Ch. 621..630
Chapter 621: Mad heart
Those words jolted her.
Her eyes narrowed at him. What did he just say?
"I am an ancient. I was here way before the current royals. Are you now wondering why I've created an army like this?" Klauz smirked at her as though he could hear the thoughts in her mind.
"Because you wanted to overthrow the dark fae royals and take over the throne." Evie phrased it as a statement rather than a question.
"Well, that's a part of it. But overthrowing the royals is not that easy."
"And that's why you have never gone ahead with your plan."
"There's a reason for that, Light Queen. It's not that easy to bring down the royals because when they get cornered, all they have to do is give in to the darkness and fall into madness. They're all cowards who only rely to their darkness when things get hopeless on their side. When that happens, it's not them who will suffer but the entire land. Their fall into madness will cause an unnecessary bloodshed and the funniest thing is that a mad king could only be killed by his own descendant that carry the same darkness in his blood. And after that, the cycle continues to no end. It is like a vicious cycle." Klauz then barked out with disdainful laughter.
"And that's why you've given up because you realized the futility of your plan?"
He smirked.
"I. Never. Give. Up." The danger in his voice skyrocketed. "I simply found the ultimate goal. Why else do you think I've hidden an army this big and strong from them all these years? I found out about the prophecy long ago and started preparing for it since then. I created an army that you and I can lead one day."
Evie shook her head slowly.
"No –"
"Listen," Klauz stepped closer to her, until he cornered her against the railing made of obsidian stone. "You and I will overthrow the royals. You will kill the King of –"
"Stop…" She shouted before trailing off at the feel of his magic around her belly tightening a little. Her heart shook with fear for the safety of her child.
"We are going to stop the destruction. And I know you know exactly the only way how to do it. We must kill them all before the king of darkness awakens. You… are going to kill this future king of darkness… that is all you need to do. I'll kill the rest." He said it as though it was so simple to understand.
Evie could not even say a thing now. Everything that was falling out of his mouth right now was killing her inside. And she could not even use an ounce of power to release everything that was piling up within her. This man had found her ultimate weakness and he was using it against her without mercy.
She had… severely underestimated him.
"I've waited for you for so long, Light Queen. So. Very. Long. You have absolutely no idea how long..." He continued, his cold eyes brimming with intense power, the look within them was almost close to madness. "So don't you ever think you can sway me from achieving my goals. No matter what, we will end this… end them. I will never let these monsters in a man's shape destroy this precious land that belongs to the dark faes."
The resolve in his eyes was something Evie had never seen before. It was like he was living an eternity for this sole purpose. Now she understood this inexplicable strength about him and his army. These people… they were living a life with only one purpose, and it had already been for countless years they were doggedly hanging onto this aim. How could anyone ever make them change their mind?
Evie suddenly remembered that in that war in her vision, this army will in the end be reduced to a smaller number, not even close to five hundred. And those less than five hundred armies of his was as strong as thousands. Evie had a hunch that the reason why Klauz's army was reduced to that number was because of the war that had broken out between him and the royals.
"Klauz…" Evie's voice was weak now. Klauz was just like her. They both had a goal. An unwavering resolve nothing can ever thaw. "Have you ever loved someone so much that you are prepared to get destroyed or destroy the world only if it means that you get to save them?"
He stilled but his eyes slowly darkening, as if her words enraged him. But her voice that was gentled and softened as she spoke held his anger back.
"If that question of yours is what you truly are thinking to do right now, then you are mad! It seems you have caught on the royal's madness for being with them. But it's not too late for you yet. Do not worry, this mad heart of yours will change very soon." He hissed as he pointed at her heart.
That made Evie's insides shiver and clench up in trepidation. Then he grabbed her hand and before she could open her mouth to reject, they had disappeared from the veranda.
They were in another veranda now, one that was much wider. The view was no longer the training grounds but a range of mountains of obsidian crystals and gleaming waterfalls.
"Klauz! What the hell are you planning to do?" Evie felt a surge of panic rising up within her. This setup looked familiar! Too familiar – that she could not help the chill enveloping her.
He pulled her against him and pinched her chin before forcing her to look up at him. "After this, you will realize whom you truly belong to, Light Queen –"
"No!" Evie automatically refuted his claim.
"This heart of yours is deceiving you. You are mine and you will soon understand and feel it all –"
"I said, no! Stop this." Dread gripped Evie's heart when she saw someone suddenly appearing within the circle of crystals below them. That circle of crystals the ones for carrying out the mating ritual! "Wait a moment Klauz!" Evie could no longer stop herself from panicking as Klauz dragged her to the circle. She did not believe that what Klauz was saying could be the truth. But now fear was consuming her, causing her vision to blur a little at the edges. Him bringing her to a mating ritual so confidently like this… does this mean that what he was saying was all true? That he was truly her mate? She felt contradictory emotions swirling within her. The doubts that she had on why Gav never wanted to discuss this and had never mentioned how she was his mate suddenly came back in a wave and overwhelmed her. The fear and uncertainty caused her to choke up.
This cannot be! No!!!
Chapter 622: Unsettling
"Stop this madness, Klauz!" Evie yelled at him as she struggled from his hold. But Klauz ignored her struggles and did not let her go. Instead, his grip on her tightened even more.
The man dragged her towards the altar surrounded with crescent crystals. And Evie could not even fight back nor use any magic to escape from him because of the dangerous magic he had cast around her belly.
"I said stop!" she screamed as loud as she could.
Klauz finally halted and faced her. The cruelty in his eyes gleaming dangerously.
"What are you so afraid of? Light Queen? Weren't you so confident that I am not your mate?" he asked harshly, rendering Evie immobile. "Stop struggling! This is the last time I am warning you." His rough voice reeked with a dangerous threat. "My patience is running out."
"You can't force me." Evie slowly shook her head. Her eyes shot back at him with intense rejection and an unwavering resolve. "I refuse to accept you as my mate, Klauz."
