Chapter 74: End; Start

So Rassus died.

The sky has turned dark.

And Ned gets to live.

But not until the damn army of mindless beasts perished. A battalion of them raced toward the lying Ned. Body still exhausted, apparent through his eyes - dark rings around his eyes.

The glitching on Ned's display stopped as Rassus went to an eternity of slumber. In spite of all this, the danger has yet to end.

"Shit! I need more time to move!" Said Ned. Cussing his predicament out. "I need to defend my self, defend. Yes! My sword."

Ned scrambled the ground with his hands. Looking for the Butterfly, or the remains of it. Touching the hilt of the sword, Ned felt it was lighter than the usual. The Butterfly was always light, but this time, it was lighter - dead-light.

Ned sighed looking at the sky shrouded with darkness. He was alone, just like the moon he was staring at. Alone, in the dark.

"ICE, tell me something," Ned said. Redirecting his thoughts in the system inside his head. Forcing himself to roll over, he bent and stood. And gazed the demonizing eyes of the ghouls coming his way.

[I am still configuring the skill Rassus left. The sequence was complicated. So I need to translate it to fully integrate within your system.]

"Then I'm fucked up," Ned said. Catching his breath. On his left were the remains of the Butterfly. Raising his right hand, he propels his Mana in the form of a fire. "Fire... ball!" Ned cried.

His surrounding turned orange. The fireball traveled and hit the ground, making an area of effect in s form of fire. Disintegrating the ghouls around it. "I missed," Ned said. "But my display is clear. I aimed at the ghoul."

[You're exhausted, Ned.]

"Fireball!" This time it hit the ghoul. Blasting its body in half. Something's wrong, my fireball is dimmer than the usual. But it was more powerful. "Fireball!"

Firing another fireball blasted the ghouls, scattering them meters apart. But Ned knew, this battle was one-sided. It was quantity over quality. No matter how many fireballs Ned threw. Their number kept on booming.

[Ned Mana is below critical.]

"I know, I can feel it. It was even on my display. But shit! If I don't do anything here. I'm good as dead," Ned said. He breathes deep and rapid.

[Mana Points: 278/3,000.]

[Energy: 30%.]

"Tsk! Energy is even low." Ned tsked. Gripping the broken Butterfly. Under the calm flow of the moon, the tip of the Butterfly gleamed. More than half of Butterfly shattered, the remaining made a pointed tip. "Energy, energy, then I have no choice but to use it."

Ned raised his free hand. Raised as to channel a spell. Seconds later, the ghoul made its way into Ned's attacking range, which was almost two-meter apart from him. "Egneus!"

The spell blasted dozens of mindless beasts. With the energy remaining. Ned issued his last card. "Overclock!"

[Affirmative.]

Ned's pain coursing his body - gone. The aching he felt when he stretched his limbs - gone. The tons of weight he carried after the fight with Rassus - gone. The intent to kill - present.

With a thought. Ned's perception of the surrounding seemed to freeze. Details represented with digits overflowed his display. The hollowed-eye-human-like head came into view, tagged with digits, limbs, neck, napes, guts. Everything the system deemed to be their weak spots was marked. He used the remains of the Butterfly to cut and slash.

Nine seconds, nine seconds of muscle tearing sound resounded as Ned made his way through them. Until the ground was black with yukky dead old-blood, Ned never stopped.

Ned stood to stop near the dock. Together with his stop was the thudding of lifeless bodies fell like dominoes, one after the other, they died. Forgot to even shriek, or breath to say the least.

Ned saved the second remaining of the Overclock, saved to move near as far away as he could. Away from the remaining Alghouls - which he could not even lay a scratch.

[Overclock disabled.]

[Combat mode disabled.]

[Remaining Energy: 5%.]

As what the skill description of the Overclock says 'you may wear out, but collapsing is out of context now'. Ned did not collapse, true. But he was so worn, after the Overclock, he couldn't lift a finger. Ned slowly walked, knelt, and crawled. His breathing was rapid. His sweat was running. He just laid on the wooden dock, static.

With the remaining Alghouls - almost six - rampaging towards Ned. This was the worst that could happen to him, to feel helpless.

As the sky turned dark, a speck hovered like a bee on the empty sky. The speck of darkness seemed to be in a hurry as the Alghouls were doing the same.

The speck was getting closer, seconds later, it roared, and tweeted and roared again.

Closing in on the ground, the flying beasts swept the approaching mindless beasts. With its sharp claws, the Alghouls were stabbed, slashed, and bitten by its iron hardened beak. The remaining was lifted high, hovered, and released midair. Falling and hitting the ground like a paste of meat.

"Edwin's... " Ned muttered. Lying on his back, he saw the flying beasts hovered in a circle and landed across him. "Gryphon."

Troar!

The Gryphon twitted or roared. Shaking its body with the blood stuck into its feathers. While its feline body was leaking with blood. Visible flesh made a wound almost a meter long into its chest.

The Gryphon dragged its scaled talon to walk in two going to Ned.

Troar!

"I thought you died," said Ned. Turning his head sideways, as he was unable to move his body. "You're one lucky bird, aren't you?"

Troar!

The Gryphon made its way right beside Ned, curled, and rested together with him.

