Tales of Revenants

Chapter 67 – Blood Price

Chaos reigns supreme.

Unenlightenment induced disorder.

The wanted man who deemed to be a notorious criminal stands amidst the battlefield as a swordsman with calm composure.

Laken's combat counter-measure drastically increased. His stance changes the moment he removed his mask and seizes his sword. He will surely bring devastation upon his wake.

The valkyries were, of course, astonished when they discovered he was a wanted criminal. But they are not stubborn enough to change target as the notorious swordsman they wish to capture is helping them instead.

He warned Eris after he took another step. His stomp reverberated in the battlefront to draw the attention of balakhian soldier who became an atrocious Dark Entity, "Order the valkyries to retreat on the backline right now Eris!"

"But we needed to defend–" Eris halted her ignorance when she beholds the burning fervor imprinted on Laken's sapphire eyes. The kind yet eccentric warmth of his azure flames captivated her heart in a flick of a heartbeat.

"You can't bring down a Dark Entity... I fight to make the town safe, not for everyone, but for the valkyries and you who bravely face the enemy even at the costs of your life." Laken desires to boost the morale of the valkyries without stomping on their pride.

The Dark Entity in front of them began to phase steps. Eris's heart fluttered when she felt Laken's burning passion, further falling in love with him.

"Get back now! The plaza shall turn into a blood ridden battleground, I don't want to see another bloodshed..." Laken warned them for the last notice.

The woeful expression he gives made Eris realize there must be a reason for a wanted criminal to protect a town wherein they'll never give gratitude for his endeavor.

Eris blows the horn of war and declared, "All valkyries, return to the backline at once!" They immediately discern the circumstances and did as what they are told.

Nonetheless, she still stayed beside Laken to fight by his side. Together with Alisa and Luciella as their support spell caster, Eirisse as the mid-range bruiser, they are ready to fight back even if Xenon's still recovering from the damage dealt with him.

Laken and Eris act as the frontline vanguard. They have commenced the subjugation of the Dark Entity, a Nightbeast strong enough to instill fear upon the Heavenly Heroes.

The more seconds pass, the more the balakhian soldier suffers from her inner darkness. Laken begins the movement, initiating the combat so he can deprive her of further pain and hatred against the world.

It won't be easy just like their past battles. The Dark Entities are a kind of Nightbeasts that doesn't have the ability to think nor reason out.

But they have encountered an intellectual Nightbeast just like the Dark Entity they fought on Frostsiege Valley that purposely assaulted Eirisse considering she was the spell caster at that time.

Now they must have imagined what if such a Nightbeast had the ability to think like a living personality. Much worst-case scenario is what if, a human who had the full capability of reasoning became a Dark Entity itself.

In the history of the world right after the Dark Wars ended, they believe these Nightbeasts are simply the creature of the night that manifested from the darkness. Now they understand they are just a monster or animal who turned into such atrocious being.

It marks a newfound ignorance of the world, that even living personality can be corrupted by the whirling torrent of darkness.

No one understands or fathoms what could be the cause of such depravity. Alisa's comrades will grill her about Nightbeasts after their fight.

The balakhian soldier was not moving nor taking a step. Laken took the chance, grasping the sword fueled by azure flames to strike directly at her.

"Severe!" When Laken reckoned it's his perfect strike aim to detach her head, she didn't even load her shotgun rifle and fired it directly; approaching Laken's face head-on.

His adrenaline rushed suddenly escalated on her body. He completely deflected the first shot with his sword. However, he did not foresee her weapon didn't need bullets as she has loaded her rifle with another pure dark energy.

Right after she pulled the trigger, Alisa just finished chanting her magic, "Summon Undead: Sketelal Assassin!" A skeletal emerged from thin air and quickly intercepted the bullet with its bones in a blink of an eye before it could straight hit Laken's armor.

"I owe you, Alisa!" Laken steps back for the meantime trying to predict where his enemy will point out her rifle.

"Answer the thunder within... Thunder Enchant!" Luciella doesn't want to be a burden so she chanted Eris and Laken's weapon with the power of thunder.

The burning sword has engulfed by the electrical current exposed from the magical aspect of nature fully pervaded his weapon.

