Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 716: Price of Attrition

Chapter 716: Price of Attrition

Though they were in a rush, Nadia thought it best for their group to rest a while, to help them recover from everything they’d experienced so far.

For that reason, she, along with Ana and Arwen, was currently seated close to one of the three inland water sources that were responsible for Nysodosia being regarded as the City of Canals.

Neither Nadia nor Arwen could fish, so they left it to Ana, who used the activity to distract herself from the numerous thoughts rushing through her mind, a majority of which involved Ulysses and his perceived precarious state.

Nadia and Arwen engaged in small talk, mostly discussing their growing-up years and discovering similarities and parallels in their lives before meeting one another.

The two shared laughter, at which point Arwen decided to pull Ana into the conversation, taking a moment to ask. "What about you, Lady Ana?"

"Hmm?" Ana glanced back, having been jolted from her thoughts.

"How was life for you growing up?"

Ana paused, her eyes flickering with emotions as she took the time to digest the question before finally speaking up. "It was... lonely. That’s all I can say."

"Oh."

Just as Ana was about to say more, a golden flash erupted beside them after which it quickly receded to reveal Elena.

"Ana, you need to come with me," Elena said, her voice somewhat distant despite being close to them.

A slight frown marred Ana’s features as she got to her feet. "What’s wrong?"

"It’s Ulysses. He needs your help. You need to come with me now." Elena quickly explained as she stretched her arm out for Ana to take it.

The expression on her face was strained, almost like there was a great weight on her shoulders.

Ana didn’t hesitate as she rushed over and took the outstretched arm only to be engulfed in a golden light.

The next moment, she disappeared with Elena, leaving Arwen and Nadia unsure of what to do as they stared at where Ana had disappeared before exchanging looks with one another.

***

Instead of moving from Eventide to Confluence, then heading to the Abyss, Ana was directly teleported into the Abyss, courtesy of Elena who managed to project herself to the Abyss and Eventide at the same time, serving as a bridge that removed the need to make a pitstop at Confluence.

Before she could be swept up by the twisted nature of the Abyss, Ana created a time bubble around herself, basically creating a barrier between her and the Abyss.

The inspiration for this came from the half-dragon she had fought during her battle in the depths of the Azure Seas.

In any case, she was immediately swept up in a myriad of emotions as she quickly discovered Ulysses’ collapsed form that elicited a sense of repulsion so deep that it took everything within her not to immediately subject him to the ravages of time.

"Ana..." Ulysses called out. "I... need... your... help."

Ana placed a hand over her mouth as her eyes danced around, taking in the extent of collapse that had occurred within Ulysses’ body.

"You... need... to... revert... my... time." Ulysses instructed. "Please... we... don’t... have... much... time."

Ana swallowed a mouthful of spittle as she continuously nodded her head, basically working up the courage to act.

Putting her hand down, she took a deep breath and exerted her Will on the twisted aether.

At the same time, several temporal circles appeared over Ulysses’ body; each one tinged with a peculiar green hue, and with a thought, they all began to slowly turn anticlockwise, reversing Ulysses’ time.

***

Alex dropped his hand down after almost ten seconds of holding up Excalibur, causing the clouds to clear and the tendrils of red lightning to disappear as well.

He appeared exhausted as he dropped to one knee and pierced Excalibur into the ground with Victoria rushing to his aid, preventing him from collapsing to the ground.

"Thank you." Alex breathed out evenly as he tried to regulate his breathing, his entire body covered in perspiration.

As the black and white circle disappeared from Victoria’s forehead, she replied with an intense look in her eyes. "You have done well, Master."

The Fixer, excited as he was, remarked. "Congratulations on taming your Godkiller. The Jester has almost completed his ascension but we still have time. We must head out now."

Alex gulped hard as he raised his head to regard The Fixer. "Even if we head over now, I still need some time."

"Why?" The Fixer asked with a slight frown.

Alex gave no response as he let go of Excalibur’s hilt to scrutinize his palm.

There were minor lacerations on his hand and the entire palm was quite red, almost like he had been holding a hot item.

This was the price that came with wielding Excalibur.

He would have to endure pain which gradually increased after every few seconds.

It would start out as an annoying itch until it was the same as having one’s flesh peeled and salt rubbed on the raw skin underneath.

The longer he could withstand the pain, the more he could utilize the Godkiller.

But he couldn’t risk holding it for too long, or else he might just end up dying from the gut-wrenching pain.

With that in mind, Alex couldn’t immediately make use of Excalibur to do what the Fixer wanted.

At least not immediately.

He’d need at least a day to recover from the pain... but they didn’t have a day.

"Fifteen seconds," Alex muttered as he raised his head to regard the Fixer again.

"What?" The Fixer, confused as he was, needed answers.

"I can only wield Excalibur for fifteen seconds, that means I need to be close enough to Him to make use of it."

The Fixer’s expression turned sour as he remarked. "There is a price?"

Alex said nothing, merely nodding as he dropped his head down to rest.

"... To reach the Jester, we have to find his kingdom." The Fixer muttered. "Since he is ascending, the Carnival won’t be able to move as it usually does. But even if we get in, we have to take on the Apostles and the people that have taken on the Jester as their patron deity."

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Alex once again raised his head to ask. "So how do we do that?"

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