Aerchon eyed Julius for a few moments with a look of clear suspicion. Among that suspicion was also a cold, pent-up rage in his chest, stemming from Laston's betrayal. The rage and thirst for revenge would not disappear until Aerchon touched Laston with the silver blade of Arondite.
"Do you know what will happen if you plan some trick, don't you?" Aerchon asked in a cold tone.
Julius-Ozynk looked up at him. In the creature's eyes, there was a barely contained rage as well. But it wasn't just that; in those eyes, there was also frustration and despair. Ozynk was so close to taking control of this world, yet the unexpected combination of forces had forced him to admit defeat.
Of course, he had contemplated something to escape their clutches. However, they held him hostage in two worlds, this one and the Chaos Realm, where his original body resided. The Dragonborn could kill him at any time if Ozynk did something that aroused their suspicion. So, for now, he couldn't do anything to escape.
"I will tell you everything I know about Laston. And I will do my best to find him," Julius-Ozynk said, trying to sound as honest as possible.
Aurdis looked at him. Then she said, "I think we should trust his words."
"Why?" Aerchon asked, not taking his suspicious gaze off Julius-Ozynk.
"Because he is our only lead to finding Laston. If we decide not to trust him, we will have to kill him," Aurdis replied. "And I mean right now."
Julius-Ozynk flinched when he heard Aurdis's words.
"You're right," Aerchon finally said. "You better really find Laston, or you'll end up like your friends. Do you understand?"
Julius-Ozynk looked up at Aerchon. He wasn't even the one holding the power here in the Chaos Realm and holding Ozynk's body hostage. If it weren't for the Dragonborn, Ozynk was sure that they wouldn't be able to do anything to oppose him. But Ozynk quickly ordered his mind to calm down. If he acted rashly now or said something disliked by the Elves, they would complain to the Dragonborn.
"Yes, I understand," Julius-Ozynk replied with a nod, once again trying to appear as obedient as possible.
"Alright," Aerchon nodded in satisfaction. "Now we can begin to seal him."
Aerchon, Aurdis, and Saeldir were around Julius, who was kneeling on the ground. Then they stretched their hands towards each other. Silver light appeared around Julius, and under him, a magic circle emerged.
From that magic circle, a brighter light emerged to envelop Julius entirely.
The god of the Chaos Realm could only sigh in despair, realizing that his magic energy in this world was rapidly disappearing.
Ozynk could only resign himself now because there was nothing he could do with the Dragonborn holding his original body. He could only wait until his next opportunity came. Although they said they would seal him, Ozynk was sure he could find a way to re-enter this world. He had to find it.
The silver light from the magic circle enveloped him for about a minute until Ozynk began to feel his consciousness fading from this world. Not long after, he had indeed vanished from Julius's body, leaving Julius to fall unconscious on the ground.
The silver light vanished as soon as Aerchon, Aurdis, and Saeldir stopped their magic flow. They all let out a breath almost simultaneously.
"Finally, it's over," Aurdis said.
~~~
Ozynk already knew this was going to happen. The pain he hadn't felt earlier because his soul was still in Julius's body now came in waves that tortured him.
"AAAAARRGHH!!!"
Now back in his original body as an elderly man with deep black skin, Ozynk screamed loudly to express the excruciating pain he felt.
Ozynk had never experienced such a severe injury before because he always played his cards well and never allowed himself to be exposed to direct attacks by enemies. Perhaps his minions had suffered serious injuries or even death, but Ozynk remained safe in the background as a schemer.
However, everything changed when he was attacked from two different sides. There was no escape for him.
The pain in his leg, ripped apart by Erend, was excruciating. Ozynk didn't even have time to think of clever words to say to Erend because he was too busy groaning.
"Alright," Erend said, picking his ear. "You can stop screaming like a bitch now."
After a few more seconds, Ozynk finally stopped. He was still clutching his thigh.
