Alrain compressed the wind in his hand into a sharp blade, coated with stinging sparks of electricity. He thrust his hand toward the King's back.
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal rang out loudly. Alrain's eyes widened. His attack couldn't even penetrate King Dalvanel's skin. It was as if an invisible protective layer shrouded the ruler's body.
"Nice try." Dalvanel said flatly without turning around.
The King caught the brown-haired man's stone fist with one hand, then jerked his elbow backward, striking Alrain's face without looking.
Thwack!
"Ugh!" Alrain staggered back, his nose feeling broken.
At the same time, Dalvanel crushed the man's stone fist until it crumbled into pieces, then delivered a solid punch to the man's chest.
Thud!
The brown-haired man coughed up blood, but he didn't retreat. With insane persistence, he grabbed the sleeve of the King's robe instead, holding him in place.
"Now! Attack him!" he screamed.
Alrain didn't waste the split-second opportunity. He gathered all his remaining energy in his hands, creating a wildly rumbling ball of lightning.
"Take this!"
Alrain shoved the lightning ball right into King Dalvanel's exposed chest.
Bzzzzt! Boom!
A blinding explosion of light filled the underground chamber. Thick smoke billowed. Alrain was thrown backward by the impact of his own explosion, rolling onto the cold floor. His breath came in ragged gasps, his chest heaving rapidly.
"Did... did it work?" Alrain mumbled hopefully.
The smoke slowly faded.
Alrain's hope shattered into pieces.
King Dalvanel still stood tall there. His robe was indeed scorched and torn at the chest, revealing slightly reddened skin. No fatal wounds, no blood.
The King brushed the remaining ash from his chest with a disappointed expression.
"Is that all?" Dalvanel asked coldly. "I thought you two could entertain me a little more."
Alrain and the brown-haired man exchanged glances. In their eyes, a terrifying reality was reflected: They would not win. The difference in their power was like heaven and abyss. The King was a true monster.
The brown-haired man wiped the blood flowing heavily from the corner of his mouth. His breathing sounded heavy, like grating iron. He stared sharply at Alrain.
"You, get out of here!" the man ordered suddenly, his voice firm even though his body trembled with pain. "I'll hold him here!"
Alrain's eyes widened. "What? Are you crazy?!"
Alrain shook his head violently, rejecting the idea outright. "There's no way I'm leaving you here alone! Don't you see his power? He's a monster! You'll definitely die if you fight him alone!"
Alrain tried to get up, his legs wobbling, but he forced himself. "We'll fight together! If we combine our strength—"
"DON'T BE STUPID!" the man snapped, his thunderous voice cutting off Alrain's words.
Alrain fell silent, frozen by the intensity of the shout.
The man looked at Alrain with a painful gaze, a mixture of despair and cold logic.
"Look around you! Look at those corpses! Look at your sister!" The man pointed briefly toward the altar. "If we run together, we'll both be easily chased down and killed. This bastard is too fast!"
The man gripped his own injured shoulder. "But if one holds him back, the other has a chance to live. If we all die here today, there will be no one to avenge the deaths of our beloved families in the future! Their deaths will be in vain!"
The words hit Alrain harder than any physical blow.
"But..." Alrain's voice choked, tears welling up again in his eyes that still glowed green.
Before Alrain could finish his sentence, the man cut him off again, this time his voice softening, full of pleading.
"I beg you... go! Run as far as possible! Be strong and promise me that you will repay their vengeance, my vengeance and your sister's vengeance in the future."
Alrain looked deep into the man's eyes. He searched for doubt, searched for fear. But there was not a shred of doubt there. There was only a look of pure rage directed at the King and a glimmer of hope entrusted entirely to him.
The brown-haired man had accepted his fate. He chose to be a shield so that the sword of vengeance, Alrain, could remain alive.
Alrain clenched his fists.
"Alright..." Alrain whispered, his voice hoarse from holding back tears. "I will go!"
His tears nearly spilled, but he held them back. He couldn't cry in the face of such a sacrifice.
"At least... tell me your name!" Alrain pleaded. "So I know who I must remember for the rest of my life."
The man smiled faintly, a sincere smile in the midst of hell.
"Orvion!" the man answered. "My name is Orvion!"
Orvion then turned his body, facing fully toward King Dalvanel who began to step closer with a bored face. Orvion's body began to glow, his stone skin hardening, absorbing all the remaining mana in the room for one final attack.
"Go! NOW!"
Inevitably, with a broken heart, Alrain turned on his heel. He summoned all the wind power in his legs to sprint toward the dark corridor gap at the end of the room.
He ran as fast as lightning, leaving Orvion alone to face the King.
"I'm Alrain!" Alrain shouted as he ran, his voice echoing in the stone corridor, ensuring Orvion heard him. "I swear on my life, I will definitely fulfill this promise! Your name will not be forgotten, Orvion!"
From a distance, amidst the roar of his increasingly unstable energy, Orvion heard the shout.
"I'll be waiting for it, Alrain!" Orvion shouted loudly. "See you again!"
He stared at King Dalvanel who now stood before him. Orvion spread his arms, letting the energy inside his body explode uncontrollably.
"Come on, you bastard King! Let's see how hard you can hit me!"
After Alrain left the altar room, he didn't know exactly what happened inside. However, a few seconds later, the ground shook violently.
BOOOMMM!!!
A deafening explosion was heard from the distance, followed by tremors that collapsed part of the corridor ceiling behind Alrain. Dust and rubble sealed the way back.
Alrain didn't look back. He didn't dare to look back. He just kept running, letting his tears fall freely, wetting his cheeks as his heavy steps took him away from the two people who meant the most in his life that night.
.....
.....
He stumbled out of the mouth of a cave hidden behind a steep cliff. The cold, fresh night air slapped his skin instantly, a stark contrast to the stinging smell of blood and death inside.
Pale moonlight filtered in, illuminating his face.
Alrain was surprised to realize his position. Currently, he was in the middle of a dense wilderness. Giant trees towered high, blocking the sky, and the sound of night insects sounded so peaceful, as if indifferent to the tragedy that had just occurred a few hundred meters inside the cave.
He fell to his knees on the wet grass, vomiting from extreme physical and mental exhaustion. The image of his sister pierced by the sword and Orvion's back standing to challenge the King kept spinning in his head like an endless nightmare.
"Arghhhhhhh!"
Alrain pounded the ground, venting his frustration. He survived, but he lost everything. However, he remembered his promise. He remembered Orvion's gaze. He remembered his sister's last smile.
Ignoring the pain all over his body, Alrain stood up. His green eyes no longer radiated the innocence of a village youth. Those eyes were cold, sharp, and full of purpose.
Alrain started running again through the darkness of the forest, away from the place that had taken everything in just one night.
Sister, Orvion... Alrain said in his heart with determination, even though his tears continued to flow down his face. I swear I will avenge your deaths in the future!