Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 944: Fallen Hero

With a new weapon at her disposal, Miki immediately intercepted the fallen hero once more as her attacks were more ferocious than ever.

Like a wild beast out of her cage, she ripped towards him without care of the damage she was doing to the world around her.

Chunks of earth was dug out and thrown to act as cover while sparks flew every time their weapons clashed.

Fountains of flames and lava surged forward as though she was wrath incarnate.

However, her enemy was composed. There were several close calls but he would always be a step ahead of her, dodging the attacks at the last moment.

There was only one difference though and Alice spotted it.

Miki was holding on because she’s achieved a state similar to Absolute Zone while her opponent was clashing through raw physical power and reaction speed.

If they were on even playing grounds, Miki would have the upper hand.

But that’s considering if this was everything he was capable of. He has yet to show signs of a Zone like state.

And with Miki being occupied, Alice decided to help out with the defence.

Snapping her finger, sparks manifested around the barrier.

Should the enemy try to throw anything towards the city, these sparks would trigger and get rid of them.

An automated defence thanks to her triggered casts.

The conditions were set and she didn’t need to think about it anymore.

Instead, she kept half her focus on Miki’s fight while the other half, she created portals for the medics to move around the battlefield quickly.

###

Sparks exploded across her vision as weapons scrapped against one another.

She felt the weight of his parry, the power he was holding back.

Even now, he wasn’t going all out.

Anger pumped through her veins.

Fine, let him defend.

Miki slammed her foot into the ground as the earth shattered beneath her step, catapulting her forward.

Twisting her body, she carved a crescent of molten lava towards him, a flower of flames blossoming with each strike.

"You’re still over committed on this step. How many times has teacher told you about this?" He said lightly, stepping into her range of attacks and cancelling her skill.

"And he would’ve kept telling me if you didn’t kill him!" Miki shouted as her tears were burned away by the heat.

Her fist slammed into his wrist as her movements were linked up once more, finishing the skill!

Quickly jumping back, he tried to stabilize his footing when a spear stabbed into the base of his foot.

*CLANG!!!

The hero flicked his blade upwards, pushing Miki’s ending strike aside.

His smile turned sad at the mention of his deed.

"I’m not your enemy. I never was-"

His sentence was cut off as Miki split her spear into two flaming whips that coiled around his arms.

Pulling the two of them together, she slammed her heel into his chest, sending him flying into the sky.

"Then why?!" She lunged, combing her weapon into a spear once more.

She could still remember it.

The times where he stood as the hope of the city.

The fourth siege broke out with a timing failure. They had tried to predict the moment it’ll arrive, to plan out their defences and evacuations.

The siege had actually occurred during the night when the Nightmare didn’t arrive. Thus far, the attacks have always been during the day so they thought the gathering of energy would stop at daybreak.

So when the alarms roared at full volume during the night mid evacuation, everything was rushed.

He stood with the formation as the people demanded.

He didn’t go off on his own, he didn’t make reckless decisions.

He allowed the others to dictate his actions.

Even when there was a clear gap that he could take advantage of, he held himself back in order to prevent an accident like last time.

In case a beast was to toss another group of monsters into the city.

This time, he focused on evacuation.

But without him on the front drawing the aggro of the strong beasts, the defensive line crumbled in three places.

Guards traded places too slowly, casters delayed too long.

There was no focal point to their defence, no spearhead.

They were originally reliant on him drawing the aggro, knowing that he could handle himself while they dealt with the stragglers.

He was their guiding light.

But now that everyone was sharing his burden, they realised how ferocious the beasts were.

Without him acting as their anchor, coordination lagged.

Screams erupted, people died.

The hero hesitated.

Should he move forward or defend the back?

To make matters worse, the beasts were adapting to his actions.

If he moved forward, they threatened to throw monsters into the city.

If he moved back, they put more pressure on the front.

By the end of the fourth siege, the casualties were greater than the third.

But none of the civilians died.

At the funeral held for the deceased, Miki could remember the hero standing in front of the graves.

Longer than anyone.

Even when everyone left, he continued to stand in atonement.

For letting this tragedy occur.

What floated on the minds of the people were simple as some even vocalised their thoughts during the service.

"Why did he let them die?"

Why did the hero, who thrived on the frontline, not make a single move?

Why did he watch his fellow men get cut apart?

Miki stared at his back.

During that moment, the strongest fighter in their city felt small.

She wanted to say something but... the words were stuck in her throat. She didn’t know what she could say.

Later that night, she heard the sound of wood cutting the air. She saw him training late at night, a fire of determination in his eyes.

She thought he was fine.

But his condition only got worse.

Bags under his eyes, loss of focus during the battle.

He started to bait the beasts to throw monsters into the city in order to relieve the pressure on the front line.

The moment they threw, he would drop everything and dash back, killing the beasts that tried to target where the civilians were hiding.

His strategy worked for one siege.

The deaths were reduced but...

It’s clear that that this was a losing battle.

They needed more people to gain strength from the Nightmare or else the defensive wall will collapse.

Once the battle finished, the praise started to return.

They praised his actions, his decision making.

But Miki saw his fatigue.

He kept training, only sleeping when his body collapsed.

She tried to get him to stop but he only waved it off.

As for her father, his words were also ignored.

###

During one of the later sieges, his fatigue caught up to him.

One movement too slow.

The beast reached one of the evacuation rooms.

He watched as people pushed others into the jaw of the beast in order to buy an extra second.

He watched as grown men trample over kids, their weight pressed against their heads and killing them in the process.

He watched as blood splattered the walls.

The beast died in the end to his blade but at what cost?

Around him, the same men who fled the fastest hurled insults at him.

Their spit splashing against his shirt as they howled at his mistakes.

He felt so very tired.

These were the people he was trying to protect.

He could still see the blood of that child against their boots.

By the time he returned to the frontlines after clearing out the beasts in the city, the pavement was once again dyed with blood.

They defended but their numbers were dwindling.

Yet the beasts didn’t swarm them.

Why?

They were simply breaking apart their numbers.

"Do you need some time off?" His teacher would ask.

He shook his head.

If he took a break, who would defend the city? The frontline was collapsing without him there, the backline struggled without him there.

He needed to be strong enough so that Grand Cathia could continue to stand.

"You have some time before the next siege. Take this moment to rest. Your fatigue is catching up." His teacher warned once more.

Seeing that he was insistent, the hero finally relented.

He wore a hood and decided to take a walk around the city he defended. Being recognised would be rather bothersome at this point after all.

He wandered with no destination in mind. He simply wanted to observe.

He noticed a shop he used to walk by. Now empty and desolate. The owner died during the siege and...

A can rolled over to his foot.

A group of men was looting the place and taking the money for themselves.

Upon spotting him, they quickly covered up their face and ran before the guards could arrive.

There wasn’t a hint of Abyssal energy.

No, they were using the power they gained from the Nightmare.

Were these the people they were dying to protect?

He recalled the sight of the safe house. The men trampling over people in order to survive.

All while guards were putting their lives on the line.

If they had power, shouldn’t they help defend this city? Even if they don’t want to be on the frontline, firing weapons from afar was good as well.

Instead, they were spending their time here looting stores.

Everything they’ve done...

Everything they’ve risked to keep this place safe...

All the sacrifices, his efforts...

In that moment, a single thought dominated his mind.

Trash should just die.