[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 85 - 20: The Battle’s End [9]

Chapter 85: Chapter 20: The Battle’s End [9]

Someone’s shrill voice pierced the air, and it took Mathias a moment to realize that the sound had come from his own lips.

This couldn’t be happening.

This simply couldn’t be happening. Not after what had happened to Ansel.

Mathias rushed toward Elyana, catching her body as it fell backward. She shivered in his arms, shuddering violently as the spikes retreated, spilling more blood to the ground.

"Shit!" Mathias cursed. His heartbeat was pounding incessantly in his ears, and he could no longer hear anything else. "Stay with me, Ely. Don’t give up yet!"

Elyana’s only response was to choke out blood.

The sight of it drained all the color from Mathias’s face. "Hey... Hey. Cast your magic on your wounds. Come on... You can do this. You’re stronger than this!"

Elyana nodded weakly before crystallizing the gaping wounds to staunch the bleeding.

But both knew that it was too late.

She looked at him as she cast her magic, swallowing as the pain wracked her body. She had never thought that she would see Mathias like this, his features twisted in desperation and tears streaming down his face. He had always been the stronger one compared to her.

She wished that she could reassure him somehow, but it was already becoming hard to keep her eyes open.

Evan...

"What in the blazes?!"

Blade swore as he rushed to her side, and so did Voss. They knelt there, too shocked to do anything but stare as the blood seeped into the beautiful pink crystals. Their expressions mirrored each other’s, contorted into a mixture of horror, grief, and disbelief.

"Hold on a little longer," Mathias was saying, eyes wide and voice shaky as though he were in a trance. "We’ll get you help. After this, we’ll..."

"What can I do?" Blade asked, his breathing obviously labored. "What can I do to help?"

Voss cast a devastated look at Elyana before turning to Evan, feeling his heart break on the inside.

Evan had his eyes closed as he concentrated on the spell, but there was no mistaking the trembling of his fingers as he tried to keep a firm grip on the staff. There was no doubt that he was experiencing worse than they were, for he was a Summoner and now another one of the Guardians was about to die.

Voss wondered how he could even bear it, because he himself felt like he was being tormented over and over. He could feel Elyana’s essence in the bond growing weaker, flickering like a light that was about to go out.

At that moment, the magical energy swirling around Evan grew stronger, the essence so thick in the air that it was almost palpable. The crystal in the staff grew to a massive size, shattering the parts that held it in place. The aura it radiated was burning like an intense fire, the flames licking at everything in the surroundings. Voss could even feel the heat on his skin, and he could only imagine what it was like on Evan’s end.

Mathias got the message and gently cradled Elyana in his arms before stepping back to avoid being caught in the blast. Blade and Voss followed.

Having gathered all the remnants of his magic, Evan finally unleashed a torrent of celestial energy from his staff, a radiant beam that pierced the darkness with its luminous brilliance. He aimed the beam directly at Calamity’s open mouth with a solemn determination in his eyes.

But as Blade watched, he could see pieces of skin peeling from Evan’s face, and some from his arms and hands. They fell to the ground like papers of holy light, shining brightly but also killing his Summoner on the inside. The sight was so horrifying that it made his heart stop.

This is...

"Disappear," Evan muttered, his voice hoarse as if he had been screaming for hours.

The beam raced faster than the spikes and instantly struck the Calamity’s gaping maw just as it prepared to unleash another onslaught of spikes from the ground. The monster reeled back in agony and let out the loudest screech they had ever heard. It was so clattering that it almost made their ears bleed.

For a moment, there was an explosion of light, as if a bomb had gone off inside the demonic entity. The brilliance was so blinding that the Guardians had to shield their eyes.

The impact was so powerful that it dispelled most of the darkness in the area, sweeping away the shadows and malevolent energies that surrounded the monster. It was as if the darkness was being cleansed by the holy light, giving them hope that maybe, just maybe, this might all be over.

Even though this attack was only a delay and not a solution, it was better than losing any more of their friends in the process and letting the monster continue to wreak havoc in other cities.

After recoiling, the Calamity shuddered, layers of its corrupted skin peeling off and falling like pieces of husk. Evan watched calmly as the monster convulsed and writhed, struggling to rise from the ground after the beam dissipated.

The torn outer skin scattered and disappeared into the depths of the sea, fading from sight. The waters swirled around the Calamity as a sturdy shell formed around its body, almost like a protective cocoon. It then slowly retreated into the deep waters, plunging downward until it finally disappeared from sight.

The moment it submerged, there was an immediate change in the battlefield. The dark clouds that shrouded the sky began to dissipate, parting to beam rays of light on the surroundings. Soon their eyes adjusted to the bright blue sky above them, the sun shining down on them as if it meant the end of their torment.

But even as the glow returned to the city, it only served to reveal the destruction the Calamity had left in its wake. Rubble and debris lay everywhere, and the once pristine stone and buildings were now reduced to something unrecognizable.

Voss watched all this unfold while clutching his chest, unable to bear the pain that was throbbing inside of him. They had lost not only Ansel, but Elyana as well.

And...

"Evan!" he shouted as the Summoner collapsed to the ground, his staff shattered after the beam had been unleashed.

When he finally reached Evan, Voss’ heart sank.

The exposed areas of Evan’s body revealed the toll of the beam that was powered by his and Ansel’s magical essence, one that would torture the caster on the inside in exchange for purifying a great evil.

Layers of Evan’s skin that had been stripped away were now patches of exposed, burned flesh. His features, once flawless and handsome, were now reduced to exhaustion and an ashen, almost wrinkled complexion. Even when the sun shone on his body, it only served to reveal in clarity the inner torment he had endured.

"By the gods," Voss breathed out, frozen in place as he stared at his Summoner’s appearance in morbid fascination. "Evan..."

Evan opened his mouth ever so slowly, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

At that moment, Mathias came over, carrying Elyana’s body in his arms. He gently placed her beside Evan, watching as the latter painstakingly turned his head to look at his fiancée.

Mathias shook his head, looking like he was on the verge of tears. "She’s gone," he whispered.

Evan didn’t say anything, but he reached out to her weakly, his fingers red and black from the severe injuries. Her eyes were closed, face streaked with tears. There was a trail of blood from her cheek down her chin, as if someone had tried to wipe it from her face.

But otherwise, she looked so peaceful, almost like she was just sleeping.

Evan’s trembling fingers brushed a stray strand from her face before he turned his head to look at his Guardians. Clay and Gideon had arrived and grimly placed Ansel’s body on Evan’s other side. The crystals on Ansel and Elyana’s bodies were now gone, replaced by wounds that no longer bled profusely.

None of them spoke, all too choked up to speak in such a situation.

Ardyn, on the other hand, stood at a distance, shaking all over at the sight. He had never seen a dead body before, let alone two of them.

Not only that, but those two were the people he had interacted with just the night before and earlier during the battle, the same people who had been kind to him and helped him without hesitation.

At that moment, he remembered what Ansel had said to him earlier.

-

"A friendship like that... it’s worth a lifetime, isn’t it?" Ardyn remarked.

Ansel nodded. "It is. That’s why, if it ever comes down to it, I won’t hesitate to lay down my life for Evan."

-

He really stood by his words, Ardyn thought in despair. His chest tightened, and it was like there was a heavy weight pressing against his heart. Several emotions flooded inside of him, and each breath felt like a struggle.

They were really gone now, weren’t they?

Ardyn felt a lump in his throat as the guilt and grief tore at him.

But I... never even got to say goodbye.