He snorted sardonically and then his expression changed. The danger that lurked in his eyes as his gaze travelled from her face as it trailed down to her belly made Evie's entire being shook in utter fear. She felt as though ice was running through her veins at the cruel glint that flashed when his eyes landed on her belly. "Really? You're going to refuse me even if I kill your baby right now?" his cold voice echoed. His statement was like a bucket of ice that had splashed over her head.
At that moment, Evie felt that her world was about to crumble down. Her throat dried up, her fear consumed her. She could feel her vision spin – as though the whole world around her was whirling around in circles. Gav… she whispered her husband's name in her head.
"Take my hand. Now." Klauz ordered. The urgency in his voice and the look in his eyes told her that she could no longer stall him. She should not continue to stall as well. His impatience coupled with that menacing aura surrounding him was just too overwhelming. She could feel it, that this man's patience was now like a thin thread about to snap. As though any little provocation to his wishes would trigger him and cause that thread to break. "Or your child will die this instant." He snarled out with a perverse pleasure that flashed for an instant across his face.
Evie held his eyes for a long while, her gaze sharp as serrated ice blades piercing him as she poured her anger and hatred through her eyes alone. If looks could kill, Klauz must have died a hundred times by now.
A shaky and long breath escaped from her lips before she finally but reluctantly lifted her hand and placed it in his outstretched one.
'Gav…' her mind could only utter his name again desperately as Klauz led her inside the circle of crystals. As soon as Klauz halted, the person standing in the middle then raised her hand.
Klauz placed his hand in the person's already outstretched hand without hesitation before looking over at Evie. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Her heartbeat was loud and fast inside her ribcage.
But something here was strange. There seemed to be something off with the fear she was feeling right now. It was extremely disturbing, unsettling even in its strangeness.
And the most haunting part was the fact that these feelings were not seemed to be caused by what was about to happen to her and Klauz. Something that felt stronger than just pure fear was gripping her now.
"Light Queen!" a voice full of threat boomed out beside her but Evie looked around instead of putting her focus on Klauz. He was so angered at her being distracted that he even growled out at her. Evie heard it but she could not be bothered about that for the moment as she looked around even more frantically.
When her gaze landed up in the sky, her pulse drummed even faster. Something just felt terribly off…
Just as Evie was trying to figure out what exactly was going on, she felt the magic tightened around her. That instantly pulled her attention back to Klauz. Looking back at him, she noticed his eyes were bloodshot and his face was twisted in anger.
"Your hand. Now." he ordered. His eyes that were locked onto hers blazed as they were warning her to not try anything funny nor delay this any longer than she already had.
The intense worry that Klauz will snap and really harm her child made her immediately listened to him. She could feel the magic that was concentrated around her belly tighten a little more when he asked her hand again for the umpteenth time.
But just as her hand was about to land on the priestess' hand, something powerful and as black as an obsidian lightning hit the ground with a bang. All three of them – Evie, Klauz and the priestess – were knocked off balance at the furious shaking caused by the impact of that lightning hitting the ground.
The next thing Evie knew, there was a short but sharp scream before it was abruptly cut off. When she turned to the side to look at what happened, the priestess had already turned into a pile of black ash where she previously standing. Completely incinerated.
Wide-eyed, Evie looked up, her heart not being able to help but thump in hopeful anticipation. But it was also mixed in with that unsettling jitteriness that she could not explain.
However, that feeling which was worse than fear threatened to devour her as she saw how the familiar darkness was now looming like a thick storm of clouds above them, slowly circling and menacing in its movements.
It was the source of the black lightning.
Evie's hands trembled as her hands lifted to the front of her dress and she clutched at the fabric at her chest. No… this could not be… this should not be happening… please tell me this is… not you… Gav!
Chapter 623: Cold and dark
Klauz was suddenly standing right before Evie as if to block her from any harm befalling her. His magic was enveloped all over him now, his sword that seemed to be wrapped with wisps of shadows pointed forward.
"Klauz! Get your restriction magic off me! Now!" Evie demanded, her voice severe, shrouded with extreme fear.
"Tell me, it's Gavrael, right?" Klauz asked without taking his gaze and focus off their surroundings.
"Yes! That's why you need to let go of me now! Hurry!" She was frantic at the sudden increase of the intensity of that weird feeling.
He gritted his teeth. This was totally unexpected. He never thought that the troublesome prince could actually find them this quickly! And to think that it seemed… as though his awakening was already happening was the most shocking thing of all. How could that happen right now of all times?!! How had things progressed so quickly?!
Now he did not have a choice but to release the Light Queen. Doing this means he had lost the only chance he had to force her on their mating bond! Goddamn it! He was not sure if he could find another opportunity as good as before to carry out their mating bond. He had a sinking feeling that it would be impossible after this.
"Now! Klauz!" Evie yelled at him again with increasing urgency and he knew that releasing her was the best choice he had right now.
"Alright, I will release you. But promise me you'll work with me. We will kill him today. You're going to kill him now before his awakening is complete!" he was still trying to see if he could manipulate things to go his way – even if it was not according to his ideal plans.
He waited for her answer. She was right behind him so he could not see her facial expressions, but he could only hope this queen would choose the right thing to do. That she will not sacrifice everything, their realm, for the sake of one man.
"I promise." She finally replied.
Her answer made him draw in deep breath of relief. Then he released her from his restriction, knowing that he did not even have any time left to doubt her.
And he was right, as soon as he released her, the powerful obsidian lightning began hitting the ground… everywhere. There was not one spot that was spared.
The ground trembled with every heavy strike and the sky roared as a thick cloud of darkness descended until a figure was visible. A man with massive wings… shrouded with the kind of power so impossibly strong - an insane power that was not supposed to exist… Gavrael… the king of darkness!
"Step back, Klauz," the light queen's voice echoed from behind him. "Let me handle this."
A frown appeared on his face at the tone of her voice. It was no longer trembling with fear.
