Echoes of the Abyssal Blade: Path to Free Will-Chapter 43: Facing Despair

Facing the siege of attacks from the bestial tribal leaders, the abomination was unfazed, it merely smiled, which sent shivers down everyone who were witnessing its might.

Jonan and his cohort were sweating profusely, horrified, Jonan thought to himself while shivering, "Why was I stupid enough to come here, my life behind the castle was better, did I really need to grow stronger by being here, I could have gone anywhere, but here, we are dead, definitely dead."

Marla who was behind him, also had a paled face, she had brushed up against life-and-death battles multiple times, but this was the first for her to be so thoroughly terrified to her core, forget fighting against it, they couldn’t even move in its presence.

Elias and Edric had small layers of sweat formed on their faces, but otherwise, they were nonchalant. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

They were displeased, by how easily both of the younger members of the cohort had lost their composures, and the will to even face them.

Shaking his head, Edric said, "Look at those beasts, I respect them, even if they are my enemies, but at this moment, I really respect them from the depth of my heart."

Jonan and Marla both felt ashamed, but couldn’t rid of the fear that had caught onto them.

"I have been to many places, I have seen weaker beasts throwing themselves into the mouths of the stronger beasts out of fear, while it was horrifying to look at, it was an easy way of going out, but these beasts our enemies are fighting bravely regardless of the outcome, not because they are strong, but because to be strong you will have to resist the fear," Edric said softly glancing at both of them.

While Jonan and Marla couldn’t calm down and control the fear in their hear instantly, they were gradually getting around it, Elias smiled in response.

At the same time, Jonan mused to himself, "So this is why father is called a hero, just a newborn abomination had left me to tears from a distance, and here I was having cowardly thoughts," Jonan’s face turned resolute.

"I don’t know, if we will live or die, but we will kill you beast," thought Jonan with a grim face.

At the same time, the abomination was clashing with the leaders of the beast tribes, the ground trembled under the weight of its steps as it met Dunik’s thunder-charged tusks head-on, shining sparks flew as lightning and shadow collided in a burst of unnatural light, illuminating the terrain in stark flashes.

Dunik growled, his body was surging with lustrous energy, its tusks were glowing blue-white as he drove them toward the abomination’s left side, but the abomination simply turned, catching one tusk in its clawed hand, and twisted it.

A sickening crack echoed as the Thunderboar chief cried out, his tusk shattered, electricity sparking wildly around them like a collapsing storm.

Kjorn, still bleeding from his side, let out a deafening war cry and brought down its massive feet upon the abomination’s back.

The force split the land beneath them and sent shockwaves outward, but the abomination barely flinched, it turned, its lips curled back, and swiped upward.

Kjorn tried to dodge, but he wasn’t fast enough, its claw tore across his chest, flesh and fur parting like paper. He staggered back, coughing blood, and dropped to one knee.

"Hold him!" Saera cried from the darkness, her voice sharp and cold, shadows leapt at her command, darting around the battlefield like vipers, her warriors, silent and near-invisible, darted in and out of the fray, slashing with poisoned claws, aiming for joints and soft spots.

Yet none managed to hurt the abomination, it only snarled and whirled, catching the Nightfur beasts mid-step and ruthlessly slashing them with a swipe of its claw.

Hayfen of the Spectral Horns Tribe still hadn’t moved, he stood with his bell-staff clutched loosely in one hand, watching as his allies were slowly pushed back, overwhelmed, he raised his staff, and the bell rang once, clear and eerie, the sound reverberated through the air but it hit the soul, finally affecting the abomination.

It was soul magic, a brief attempt to sever the abomination’s connection to its malicious energy.

"Now!" Hayfen commanded.

For a brief moment, everyone’s thoughts rang the same, Dunik, bleeding and limping, charged again, Kjorn roared and slammed his fists together, shaking off his wounds, Saera lunged from the shadows, her thick claws flashing.

The abomination’s eyes turned cold, "You lot are really annoying," it hissed, "I will take you all a bit seriously now."

Its body began to shift.

