Volume 3 Chapter 21 Armageddon

Chapter 21 Armageddon

I

The Armageddon between Fungruus and the four had begun.

Concentrating herself, Aisling summoned a spheric spore bolt and channelled her power into it. The spore bolt grew larger and larger as Aisling channelled the magical power. After several seconds, this spore bolt had grew even large than her herself.

With full strength, she threw this spore bolt towards Fungruus. Since the spore bolt was rather gigantic, it would be impossible for Fungruus to dodge it.

Fungruus didn’t try to dodge. Instead, he summoned an enormous lightning bolt too and tossed it towards Aisling. Fungruus’ lightning bolt and Aisling’s spore bolt collided with each other in mid-air. Those two energetic bolt were trying to absorb and break each other, but none of them were powerful enough to destroy the other thoroughly.

With a battle cry, Aisling released green gases and charged her spore bolt with it, while Fungruus released electrical energy to charge his lightning bolt.

“You won’t win!” smirked Fungruus. The four pillars of Air Elementium were transmitting power into Fungruus’ body too. Charged by the four pillars, Fungruus was nearly invincible and Aisling was no match for him.

Soon, Fungruus’ lighting bolt consumed Aisling’s spore bolt and continued shooting towards Aisling.

Boom! The lightning bolt exploded and sent Aisling hurtling into the sky. With a perfect parabola, Aisling hit the wall. She was moaning because several of her bones had been broken by the impact.

Floria shot a stream of arrows towards Fungruus while Yanni tossed the stellarite shield towards him. Fungruus conjured a howling tornado. When the arrows and the shield touched the tornado, they were sucked into it.

With a finger snap, the tornado disappeared and because of the centrifugal force, the arrows and the shield shot back towards the siblings.

“Watch out!” shouted Yanni. He hugged his sister and protected her with his back. All the arrows pierced into Yanni’s back and now he looked like a hedgehog with those arrows stuck in his back.

While Fungruus was struggling with Floria and Yanni, Stasha paced up behind Fungruus sneakily and stabbed his kidney with her stellarite dagger.

Fungruus turned back and stared at Stasha. Gathering her courage, Stasha continued slashing towards Fungruus with her daggers. However, Fungruus was as fast as wind and he could move like a flash of lightning.

Every strike of Stasha missed him, and finally, Fungruus knocked her to the ground with chain lightning.

Stroke by Fungruus’ deadly lighting, Stasha’s muscles were trembling, She staggered to her feet weakly, the daggers still held in her hand. The mantras on the surface of the four pillars were glowing fluorescently.

Manifested into electrical particles, energy was flowing out of the four pillars and streamed into Fungruus’ body. He held out his hand, which was glowing with nightmarish white light. He wanted to give Stasha his last strike and finish her once and for all.

Floria loaded her bow and shot a supersonic arrow, which pierced into one of the four pillars built with air elementium. The pillar exploded, and moaning in pain, Fungruus was also affected by the explosion. Floria continued shooting arrows and within seconds she broke all the pillars.

Aisling was healing Yanni right now. After Yanni recovered, Aisling had run out of mana for now.

Fungruus stared at the four. He was panting in fatigue. This most powerful man in the world began to fear. He might be defeated today for the first time in his life.

Roaring madly, Fungruus summoned a chain lighting again, but it was parried by Yanni with his stellarite shield which absorbed all the energy within the lightning.

Again, Floria shot a stream of arrows towards Fungruus. The arrows blasted his genie-like elementalical form into pieces and forced him to transform back to normal human form.

“No, no, no! It’s impossible!” screamed Fungruus.

He pressed a button on his throne and the throne was opened like a chest, hidden inside which was Cuore Celeste, the entrance to the dimension which lay the town of high elves and the Sanctum of Life.

Some purple particles of light began to flow out of the edge of the platform where lay Fungruus’ throne and they gathered into an overpass that led to a door on the wall. Holding Cuore Celeste in his hand, Fungruus ran towards that door and went through it.

Chasing Fungruus, the four entered that door too, behind which was a mysterious room with a elementalical elevator at its centre. Fungruus dashed into the elementalical elevator, and following him, the four stormed into the elementalical elevator too.

“Give the gemstone back to us! You have lost!” commanded Floria.

“No, I haven’t lost,” Fungruus looked at the watch on his wrist.

“Why?” demanded Floria.

“Because today is the day when Trigon would rise. In the ancient times, Trigon was sealed by the titanesses, but after that, he has been accumulating strength and all the believers of Trigon know that he will break the seal and return to this earth one day … According to his own prediction, that day is today,” sneezed Fungruus scornfully.