"No. I could never. If he kills you, it's all over." Klauz said with conviction. There was no way he would let the Light Queen handle this all by herself. Even though he knew that this queen was the fated one to kill this dark king, the disparity between their powers right now was just too great! She had not yet reached the point where her powers were able to rival his in a fair fight. If she faced him now on her own, she would be totally overpowered, and it would be a one-sided beating.
Klauz had a feeling that the Light Queen was not ready yet for a direct confrontation! There was no way she would be able to handle him! He was adamant at wanting to battle with her. At least with the both of them, there might be some hope yet.
"Just listen to me and step back!" She insisted, her tone becoming even graver. "Leave while I handle him or you will die here, Klauz!" Her last sentence ringing with strong conviction.
His eyes widened at her words. Her tone was so certain that he froze for a couple of seconds.
"Listen to me! He will never harm me but you… he's going to kill you. You're not going to die here, Klauz. You cannot die! Go, take your army with you, and wait for me to get in touch with you again. NOW! Don't let what you've worked so hard for countless of years to just end here in vain!"
He stilled. Her words rammed into his heart and mind with a bang. His grip on his sword tightened. But then his blue eyes flared with a fire so intense and dangerous.
"No." He answered without hesitation. "I'm not going to leave you. I don't trust that he wouldn't kill you. If something happens to you then everything that I've worked so hard for countless of years will be reduced to complete nothingness."
Dark magic enveloped him until he looked like he had turned into a shadow.
"No! Klauz!" she yelled but it was too late. In a blink of an eye, one powerful clash happened. Darkness against shadows.
Klauz held on for a moment, but it did not take long before he was blown back by the immense power that was pressing into him. He tumbled back yards away from where he was originally standing.
"Klauz!" Evie yelled as she turned to look at the man who had been thrown back. But when she looked back at the descending figure, her heart shivered.
Now that he was visible, Evie could no longer keep up her bravado. The sight of him… this familiar image she had seen before…
She could literally feel her heart and soul cracking like a breaking mirror. No… this cannot be happening. This was just another nightmare. This was not true. Right…? Unfortunately, the person who would usually be the one giving her comfort and wrapping her up in a warm embrace was the same one who was walking before her – cold and dark.
"Gav…" she uttered… no matter how much she prayed that this would be someone else, she knew in her heart that it was no one else but him. This… this was not supposed to happen! It was still too early for this! Why?! How…? How did everything end up this way?
Before she knew it, she was already walking towards him. Unguarded. Without any protective magic around her.
The majestic creature of darkness landed powerfully on the ground, but his deadly power did not stop her from advancing. She did not even think or pause in her move forward. The black lightning was hitting everywhere but her.
As she walked towards him, feeling this familiar darkness, she could almost feel the breaking pieces of her heart falling on the ground like shards of a broken mirror.
"Gav…" she called out once again in a broken and teary voice when...
His eyes finally lifted and met hers.
Chapter 624: Power
Evie stretched her hand out towards him, as though she was calling for him to approach her. She could see the colours of his eyes constantly changing between blue and grey, as if both were fighting for dominance – as if both Gavrael and Gavriel were trying to overcome the other.
That gave Evie a spark of hope. It meant that all was not lost. In her vision, Gav's eyes were not like this. His eyes were a combination of grey and blue, where there were both colours in one iris. If he was still in the process of merging right now, this only meant that the process was not completed yet. She can still stop this! They had not reached the point of hopelessness yet!
This little bit of hope was enough to extinguish the fear and anguish that had risen within her. "Gavriel!" she called out. She chose to call on Gavriel because she wanted his vampire side to come out and suppress his dark fae power. If he could succeed, she was confident that this would at least stop the merging for now! Once he could be stabilised, later they would look for a more permanent solution to this issue.
"Gavriel! I'm here! You can see me, right?" Evie did not stop approaching him, even as she felt the sheer power of his darkness overwhelming and pressing on her entire being.
The dark magic swirling about him was suffocating, mind numbing and spine-tingling. This kind of power was enough to kill an average dark fae if they were being touched by just one of these wisps of thick and ominous smoke.
"Gavriel…" her voice faltered a little when recognition did not seem to spark in his eyes. She was only five steps away from him now. It was getting physically harder for her to approach him. The powerful wisps of smoke were stopping her from getting nearer to him.
"Gavriel! It's me! Evie! Your wife! Please, listen to me!" she screamed, hoping that he would somehow be able to hear her.
But that too, was futile. Before she could take another step forward, he was gone from her sight. She felt the strong magic brushing past her.
He avoided her! This meant…
She whipped around and saw him attacking Klauz.
Only one strike and Klauz was flung back like a ragdoll. Gav was just too powerful!
But even in the face of such absolute and overwhelming power, Klauz did not back off after he struggled to get up from that one mighty attack.
In Gav's third attack, Klauz unleashed his own powers and the shadows gathered around him, forming a protective shield.
Darkness against shadows collided once again. This time, even though Gav managed to shatter Klauz's shield, Klauz still managed to dodge. He was more alert and ready to accept the impact of Gav's attack after being hit by it a few times already.
Evie could only watch from the side lines as two powerful creatures clashed and go head-to-head with each other. She could not even intervene even if she wanted to. The fight was just too ferocious that her jumping in their midst right now would be downright suicidal. Klauz was still managing to hold on, but if this continued, Gav was definitely going to kill him for sure!
She hated Klauz right now, hated him to her bones. But she did not want him dead. She needed to consider the bigger picture and still take that into account. This was still the Klauz that she saw in her vision of the future. This was still the man who had fought alongside her future self, clearing the path for her with all his might, as though he was prepared to die as long as he could protect her. Because of this memory form her vision, she would want to keep the hope that somehow, the current Klauz would be able to change into that powerful ally that she had seen.
Even right now, Klauz was already very strong. She could tell that he might be on par with Galleous, even though he was not even a royal dark fae. That showed how promising his talent was. She could not afford to lose this talent as her ally if possible.
However, compared to Gav in his current state, his tremendous strength was far from enough.
