Chapter 512 Sacrifice [Pt 3]

Chapter 512 Sacrifice [Pt 3]

"ERIC, NO—!!!"

As Adonis stretched out his hand, the moment he saw that Eric had been stabbed by the Dragon General, he felt a dangerous crackle around the boy.

Then—

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~

—An overwhelming explosion surged through the area, covering all of Eric's immediate vicinity.

The blast stopped short before reaching the positions of Clark, Alicia, Billy, Trisha, and Justin. Instead, it ascended high into the heavens—like a blazing pillar.

The inferno swirled around and within each other—almost like a torrent of unstoppable power.

"E-Eric..." As Adonis witnessed this, the roaring heat reflecting in his eyes, he had a dazed expression on his face.

He felt instantly ashamed of this thought, but the first thing that came to his mind once he saw the blazing display of power was awe, rather than sorrow.

'To think... he had this much power... so much potential.'

Not all Mages had an equal allocation of latent Mana within them. This pool of dormant Mana was varied in quality and quantity; theorized to be based on the potential of a person.

As such, various Mages harness their respective pools by casting Forced Magic Activation, yet their output would be varied from one another.

Based on what Adonis was seeing alone, Eric could have very well reached the S-Tier as a Mage.

But... all of that was in the realm of memory.

Once the awe wore off, the only thing Adonis felt at that point was grief.

Tears flowed down his eyes as he watched the burning pillar of flames slowly die out, reducing to mere vestiges of sparks and miniature explosions.

"I'm sorry, Eric..." He was reminded by Eric's warnings.

"... I'm so sorry!"

If it wasn't for his hubris, his obsessive desire with saving everyone, then perhaps this wouldn't have happened.

'W-why...? Why did you have to die?'

More tears flowed down Adonis' eyes as he descended and knelt on the ground.

Why did people have to die around him? Why was he constantly protected, even now that he had the power and means to protect others?

'I thought... things would be different this time. I thought, after everything—all those sacrifices—there would be no more...'

He had amassed so much power. He had the knowledge of the future. He had worked so hard to make sure he would be able to protect everyone this time.

—To make sure nobody that he cared about died.

Yet... this was the reward for all his efforts.

"E-Eric... Eric..." More sobs echoed from him as he shuddered with cold stiffness.

Seeing his friend give such a heartwarming smile, filled with confidence and encouragement—like a hero—Adonis felt saved.

But... those words were soon followed by chaos.

~BOOOOOOOM!!!~

The distant explosions began to get closer to the Chamber of the Ancients, signaling the imminent approach of the enemies.

"They've caught wind of us, damnit! Looks like the others weren't able to hold them off for too long..."

The pained tone that Lucielle used to utter those words made it clear what the fates of their comrades were.

... What their own fates would be.

Adonis, trembling and cowering in a corner, did the only thing he could do at moments like this.

He gazed upon the face of his only friend—Rey Skylar.

"Looks like I have no choice..." He brandished his blade, revealing his heroic form as he stepped away from the rest.

"The both of you should stay here and complete the Magic."

As Adonis watched him leave, his hand powerlessly raised to stop him, he watched as Rey stopped in his tracks and turned his head backwards to stare at him.

The confident, heroic smile was yet to fade away.

Something glowed deep within Rey's eyes that resonated inside Adonis. They were the same age, yet they seemed miles apart.

"Take care of yourself." Rey said with a smile, nodding slowly before casting a quick glance at Lucielle.

"You too, babe."

"You take care of yourself too. I'll be joining you soon enough." She responded with a short laugh, her eyes still focused on the task at hand.

"Haha! I look forward to that!"

Back then, Adonis did not know what they meant by those words. But... he was eventually going to find out.

—The fact that the Ancient Magic could only accept one person.

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

Well... I guess you all saw this coming too. For those who didn't, it's a good thing!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Adonis remains one of my Top 3 characters, and seeing him suffer like this is therapeutic for me... I think.