The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 252: Roar of despair (2)

Chapter 252: Roar of despair (2)

"Althea, if you don’t get your shit together we will die."

Hex urged the girl to have her on her feet. He didn’t add an important note. Even if she got her shit together they might die. He didn’t see how saying such words would help.

Althea remained on the ground. She cried, huddled, and eyed the sky terrified. Hex tried to keep her eyes off her. His chest burnt at the sight of the state she was in. She was in agony. Did the golden beam affect her in some way?

Many questions burned in his mind. But it wasn’t the time for them. Not now. The King opened his mouth and uttered his command.

"Scatter."

A drop of blood trickled from the corner of his lips. It took its toll. That was the only thing about the command though. Because the moment the command fell, he felt his joints creak and being pulled at. Hex grimaced and growled. But he didn’t surrender to the pain. He withstood it. With every iota of willpower that it required to do so.

Hex groaned and controlled the little natural elements he had left to heal the thin tears in the ligaments surrounding the joints. It hurt. It hurt so much that his thoughts broke before forming. He gritted his teeth and bit his lips. Just to maintain a level of sanity, no matter how low the level of it was.

Despite his distorted thoughts, Hex tried to come up with a countermeasure. His excellent control over the elements and energy alleviated some of the pain. He pressed on. How could he increase the amount of energy? He didn’t have a lot of techniques in that area. Aside from the techniques, he only had Blessings – wait. He needed a lot of energy, didn’t he? There was one Blessing that helped in that area.

With a thought, Hex activated the second Blessing.

The second Blessing helped him gather and use the energy in bursts. And that was what he needed. A burst of energy to break the force pulling his joints apart. It took some effort. He was used to applying the second blessing to the energy outside his body. This time, he needed it to work on the energy inside. It wasn’t easy but it worked. He built the energy and blasted it at once at the joints in his arms. As he focussed on both arms at once, the amount wasn’t much. But it worked. He felt the force pulling break apart.

Delighted by the success, he applied the same to the other joints. The experience of the first helped increase the speed at which he broke the force at the other joints. He survived the attack but he remained wary. At the same time, free from the pain, he finally checked on Althea.

To his surprise, the golden threads created a shield around her. The King didn’t suffer any backlash from attacking her. Or it wasn’t noticeable. But it seemed even he couldn’t injure her. This worried and pleased Hex simultaneously. She was protected from the attacks of a Sin but a force capable of withstanding such assault wasn’t simple. So, why was it bent on fusing with Althea?

"Control!"

The King burst into a fit of coughs. Blood splattered over his clothes and chin. The threads around Althea remained dormant. It didn’t mean the Kin’s command penetrated through them. No, they remained dormant because the command wasn’t directed at Althea.

Hex understood that the moment he locked gaze with the King as he uttered the command. He heard the voice but the moment after that, things around turned fuzzy.

The sounds seemed distorted. The light turned blurry. And worst of all, the feeling of disorientation returned.

Attack her. Attack. Move. Attack.

A distant voice echoed inside his mind. It affected his ability to think and focus. Hex sensed part of his body willing to obey the foreign voice. But he struggled. It seemed a losing battle. As the will to resist corroded with the echoes in his mind.

Move. Grab her. Kill her.

The voice turned louder. His will to resist turned weaker. Hex became vaguely aware that he moved. Slowly but surely. He moved.

All seemed fuzzy and blurry. A part of him screamed to stop. To resist. To not surrender himself. But it was the weaker part. Or was it the more resilient part? He didn’t know. He didn’t know which part was correct. He couldn’t think. There was a thought somewhere but he couldn’t form it.

He sensed something smooth and soft brush against him. More and more. Until he felt something soft yet firm in his hand. It pulsed. It was warm. It was her. The her he was told to kill. The part trying to resist screamed. It urged Hex to stop. Why though?

The other part, the bigger part, urged him to continue. To wring his hands. To turn the warmth into coldness. Why though?

It was those thoughts that made Hex hesitate. Why should he resist? Why shouldn’t he resist? Why should he obey? And...who the hell was ordering him?

The voice continued. It urged. Stronger and more eager. But it frustrated Hex. He couldn’t think much. He couldn’t understand much. But he felt. And he felt much frustrated...and angry.

"Hex?"

He heard it. It was soft. But he heard it. It almost drowned in the distorted senses. But he heard it. Something in that voice struck him. His chest burnt. His soul ignited. He didn’t understand why his soul looked like a Dragon Bear. But it glowed. In fury.

Its white and translucent appearance started to darken. A dark swirl fused with. Hex saw it happen. He didn’t understand it. But...his soul, the Dragon Bear growled. It was bestial and without meaning. Yet, Hex understood the feeling. The intent. His soul asked a simple question. Why did it have to understand so many things?

The answer Hex came up with was equally simple. He didn’t need to understand. He didn’t need to do anything. He just needed to do what he desired. What his will was. And he had one simple will. The will to let it out. To let all the pain, anger, and frustration out. So, he roared.