The Sword and The Shadow

Gift

When Nidhogg was no longer able to control the mana in his body to suppress the explosion, the sky of Melindor was dyed red. Angelista had never seen such a terrifying explosion before. Even though ti was tens of thousands of meters away, the strong winds wrought by the explosion caused much of the buildings in Melindor to shake and shudder. The change in pressure due to the destructive blow caused many commoners in half the continent to lose their lives from not being able to get acclimated to the sudden change.

The explosion lasted one long minute, but its aftermath wouldn't calm within a few short days. Nidhogg was already at the brink of death. Both his physical body and diatagi had suffered great damage. If he wasn't given immediate treatment, he would soon die.

However, the myth-realm magus wasn't in a rush to check on his wounds. He floated in the air and looked powerlessly at the land so far away.

A black sword pierced through the back of his heart. He should've been fighting back from the fatal blow, but he didn't move apart from shuddering from the pain. Him losing his will to live was one thing; he already no longer had the energy to move.

Leguna didn't fare too well either. His right hand was very badly burned. Had he not protected himself with his shadow energy, he would've been vaporized by the sheer heat from Nidhogg's Host of Flame and the heat from friction with the air as he flew up. During the explosion, he even used Shadow Blink to cross into the shadow realm. Otherwise, he would've died a couple more times even with his divine power. Even with all that protection, it wouldn't be far off to describe him as being pierced with a thousand holes all over.

Even so, his hand still gripped his sword tight. He knew that he had to kill Nidhogg no matter what. He wasn't doing that for the world, its inhabitants, or the empire. He did it all for only those he cherished.

"Don't be… so… nervous… it's… over… you won…" Nidhogg muttered as blood flowed out of his mouth nonstop. Leguna didn't let his guard down. Nidhogg forced a smile, "Seriously, you…"

"Huff… huf…" Leguna didn't say anything and only breathed heavily.

"You made a choice different from mine." In his final moments when he made his final recollection, he regained his calm and composure. He struggled free from the sword and turned around. "I've already asked you the reason once. Do you mind if I ask you again?"

Leguna remained silent. He was struggling to maintain flight, but he still chose to respond. "They taught me something important. As long as I'm alive, I should not give up on hope."

"Hope, huh…" He wasn't surprised by the answer. His own eyes seemed to shine with some hope too. He quelled his emotions and said, "If… I give you one more piece of hope… can you give me one too?"

"What did you say?" Leguna froze.

Nidhogg didn't bother to explain. He focused his attention and squeezed the last of his power into his hands. After compressing his power, his pale face turned whiter. However, he still maintained control over the bunch of magic in his hand.

Nidhogg smiled relaxedly at the sight of Leguna's tensed-up look. He raised his hand and stuck it deep into his chest, rummaging around as if he was looking something. His pained grunts sounded nonstop.

He spent a whole minute mutilating himself before finally taking his hand out of his chest. Stretching it to Leguna, he said, "Take it. This is your hope. But I must warn you. In taking this hope, you'll have to face even greater despair."

"What happened to Big Bro Leguna?" Innilis asked anxiously back on the ground. She had been prepared to die before the cursing crowd, but Leguna's arrival and rescue caused her mood to shoot straight up to heaven. Nidhogg's appearance dragged her back to hell. She had experienced enough ups and downs for a lifetime that day alone. It was a wonder that she didn't collapse from the shock.

Eirinn seemed to feel her anxiety. Squeezing her hand, she said, "Don't worry, Innie. He'll be fine."

Innilis calmed down some.

"How can you be so sure even though you can't see or hear?" Angelista muttered to herself.

"No, Sis Eirinn is right," Innilis said, "She understands Big Bro the best. I trust her."

Angelista shrugged and kept her mouth shut. Though she didn't want Leguna to die just like that, she doubted even a legendary dragon would be able to survive an explosion of that magnitude. She had only managed to protect the rest of them by dictating barriers like never before, and that was when they were so far away. She didn't even want to imagine how it would be like to be at the center of the explosion.

This brat is always full of surprises. I hope it's the same this time, she thought, before she turned her attention to the bloody skies.

"Huh?" She narrowed her eyes; being a high-order magus and dark elf, she had amazing vision. She seemed to have picked up on something.

A minute later, she was certain of what she saw. She turned to Innilis and said, "Make sure Leguna remembers that he now owes me three to four favors."

Before Innilis figured out what she meant, she left the barrier and flew into the skies.

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