SWNOVELXO Chapter 212: THE Empyrean [6]
Lingsha's blood-soaked lips curled into a twisted smile, even as her lungs wheezed with every breath "You can't kill me… You won't. If you do… it means war with the Government. You know that…"
Elize simply stepped closer until her feet were nearly brushing Lingsha's blood-slicked hair.
Then, quietly she whispered, "Do I look like I care?"
Lingsha's eyes widened in the final second of clarity before the world bent around her.
A soundless ripple passed through the air, like a thread being pulled through the 'space'.
Elize raised her hand, and the space directly around Lingsha folded inward, collapsing like a broken mirror.
No dramatic explosion or flash. Just a brutal silence as space compressed Lingsha's body like it had no right to exist.
"GRRAAARGGHHHHH!!" Her scream tore out as her body twisted unnaturally under the collapsing pressure.
CRKKKKK-
Bones broke from being pulled in different directions at once.
"AARGHHUUAAAGHHHH!" Her limbs contorted, folding inward as her torso twisted on itself, crushed from every direction at once.
Violet flames burst from her eyes and mouth but even her ether was devoured by the collapse.
The phantom remnants of her failed avatar screeched into the void and shattered like glass, shattering into motes of purple fire.
Her final breath never came.
She didn't even get a last word.
Her body imploded into a single point of shimmering blue-white light.
And she was gone.
Elize stood still for a moment, her hand hovering where Lingsha had been just seconds before.
Her palm lowered slowly as the ether faded from her fingers and the space around her returned to normal.
A silence fell over the battlefield.
Even the howling winds through the broken dungeon seemed to stop.
Naevora, still leaning on her spear, lowered her head, breathing heavily.
Brandon, further behind, stared in stunned silence from Yverine's lap, watching as his aunt turned slowly from the spot where she had just erased a living Empyrean from existence.
She met his gaze from across the ruined battlefield.
Her expression was calm again and she waved her hand with a smile "...It's over."
Naevora lowered her head and in the next instant, Elize appeared beside her and grasped her body.
Naevora blinked as the soft hum of ether pulsed into her body and her fractured limbs no longer screamed in pain.
The shattered bones of her arm realigned and her golden ether responded, amplified by Elize's healing ether.
Blue strands of pure ether stitched her wounds with delicate warmth.
Naevora looked up at her with a flicker of fatigue still dancing behind her eyes and muttered, "Thank you…"
Elize shook her head gently "I should be the one thanking you… for giving everything you had for my boy."
A soft smile touched Naevora's lips.
She gripped her spear and straightened her back, "Of course. He's my disciple. I stand before him before anyone can touch him."
Elize finished her healing and stepped back, watching as Naevora glanced down at her left hand, the one that had been shattered during the fight.
Naevora looked at her left arm with a smirk "Welcome back, my left hand."
Not far off, Yverine sat leaning against a cracked piece of concrete.
The weight of the battle lingered in her limbs.
She glanced down at herself, her torn shirt clung only barely to her shoulders, and dried blood was smeared across her chest and stomach.
Her breasts and nipples are bare open… and now, with quiet returning, her face flushed in embarrassed realization.
She tugged the fabric together uselessly and her cheeks burned 'This is… not the time to care about dignity… but still…'
Brandon was staring blankly at the sky, recounting the things atht happened just now
Hearing footsteps, he hurriedly raised his gaze.
Elize and Naevora were walking toward them through the haze. Side by side.
he hurriedly stood up and dashed toward them.
"Naevora!"
And without hesitation, he threw his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.
Naevora froze in place and blinkced her eyes in surprise. "Brandon?"
"I'm so happy you're alive," he whispered with a trembling voice.
"Thank you… thank you so much. You didn't have to do all that but you still-"
His words broke off as emotion caught in his throat.
He didn't care about the dirt on her skin, or the blood, or the state of his own torn clothes.
He just held her, burying his face into her shoulder.
Naevora's gaze wavered and her lips trembled, but then her expression softened fully.
She raised her hand and placed it on his back, patting once, twice… then pulled him close and returned the hug fully.
"Brat," she whispered in a hoarse voice. "You scared the hell out of me."
He laughed softly against her and hugged her even tighter.
Behind them, Yverine rose to her feet and approached with one arm holding her tattered shirt across her chest.
She watched the hug quietly and a warmth flickered beneath her eyes looking at them.
Elize gave the two a few more moments before stepping beside Yverine and gently placing a hand over the fox-girl's shoulders.
Yverine flinched slightly, surprised, but nodded slightly.
"You did well, too," Elize said softly.
"…Not well enough."
Elize tilted her head and replied "You're still standing. That's more than enough."
Brandon finally pulled back from Naevora and looked between the three women who stood before him.
Both Yverine and Naevora had bled for him.
He swallowed hard and lowered his head "I owe both of you…"
Naevora clicked her tongue and flicked his forehead. "Then stop acting like a damsel next time."
Elize chuckled and Yverine looked away, rubbing her arm, trying to hide her smile.
Yverine lowered her gaze and muttered "Now that Ji Lingsha is dead, there are only 8 more Empyreans in the world I suppose."
"Also, she is from the Government..."
Upon hearing this, Elize let out a chuckle "What are you saying? There are still 9 Empyreans."
Yverine blinked her eyes "Ah! Miss Elize, I forgot to count you."
Shaking her head, Elize replied "No No, without counting me, there are still 9 Empyreans."
"Let's welcome our new Empyrean, Naevora."
WHAT?