Ned leaned his hand onto the magical creature's body, injected his mana without harming it in any way.

"She's dying," Ned said. Lifting his hand off the Gryphon. "Thank you."

Unlike magical creatures, humans are smart, unpredictable, but mostly devious. Ned felt that he was closer to beasts rather than humans. Humans tend to spout sweet words to achieve what they want. Yet, once achieved, and felt that one was useless, they will spread false rumors against you. Unlike magical thinking-beasts. When they like you, they like you. When they hate you, they eat you. Simple.

Now that Ned saw the Gryphon and helped him, he remembered his feline friend - Coco. "How are you, Coco?" Ned muttered. "Hope you're fine. Well... see you soon, I hope, I hope." Fading his tone in the middle.

Ned looked at the Butterfly and with his thought, the Butterfly on his hand vanished. A prompt then responded inside his head.

[Notice: Unknown item discovered. Would you like to name it?]

Ned smiled. Now that the Butterfly broke, he thought he could put it inside his inventory. And he was right. "The Butterfly," Ned mumbled.

[Notice: Unknown item named 'The Butterfly'.]

ICE, how's the pod, Ned communicated within his thoughts.

[Perfectly stable.]

"Good, let's keep it that way," Ned said. "Master, I promise, I will see you soon."

[Affirmative, Ned.]

"How about Rassus' DNA?"

[I'm still analyzing it. His core. Is complicated. I'm decoding every genome he had. Down to its last atom. One of his energy, I'm unable to read. But it seemed to be completely unrelated to his overall status. It is an energy I don't have any record of. It was there, visible. But I'm unable to grasp its concept.]

"Leave it for now," Ned said. "Continue analyzing."

[Yes, Ned.]

"ICE, before. When I was unconscious, thank you," Ned said. Starting to feel his limbs, he yanked his body to move. His leather clothing was torn in his chest. Tattered pants and blooded skins covered him. "I remembered, something, about Kamma, what was it?"

[It was.]

[Nothing.]

Replied ICE.

"Nothing, okay, let my past be bygone then," Ned said.

[...]

[Yes.]

ICE, soft voice mellowed inside Ned's head. He then bent to sit crosslegged. He felt the warm breathing of the Gryphon beside him. Slow, counted, and paced breathing according to her heartbeats. "You came to save me," Ned spoke. "Thank you, for forcing yourself to use your life force. That was... chivalric, indeed." Ned brushed the Gryphons feathers, along with her beak.

Troar...

Along with Gryphon's roar was the thunderous boom of the forest. The forest where the Gate was. The sky above the forest cracked with lighting, blue electrical lighting. After which, a series of screaming, and screeching bellowed, that traveled the forest until it reached the port.

"The Gate," Ned said. Commanding his legs to stand. Forcing every thread of his muscles. Ned rubbed his legs, punched, and pushed, did everything he could, so that he could stand. "We need to leave now." Redirecting his words towards the Gryphon.

Troar!

The Gryphon stood, limping.

The silent forests rambled in agony. Snapping trees resounded. Building walls collapsed. The sky turned blue and gloomy.

Ned rode the Gryphon, which the latter agreed. She was a steed in the first place, a steed without a rider.

Forcing her self, the Gryphon swung her wings, while her rider rode, unsure what would happen next.

Ned could feel the Gryphon forcing her self to use the last of her energy. Against the gravity, Ned rose weightless, the Gryphon swung and flapped. Until they were meters above the ground.

The Gryphon lost balance, and Ned almost fell. Sensing the danger if they would return. Ned bit his finger, squished, and blood rose like a river. He then fed the blood to the limping Gryphon. "I'm sorry," Ned said.

Surprised, the Gryphon turned black. Black hue fought their way against the white feather. Her eyes gleamed with red, and energy surged around her body. Black, mist-covered her and Ned. She then propelled in the endless night. Making her speed burst in the freezing night.

"So this is your final form?" Ned said. "Vicious, but pretty, not let's go."

Come the horde of mindless beasts, ghouls, alghouls, freybugs, some molten moving creature, reptiles that resembled snakes, miniature looking humans, a woman clad in white, her eyes turned to Ned and screamed, her mouth broke open, reaching half of her face, and endless teeth showed and gleamed. But for some reason, there were no flying beasts.

Ned left the island with a thought of coming back. But not now, for how long? Ned wasn't sure. Yet, one thing that Ned was sure about. The moment he came back. He was sure to conquer the island of O'rriadt. Behead the knight, and save his master.

[Ned.]

[What now?]

As the whistle of the wind passed against Ned and the Gryphon. The sky was dark, unable to perceive what was below them. To their front, an endless horizon of darkness. Above, were the moon courted by thousands and thousands of stars. Ned felt something cold touched his cheek.

"Snow," Ned said. Brushing the white crystal off his cheek. "Winter has come."

"We're going to the Region of Bogblot," Ned said. Looking behind his shoulder. He saw O'rriadt Island becoming smaller as the Gryphon burst her way in an endless cloud. With a thought, Praha's Cube appeared on his hand. "Master, hang in there, once I'm finished with O'rriadt, I will sure to save you. You cared for me, now I will return the favor. I will carry your name into greatness. For I am... Ned Strat."