Chapter 54: Love.

The ground shakes violently like it never shakes before, the landscape cracks open like ice then swallow a couple knights and soldiers into the fracture. Elves were buried alive, large chunks of dirt flip itself then the crack head straight to the far end of the wall where it begins to break apart the high wall.

Stone pieces of the battlements fall down to the ground as the fracture underneath gobble up the tall wall and tower. The collapse caused a chain reaction in which it starts to break apart the rest of the wall by starting at the far end and heads toward Nesto.

Realizing the incoming danger, he turns his head around and was shocks to the core of his soul when he saw Vesstan daughter in one of Weyshers army uniform. There was hatred in her eyes as she pushes the sword deeper into his back. Nesto clenches his teeth while he grunts the pain out.

After realizing the incoming danger, the young girl let go of the sword and giving Nesto a chance to pull out the blade. The pains intensify as the man feel the steel blade caress against the muscles and organs while he pulls it out.

He gets up, throwing the sword to the side, and sheath his wooden staff on his back. Vesstan daughter notices her father killer raise himself back up causing her to back away. He dashes to the young girl, surprising her as he pulls her closer to his chest and jumps off the wall with his back facing the grounds.

They both fall into a crater as the high wall crumble down and be swallowed by the giant cracks underneath it. The man back grates against the rough dirt as they slide to the center of the crater. After they both stop sliding, Nesto push her black silky hair aside to see the girl conditions. Her face shows confusion and disbelief at what happens.

The young girl pushes Nesto away from her and sat while hugging both of her legs closer to her chest. He lifts himself up, so he can sit, and saw one of the knight's dead body beside him. Nesto searches the knight for a satchel after he found it, he tore the cloth of the knight to make a long bandage and took his dagger.

Nesto cast "Incernium."

A silver fireball appears above his palm, he heats up the dagger blade after he lifts his shirt up to reveal both sides of the wounds. He presses the red-hot blade onto it, closing the wounds, and stopping the bleeding. The man let out a scream through his clench teeth, then he took the small satchel, and opens it to reveal the two bottles of potions.

He drank all the potions, then wrap the bandage around his stomach after that he leans his back onto the dirt behind him, and take a few long breaths in. Fatigue showers the man entire body as he lay on the dirt while he slowly closes his eyes.

"Why did you save me?" The girl asks.

"Huh?" Nesto let out as he almost falls asleep from the fatigues.

"I stab you with a sword, why did you save me?" The girl states angrily as she hides her face between her knees.

"I don't know why, maybe guilt, but what I do know is your father doesn't want you to be like him or me, a murderer," Nesto said while he took out a familiar locket.

The light reflected from the locket onto the girl, she lifts her head noticing the locket and her eyes start to water.

"Take it. It is your," Nesto said as he raises the locket to the girl.

She crawls closer to the man then gently take away the locket and embrace it closes to her bosom. The girl felt the darkness surrounding her begins to float away and warmness begins to flow throughout her body. The dirt ridden air was swept away as a flying ship hovers far above the crater, and slowly descending toward the ground.

"What's your name?" Nesto ask.

"Alasse, Alasse Hercan." The girl answers.

"Well Alasse, you need to get on that ship and get out of here," Nesto said as he crawls back up to peek at the massive tree.

The beautiful tree body split open and reveal a naked, giant woman with a distinct elven feature, her skin is green like the color of grass, her ears are long and pointy. The long green hair flows down from her head to her waist and beautifully sways as she walks out from the tree trunk.

The massive woman looks up at the sky with deep longing and anger.

Nesto has seen this woman before, but his mind just can't put a name on her face. He ignores his own thought then look at the Windcutter, and saw people are slowly boarding the ship. The silver-haired man wanted to worry about Neya, but he knows that she is in Vel capable hands. That boy will surely get her to safety.

"Alasse go now," Nesto said as he saw the grounds around the tree roots begins to turn black as if something is sucking its colors or energy,

"But!?" Alasse let out, confuse and afraid.

"Now," Nesto demand her to go as he unsheathes his saber.

The silver-haired man is taking out his saber because he can see something like a worm or roots moving underneath the ground and making its way toward where he is. One of the soldiers near it is impaled by a root-like spear that pokes out from the ground so sudden. The soldiers that were impaled are becoming skinny as if the roots itself is sucking away the elf life force.

The roots continue to make its way to where the Windcutter is while impaling the soldiers and knights along the way. The tree roots are aiming toward the place with a high number of people, Nesto couldn't warn them because he was too far away from them.

Without any choice, the silver-haired man mutters, "I open the fifth gate 'Expeluno'."

He felt an enormous wave of burning energy flow inside him and causing him to feel tremendous burning pain throughout his body.

A pair of large fiery wings appears on Nesto's back, he uses the wings to fly up, and crash back to the ground with his palm touching the dirt first while casting 'Incernium'.

A tall, silver, fiery wall arises and encircles around the tree. Then it burns away the approaching roots and stops them from getting closer to the people that are trying to board the Windcutter. While on his knee, Nesto pukes out a large amount of blood mix with black substance out from his mouth onto the ground.

His breathing becoming hard and heavy, but he pushes on and raises himself back up with the help of his saber. The roots begin to retract back to the tree as it meets with an impassable wall of fire. The wall of silver flame extinguish itself and finally, Nesto can take a break.

"Nesto! Are you okay?" Ariamnes called out as he jogs toward him with the old veteran by his side.

"I'm fine, albeit a little tired, I supposed," Nesto answers.

"So my prince do you have any idea, what am I looking at right now?" Nesto asks as the prince stands beside him.

"I can't believe it..." The prince mutters as he looks at the magnificent massive woman.

"What is it?" Nesto ask.

