BXBX NOVEL Chapter 1026: Hopeless
Blake managed to defeat him, and with the Archdemon behind everything finally gone, the citizens should have returned to normal. The girls, so exhausted after spending their entire energy resources, slowly stood up, sighing in relief.
"Is it finally over, this nightmare?" wondered Elizabeth.
"I-it should!" Erika nodded. "Where\'s Blake though?"
As the girls looked around, suddenly…
RUMBLE!
The sound of countless gigantic footsteps approaching reverberated, making the ground tremble rapidly. They quickly felt that something was wrong and looked at the distance.
"E-Eh?"
"Huh?"
Their eyes widened, completely filled with disbelief as over half of the Demonic Aberrations, formerly all the citizens of this city, came running towards them. Their jaws opening and closing, drooling as their demonic eyes looked at them like mere food.
"N-No, why?" Erika muttered. "T-This isn\'t supposed to happen, weren\'t they cursed by Mammon?! If he dies then… T-Then…!"
"This can\'t be…" Elizabeth lost all the strength of her body, falling to her knees. "W-We can\'t turn them back… T-This is…"
"W-what do you mean you can\'t turn them back?!" Erika cried, grabbing Elizabeth\'s shoulders, and screaming at her. "Y-You\'re the Saintess! Elizabeth! DO SOMETHING!"
"I-I can\'t Erika…" Elizabeth looked at Erika, her eyes beginning to cry tears of horror and sorrow. "It won\'t work… My magic will only… kill them… I\'m sorry…"
"N-No…" Erika muttered. "You\'re lying… NO!"
"I can\'t do anything…" Elizabeth looked at the monsters approaching.
"B-But maybe Blake could, he… Where is he?" Erika wondered.
Suddenly, both girls a sudden coldness in their entire bodies.
What if Blake died?
He wasn\'t anywhere, nowhere at all.
As if he had disappeared.
The power of Mammon, he tried to take it, but it was too strong.
The last thing they saw was him struggling, his soul about to break.
"T-This… No, he can\'t be dead…! