[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 81 - 20: The Battle’s End [5]

Chapter 81: Chapter 20: The Battle’s End [5]

It was like a nightmare come true.

Their only hope, the Final Spirit, was visibly struggling. Even from a distance, Evan seemed to be fighting back viciously as well. At this point, there was no telling where the direction of the battle would take them. Would it end in victory, or in tears?

Meanwhile, Mathias was angry. No, he was furious.

He had already known how taxing it was for the Summoner to cast magic in the middle of the sealing process. The only thing a Summoner should focus on was strengthening the Deiridh’s power while it restrained the Calamity. The demonic entity was powerful enough as it was, so there shouldn’t be any unnecessary waste of magic and energy.

He had to admit though that Ardyn’s unexpected interference had disrupted Evan’s incantation for the celestial prison. But he also knew that it wasn’t that simple, that he couldn’t completely blame Ardyn. After all, it was the Calamity that had brought him to the battlefield. Being here was not done out of his own will.

Besides, judging by Blade’s explanation earlier and the discussion just now, it seemed that Ardyn had failed to find his Summoner. It made him wonder just what exactly the guards were doing, or if something different had happened in the Church.

Evan... Mathias thought, gritting his teeth as he stared at his hands. They were clean now, as if they had never been injured in the first place. He couldn’t feel any pain in his shoulder, either. In fact, he felt refreshed, like a warm energy had washed over him.

But the consequences of such an action overwhelmed the gentle feeling that remained in his body. Instead, Mathias couldn’t help but feel horrible. Evan must have sensed something sinister in the wounds, and that was why he went out of his way to heal him even though he was in the middle of a strenuous process.

Still, he should’ve prioritized sealing the monster, not caring for his Guardians! It was already a delicate situation where one’s actions, no matter how small, could determine the tides of battle.

It was harsh, but that was the way logic and reason worked. Mathias didn’t care one bit about what would happen to himself. What he cared about was Evan, his friends, the kingdom, and the rest of the world. They had the situation in their hands, and yet...

"Don’t blame yourself," Elyana had told him earlier, a few minutes before Voss approached.

Mathias had been brooding about it for a while as they ran, with Elyana supporting him all the way. He supposed that he should have expected that. After all, Elyana was a perceptive woman. Not only that, but she knew him and Evan quite well, having been friends with them for a long time.

"I’m worried about him," Mathias confided to her later on, staring at the monster as it roared along with the rumbling of thunder overhead. "The monster has become too strong. If he falters now..."

"I’m sure he can make it work somehow," Elyana said, her voice filled with conviction. "Summoners are the hope of the world. They’re the only ones that can seal this danger away. Evan is strong, and we all know that."

"Yes, I do know that. But it seems that the sealing is no longer enough," Mathias said quietly, startling Elyana by the tone of his voice.

The sense of foreboding in Mathias’ gut only grew as he analyzed the current situation. Looking at it now, it sent alarm bells ringing in his head. The feeling was so immense that he almost forgot how to breathe.

It was supposed to be a straightforward procedure. It was supposed to be done smoothly with little struggle whatsoever. Weren’t the gods’ blessings enough to thwart evil?

If so, then why was it that evil seemed to only grow more and more?

Why did it feel like... they were going to lose?

"What...?" There was an uncertain note to her voice. "Matty, what are you saying?"

Mathias was silent. He couldn’t answer Elyana.

Rather, he didn’t want to answer it. It was as if, if he said it out loud, it would actually come true.

‏‏‎ ‎

* * *

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Evan narrowed his eyes. The Calamity fought harder this time, and it seemed to be gathering every ounce of strength it could muster to overcome the restraints.

What... the hell...?

He observed as the atmosphere seemed to change considerably. Thunder still rumbled in the sky, but the air was now heavily tinged with malevolence. Space and gravity began to distort around the Calamity, and it was as if the monster was beckoning to something.

What is it doing now?

Evan noticed it as soon as they came into view. Several tiny balls of light appeared from afar, and it was as though they were being sucked into the Calamity’s aura. More familiar-looking lights also floated down from the sky, as if they had been summoned.

Seconds later, the orbs grew larger as they approached, and it only took Evan a moment to realize what they were.

Lingers.

Evan felt his breath catch in his throat, and something akin to dread swirled in his gut. He had a very bad feeling about this.

He had heard of this phenomenon before. It had happened several times in history, perhaps when the monster was in dire straits or when it wanted more destruction. Basically, when the Calamity felt that it was in grave danger, it would gather massive dark energy from the surroundings to give itself strength.

And since the Calamity was known for devouring souls...

Shit, Evan cursed internally as he directed more holy energy towards the Final Spirit. This is really bad. I gotta speed up the process.

He was nearing his limit. He probably shouldn’t have healed Mathias earlier, but he knew the consequences of receiving the Calamity’s dark essence into one’s body, no matter how small it was. As long as something belonging to the demonic entity remained in the bloodstream, it would slowly kill the person and torment them until they died.

The effects varied from person to person, but Evan didn’t want to risk it with Mathias. Mathias was one of his closest friends. He couldn’t bear the thought of the man suffering after this battle.

But he also knew that he had made a reckless move. By healing his friend, he decreased the amount of magic that he could cast. Magic that he could’ve used to strengthen the Deiridh.

However, he had done it out of impulse. He didn’t think about it twice. His hands moved on their own, and before he knew it, he healed Mathias.

A wry smile curled Evan’s lips. I’m guessing that he must be really angry at me right now for wasting my magic on him. That’s just like his personality.

At that moment, the Final Spirit pulled out one of the weapons that had been plunged through the Calamity and then slammed the blade through the ground. In an instant, a purifying light erupted from its fingers and channeled down to the weapon until it spread to the earth.

I should make the black liquid disappear, Evan thought as he concentrated on spreading the holy magic over the corrupted ground.

However, it soon became apparent that the light wasn’t enough. The liquid continued to spread rapidly, and what was more...

Rain began to fall from the sky.

Evan blinked at the sudden drops, and soon the world was noisy as a heavy storm drenched the land, thunderclaps echoing overhead from time to time.

The Calamity opened its mouth as wide as it could, and then the Lingers, drawn like nails to a magnet, went right in.

Evan clenched his jaw, eyes narrowed as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

The holy light wasn’t working. It was too strong.

At that moment, the tides of battle turned. Calamity’s tendrils erupted with a thunderous boom, shattering the bars of the almost-finished celestial prison. The magical sigils surrounding the monster quickly dissipated in response.

"Ugh..!" Evan cried out, instinctively covering his eyes with his arm.

Before he or the Final Spirit could react, the Calamity stretched out its tendrils, burrowing them deep into the cracked earth.

And then they emerged as spikes from beneath Evan, rising high enough to reach him above, piercing his holy shield.

Shit! he cursed.

The shield shattered, sending Evan to the ground, blood spurting from his mouth. He turned his head to see that his left arm was bleeding. He had barely managed to pull it out of the spikes, but he was left with an open wound in return.

Damn it!

Evan breathed heavily and watched helplessly as the Final Spirit slowly faded away.

My magic... The seal...

Evan shut his eyes, his heart and mind simmering with conflict. He thought he could hear the voices of his Guardians screaming at him from afar, but at this moment they were like a distant echo in his ears. He could barely concentrate from the pain, and he felt like he was about to go insane.

But one thing was certain.

The sealing process... had failed.

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