Chapter 19: Theron’s Resolve

At that moment, Raa descended and stood directly before the group.

He lifted his head toward the sky, then opened his maw wide—and let out a roar straight onto their faces, his saliva splattering with brutal force.

Everyone froze in place as if they'd turned into lifeless ice statues.

All at once they dropped their weapons to the ground, despairing at their own fates.

His roar echoed throughout almost the entire Western Desert.

Panic spread across the region; everyone in Arian rushed outside, asking one another, "What happened? What is that screaming?" These questions buzzed through the whole city.

Ethan was seated on his throne; at the sound of that roar he leapt up and dashed to the window. Sweat poured down his brow as he wondered aloud, "Will they be all right?"—that alone was his hope.

Finally, the girls made their first move after standing like frozen statues; they sank to their knees on the sand.

Oran, at last finding his courage, gripped his spear and charged straight toward Raa. But before he could get close, Raa whipped his tail around in a flash and struck Oran directly.

Boom! Oran never saw it coming; it was as swift as lightning.

He was flung backward by the impact.

The group's eyes turned instantly to Oran as he tried to rise—but at that moment, while struggling upright, he coughed up a spray of blood. He stared at his hand in shock at how much he'd expelled, then collapsed unconscious.

Just one hit had felled him.

Fear surged in Rin, Leon, and Eirinnor.

Rin said, "We need to surround him and strike so he can't reach us. But remember—if any of us get hit, it's probably game over. Avoid his attacks as much as possible."

At Rin's signal they moved simultaneously to try and encircle him: Rin took the front, Leon and Eirinnor flanked on either side.

Rin signaled that no one cover the rear; if they crowded him from behind, Raa might lash out again as he did with Oran.

Rin began to lure Raa into following him, drawing his attention away from Leon and Eirinnor—and that's exactly what happened. Raa moved directly behind Rin, while Leon and Eirinnor launched ranged attacks.

Leon sliced the air constantly, forming dozens of crescent-shaped "wind blades," while Eirinnor's strikes took the form of flickering swords of yellow lightning.

Yet none of these assaults fazed the dragon-king Raa; he remained focused solely on Rin.

Seeing this, sweat poured from Rin's face like rain. He was terrified of dying.

Rin thought, "This is bad. Nothing is going as planned. If things stay like this, our end is surely drawing near."

But at that moment, Raa ceased his pursuit of Rin. He hurled his head back and roared up at the sky.

Everyone clamped their hands over their ears at the sheer volume; even the townsfolk and villagers had no time to wonder what was happening.

Those closest to Raa suffered most—blood streamed from their ears under the assault of that sonic blast. No one could hear clearly; the ringing drowned out their hearing entirely.

Rin turned to face Leon and Eirinnor, trying to speak, but to no avail: neither could hear a single word. They watched him as if he were mute, his lips moving silently.

Their expressions instantly darkened.

A winged serpent squad began advancing on the girls. Rin stamped the ground in frustration and cursed, "This is terrible! Why do all the bad things have to happen at once?"

Eirinnor grasped the situation and moved to protect the girls, while only Rin and Leon remained together.

Eirinnor had pushed his combat rating up to 6,000 and was sustaining a barrage of winged serpents. But they numbered in the tens of thousands—far too many for him to handle indefinitely. Their small size made them hard to strike, and though he strove to shield the girls, he couldn't guarantee they'd remain unscathed.

Mona and Lina clung to one another in fear and despair, praying to survive.

Aretha and Celine were sheltered in Theron's massive arms as he murmured, "Don't be afraid. I'm sure they can win. Everything will be fine—just trust me."

Yet neither of them uttered a single word; they remained silent.

Theron cursed inwardly, "Why does everything always go wrong? Surely things won't be fine." He'd only meant to reassure them, but could this lie really calm their hearts? The current reality proved otherwise.

He felt himself become nothing more than a barrier—he did nothing but mute their voices, while they discussed tactics.

He thought, "All I'm good at is eavesdropping, never speaking—a statue they carry on their backs as they press on. Why am I so weak? I couldn't even protect my only remaining daughter. This world is truly ruthless."

All his suppressed emotions exploded. Tears streamed from his eyes like a waterfall onto Celine.

She looked at him in surprise and sorrow; she'd never seen her father cry—even when his wife and other children died, he'd always bottled up his feelings. Yet today he erupted.

She reached up to wipe his tears with a smile. "There's no need to be afraid. We'll be fine. Isn't that what you told us just now?"

Hearing her words, Theron immediately smiled, tears still glistening in his eyes. "Yes. We'll be okay—as long as I'm with you. I'd give my life to protect you."

Rin and Leon were still locked in their standoff with Raa, while Eirinnor continued to fend off the winged serpents, drenched in sweat as he gasped and swung his sword with all his might.

It seemed this would be the worst day of their lives—until the King of the Winged Serpents appeared: the Crimson Fire Serpent.

It was enormous—only slightly smaller than Raa himself.

Everyone stared at the sky, despair deepening on their faces.

Rin whispered, "Can things really get any worse?"

Truly, he wouldn't have been surprised if an even stronger demonic monster materialized. It felt like all these events were a trap set by someone.

But who could command such beasts? Rin abandoned the thought.

He nodded at Leon, signaling that Leon would face Raa alone, while Rin himself would take on the Crimson Fire Serpent.

Strangely, Raa had lessened the intensity of his attacks, as if he'd lost interest in fighting them. He ignored Leon's relentless strikes and only gazed up at the sky.

Leon hoped it would stay that way—there might yet be a chance to flee and survive.

On Rin's side, he grappled with the fire serpent; its body was wreathed in roaring crimson flames, as if born from the depths of eternal hell.