Klauz failed to dodge a hit and another and another. Gav went at him mercilessly.
Then Evie saw Gav created a sword made of pure dark magic. It was as though one of those living wisp of smoke had transformed itself into a powerful weapon. He… Gav was going to kill him!
The ground trembled when Klauz fell. The impact was so strong it created a deep depression in the ground where he landed.
Evie saw Gav pointed his black sword downwards. She didn't know why but she had a horrific feeling that if she won't intervene now, she's going to regret it.
Her heart shuddered and in the next moment, she flew towards Klauz as fast as she could and immediately erected a powerful dome barrier that protected both Klauz and herself behind it.
Gav's sword clashed against her barrier. Darkness now clashed against the power of light.
"Gav! Gavrael!!! Please! Stop!" she screamed at him, looking at him through her thick barrier. Still, he could not seem to hear her at all. His face was focussed and trained on the person on the ground behind her.
Despair gripped her heart when he exerted powers against hers. He was trying to break through her barrier. "Gavriel!" she could only scream his name as she fought against him… pouring in more power into her shield to strengthen it.
But her shield still cracked. Initially there were only small cracks. But as he increased the pressure, those cracks only got larger and wider.
And she felt her heart cracking at the same time. No… this cannot be happening…
Once again, Evie screamed his name – this time with all the breath that she had in her – as she was finally forced to use an offensive attack this time. Powerful beams of lights shone forth from her palms and clashed against his dark sword that had just pierced through her barrier.
Never in a million years did she ever imagine a scene like this… where the two of them would go up against each other in such a desperate battle. Why? Why did this have to happen to them? Why?!!
Chapter 625: Cold as ice
Her throat hurt so much that she could no longer call his name out anymore. She started to push his sword back with all that she can.
Evie had not realized how her anger and despair tremendously fuelled her power. Her light magic came out stronger, brighter and more powerful than ever before.
Then she watched as his dark sword shattered from the onslaught of her light magic and turned back into smoke before flowing back to join the rest of the wispy smoky tendrils curling around him again.
That very moment, Evie closed her palms to stop the powerful magic from flowing out of her. However, it was a little too late. Her magic had already shot forth and hit Gav before she could stop it.
"Gav!!!" Evie yelped out anxiously as she watched him get blown away by her own powers.
Her wings flapped opened and with the help of her strong magic, she surged forward powerfully and managed to catch him mid-air. Upon wrapping her arms tenderly around his neck, she then created a protective barrier around them both before he could slam into the massive obsidian crystal he was headed towards.
The barrier served as soft wall behind him, positively stopping anymore harm to fall on him.
"Gav!!" Evie exclaimed, as she pulled away a little to look down at his face.
She was finally holding him, touching him. It felt so good having him in her arms again. "Oh, Gav…" she felt tears brimming in her eyes when he met her gaze. "Did I hit you too hard?"
Her gaze filled with worry as she held his face cupped within both her palms. Her eyes were worriedly scanning him to check if he was wounded in other places.
When they landed on the ground, Evie did not release him. He fell onto his knees, so Evie knelt as well, never letting go of his face.
His darkness was being overpowered by her glowing light. And Evie almost thought that it was a good thing, only if Gav did not look so blinded that it was as though he could not stand looking straight at her.
"Gav…" Evie caressed his face gently, trying to pull his attention to her voice and touch. She suppressed her power little by little until her glow dulled down to a bearable level. "Please open your eyes and look at me. Gav."
He listened. But when his eyes opened, the colours of his eyes still remained ever changing.
"It's me, Evie… I'm here, love. Can you hear me?" she felt like crying now as she uttered those words. Then she kissed his lips softly. He was… cold… bitingly cold… and that scared her. He had never been as cold as this before.
Still, Evie continued kissing him, not minding how icy his soft lips felt on hers. She remembered that she had done something similar to this before. Back during the time when he was down in that secret dungeon below the library in Dacria.
When he lifted his hand and touched her wrist, Evie stilled. Her heart thumped in anticipation and hope that her Gav was back.
She slowly tore her lips off his, her heart hammering even faster, hoping and praying that she would be seeing her Gav back, safe and sound and that he would be able to recognize her now.
"E… Evie…" he uttered in a broken whisper. That one sound flooded Evie's heart with utter relief.
"Yes, Gav. I'm here." Her voice trembled as her eyes teared up and threatened to overflow.
Even though the colours of his eyes did not change, the fact that he had called out her name was enough for her.
She threw herself at him and hugged him as tight as she could. "Oh Gav…" she cried, trembling a little. "You… you really scared me… are you okay? I think my magic harmed you."
"Evie…" he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her. She could feel a slight tremor running through his arms as they enfolded her in his embrace. His body was still so cold, as cold as ice. "Listen…"
Feeling his heartbeat pounding so hard within his chest, Evie moved to pull away and wanted to look at his face. But he did not allow her to get out of his tight hold.
"I'm so sorry…" his voice cracked as he apologised, and Evie did not know why but her heartbeat hastened as well. Fear and despair suddenly returned in waves before she could even know why he was saying sorry. "Evie… something's about to… happen to me… I think… I'm going to –"
"No! No! Nothing will happen –" Evie shook her head rapidly as she wanted to deny what he was about to say.
"Listen… please… Evie…" He spoke softly, begging her to listen.
"No… Gav! You can fight it! I believe in you."
His body trembled. She could feel darkness pulsating within him again. He kissed her forehead, then the crown of her head.
"I'm so sorry, my love… I… we did a grave mistake… and I don't think any of us can stop this anymore –" his voice was pained, agonized, as if it was getting harder for him to speak.
"No… Please… stop… don't say that –" Tears were already leaking from the corners of her eyes, trekking a trail down both sides of her smooth cheeks. She clung desperately onto him, hugging his waist tight.
His cold lips captured her mouth. Then he released her reluctantly, his fingers quivering even harder as he wiped her tear-stained cheeks.