"It's Yana, our goddess. The resemblance is uncanny, and the tree it is what the priestess describes it to be," The old veteran said as he too watches with awe at the green woman.

Yana the goddess glances at Nesto with annoyance then she looks back at the sky, and the ground beneath Nesto's feet tremble. The three men jump away from where they stood as a large root rise up from the ground and toward the sky.

"I don't think that is anyone goddess," Nesto comment after he watches the root that targeted him retract back into the ground.

"Do we anger her with our mindless violence?" The veteran let out.

"I don't think that is the reason she shows up, look at her... she is looking directly at the sky without even a single glance at us except after I burn the roots away. She doesn't care about us," Nesto said.

"I don't know what to do... Nesto, what are your instinct telling you?" The prince asks.

He looks back at the massive woman while his own eyebrow narrows together, "My instinct is telling me to retreat, our force is not capable of fighting something like that, maybe not alone, but..."

"But?" The prince asks.

Nesto looks back at the prince, no, he looks at his brother, and walk toward him then stop just a few feet away from him, "You need to unite two elves kingdom and just maybe, we can fight this."

"The words you spoke is easier said than done, my brother," The prince said.

"But if you believe we can do it, then I will try with all my might to do so," The prince continues, then place a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"First, we need to make sure what left of our men retreat safely to the ship," The prince said.

"You do that while I distract her," Nesto said as he saw the roots underneath the ground are coming back toward the people.

"You think you will do it alone?" The prince chuckles.

"Of course not, I know you too well. Almost too well," Nesto said then turn his body with enough force to punch and knock out the young king.

"Sir?! What did you just do?!" The old veteran asks, surprised as he catches the young king from dropping to the ground. The veteran moves the young king's arm around his own neck to lift him up.

"Get the king to safety! That an order... Also, here," Nesto throw his wooden staff to the old veteran and the elf catch it with one hand.

He looks at the wooden staff he just catches then he looks back at the silver-haired man with confusion filled eyes.

"Give it to a young man name, Melud. He needs to lead them now," Nesto said while he readies his saber by his side.

"Sir?" The old veteran let out.

"Now go!" Nesto flew up with the help of his fiery wings.

From above the sky, he sees the roots are burrowing themselves toward the masses, and then he cast 'Incernium'. The blade of his saber is cover with silver fire, he swings his blade at the air in front of him, and a slash of fire flew toward the roots.

The fire slash explodes on impact and burns away the root then cause the massive woman to look back at the mortal man with anger she directs her hands toward him.

Hundreds of roots shoot up from underneath the dirt and head toward Nesto. He uses his saber to cut some of the roots while trying to avoid a few with his power of flight. Nesto had never faced anything like this before, the sheer amount of Mana he is using right now is painful toward him.

He kept on cutting while dodging the roots but sooner or later, one of them manage to smack him on the chest and force him to crash back to the ground. After crashing to the ground, he lifts himself back up and barely manage to cut the root in half that is aiming to skewer him.

He drops to one knee, and his breath hastens while the wounds that he burned off begins to open up again.

But even with the pain, the man kept on smiling while thinking that he will make back home safely. He gathers his thought as he dodges another root that was going to pierce him.

"Nesto, we are here to help!" He jerks his head as he heard Neya's voice.

But that was a mistake as the root swing and hit him on the chest again causing him to let go of his saber and be thrown across the battlefield.

Neya saw the event happens and let out a shout, "We are coming!" She along with Vel and Vizrez rush toward the man.

But the man raises himself back up with a dislocated arm and scream, "STAY AWAY!!"

The three of them stops and suddenly three roots burst out from the ground causing them to engage in a fight with it. While Vizrez and Vel were occupied with fighting the roots, another one burrow under the dirt and heads toward Neya.

Nesto full burst toward Neya with his fiery wings, but along the way he felt like something crack on his back. Then suddenly he loses his fiery wings, and something explodes on his back that propels him even further. During that time, he felt his entire body along with his organs suddenly freeze and swept with a sudden tremendous pain.

But no matter what, he kept going after her foot touch the ground he ducks and roll then sprint toward the root. Neya called out his name as he saw him explode and kept on running toward her. The root shot up from the ground and head toward Neya. The young girl raises both hands to defend herself from the incoming attack, but with luck, the root didn't make it.

Blood spews onto the root and the dirt beneath it.

Both of Nesto own hands start to tremble.

He felt his own mouth dripping with a thick liquid.

Nesto looks down at his chest and saw the root had pierced his own chest. He glances behind him and saw Neya slowly tries to scream her heart outs. Then all three of them swept into a large hole that appears in the empty air beside them.

They were gone.

His eyes went to rubble that once was a tall wall, he sees Folmon on top of it, and the elf nods his head out of respect. Nesto let out a smile, then grab the root tightly with both of his shaky hands, and pull it out. He screams in agony as he feels his own innards rub against the root exterior.

After pulling the root out, he kept on walking forward.

One hand on his wound while another turn into a fist as he heads toward the massive woman.

It doesn't take more than a few steps for him to fall forward to the ground after he swings his fist into the empty air in front of him.

Half his face rest on the dirt while he looks at the familiar blue flower beside him with a happy smile. Legend says that when you died, all the happy memories you had played out before your eyes, and he had tons of it.

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My name is Nesto Fasheir.

I earned an infamous name 'Silver flame' by slaughtering thousands of elves.

I lived my life fully as I can be.

I had beautiful women who I wanted to marry, 'Eilna Liatris'.

I had a daughter who's not by blood, 'Neya Nimmith'.

I would say that I'm the luckiest man in the world to have met them. I loved both of them with all my heart, not just them, but many others, people that I met along the way.

Whose help me and enjoy spending time with.

But now,

My story... has come to an end.