Chapter 549: End

The mound of ash smoldered in the dim, suffocating air. Relief coursed through me, bitter and fleeting—I had survived, but I wasn’t whole.

My body screamed in protest, every muscle fraying under the weight of what I had endured. I knew I had pushed too far, too hard. There would be a reckoning for this.

I swayed on my feet, teetering on the edge of surrender.

The thought of letting go whispered its dark promise, almost tempting me to collapse. But the acrid heat of the inferno clawing at my skin jolted me back to harsh reality.

If I lost consciousness now, I would never rise again. The world around me was still aflame, a ravenous beast devouring everything in its path. My people were out there, still fighting, still believing. I couldn’t abandon them.

The enemy… they wouldn’t relent. They had signed their death contract, bound by their ruthless creed. They would fight until they were destroyed. That left only one choice for me.

I staggered forward, each step a battle against the heavy air and my heavier limbs.

My hand brushed against the artifact, now safely stashed in my bag—miraculously intact. A faint surge of resolve pulsed through me. I reached into the bag, fingers fumbling before closing around something smooth and fragile.

I withdrew it—a glass orb filled with swirling, colorful liquid, the hues shifting and churning like a storm contained. Charms dangled from its surface, tinkling softly in the chaos. This fragile object held power.

“Itestem,“

I activated it and dropped the ball on the ground.

Hun!

I was about to walk away when a powerful feeling came over me.

It is vast and suppressive. Bearing the power to crush the mountains and drain the seas. It had been described to me, but it was the first time I had felt it.

Aura Awakening.

Someone had awakened the aura. The realization hit me like a bolt of lightning, sharp and electrifying. But when I saw who it was, my heart jolted with surprise. Of all people, it was one of mine—someone I never would have expected.

The shock froze me for only a fraction of a second, a fleeting moment of disbelief and wonder. Then instinct took over, and I surged forward.

My Blitz Steps ignited, fueled by the aura now thrumming through the air, a cascade of power propelling me forward in a blur. There was no time for hesitation—only action.

It is extremely painful to hold my aura, but despite having the edge, the condition of my people isn’t good.

The enemy they faced was terrifying in their resolve—warriors bound by a contract that left no room for retreat.

Death didn’t scare them; it was their only escape if they failed. They fought like cornered beasts, throwing their lives into every strike and every step, making them almost impossible to defeat.

It took me only seconds to reach the battlefield, my aura-enhanced Blitz Steps guiding my movement. But when I arrived, the scene before me froze me in place, my eyes widening in shock.

I saw my people, battered and bloody, fighting with everything they had.

Some seemed barely able to stand, yet they refused to fall, their determination as unyielding as the battlefield itself. The air was thick with the metallic taste of blood and the crackle of unleashed aura, each moment a desperate struggle for survival.

Zaris caught my eye first. His condition was dire, his body bruised and bloodied, yet he pressed on.

My sister was at his side, her face a mask of grit and pain, her movements relentless as she fought off three enemies at once.

Two had already fallen, their bodies broken and motionless, but the remaining pair were just as battered as she was. Every strike she delivered seemed pulled from the depths of her will.

Then there was Jon. He was a shadow of himself, his body covered in wounds, each movement a testament to sheer willpower.

Yet, even in his state, his opponent hesitated, stepping back with wary eyes. The shimmering aura enveloped Jon, flickering with raw power—a warning that he still had fight left in him.

Jon was not the worst off. All around me were warriors whose conditions were even grimmer—faces pale with blood loss, limbs trembling with exhaustion, and yet they kept fighting, refusing to yield.

Some had fallen with weapons still clutched tightly in their hands as if refusing surrender, even in death.

My people had died; more would follow if this battle dragged on. The only way to end this was to end them. Every single enemy had to fall. There was no other path, no room for mercy.

Resolve hardened within me like steel. With a deep breath, I surged forward, my steps driven by purpose. This fight would end—no matter the cost.

……

Uloth

“Monsters, these people are monsters,” I said as I looked at the battlefield.

It is not just the enemies but also those from John’s people; that name isn’t right… I thought.

I had witnessed many battles, but none as brutal as this one. The air was alive with chaos, powerful spells tearing through the battlefield like storms, leaving destruction in their wake. Blood stained every inch of ground, a grim testament to the ferocity of the fight.

Then, my eyes rested on him—the man who had awakened the aura.

He moved with a speed almost impossible to follow, a blur of raw power and defiance. I had thought he would be the first to fall, one of the powerful who would succumb too quickly to his mounting injuries.