Ozynk directed his blurry vision towards Erend, and it turned out there was another person with him. Another man with a rough face and red hair.
"Is he another Dragonborn like Isadora mentioned?" thought Ozynk, now feeling a bit afraid.
"Ozynk, I know you've been sealed from my world, so you won't be able to enter it again. But I know you won't intend to stop," Erend said. "Remember, if you ever do something like this to my world again, I will torture you with far worse torments before killing you. Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes. I understand," Ozynk replied, struggling to make a sound amid his pain.
Erend nodded as if approving of his surrender. "My friend here will stay here to make sure you behave. If you don't behave, well, he can take care of you on his own."
The corner of Eccar's lips slowly curled into a wicked smile that looked so terrifying in the eyes of the suffering Ozynk.
"I will go now. Open the portal to my world," Erend said, giving orders to Ozynk.
Ozynk didn't attempt to argue and immediately opened the portal for him. When the portal was created, Erend bid farewell to Eccar and shook his hand.
"We will definitely meet again," Erend said.
"Yes, I know," Eccar replied with a smile.
"Thank you for all the help you've given," Erend said.
"I told you not to worry about it," Eccar replied. "Now, go home to your family and friends."
Erend nodded, turned around, and then entered the portal. And so, it marked the end of Erend's journey in the Chaos Realm, for now.
~~~
He arrived in front of Aurdis, Aerchon, and Saeldir, with Julius' unconscious body beside him.
"Is he alright?" Erend asked while looking at Julius.
Suddenly, Aurdis jumped and hugged him tightly. "I was so worried about you."
"You know you don't have to worry about me," Erend replied, gently stroking her hair. "But what about you?"
Erend immediately tried to move Aurdis away from him to check on her. His eyes widened when he noticed the wound on Aurdis' abdomen.
Before Erend's concern could grow, Aurdis quickly reassured him, "It's okay. I've been using magic to heal this wound since earlier." Aurdis smiled, trying to reassure Erend.
Erend let out a relieved sigh upon hearing this. "You should rest now. Everything's done, right?"
The barrier that had been covering them disappeared. Erend could see Adrien and Billy standing with Conrad a few meters away. As soon as the barrier vanished, the three of them approached.
"It's over, Drake. You did a great job," Adrien said.
"Thanks, Captain. But I think you guys here did the heavier lifting," Erend replied.
Billy snorted. "Yeah, I think so too. The battle here was much tougher because we didn't have Dragon powers."
Erend chuckled at that. However, amid the atmosphere, someone appeared to be wearing a stern expression and gazing at Erend with a curious look. That person was none other than Conrad.
Conrad still couldn't comprehend most of what was happening right now. Yes, they had indeed defeated their enemies. But how they had done it, exactly, remained beyond his grasp.
Erend had gone to the Chaos Realm and somehow managed to weaken the creature's original body, but how had he done it? How had he become so powerful?
But those questions could wait for later because right now, he was too exhausted. His magical energy had been depleted during the battle.
They all gazed at the surrounding area where destruction had spread so far that it had turned the once beautiful and pristine vicinity of the presidential palace into what looked like a disaster or war zone. This wasn't entirely inaccurate given the scale of their recent battle.
Adrien sighed. "I have no idea how to handle this situation."
The president was unconscious, their military forces were severely weakened because most of the soldiers were preoccupied with quelling the riots, and General Lennard's whereabouts remained unknown.
All of this left them anxious about the fate of their country.
"At least, now we've dealt with the biggest threat that caused all of this, right?" Billy said with his optimistic smile. "Whatever happens next... well, let's just face it head-on."
They decided to leave now. Aurdis, Aerchon, and Saeldir, who were also exhausted and had depleted their magical energy, decided to return directly to the Elven Palace.
Erend, Adrien, Billy, Conrad, and Thomas still had a lot of work to do after this mess. But before that, taking a few minutes to rest seemed like a good choice.
~~~
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