¹
4 days before the summoning
"Bring the medics!! Fast!!"
"Rush over there!!"
"Over here…"
Multiple voices rang in Arthur's ears as he regained consciousness. As he slowly opened his eyes, he heard someone calling for him.
"..thur! Arthur! Ahh, finally!"
"Hey… Robert…" Arthur responded with a weak voice, finding himself lying on a bed, bandages at certain parts of his body.
"We all were so much worried, it feels so good to see you back with us. Luckily, your injuries are not serious." Robert said in a concerning tone.
"Olfred's dead right?" Arthur asked immediately. Robert was hesitant to answer and just looked down, with a sad expression. Arthur still blamed himself for the death of his friend.
"For how long have I been unconscious? Also brief me with the condition of the war." He asked.
"Sigh… It's been six days since you lost consciousness and have been treating you since then. We are currently at a camp, situated near a small town, on the outskirts of the empire." Robert answered.
"What happened to my group? Who's leading them?" Arthur inquired.
"Almost all of them survived, and have not been sent out for battle. They will still be under your command and are awaiting orders. As for your injuries… most of them have been healed by our healers."
Robert suggested Arthur to take rest for some more time for complete recovery from the battle. Arthur sat up on the bed and then, they talked about different things, making new strategies when suddenly!
"Sir Robert!" A young soldier came panicked. "A group of enemies has approached the battlefield and it seems to be led by the emperor, Askovow himself!! Few leaders and a hundred soldiers are engaging them in battle. We need reinforcements!"
The current allied army is made up of six commanders, with each commander having three leaders under them. Each leader takes control over four heads, and each head commands a group of approximately hundred soldiers.
"How many commanders are currently available for battle?" Arthur asked, a sense of urgency in his words.
The soldier hesitated and replied, "Apart from you… None…"
"I am joining the battle!" He announced.
Robert tried to stop him but he explained that there was no other choice, not giving Robert any chance to speak.
"But…"
"Just channel your wind ability around me." Arthur gave a strict order, cutting his words again.
"But we haven't practised it yet!, and I am not a master in it like Olfred." He argued, immediately regretting that he had mentioned Olfred's name.
"I just need you to send me to the highest point you can possibly lift me." Arthur replied emotionlessly, picking up his sword.
"There is no arguing with you, right?" Robert sighed helplessly as he channelled his energy preparing to lift Arthur up, which was difficult.
Slow winds started surrounding Arthur, lightly lifting him up. And woosh!! He was propelled up in the air, and within a few seconds, soon he was able to see the entire place.
Robert was having quite a hard time trying to keep up with that ability. And there Arthur hung, high up in the air.
"This seems to be the perfect height."
Arthur muttered as he saw a vast area in front of him.
"I hope I don't regret this… SOUL BURNOUT." Immediately, his body was engulfed in a mix of red and blue flames.
Woosh!!
He disappeared.
The moment Robert realised Arthur was gone, he cancelled the ability and ordered his men to move to the battlefield.
Suddenly!! Out of nowhere, a burning man appeared eliminating everything coming on its way. Even living beings weren't spared. He was so fast that a normal person can't even sense him. He was targeting one particular person, Askovow.
Clash!! Boom!! He hit his target, the impact was so strong that it made a huge crater around them. Everything, everyone nearby was totally destroyed. Friends and enemies alike, no one was spared from the destruction.
"I have been expecting you here… Arthur."
Askovow stood there, amidst the crater, not much harm done to his body, just some clothes torn. He had just blocked the attack with his arms, without losing much.
On the other side stood a young boy, his whole body on fire. Blue and red flames covered his body, except his face. His expression was full of rage, anger and fury.
He clutched tight his sword, dull black, it felt like that the sword was emitting some special aura.
"That piece of metal looks interesting…" Askovow taunted as he unleashed two long swords from his back. He charged towards Arthur.
Clash!! Clash!! Clash!!
They hit each other, Arthur's attacks releasing a big long straight fiery trail, which went at random directions. Hitting things, people, nobody was spared.
Arthur stopped caring about the safety of his allies and applied all his focus on one goal, defeating Askovow.
The fight went on for long, nobody knew what happened in that period of time, because most of the people who knew were either dead or were unconscious, far away to be knowing what happened.
While Arthur was fighting Askovow, Robert's group was continuously being stopped by enemies emerging from all directions. He tried to reach the main battlefield as fast as possible but it was impossible for him to do so.
If Robert were to leave without dealing with the enemies. The enemies would get a great opportunity to invade the main city, which is probably what Askovow was aiming for.
²
More than 30 minutes later…
A group of soldiers had just arrived at the main battlefield. The one leading them was none other than Robert. Their eyes were filled with awe, as they witnessed the scene in front of them.
There was destruction everywhere. Almost everyone was either dead or unconscious.
Amidst all the devastation, stood two people, Arthur and Askovow. Both of them were heavily panting, Arthur was exhausted and had almost reached his limits.
"It's about time…" Askovow spoke while lifting an unconscious man lying nearby with his left hand and punched through the man's chest using his right hand.
He kept his hand inside the man's chest, for a while. Arthur noticed that the man's body was getting paler and paler as each second passed. And after some time, Askovow threw the body away.
"What…" Arthur noticed something different about Askovow's right hand. The hand was larger, veins popping up on the surface of his hand. He was gazing coldly towards Arthur.
Suddenly, he launched a powerful punch at Arthur.
His instincts were screaming to dodge the attack, but he knew that he wouldn't get enough time to dodge. So he withdrew his black sword and tried to block the incoming attack with his sword, but… the impact was too strong and the sword cracked. Cracking sounds came from both of his shoulders indicating that they have been severely damaged.
The impact was strong enough to break one of the strongest swords in the world. If Arthur had failed to block it with his sword, all his bones would have shattered to pieces and he would have died on the spot.
With all his damage, he tried to remain standing but was too weak to do so, and finally… lost balance. He fell on the ground as the flames around his body extinguished.
Robert, who witnessed the final punch, was shocked. He immediately gathered his thoughts and rushed towards Arthur and caught him in his arms.
Robert looked at Arthur. He looked frail and weak and was just at the verge of death.
"I think it's my time now… I have used almost all my soul's energy, there is no hope for me…"
The skill Arthur used was a special skill which uses soul energy to fuel the abilities. It heavily decreases life span and overuse can cause death.
Only a handful of people can use this, the reason it's rarity is still unknown.
Arthur looked at the sky one last time. It was a bright blue sky, a few clouds scattered all over. The sun was almost at the top. Calm and peaceful, would be the most accurate word to describe it.
On the opposite, on the ground, it was dull and dark. Marks of blood spread all over. Corpses lying everywhere. Cracks could be visible on the surface of the Earth.
"Arthur… Why?" Robert muttered, tears falling from his eyes as he looked at his weak and dying friend. The hero, the one said to restore peace was lying there, patiently waiting for his death.
"Let me do this one last thing…" Arthur's last words echoed over and over again in Robert's mind. He was about to do something that no one could have ever expected.