Chapter 142: Malice Rune Realm [ 7 ]
Out of the shattered barrier came the Endbringer. The darkness spewing from her had grown, her presence pressing down on those around her like a weight. But something else had shifted.
Something hovered just inches above her head. Whatever it was, you couldn’t quite tell if it was a black thorn circlet or a gothic diadem unlike anything seen before.
It was a thin, dark band, its surface lined with sharp diamond-shaped spikes. Black as crystal, each one pointing upward, floating close enough together that they gave the impression of a thorn crown.
Whatever it was, strange as it looked, the crown was unmistakably the source of her newfound strength.
Raine wasn’t particularly in the right state of mind for a proper look at the Endbringer, though. Ever since she’d become a Sorcerer, her strength hadn’t been the only thing to grow, but she’d gained the ability of foresight.
When activated, she could see up to a few seconds into the future. Longer visions did force themselves through on occasion but mostly in dreams. But she was awake now. And she could feel one coming.
’No, I can’t sleep.’
Her ability wanted her under, her throbbing head was proof enough of that. But even if she’d wanted to give in, she couldn’t. Not with something this dangerous right in front of her. Leomaris needed her out there.
She hauled herself back to her feet, the burning pain in her head refusing to let her keep a straight face.
Charlotte clocked her distress straight away. She tried to speak, but Raine cut her off before she could get a word out.
"I will be fine. Let’s just get this over with."
Charlotte wasn’t best pleased about being shut up, but the displeasure didn’t linger. She set her expression, took her stance, and readied herself to face the Endbringer.
The Endbringer stretched her sword out before her, darkness curling around the blade like something alive.
Raine frowned. The Endbringer hadn’t done this before. Then her eyes widened in realisation.
It was too late. With one swing of her sword, the darkness launched forward as a slashing blade, the length of it alone demanding that both Charlotte and Raine block it at the same time.
But the force of it was a different matter.
Raine held her ground, the strength in her legs sinking her deep into the floor, cracking the concrete beneath, and yet they couldn’t stop it. The force kept threatening to drive them back.
Not a word passed between them, but they both knew. If they were thrown into the wall behind them, the slash would cut them in two.
Raine’s eyes tilted upward, toward the broken dome above.
"Let’s redirect it upward, Charlotte."
Charlotte gave a firm nod. Together they pushed themselves to their limits, driving the darkness upward, sending it clean through the dome and into the sky, broken glass scattering down around them.
They hadn’t so much as caught their breath before the Endbringer was on them. A powerful kick into Charlotte’s gut sent her crashing to the ground. The sword came for Raine at the same time, but she blocked it fast enough; the force behind it was savage.
The attack brought her to her knees, the concrete cracking beneath her. No sooner had she hit the ground than a kick caught her square in the gut and sent her crashing into the hallway.
She healed herself straight away, but the throbbing in her head wouldn’t let up. She wasn’t sure what her ability wanted to show her. She didn’t need to be.
She knew that if she gave in, even for a second or two, Charlotte could end up dead. And if that happened, any chance of her helping Leomaris against Instructor Moon would be slim to none.
With her trembling feet, she forced herself upright.
’I don’t know how, but she just learned my slashes. If this goes on much longer, she will adapt by learning.’
She headed back into the throne room, and the sight that met her wasn’t pretty. Charlotte was bleeding from the head, four massive arrows glowing in the air beside her.
The glow drew the Endbringer’s eye, but Charlotte didn’t wait for her approval before sending all four arrows at her in one go.
The Endbringer acted, blocking with her sword, but the impact drove her straight toward Raine, who was already concentrating her Divine Aura into her blade. She didn’t waste a second before she slashed.
Caught between two massive forces, the Endbringer should have been finished, but she unleashed a burst of darkness that swallowed both attacks in an instant. Even so, she couldn’t hold her ground entirely. She slipped, slamming hard into the ceiling.
The castle rumbled, already feeling like it was on its last legs. Raine clocked the state of the place, and her jaw tightened. Everything was a wreck, the lot of it. A few more hits like that, and the whole thing would come down around them.
"How can I defeat the Endbringer?"
Raine shrugged. Perhaps her ability was trying to give her a way through, a way to bring down something like the Endbringer. But she was in no fit state for it.
No sooner had she thought it than the Endbringer dropped from the ceiling, landing square before them.
Raine took her stance at once. "If you can create a barrier strong enough to contain her, it would be a great opportunity."
Charlotte nodded and reached for her words, but the Endbringer was in front of her before she could manage it, as though she’d teleported across the room.
Her massive palm settled against Charlotte’s face. Then, as if she’d thought better of it, she muttered something under her breath. But the words never had time to take shape before she sent Charlotte through the wall.
Her gaze shifted to Raine, and Raine instinctively put distance between them. The Endbringer showed no eagerness, though, just two powerful darkness slashes, equal in force, sent without so much as a step forward.
The sight turned Raine’s stomach. Each slash was every bit as powerful as the one she and Charlotte had barely managed between them. And there were two of them.
She felt fear for a moment. But she didn’t let it consume her.
She threw two slashes back, but they were nothing compared to the Endbringer’s. She still had to brace behind her guard to block them.
Though her slashes took some of the sting out, the attacks still did her dirty on contact. She was sent through three walls regardless.
She felt her eyes growing heavy the moment she slammed into the last wall. Her body wanted to take its chance — to rest, to give in, just as it had been begging her to do all this time.
Raine wanted to fight it. She could feel the building already coming down, and sleeping was the worst possible option, yet her body wouldn’t listen.
In the end, she slept.