“What? Trigon will break the seal today?” exclaimed Aisling.

After Captain Mar read the Book of Trigon, the four knew that this demonic entity will break the seal of titanesses and return to the surface of the world one day … However, they didn’t know that day was actually today.

“Yep … It is 0:01 A.M. now. I have protected Cuore Celeste successfully. I’ve accomplished the mission of guarding the gemstone and stopping Aisling from entering the Sanctum of Life to carry the ritual of purification before the ascension of Trigon. I cannot kill you four, but Trigon can, since his power is far beyond your pathetic comprehension,” scoffed Fungruus.

The elementalical elevator went downwards quickly, and when those words of Fungruus were finished, the elevator had already arrived the mantle of the earth. Slowly, the door of the elementalical elevator opened, outside of which was an underground space hidden in earth’s mantle.

Inside the underground space lay an ominous pond filled with some sort of black liquid-like material. Aisling began to feel headache. She knew that the black pond was something evil.

“Welcome, Normanians,” greeted one voice, which seemed to come from that black pond.

Fungruus ran to the front of the black pond, holding the gemstone tight in his hand.

“Who are you?,” questioned Floria.

“I am Trigon … You four are smart and you must have already heard about my name,” answered that voice.

“This pond must be the upper end of one of your tentacles, while your main body is parasitic in earth’s core,” guessed Stasha.

“Bingo, you’re a clever girl … Today, I will break the seal of titanesses and bring a new era to the civilization of humans. I don’t know why you’re always trying to stop me. I can provide more necrovirus, machinite and elementium for you humans. Without those things, there will be no real civilization and you humans will always live in a primitive status,” sighed Trigon, his nightmarish voice coming out from the black pond.

“Those things will break the balance of the nature and ruin this earth!” argued Floria.

“You cannot imagine what will happen if there’s no civilization on this earth. The world will be like a bloody hell. You four are too young to understand humanity. The world is not corrupted by me. Instead, it is corrupted by humans themselves and I am in fact a saviour you mankind. Anyway, you four are too stubborn to persuade,” smirked Trigon.

The underground space began to shake drastically. The black pond was surging, and the black material that composed it was reaching out of the pond and gathering into a gigantic tentacle.

Fungruus was laughing madly. Aisling summoned a strip of vine to entangle Cuore Celeste which Fungruus was holding. With a pull, the gemstone flied back to Aisling’s hand. Floria shot an arrow that pierced through his throat. With a scream, Fungruus fell to the ground and died.

“I’ve taken back Cuore Celeste!” announced Aisling.

“No!” roared Trigon.

Though Aisling had retrieved Cuore Celeste, she could not summon the portal to enter Cuore Celeste, because she was too weak right now after that fight with Fungruus.

Desperately, the tentacle of trigon was chasing them. He had to kill Aisling because she had the power to summon the Rain of Regrowth, the only thing in this world that could possibly kill him.

The tentacle was wiggling through the tunnel like a giant nauseating worm, Quickly, the four stormed into the elevator and pulled the lever inside it. The elevator went up while Trigon was stopped by the seal set by the titanesses.

Though Trigon had gotten the power to destroy the seal, breaking through it would take some time.

The elevator ascended all the way back to the Palace of Fungruus.

“Where is Fungruus now? Where is my king?” asked Djoulia worriedly when she saw the four.

“Your king is dead. You’re free now!” revealed Yanni.

“No! No!” cried Djoulia hysterically. She jumped off the platform where lay the throne, and when she kissed the ground, she shattered into pieces and died like minced meat.

Djoulia was a pitiful girl, but the four had no time to mourn for her.

Quickly, the four left the palace.

“I am too weak to open the portal right now, I need to find a place to take a rest and recover my mana,” whispered Aisling.

“Let’s leave this city. It will be hard for Trigon to find us in the wilderness,” proposed Floria.

II

Fungruus had died and his soul had faded. However, his task had been accomplished. Trigon had risen, and if he could kill Aisling in time, nothing on this earth would be able to stop him anymore.

The balance of this world would be filed with the secretion of Trigon if he was not stopped: necrovirus, machinite, and elementium would fill the world.

Necrovirus could help human evolve and cure diseases, but it would pollute the greenness of this world irreversibly; machinite could help people build machines to help themselves, but it would also replace the essential parts of humans’ souls; elementium could make the lives more convenient, but it would also bring war, destruction and violence.

If Trigon won, the balance of this world would be broken once and for all and a brand new era was coming, which would be full of uncertainty.

Tentacles of Trigon were reaching out of the surface of the world. They were appearing in every corner of the earth. They looked like black pillars which cut into the sky. Some of them were even higher than the clouds.

