CHAPTER 44 - COLLAPSING
LUKE HODGES
"Aya! Alea! Where are you two?!"
Dammit! I should've paid more attention! With Agrona and even Cadell here, anything could go wrong.
I activated my power once more, mana flared up from my core to my whole body, more specifically my muscles. My understanding of mana greatly increases with every use of this power. Yet I fail to understand how Mana Rotation actually works.
My speed increased by a fold. It allowed me to get to my destination faster but it wasn't going to ease my worries of the two Lances. I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to them, it was too early for their deaths.
More than anything, I wanted them to survive so that they could fight in the war. To have a better chance of winning this future war.
As I continue to imagine the worse things and outcomes for the elven warriors, a large tremor rushed through the ground, affecting both walls and even the ceiling.
I was going the right way!
Mana was running low already with me using this power and still I was slow. Pushing my arms behind me like I was a ninja, I ignited the wind affinity and used them as boosters.
The closer I got to the tremors, the more I could feel the mana bouncing and dancing like moths to a flame.
To me that meant many things, like how powerful an enemy was or how rich the place was with mana. Now things are different, Cadell must have done something while I was trapped in that confined space dimension.
Finishing my thoughts of horror and belief, I arrived at the scene of three particular beings engaged in battle.
The floor below them erupted upwards, revealing the monstrous green vines flying at light speed towards two elfs.
Alea used her swords made out of her magic vines and deflected two to three vines before another vine slapped her across the cave, knocking her out cold.
Aya screamed for her camrade before she too was attacked by the giant monster made out of vines, red eyes that were similar to mine. Mist covered the cave by completely engulfing the sights of the ElderWood Guardian.
Using the chance, I used my wind affinity to get to Alea faster. At the same moment, the ignition of healing magic erupted from both of my hands giving me the green light to inject it to someone else.
I was not the first to be at Alea's side. "Luke, you are here."
Approaching without any worries of the Elderwood Guardian coming to get at us, I kneeled and placed both of my hands just two inches away from the white haired elf's body. Letting the magic factor do its work, I only concentrated on keeping it on since I didn't have much mana to bear with.
Come on, heal. She has to wake up.
"Aya can you take care of the Elderwood Guardian–"
Just moments before finishing my sentence, my vision had changed from Aya to another room. My back hit the wall just a hundred feet from Alea's location. I was hit with something but I don't know what it was…
It was a strong blow, it had sent me to a different cave, a bright cave.
My body rolled over and over again until I had hit something solid like diamond. "Agh!" The pain that surged from my body left my mouth in the form of sounds. My voice seemed to be at the lowest point now that I couldn't mutter or even say a name of the two Lances that were on the other side of the hole I'd just made.
Lifting my heavy hand towards the hole, I tried crawling my way over there since that was the only option. After all…
I clicked my tongue in anger at my own abilities that I've thought I mastered but I was completely wrong. Most of my abilities rely on basic skills of swordsmanship or even magical prowess, yet I had none of those.
Magic, swordsmanship, knowledge, I had none. If it weren't for the novel that I had read in my old life, I wouldn't understand anything of what this world was going to be. It was all borrowed.
Am I this pathetic? Do I really have nothing else to contribute? Will I let the Lances die before their real time of death? Can I really fight alongside those around me—
'Pathetic? Why such a weak word to someone like you…'
A dark figure appeared in front of me, no facial expressions, no hair, no nose, just a complete black static figure that radiated with pure hate. Yet, this being's eyes looked at me like I was worth nothing more than an earthworm.
'Disgusting… that is the only word that could describe something like you.'
"W-wu–a -ou…"
The complete words didn't leave my mouth but in my mind they formed perfectly, What are you?
That was the biggest question in my mind. Seeing those purple eyes radiating with power along with hate which was being thrown to me.
I didn't… I couldn't understand.
Value… Was there something like that in me?
Honor… Nothing that exists in me any longer…
A will… to live…
Did I have one of those…?
If so, what was it for?
For who?
Me, who was a greedy and envious boy who grew up with his parents not in the picture for as long as he could remember. Having the world on his fingertips and yet he chose the hard way to life. The normal way that a human being of middle or lower class would go through.
Why?????????????
????????????
'Your own mind is collapsing because of that power that shouldn't be in your possession.'
Who am I?
What am I?
Where am I?
I don't understand. I can't understand.
My goal was to reach that.. Hole… To save… them?
The warmth of my fingertips against the cold ground made me realize that I was clearly going through something, yet, again, it was outside of my understanding. The feeling of mana wasn't familiar to me anymore, it was distant and unreal.
Deep down, in my mind, was an image of a circular object floating in the dark void, alone.
I tried reaching for it, unconsciously but it only drifted away from me the harder I tried to extend my arm to it.
It was leaving me… my strength… my mental strength…my magic.
All of it. It was being sucked off me like some vacuum machine of mana was next to me. Eating up every little tiny bit I had left in my mana core and veins.
It hurt. My body trembled in the heat as I tried calling names that were not even mentioned during my life as a college student.
Mother. Father.
Mia. James.
'Yes. Call their name as you die slowly to the power that was given to you as a solution, as Salvation to this world, this timeline. Self-destruct, Cain Lambard/Luke Hodges.'