"Evie, my love… listen to me…" she saw a lone tear that flowed from the corner of his eye, before he bent and whispered something in her ears.
Then all too soon, something seemed to blast within him. And he was gone. He had vanished from her arms.
Paralyzed, Evie could only move her eyeballs to look up and saw him there, suspended in the air a little farther away from her. His arms were spread wide to his sides and the storm of darkness was heading towards him, swirling around his body as his entire being pulsed with a thick, malevolent darkness. It was happening now… the merging and the awakening…
Chapter 626: Rising sun
"No… this can't be… It shouldn't be now. We still had time…" was all Evie could mutter to herself. Her entire being was trembling now. Despair washed through her as she watched a tornado of darkness envelop her most beloved person right before her eyes. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Dark lightning began to fall all around them like rain, but Evie could not even bring herself to move. She felt that her heart and body had shattered at the same time. Everything was crumbling down – it was all going down the drain. She could not accept this. She refused to accept this.
"No!!!" the scream finally came out of her mouth. She curled forward in despair, both hands fisted and clutched at her chest.
A black lightning had struck right next to her, barely a foot away, making the ground tremble.
Still, she did not bother to move. A shadow came hurtling at her and grabbed her before moving away from the onslaught of the black lightning. It was Klauz.
"Let go of me." her voice harder than steel as she said that to him, her hands pushing at his arms that were wrapped around her.
Klauz obeyed and let go of her. "No one can stop his awakening anymore, Light Queen." he said. "And I don't think you are ready to bring him down. Not with the way you are right now. You're not strong enough –" though his tone was neutral, as though just stating the facts, Evie could not help but feel as though he was mocking her… mocking them both with his words. And that only caused her dissatisfaction and ire at the so-called fate to increase and burn hotter.
"Shut. Your. Mouth." She snarled out. Her words that were spat out were so unlike her that Klauz stopped talking and held back whatever else he had wanted to say.
Her eyes were glowing like amber coloured hell fires when she turned back to look at him.
The glow of her body was returning – and it seemed to be coming back with a vengeance. This time, the magic that leaked out from her body was stronger. Much stronger than before. And she did not seem to be bothered to hold it back at all. The power she was exuding now seemed to have gone beyond what seemed to be possible.
Klauz could not talk back. Her gaze, her power… it had all but rendered him paralyzed. This woman… what in the Underworld was this? How could her powers increase with such unprecedented degree in just a few moments? Could it really be that the angrier she gets, the stronger she becomes? Was she the type that could turn her emotions into a trigger to further push her powers up?
With her power levels right now, Klauz could no longer maintain his statement saying that she was hopelessly overpowered. It was just unbelievable. It almost felt as though it was not only Gavrael who was undergoing an awakening right now… it was as if something so incredible was happening to this queen as well. As if she too, was going through her own awakening!
The aura of the light surrounding her was now blinding. So blinding that he found himself taking a couple of steps back from her, covering his eyes so that he would not be rendered sightless.
But when he saw her began to move forward, Klauz attempted to stop her. He thought that it was still too risky for her to approach him so simply like that. The wisest thing they should do right now was to retreat!
Though she was becoming stronger, Klauz still would not dare underestimate the King of Darkness. One wrong move and the Light Queen could die in his hands! He could not let her take such a risk.
"Don't! Light Queen! Please don't go!" he shouted, forcing his way closer to her despite her magic.
The Light Queen did not seem to be listening and continued approaching the storm of darkness with steady and determined steps.
Gnashing his teeth, Klauz pushed forward. "Light Queen!! If you approach him without a plan like this, his power could kill you! If not you, it could still harm your child!" He knew that this would be the last thing he could use to attempt at holding her back.
She halted after hearing his words.
Klauz was about to heave a sigh in relief, thinking that his attempt at distraction succeeded, when Evie suddenly materialised her wings and spread it out behind her. Her actions were so unexpected that Klauz was given no chance to react.
In the next second, she rose into the air, stopping only when she was right across that swirling mass of darkness.
She could still see him within that maelstrom. He looked as though he was in an extreme world of pain. The darkness continued pulsating, spreading out. She could see the outline of his veins now turning black as it crept and spread across his skin.
There was no denying it any longer. Whether she accepted it or not, this was his awakening.
'Gav…' she was calling his name in her mind.
Her broken heart felt like it was raining blood as she moved even closer.
"Fine…" she uttered in a broken voice. Tears began flowing down her cheeks. "I will listen to you Gav. I will listen to you…"
Then she spread her arms wide. As if responding to her call, lights gathered, swirling around her, creating another tornado in the area. Only that this was the opposite of that dark one.
Soon, a ball of light appeared in the sky. It was so bright that it almost looked like the sun was rising in the Under Lands. Still, the darkness coming from Gav was not able to be overpowered by her light.
The light kept getting bigger and brighter.
Evie who was in the middle of it, opened her eyes and looked straight towards her beloved.
"Gav…" she uttered once more, and tear drops fell like pearls from her eyes before her hands whipped forward.
A thick beam of light pierced through the viscous darkness and hit right at him. He looked back at her.
As the light exploded and enveloped him...
He smiled – one that is filled with relief and thankfulness. Then the amber crystal materialized around his figure, trapping him within. And with it, effectively stopping all fluctuations of dark magic around them.
The armies still at the training grounds who were forced to stay where they were because of their Lord's command all looked up and watched the sky got coloured with a blinding light.
Somewhere in the dragon's mountains, Gideon and Vera who were still busy training with the ice dragons turned their heads towards the light that had appeared from afar off.
"Evie…" Vera immediately uttered while Gideon slowly lifted his hand over his chest, clasping a fistful of his shirt as if his heart had started to ache.
The dark faes in the nearby duchy looked up as well. The ones inside their houses stepped out to take a look at the occurrence of that strange light.
At the camp near the abyss, Evie's dragons began to wail.
King Belial, Queen Beatrice and everyone in the vicinity all turned their heads toward this same direction. Towards the light that was like a rising sun.