His body bore the marks of countless blows, wounds that should have broken him.

Yet, against all odds, he awakened. The aura around him blazed like a second skin, his injuries no longer a hindrance but fuel for his resolve to survive.

It is different from the aura I sensed from John. No, it is Silver. I had heard some call him by his true name.

I feel Aura again; this new aura makes me shudder, while the one from Jon makes me weak to my knees.

I was looking when I saw another figure appearing through the forest, and I shook with fear.

The enemies are already too powerful. One more, and it will tip the scales against us.

I fixed my gaze on him, my eyes narrowing to take in every detail. Then it hit me—a jolt so sharp it felt like lightning striking my chest. Shock rippled through my heart, cold and unrelenting, as the realization set in.

I saw the man burned to the inch of his life. His skin is blackened, and even his clothes and hair have burned. I wouldn’t have recognized him without the rapier he is holding.

“Lord Silver!”

The woman, Margaux, gasped, her voice trembling with a mix of shock and newfound hope. Her wide eyes shone, catching the flicker of light from the aura blazing across the battlefield. In that moment, despair seemed to lift, replaced by a fragile yet undeniable belief: Hope.

“Healers focused on Lord Silver,” ordered the woman named Eva. She is the one who created the sphere of metals and gems we are in.

Her sphere is powerful enough to withstand the Grade IV spells, and it did.

The two healers nodded, and their staffs lit up when the man moved. The speed at which he moved made my eyes widen.

Until now, the swiftest person on the battlefield was a woman Rogue, who had turned her opponent bloody, but the burned man was faster than her.

I could barely see the blur.

He appeared in the middle of the battlefield behind the enemy mage and decapitated her.

She was a High-Mage, yet he simply decapitated her.

The woman had reacted fast and attacked him, activating a defensive shield, but his rapier tore through it all and beheaded the mage.

He had already moved before the head slid off from the body of the mage, appeared behind a warrior, and pierced the rapier into his chest.

“Lord Silver is moving too fast. Our spells cannot lock on him,” the healer said, his voice thick with disbelief.

Nobody said anything, whether in shock or tiredness and the healers focused on casting the spell.

I turned back to my friend. Aya looks better than most, but it can be deceiving, given her condition. She might collapse at any moment.

Looking back, I saw the entire battlefield shifting. The tide had changed. No one was focused on their opponents anymore; all eyes were fixed on the blur slicing through the chaos, too fast for us to track.

All the enemies are attacking him, throwing spells at him.

He is dodging them. If he couldn’t, his sword would simply tear through them.

Nobody seemed to be his match.

At most, they were able to defend for a few seconds.

He wouldn’t have been able to take them down so quickly without the unwavering support of his people.

Every strike he landed, every move he made, was backed by the synchronized efforts of his people—each one covering his blind spots, each one working in perfect unison.

The battle would have lasted much longer without him, and few people would survive.

The enemies weren’t weak. Each strike, each desperate move, was a testament to their resolve. They fought as if death was the only escape, willing to throw everything they had into the fight, regardless of the cost. Their willingness to sacrifice everything for victory left them with nothing to lose.

I was watching the terror spread through the battlefield when I saw the most powerful of the enemy dying.

Jon’s dagger had pierced through the rogue’s eyes.

For us mages, they were the most dangerous enemies. Their speed was unmatched, quick enough to dodge our spells, turning our most powerful incantations into mere air.

They moved like shadows, slipping through with a grace that made them almost invisible. And then, when we least expected it, they struck—silent and lethal.

Her death triggered the collapse of the battlefield.

Relief was quickly crushed when some people started to run, while others, to my surprise, kept fighting to the bitter end.

Bang!

One surrendered when the most shocking thing happened. He exploded. It was like someone had Varieal’s Explosion inside him.

Seeing that, other enemies fought harder, but they were overwhelmed.

I saw John return from the trees, where he disappeared chasing an enemy and stopped beside the sphere.

“Master Silver!” said Margaux, moving toward him as Eva removed the sphere, which turned back to her bracelet.

“Marg,” said John, but halfway into it, he collapsed.

“Master Silver!” screamed Margaux as she caught him. A moment later, I saw the guards moving, forming a protective circle around him.

I looked only for a moment before walking toward my friend.

She was sitting on a large wooden log. Earth daggers shredded one part of it, some of which are still embedded in it.

There is chaos around me, with healers healing injured and one of the important people in serious condition.

It didn’t have anything to do with us. We have done more than enough.

