Ch. 631..640

Chapter 631: Azure

Vera stayed there, kneeling on the ground, and just staring ahead. Those unseeing eyes were full of quiet tears that kept flowing down her face profusely and unchecked and falling to the ground. Because who else was there to stop her from doing so? Her mate was no longer with her. The one who would wipe away her tears, who would console and comfort her, was no more there.

After some time, she let out a high pitch scream. She was not prepared for this. Not yet. Not now. Her Gideon already leaving her this soon was just too much for her. This was not fair. Why did the events unfold like this?

Her agonizing and drawn-out scream seemed to have pulled at the dragons' attention. They all turned their heads to where Vera was.

Then the biggest and bluest one of them which was at the very peak of the dragon mountain spread open his wings and took off into the skies. This was the dragon that Vera had wanted to connect with most since the very beginning. She even already named him even though he never responded to her call even once. In fact, the very first time Vera named him and called for him, she could have sworn that he had slanted his lizard-like gaze at her and scoffed. Yes. A dragon scoffed at her. She – who was supposed to be the dragon guardian. However, Vera was thankful for little blessings as the only ones who listened to her call were the smaller and younger ones.

Azure arrived and circled above Vera, before landing before her. Its massive wings covered her as though wanting to protect her.

Shocked, Vera looked up and she met those pale, icy, large blue eyes. Looking at him up closely, she realized she had the very same eye colour as the dragon. The other dragons' eyes had a darker shade of blue.

Wiping her tears with the back of her hands, Vera rose from her knees. The dragon's presence right next to her was too overwhelming for her to ignore. His entire body was oozing with white smoke, like the smoke-like particles coming from a block of ice. Azure was like a massive, breathtaking artwork made of ice.

"Az… Azure…" she called out his name, hoping that he would accept the name that she had given to him. Though her heart and entire being was still bleeding and beaten up right now due to the leaving of Gideon, she knew she did not have the time to weep or fall into a pit of self-pity at the moment.

She was scared to death about this separation with her mate. Scared that she might never see Gideon ever again. Scared that he would not be able to fulfil his end of their promise ultimately. But the moment she looked into those large pale eyes of Azure, Vera saw her own reflection in them, and Gideon's voice echoed firmly and comfortingly in her mind. 'Be strong for me… join the war and destroy the monsters… wait for me… I will return to you…'

Somehow, this time when she 'heard' him say those words, they sounded more encouraging and full of assurance instead of being a promise of doom.

A shaky breath was drawn out from her lips as she clenched her fists tightly in her sleeves. Something was surging within her chest, burning, and turning her eyes gleam like the sharpest ice.

The shrieks of the dragons pulled her attention to Azure's eyes and when she looked up, her eyes widened at the sight of all the dozens of dragons circling the sky right above her.

One after another, they landed around her, creating a circle of dragon-wall. It was as if every single one of those dragons had felt her hopelessness and agony. And they had all come and were showing her a new hope. Showing her what powers she held in her hands right now.

Her mouth was agape as she looked around. All these dragons who had ignored her calls these past few days were now here. All of them, not even one was missing – even the littlest of them – they all came to her without her even calling for them. The wonder and disbelief in her heart surged like a tidal wave.

Suddenly, she felt a chill. And an image formed before her, like a spirit made of thin ice.

"They have been… waiting for you, dearest Ozerizh." The woman said. She recognized this voice. This was one of the voices she had heard when she was about to touch the ice crystals that trapped all the ice dragons. "Don't be afraid or overwhelmed. Do not cry and lose hope. You are powerful. You have nothing to be afraid. The ice dragons will aid you, help you and protect you with their lives. Not because you freed them but because you are the last of our kind. They failed to protect us in the past. So they had vowed to protect you. This time, they will not fail. This time, they will gain the victory! Take a good look around you, our dearest…" the fluttery thin voice prompted her, and Vera lifted her eyes to behold a heart-stirring view.

Looking at the dragons again, Vera's heartbeat began drumming within her ribcage.

"From now on, these dragons will be with you. They will be your arms and legs. Their powers are your powers." the woman continued, then she reached out and touched Vera's face. She felt like an ice sheet graced over the skin of her cheeks. And yet she did not feel the cold cut of the chill this time. "So lift your head up and fight with pride. You are not alone."

After those words, she saw the woman smiling at her. Then slowly, she disappeared into nothingness.

Vera touched her cheek where the ice sheet was. "Ozerizh…" she repeated. It was a foreign word she had never heard before. But again, she understood it. It means 'daughter of the ice dragons'.

She looked at Azure again and before she knew it, she hugged its snout and cried for the last time. She told herself this would be the last that she would cry. After this, she promised herself, she would stand up and will not shed any tears of agony again. She would be brave and fight on proudly with her dragons!

Chapter 632: You ruined everything

Meanwhile in Ferber.

The light was gone. The darkness was gone as well. What was left in the wake of those two overwhelming powers that had collided was a massive and softly shimmering amber crystal. The crystal looked like an upside down blade of a sword – where its hilt was buried into the ground and its blade was pointed towards the sky.

In the middle of the blade-like crystal, there could be seen the silhouette of the now trapped Gavrael. He was frozen in a standing position, with his massive black wings still spread out majestically behind him. His hands were down at his sides, and he looked like an angel of darkness who had been trapped in a deep, peaceful slumber.

Evie was currently hovering right across him. Her wings were flapping steadily as she stayed right there, one of her palms extended and touching the crystal – right across where his chest would be.

There were no tears that remained in her eyes. What was left was just pure pain and quiet rage.

She stayed there for an immeasurable amount of time. Unmoving. Silent. If not for her own wings that were flapping as well, it would seem as though she had turned into a statue herself.

