Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 125: A crack

Even after losing both his arms and with a sword pointed straight at his face, the assassin wasn’t flinching, nor could she see even a shred of fear on his face as his sharp gaze met Adrian’s.

Still, a sense of belated exhaustion washed over her as she sighed in relief.

’We... survived...’

The battle was won, and they would not be attacked by someone else since they had dealt with that servant.

With the rush of adrenaline gone, her legs began feeling wobbly. All her mana was nearly spent. What remained was also draining as she constantly released it to lessen the pressure.

The clearing where they had fought was completely wrecked. Several small craters had formed from the pressure of the absurd amount of mana Adrian was still releasing. The green grass was burnt black in several places, and some of the trees had even caught fire.

The sky above was still covered in thick, dark clouds, making the surroundings dim, as though moments away from nightfall.

Adrian spoke once again in the same cold tone he had used before.

"I am not going to repeat myself. You have no hope of surviving if you keep your mouth shut. Tell me who sent you after us."

The assassin let out a fake sigh and spoke in a strained voice.

"Brat, are you dumb? Did I not say that I only know as much as you do? We received an anonymous request, and the one to deliver it was that servant whose head you chopped off. I have no clue who ‌made the request, nor am I interested."

Adrian stared at him silently for a bit before sighing.

"I see, then there is no reason to keep you alive anymore. Tell me something that can be useful to me, and I might just spare your life."

But the moment he said that, flames burst from the assassin’s body, causing Adrian to jump back.

Enveloped in flames, the assassin growled.

"Brat, you really are dumb, aren’t you? The world is not so nice that it will let me survive so easily. There is no future for us if we fail the task we were assigned."

As those words left his mouth, the ring of flame floating behind his back moved. It rapidly grew in size and created a flame barrier around the assassin, shielding him from all sides. Next, he channeled mana into his feet, and a spell materialized around him.

Adrian reacted quickly, performing multiple slashes in quick succession, shooting a dozen or so mana blades at him. But they all bounced off the barrier of flame.

He tried to attack the barrier in multiple different ways, but he was unable to break through.

But as Adrian continued to struggle against the flame barrier, Evangeline... was frozen, as if turned to stone.

’N-no...’

Her eyes shook as her gaze remained fixed on the spell the assassin was moments away from casting.

Adrian must not know about that spell, or he would be far more desperate.

But since Evangeline had studied the spells available for her elements, she could easily recognize it.

It was a tier-two fire spell called "Crisis Ignition," and its function was to use up all your mana as fuel and make your body explode. Even with the mana reserves of a Phase Two, the explosion would affect the area within a radius of two kilometers.

And even if the assassin had used up some of his mana in the fight, a Phase Three’s mana reserves were three times larger than a Phase Two.

’No! We’re both going to die!’

And just then, the man finished casting the spell, and the assassin’s whole body began glowing with a fiery orange glow.

And the moment she saw that, a cold feeling gripped her heart, as though icy claws were grabbing hold of her body, pulling her into an embrace. It was a familiar feeling, something she had experienced moments before her death.

’Not like this! I can’t let this second chance end like this!’

She looked around in panic, not knowing what she was searching for. It was as though she were grasping at straws.

But then her eyes suddenly landed on something. Something was lying on the ground, producing a bluish glow. It was the scroll that the servant was trying to use in order to return.

It was... a half-activated teleportation scroll.

Her body moved before her mind could process things, dashing towards it. By the time she came to her senses, she was already infusing her mana into the scroll.

Realizing the situation, she raised her head and turned to look at Adrian.

But the moment her eyes landed on him, she froze, as if petrified.

By now, half of Adrian’s jet-black hair had turned completely ash-colored. His grey eyes were no longer simply glowing with a blue glow; they had turned entirely blue instead.

But the most significant detail about him was something else.

Cracks.

Glowing blue cracks were spreading across his cheeks and neck. No, she could even notice their glow beneath his clothes.

His entire body was covered in those strange, glowing blue cracks.

Just as she was looking at him, Adrian, too, was looking at her.

...And the look in his eyes...

Just then, her vision was enveloped in a blindingly bright flash of light.

As the light faded, Evangeline found herself standing in the middle of a bustling city with people busily walking through the roads. The sky above her was clear of any clouds as warm sunlight illuminated the surroundings. A stark contrast to the sky filled with dense dark clouds.

The surroundings and some of the buildings were familiar to her, signaling that she had teleported back to Aevithar.

But even as she stood in the middle of a busy road, Evangeline remained petrified.

The weight of what she had just done was slowly sinking in.

...She had escaped...

...But she had also left Adrian to die.

She had abandoned Adrian to save herself...

’Ah...’

Evangeline clutched her chest as her breathing grew uneven. She felt as though she were choking.

The look in Adrian’s eyes was still clear to her, as though it had been permanently imprinted in her mind.

That look...

She could understand the meaning of that look very clearly. It was so clear to her that she could even hear Adrian’s voice whispering in her ears.

’As expected, you really did that.’

Evangeline’s breathing became more uneven.

"No, I-I... I didn’t mean to!‌ I–"

The cold feeling she had experienced moments ago had completely faded. But it was replaced by a sharp pain in her chest, as if something inside her was breaking.

And then, she fell to her knees and broke down into tears.

"I’m sorry... I’m so s-sorry..."

***

As he saw Evangeline’s body become enveloped in light and vanish, Adrian turned his gaze to the assassin. The fiery glow of his body was intensifying with every passing moment.

Just looking at it was enough for him to know...

...that this was going to be his end.

Just then, his grandmother’s gentle voice echoed in his mind.

’Everyone has regrets when they die, there are no exceptions.’

Standing still, Adrian closed his eyes and asked himself a single question.

At this moment, when his end was moments away, did he have any regrets?

It didn’t take long for him to answer. And the answer was—

’No...’

Adrian slowly opened his eyes once again. And in the next moment, the assassin’s body exploded, and he was enveloped in the light of the explosion.