Chapter 53: Crack.

The rest of the squad lay their gaze on Nesto after witnessing what just happened with Melud, the silver-haired man looks at them and say: "Continue to the other half of the wall, we need to gain control of the battlement."

As quick as the wind, the entire squad leaves this battlement and jump across onto another one. Beneath them, knights and soldiers clash with one another in a messy fight, but suddenly that cluster of elves was broken by a tall large cyclops woman. She had rammed through the cluster of knights, pushing away anything that blocks her path and making room for her allied to come through.

The fight had moved from the small breach on to the open clearing at the other side of the wall inside Weyshers territory.

Even with a small win, Nesto shakes his head in disappointment, not at Melud because he had killed an elf, but at himself. He doesn't want the young man to experience that kind of terrible actions. He cursed himself while his grip tightens around his wooden staff.

"You know it's inevitable, either his friend dies or the archer dies first. I would say he did a good job choosing," words float from behind Nesto, accompanied by a chuckle.

"Folmon..." Nesto mutters.

"Silver flame, it's a pleasure," Folmon said.

Nesto turns around and surprises to see a blindfold with a large eye symbol wrap around his head.

"What happens to your eyes?" Nesto ask.

"You didn't remember? You did this to me... after that blinding light, I was unable to see anything, but I didn't let it discourage me. I ask one of caster in Weyshers to find a way for me to see again, and they grant me this blindfold. I can finally see better than ever," Folmon said.

There a small sense of guilt attaches itself to Nesto's heart.

"Now, where did we left off?" Folmon said, and takes out two daggers from his leather belt.

Folmon can be seen muttering something under his breath that causes a dark mist to swirl around both of his arms, this dark mist was the same as the mist that stings whenever Nesto touch it, but this was more potent than before, and heat can be felt coming from it.

"I open the first gate 'Firio'," Nesto mutters under his breath.

As always the feeling of burning liquid metal surge throughout his body, he takes a few breaths in while closing his eyes, and adjusts himself to the pain. He looks back at the magic caster in front of him, then he twirls his wooden staff and stops when it points toward the elf.

Nesto rush first toward Folmon, so do Folmon, but when they about to clash a human-sized hole appear in front of Nesto causing him to stop on his track. When the hole disappears, Folmon was nowhere to be seen.

Nesto looks behind him, then beside him, trying to search for the elf. The hair on the back of his neck rise causing him to look up and spot the elf far above him. Folmon ready his daggers as he starts to gather speed from falling in great height.

"Incernium" Nesto tosses a fireball at the falling elf.

But the fireball missed suddenly when it enters a hole in front of Folmon, the elf enters the hole on the opposite side; both the fireball and the elf were missing from sight.

A hole appears beside Nesto and pops the fireball that he tossed, Nesto easily avoids the fireball, but what he didn't manage to avoid was a slash coming from behind him. The elf had opened two holes on his right side and behind him.

The man let out a grunt as he felt the dagger cut through a bit of his skin, and felt a burning sensation from his wound. Nesto turn his body and swing his wooden staff, the stick was blocked by Folmon's gauntlet, it didn't do enough damage, but it is enough to cause him to be nudged to the right.

Nesto kept on hitting both sides of Folmon's gauntlets with his wooden staff, the attack kept the elf on the bay and disrupting any attack that he could land on the man. But the elf wasn't discouraged by the attack instead he kicks Nesto in the chest causing him to back away.

Nesto digs his heel preventing himself from going further backward, and he then spits out a bit of blood mix with black substance from his mouth onto the battlement.

"Come on, Silver flame. I know you are holding back..." Folmon said as he felt disappointed by Nesto's performance.

"I'm not... killing you," Nesto said while his breath hastens.

"I don't want you to kill me. I want you to lash out... I want to see what kind of monsters that kill my brother," Folmon said.

"Then after I see what kind of monster that kill my brother, I'm going to cut you down," Folmon taunt.

"I won't do it," Nesto replied.

"If you won't do it, then maybe I can find a way to make you lash out. Starting with that little girl down there," Folmon said as he let out an evil grin.

Nesto looks down at the battlefield and surprise to see Neya running around down there while helping injured people. Vel was supposed to keep her far away from here, he cursed himself. His grip begins to tighten around his wooden staff as he glares at the elf.

"Finally," Folmon said, please at himself as the taunt works.

Nesto charges forward with speed while his wooden staff is ready in his hand. Folmon sees the incoming raging man, and he tossed both daggers at the man then take out another pair of daggers. The silver-haired man avoids the incoming daggers and kept on charging forward. Eventually, both of them clash as the man swing his wooden staff with efficiency while the elf blocks his attack with his gauntlets and daggers.

Nesto is relentless with his attacks, but every swing he made, the elf managed to land a few burning cuts on his body. He can see the elf mutters something under his breath, and then he back away into his portal while a massive portal appears in the sky above Nesto.

"I open the second gate 'Lagio'," Nesto mutters while he looks up at the portal.