I only hope that Silver will survive. Though he had said, he had said he made preparations for us. I hope that is true.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as I sat beside my friend. “Not good, but I had drank the medicine and potion,” she replied weakly, with a smile.

“It was a needless risk. We shouldn’t have fought here,” I said, to which she smiled.

“Have you looked at John? He is so powerful,” she said with her eyes shining with hope.

Her dream was to become a powerful warrior, and John had just amplified her desire. Even though I felt my dream rising when I saw his power, I crushed them.

I want to be a realist, and I dream of crossing Lv. 20 and live my life in safety.

After seeing this battle, I am even more sure I only want that little dream.

“I..” I opened my mouth to tell my friend when I saw her face turning pale paper and falling over.

Crack Crack!

“Aya!” I screamed as I caught her and began hearing that dreadful cracking of bones.

They were louder and sharper than the last time I had heard them.

She had nearly lost her life at that time. If it was not that we were in the city and close to her healer, who was treating her for years. She would have lost her life.

I immediately opened my new iles bag and took out her medicine.

I always keep one batch with me.

I opened it and took the spoon full of powder before feeding it to her.

It didn’t seem to affect her. Her bones are still cracking.

“Help!” I called out as loudly as I could.

A few seconds later, I saw a woman appear before me. Not a healer, but the water and light high mage.

“What is happening to her?” she asked. “Aya has a bone-breaking disease. It attacks her whenever she exhausts herself,” I replied quickly.

“Please call the healer,” I pleaded, but the woman didn’t move.

Instead, her staff lit up, and a moment later, a water and light elemental spell covered Aya.

Immediately, I know that it is a healing spell.

Seeing that she had healing spells, my eyes couldn’t help but widen. These are the two most powerful healing elements, and she has both.

‘Why was she fighting, then?’ I asked. She will earn far more by being a healer.

Healers at the High-Mage level are highly valued.

Those thoughts remained only a fraction of a second inside me before I focused on my friend and saw a Grade IV healing spell had only slightly slowed down the bone breaking inside her.

“It’s not working,” I said, pleadingly looking at her.

She sat down beside me and cast another spell. It’s not a healing spell, but a different one.

“Her bones are breaking, but they are not moving out of their place,” she said with a frown appearing on her face.

“Aya has Bone Alignment skills,” I replied.

It is the best skill for someone like her. Healers don’t need to align her bones before healing her. Her skill will keep them in their places even if they break.

It makes healers’ job much easier, but they are breaking intensely right now.

If this continued, she wouldn’t be able to survive for more than a few minutes. The breaking is moving quickly toward her spine from her limbs.

“Please save her,” I pleaded.

She is my best friend. My sister, I will not be able to bear her loss.

“Have you fed her potions?” she asked. “Yes, but it’s not working,” I replied.

She nodded, put her hand into her bag, and took a potion. I was about to say the potion wasn’t working when I stopped in my tracks.

The potion is a glittering solution. Seeing it, amazement couldn’t help but appear in my heart.

When I joined the guild, I saw this thing. The guild informs the recruit about many things, and this is one of them.

This was one of the few things they had shown us physically, not just their pictures. It was one of the guild master’s proudest possessions.

Emotion essence potion.

She opened the bottle and dropped a few drops on Aya’s tongue before closing the bottle.

A moment later, the breaking slowed down, and within a second. It stopped with the color, returning to Aya’s face.

“It worked,” said the woman while I was still stupefied.

Emotion essence potions are expensive. One couldn’t get them, even when one has the money. People need to have a connection as well.

People use them in the direst conditions when their lives are in danger.

They didn’t use them on any Lv. 20. Especially not on the mercenary they hired.

‘Who are these people?’ I couldn’t help but ask before focusing on my friend, who had opened her eyes.

“Thank you,” she thanked weakly. “You don’t have to thank me. You deserve it,”

“Rest and don’t strain yourself. Amazing as this potion is, it only solved the problem temporarily.” She replied with a smile before getting up and walking away.

I helped Aya lay down on the ground properly from my lap.

“Sleep. I will watch over you,” I said, and this time, she didn’t argue and closed her eyes.

Time passed as I looked around with healers, healing people and covering dead bodies. Many of his people died, including an important one.

Hun!

I was half asleep. I felt it before I released it. When I opened my eyes, I heard the new sounds.

I saw men standing on alert when a group of people appeared on the beasts. Led by a half-orc man in a mage robe. Seeing him, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

I know him. He is one of the most important people in Vudiz City.

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