His eyes shifted downward to his severed legs, and an armored, violet-glowing hand that pierced through his torso, holding a small, green orb in its hands, covered in trailing spinal fluid and tissue from his heart.
Thin tendrils of Leech mana still connected it to where it once was in his chest, but with a sudden jerk back the way it came, they frayed like a rope bearing too much weight, and eventually snapped with a blast of mana that sent me flying in the opposite direction.
Balgrim's eyes slowly returned to their standard color, and I could see there was a sense of relief in them as they watched me move in the opposite direction. I'm sorry, Balgrim. This was the only way, I thought, not knowing whether he could hear me without mana.
Thank ye… lad, he sent with the last bit of mana that flowed through his body. My eyes widened when I noticed there was a peaceful smile barely hidden beneath his thick beard.
His body slammed into the floor with a wet thud, cracking his skull wide open to spill brain matter and blood in a wide arc across the floor. At the same time, my back slammed into the far wall, nearly knocking me unconscious when the crater formed around my point of impact. I felt the air flee from my lungs, but rather than allow myself to succumb to the pain, there was one last thing I had to check.
I managed to get a look at Meliss before my eyes shut entirely, and it seemed Mideia's influence over her had also dissipated, though it seemed her body was mostly intact. The wounds we had inflicted hadn't fully healed due to the lingering presence of Leech mana in her body, but it was evident she wasn't in a life-threatening state.
I couldn't feel much relief, however, since I felt my mind slip a little as I began to slump off the crater I'd made in the wall, hardly conscious enough to do anything about it.
Yse…vel, I thought weakly through blurred, darkening vision.
Thankfully, instead of dropping to the floor like a sack of potatoes off the back of a wagon, Ysevel caught me in mid-air and landed safely on the ground with a minor grunt of exertion. I felt my eyes drift to hers weakly, but I was quickly met with a reassuring smile. "You called, Prince of Caegwen?" she asked in a playful, mocking tone, though I could hardly bear to laugh with the pain in my fractured ribs.
"I did. Thank you," I managed weakly, feeling immediately reassured by the warm smile she gave me. "How are the others?" I asked, unable to look around. "They're alright. Devyr is tending to Athar, but I think we need to help Irun quickly. Can you stand?" she asked. I sucked in as much air as I could and nodded.
She helped me to my feet, steadying me as my head spun enough to make me lose my balance, but she put my arm over her shoulder and made sure I was stable. I managed to look up, seeing Devyr rush over to Irun and begin to tend to his wounds. Athar was entirely unconscious, but thankfully, he showed no signs of possession in any way.
Mom had a hand to her side, wincing as she poured mana into it, but regardless of the pain she was in, she was amazed at Kalia's skill in enveloping it in a solid casing of her kataki. Meliss, however, stirred slightly, prompting all of us to give her a worried look. Kalia left Balgrim's sealed core in Mom's free hand and rushed over to help her.
She was battered, bruised, and scarred, but the still-healing wounds were a cause for concern. It doesn't look like she's under his influence anymore, but I don't really know how to explain what's happening, Kalia sent us this while giving her a brief examination.
That's good, but we need to keep an eye on her. Bring her to Devyr. We need to consolidate our injuries so we can heal them, Mom said with a tone that suggested she'd done this hundreds of times before. "That means you, too, Thoma," Ysevel noted wryly. "I know. I wouldn't mind a bit of a break from all of tha-...." I felt my throat catch under the weight of the mana flowing from the orb.
By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. "Tho-...!" Mom's voice cut off as she was sent flying into the wall by yet another green tendril, leaving a crater just like Irun had, but much deeper. Ysevel gave me a worried glance. Help Mom, I'll be fine, I said, but her eyes begged me not to let go of her.
She shook her head, but with a reassuring smile and nod from me, she rushed over to help my mother. Kalia took Meliss into her arms and brought her over to Devyr, where they shielded everyone who was injured with a thick wall of kataki and mana.
I turned to face what I'd hoped wouldn't be true, feeling my stomach turn and my mouth grimace when I realized who was standing there. "Hullo, Thoma. I'm baaaack," Ed's voice was muddled with Mideia's as he spoke.
I could only offer my best friend a pained look. His eyes were the same sickly green, but they had a much deeper presence of Tyrant mana swirling within them. His skin began to crack near his eyes and mouth, as if his body were a clay pot left too long in its oven.
Out of the cracks that formed were countless streams of Leech mana, gently flowing through the air like tall blades of grass on a spring morning. However, the eerie persona of my best friend was viciously cut through by the grin of a starving wolf.
"You shouldn't have done that," I seethed, gripping my blade and drawing as much mana as I could to support my battered body.
Shit, I'm in no shape to fight him right now. None of us are, I thought, feeling and hearing my fractured ribs grinding together as I tried to breathe.
"And you shouldn't have ripped that dwarf's core out of his chest," Mideia spat and glared at me. "I was so content to have a body that could wield nearly a third of my power, but now, you've left me no choice," he snarled, prompting my eyes to widen.
"You knew we were going to win that fight. Rather, you let us win," I realized, feeling the weight of the decision to kill Balgrim beginning to weigh down on my consciousness. Mideia snickered and spread his arms. "Of course I did. You didn't want to listen to me before, but now that I've left you no choice…" he trailed off, giving me a smug look as if he'd already won.
"You know, I really must admit I was surprised to see how much you've grown. That seal on your core must have been no simple thing to overcome, and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that you would make a great addition to my cause," he said, putting one of his arms behind his back and pointing at my torso with the other.
He began to pace back and forth, staring at the ground and furrowing his brow. "You know, for all you've told him, there's just one thing that doesn't make sense to me," he said, gesturing to himself. "And what's that?" I asked tiredly, still finding it challenging to stand as I wiped some blood away from my brow.
"The fact that you lied," he halted with a severe glare. "There's no way you could have gotten that strong without having broken the seal on your core. I took extra care in putting it there that night on your weak, little body, and I don't make mistakes. So tell me, why did you lie to him, eh? How could you do that to your very best friend?" he asked, mimicking a whimper with the last few words.
I took in as deep a breath as I could and let it out with a sigh.
No point in hiding it now, is there? So be it, I thought, doing my best to gather the only words I could through the fog of my mind.
"Part of me wanted to tell him, and I knew I would at some point, but I didn't think he would hear it through the murky veil you've placed over his mind," I shook my head, but he barked a mocking laugh that shook the very foundations of the chamber.
"You're a good liar, Thoma, almost as good as I am. I should congratulate you for being able to hold your ground in a battle of wits, let alone being able to stand after such a blow," he smirked. "I don't give a flying fuck what you think," I managed a shrug, prompting him to place a hand over his chest in pure disgust.
"Such vulgarity! And here I thought you were at least a gentleman enough to avoid using such harsh language. Then again, I should have expected as much from a half-breed who has not only the gall to lie to his friends, but has also never learned his place," he snarled, spawning well over a dozen whips of Leech mana laced with the blackened tendrils of Tyrant mana in my direction.