A large chunk of dirt the size of a wagon came out from the hole and falls straight at him.

Nesto cast "Incernium."

A fiery spear tip grows itself on the top end of the wooden staff then he used the spear to slice the chunk of dirt in half with ease. The split chuck of dirt misses the wall and lands on the ground at both sides of the wall. He quickly turns his body along with his fiery spear and lay a small cut on Folmon's cheek while the elf run passes by him out of nowhere.

Although Nesto manages to leave a scratch on the elf face, Folmon was able to leave a cut on Nesto's shoulder with his dagger. The silver-haired man cast fireball at the elf in which he avoids it barely then Nesto charges at him with his fiery spear.

The elf kicks the spear away and points the dagger at the man neck. Nesto barely avoids the dagger, but he pushes forward after losing his spear. The dagger drags its edges against the skin on Nesto's neck, and he felt the burning sensation on his neck. The cut was painful, but not damaging as it seems.

When Nesto's head is close to Folmon's, he slams his forehead onto the enemy forehead causing Folmon to clench his teeth in pain and overwhelm by dizziness. The silver-haired man took the opportunity to slip his foot behind the elf's heel and pull it.

Folmon loses his footing in which cause him to fall on his back after letting go of his daggers, Nesto kicks the daggers away, and reach for his fiery spears. With clench teeth and a bleeding cut on his throat, he glared at the unarmed elf while aiming his fiery spear at the elf neck.

"Do it! You Monster!" Folmon let out a smile as he taunts the man.

Nesto screams his rage out and lifts his fiery spear then bring it down with fits of anger. Folmon laid his gaze on the man, waiting for the inevitable, but it didn't come as the fiery tip extinguish itself, and the wooden staff hit the stone slab beside Folmon's head.

"Enough!" Nesto scream.

"I won't do it!" Nesto stressed.

"Coward..." Folmon spits at the floor beside him.

"I am... a coward," Nesto said while anger completely disappears from his face and was replaced by a sorrowful look.

"I remember your brother now, he was one of the enemy soldiers on the day that my dearest Eilna died. I remember his dying face, not just him, but all of them after I met a little girl who was affected by my own actions," Nesto said.

"I am a coward because I'm afraid if I kill someone, someone else will be affected by that death. He or she would try to seek revenge then after killing me someone who is close to me will try to seek her revenge, and the circle of killing continues. When will it stops?" Nesto continues.

"I don't have anyone that will seek revenge for me. So why won't you do it?" Folmon ask.

"You know it isn't true, there is someone in your life will... come after my head," Nesto said.

"I'm sorry for killing your brother, I really do. If I had all the time in the world, I would search everyone one of the victim family and apologizes," Nesto apologizes as a tear drip on Folmon's face.

The silver-haired man pulls his staff away and backs away from the laying elf. Folmon felt the sincerity from the man words, he doesn't want to admit it, but this man is not the monster that he wants to fight.

This man is just that; 'A grieving man'.

"I always thought that my life goals were to kill you or be killed by you, but how can I achieve that when I'm not even able to defeat him, and my enemy doesn't want to finish me," Folmon said.

"Your goals in life is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my entire life," Nesto chuckles, as he leans his waist on the battlement.

"Truth be told when I heard it come out from my mouth, It sounds stupids... but there are no other choices, we are at war. Killing is inevitable," Folmon said.

Nesto smiles at that statement, as he remembers a particular young ginger-haired girl once told him the exact opposite "There are always other choices, you don't see it yet, but I think I can," Nesto said.

"How?" Folmon ask.

"Retreat your men and I will retreat my men. We don't have to fight, we can settle this just by talking... besides we already lost so many today because of this war alone," Nesto said.

"I don't even think it can work, but hearing it from you." Folmon stands up and stretches his neck.

"I think it's possible," Folmon said.

While they were talking, both sides launch a ball of magic into the air in which explodes into a bright light. Both the man looks at the light with surprise and confusion in their eyes.

"That was quick, I didn't even need to shoot my own retreat signal," Folmon said.

"So do I... Somethings wrong, go back to your side," Nesto said, and hear the elf jump down from the battlement.

At the distance, above the mountain, a fracture appears in the sky and look similar to glass cracking itself. The crack triple it sized, and pieces of the sky start falling to the grounds. After that, a wave of Mana hits Nesto's body directly causing a massive throbbing pain in his head.

While his mind was struck by a massive headache, a sudden unbearable pain erupts from his stomach, and travel throughout his body. His gaze falls down at his stomach and saw a sword blade sticking out from it. He grunts in pain as he looks back up at the sky after dropping down to both of his knees.

Suddenly a massive tree the size of a mountain breakthrough the crack, and destroy the mountain beneath it. The people below look at the tree with awe when they saw the beautiful glowing golden veins running between the barks of its body and golden leaves hanging on its branch. The falling massive tree then causes a huge earthquake that shakes the entire battlefield after crushing the mountain beneath it.