Seris’s sword came down.
All the Mana remaining in her body, all the strength still left in the muscles of her blood-covered arms, and even the last bit of her strength were put into that one strike.
She no longer cared what happened after that.
She did not care how Lian would react.
She did not care whether Selina could still be saved or not.
The only thing she could see with her healthy eye was one number.
[Calamity Gestation Progress: 92.0%]
Eight percent more.
There were only eight percent between something that could still be stopped and the birth of a new Calamity Vessel.
The sword came down with all its power toward the semi-transparent surface of the Cocoon.
Caelus completely lost his calm, his eyes widened and his hand moved forward without thinking.
"No!" This was what he and his predecessors had planned and prepared for over many years.
He could not let the new Vessel be destroyed at any cost! Otherwise, Father would become angry!
But the distance was too great.
Rootless Step also needed a fraction of a second to reach Seris.
And he did not have that fraction of a second.
The edge of the sword was only a few centimeters away from the Cocoon.
Four centimeters.
Three.
Two.
Then—
Blue light cut across the entire battlefield.
[Thunder Step.]
The sound of thunder like a compressed explosion spread right in front of the Forgotten Tree.
Exactly between the sword and the Cocoon, something appeared from inside the blue light.
A hand.
And just before the blade hit the surface of the Cocoon, the fingers closed around the edge of the sword.
The sound of metal hitting skin spread through the air.
The remaining Sword Aura was released from the blade and a short wave of Mana spread between the roots, pushing the soil under their feet several centimeters away.
Several white strands of the Cocoon moved because of the pressure.
But the sword stopped, completely and did not move down even a single centimeter.
Seris did not understand what had happened for a moment, her healthy eye first stopped on the hand holding her sword.
The skin on the fingers had turned dark gray and several blue sparks moved between the joints.
Then her gaze slowly moved up.
The forearm.
The shoulder.
The dusty and torn clothes.
And finally, a familiar face that should not have been there at that moment.
Lian.
Thunder was still moving around his legs, gray dust covered his shoulders and hair, and even part of his sleeve was burned.
His breathing was a little heavier than usual, not like someone who had run out of breath after a battle, more like someone who had traveled an unreasonable distance without stopping even once.
He first looked at the edge of the sword stopped in his palm.
Then he looked at Seris, saying nothing for several seconds, as if he was trying to understand the situation.
"I told you not to kill her." He then said calmly.
Seris looked at him with only one eye, and for a moment something like disbelief could be seen on her blood-covered face.
Then the corner of her lips moved slightly upward, so little that if Lian had not been looking directly at her, he might not have noticed.
"You’re late."
Those two words were the last thing she could say without difficulty, the strength left her fingers and the sword became loose in her hand.
Her legs could no longer support her weight.
Seris fell forward.
Lian let go of the sword and caught her around the body before she hit the ground.
The girl’s weight fell onto him and at that moment he finally had the chance to really see what had happened.
A few minutes ago, he had not had such a chance, he had only felt the pain.
One’s pain.
A few minutes ago, Rootcrown had entered full Lockdown.
The sound of the Alarm was spreading through the entire Lord’s Root Palace, the inner gates were closing one after another.
Hundreds of Guards were moving through the corridors and Mana Barriers were activating along the exit paths.
Lian had just come up from the hidden tomb of Cindar Vael when something suddenly exploded inside his mind.
Through the Hive Link, a pain so strong that his steps stopped for a moment.
He did not receive a clear image, but One’s feelings were clearer than any image.
Pain.
Pressure.
Then something warm leaving One’s body, blood and more importantly, a sudden and serious weakness.
One had been injured and not with an ordinary wound, but something serious enough that the Hive Link transferred it to Lian with all its strength.
At that moment he had made his decision, it was clear that something bad had happened near the Forgotten Tree and he had to return as soon as possible.
Abyss Veil was turned off, he no longer cared who saw him.
The first group of Guards appeared in front of him when he left the Archive.
"Stop—"
[Thunder Step.]
Lian passed through them.
The second group created a Barrier across the corridor, he did not even slow down.
[Iron Fortress Charge.]
His shoulder hit the Barrier.
The Mana glass across the entire corridor cracked, a moment later it exploded. The next gate was made of Steel.
