The Stonehearted Knight-Chapter 259: A heart-stirring shout (2)

Hex met the eyes of the Sinner. The sight of the King hadn’t faded but he was sent flying.

He noticed the ground beneath him move tens of meters. He only realized he was the one moving when he hit the ground, skidding over the snow, before coming to a stop. Somehow, his eyes remained fixed on the spot the King had transformed into a Heartless. Only when he felt the ground hit him or he hit the ground, did the figure of the King fade.

’Huh? Where did he go?’

Hex glanced over. He noticed the King in the spot he had been. Seeing the King’s figure, Hex’s brain managed to process everything. The things he saw, he heard...and felt, especially felt.

"AH!"

A short but shrill scream escaped his throat. He stopped abruptly. Not by choice. His throat filled with blood and torn muscles. He burst into a fit of coughs. More blood and muscles filled his throat.

The cold of the snow all around stung his sides. He couldn’t move. Not a single hair width. He wasn’t disoriented, that he was sure of. But he almost couldn’t sense his limbs no matter how much he tried. Neither did his head move.

He felt blood flow down his sides. The minute movements of his stomach during each breath felt like being hammered. He focused on the King once again.

The King stood in the middle of the swarm of golden threads with Althea at the center. To Hex’s surprise and delight, the King, even as a Sinner, struggled to reach the girl. He heard the King screech. It sounded awful. The high-pitch and the power made his ears ring. If he wasn’t mistaken, blood even dripped out of them.

Hex’s happiness turned into worry when the King started to slash the threads. Sparks flew. The tenacious threads slashed out at the Sinner. Hex noticed burnt marks and deep gashes appear on the King’s body. But it didn’t slow him down. To Hex, he looked to be going into a frenzy. Instead of retreating, the King began to strike harder and with more urgency.

Hex held his breath. The speed of the King broke the Laws and turned into a blur. Heck, calling it a blur was not even accurate. It was just the only way Hex could comprehend it. The threads couldn’t gather at the speed they were being cut. Hex gritted his teeth in frustration.

He tried utilizing the remnant nature elements but the King screeched as he slashed the threads apart. The screeches prickled his mind and caused it to lapse. The noise also distorted whatever energy and elements he gathered. Not only once.

Unwilling to give up, he eyed the threads. He racked his mind. He knew he was too weak to even pause the King. He would be decimated without a need for the King to even slow down.

’Only the threads can stop him. But he cuts them up. If only they were thicker –’

His pupils dilated. Yes, that was it. Thicker. He needed something thicker. Not only would it be harder to cut through but he imagined – hoped would be the better word – it would cause a more potent backlash.

He could see the golden light burning deep into the King’s flesh and even charring it in some places. But it wasn’t enough. Hex knew the body of a Heartless surpassed the human and beast ones. The King only needed to stop and retreat. All the deep gashes and burnt marks would disappear in the blink of an eye. No, he needed something far more dense. And fatal. Thicker, yes. Thick, like the beam of golden light.

The distance between the King and the golden beam wasn’t great yet difficult to decrease. No attack or push would get him there. Not any that Hex could pull off. But he could bypass it. Sort of. As soon as Hex realized he needed the beam of golden light, he also thought of a way to achieve it.

He stopped focusing on healing his entire body. It required too much time. And he lacked the required amount of nature elements. Instead of focusing on everything, he decided to heal only the parts he would need.

Screech.

There it was again. The mind-numbing screech. Now, however, Hex was prepared. He didn’t gather the energy in huge amounts. He did it in small amounts. And he applied his Second Blessing. With bursts, he healed a bit of his spine, his neck and head, and his two hands.

Just a few threads remained between the King and Althea. Hex didn’t move his eyes from them as he worked on healing himself. It worked. As the King reached the last thread, Hex started to sense his hands again. And that was enough.

As he watched the King slash through the last thread, the silver-colored element circle on the back of his hand lit up. He blinked. And he stood beside the King. It happened so suddenly, that the King paused his talons. The sharp edge only cut a thin line in Althea’s neck.

Hex blinked again. A silver light flashed on one of his hands while the other grabbed the King. At the same time, Hex looked at Althea. The glazed look on her face told Hex she still wasn’t herself. There was nothing he could do about it. Except call her one more time.

"Althea. Run. Now!"

The next moment the King’s screech filled his mind. It made it numb. Thoughts disappeared. He stared blankly at the King as he felt something smooth caress him. He liked the feeling. It didn’t seem the case with the King. He shrieked. Hex stared blankly. He just watched half of the King’s body disappear. And then he saw the King’s talon slash at him.

"You. Destroyed. Everything."

"I.Lost.Everything."

"I.Lost.Everyone."

Hex stared at the sky. He tried to focus on the person speaking. It was hard. No, impossible. He still had his senses. But that was all. He almost felt detached from the world. He vaguely remembered the King slashing him. Yet it didn’t hurt. Or he was numb. He suspected the latter. Not because he could see it. No, because the small dragon in his inner space was growling. It was furious and afraid at the same time. ƒгeewebnovёl_com

Suddenly, the sky turned dark. No, it disappeared. And then two eyes stood above his. He looked in the King’s eyes. It was over. He was about to die. It didn’t scare him. Even though he failed to do anything he promised, he didn’t regret anything. He lived. He fought. And now he would die.

He watched the talons come at him. It touched him. The sharp points stung. And then...the King was gone. And thunder filled his ears.