Chapter 15 – Kuro Midori no Shōmetsu
Silence enveloped everything.
A silence so dense it seemed to swallow even his breath.
Kael slowly opened his eyes. There was no sky, no ground.
Only darkness.
"…Where… am I?" he murmured, his voice echoing in the endless void.
He took one step, then another. Each footfall was swallowed by nothingness. His heart pounded, and the solitude of that place choked him.
Suddenly, a whisper slipped through the gloom:
"…Kael."
The young man whipped his head around. Nothing.
A second time, clearer, closer:
"Kael…"
His golden eyes widened. That voice… he knew it.
Trembling, he turned halfway and saw her.
Elyndra.
She was there, radiant as ever, her dark green-silver hair swaying gently, as if even the darkness itself respected her presence.
"Master!" Kael ran, stumbling through the void, before hurling himself into her arms. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his blood- and dirt-stained face.
"Forgive me…! Forgive me for not being able to save you!" his broken voice filled the immensity.
Elyndra held him tenderly, stroking his hair.
"My son… my disciple… it wasn't your fault," she said softly, with that voice that had always calmed him. "I would give my life a thousand times more to protect you."
"Nooo…!" Kael clung to her desperately, as if afraid she would vanish. "Don't leave me again!"
She smiled, a sad gleam in her eyes.
"You must return, Kael. This is not where you belong."
"…Return?" he whispered, desperate.
"Yes. I will show you a form of your power. But remember… do not let the darkness consume you. Live, fight, protect what you love… and never forget who you are."
Elyndra pushed him back gently.
"Master! Motherrr!" Kael screamed, falling into a crystalline abyss of water. The echo of his torn voice lingered until it was lost.
◆◇◆◇◆
His eyes snapped open.
Air rushed violently into his lungs.
He was standing. His legs trembled. His body, covered in wounds, bled. But something new, something overwhelming, surged inside him.
His left arm blazed with green flames, surrounded by small bursts of cutting wind.
His right arm was cloaked in a dark, heavy fire, vibrant, devouring the light.
Each step he took released gusts of wind that scattered dust and made branches creak all around.
Lyra, trapped before the Super King Goblin, closed her eyes with a scream of terror.
But a roar cut through the scene.
"Uoooooohhh!"
A blast of wind thundered. The colossus' punch was stopped—not by her… but by him.
Kael.
The monster was sent flying, crashing into the rocky wall, shaking the earth.
Lyra opened her eyes in disbelief.
"K-Kael… i-is that you…? You're alive…?"
The boy, eyes lowered, answered in a deep, resonant voice filled with power:
"Get down."
Before she could react, he leapt forward. The air exploded beneath his feet.
The Super King Goblin roared, answering the challenge, and both clashed fist to fist.
A titanic shockwave tore through the forest, ripping trees from their roots.
"GRAAAAAH!" The monster swung its massive arm in a wide sweep.
"Tch!" Kael dodged, his body blurring with gusts of wind, reappearing at its flank. His dark fist struck the beast's ribs, making it cough black blood.
The goblin staggered back, trembling, but roared again with greater fury, raising its leg to crush him.
Kael smirked faintly, cold and reckless.
"Too slow."
A leap. His body spun in the air, green flames roaring along his left arm, and he unleashed an upward hook that ripped through the air like thunder. The impact lifted the goblin several meters into the air.
"Impossible…!" Lyra, still on her feet, could not believe her eyes.
The Super King Goblin collapsed to its knees, panting, desperation flooding its yellow eyes. Every move Kael made outmatched it, crushed it.
"Kuh… GRAAAA!" With despair, the monster roared, shaking the trees.
Kael raised his gaze, both flames now twisting together around his arms.
"Time to end this."
His steps resounded. Each one shook the ground. Emerald-green and black flames entwined, roaring like beasts.
He raised both arms, the wind howling around him, and declared firmly:
"…Kuro Midori no Shōmetsu!"
A roar of energy tore through the night.
The flames surged forward, forming a colossal twin-headed dragon: one green, one black.
The blow was so brutal that the body of the Super King Goblin was pierced through completely.
The explosion of fire rose to the sky, painting the night with flames that seemed to devour the stars.
When the blaze faded, the monster fell lifeless, charred, defeated.
Lyra, trembling and exhausted, ran to where Kael stood.
The boy dragged the goblin's body, his arms still smoking. His golden eyes gleamed beneath the shadow of his silver bangs.
"Are you… all right?" he asked, cold as ever.
Lyra, cheeks flushed and smiling tenderly, answered softly:
"…Yes. I'm fine. Idiot."
They collapsed back to back, breathing heavily.
"I thought…" Lyra murmured, eyes lost in the sky. "I thought you were dead…"
"Hmph. I don't die that easily."
"Idiot…" she smiled faintly, hiding the tremor in her voice. "But I'm glad you're alive."
Kael, for the first time in a long while, let slip a small smile.
Dawn lit up the forest.
"We need to bring proof to the guild," Lyra said, standing. "All the goblin ears and the body of the Super King Goblin are worth a fortune."
Kael snorted, annoyed.
"You want me to carry 300 ears and a giant body? Not a chance."
"Ahahaha!" Lyra laughed proudly, showing a small pouch. "Fool! Haven't you ever seen a magic bag?"
"…That thing?"
"Yes! Everything fits inside. A kid like you knows nothing!"
Kael sighed as she laughed boisterously.
"You could have told me earlier. I wouldn't have carried all my stuff on my back."
"Ahahahaha!" Lyra strutted around proudly.
Back at the guild, silence greeted them as they revealed the mountain of ears and, finally, the body of the Super King Goblin.
"Impossible…!"
"Just the two of them…?"
"Lyra and her boyfriend are invincible!"
Laughter, cheers, and raised cups filled the hall.
"He's not my boyfrieeend!" Lyra shouted furiously, red to her ears. She stuck her tongue out at Kael, while he smiled faintly, amused.
"Arrogant idiot!"
The celebrations continued, Lyra raising a mug of beer, proud and happy, while Kael drank quietly with a faint smile.
The air brimmed with joy… until the guild doors slammed open.
The hall fell silent.
Five shadows loomed in the entrance.
The true storm was only beginning…