Sacred Brother

"A new moon!"

Nobody knew whose child said that among the large crowd gathered outside Tegralle but no one could mock him for uttering such a statement.

For the inhabitants of Tegralle, who evacuated the town at night after a surprise attack from a violent mercenary group, these last few hours were the most anxious they ever had. Even with the guards to lead them, it still took a long time for them to completely evacuate the town and gather at one of the safety points put in place by Millodas several years earlier.

Several hundred people completely oblivious to the true wonders of magic and its powers watched with fear in their eyes this strange phenomenon.

The large piece of earth slowly continued to grow and became denser. This scene seemed to want to continue until the entire forest was put under its shadow, but as suddenly as the pieces of earth started to gather together, it suddenly fell.

Many people screamed in horror while others simply started to cry because even these naive and inexperienced villagers knew what was going to happen.

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The giant shadow of death above Seledia and Millodas was ready to engulf them in a few seconds.

However, contrary to Tegralle's inhabitants, they didn't start to pray or cry.

This wasn't the time for that yet.

"Earth lance!!!"

Millodas screamed from the top of his lungs while launching as many spears of earth as he could. He used the destroyed earth at his feet to lessen the burden and his consumption of mana. Despite this, his whole body started to deliver to him in protest a pain that was difficult to bear.

However, he simply clenched his teeth and ignored it.

The dozens of projectiles flew into the sky and collided with the giant boulder. It didn't slow its fall but each impact destroyed a small portion and reduced its overall size. The small pieces of earth fell apart and created an impressive rain of stones.

However, despite his desperate efforts, Millodas wasn't strong enough to destroy something like that in such a short time.

Only Seledia at her full strength had this kind of power.

However, she was far from this state. Her mana was almost completely depleted while her entire body was at its limit. One of her arms was unusable and the grievous wound on her stomach, roughly closed by her fire magic, threatened to reopen at the slightest effort.

Even so, she gathered her mana and launched several fireballs.

The violent impacts had the same kind of result as Millodas' attacks.

Seeing their powerless attempts in this desperate situation, Vated didn't laugh at them this time. This simple mission already cost him way too much because of the stubbornness of these parents. However, their brave fights still earned them his respect and his silence in their final moments.

Because he knew that their courage and struggles were vain this time.

"No!!!" Seledia screamed while desperately trying to squeeze out more mana from her exhausted body.

She wasn't afraid for her life but for the three innocent little girls hiding inside the forest and who would definitely be unable to withstand the strength of the impact.

She sensed her legs giving out under her own weight and her entire body starting to tip over to the side. Even as she started to fall, her only valid hand was still raised toward the sky to launch magic.

Just before her upper body collapsed on the ground, a strong hand caught her shoulder and stabilized her.

Immediately, a familiar scent along with the warmth of the embrace of the man she loved assaulted her and gave her another source of courage in this desperate situation. However, more than his presence, she felt a strange kind of warmth entering and nourishing her entire body.

She immediately understood.

It was once more Millodas' earth blessing. He was using his own body to transfer the vitality of the earth toward her.

Her physical strength and her mana started to recover at an alarming pace and once more ignited the flame of hope in her heart.

"Together!" Screamed Millodas immediately followed by her own scream coming out of her mouth, without her realizing it, in this last desperate effort.

The weak and ordinary fireballs coming out of her hands were replaced by a continuous stream of fire slowing the fall of the giant boulder.

Vated watched with dumbfounded eyes this scene of his last attack being stalled by their combined effort. The meteor he painfully created and that seemed unstoppable couldn't advance anymore. The waves of heat produced by the violent collision spread a dense cloud of dust around them that quickly robbed him of his sight.

Only the terrifying rumbling noise of the collision of magic testified that what he was seeing was real and still ongoing.

Seledia squeezed as much mana as she could to produce her strongest flame. However, even after long seconds of a standstill, she couldn't destroy it.

The warmth coming from Millodas' magic continued to enter her, but a groan of pain reminded her of the cost of this method. Millodas was still holding her, but his entire body was shaking under an intense feeling of pain. The thin blue lines around his eyes already extended to his neck and continued to spread at an alarming pace.

Millodas was reaching his limit.

Confronted with this cruel reality, Seledia's mind was unexpectedly clear. She didn't know if this was one of the effects of Millodas' magic, but her muddled head started to grow clearer. Her thoughts became faster and her ability to manipulate her mana strengthened.

The tongue of violent flames continuously coming out of her hand became thinner but also denser. The nature of her magic also started to change.

From its ordinary red color was slowly being born a pure white flame illuminating the world with its radiance.

Finally, after a final effort, the transformation of her magic was completed. The name of this flame immediately crossed her mind and subconsciously passed through her lips.

"Decimation flame."

This whisper was followed by a deafening explosion that hurt her ears.

The impact between the overly powerful magic and the meteor, which was only a dozen meters away from them, created an intense shockwave that seemed to shake the entire forest. Earth and rocks were sent flying all around them until their bodies couldn't resist anymore and were violently projected backward.

Their exhausted bodies couldn't resist this kind of impact and flew for dozens of meters like dolls in a storm.

Seledia was completely disoriented and her previous strength brought by Millodas was completely gone. An incredible feeling of weakness and pain assaulted her body and finally rob her of her consciousness.