Until the earth shook, and she heard Onyx's roars reverberating in her mind. She finally moved and forced herself to screw her eyes tightly closed. Onyx appeared in her mind. He was inside a massive cave, restricted by a powerful dark magic. Then she saw her other dragons and her palm against the crystal holding Gavrael captive clenched into a fist. The fierce battle going on in the camp, the number of monsters...

When her lashes fluttered open, her amber eyes had hardened as though it were a golden lifeless stone. She looked at Gav and the pain sharpened as she choked out her words.

"I will be back, my love. I promise. Just rest and wait for me here." She whispered as she gave the crystal one last loving caress. Then she whipped around in one swift decisive movement.

Her gaze fell to the man who was still on the ground. Klauz. All she wanted to do now was tear him apart into pieces and release all her anger upon him. But with the number of monsters that she had seen swarming in the abyss right now, she knew she needed this man alive. She also knew that no matter what she did to him now, even if she ends up killing him, none of it would ever return Gav to his previous state back to her. What had been done was already done and the only one who could free Gav was herself.

Without turning back to look at Gav even though every fibre of her being wanted to do so, she flew away from the amber crystal.

The moment she descended to the ground Evie struck Klauz without warning with her magic. Klauz, who had already been very much weakened due to his earlier fight against Gav, was sent tumbling to the ground. The impact was so strong that it created another crater on the ground that was already covered in holes.

Klauz coughed and pulled himself up into a sitting position. A deceptively thin but nonetheless powerful thread of light was wrapped around his neck. Evie had casted a binding chain. An unbreakable one. No one else could dispel this magic except for her – not even all of the light faes put together. Feeling the chain tightening closely around his neck but without choking him, Klauz lifted his gaze to the Light Queen.

"I really want to kill you right now, Klauz." Evie told him without any inflection in her tone. Though her voice was calm, but her eyes were terrifyingly emotionless.

"And why is that?" Klauz asked, wiping the blood that was still dripping from his lips. "Because I caused his awakening?"

"Yes." There was not even a tinge of hesitation in Evie's answer. "You caused this tragedy. You ruined everything."

A slight but angered smile tugged at Klauz's lips. "You're wrong!" he snapped. "This is bound to happen!"

"I'm wrong? If you didn't kidnap me and falsely laid claim on me as your mate, Gav…" she sucked in a sharp breath, "… my husband would still be here with me right now. His awakening shouldn't have happened now!"

He snorted and Evie backhanded him again, slamming him back into the ground, hard. "Don't make me kill you, Klauz." She threatened lowly. Her voice so unlike her, sharp and venomous.

"Light Queen," he snarled. "Why don't you understand? You are in love with the man you're supposed to kill. He is your fated enemy. Did you realize what you had just done? You just made him even more formidable, indestructible. Once you free him, he would have grown more powerful than ever. By then, not even you would be able to kill him anymore!"

"And whose fault is that, huh? Klauz? I had other plans to stop this destruction from happening. But you came and ruined it all! Now you're snarling at me like a dog?"

"You think this would not result in the same way if I didn't kidnap you?! I kidnapped you for that same reason and yet… fuck! And yet the end result is the same!!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Evie snapped back at him, gripping his collar with both her hands. Why has he start talking like that? He was not making much sense.

Klauz's jaws clenched hard before he drew a deep breath. "There's another ancient carving I haven't showed you. I found it in the destroyed house of the Icyrians. The Icyrians are just like you, they could see visions of what will happen in the future too. Do you know what I've found? The cause of the king of darkness' awakening is the moment when the mating bond between the two of you is being triggered. The mating bond will cause his two sides to become one and once that happens, he will awaken." Klauz finally revealed that final puzzle to why he had done that crazy thing in kidnapping and trying to force a mating between them.

Chapter 633: Trigger

Evie could not believe what she was hearing. Shock and disbelief coloured her face. She had to force herself to continue asking him questions. If she stopped, she might end up snapping at him or perhaps even strangling him.

"You're saying, you knew Gav and I are mates?" her voice cracked a little as she asked that. This sole information was enough to cause her frozen emotions to melt in a blink of an eye.

"Yes, it was recorded there in the Icyrian's vision. The forbidden bond between darkness and light will occur." He narrated the exact line from the vision before adding, "No one is called light but you."

Evie staggered back a little. Her mind told her not to immediately believe what Klauz was saying, that she must confirm it first but… her heart and soul had already started rejoicing and wholly believed in it.

She wanted to smile, cry with joy, run and tell Gav about this. This news… she had waited for it nearly every minute since Vera and Gideon's mating ritual. At night she even dreamt about it, wishing that Gav was her mate. Now it happened. But why? Why would it happen at this moment?

The tears threatened to fall as she turned to look back at her trapped husband. "Did you hear that, Gav?" she asked him in her mind. Then a smile curved on her lips. It was happy at first, but it slowly turned pained. Bitter.

She suddenly remembered what Gav had told her before. That there was a reason why both Gavs were separated. Who would have thought that this was reason? Why? How could fate be so cruel to them?

Swallowing past the painful lump that seemed to be lodged in her throat, Evie shut her eyes to control her emotions. Then she turned to look at Klauz again.

"Then why? What's the point of you doing what you did then? Weren't you supposed to just inform me or Gav about it?" Evie asked him, the anger that was simmering now surged within her chest again. "Gav and I performed a spell to postpone the mating bond's trigger."

"That spell is useless for you both! Gavrael is not a mere dark fae! The darkness literally flows in his blood and also with the powerful light that you possess, it will never work. The spell can only bind creatures not stronger than the spell itself. And Gavrael lied to you. He didn't go through that spell because he knew it wouldn't work!" he raked his hand through his hair as he said those words. "The only way for the bond between you two not to happen is to have you get marked by another. And that was why I kidnapped you."

Before Evie could ask again, Klauz just continued speaking, as if he knew exactly what she would ask next. "I know an ancient spell no one else knows about. It's a spell no one could find even in the King's library because that same bastard king who destroyed Ferber, had destroyed the book that contains it. That forbidden spell could force a mating bond to trigger between a male and female who are non-mates." Raw anger flashed in his eyes. "I still know about that spell because that was the very same spell that bastard king used on my mother, the lady of Ferber, to claim her as his mate and then wife!"

