same time, Nalzrig successfully broke through Icarus’ and Daedalus’ defense, and charged towards Dia, whom he had labeled as a traitor to the Winged-Serpent’s Race.
Dia tried to outfly Nalzrig, but it was to no avail. In the end, the older Winged Serpent lashed out its tail and sent Dia crashing near the Royal Palace of the Hellan Academy.
Est was almost crushed by Dia’s body, if not for the fact that the Golden-Winged Serpent managed to flip her body to the side at the last minute.
“It’s over,” Drauum declared. “Surrender, and I will spare your life, livestock.”
King Minos glanced at his people and the Humans that were still fighting with everything they’ve got. All of them were riddled with injuries, but the fire in their eyes still burned with determination. Seeing that they would fight till they breathed their last, the King of Minotaurs once again faced the Ancient Golem and gave a powerful war cry.
Surrender was not an option. They would fight to the death, down to the last man!
——
Inside the Palace…
William walked slowly and used the wall to support his body. He could hear the sounds of battle ringing just beyond the empty hallways of the palace, and it urged him to increase his pace.
However, instead of going to the battlefield, he was headed to a place that had been abandoned by everyone.
When he arrived at his destination, he was surprised to see a single person standing there. A person that he had seen countless times, and yet, he still couldn’t remember her name.
“Welcome back, Sir William,” Ariadne greeted as she walked towards him.
William took in a deep breath before replying to the young lady that had kept him company back at the Sanctuary of the Minotaurs.
“Stop,” William said. “Don’t come near me. It isn’t safe.”
His legs were already shaking, and was on the verge of bending over. However, he firmly held the wall to give him support because there was still something that he needed to do.
“I know that it isn’t safe,” Ariadne replied. “That is why I am here.”
She then walked towards William and held him in a firm embrace.
“It is fine, Sir William,” Ariadne said as she gently pulled the back of his head towards her. “Give me the honor of being your first. Use me, to win this war.”
Ariadne pressed William’s head over her chest as she whispered words of encouragement in his ears.
“It’s fine, Sir William,” Ariadne whispered. “I am here because I need to be here. Please, end this war. End the suffering of our people.”
William’s breath grew ragged and his heart started to beat wildly inside his chest. It was not the young lady’s softness, her fragrance, her words, or the warmth of her body that caused this reaction to William.
It was the powerful, and rich blood that flowed in her veins.
William opened his mouth as his fangs extended. He had been fighting the extreme bloodthirst ever since he returned from the Undying Lands. His thoughts had started to grow hazy, and yet, he was still aware of the situation.
Right at the moment when he was about to draw blood from Ariadne’s body, William paused. Although the young lady whom he couldn’t remember had given her permission, he still needed to ask.
This was his way of confirming that he was still in control of his thoughts and emotions.
“Are you sure?” William asked in a ragged voice.
Instead of answering, Ariadne used both of her hands to pull William’s head in.
Just like a parched man being offered a glass of water, William finally accepted the gift that was being presented to him.
Blood spilled, and the young lady shuddered due to the pain that briefly made her draw a sharp breath. Even so, she didn’t move nor push William away.
William’s fangs had penetrated deep into her neck and drew blood. He drank the sweet nectar, and felt himself come alive again.
He didn’t dare waste a single drop, as he forcefully controlled his urges. William could feel Ariadne’s life force flowing inside his body, and with it, came a surge of power that he had never felt before.
Ariadne sighed as William pulled back.
Her sigh was full of relief, with a tinge of regret. It was as if she had wanted William to drink more of her blood, but was also afraid that he would drink to the point where her life would wither away, like a flower that had grown past its prime.
“Thank you, Ariadne,” William said softly as he gently laid the young lady on the floor because she had lost the strength to stand. “Sleep. When you wake up, I promise that this war will have already ended.”
Ariadne glanced at William’s handsome face that was now brimming with life. It was vastly different from the paled-face Half-Elf, who had struggled to reach the Altar that the organization had built.
“I believe you, Sir William.”
“Thank you.”
Ariadne reached out to touch William’s face one last time before she closed her eyes to rest. William sent her inside the Villa of his Thousand Beast Domain.
That was the safest place right now, and William didn’t have to worry about her safety if she was there.
The Half-Elf then walked towards the Altar that was currently absorbing the souls of those that had died on the battlefield.
William summoned Malacai’s Scepter and gripped it firmly using his left hand. If one were to look closely, the skin tone of this hand, up to the arm, was different compared to the rest of his body.
His right hand pressed over the surface of the Altar as he searched for the souls that he was looking for.
“Finally, I found you guys,” William said with relief as he exerted his power on the altar, drawing out the souls that he had searched for.
“System, it’s time to play some music.”
< Understood. >
< Now playing the background music of the Final Boss. >