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The giant boulder threatening the existence of the forest near Tegralle was completely destroyed by Seledia's last attack. The impact of the collision didn't happen but the shockwave after its destruction was still enough to shake a large portion of the trees of the forest and dispersed a dense cloud of smoke that remained for long minutes.

This time was just enough for Seledia to regain consciousness. She painfully raised her upper body and slowly looked around her. The wind blowing finally dispersed the majority of the dense cloud of smoke and allowed her to see the aftermath of her magic.

The giant boulder was completely destroyed by her attack and only various pieces of rocks of different sizes could be seen around her. A small crater was formed where she launched her magic but the blast already projected her more than thirty meters away from it.

Seledia didn't have the leisure to heave a sigh of relief after her success. A strange feeling continued to assault her. The difficult to bear pain was slowly easing while her entire body seemed unbelievably warm.

However, she didn't immerse herself in this sensation or continued to wonder about her state. After a few seconds, her mind, confused by the shock, started to regain its clarity.

"Millodas."

As if waking up from a dream, she furiously looked around for her husband who was projected together with her.

After a few seconds of an anxious search, she finally noticed his body lying more than twenty meters away from her.

She immediately tried to stand up to join him but her exhausted body denied her this wish. Her legs continued to shake and refused to carry her own weight. Left with no other choice, she slowly dragged her tattered body toward her husband.

Slowly, painfully, it took her several minutes to finally reach him.

His face was against the ground so she used her only valid hand to turn his heavy body toward her.

"No…"

A heartbreaking sob escaped her lips when she saw Millodas' face completely covered with numerous blue stigmas, symbol of the overuse of his mana.

Tears of blood were covering his pale face and testified of his sacrifice.

Seledia carefully embraced him while her own tears started to fall from her blue eyes. The large drops quickly covered her face and slowly fell on Millodas' face washing a part of the blood covering him at the same time.

This sad rain seemed to stimulate Millodas who slowly opened his eyes. His gaze had trouble to focus, but after a few seconds, a vivid red color attracted his attention.

After confirming that it was the beautiful long red hair of Seledia, he turned his head to look at her face covered with tears.

Millodas clearly understood the meaning of these tears.

He overused a borrowed power and had to pay the price for it. Contrary to his expectations, he wasn't suffering. The horrible pain assaulting him each time he used magic was gone. He was also able to move his body. Therefore, he slowly straightened his posture in Seledia's arms to embrace her one last time.

However, his gaze finally noticed a large shadow behind Seledia. It took him a few seconds to understand.

"SELEDIA!"

*Bam*

A violent strike from behind sent her flying and forcefully separated her from his arms. Millodas didn't even have the time to grab his sword that fell near his feet because another blow immediately followed.

*Bam*

A violent impact sent Millodas flying in the opposite direction.

The threatening shadow slowly revealed its nature.

Vated's massive body was standing straight with his arm still raised. He was covered with wounds, but the previous impact of the meteor didn't affect him. Even if the impact wasn't as strong as he expected, his precious last artifact still used up its entire energy and was destroyed.

However, he knew that it wasn't yet the time to care about his losses.

He slowly walked away from Millodas toward the defenseless Seledia who was almost knocked out by his previous surprise strike.

He walked with heavy steps toward his weapon stuck in a nearby rock on the way and easily took it out.

Seledia shook her head and immediately noticed Vated's threatening body slowly walking toward her with his large axe once again in his hand. His rough and brutish face couldn't hide his thirst for blood and his d.e.s.i.r.e to finish this.

Seledia gathered her strength to face this man again, but once more, her legs denied her this wish. Her entire body refused to move as Vated slowly drew closer.

Cursing her weakness at this moment, Seledia continued to try to stand up again and again. However, all her efforts were vain.

The sound of Vated's heavy steps were like a counter slowly bringing her closer to her fate. Her own heartbeat started to follow the rhythm of his steps. Then, along with her growing fear, it accelerated. When her heart couldn't beat any faster, the sound of Vated's steps finally stopped.

With her body still unable to stand, she slowly raised her head to look at the responsible for the cold and imposing shadow covering her entire body.

Without any word, Vated slowly raised his axe above his head.

Seledia tried to use many kinds of magic to attack, but even the basic fireball was impossible for her.

She couldn't fight anymore.

She simply watched with her eyes wide open Vated who suddenly brought his large axe down in a violent movement.

The deadly weapon fell mercilessly.

However, just before her head was split in two by the violent attack, another shadow suddenly appeared before her.

It was a familiar and reassuring back.

With his sword valiantly raised above his head to parry, Millodas suddenly appeared to save her.

*Bam*

The sound of the violent clash between their respective weapon, scarring every living form, once more echoed inside the forest.

However, this time was different.

The axe and the sword collided but Millodas' sharp and faithful sword couldn't withstand the overbearing weight and broke under the impact. The giant axe was slowed down but still continued its course.

Seledia watched with incredulous eyes blood flying everywhere when Vated's large axe deeply sank into Millodas' body near his right shoulder.

Her eyes stayed wide open while this cruel scene unfolded only a few meters away.

Her eyes were still properly working but her mind still failed to accept and understand this reality.

Time seemed to have stopped when finally the giant axe was slowly removed and made Millodas collapsed under a rain of blood.

"MILLODAS!"

As if waking up from a nightmare, Seledia could only scream the name of the man she started to love so many years ago.

One last time.