Klauz was breathing hard after those words left his mouth. Then he looked at Evie with a serious gaze. "All I wanted was to make sure that the mating bond between the you two will not happen by marking you. And don't tell me I should've told you about this. I'd never. After I saw how crazily you respond to him, you would never agree to let the bond happen between us. And most especially Gavrael. There would be no way in hell that he'd agree to this even if he hears of the reason!"

Evie let go of his collar. She had been itching to strike at him again but this time she refrained. Knowing that she might cause a serious blow to him this time that could actually kill him, since he had already suffered multiple serious injuries from Gav earlier.

"All I had wanted was to secure you and mark you. In doing so, the awakening will not happen. But it seems nothing can stop it," Klauz continued. "Whether I kidnapped you or not, Gavrael's awakening would still happen."

"That's true. But whatever it is, today you have committed a grave mistake and hastened his awakening that I was so desperately trying to delay." Evie said through gritted teeth, still not able to fully come to terms that Gav had been awakened and was now trapped in her crystal.

"What made you think that you can delay it?" Klauz retorted again. "According to the vision about your mating bond, it would have been triggered any time within a few hours from now."

"No. You are wrong. I've seen it in… my dreams. Gav's awakening should not have happened this early on." Evie told Klauz. Her tone and eyes were so serious that Klauz was compelled to believe what she said was true.

"Really? Are you certain you've seen it?"

"Vera also saw it in her vision. Gav would still be with us for a quite a long while, maybe even months from now! You've grossly miscalculated and caused a disaster by doing this!" Evie shouted.

"No. I am right. It's meant to happen tonight. Because the night of the Emerian festival is tonight. It was clearly stated in the vision. So even if I didn't kidnap you, the awakening would still happen. I can show you the vision right now and you can see for yourself that I am not lying to you as I know you are suspecting me."

Evie shook her head. This does not make sense to her right now. The vision he was talking about, and the vision that Vera saw was contradictory.

Chapter 634: My word

"Never mind that. We don't have the luxury of time to waste right now." Evie replied to Klauz, brushing off the matter for now. They had bigger things to deal with at the present moment.

She wanted to see the scribbled vision he was talking about. What Emerian festival was he talking about? She had no idea what it was and how it would affect their mating bond. But at this point, it did not seem to matter that much anymore. Even if she were to rush over and look at it now, it will no longer change a thing that had happened. Gavrael would still be frozen in that massive crystal of hers and would not be getting out anytime soon. However, she would still go look for it herself, hoping that it could solve all this confusion. Maybe later. But not now.

The war was the most important thing she had to focus on right now. And it had already arrived at their front gates – where King Belial, his armies and their allies were at right now.

"The war at the abyss has already erupted." She added, looking down at him from her elevated position. "So I need you to rise and bring me to your army now. I need you and your entire army to join in the war." Her voice sounded strong and authoritative. Her tone telling him that she was not asking but commanding him to obey her words.

Klauz smirked mockingly. "So you're going to just use me and my men to save those royals' asses?"

"The royals don't need you to save their asses, Klauz. They can save their own. They are capable enough and can fight their own battles. However, when I ask you, the ones who needed your protection are your fellow dark faes." Evie told him in a no-nonsense tone. "This is war, Klauz. I want you to choose now, rise and follow me or I will kill you. Right here. Right now." Her tone turned vicious and cold. It was hard as flint and her whole posture and body language told Klauz that she was not making compromise nor would she take any hostages. It would only be those following under her leadership, or she would leave dead bodies in her wake.

His mocking smile widened as his eyes reflected the emotion. "I never would have thought that you're actually going to ask me to join in the war this way, Light Queen. You were supposed to –"

"What. Was I supposed to beg you for you and your army's help? Don't make me laugh." Evie cut him off with a sharp barking laugh. Then a wicked smile curved up her lips. "Hear me, Klauz. This land is not mine, therefore I have no lingering affections for it. Also, you have to know that I hate you to my very bones. My hatred for you right now is as intense as your hatred to the royals – no, perhaps even more than yours. The one and only reason I am still keeping you alive right now is because the inhabitants of the Under Lands needs you and your army to fight for them. Now choose. I don't have any more time to waste chit chatting with you." she told him, her gaze and tone both dismissive. After saying her piece, Evie kept silent and waited for Klauz's decision.

Klauz glared up at her with a calculating gaze. But there was no hostility nor hatred in his eyes. He stared at her for a few more seconds, running his choices and the results of his actions through his head.

Then he finally stood up.

"Okay. I agree to your terms. My men and I will follow you. But… you have to give me your word, Light Queen." He said, this time his expression utterly serious. "Just this one thing. That no matter what happens… you are not going to sacrifice the Under Lands and all the dark faes for the sake of the man you love. No… not just us and our land. Give me your word that you're not going to sacrifice the entire Lirea for him."

His words silenced Evie. The scene she saw in the future flashed in her mind – the destruction of not just the Under Lands but the entirety of Lirea. Was Klauz trying to tell her that the destruction was all her fault? Because she had failed to end the King of darkness in time before everything was almost wiped out? Was he trying to tell her that she had sacrificed the entire land because she could not bear to kill the man that she loved more than her life itself?

That made her insides shiver and her stomach to twist up into hard knots. She denied the thoughts that had just ran through her mind, forcibly shutting them off and erasing them from her mind with everything she had.

"Give me your word, and me and my army will be at your disposal." Klauz's statement pulled her attention back to him.

Their gazes held each other's for a long while until Evie realized that she was clenching her fists really tightly together.

"I'm giving you my word, Klauz." She finally replied and when Klauz knelt on one knee before her, Evie threw her head up and slowly allow her eyes to shut close. 'Gav…' she uttered in her mind.

