"So now I'm getting schooled by another member of the Starfall family.," He laughed softly, as he shifted his gaze to the sky.
"Levi Starfall... I wonder what could have caused such pain hiding behind the eyes of a child..."
"I wonder too," a gentle voice came from behind Reinhart.
He turned his head slowly to see Lian standing behind him with a smile that brightly contrasted the chaos happening around them.
"So that's the kid Zenon brought in..." She muttered, gesturing towards Levi with her palm wide open.
She raised her other hand towards the direction of Layla and the rest who were kneeling in agony.
"Sorry, but I can't be gentle right now," she said in an exhausted tone.
She waved her hands to the direction of the other students, flinging Layla and Riley into the barrier the students were enclosed in, and Levi back into the purple barrier where his friends were.
Seeing Levi crashing down, Kyle placed his hands out, catching him and setting him down.
"Okay please, that's enough risk taking for today," Kyle exhaled heavily. "What if he ripped you to pieces?"
"He might be exhausted as hell right now, but to him, we're just pieces of paper, regardless," he added, gesturing towards the three of them.
"True but..." Levi responded, trailing off as if interrupted by a sentimental thought. "There was no way I could've ignored that look... Otherwise, I'd be no different from them." He shifted his gaze to the ground.
"Them?" Kyle and Violet looked at him, confused.
They didn't understand his words and it looked like he was talking to someone else rather than them. It looked like he was talking to himself.
"What a pain," Violet sighed. "At least it Worked out fine."
"But there's still one problem," she turned to look at Kai who was still silent and on his knees. "He hasn't disabled Omega Genesis... Meaning we're still in trouble."
The atmosphere was now completely quiet, everyone's attention focused on Lian, Reinhart, and Kai.
The rest of the students and Layla were too far back to hear what they were saying, but Levi and his friends were barely able to make out their words.
"Don't you think you've done it long enough?" Lian asked, looking down at Reinhart. "How long are you going to keep blaming yourself."
"I was there too, you know..."
Reinhart's eyes widened slightly. He knew Lian's words were hinting at her presence at the S rank mission. But he didn't recall such. All he remembered was an explosion and losing consciousness.
When he woke up, he was back on Astrovia as the only survivor. But now, Lian's words were contradicting that memory.
She saw the look on his face and shook her head. "So you really don't remember..."
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"I fucking knew it," she sighed, letting out a chuckle. "But you wouldn't let me talk to you all this time. You wouldn't let anyone..."
"I don't know about Leo, but Zack... I remember him too." She shifted her gaze to Kai. "You were reluctant to try it, but he begged you. He said something about wanting to keep his little brother safe."
"We all begged you to try it."
"And I..." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "The supposed barrier master who was meant to protect, failed."
"But even then, amid the chaos, you still saved me from the explosion."
"HQ believed I was the one who brought us back but they were wrong. In the end, it was you."
Lian clenched her fist as the tears began to rush out.
It wasn't the first time Reinhart had saved her. Back when she was still a B Ranked, she was trapped in hell after failing a mission. The person who saved her from the predicament by facing 30 hell guardians was non other than Reinhart.
This event marked the beginning of the title "King of Hell" and also Lian's admiration for Reinhart. An emotion she later discovered was more than what she thought it was.
This was Lian's main drive behind working hard and becoming an A Rank. So she could protect Reinhart too. But yet again, she ended up being protected.
"You always place the burden on yourself." Lian continued to speak, finally recovering her voice. "And here you are, blaming yourself for it all, when this is our sin."
Don't you think that's selfish of you?" She chuckled.
"Reinhart... Please, trust me. I know you can do it."
Reinhart could not find the words to respond but he knew what she meant.
"But..." he clenched his fist. "What if i—"
"Just trust me this time Reinhart," Lian cut him off. "It'll be difficult, but I can protect us all, so don't be afraid."
Hearing Lian's words, Reinhart surrendered, shifting his gaze back to Kai.
"I'm sorry..." He muttered. "If only I had been stronger and better, maybe they'd still be here."
Hearing his words, Kai's eyes widened and tears began to stream out. "Why'd it take you so long to say it?" He sobbed. "Took you damn long enough..."
It was at that moment Kai himself realized, that deep down all he wanted was an apology.
All he wanted was to see someone take responsibility. Even though he knew it wasn't really Reinhart's fault.
"Starfall," turned back, matching gazes with Levi. "One day you'd have to make a choice between saving the people of this world or this world itself..."
She smiled gently like a mother bidding farewell. "Please make the right choice..."
Suddenly, Reinhart's hair lit up taking on a golden white glow.
He looked like a man who was drunk on power and freedom. No one could sense the energy coming from him anymore, for it was something far above them. Something that existed on another plane.
The power now flowing from Reinhart was Aether.
It was like he had zero mana left in him. Yet, they were all aware that he was now more powerful than ever. Rather than sensing it, they could feel it.
Reinhart raised his fist, clenching it, and right before everyone's eyes, Kai's world began to burn.
At first glance it looked like it was being destroyed, but it was only something else. Reinhart was altering it.
Omega Genesis created what looked like a world, but it was simply just the mage's energy being moulded into that form, thus, the objects and beings that existed in that world lacked the true essence of life.
What Reinhart was doing was creating a world of his own. A world which posseses the true essence of life, as a preparation for his final attack.
A powerful spell passed down in his family, said to only be used by sun god slayers.
Ragnarok.
In order to use Ragnarok at its full potential, two things were needed; Solar energy, and Stellar energy.
In Kai's world, the suns and stars were simply objects moulded to resemble them, with his mana. In Reinhart's modification, it was different.
While he didn't have enough stamina—due to his fight with Kai—to utilize the energy to recreate everything in Kai's world and make it his, he had enough to alter the suns and stars, thereby laying the foundation for Ragnarok.
Reinhart's preparation became complete.
He looked back at the students and smiled. "Sorry you had to go through this..."
"If only we were better adults..."
And with that, a bright flash followed and everything vanished.
They all found themselves back within the walls of their prestigious school. The other students and teachers left behind immediately noticed them but their eyes were also met by a sight that made them hesitate from approaching them.
The others from the island noticed the look on their faces and all turned to see what was behind them. A man with bright white hair, covered in injuries—while bleeding heavily— was walking towards them.
In his arms was a woman with long hair, and skin visibly burnt, almost beyond recognition. It was Reinhart carrying Lian in his arms. As he got closer to them, he stopped moving and fell to his knees.
"I won... I protected them," Tears rolled down Reinhart's cheeks as his eyes closed slowly. "But why does victory... feel so sad."
Upon seeing this, the students burst into screams and tears. The adults gritted their teeth and closed their eyes trying to maintain their composure.
It was finally over. The king was victorious. The battle was won, but the war was lost.
Karma