The glow from its eyes intensified, and the dark scales along its arms split open, revealing lines of molten, pulsing flesh, it grew taller, its limbs elongating, claws sharpening, the shadows it absorbed clung tighter now, a living armor that danced around its frame like smoke caught in a vortex.

"Stage two," it hissed, "You’ve earned a peek."

The transformation sent waves of nauseating energy across the altar. Jonan and Marla collapsed to one knee behind the ruins they hid in, their bones rattling, heads spinning.

"Gods..." Marla gasped, pressing her hand to her chest.

"That wasn’t even its full power before?" Jonan muttered, barely comprehending what he was witnessing.

Elias narrowed his eyes. "No," he said simply, "it wasn’t."

Edric gritted his teeth, "Maybe we should dig our graves in advance."

On the battlefield, the new form of the abomination exploded into movement, it moved faster than before, almost too fast to follow, it darted behind Kjorn, slashing its back open in a spray of blood, and it vanished and reappeared beside Dunik, piercing its shoulder with a claw and tossing him like a ragdoll into the crumbled remains of a pillar.

"Die already!" Saera screamed, hurling three obsidian knives in quick succession, they embedded into the abomination’s neck and side, each laced with poisons potent enough to kill giants, but they only sizzled and burned away.

It laughed again, the sound was more unhinged than before.

Then, it did something they didn’t expect, it raised its hands and plunged its claws into the earth.

The ground cracked in two, from the earth beneath them, black tendrils surged out—thick, twisted things that slithered and writhed like worms. They struck out at the beast tribes, wrapping around limbs, crushing bodies.

Dozens were dragged screaming into the ground.

"No!" Kjorn bellowed, wrenching himself free. It stomped on one of the tendrils and grabbed a fallen beast from its grip, hauling them to safety.

Dunik surged forward again, blood running down his side, eyes glowing white. "You want flesh and blood? Take mine!" It shouted and used its tribe’s forbidden technique.

He released the full brunt of his tribe’s latent energy, lightning surged from it like a storm unbound, it struck the abomination full-on, enveloping it in blinding light.

The ground cracked, gray smoke rose, and the tendrils shrieked and burned.

For one second, it looked like the Abomination had been dealt with.

But as the light faded... the abomination was still standing.

It was burned, and blackened, but it was smiling without a care.

"You amuse me," it rasped, raising a claw. "But now you die."

It impaled Dunik through the chest.

The lightning faded.

The Thunderboar chief gasped, its blood was bubbling from his mouth, it didn’t cry, nor did it plead, it smiled. "Atleast I managed to injure you..."

Then the abomination crushed its body with one hand.

Kjorn roared and charged again, fury overtaking fear, grief feeding strength. its hammer like legs fell like meteors, Saera vanished and reappeared, slashing at the abomination’s legs, neck, and back, dodging every counter.

Hayfen finally joined them, with every step it took, bells rang, its eyes were white now, blind with power, it was using everything it could muster in affecting the abomination.

Together, they drove the Abomination back.

The abomination stumbled.

It bled.

It snarled, the grin now gone.

And then, it screamed. A horrible, unholy scream that shattered stone, split the ground, and sent a pulse through the battlefield.

The beasts clutched their heads, blood trickling from their ears and noses.

When the ringing stopped, Hayfen was gone, nothing was left but its staff, cracked in half.

Saera’s right arm was severed at the shoulder, she collapsed to the ground, gasping.

Kjorn was on his knees, breathing raggedly, blood gushing from his mouth.

The abomination stood in the center of it all, trembling slightly, but still towering, Its smile returned.

"Enough," it whispered.

The surviving beasts were kneeling now their will was exhausted from this losing battle.

Saera, with her last strength, crawled forward and lunged herself at the abomination.

Unfortunately, It was caught by the abomination and torn apart.

The remaining beasts who were standing behind their leaders roared in rage, but couldn’t do a thing, they were whimpering in sadness, their leader’s hard-earned battle showed their might and courage.

Kjorn was dead.

Hayfen was gone.

Dunik, crushed.

And Saera was torn.

None were left except for the great number of weaker tribe members left to face the abomination.