Chapter 627: Report
The entire Under Land were stunned for that few moments as Evie's explosion of power lit up this land beneath the surface. That was a phenomenon they had never seen nor could ever imagine in their entire lives. No… almost everyone knew that that was no mere phenomenon. Someone had created that extremely bright light – someone really powerful and filled with light energy. And all the Underlanders could already tell who the source of that light was.
It must be no other than the Light Fae Queen they had heard so much about since the past few days. Many of the dark faes at first sneered and doubted when they heard the news that that their King and The Ten Noble Lords had accepted the Light Queen's proposal in exchange of her dragons. However, with this supreme and blatant show of raw power that could be felt almost throughout the whole Under Lands, the naysayers were now rendered speechless.
They were dumbstruck at this display of unrestrained power. Even though they had no idea what was happening, for some strange reason, they could tell that whatever the reason was behind the release of this bright light was something none of them could even imagine. This amount of power was just no joke. There was just no question about that that, not only because of what they were seeing, but because of what they were feeling at this moment too. It was unbelievable how they actually felt goosebumps just looking at it from afar. Whoever this queen who wields such amount of magic was, one thing is for sure – she is the complete opposite of a joke.
She was someone to be feared and reverenced. Now they finally understood why the Light Queen had actually made their King and even all the Noble Lords accept her and her offers. She is proving that she was better off as an ally than an enemy to them. Some of the Noble Lords were thanking their lucky starts in their hearts that they did not stand up and openly oppose the Light Queen's proposal that day when she had brought it up. She was not a person one wants as their opponent.
"Belial…" Queen Beatrice's grip on her husband's arm tightened. She could feel her heart aching at the sight of that light. Oh, her poor dear daughter-in-law.
It was beautiful, spectacular, and looked exactly like the golden rising sun she remembered seeing back then when she was still living on the surface. But it was not the kind of beauty that makes one's heart swell with bliss and ecstasy. Instead, it was the kind that makes people's hearts tremble for fear of the unknown. There was just that undetermined discomfort and restlessness that was triggered once anyone looked to that rising light.
"Please tell me what is going on," Her voice coming out as a pained whisper, almost as though she was begging her husband.
The king had already started feeling restless since quite a while ago. Even before that bright light appeared, he was already feeling the fluctuations of the energies in the air. Due to that, he had already excused himself and started concentrating towards the outside, trying to find the source of that disturbance that he had felt.
When the spectacular yet bone chilling light slowly died down, the King finally opened his eyes. And Beatrice knew right then that he must have had seen something. Something completely unprecedented. An unacceptable bad news. And Queen Beatrice's heart felt as though it had frozen over and cracked.
"There's no way that Evie would use such an immense amount of power if she's fighting the ice dragons or just any enemy." She continued, knowing full well that Evie would never do something like this against anyone in the Under Lands, except if… one of her sons ended up losing themselves to their darkness.
Belial slowly met her gaze and then he slowly pulled her into his embrace, trying to offer whatever comfort he could to his wife at this moment. That hug alone made Beatrice's heart sank. Her greatest fears right now might be coming true… that it was something related to her son had come true.
"She's trapped Gavrael, my queen." He replied in a low and woeful voice as he tightened his grip around her, kissing her forehead and tried to soothe her trembling frame. He did not dare let go of his wife as he was afraid that she would be too overwhelmed and ended up collapsing to the ground from the news.
"Oh, Gavvy…" she crumpled against the King's chest and wept bitterly.
"My King!" General Alvion announced his arrival loudly outside the king's tent. By his tone of voice alone, the two already knew that more trouble had come their way.
Beatrice quickly wiped her tears away and composed herself before nodding at her husband. Once Belial confirmed that Beatrice was in control of her emotions, the two of them stepped out of the king's tent.
"Yes, Alvion. Go ahead and report." The King gestured him to skip the formalities and immediately state his report.
"The monsters have stopped coming out from that dark well, Your Majesty. I believe it was momentarily closed again." He reported and the couple heaved a breath of relief. At least this was a brief respite and some good news they were getting. A few moments before that bright light had appeared, the abyss seemed to have awakened and monsters had poured out from it like beasts being set free from their cages after an eternity of being imprisoned.
War against the monsters had broken out in an instant. The soldiers effectively stopped the monsters, killing them before they could reach the outer circumference of the camp, as they exercised their previously planned strategies. However, if more than what they had anticipated had come at them endlessly, they all knew their defense will slowly crumble and the monsters will be able to break through.
"However, we have a problem. There's a second pulsation… and there's more monsters that had already come out just within that short period of time right before the bright light appeared." Lord Alvion continued his report.
Chapter 628: Before the battle
"How many is your estimate?"
"Thousands… tens of thousands, Your Majesty."
Beatrice' eyes widened. That number… how in the Underlands did such a number managed to come out within just that short period of time?! How could that even be possible? Was it even the same abyss they were talking about?
A few hours ago, the abyss had pulsated, and monsters came pouring out of it. The number already doubled than the usual - a few hundreds. And now, this second pulsation poured out tens of thousands even though it only lasted for a very short moments?!
"Big and small." Alvion added. "And in a few moments from now, they will reach our camp barriers and clash with our soldiers."
Belial's blue eyes gleamed dangerously. That look means nothing but war.
"Get everyone ready, Alvion. We are not going to let any of these monsters reach any of our cities." He declared and Alvion bowed low before disappearing into smoke.
"Leave this place Beatrice. And go find Evie, our daughter-in-law. I will stay here and deal with the monsters with my soldiers." Belial kissed his wife's head. "You need to go, right this instant!"
Beatrice could only steel herself and nod at her husband. This was war. Her husband must fight without question, and she had her own missions to carry out as well.
"Don't be too reckless, my darling." She reminded him fondly.
"I'm not sure about that, but I promise I will not lose. Or my darling might kick my ass." He grinned and then after telling her the location, he sealed Beatrice's mouth with his and disappeared as well.
