Realm Lord
Chapter 61: Rain and Pain

Chapter 61: Rain and Pain

Aziel peacefully slept for 2 hours, his face relaxed in slumber among the withered roses. Arthur tried waking him up after the 2 hours like they originally decided upon, gently nudging his shoulder. To his surprise, he was swatted away while an asleep Aziel mumbled incoherently, words tumbling out in a dream-induced haze.

"No- come back- what’s your number," Aziel muttered, turning away from Arthur’s attempts to rouse him.

Arthur scowled at Aziel’s sleeping figure, irritation creeping across his features as he watched him continue to rest well beyond their agreed time. ’This guy is unbelievable,’ he thought, crossing his arms as he resigned himself to an extended watch.

Finally, after about three hours—a full hour longer than planned—Aziel awoke from his beauty sleep, stretching languidly as if he’d kept perfectly to schedule. He blinked away the remnants of sleep, seemingly unaware of Arthur’s annoyance.

Soon after Aziel’s overextended rest, they were on their way again, trudging through the endless field. Arthur had already completed his training for the day while Aziel was asleep—another 1000 downward strikes that left his arms aching but stronger than before. The repetitive motion had become almost meditative, each strike more precise than the last.

"You’re coming along nicely," Aziel had commented after observing Arthur’s final strikes. "Tomorrow we’ll spar once again."

Hearing this made Arthur nervous, memories of their previous sparring session—which was less like training and more like a one-sided beating—still fresh in his mind. But he didn’t say anything, realizing he would have to deal with getting beat up here and there if he ever wanted strength. The path to power wasn’t meant to be comfortable, after all.

They walked all day through the heat of the sun, the dead roses crunching beneath their boots. The monotonous landscape seemed endless, with nothing but withered stems and faded petals stretching to the horizon in every direction. But as the hours passed, Arthur noticed something changing in the distant sky.

"Are those rain clouds?" he asked, squinting against the sunlight. Far in the distance, the sky was blocked out by dark grey clouds that seemed to be slowly advancing toward them.

Aziel snickered, his expression showing more annoyance than concern. "Great, just what we needed... some rain." The sarcasm in his voice was thick enough to cut with a blade.

Arthur chuckled nervously, trying to find some silver lining. "At least we’ll get to fill up our water." Their water had been running low, and rain, troublesome as it might be, could provide a much-needed refill on there hydration.

Aziel sighed and didn’t say anything as he continued moving, his silence speaking volumes about his thoughts on the approaching weather.

They walked closer and closer to the clouds as the moon rose and night fell, the silver light gradually being swallowed by the advancing storm. Soon the clouds covered the sky above them completely, blotting out the stars and plunging the field into deeper darkness. They were starting to feel the moisture in the air, a stark contrast to the usual dryness of the dead rose field.

’It won’t be much longer now,’ Arthur thought, eyeing the heavy clouds with apprehension.

Then, as Arthur was thinking about the impending rain, a worry sprouted in his mind. ’If it starts raining, will Aziel be able to control his lightning and avoid cooking me if we get into a fight?’ The thought was troubling—Aziel’s lightning abilities were formidable but potentially dangerous to allies in wet conditions.

Arthur stole a glance at Aziel as they walked, studying his companion’s profile in the dim light. ’I hope so,’ he concluded silently, unable to voice his concern.

They kept walking when finally the first drop fell. Arthur felt it as it entered his radius, then another drop fell, and another after that. It wasn’t much more than a light trickle right now, but soon that would change. The soft patter of raindrops hitting the dead roses created an almost musical sound, deceptively peaceful given their circumstances.

They walked through the rain while Arthur focused on staying as alert as possible, trying to catch any sort of danger entering his radius. But this was proving difficult as he had to filter through the sensation of every single drop of rain falling through the air. The mental strain made his head throb, but he persisted, knowing their survival might depend on his early warning system.

But still, when it happened, there was no mistaking the feeling. This was no drop of rain—Arthur knew that immediately. The sensation was different, heavier, with a malevolent presence that made his skin crawl. It was a nightreaver.

Arthur spun around quickly, his heart rate spiking. Upon seeing his urgency, Aziel quickly summoned his spear and turned round as well, responding to Arthur’s alarm without question.

Once they did, Arthur’s chest fell into his stomach, his blood turned to ice, and his head felt empty as he stared ahead in despair. Even Aziel seemed utterly shook, his usual cocky demeanor replaced by grim recognition of the danger before them.

Because in front of them, soaring through the rain-soaked air in their direction, was not one, not two, not three or four, but easily 10 or more nightreavers. Their elongated limbs cut through the raindrops, eyes gleaming with predatory hunger even in the darkness. The pack moved with coordinated precision, spreading out to surround their prey.

Neither of them had seen a pack this big before. Aziel was stronger than any new chosen should be, and even Arthur had gotten better at killing these things as of recent, but still, against these odds... they would surely lose. The realization settled over them like the rain itself—cold, inescapable, and growing heavier by the moment.

Arthur broke out of his trance of fear and spun his head towards Aziel, who met his eyes at the same time. A silent communication passed between them, both recognizing the desperate situation they faced.

In an instant, Aziel was covered in lightning, his body crackling with electric energy that illuminated the raindrops around him in eerie blue light. He disappeared in a current of lightning as he sprinted towards Arthur, moving so fast he seemed to blur against the dark landscape.

He stopped right in front of Arthur with a serious look on his face as he grabbed Arthur’s arm, his grip firm and urgent. "We have to go!" The usual arrogance was gone from his voice, replaced by the stark reality of their situation.

Aziel was already in the process of putting Arthur on his shoulder when Arthur stopped him, a critical realization dawning. "Wait, the rain—you can’t."

Arthur was right, and they both knew it. Arthur was covered in water from the rain; usually, he could control his lightning well enough that when running with someone he could keep them relatively unharmed, but add water to the mix, and his lightning was sure to attack Arthur as well. The electricity would find the path of least resistance through the rainwater covering them both.

Aziel grunted, frustration evident in his expression. "We don’t have much of a choice..." He looked back at the approaching nightreavers, then to Arthur again. "I’ll do what I can, but I’d bite on your sleeve or something." The suggestion was meant to give Arthur something to endure the pain that would inevitably come.

Arthur wasn’t a fan of this idea, but Aziel was right—they couldn’t beat this many nightreavers, and they definitely couldn’t outrun them without Aziel’s power. Their options had narrowed to a single, painful choice.

Arthur reluctantly nodded and was thrown onto Aziel’s shoulder, his body tense in anticipation of the electric shock that would come. The rain continued to fall around them, each drop seeming to mock their predicament.

One of the nightreavers was only feet from reaching them, its clawed hand extending toward Arthur’s back, when suddenly they were completely covered in lightning. The electric energy engulfed them both, painfully coursing through Arthur despite Aziel’s attempts to control it. Then they disappeared, leaving behind a trail of lightning in their wake, cutting through the rain-soaked field of dead roses as they fled from the pursuing pack of nightreavers.

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