The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 237: The King’s move (1)

Chapter 237: The King’s move (1)

’What is happening?’

Sensing the world around him trembling, Hex scurried back from the opening. He reacted quickly before the two women lifted their heads.

Like them, Hex looked up and tried to sense what might have occurred.

"Give up. My liege has made his move. There is no point in struggling. Besides, once you tried to conquer this Kingdom and lost your body. This time you might disappear completely."

In the shallow underground chambers, sounds echoed. Hex scooted over and peered down. Rosa spoke like she usually did, calm and staid, but even Hex could detect another tone hidden in her voice, a note of pity.

’She would stand a better chance to convince Elsa if she just stabbed her,’ Hex lampooned.

"Never!" Like Hex expected she refused. The look of pity on Rosa’s face infuriated even more. But that wasn’t all. Hex frowned. It was faint but he detected a hint of worry in her voice. But what worried her?

The two ladies were about to engage in a duel once more. But they stopped. Hex hurried away as strings made of gold and rainbow-like light broke through the upper floors. The strings went straight through the different chambers.

"NO!"

Elsa screamed, her face contorting in anger and pain. She looked at how the strings wrapped around the woman floating in the air and the crystal. Hex observed her through the tears on the floor. Elsa ignored everything else and lurched toward the crystal.

’Watch out, idiot,’ Hex cursed in his mind. Unlike Elsa, Hex didn’t ignore Rosa. He saw the Healer’s lips curl wide and attack Elsa.

Hex sensed his elements ring alarms inside his mind. He wasn’t in danger. But Rosa’s sword contained a power that caused the nature elements in his inner space to scatter. It hurt. It was hard to believe that her attack affected him to such a degree. And that was without considering two things. One was the distance between him and her and two, he wasn’t her target.

Elsa, her intended target, either didn’t realize she was under attack or she chose to ignore it. But Hex watched slackjawed at the effects of the attack on her. Her ice element melted and streamed under her feet. The glimmering scales on her arms wilted and dropped to the ground.

Hex noted all this in the three seconds it took Rosa to land her attack on Elsa. Her sword pierced through her heart and came out at the back.

Rosa removed her hands and staggered backward. Only now did Hex notice the changes in Rosa’s appearance. She was aging. It occurred at a rapid speed. Her beautiful face and smooth skin wrinkled in seconds. By the time she sat on the floor, too weak to support herself, her hair had fallen off.

"You!" Elsa dropped back on the floor. Not only did the attack break her momentum, she seemed incapable of controlling the ice around her. Without the element support, she couldn’t chase behind the strings. With her hand on the hilt of the sword, she faced her opponent.

"You bitch...what have you done?"

Elsa looked dispirited and...afraid. Hex had seen worry at the start but it had transformed into fear now.

Rosa’s toothless grin sent shivers through Hex’s spine. The Healer was mouthing something but she was too weak to utter words. Her eyes darkened and she fell on the floor. Hex sensed her life slip away. She died in a few seconds.

Elsa sat listlessly on the floor.

Seeing her like this Hex sighed. The situation changed too abruptly. Not only for Elsa. He too failed to foresee the crystal being snatched away like this. His plans relied on the crystal. He would use it to attack the monolith, destroying it.

Whatever the royals were planning, depended on the monolith. Without it, they would fail. Or at least face a big hurdle to accomplish their goals.

’No point in dwelling here. I should see if I can do something else. There is still a chance, even if a slim one, to turn things around.’

Hex stood up but the floor creaked and the tear enlarged. In a reflex, he turned toward Elsa. Their gaze met. For a second, both looked at each other.

"You sure are everywhere," Elsa chuckled after a while. She didn’t sound like a girl his age. Even if she did, Hex wouldn’t believe she was a simple girl.

"What happened? What was that last attack?"

It was the only thing he couldn’t understand. Why did the attack of such a terrifying effect? It didn’t only hurt the target but the user died too. Even worse, he, as an onlooker, felt its effect too.

"That bitch used an Anti-Heal attack on me," Elsa sniggered weakly. Seeing Hex look with a raised brow, she explained. "Healers can attack but they are Blessed with an additional ability. At the cost of a price, they can reverse the effect of their abilities. The higher the price they pay, the stronger the effect. By giving her life, she took all my healing abilities away. Even the ones a body has innately."

Hex listened with interest. The world around him trembled once again. But Hex didn’t move.

"Why did she do that to you? And who are you? Don’t me tell that you are just a noble maiden. And...do you have a final wish?"

"You want my final wish?" Elsa looked bemused. "Why?"

"I don’t know. It seemed like you have something you desire dearly. If it’s something I can do for you, I will try," he said with a shrug. "Unless it’s inconvenient."

"Very honest."

Elsa eyed Hex and then chuckled.

"What the hell. After all these years, I still lost my one chance to set things right."

She pointed at the massive body beneath them. Hex could see it through the broken floor.

"That belonged to me. I was the Frost Dragon that soared through the sky and ruled the lands. No one could challenge me."

Hex narrowed his eyes. He suspected a link between the dragon and her but he didn’t think SHE would be the Frost Dragon.

"Those years in the age of gods were the best years of my life. Later, during the age of the Kings, I warred against the humans, until one day they killed me. By treachery. So, in my final moment, I placed a fragment of my soul in that whore’s stillborn child. She knew her child survived by a miracle. But the great Saint Elsa chose silence above humiliation. After all, in that age, a woman unable to provide an heir was considered a failure."

"So, you wished to revive in your body?" Hex asked with a frown. "Is that why you needed the crystal? But why wait all these years?"

Elsa looked at her former body with tears in her eyes. "There is no way to revive. I am only a fragment. I waited to reclaim what was mine. To have one chance to birth my child."