They distinctly took precautionary. Their adversary must have a hidden trump card in which they can't take just disregard. A Dark Entity will remain a strong type of Nightbeast that can rival a Heavenly Hero with sheer force.

Laken grasps the sword of the sinner when he reckoned her rifle's muzzle directed at those at the front line.

He won't just idle by and let his opponent assault. He charged shortly after clutching the hilt of his sword to prepare for a severing technique that drains the life-force of his victim, "Consuming s***h!"

The corrupted balakhian soldier cunningly parried Laken's charge with the rifle's barrel in no time.

Before she could counter-attack, Luciella chanted out her magic, "Follow thy flow, Aqua Geyser!" Unbeknownst to her, the Shard of Nature increased her spell's mana to invoke a deadly torrent of water.

A Dark Entity's instinct has no bounds. The enemy understands just a single scratch of her spell could shred her arms. Eirisse recognized the same magic signature she performed when Luciella first used a shard's perpetual power.

"I can't believe my severing technique didn't even scratch her..." Laken's already exhausted. The foe he faced has outwitted his advance not just once, but twice in a row.

Eris regretfully clutches her hands until it bleeds. She thinks she would be a hindrance if ever she joined the fray.

The massive gap between Eris's power and those around her made her realize how incompetent she was to not be able to help in times of difficulty.

She can't even hope to surpass Laken's swordsmanship let alone defeat the Dark Entity that plaques the peace of the town.

It must be tough for her, but she didn't falter nor be swayed by the odds.

When Eris tried to support Laken who was behind the target to perform a fading blade; a type of sword technique to slay a target by cutting down the target's spinal cord after severing the hamstring, she noticed something unusual.

She observed that the enemy's posture, breathing, and stance is completely engrossed on Laken's presence as it recognized him as a threat.

Ominous as it may seem for her, the two extra eyes the corrupted balakhian soldier had above her normal ones under severe epiphora were keenly, and distinctively looking towards Luciella for some reason.

She was startled when the upper-left eye of the Dark Entity contracted into a direction where it acutely met Eris's eyes. She evidently felt the terror and fear down her spine in which she let loose of her grasp to her sword.

During her servitude as a loyal valkyrie, her bravery is what made her worthy as a commander. Still, in that exact moment, she never felt such looming dread in her entire life.

The fear of death flashed right before her very eyes. It slowly deteriorated and unhinged her mental capacity that she can't even stand on the battlefield.

But she never, ever let the paranoia takes over the heart of a glorious valkyrie. Even if she can't move her trembling legs, she still pushed her limits and rushed towards where Luciella is standing to save her at all costs.

Eris was the only one who saw that the corrupted balakhian soldier's target was Luciella all along.

Just as she suspected, the Dark Entity performed a leap of fate upwards, evading Laken's severing technique and the hidden arrow of Alisa's skeletal bowman hiding under the canopy of the fruit stand.

Laken just only realized that among those on the battlefield, the enemy's aim was for Luciella's head all along. He played a blunder in which it endangered his comrades.

He tried to act to defend Luciella but it was too late as the Dark Entity already pulled the trigger.

The gunfire echoed across the entire plaza. Laken didn't anticipate what he just witnessed.

Eris was in front of Luciella; her shield and her right arm were completely penetrated by shots of dark magic.

She spewed blood from her mouth as some of the bullets punctured her respiratory tract down to her guts; rendering her undeniable defeat.

The silence takes over, Eris tried to reach out for Laken but no voice escaped from her.

The second she fell on the ground motionless without even being able to tell what she wanted to say, it was the moment Laken removed the silver choker on his neck.

Rage solely became his weapon. He ignited the fury of the sinner and let the burning azure flames on his right arm pervade up to his shoulders.

Alisa and Eirisse understand more than anyone that he entered to her Revenant Metamorphosis and he can't be quelled unless he murders the balakhian soldier.

The battlefield turned into a mess. Alisa commanded the rest of her skeletal knights so that the valkyries won't interfere in the fight.

Luciella felt the guilt of being a burden. She thought no one would be hurt if only she had more power. Despite the circumstances, she showered Eris with Light Blessing to make amends for her weakness.

Laken drew his sword and it completely accepted the ignition of azure flames.

Even if the balakhian soldier's unfortunate to be consumed by the abyss, he will still deliver a painless death and pay for the blood Eris had shed.