Edna’s foot stamped down on Gula’s spine.
Slam!
Gula’s face dug into the dirt so far that there was more of him in it than out. However, a single foot-stomping was the least of Gula’s concerns. As he tried to escape, Gula felt a punch attempt to snap his spine in two.
SLAM!
The resounding force behind the punch nearly knocked Gula unconscious as a small basin formed from Edna’s power.
Slam!
Slam!
Slam!
…
The buildings of the goblin settlement crumbled with each thunderous strike as the basin around Gula grew deeper and wider.
Deeper and wider.
Deeper. And. Wider.
Crunch!
Finally, a satisfying bone-tingling snap was heard as Gula’s body crumbled underneath Edna’s furious punches. However, Gula’s misery wasn’t finished.
SLAM!
The previous earthen scar widened as Gula’s body tore into the ground.
SLAM!
A few more strikes made it so Gula wouldn’t stand for a long time.
SLAM!
Whew.
The final blow was paired with Edna’s light exhale of air. She raised the broken, unconscious Gula and threw him into a cloud of opaque white fog she casually conjured. The foggy prison was a unique barrier preventing anything from dust to water-escaping magic from getting inside.
Sigh.
“I liked this part of the island. Now it’s going to have a basin in it.”
As ocean water trickled in, Edna floated out. In the future, Her island-altering strikes would naturally form a large reef.
A small group attempted to catch their breath on the basin's edge. It had taken all their speed to escape, and, thankfully, the goblins were transported away, or they wouldn’t have had the small group’s luxurious regrouping time.
Pat.
Circe fell to the ground as she unloaded Novus and complained to the approaching Edna.
“Seriously, sis. Could you give us a warning when you thrash them? Do you remember the code we used to use as kids?”
Edna’s feet lightly stirred the dust around her as she landed beside Circe. Her eyes scanned the area, and she didn’t respond. Instead, Edna tried to adjust to the odd clarity, enhancing her vision. It felt surreal, even to a legend like herself.
She could see the tiny details of her sister’s rapidly recovering black wounds, Garbal’s focused eyes as he treated Circe, and Goibhniu’s faint but steady breaths. Off to the side was the little runt that nearly had her killed and an unknown young man lying not too far away with his white-knuckled hands and unfocused eyes.
However, Edna couldn’t see Mercury.
“No, no…”
Edna’s hearing caught Novus’ mumblings, and she was almost convinced he was still delusional. However, given his condition, it seemed appropriate.
Novus had multiple bloodstains across his torn body. Mostly scratches and bruises from his impact with the wall and some crumbling stones. But the most striking wounds were the tearstains across his cheeks.
Edna nudged Novus unto his back with her foot, and he squeezed in and out of pain. A brief pang of sympathy caused Edna to distract her search.
It… It wasn’t his fault.
Edna looked at the healthy Garbal now treating Goibhniu’s injuries and shook her head.
“Damnit, fine.”
The ring on Edna’s hand flashed as a familiar purple potion appeared in her hand.
Uncorking the potion, the refreshing scent it wafted out caused Goibhniu’s nostrils to expand as he felt his injuries throb in desire.
Edna forcefully lifted Novus’ head and poured a few drops of the potion down Novus’ throat. She had already used up more than 50% on the fake Garbal, and the potion was quite potent. A few drops would suffice.
Cough! Cough! Cough.
Novus had trouble breathing and drinking for a moment, but all of it settled as his eyes shot open.
I could feel my jaw being wrenched open. The firm hand pulled my neck as a few drops burned down my throat.
The violent spasming coughs wanted to force the heat out, but it travelled inwards as an oppressive heat encompassed my entire body. My lungs no longer greedily gulped air, the aching pains down my back dulled, and my legs and arms were regaining feeling as pins and needles stabbed into my skin. Finally, my headache lessened with each empowering heartbeat.
I tried to lift my eyelids, but they resisted. They didn’t want me to see what lay beyond them.
But I had to see.
I battled the feeling as my eyelids receded and my eyes focused too soon.
Edna.
A pang of guilt stabbed my heart, but why?
Her sharp eyes looked at me before pulling upwards into the sky.
Thud.
My head spasmed back against the ground as Edna’s hands no longer held my head up.
My eyelids threatened to cover my vision as I scrambled to my feet unsuccessfully. My arm slipped, and I fell onto my back.
The pain was negligible, I had undoubtedly felt worse, but that was the thing about pain. I could never eliminate it, only resist it.
My ears buzzed as Edna or something else tried to talk.
I forced my eyelids back and followed Edna to where she was facing.
When I blinked, the scenery changed.
No!
I shook my head as the mental knots tightened.
This isn’t real!
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t in my room anymore. Instead, I was back watching Edna's mouth move.