…
At the front lines, Zanya, Leon, Samuel, and Zolan were leading the small group of Light Faes. Lord Azrael had taken them in to join with his army and they were at the far south border of the abyss. They could tell that the dark faes at the front were already fighting against the monsters.
The dragon riders in training had to climb off their dragons as they still could not perfect controlling and fighting together with them. They did not want to risk harming the dragons by engaging in a war without managing to even control them fully. So, the light faes had taken over.
Zanya and Zirrus had easily taken over the riding of Silver and Fir while Kariza was still coaxing Vermillion to cooperate with her.
The vampires and the light faes were silent, unmoving and a bit restless. They all knew that the light had belonged to no one else but their queen. And the fact that none of them were with their queen right now while she was fighting, made their hearts sank to the ground.
They did not know whether they should fight here or fly towards her. But they had received an order. Their queen had ordered them to stay here and fight with the dark faes.
"Say something, Samuel. You're still the leader Her Majesty has assigned." Zolan broke the silence. Nudging at Samuel.
Samuel glanced at him. Then he looked at Zanya who was standing between Leon and Zirrus.
The light fae nodded at him. Zanya was also the leader the Queen assigned. So with her permission to do the speaking, the big man stepped forward.
"Do not worry about our Queen." His voice echoed. Even the dark faes nearby looked at him.
The light faes threw him a cold gaze at his words though, most especially Zirrus.
"I am saying this because I believe in her more than in myself." He added then he began to recount. "I still remembered that day when we were on our journey to Crescia. She was still a princess then and she thought she was nothing but a weak and useless human. We were overpowered by orcs in the Misty Forest and honestly, we all thought that we'd die there. But then, she came to our rescue, riding on a dragon and coming back for us… saving our assess in the coolest way ever. And that wasn't the only time she had done that. What I'm saying is, our queen is very strong. And she is very resourceful. It's normal for us to worry about her but our worry must not hinder us from focusing on the battle that's right before us. Our queen had said that she'll never let us go to the frontlines again if we get hurt. That only meant one thing. She wants us to be alert and be careful and survive if a battle ever broke out. That is what we can do right now. We must focus and fight so that when she comes back to us, she would not be disappointed and sad to find our dead bodies. I have a strong belief that she'll come back for us when we most need her. So let's lift our heads up and don't let anything distract us. This will be our very first battle here in the Under Lands, so we need undivided focus right now to survive this battle and see Her Majesty again!" Samuel finished his speech on a strong note, the air vibrating with the power of his belief and confidence in Queen Evie.
Zolan smiled. "That was one amazing speech." He murmured, nudging at Samuel teasingly again as they looked at the Light Faes who were now finally looking revitalized and encouraged by Samuel's little pep talk.
"Stop nudging me, Zolan."
"I am just really touched. Don't worry, I managed to ask Zanya to immortalize your speech with her magic. We'll make sure Her Majesty will hear it once she's back." Zolan winked at Samuel and snickered slyly.
Samuel's ears reddened a little as he coughed and looked away. "She doesn't need to hear that, you sly fox." He said to Zolan before glancing over at Zanya.
But Zanya was already busy speaking with Leon. Zolan grinned at him again. "Don't go disturbing the loving couple. They must be having a heart-to-heart talk before the battle begins." Zolan nudged him again.
Samuel shook his head and turned his back at the annoying Zolan when the ground suddenly began to tremble. The thousands of monsters were here!
Chapter 629: Be strong
Back at the ice-dragon's mountains…
"Gideon!? What is going on?! Please, look at me!" Vera's yell echoed around them as she knelt on the ground cradling Gideon's face. The man had fallen to his knees a while ago and the smoke-like dark magic kept oozing from him uncontrollably. She was getting more afraid as he had suddenly collapsed for no apparent reason. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was that flash of bright light.
The colour of his eyes was now flashing between blue to black as his dark magic began to whirl around him like a forming storm, threatening to blow Vera away.
"Get away… from me, Vera." he said through his gritted teeth, looking as though it was really hard for him to even focus and form the words to speak to her. "Take your dragon… and go find Evielyn –" he managed to choke out the words he needed to say to her.
"No! I can't leave you here! You will be coming with me!" She shook her head and grabbed harder onto him.
He reversed the hold and grabbed onto her wrists instead. "Listen! Vera!!" his voice sounded like a snarl now. "I'm going to lose control. I don't –"
"You promised Gideon! You promised you will not leave me! You promised that would not happen!" Vera burst out in tears. Why? This was not supposed to happen. What had gone wrong then? Were they not supposed to be changing the future for the better? Why did his condition suddenly deteriorate to this extent out of nowhere?
"I'm so sorry…" his voice came out nearly like a growl. She could see that his nails that were holding onto her wrist had turned completely black in the short time they were talking. This occurrence only caused Vera's heart to sink even lower and a bad premonition suddenly sprung up in her heart.
"No! I won't accept your sorry. I don't want to! You have to keep your promise and stay with me –" Vera did not want to continue listening to what her mate was telling her and kept shaking her head.
"Please! Listen to me… Vera… the monsters are calling out to me. I am going to have to lead them in this war. So you need to get yourself to Evielyn. Please…" He insisted, sounding like it was getting harder and harder for him to speak. "Tell her… not to let the monsters spread. All of the monsters need to be eliminated. Not even a single one of them should be spared. All places that the monsters will set foot on will be swallowed by the darkness. And that is how the abyss will expand." He forced himself to talk, pushing through the swirling darkness hovering at the edge of his mind. He needed Vera to pass this important message on to Evie no matter what. She was their hope right now.
"And what about you, Gid?" Vera's lips trembled.
"I will come back to you, Vera. I will keep my promise. Trust me. I will do something."