After that, Klauz brought Evie to the secret training grounds and the instant Klauz announced that they were now under the Light Queen's command, the army roared out with vigour. They were like caged beasts who now could not wait to be released and go on a rampage.

Evie could feel an overwhelming power of all the armies combined. They would be one formidable reinforcement to destroy those thousands of powerful monsters.

"Everything is prepared now, Your Majesty." Klauz said and after Evie simply gave him a nod, the army began to leave the massive training grounds in a well-coordinated march. No doubt, Klauz had trained his armies well.

"Before we go, I need you to bring me to Onyx first." Evie told him, her eyes flashing. "I need my dragon back."

 

Chapter 635 My word

"Never mind that. We don't have the luxury of time to waste right now." Evie replied to Klauz, brushing off the matter for now. They had bigger things to deal with at the present moment.

She wanted to see the scribbled vision he was talking about. What Emerian festival was he talking about? She had no idea what it was and how it would affect their mating bond. But at this point, it did not seem to matter that much anymore. Even if she were to rush over and look at it now, it will no longer change a thing that had happened. Gavrael would still be frozen in that massive crystal of hers and would not be getting out anytime soon. However, she would still go look for it herself, hoping that it could solve all this confusion. Maybe later. But not now.

The war was the most important thing she had to focus on right now. And it had already arrived at their front gates – where King Belial, his armies and their allies were at right now.

"The war at the abyss has already erupted." She added, looking down at him from her elevated position. "So I need you to rise and bring me to your army now. I need you and your entire army to join in the war." Her voice sounded strong and authoritative. Her tone telling him that she was not asking but commanding him to obey her words.

Klauz smirked mockingly. "So you're going to just use me and my men to save those royals' asses?"

"The royals don't need you to save their asses, Klauz. They can save their own. They are capable enough and can fight their own battles. However, when I ask you, the ones who needed your protection are your fellow dark faes." Evie told him in a no-nonsense tone. "This is war, Klauz. I want you to choose now, rise and follow me or I will kill you. Right here. Right now." Her tone turned vicious and cold. It was hard as flint and her whole posture and body language told Klauz that she was not making compromise nor would she take any hostages. It would only be those following under her leadership, or she would leave dead bodies in her wake.

His mocking smile widened as his eyes reflected the emotion. "I never would have thought that you're actually going to ask me to join in the war this way, Light Queen. You were supposed to –"

"What. Was I supposed to beg you for you and your army's help? Don't make me laugh." Evie cut him off with a sharp barking laugh. Then a wicked smile curved up her lips. "Hear me, Klauz. This land is not mine, therefore I have no lingering affections for it. Also, you have to know that I hate you to my very bones. My hatred for you right now is as intense as your hatred to the royals – no, perhaps even more than yours. The one and only reason I am still keeping you alive right now is because the inhabitants of the Under Lands needs you and your army to fight for them. Now choose. I don't have any more time to waste chit chatting with you." she told him, her gaze and tone both dismissive. After saying her piece, Evie kept silent and waited for Klauz's decision.

Klauz glared up at her with a calculating gaze. But there was no hostility nor hatred in his eyes. He stared at her for a few more seconds, running his choices and the results of his actions through his head.

Then he finally stood up.

"Okay. I agree to your terms. My men and I will follow you. But… you have to give me your word, Light Queen." He said, this time his expression utterly serious. "Just this one thing. That no matter what happens… you are not going to sacrifice the Under Lands and all the dark faes for the sake of the man you love. No… not just us and our land. Give me your word that you're not going to sacrifice the entire Lirea for him."

His words silenced Evie. The scene she saw in the future flashed in her mind – the destruction of not just the Under Lands but the entirety of Lirea. Was Klauz trying to tell her that the destruction was all her fault? Because she had failed to end the King of darkness in time before everything was almost wiped out? Was he trying to tell her that she had sacrificed the entire land because she could not bear to kill the man that she loved more than her life itself?

That made her insides shiver and her stomach to twist up into hard knots. She denied the thoughts that had just ran through her mind, forcibly shutting them off and erasing them from her mind with everything she had.

"Give me your word, and me and my army will be at your disposal." Klauz's statement pulled her attention back to him.

Their gazes held each other's for a long while until Evie realized that she was clenching her fists really tightly together.

"I'm giving you my word, Klauz." She finally replied and when Klauz knelt on one knee before her, Evie threw her head up and slowly allow her eyes to shut close. 'Gav…' she uttered in her mind.

After that, Klauz brought Evie to the secret training grounds and the instant Klauz announced that they were now under the Light Queen's command, the army roared out with vigour. They were like caged beasts who now could not wait to be released and go on a rampage.

Evie could feel an overwhelming power of all the armies combined. They would be one formidable reinforcement to destroy those thousands of powerful monsters.

"Everything is prepared now, Your Majesty." Klauz said and after Evie simply gave him a nod, the army began to leave the massive training grounds in a well-coordinated march. No doubt, Klauz had trained his armies well.

"Before we go, I need you to bring me to Onyx first." Evie told him, her eyes flashing. "I need my dragon back."

 

Chapter 636 One hit kill

Klauz looked like he wanted to argue but he eventually nodded as he held his tongue and offered her his hand. Evie took it and in the next moment, he had flashed them back inside the dark cave.

"Tell me, how did Onyx end up getting trapped in here?" Evie asked him as they approached it.

"He had arrived in the Under Lands, oozing with dark magic that he was a literal dark magic generator. I managed to lure him over and trap him here using the ancient spells dark faes were using in the distant past to take control of the fire dragons during the era of wars between light and dark faes. But your dragon is just too powerful that I couldn't make him obey fully. And thus, I could only trap him knowing that he would soon break the chains of my barrier even though I have the most powerful prison barrier in the entire Under Lands."