[Thunder Calamity.]
Lian’s fist hit its center directly, the sound of thunder shook the entire floor and the several-hundred-kilogram metal gate was torn from its frame and thrown into the next hall.
The Guards moved aside, some tried to chase him but none of them even came close.
[Fallen Wolf Speed.]
[Thunder Step.]
Again.
And again.
And again.
Lian was no longer following the exit path, he was following the shortest path, if there was a wall between him and outside, the wall broke.
If there was a Barrier, the Barrier was destroyed, if a Guard came in front of him, he was hit only hard enough that he could no longer be an obstacle.
Chaos had spread across the entire Cindari city because of his behavior and actions, everyone was terrified about what had happened and was trying to deal with the threat.
But this threat was so fast that they could not see him with their naked eyes at all.
In less than a few dozen seconds, he had passed through the inner area, then the outer wall of Rootcrown and then Emberroot.
And from that moment on, Lian had combined Thunder Step with Fallen Wolf Speed almost without stopping.
Mana was being consumed at an alarming speed, it did not matter.
Every time he felt the Hive Link, One’s pain did not become weaker ... it became worse!
And when the Forgotten Tree finally appeared in the distance, Lian had traveled almost the entire last path with Thunder Step.
Exactly when Seris’s sword was coming down.
And now in the present.
Lian held Seris’s body in his arms.
And now he saw it, this girl’s armor almost no longer had its original color, blood covered a large part of it.
Her right thigh had been pierced and dried and fresh blood could be seen on both sides of the wound.
Her side had been cut open, there were several deep cuts on her shoulder and arms.
Her lips were cracked, but the worst part was her face, the left side of her face was completely covered in blood and her left eye remained closed.
And even without checking further, Lian understood that the eye was no longer healthy.
’Did all of this happen while I was gone? What happened after I left?’ He thought to himself.
"Cocoon..." Seris took a short breath, her voice was weaker than usual.
"Ninety-two percent."
Lian turned his head slightly.
The panel immediately appeared.
[Black Silence Fetus]
[State: Gestating]
[Calamity Gestation Progress: 92.0%]
The number was stable, at least for now.
"One..." Seris closed her healthy eyelid for a moment, then said only one word.
Lian did not need to ask.
The pain was still reaching his mind through the Hive Link, but what he felt was different from what he saw now.
He turned his head.
One was lying several dozen meters away beside one of the huge roots of the Forgotten Tree.
Part of the natural armor on his stomach was broken, a large hole went through the lower part of his body and dark blood had gathered under his body, making the gray soil almost black.
Several armor plates on his side were cracked, two of his legs still moved sometimes, and his antennae also showed a weak reaction.
He was alive.
But his condition was even worse than what Lian had imagined through the Hive Link.
Then his eyes fell on Aren, the man was lying several meters away on the ground, his face was almost completely white.
Two arms ... were gone, both had been cut off above the elbows.
Compressed soil and stone around the wounds had partly stopped the bleeding, but a large pool of blood had formed under his body.
Then Lian looked at Seris again, and finally raised his head, Caelus Vael was still standing in the same place.
Among everyone on the battlefield, he was the healthiest.
There were wounds on his body, part of his robe was torn, and traces of blood remained on his chest and face.
But compared to Seris, Aren and One, he looked almost unharmed.
Lian’s gaze fixed on him, and something in the atmosphere changed.
There was nothing visible, but even Seris in her half-conscious state noticed it.
Lian was angry.
Very angry and the angrier he became, the calmer he seemed.
Lian did not shout, he did not threaten him, he simply carefully placed the girl beside one of the healthier roots of the Forgotten Tree.
He took a Recovery Potion from his Inventory.
"Drink this."
Seris looked at the bottle, then very slowly raised her hand and pushed the Potion away.
Lian made a very small frown.
Without arguing, Seris opened her own Inventory.
Three Potions came out of her storage space, she drank one immediately and then placed another beside herself.
"I have some, it won’t take more than a few minutes." What she meant was clear.
She had no plan to simply lie in one corner during the rest of the battle.
She was the kind of person who had to take revenge herself ... and today, no matter the cost, she would tear apart with her own hands that bastard who had destroyed her eye!