The Beginning Of A Five Year Agony-Chapter 33: The Cry of a God

Yvaine instinctively leaped backward, but a chain snaked its way toward Lira. Just as it was about to bind her, the Void-Walker materialized from her staff, its massive, shadowy wolf form that roared, intercepting the chains.

"Wonderful," Malaki murmured, a faint smile playing on his lips. More the essence chains materialized from all directions, filling the chamber with their constricting forms.

Yvaine, reacting with high velocity, pointed her staff downwards and unleashed a blast of energy, propelling herself upwards into the air, narrowly dodging the incoming chains.

Mid-air, she tilted her staff towards Malaki and fired. The recoil of the powerful blast slammed her back to the ground. Malaki simply tilted his shoulders...the energy beam passed harmlessly by him as his smile widened.

"Attack!" Lira yelled, rain of sweat tracing down her temples.

The Void-Walker surged forward, the ground vibrating with its intense power. It roared again, a sound that shook the very foundations of the chamber, and then it brought its massive claws down... slapping on Malaki. Dust and debris exploded outwards from the impact point, obscuring him from their view.

Yvaine and Lira watched, frozen, a spark of hope in their eyes. Then, from within the dissipating dust, a blinding light-blue light erupted. The Void-Walker was hurled backward, an unseen force propelling it violently in between Lira and Yvaine, before it crashed with a sickening thud into the far end of the wall. Standing in its place, perfectly composed amidst the settling dust, was a Path-Knight.

Yvaine’s eyes widened in unadulterated horror. "No," she breathed, her voice barely audible.

She thrust her staff upwards, her hands gripping it tightly, and began to chant, her voice gaining power with each word...

"Holy mother in the divine realm, please give me your strength... To defeat any adversaries! Do not allow your holy child to see corruption!" freёwebnoѵel.com

The staff began to glow, its light intensifying with every syllable. Lira, still attempting to recall her Void-Walker, turned to see Yvaine, her face contorted in effort, lips trembling with the force of her prayers. Lira didn’t truly grasp the formidable power of a Path-Knight... Samuel had always made their defeats seem effortless.

"Oh, Goddess, Mother of Color, give me your powers!" Yvaine continued, her voice rising as she pleaded. But something was wrong. Throughout Yvaine’s intense chanting, the Path-Knight remained utterly still, in an unmoving, unyielding stance.

"Stand back, Lira!" Yvaine cried, her voice strained. Her staff was now steaming, pulsing with the raw, divine essence she had channeled into it with her prayers.

Boom!

A massive energy beam erupted from the staff, a blinding white spear of power that shot toward the Path-Knight. The sheer force of the Shockwaves that followed shattered the cathedral pillars around them, sending stone and shrapnel flying. The Path-Knight, with an almost casual movement, conjured a shield and slammed it into the ground, redirecting the energy beam upwards. It ripped through the ceiling of the underground cathedral, bursting out into the skies above.

Outside, Samuel, who was locked in battle with five other Path-Knights, saw the beam of energy erupt from the earth, his eyes widening in alarm. It was coming from Lira’s location.

Back in the underground cathedral, dust, debris, and fractured stones filled the atmosphere, thick and choking.

"Yvaine!" Lira called out, struggling to her feet. But before Yvaine could answer, a blurred fist was suddenly inches from Lira’s face. She was sent flying backward, tumbling across the stone floor. It was only thanks to the remnants of the Void-Walker’s essence, which had shielded her in that split second of impact, that she wasn’t utterly crushed by a direct blow from the Path-Knight.

Yvaine, though bleeding from her mouth, activated her "Wind Control." attempting to manipulate the swirling air around the Path-Knight. The Path-Knight, moving with immeasurable speed, dodged her attempts in real-time, then vanished, only to reappear behind her. A swift, brutal kick sent her crashing into a nearby pillar, cracking the stone on impact.

Just then, the Void-Walker, having partially reformed, bit down fiercely onto the Path-Knight’s leg, its shadowy wolf-like form grappling with the path-knight. With a guttural roar, the Void-Walker threw the Path-Knight with immense force into the opposing wall, leaving a massive crater.

In an instant, the Path-Knight shot out from the damaged wall, a gleaming sword now materialized in its hands. It moved with terrifying precision, cutting through the Void-Walker. The shadowy entity roared in pain, its form flickering, losing its essence, until it was forced to retreat back into Lira’s staff.

Yvaine, now on one knee, blood trickling from her lips, continued to blast shots of energy at the Path-Knight. But the warrior remained unfazed, simply walking through the incoming attacks as if they were mere breezes. Then, in a terrifying blur, it seized her neck, slamming her repeatedly into the ground. Blood streamed from her eyes and nose, her body becoming a broken mess.

Lira watched, dumbfounded. Now she saw... Now she understood the true monstrosity of a Path-Knight. Before she had been protected by one, never comprehending their power until this brutal moment.

"Please stop!" she cried, her voice choked with tears. "Please, enough!" Lira pleaded, her tone filled with pain.

Malaki raised his hand, and the Path-Knight immediately froze, ceasing its brutal assault. Malaki walked forward, kneeling in front of the distraught Lira. "My poor child," he murmured, his voice deceptively soft. "Shhh... it’s okay. I won’t hurt you anymore." Before Lira could react, he delivered a sharp, precise blow to her head, and she slumped forward, in his arms unconscious.

Meanwhile, outside, Samuel was deep in battle. "Aegirion!" he shouted, calling his blade, and it flew back into his hands just as one out of the five Path-Knights he was fighting kicked him. Samuel met the blow with his blade, then swiftly grabbed the Path-Knight’s leg and flung the armored warrior to the ground multiple times with bone-jarring force. He was immediately tackled from the left by another Path-Knight, slamming his head against the stone walls as they moved at high velocity.

Samuel activated the "Cry of a God." His Jaws disfigured...Just as he was about to unleash a devastating attack, the Path-Knight holding him tried to struggle. Samuel caught its head with his hand, holding it firmly in place, and then he activated "Hand of War." for more grip. Then Shockwaves of raw, concussive sound erupted from his mouth, blasting the head of the Path-Knight he was holding into an explosion of shattered metal and blood.

Both Samuel and the now lifeless body of the Path-Knight landed on the ground. Samuel slowly got to his feet, and the remaining four Path-Knights landed in front of him...

"Aegirion!" Samuel called out again, and his blade, embedded in the ground from his previous action, flew with full speed into his hand. He then plunged it into the earth, his voice resonating with command.

"Art of War."

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