The Infinite Night

Chapter 19: To Risk

As Nia'le tried to stand up, he grabbed a nearby rock and slowly regained his strength. He looked at Tassa with determination and declared that it was time to save the girl.

However, Tassa tried to stop him, insisting that the massive barrier surrounding the girl was impossible to break.

Unbothered by her warning, Nia'le brushed off her concerns and confidently walked toward the barrier.

"Tassa, watch me," he said with a smug smile.

He pulled something out of his pocket and prepared to place it on the barrier. Seeing this, Tassa quickly stopped him and asked where he had gotten the item.

Nia'le shrugged off her hand.

"Ayamani gave it to me. He entrusted this beautiful thing to me, and only to me. He told me to use it if there's a barrier because the demon who trapped the girl is very cunning. Plus, he said it could work on any sealing spell and even called me a strong, cool guy."

Tassa rolled her eyes.

She grabbed Nia'le's arm and led him to a different spot on the barrier.

"Hey, where are we going?" Nia'le asked.

But Tassa didn't answer until they finally stopped.

She pointed toward a small hole in the barrier that looked like a keyhole.

"The gem goes here," she explained. "If you put it in this hole, it should automatically deactivate the barrier."

Nia'le followed her instructions. He placed the stone into the hole and whispered the word Ayamani had told him to say.

As soon as he finished chanting, the stone began absorbing the barrier's magic. The barrier slowly dissolved as its energy was sucked into the gem.

Then suddenly—

BOOM!

The released magical energy exploded outward and hurled Nia'le nearly five meters away.

The pressure was too much for him to withstand.

As he disappeared into the distance, Tassa crossed her arms and commented,

"Woosh, so much for being cool and strong, I see."

Despite her remark, she immediately ran toward him.

Nia'le's vision blurred, and the pain was far worse than when he had touched the electrified barrier earlier.

Even so, he forced himself to sit up, though every part of his body ached.

Looking ahead, he saw Tassa running toward him. Her hair flowed behind her in the wind, and the blue flower in her hair fell onto the ground.

She held her heels in one hand and lifted her dress with the other to keep it from dragging through the dirt.

When she finally reached him, concern was visible on her face.

"Are you alright, strong cool guy?" she asked.

Nia'le grimaced and rested his bruised arm on his knee.

"Would you like me to throw you five meters away and then ask if you're alright, Tassa?" he replied sharply.

Tassa offered him her hand to help him up.

However, Nia'le didn't take it. The pain in his arm and hand was simply too much.

Misunderstanding his reaction, Tassa assumed he was upset because Ayamani had protected her by giving the stone to Nia'le, causing him to take the full force of the barrier.

Feeling guilty, she chose not to argue.

Instead, she quietly remained by his side, offering her silent support.

Amid the heavy silence, Nia'le stared at the stone Ayamani had given him. Holding it tightly in his palm, he finally understood why Ayamani had entrusted it to him instead of Tassa. The immense power sealed within the stone would have been far too dangerous for her to handle.

His body was still wracked with pain. It felt as if half of him had been destroyed by the barrier's energy, yet he remained silent despite Tassa's concern. While she kept asking if he was alright, Nia'le only stared at the ground, thinking about the weight of what had happened.

Trying to ease the tension, Tassa apologized for what had happened and reminded him that they still needed to save the girl and escape this distorted world before it was too late.

But Nia'le's answer was cold.

"I don't want to do it."

The words hung heavily in the air.

Tassa froze for a moment, unable to understand what she had just heard. She stood in front of him and demanded, "What do you mean you don't want to do it?"

Nia'le avoided her gaze, looking away as if he had already made up his mind.

Determined, Tassa stepped closer.

"Nia'le, we can't stay here. If we linger any longer, Ixartxist will take your soul, and who knows what he'll do to you!"

A droplet suddenly fell onto Nia'le's hand. Thinking it was rain, he looked up.

Instead, he saw tears running down Tassa's face.

"Tass—"

"Nia'le, we can't stay here any longer! I don't care if Ixartxist catches me or does anything to me. But I won't let anyone else die because of me. I won't allow it, not anymore."

She gripped her dress tightly, crumpling the fabric in her hands.

"Nia'le!" she cried. "I'll lose anyone, but not you. Please, I don't want to lose you."

After a moment of silence, Nia'le spoke.

"Then let's escape together."

Tassa looked down at him for being selfish. Leaving her heels beside him, she took the stone and turned away. Before walking off, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"I thought I could count on you."