But Rin struggled to fend off its assaults. It was fiercer than any of the ten thousand monarchs they'd battled before—stronger even than the Catastrophe Wolf of Lightning.

Although his own rating had not yet surpassed 10,000, stopping short of 1,000 meant he didn't know which element suited him best—and yet he held his ground, perhaps even capable of slaying it.

It soon became clear that he couldn't last long: his strikes slowed as the serpent's attacks grew more ferocious.

The fire serpent hurled orb after orb of flame at Rin, preventing him from closing in, while Rin specialized in close-range combat.

Eirinnor's situation was no better, yet he refused to surrender.

He thought, "I will never give up until my last breath."

He'd already cut down roughly 4,000 serpents, but some had broken past his defense and were heading straight for Theron and the girls.

Eirinnor whirled his gaze toward them but found himself unable to move a single step, screaming, "Watch out!"

He had wanted to dash to their aid, but remained besieged by the winged serpents. One wrong move would drench him in blood—their aggression had only intensified since their king's arrival.

Theron planted himself before the girls, planting his feet and raising his arms to shield them, unflinching.

Rin saw this and sprinted to help, but before he could act—

Smack! The fire serpent swung its tail at Rin's head. He was flung backward once more, blood flooding his face. His nose was nearly crushed.

The bleeding never ceased; his vision blurred permanently.

He raised a gauntleted hand to wipe the blood from his face and resolved to rely on his other senses in battle.

He'd already regained his hearing—but what use was that now? Everything was worsening, and words could no longer express it.

He dashed toward the girls, abandoning his duel with the fire serpent—but it pursued him instantly, spitting huge fireballs in his direction, while Rin leapt to dodge them.

Meanwhile, the winged serpents formed a massive spiraling arrow in the sky, hurtling toward Theron.

Boom! They crashed into Theron's torso as if burrowing through it. He vomited a spray of blood but the serpents kept going, rising into the air as they spun within his body.

Finally they dispersed, and Theron plummeted slowly from the sky, on the verge of losing consciousness.

Celine's screams rang out, "Father! Father!"

He heard her, smiled weakly as he fell, and whispered, "Take care of yourself, Celine… I may not finish this long journey with you. I trust in their strength."

Boom! He hit the ground, motionless forevermore.

Celine tried to move toward him, but Rin arrived first and stopped her.

Rin said, "It's too dangerous now. We don't know if any of us will live. Please—stay back."

Celine sobbed, "Let me go! Please, Rin… If we're going to die, I'd rather die alongside my father. Please!"

Tears streamed down her beautiful face without end.

Rin looked at her with sorrow. "He protected you with his final breath. Please—don't let his sacrifice be in vain."

Celine's expression softened slightly, though she continued to cry. "Why is this happening? Why can't we ever live in peace?"

The winged serpents and their king encircled Rin and the girls once more. Rin braced himself for a brutal battle of uncertain fate.

Eirinnor seized a brief opening in the serpent horde around Theron and joined Rin, panting without pause.

Rin took point, Eirinnor covered the rear, and they continued striking and defending.

A breeze blew over Theron's cold corpse, rustling his cloak.

Then, suddenly, Theron moved a finger. It seemed he had only been unconscious.

He opened his eyes, sand clinging to his face, expressionless and motionless.

But in front of him lay a double-headed axe—its haft empty of thought, as if its mind were gone.

Theron began to crawl forward on his knees alone, without moving his arms, desperate just to touch it.

At last he reached it and touched the axe's handle with his index finger—then froze. No reaction followed.

Meanwhile, Rin and Eirinnor's plight worsened. Fatigue marked their faces, cold sweat dripping from their chins.

Eirinnor's vision blurred; he could only swing his sword in hopeful arcs at the serpents, but instead they battered him with acidic spit that dissolved his clothing onto his skin.

He showed no response—every muscle in his body was screaming from pain.

Aretha cried out, "Eirinnor… brother… are you all right?"

He gave no answer; he was barely alive.

Aretha wrapped her arms around him, praying for their victory as best she could.

Leon kept up his attacks without pause—but it was futile. Raa refused to fight him; the battle felt one-sided.

Rin wiped sweat from his brow, sword clutched in both hands, and launched his final assault again and again—each strike to no avail.

At the moment Eirinnor's body betrayed him and dropped his sword from his grasp, he was stunned; he'd never imagined reaching such a state—his limbs no longer obeying him, as if paralyzed.

He collapsed onto the ground with eyes wide open, staring at the winged serpents poised to finish them off.

Aretha rushed to embrace him, bracing for their tragic end or some fleeting hope.

Eirinnor spoke softly, "I've failed."

Rin turned to look, aghast—but he couldn't move a single muscle. If he did, Celine and the other girls would already be dead.

Aretha closed her eyes, clutching Eirinnor's body with all her might.

Leon moved to intervene, but Raa barred his path and resumed his onslaught.

Boom! Raa swiped at Leon with his claws; Leon parried but was flung backward, suffering a grievous chest wound.

Blood gushed from the wound; he pressed his hand against it and dropped to his knees to breathe again.

Rin screamed in fury, "Watch out!"

But what good would a yell do? Actions, not words, were needed now.

At the moment Eirinnor had lost all hope and closed his eyes to await his miserable fate, something changed—and he opened them again in surprise.

Swish! Torn serpent corpses flew through the air—Theron stood before Eirinnor and

Aretha, his axe resting on his right shoulder, a wide grin lighting his face.

He had brought back to life the spirits that were already dead.

I'm very sorry for the late release.

The publishing schedule will now change to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Note: This wasn't my choice, but work conditions are tough.

I can't manage both work and writing at the same time.

But I promise I won't miss this new schedule