Eyeball-like organs grew out on the upper end of the tentacles. They were scanning the whole world in order to find Aisling and kill her.

Seen from the outer space, the earth right now looked like a blue ball with black wriggling fur. After epochs, Trigon took over this world once again. He and the earth would finally merge into one. He would finally be a part of the order of this world.

With the help of Trigon, humans would evolve, became his royal servants after this and helped him to assimilate the whole universe, and those universes beyond this universe. No one would believe in the Holy Light anymore, because Trigon had risen.

Right now, in Singreum, people were singing songs to worship their new omnipotent ruler.

Elementium used to be rare material, but now, Trigon could nearly create infinite elementium for them, because elementium was like his sweat … He could also create more necrovirus and machinite. There would be countless people like Master Mortis and Achnosiris in the future …

III

Yanni, Aisling and Floria were hiding inside a crypt of an abandoned church at an abandoned village near Singreum. It was in the wee hours right now. Everything was dark, and Trigon had risen, whose tentacles had reached out to the surface of the earth.

Trigon could not see through the wall and if they hid indoor, Trigon might not find them. However, if they kept staying in this crypt forever, they would be starved to death, because the foods in Aisling’s Pocket Dimension was running out.

Anyway, they were eating a dinner right now.

This was Aisling’s last dinner. After she recovered her mana, she would travel to the dimension of the Sanctum of Life, and sacrifice herself to carry out the altar of the Rain of Regrowth.

She was the first to finish the dinner. Affectionately, She looked at her friend but she didn’t say anything.

“Aisling, I will miss you …” whispered Yanni.

Aisling nodded, her eyes were swelling with tears.

“I’m so happy to have you. My life could have been like a hell, because I hate humans and I am also cruel enough to kill human. I … My whole life …” Aisling couldn’t hold up her tears. She buried her head into Yanni’s arm.

Tenderly, Yanni caressed Aisling’s arm to calm her down.

“If there were afterlives. I wish we could be … a family. A real family. I want to be a human, just like you three. You humans are a great race because you never stop exploring and you always dare to create new things. Though you humans have broken the balance of this world, you are still a great race …” sobbed Aisling.

“We’re already a family,” Yanni smiled.

“No, I mean a real one. I could marry you and we could be like … like a normal couple,” muttered Aisling, flushing.

“Yeah, I know,” Yanni stroked Aisling’s azure hair tenderly.

Yanni gave Aisling a last kiss. This kiss was sweet but sorrowful.

Stasha leaned her head on Floria’s shoulder.

“I hate this ending. I wish Aisling could always be with us,” murmured Stasha.

The dawn was coming and the sun was rising, but the sunlight wouldn’t dispel the shadowiness brought by Trigon. Even the titanesses failed to defeat Trigon … The only thing that could stop him right now was the Rain of Regrowth, and the only one who could defeat Trigon was now crying in Yanni’s arm.

Soon, her tears dried up …

Staggering up to her feet, she began to channel the power of magic.

After the dinner, she had regained the mana to open the portal towards the dimension of Cuore Celeste, inside which lay the Sanctum of Life.

“I guess it’s time to say goodbye,” Aisling smiled heartedly.

Affectionately, she gave Floria a hug too.

“You’re like a younger sister to us,” muttered Floria.

“I know. Floria … Never be afraid to express your love,” whispered Aisling. Floria nodded her head. She knew what Aisling meant.

Then, she then hugged Stasha.

“I will never forget you, Aisling,” murmured Stasha, trying her best not to let her tear fall.

Aisling nodded.

Finally, she hugged Yanni.

“We would meet each other once again if there were afterlife,” breathed Aisling.

“I know,” Yanni nodded, trying his best to hold back his tear.

“I will never leave you, Yanni. I will be the Rain of Life and I will …. I will be the clouds, the wind, the tress, the grasses, the blossoming flowers … I will merge into one with the nature and the wilderness … When you see the stars at night, you will think about me, because I’ll be there too … I will be everywhere inside the order of this cosmos,” whispered Aisling.

This was the longest hug in Aisling’s life. She had been afraid of separation since she was very young. However, separation was inevitable sometimes.

Sacrificing for the purification of this world was her destiny, which she couldn’t change.

She put her hand on the surface of Cuore Celeste. The gemstone was cold …

Charged by Aisling, the gemstone began to glow with fluorescent light, and the portal appeared, manifesting into a rainbow that cut up into the sky. Finally, this abandoned church was illuminated by the Holy Light once again …

Without turning back, Aisling walked into the portal and disappeared.

It was happening so fast.

They would never see Aisling in the future. She had gone forever …

Floria put her arm around Yanni’s shoulder.