"Drop the barrier, Klauz. Now." Evie ordered Klauz once she turned to look at Onyx who was bound by the barrier.

"But your Majesty! Are you certain he'll listen to you now? Don't forget that Gavrael had put in him all of Galleous' dark magic." Klauz reminded her, anxious that she might get hurt when Onyx got released from his restraints.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Klauz! I have faith in Onyx and in my own powers, so drop the barrier now." Evie said without any hint of doubt. Onyx had responded to her when she shouted out his name. That only means one thing, he had recognized her voice and that was enough for her to know that the dark magic is not controlling him fully. Onyx had been with her in her vision too. So she was certain that she would be safe with him.

Unable to refuse, Klauz could only do as she say and retracted his barrier.

A loud roar made the cavern tremble, but Evie did not even flinch. She approached the raging dragon and called his name once again. "Onyx!"

The dragon stopped roaring and slowly, he lowered his head towards her.

…

At the abyss, the ongoing battle was fierce. It was nothing everyone had ever seen nor experienced before. The first wave of monsters consisted of normal sized monsters, the ones with two mouths and about seven feet tall.

The soldiers managed to stop killing most of them and stopped them from advancing. However, chaos was quick to take over. The second wave of monsters came not long after and they were much stronger, more powerful and bigger than their first counterparts. They could be considered as giants and their skin were goddamned tough that even their magical weapons had a hard time piercing through.

"Look out!" Azrael had grabbed at Zolan and pulled him behind. "Stay put vampire, this one's mine." The dark fae lord catapulted up from the ground, his massive wings flapping majestically as he bravely attacked the massive monster head on.

Zolan watched the dark fae lord elusively avoiding the powerful swings of the monster's thick and disgusting arms. Then he appeared behind it and stabbed his sword into the back of its skull.

The scene made Zolan whistle in amazement. But it was too bad because he could not just stand still and keep watching the epic show from the side-lines. He needed to look out for his companions and the light faes as well. Were they able to keep up with this commotion? This was not the kind of war they were expecting nor were they familiar with. This was an all-out war!

He could see that even the dark faes were overwhelmed. It was obvious none of them expected the sudden surge of the monsters. And that the monsters were actually so much stronger and bigger than those that they were used too. Only the lords and generals were probably the only ones who could take down those giants without getting hurt. The average soldiers would at least have a fighting chance if more than five or more of them attack one giant all at once but, there were just too many of them! Not to mention that the quick and annoying smaller monsters which were not really small fries!

Looking up, Zolan saw that Zanya had started to command her dragons to attack. He also saw something bright at the far east side of their army. It seems Zanya had decided to spread the dragons out to aid others while she stayed within Azrael's army.

That was a good call. But still, three dragons would be far from enough. There were twelve armies surrounding the entire massive abyss. The eleven lords were leading each of their own armies while the twelfth, was led by the king himself.

The king might not need a dragon to aid his army, but the other lords certainly do need one each according to his calculations.

"Zolan!" he heard Leon's shout calling out for him from his side and he muttered out a curse seeing that another annoying monster was heading his way. "Can't you just give me a break, you ugly monster?! Let me do my job to observe the surrounding, will you? Damn disgusting monster!" He could only attack the monster head on as he continued mocking the monster.

A light fae at his right side saw him needing some aid and she used her magic to blind the monster, conveniently allowing Zolan to finally catch that break. Taking advantage of the momentary pause of the monster due to the sudden onslaught of blindness, Zolan pierced the monster's mouth with his sword, successfully killing it in one blow. YES! One hit kill!

But before he could even pull his sword out of the monster's mouth, he heard a shrill scream coming from his right side. The moment he turned to the source of the sound, he saw the light fae who had just helped him, was now clutched in another monster's hands, apparently just about to rip her apart, right through her midsection.

"No! Fuck!" his red eyes blazed and attacked the monster as fast as he could.

Chapter 637 Stay back

It was too late. Zolan did not make it to save the girl.

Just as he had attacked, the monster ripped the girl apart in half. But even at that moment, the courageous light fae still managed to summon out a ball of light despite her body which had already been torn into two parts.

Zolan could only grit his teeth and ignore his burning eyes as he jumped at the monster's head and pierced its throat over and over until it collapsed to the ground, blood spurting out of the wounds and creating a huge puddle of blood right under its own body.

"Fuck!" He cursed and looked behind him, then to the light fae who was now lying lifelessly on the ground. Though he knew that this was inevitable in a war, it still was not a good feeling having to see a young thing like that dying under such unfavourable circumstances. If only he had moved a little faster.

Clenching his fists tight, he pulled his sword that was covered with the monster's black and filthy blood and approached the girl's body. A strong pang of regret and anger made his heart shake. He seemed to have forgotten the actual feeling on how war was actually like. It truly had been too long since he stared at a dead body this cruelly severed.

He bent down on one knee and his palm slowly covered her still wide opened eyes, closing them finally in death. Then without a word, Zolan picked her sword that was still in her hand before he stood up, staring at her one last time before turning away.

His gaze immediately looked for the other light faes and saw a group of the female ones busily sending balls of lights toward the monsters, helping not just vampires but the dark faes as well. He gritted his teeth as he saw how they were trying their very best as the auxiliary troops.

They were left vulnerable with that position they were in. If the monsters attacked them, they would be completely helpless and just waiting to be slaughtered. This was a serious flaw none of them should have missed. But he understood that this was a sudden war. None of them were fully prepared. In fact, none of them ever thought that the light faes would be used in this war immediately when they were supposed to be here to learn more about the monsters first.

Zolan headed towards them and saw another couple of dead light faes on the ground as he made his way over. This cannot be happening. The light faes were already so small in numbers, not even a hundred. They must not be the first ones to be annihilated here when they were providing such a big help! His fury raged and exploded within him. The light faes needed to be protected! They were here to help out in a war that was not theirs in the first place. And he also needed to be accountable to Queen Evie on how he was to explain why her precious subjects were dying and falling like flies, one after another.