Her voice trembled with disappointment.

"My first impression of you was right, but now my second impression disgusts me. Forget it, Nia'le. I don't care if Ixartxist captures you. You're not worthy at all."

Her words struck him like a blade.

"Ayamani was right about you. You're nothing but a coward."

Nia'le remained seated on the ground as he watched her walk away toward the girl they had come to save.

The weight of her words crushed him.

Frustrated and filled with self-hatred, he clenched his fist and slammed it into the ground, hoping to feel something—anything.

But he felt nothing.

Only blood began to drip from his hand.

Tears streamed down his face as he cried in anguish, gritting his teeth through the pain. His apologies disappeared into the empty wind around him.

Meanwhile, Tassa stood before the chained seal, her hand clenched tightly around the stone.

"Why can't you be honest with me, Nia'le?" she whispered sadly.

"Why didn't you just tell me what's wrong?"

Determined to act, Tassa began chanting a spell. She carefully placed the stone onto the massive chain, repeating what Nia'le had done earlier.

The chain's powerful magic was drawn into the stone. As the energy surged, Tassa was lifted into the air.

But before she could fall back down, Nia'le suddenly appeared.

Despite his injuries and exhaustion, he somehow crossed the distance between them and caught her gently in his arms before safely landing on the ground.

Tassa wasn't shocked by how far he had traveled.

Instead, her attention went to his tuxedo, which was nearly torn apart.

Nia'le quickly wrapped a piece of cloth around his hands, trying to hide his injuries.

But Tassa noticed the burns immediately.

Without a word, she took hold of the makeshift bandage and carefully examined it.

It became clear that Nia'le was hiding something beneath the cloth.

To her shock, Tassa discovered that Nia'le's hands and arms were completely burned. The injuries were so severe that it should have been impossible for him to move them, yet he had somehow managed to catch her before she fell.

Tassa felt a heavy weight settle in her chest. As she looked at Nia'le's decaying hand, she was overwhelmed with guilt and confusion. The burns were the result of the sealing spell's immense power, and she couldn't understand why he had endured so much pain.

After all, she was the one who had removed the stone from him and used it to break the seal protecting the unconscious girl.

Now, she was staring at the consequences of that decision.

Her eyes remained fixed on Nia'le's injured hand. The sight pierced her heart, and the guilt became too much to bear.

Tears streamed down her face as she suddenly embraced him.

She held him tightly, seeking comfort in the midst of their shared suffering. Her tears carried remorse, gratitude, and sorrow all at once. Despite his terrible condition, Nia'le had still chosen to save her.

As they remained in each other's arms, Nia'le finally spoke.

His voice trembled with weakness as he explained what had happened.

Before Tassa had taken the stone from him, he had secretly removed a small gem hidden at its center. The stone itself was only a vessel. The real source of power was the gem inside it.

According to Nia'le, the gem had the ability to absorb enormous amounts of energy. However, it required someone strong enough to contain that power. Without a suitable holder, the energy would slowly consume and destroy whoever carried it.

That was exactly what had happened to him.

The sealing spell's power had been absorbed by the gem, and Nia'le had become the one carrying the burden.

His revelation made Tassa finally understand the true danger of their mission and the sacrifice he had made without telling her.

What neither Nia'le nor Tassa knew was that Ayamani had his own hidden motives from the very beginning.

Although he had entrusted the gem to Nia'le, it wasn't only because Tassa couldn't handle its power.

Ayamani had secretly planned to eliminate Nia'le within the dangerous realm of the Wring Righ.

In his mind, removing Nia'le would ensure the safety of both Tassa and the unconscious girl. His devotion to Quart's well-being often pushed him to make difficult choices, no matter the cost.

As Nia'le's body continued to decay, Ayamani watched from afar with surprise and mild amusement.

Despite the destruction spreading through nearly half of his body, Nia'le was still breathing.

"What a cockroach," Ayamani muttered.

Nia'le's stubborn determination to survive forced Ayamani to reconsider his plans.

Against all expectations, Nia'le had endured.

Recognizing this, Ayamani made a calculated decision.

With a wave of his hand, he used his powers to heal Nia'le's decaying body, reversing the damage caused by the sealing spell. Flesh and bone were restored, and the destruction gradually disappeared.

Nia'le would live to see another day.

Then, in an unexpected turn of events, Ayamani chose to bring all three of them back to the real world.

As always, his true intentions remained hidden behind a calm and unreadable expression, leaving everyone uncertain of what he was really planning.