Chapter 719 Desperate Measures
Rodney felt his mind slip away, suddenly free-floating in a comfortable darkness.
'Is this what death feels like?' his mind mused.
'It's a lot more peaceful than I thought. No hell. No heaven. Just serenity.'
His mind drifted to the scene of Phoenix crying, and Astaroth looking angry.
'I hope you two don't do anything rash. This wasn't your fault. Had I not insisted on coming, the situation would not have gone this way. I hope I didn't start a war…'
The comfort of the silent darkness around him made him feel like he could just close his eyes forever and let time slip by.
But a heat rose in his chest.
Opening his eyes, he looked down and could see his chest glowing in bright white light.
'What is going on?' he wondered.
"…in th…"
'Huh? Was that a voice?'
"…ng in the…"
'That sounds so familiar…'
His chest pulsed with heat again, and a soft voice rang in his ear.
"It is not your time yet. Live. Guide him. Do not let him succumb to his darkness."
'Who was that?' Rodney wondered.
But the voice was gone just as quickly as it came, replaced by Astaroth's voice once again, this time clearer.
"Hang in there, god dammit!"
'He sounds so desperate. Did I mean that much to him? But we barely shared time together…'
"Don't you die on us, you idiot! You have a daughter to take care of!" Astaroth's voice echoed again, stronger this time.
'Right. My daughter. What will she become if I leave her? Who will take care of her?' he thought.
Once again, his chest pulsed in heat, this time so hot, he felt pain.
'Argh. That hurt. What the heck?'
"Come on! Wake up, Rodney!"
Another pulse of heat shook him, searing his insides.
'Argh! Make it stop!' his mind shouted.
"Get up, you hear me?!"
The pain surged again as his body writhed in the darkness.
And then…
*Gasp*
Rodney suddenly jerked up, taking a deep breath, before coughing out some of the remaining blood in his throat and mouth.
"What… What is going on? What happened?" he asked, in confusion.
His memory was blurry, the last images in his mind being of Phoenix crying.
Turning to look around, he could see some Themiscus healers standing around him, mouths hanging. In front of him, Astaroth was sweating profusely, as two white wings on his back started turning to ash.
"Good. You are back. Don't you dare leave us hanging like this again…" Astaroth said, his eyes heavy, as he punched Rodney's chest weakly.
"What happened?" the commander asked, still confused.
***
When Rodney had sighed his last breath out, Astaroth had entered into panic mode.
"Come on, Luna! Why isn't your healing working?"
The little girl was sweating, as her mana was already running out. And that was saying a lot, given her very deep mana pool.
But she was pouring everything she had into healing Rodney, as she could feel the fear of loss in Astaroth's soul.
But even with all her mana going into healing, she could only close the wounds. There wasn't much she could do about replenishing his lost blood.
And there was a lot of lost blood.
The Themiscan healers had come in a few seconds later, spreading out to Phoenix, Mariah, and Rodney, in equal numbers.
Phoenix had pushed them away, shouting, "Heal him! I'm fine!"
But when looking at Rodney's already cooling body, their faces dropped.
"Ma'am… He's already—"
"No! Don't say it! Bring him back!"
Ulrick had gone to the arena grounds, once the healers assured him his daughter would live, and stopped above his son's corpse. Already his traits were hardening.
"I said no one was to die. Why did you get here so slowly?" he asked, his voice seething with anger.
The healers felt a pressure set in on their minds. But what could they do?
"Sir. Bringing back someone from the dead requires an extremely high level of holy magic. There is nothing we can do…"
Astaroth's heart was pumping loudly in his chest.
'Think Alex. Think. There has to be something you can do. You said no more losing anyone. Then do something!' he berated himself mentally.
He was hearing the people talk around him, but his mind was elsewhere. He only snapped back to his senses when he heard 'High-level holy magic'.
'Could we get Silent Light here? I think he has a spell for this, right? No. He's out of reach. What other option do we have?'
"Then get me a healer who can, you half-wit!" Ulrick shouted, about to start smacking some heads around.
"I lost my son once. I am not losing him a second time! Beg the other kingdoms if you have to, but get me someone who can bring him back! Now!"
The healers were beginning to fear for their lives.
That's when Astaroth's mind clicked to another being who had high-level holy power.
'Geminae!' Astaroth shouted in his mind.
Instantly, he felt himself sink into his soul, where the familiar white room greeted him. In front of him, Geminae was looking at him calmly.
"I need your help. Can you bring someone back from the dead?"
The soul doppelg?nger looked at him, a tinge of sadness flashing by its eyes before it shook its head no.
"Death… Permanent…" he replied, his words heavy.
"No. No, no no no. No, no, no no! I refuse to take that as an answer! There has to be a way!"
Astaroth started spinning in place, wracking his mind like a madman. But then his gaze snapped back to the doppelg?nger.
"I'm borrowing your power. If you can't do anything about it, then I will!"
Geminae shook his head no, refusing to lend his power. But Astaroth didn't care.
"I'm not asking," he said, slamming his hand into Geminae, the power immediately starting to transfer from the angel-looking soul into his.
Immediately, the doppelg?nger's eyes widened in panic. He wasn't afraid of losing his life, but Astaroth was not ready to wield his powers.
But Astaroth didn't care. He refused to lose someone he cared about.
Not again.
When he opened his eyes again, his body was surging with power. Wings had grown on his back once more, and he could look at the people's souls around him.
And Rodney's was still not entirely gone.
"There is still a chance…" he muttered.
"Get out my way!" he shouted, pushing through the healers and reaching back at Rodney's body.
Dropping to his knees, Astaroth touched Rodney's chest, feeling the soul fading away.
"No. You are not dying. I refuse to let you go."
He started pouring his mana into the soul, trying to keep it from fading away completely.
His high affinity with soul magic allowed a miracle to take place. The mana he poured into Rodney took on a unique property and started trickling into the soul, reinvigorating it.
It wasn't enough to restore it, but it was enough to keep him from fading to nothing.
"Hang in there, Rodney. You can't go just yet."
Astaroth redoubled the effort, pouring his mana in faster, trying to beat the speed of fading.
"Come on. Hang in there."
He could feel a reaction happening in Rodney's body, as he kept shoving the equivalent of divine energy into his commander.
"Hang in there, god dammit!"
Rodney's body shook ever so slightly.
"Don't you die on us, you idiot! You have a daughter to take care of!" Astaroth shouted at the body.
The body shook again, this time visible for all to see.
"Oh, my god. He's reviving him! But how?! He isn't even casting a spell!" one healer exclaimed.
"Come on! Wake up, Rodney!" Astaroth screamed.
He could feel his body weakening fast. If Rodney didn't come back soon, he would run out of juice, and all would be for nought.
"Get up, you hear me?!" he shouted in desperation.
And the miracle had happened.
*Gasp*
'Thank the gods… I was able to save him,' Astaroth thought, feeling himself fall asleep.
After punching him in the chest, Astaroth collapsed, completely drained.
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