"Protect the light faes!" he yelled at the dark fae soldiers. "Have some men protect them or they'll all die helping our asses!" he snarled out at them, his aura flaring wildly in an intimidating manner.

One of the dark fae general nearby immediately ordered his men and the dark faes. There were to be three men each to guard and protect one light fae.

And with that, the light faes were able to concentrate and regroup, sending out more balls of lights to blind the endless monsters.

Seeing that all the light faes were now sufficiently guarded, Zolan relaxed a little. Now where were his fellow vampires? Looking around, he could not see them anymore. He had heard Leon's voice a while ago but he was nowhere to be seen now as well. He had not seen Samuel for quite some time now too!

"Those guys had better not gone reckless mode and went to fight a giant!" he growled out irritably as he fought his way to where the battle was thicker and oh damn, he was right. Samuel and Leon were going against a massive monster all on their own. Looking at them, Zolan wanted to facepalm and scream at them.

But he could only groan and join them in the fray.

This monster would not react to light magic like the lower levelled ones do. But based on what he saw from Azrael's fight, the monster seemed to feel the blow stronger if it was being hit at the back of its skull.

"Aim for the back of its skull!" he yelled at Samuel and the duo looked at each other.

The next instant, Leon used his unparalleled speed to distract the giant while Samuel aimed for the base of the giant's skull and swung with all his strength. One strike and the monster jerked and fell to its knees. Samuel's strength was on par with the dark fae lords after all.

Another swift and seemingly well-orchestrated attack and Samuel's sword finally blasted the giant's skull, causing its head to finally fall off its massive and broad shoulders.

"Thanks." Leon patted Zolan's shoulder. "We had no idea where to exactly aim on that big lug for a while there."

Before Zolan could respond, they saw another giant, smashing on the dark fae soldiers like they were made of rags.

Seeing that Samuel and Leon were already prepared to aid those soldiers, he sighed and spoke. "Don't be too reckless you two." He reminded them to reign in their overeager fighting instincts.

"We know." Samuel replied. "But it's not like we have a choice right now anyway. There's no way we can just stand by and watch."

"Then be careful. No… you know what? I'll just come along with you two."

"No, you stay back Zolan, and observe instead. You will be more useful that way."

"How dare you, Samuel!" Zolan threw him a mock protest.

"We will spread out the finding you had found. That last one was really helpful man!" Samuel just continued on seriously. "Stay back and keep on observing. That's the job the queen specifically gave to you after all." Samuel reminded Zolan on his own role.

"But he will be needing someone to guard his back… just in case." Leon butted in.

"Right." Samuel agreed.

"No need for that." Zolan waved his hand, dismissing their suggestion. But both Leon and Samuel glared hard at him.

"We will guard him!" Three dark faes, the ones Leon and Samuel had saved from the earlier giant suddenly spoke up.

"Then we will leave him to your care." Samuel's fist pounded down on the dark faes' backs one after another. "Don't forget that this guy's brain must be protected at all costs."

"This muscle head," Zolan retorted but the other two had already disappeared like a blur, causing him to sigh out helplessly.

 

Chapter 638 What is he doing?

The battle just kept on getting more and more intense that Zolan did not have much luxury to roam around and see more than what was happening right in front of him. He had actually intended to observe and watch the entire army. Not just Azrael's army but everyone else's as well.

Looking up, Zolan saw two of the dragons, the ones Zanya and Kariza were riding on.

"You two, could you guys fly me up there? I need to get onto any one of those dragons." Zolan told the two dark faes who were stationed to guard him.

"Of course. Which one of the dragons do you want to get to?" one of them asked.

"Silver." There was no need for extra explanation as the colour of the dragon itself allowed the guards to recognise which dragon Zolan was referring to.

The dark faes quickly held onto Zolan's arms and flew him up to the skies. Finally, Zolan could now see the entirety of the war. And what he saw made him change his mind. Turning to the dark fae who was in charge, he informed him of his decision.

"Look for Vermillion instead. The one ridden by the male light fae over there." He said with a gesture using his head and the dark faes just nodded, changing their course accordingly. They did not question nor hesitate in following Zolan's orders. After all, they were only in charge of protecting him and seeing to his needs. They were truly perfectly trained soldiers and Zolan commended Azrael's method of training his men in his mind.

Earlier on, from the ground, Zolan thought what he was seeing was not enough. He needed to be able to see everything from a higher vantage point and circling the entire abyss would be the best thing for him to do. This way, he would be able to assess the entire situation much more accurately and report everything to the queen once she arrives. Thus, he was exceptionally glad that the two dark faes were willing to go along with his plan and more importantly, able and strong enough to withstand the physical strain of carrying not only themselves but him as well to move around in the skies for quite some time.

Even at the fast speeds that the dark faes had employed, they still took quite a while to finish circlghing and observing half of the abyss. Now Zolan could fully grasp the reality of just how massive this abyss was, and it even seemed to be expanding every second. The expansion was still not fully noticeable, but if one looked at it close enough, you could see that it was happening.

The most obvious proof was the fact that the perfect circle of the abyss was no longer in a perfect circular shape. At some parts, the wall of darkness had moved forward, and some parts had not. He could tell that the parts the king and the other four lords were fighting at were still currently untouched. But the others, especially the ones at the king's army's left and right were already being pushed back by the dark wall.

Zolan's eyes widened at the realization that dawned upon him. Does this mean that if the monsters pushed the army forward, the dark wall would also push forward?

That was the most logical explanation!

"There's Vermillion… but how can we approach the dragon?" one of the dark faes asked Zolan.

Zolan was so focused at what he was observing bellow that he was not paying attention to the dark faes with him anymore.

