Chapter 79
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
Blaze jumped backward, dodging the incoming attack from Leoric.
His back feet skid on the soft dirt, creating a smokey pile of dust around him.
He had a small cut on his side from where the demon's claws had reached him. He had to focus on the fight in front of him. It was too intense. He could smell Freja and knew she was close by but couldn’t even afford a second to look her way, because almost instantly, the next attack would come.
Suddenly, flames burst over Blaze, but he wasn’t on fire.
This stunned even Leoric, who halted his attack.
This is how Ember looks, Hunter thought as he glanced briefly to the side.
His eyes immediately caught the green orbs that were staring back at him.
Somehow, she had shielded them both. Her flames engulfed her human body as well as his wolf form.
“Now that’s a peculiar magic,” Leoric said as he eyed the large silver wolf.
“No matter. Something like that may help you against the small fries, but not me. Our battle ends here, wolf. This field will be your grave.” He then glanced over at Freja, noticing the matching flames over her body.
A smirk rose on his face. “Let’s make this more interesting.
” A loud bellow escaped his throat and the attention of the nearby demons shifted.
Their primary focus was now on Freja. “Let’s see how well you fight when your MATE is in danger. ”
Hunter gulped and glanced nervously toward Freja.
Concentrate on your fight, Hunter. Don’t you dare focus on me. I’ll kill you if you die on me, Freja growled at him through their mindlink.
Hunter chuckled in his mind. You’re going to kill me if I die? He eyed the demons closing in on Freja. I love you. Don’t you dare die on me, he said quickly as Leoric charged at him again.
Freja all but scoffed but quit communicating with Hunter so he could focus.
She looked up at the demons and raised her daggers around her protectively.
Hell was coming to greet her, so she had to give them a proper introduction.
As Hunter and Leoric collided again, Freja began a vicious battle of her own, one where the numbers were not on her side.
At the start of the battle, Levi had taken to the sky, flying over the demon army with his sights set on the monster waiting for him. He landed in front of Mephisto, who smirked at him confidently. Their two auras clashed against one another, creating a small ripple of energy through the area.
“Well, if it isn’t one of the blessed children who belongs to the skies. Look at you, down in the dirt with the dogs,” Mephisto said coolly.
“If it isn’t one of the earth’s eyesores above ground, seeking the sun's love,” Levi said as he narrowed his eyes on Mephisto.
“Oh, no no no.” Mephisto let out a low, sinister cackle. “I’m not here seeking the sun's love.” A cruel smile played over his monstrous face. “I’m here seeking your fairy’s warmth.”
Levi snarled at him and whipped his tail down angrily. A thunderous sound cracked in the air, and waves of debris scattered around it. “You will not touch what is mine. And I’m going to kill you for uttering those words.”
“Kill me?” Mephisto said condescendingly. “You? Kill me? I see you come equipped with a sense of humor. Too bad that won’t do you any good when it comes to actually fighting.”
“What exactly do you think you’re doing? What do you think you can actually accomplish here?” Levi shook his head. If the demon did accomplish what he wanted, the world would be in ruins. It would turn dark, basically like an upper version of hell. It wouldn’t be the world as it is now.
“You don’t get it. That’s okay. I’ll take a moment to enlighten you.
You’re thinking the world up here will change.
And indeed, it will. Some. However, I plan to change how it works.
By keeping the fairy princess, I will create a new race of the earth's little protectors. The world will revolve differently under their power. Oh, I’m sure you understand exactly how I plan to create this new race.
” Mephisto grinned smugly as he provoked the deity in front of him.
“I wish I could put this moment on a continuous loop. One where you will feel me killing you over and over again. You could have gotten away with a lot, and I wouldn’t have cared.
But you had to set your gaze on what is mine.
MY fairy. And for that … you will drown in your own blood.
For my fairy, I would destroy the world without even hesitating.
Your biggest miscalculation was thinking she was someone you could obtain.
” Levi slammed his tail into the ground as blue energy began to swarm around him. “I will not show you any leniency.”
“Perfect. Why don’t you come and show me what you’ve got?
” Mephisto’s cruel smile spread even further, seeing the anger building up in Leviathan.
It wasn’t that the dragon deity wasn’t strong.
Oh, he was strong, and a formidable opponent.
However, Mephisto had something cruel up his sleeves.
Literally. He had stolen a vial of the sands of time centuries ago.
Originally, he planned to use it against Selene.
He had planned to use it to freeze her momentarily so he could confine her.
However, trying to capture someone with one of the greatest powers of premonition turned out to be impossible.
Now, though, he could use it to freeze Leviathan.
He would only have a few moments, but that would be all he needed to kill the deity.
The blue dragon’s wings lifted and spread widely, pulsating forward, creating a powerful gust that surged toward Mephisto.
At the same time, Levi sprung forward, attacking the demon head-on, confused at first by how Mephisto only grinned as he got closer.
Realizing something was wrong, he went to pull away, but it was too late.