At first, it wasn’t easy to place. The shapes weren’t distinguishing themselves until I tried to see them.
Two people, no. Three people.
Suddenly, a voice cut through the mumblings.
“We may not have killed you, Edna, but we found someone who can. Thanks to that brat by your feet.”
Huh?
A voice rang out that I recognized more clearly. After all, I had already heard it multiple times. It was Solace’s voice.
《 Congratulations! You have finished the quest Helping Others. Your mental state will now be recovered. 》
That was strange; usually, it would be a system message.
Abruptly, my senses sharpened like when I was first transported to the church.
The voices weren’t talking; they were shouting. The remnants of the liquid drops sweetened the blood on my tongue. The dirt in my hands was wet, most likely with my blood.
What finished me was my sight.
I thought it was the nightmare delusion again, but the vision remained even when I yanked my eyelids repeatedly.
No, it can’t be like this. It can’t be happening again.
My eyes no longer blinked; they forced me to see what was in the sky.
“Mercury. Gula.”
My voice was barely a whisper, but the tone was undoubtedly vengeful.
Mercury’s shoes shifted in shadows, and his butler attire was wrinkled from carrying Gula over one shoulder and another figure on his other shoulder.
I didn’t place the other figure right away, but I saw it when Mercury triumphantly turned a bit more.
I saw her.
Her flowing ochre hair was swaying with dirt caked inside, her pointed jaw, her calm fluttering eyelashes with light crescent eyebrows, her beady little nose above soft persimmon lips. Her blush was replaced with blotches of dried blood on her face, and her skin seemed dirtier than I remembered. But it was her.
It was Adrianne.
Suddenly, the heat from earlier spurred something inside me. A new heat blossomed, one that was callous. It ignited my rippling blood as my heartbeat took over my ears. The flaming butterflies spinning around my stomach made me want to vomit, but I wouldn’t let it. My head was an oven of thoughts as I waded against the callous fires burning inside me.
“Give her back.”
However, Mercury didn’t even turn to look my way as he tossed her into a spinning shadow opening in the air.
That only instilled the heat’s frenzy into my boiling blood.
My hands clenched the dirt as my feet stood tall below me.
Whoosh!
I could feel the sensation of crimson, flaming wings sprout behind me.
Finally, Mercury looked in my direction. He tossed Gula into the same shadowy vortex as he looked at me like an exciting pet at the city zoo.
It was a look that really pissed me off.
I could feel the heat travel to my mana core as it set it aflame. Then, suddenly, a rush of heated mana blazed into my body and caused the flaming wings behind me to grow darker.
My senses sharpened further as I saw the ambient mana around me.
I raised my hand into the air and concentrated my body’s pulsating mana. I didn’t care how, but any atmospheric mana nearby rushed to collect inside my extended hand too.
It was so hot that it burned the newly recovered skin.
The first degree of burning sent stings of pain consumed by the burning rage pulsating in my system.
The second degree of burning sent my nerves reeling as jolted pains shook the foundation of callous heat, clouding my better judgment. It alternated between hot and cold as my nerves broke down and the callous heat triumphed.
I could no longer feel my hand by the third, maybe the fourth degree of burning. But I didn’t care. I would do anything I could to burn Mercury to cinders.
Iron Rank Spell Fireball!
The flames licked the air as meters of fire collected above me into a sphere reminiscent of the sun. However, it wasn’t everything that I could muster.
The flaming wings maintaining my aerial charge towards Mercury turned back into their most familiar form.
A crimson ring.
The ring circled the orb of flames as I threw it towards Mercury.
ROAR!!!
A majestic roar rang out as the crimson ring swallowed the fireball and breathed it out like a dragon’s maw, unleashing its fiery blaze upon its enemy.
I watched while I fell back, and Mercury raised his hand towards the draconic fireball. As Mercury closed his hand, the fireball dragged faster towards him and began to shrink. From a few meters in diameter, the fireball shrunk to the size of a golf ball that twirled around Mercury’s fingers like a play toy.
Mercury’s eyes looked down on me.
“Novus, huh? Don’t worry. We’ll take special care of your friend.”
Mercury couldn’t hear my response, but Edna, who carried me with the surrounding wind, heard me.
“Explode.”
The golf ball of flames dancing along Mercury’s fingers fluctuated as the fire burned the tip of his finger. Finally, Mercury’s eyes sunk as both Circe’s scythe and Goibhniu’s warhammer broke through his shielding magic.
Take that.
I smiled bitterly as my eyelids took over the last sight of Mercury escaping into the shadowy vortex surrounded by Edna’s white fog. Before the gnawing drowsiness took over, I could feel the dawning light of Phoebus radiating against my skin.
It felt resplendent.