What he was seeing bellow them was really bothering him a great deal. One glance and he knew that something must be done with those two armies. Because if the state of things continues in this way, the balance will fall apart and the king and his army might end up being surrounded by the dark wall on both sides!

"Take me to the dragon now!" he ordered and the dark faes looked at each other.

Seeing that the two seemed unsure of something, Zolan looked over at Vermillion and his brows creased seeing the reckless way Zirrus was attacking the enemies. He was going down way too low and way too fast! He was literally accelerating down from the skies. What is he doing? Was he trying to show off his dragon riding skills or trying to get himself and the enemies killed at one go?! Though it was his prerogative in wanting to die in battle, Zolan was quite sure that Vermillion basically belonged to their queen as he answered to her. So it was not up to Zirrus to want to die together with Vermillion in battle. He definitely did not have their queen's permission in doing such a thing.

Zolan rolled his eyes in annoyance. He did not like the way Zirrus used the dragon, and the man was only focusing on aiding one army. Why was he behaving in such a manner? Could he not see that the others needed his aid too? Or was he purposefully ignoring it?

Then Zolan's eyes widened at what he noticed down below. "Let's go! Fast. Just fly me up right above the dragon." Zolan urged the two dark faes who were holding him airborne.

The dark faes immediately moved, sensing the urgency in his voice. They could barely keep up with the dragon's speed. So in order to do that, they had to employ the use their dark magic to speed up their mid-air chase.

When they were finally above the dragon, "Drop me now!" Zolan shouted and the dark faes did as they were told, trusting that Zolan knew what he was doing even though their minds told them that it was a risky move.

Zolan landed squarely on the dragon's back and Zirrus finally turned back to look at him. His expression darkened a little upon seeing Zolan there behind him.

"What are you doing?" Zirrus growled at the unwelcomed passenger on Vermillion.

"You're flying too low! Can't you see that the giants are aiming at the dragon now?"

Zirrus frowned and just as he returned his gaze ahead, he realised that Zolan was right. He saw a giant catapulted itself from the ground and was now headed right for the dragon mid-air.

Chapter 639 This is war

This chapter is dedicated to @_Basia_! Thank you so very much for the supergift!

The light fae cursed as he saw that, immediately realizing that the giants had the ability to jump pretty high and far as well. He quickly made Vermillion flew up higher into the sky, barely missing the giants' outstretched claws that were clearly aiming to slice the dragon and hopefully make a killing at the same time. Seeing that it had missed, the giant bellowed out an angry roar as it fell heavily to the ground, at the same time missing its prey.

"F*ck! That's a close call!" Zolan was hanging on tightly behind Zirrus, gripping onto the dragon's spikes for dear life. "Slow down, will you?!"

Irked, Zirrus glared at him as he slowed the dragon down.

"Enough aiding this army, there are others who also need your help!" Zolan ignored the light fae's sour expression. He was long used to Zirrus' not so friendly treatment over them, the vampires. It was as though he still could not quite let go of the long-time grudge between the light faes and the vampires. "Go aid the ones by the king's left. The army that is led by Lord Cadmus!" Zolan quickly fired out his instructions.

"No! I must go inform Zanya and Kariza first about this matter. They must know that the monsters can jump and travel for quite far distances." Zirrus rebutted and without waiting for Zolan's response, he made Virmillion swerve and flew off to the other side of the abyss where Zanya and Kariza were currently stationed. Though Zolan was miffed at how Zirrus just brushed off his instructions, he did think that informing Zanya and Kariza was not a bad thing as they do need to know about this development on their enemies' side.

To their relief, the ladies were cautious and maintained a safer distance from the ground as compared to Zirrus earlier. Still Zirrus went on ahead and informed them.

Zolan's eyes turned to the ground, scouring the land for hints of where Leon and Samuel might be. After searching for a bit, Zolan saw that they were still there. But they had already moved up to the very front of the line, fighting alongside the other lords next to Azrael's army. How the hell did they end arriving way up there?!

Did Azrael send them to the other army? That could be it! Zolan focused his eyes and saw that the lord leading the army Leon and Samuel were fighting in answered to Lord Kione.

He had overheard a while ago that some dark faes were worrying about Lord Kione and his army. He heard that Lord Kione's army or the Lord himself was one of the weakest in terms of combat powers. However, from what Zolan was seeing, Kione and his army were not losing their ground. They seemed to be holding their own just fine.

Did Kione ask for Leon and Samuel to aid him at the front lines? As he watched them, Zolan did not feel nervous or worried. Because he was seeing something in Kione's army that he had not seen in others. Kione might not be as brutally strong as the others, but what he lacked in brawn more than made up with the brain that he had. He was like himself, a strategist.

Zirrus made the dragon turn back too soon after informing the other light faes but Zolan was nonetheless, relieved. After having a glimpse of the battle over here, he was certain that those two would be totally fine.

Upon reaching the other side of the abyss, Zolan gritted his teeth at the sight that welcomed them. It was only a few moments that they had left, but everything had gotten bad quite fast.

The dark walls were already pushing Cadmus' army far back. It could not be that their Lord was already dead, couldn't it?!

Zolan saw that almost half of the king's army had already joined Cadmus' even though the king had the smallest number of soldiers in his army. The king must have sent his men over to aid Cadmus after finally realizing the seriousness of the situation.

No, something was off here. The monsters on the side of the king were somehow different. It was like the biggest, most dangerous ones were drawn towards him. And that was why the two armies flanking his sides could not bear to keep up. They needed to stop the abyss from further expanding on the king's both sides or the king might end up getting trapped. Could the king be asked to retreat? Zolan could not help but think of that option.

"Go for the one on the left!" Zolan said to Zirrus.

And Vermillion attacked, shooting out fire, burning the monsters that were pouring out from the wall of darkness.

Zirrus did not stop in his attacks. Going all out once again, he did not let more monsters reach the soldiers.

