The Stonehearted Knight-Chapter 241: Mother is here

A large crowd gathered at the gate leading out of the rebuilt district of the ruin.

Shouts and cries rang in the air. People threatened, cursed, or begged the guards standing on top of the gate.

Yet, nothing happened. The gates remained shut. Some of the braver ones stormed the stairs to overthrow the guards. But before they reached the upper steps, they were riddled with injuries.

After a while, the corpses piled up, blocking others from reaching the guards. The sight of the pile of corpses also served as deterrence to others. Fewer people dared to climb to their deaths.

Out of nowhere, a loud explosion deafened the noise of the crowd. Shocked, the people eyed the sky.

It was still night but it wasn’t dark. The sky was lit with a multitude of colors. The black of the night turned into explosive colors.

Before the crowd regained their bearing, another explosion occurred. The red and yellow turned to blue and green. Shortly after the explosion, the wind followed. It howled and blasted into the crowd. Some of the weaker folk were thrown back, while others had to buckle to resist the pressure on them.

The people in the crowd didn’t know where the explosion came from. But they sensed the threat contained in the sky. Their heart turned cold when a third explosion went off. The blast knocked some out cold. Others were injured. Some people held their heads and wailed. Blood seeped through their fingers as they held them against their ears.

Some people hurried to seek cover. They realized, before others could that the explosions had just started. They didn’t wish to test the number of explosions they could withstand.

...

The Temple remained the sole building that still stood erect in the district. It stood, as in, the main monolith stood undisturbed with four or five rows of stones of the wall still in place.

A battle of incredible destruction raged in the sky.

The King stood tall. He commanded the air, the land, and the weather around him.

With a wave of his hand, he broke the air blades coming at him. The blades scattered but the Hawk Phantom didn’t retreat. It let out a sky-shaking shriek and released multiple air blades at once. Not only did the amount increase, the Commander took control of the broken pieces of the wind blades, merging them with the other blades.

"Scatter!"

The King commanded. The blades shattered. But the momentum of the remaining blades increased with each broken blade. The last one hit the King square in his face. A deep gash appeared, followed by blood spurting out.

The wound healed at the same speed it appeared. The skin smoothed over. Only the blood trickling down his skin remained.

"Impudence!"

The King spoke in an even tone. But his clenched jaw screamed his held-in fury. The phantom of the Hawk dropped a few meters and flapped its wings wildly. It struggled to remain in the air.

Roar!

The ground shattered as a roar reverberated through the ruined Temple district. The roar stunned the King, halting his next command. The broken walls shattered even further and the debris blasted toward the King.

"Insolence!"

Following the command, the debris flying toward the King scattered before hitting him. Before the Duke could follow up on his attack, a wave of broken stones and pillars hit him in the back. Despite his massive size, the Duke buckled onto his knee under the weight of the stones and pillars.

Screech.

Another hawk-like figure burst from behind the Duke’s massive body and flew straight toward the King. This Hawk wasn’t as large as the phantom manifested by the Commander. At a closer look, it wasn’t even a phantom.

The glistening feathers, the metallic claws, and the gems instead of eyes gave the figure a pristine yet metallic puppet feel. Old Gargoyle’s speed was beyond the others. His smaller size and well-maintained Hawk armor gave him an advantage over the others.

The King opened his mouth. No doubt, he would give his next command. But while he started to speak, Old Gargoyle shrieked. It was a shrill noise that echoed despite the open space.

"Thumnph."

In the end, only an incoherent word came out of the King’s mouth. Old Gargoyle’s Call of Wind distorted the air to such a degree, that the words containing fragments of Laws failed to produce their desired effect.

The Commander and the Duke didn’t miss this opportunity. They were ready. As soon as the King’s command distorted, they shot out in action.

A two-sided attack threatened the King. The Commander opened his claws about to cleave the King from above. The Duke’s muscles trembled. His already massive arms bulged even more. He jumped up. His hooves shattered the ground, creating two mid-sized craters side by side.

Seeing the King under a pincer attack, the old man smiled. His opponent, the Gatekeeper tried to break free from him. But the old man didn’t allow it. The space around him turned liquid. Or the space filled with a watery substance. Whatever the case, it aided the old man. The Gatekeeper couldn’t move with much ease. Also, the light coming toward the rune slowed down. The Crown Prince struggled to break free. He used treasure after treasure. But against the old man’s might, it turned to naught.

’I hope this will be enough to stop them.’

...

Elena wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. She sat in the eye of the storm, so to speak. Else, she might have perished by now. She only suffered a little because of the battle in the air.

She sat huddled with her head between her knees. Fear filled her. She refused to look around. She refused to listen to the battle raging above. She refused to move from the cold floor.

She sobbed. It was hard to believe but she missed the quiet dark she wished to escape all her life. At least black was serene. The colors, on the other hand, blinded and terrified her.

She was alone. With no one around her. Only coldness surrounded her. Her mother was here. It was close to her. But she didn’t dare to look at her. She wished to talk but her eyes were shut. Would Mother even reply? The silence was better. That was how she spent time with her mother. All those years guarding her grave, she never heard a word. Perhaps she never would...

Don’t despair. Mother is here.