"Then why don't you please let me help you? You should know by now that I'm no longer a mere powerless human, Gideon. Especially the past few days… you have seen how I had been training with the ice dragons. I know that I am still not as good as Evie. But I can command and control them." her trembling voice turned begging. Because she had realized she could do nothing to stop him. She had done this before. In her vision, she had clung onto to him, cried a river to stop him and the result of all those things was nothing but terrible. He had hurt her quite a few times and those moments he had realized what he had done to her turned him ballistic. It made him only loathe himself even more and his darkness only became stronger every time.
Vera did not want to see that happening to him in this current timeline. Him, hating himself for hurting her to the point that he wanted to just destroy himself to pieces. Since she had already seen the future, she wanted to avoid having him get hurt even more. "Gideon…"
His darkness pulsated, creating a smoke formation akin to a black rose around them. He grunted and clenched at his chest again. Vera knew this look of his. He was really close to losing himself now. But he did not.
After grunting for a few minutes, he looked at her again, panting hard and sweating buckets. Then his hand lifted up tremblingly and cupped the side of her face.
"I know, Vera. I know… You'll help me by becoming stronger, my sweet mate. Be strong for me. Please. I'm not going to be naïve and tell you to stay back obediently in the castle and do nothing. I knew the moment you freed the dragons that you'd be someone great. A great warrior. No… Even before you did that, I knew you were full of potential. You just needed an outlet to show how great you are. So… go ahead and be one as you wish, Vera. Fight as you wish. Kill as you wish. I would not stop you nor chastise you. Just promise me one thing… that you'd take care of yourself. Don't let the monsters or anyone hurt you."
Silent tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes as those words left his mouth. "Join the war and destroy all the monsters for me with your dragons. That's how you can help me." He had used up a lot of his strength to speak to Vera at length and reassure her that even without her being beside him, he would be fine.
Gideon was now burning up. Fire and utter darkness were both consuming him. Since that light appeared, he had started hearing someone's voice, the voice of darkness or whoever it was. A foreign language that he had never heard before but could understand kept whispering in his ears.
Chapter 630: Role
This voice that was speaking in a foreign language was telling him what he should do. No, it was ordering him what to do and he knew that he could never resist it. He could feel it in his bones that no matter how much he fights against it, he would not be able to succeed.
It felt like a curse. Something he could never break free from. Or something like an ultimate mission he must fulfil because he was born just for this purpose. His life purpose seemed only to lead the army of monsters and expand the abyss until it reaches where the king, Gavrael, was trapped at. Yes, he had found out what had happened because of the orders he had been receiving from the voice.
His consciousness and sanity were on the verge of being swallowed completely. And there was only one thing that was still keeping him rooted to what was his current reality. To keep him from giving in. That woman. His love. His mate. His Vera.
But he knew that he was barely hanging on by the skin of his teeth. It was bound to eventually snap no matter what he would do. So he was saying all of these now. He felt it in his heart that this was the only chance for him to do this.
The things Vera told him about what she had seen in her vision of their future made him realized this one thing. That perhaps, the very first time he had succumbed to his darkness was the turning point of how the future of the war would turn out. If at that time, this same thing had happened and that he had also heard these voices, did he managed to fight it because Gavrael was still around back then? If so, then what is the reason why Vera did not say anything about him telling them what they would do? Did he tell them, but they still ended up losing the war and monsters kept pouring out of the abyss because Gavrael had not been trapped by Evielyn in her crystal?
The latter option was the most probable reason to him. Things were changing. Now that Gavrael was trapped and frozen and the abyss was shut closed, their chances to stop the monsters were now greater than ever. Only if they could stop the monsters from reaching where Gavrael was currently held.
He did not know for sure what would happen if the abyss swallowed the crystal that Garvael was trapped in, but he could think of the worst-case scenario and that was that the darkness having to free him by force. Now if that happened, there would be no telling how massive the effects would be.
So no matter how hard it was for him, he had said it. He had to accept and allow that Vera will join in the war as well.
Vera… he was going to make her fight because he knew that it was the only way he could protect her. Right now, his darkness had identified Vera as a huge threat. Someone who needed to be eliminated as soon as possible for him to fulfil his role. To be able to complete his mission.
However, she was right when she said she was no longer that powerless and weak human from before. His darkness had confirmed it. And he had confirmed it himself while he was watching her train so hard to control her dragons. This made him feel better knowing that she could one day be like Evielyn. Someone who was formidable in her own rights rather than vulnerable. Someone who could fight for herself and determine her own future.
He had planned and wished to be her hero forever but now he thought that her being her own knight in shining armour, or even rising up to be his hero now that he seemed to be the one turning into a villain was not a bad plot at all. He could imagine her as a badass dragon warrior, and he could not help the wide smile from spreading across his face.
"If we defeat all the monsters… what will happen? To you? Are we going to have to fight you as well?" she asked worriedly. He could see through his blurry consciousness, the waterfall of her tears that cascaded over her fair cheeks.
He wiped away her tears with his trembling hands. He was already reaching his limit of resisting the darkness that was trying to take over him. A few moments more and he might strike out at her and attempt to kill her.
The fear and agony gripped at his heart like a vice. "Once the monsters are gone…" he said gnashing his teeth so hard that his gums started bleeding.
Gideon had realized even in his failing consciousness that Gavrael's entrapment was not the reason of his power surging so impossibly strong. It was the monsters. He had suspected this before. The more monsters there were on this side of the abyss, the more powerful he becomes. Now that there were tens of thousands of monsters that had emerged from the abyss, his magic has become uncontrollable.
These monsters were bowing to him like all the other monsters who were already in the Underlands. To them he was their commander. He was the sovereign of the monsters. The one whose role was to protect and fight for the king, his younger brother, Gavrael. Thus, the monsters were his greatest strength and the extension of his arms. They were literally his weapons and the source of most of his power.
He believed that once the monsters were eradicated, his power would diminish in proportion to them, and he could finally fight his own darkness. He would do it without fail. This time, he was going to return to Vera – victorious and in one piece – and keep his promise that he had made to her. "No, my sweet mate. That time… it will then be my turn to fight my darkness. Trust me… I love you… wait for me… Vera…"
"Gideon!"