But Zolan was continuously feeling as though something was off. He could not see any of the monsters try to aim for the dragons and that was why Zirrus was being quite reckless again. He was once again going down a bit too low and too close to the wall of darkness.

"Don't get too close, Zirrus!" Zolan could not help but shout out a warning to him, earning himself a glare from the irritated light fae. They did not know what was inside those walls of darkness!

"This is war, vampire. This is not the time for any of us to chicken out and play it safe!" Zirrus shot back at Zolan's warning.

Zolan shook his head, speechless at how reckless Zirrus seemed to be. He was about to retort when a monster suddenly emerged from the wall of darkness as Vermillion made a U-turn near it.

The monster reached out its curved talons to the dragon, and its long, and strong hand that was made of nothing but three fang-like nails slammed against the dragon's side.

"Shit!"

The impact was so strong and so abrupt that Zolan lost his grip on the dragon's spike and fell off his perch.

 

Chapter 640 Not like this

This chapter is dedicated to @MonsterUnderTheBed! Thank you so much for the supergift!

Because the dragon was attacked at such a close proximity to the dark wall, Zolan had fallen in the midst of where the battle was thickest at.

The moment he landed on the ground, the monsters came swarming at him from all sides. He did not have any time to plan nor to position himself. Shit! Was this it, for him? He did not see himself leaving in this manner, so shameful in his opinion. He had thought that he would at least go out fighting a fierce and meaningful battle. Not like this…

Everyone around him was either losing or dying. No one could help him now. No one was even aware of his predicament. There was nowhere else to run. A monster that was charging towards him, swung its incredibly long arm at him and he managed to block that attack. But another attack came at him, then another, and another until he found his vision blurring out.

It seems like he had been hit and was now lying on the ground. His sword. He still had it in his hand. Shit!

Licking the blood that was flowing from the corner of his lips, Zolan forced himself to get up. If this was it for him, he should at least take some of these filthy things along with him. Misery loves company, right? So he should take along as many of them as he could before his end arrived.

"Come!" he roared, his red eyes burning and shooting sparks as he pointed his sword at the monsters. They came rushing at him and with a smile, Zolan charged at them, all by himself, not caring if he lived or died.

…

The battle raged on as though it would never stop.

Blood and death and fire, and battle cries began to fill up the atmosphere. The monsters began to push back everyone's army, slowly but surely.

In Azrael's army, Samuel and Leon managed to take down another giant. Kione had sent them back to Azrael's side when he saw that most of the giants had flocked into one direction, rampaging in Azrael's army. Kione's decision had saved Azrael from getting swallowed up needlessly by the darkness. Now they had managed to retreat, creating a space between them and the wall of darkness that was fast pushing them back.

However, another unthinkable thing happened. After the giants, came strange four-legged creatures that were as big as the fire dragons themselves. Four were spotted around the rim of the abyss. Three of them were in the direction of the King's army. The other one emerged before Kione's army.

These monsters did not spit fire, but they were capable of spitting out a dark green liquid that could turn anything it touched into a pile shiny and bare bones, not leaving anything else behind.

"Shields!" Kione shouted out to his soldiers as the monsters came at them, annihilating the soldiers before it before they could even reach the monster.

They only needed a moment longer to plan. Attacking this monster mindlessly was nothing but suicide. But then, they could not retreat more than a few yards back as well.

Thankfully, their shields worked. The dark liquid could not penetrate it. Kione cooperated with his soldiers to attack the monster and for quite some time, they managed to inflict serious blows on their enemies.

But their shields soon crumbled. It seemed that with the monster's repeated attacks it would eventually penetrate their shields too. The average dark faes or more like the soldiers who had a weaker shield magic fell prey first.

The situation was getting bleaker again. The monster was truly massive and deadly, and they had no idea where its weakness was. And its attack never stopped coming at them. It kept sending those corrosive liquids at them like a shower of deadly arrows.

They could use their shields to stop those smaller droplets of corrosive liquid but what if the monster sends the liquid in a large spray like how the dragons spit fire? Kione could only hope that this monster at least does not have that ability.

"Attaaaaack!" Kione and his men rallied and attacked the monster once again. They could only continue doing this. This was the only way for them to know its weakness – by repeated attacks and close observation on if there were any loopholes they could exploit.

But the more they attacked it, the more aggressive it became. To their momentarily relief, the silverish dragon came flying to their aid. Silver saved many of them from getting turned into nothing but a pile of whitewashed bones.

The dragon aimed its fire power at the ugly creature. The massive monster growled back at the dragon's provocations. It was working! The dragon's fire seemed to be its weakness… but wait…

Kione's eyes widened at the realization that there were no other monsters around except this massive one. It was fully surrounded by them. However, something seemed to be wrong here.

Then in the next second, he saw it.

"Retreat!" Kione roared. Following his sudden orders, Kione's magic blasted out. He used his own magic to hit the dragon above to make it leave and thankfully, the dragon rider immediately understood what he intended to do and made the dragon flew away just in time.

And the massive monster exploded. The corrosive liquid came like an explosive wave and Kione could do nothing but create a shield wall made of his magic while shouting at everyone to keep running. Knowing that his soldier's shields could not hold on much longer.

Kione fell to his knees as he gave everything that he had to keep his own shield from shattering. This was it. At least he had managed to protect thousands of his soldiers. He knew then that he was a goner. He had already used up all the magic that he had, even his emergency reserves. If he teleports now, his shield will give way first and the waterfall of corrosive liquid will swallow him, no doubt about that.

The shield began to crack. Damn and double damn!

Looking back over his shoulder, Kione saw dragons coming. They were filling the sky. One dragon was diving at an accelerated speed towards him. And he saw her. Riding on the back of the dragon. She looked like a fiery goddess with that fiery red long hair. No… you should not come over here… Vera…

His shield cracked and the liquid poured over him like wave.

"Kione!!!" Vera screamed as she watched him get swallowed by the dark liquid just as her dragon was about to reach him.