Mephisto leaped forward and tossed a tiny glass vial that shattered over the blue dragon.
Lee’s body froze in place. His blue eyes watched the original demon glower over him as he prepared to strike.
I’m sorry, Reiya, Levi thought as he closed his eyes. Forgive me.
Days before the war …
Levi stood in a marble building looking up at the sky. The blackness was lit up by the fiery lights that peppered it. Quiet footsteps approached at his side, soft echoes that finally stopped beside him.
“You know, I should rip you apart for interfering with my mate’s life,” Levi snarled lowly under his breath.
“Of course, you wouldn’t have her as a mate if it wasn’t for me,” Selene said softly.
“Instead, you task her with going into this abysmal black hole, which you know nothing about, because its very nature blocks you.” Levi turned his head to see her small frown. “What is that look for?”
“Your lives have been linked because of the Ocean’s Tear. There is another future I have seen—you might be killed in this war.” Selene looked up at Levi. “And if you die, Reiya dies.” She watched as his lips pressed tightly together. “I can temporarily unlink you during the battle.”
He gazed at her in shock.
Selene smiled. “Whose tear do you think that was? Those were my tears for Endymion, my magic. My gift. I can unlink you so that if you fall, she doesn’t. Yes, I’m being selfish and doing this for myself. But I’m giving you the choice.”
Levi chuckled and looked up at the sky. “You know how angry she would be if I did something like that? At the same time—” He shook his head. “I can’t allow her to die. If by unlinking our lives, it guarantees hers … do it.” He closed his eyes tightly.
Selene nodded her head. “Reiya will not die. Her lifeline is now clear with this decision. Good luck to you. It isn’t over, Leviathan. So fight with everything you have.”
“It isn’t over, huh? Who else will fight against Mephisto with me gone?” His cool blue eyes pierced her. “Are you planning on having Endymion come back and defeat him?”
Selene simply smiled. “Mephisto will die. But by whose hands? That remains to be seen.”
“Promise me … you’ll keep my fairy safe.” Levi looked over at Selene, his chest aching. He felt the sting in his eyes. “Loving her, even for this short amount of time, was worth everything. I just need to know she’ll be okay.”
Selene’s eyes watered, and she slowly nodded her head.
Leviathan’s legacy would live on through Reiya.
She could see the daughter she was carrying inside her now—a powerful demigod that could summon water and ice.
A young woman who could muster a storm at her very will.
She wanted to tell Leviathan of his growing child but couldn’t.
His knowledge of that would affect the war and freeing Endymion.
All she could do was promise that if he fell, she would protect both of his fairies.
Selene turned around and left Leviathan to himself. She wouldn’t stop now. There was more she could do. More pieces to her chess board she needed to assemble. She marched out of the room with a new determination. She would seek out the Kraken.
Water slapped across the backs of demons, knocking them from their feet while an inferno of fire burnt their bodies to a crisp.
Who would have thought water and fire could work so well together?
Reiya and Xander had pushed a wide aura out of their body, something they just naturally knew to do.
Along with it came special aid to those wrapped within it.
None of the witch doctors were able to penetrate through their barrier.
But that wasn’t the only thing it did. It gave hope to the hopeless.
It gave their armies a comforting hand on their shoulders, a reassurance that they were not alone.
It encouraged them to fight with everything they had.
Reiya peered out from Xander’s back as she sought out her friends and family.
The guardians were in a fierce battle against some of the hellhounds.
A single guardian was fighting against one alone, but it took several dragons to take one down.
Her parents seemed to not be in any distress, fighting in perfect sync with one another.
Something helpful from being able to hear each other’s thoughts.
Hunter and Freja seemed to be struggling, though.
Freja was getting overrun by demons, and Hunter was in an intense battle.
“Xander—” Reiya said as she looked at Freja.
As if Xander already understood what she was saying, he shook his head.
“We can’t break the formation here. We have to continue to help everyone.
” He had in fact already noticed Freja in distress.
From what he could tell, Hunter was doing okay, but the sheer numbers were overwhelming Freja. She was going to need help.
Reiya nodded, trying to stay calm. But that all changed when she peered out toward her mate. Suddenly, she was horrified. “Xander, Lee! Something’s wrong with Lee! We have to go to him!” A sob squeezed her throat as she watched Mephisto close in on her frozen mate.
Xander looked beyond the army. He had to fight against his instincts.
Levi had already warned him. He told him there was a chance he wouldn’t survive, and that if he fell in battle, he had to promise to protect Reiya.
They couldn’t even scratch Mephisto. Instead, they would just be handing Reiya over to him.
So he stood there and watched as Mephisto raised himself against Levi, his brother and best friend.
Reiya watched with tears in her eyes as the mighty claws of the demon swept forward toward Leviathan.
She felt her heart squeeze in pain, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
She couldn’t understand. Why wouldn’t Xander go to Lee?
If he died, she died as well. So why was he staying put?
What was the point of protecting her now?
At least I won’t have to live apart from him. At least we’ll die together.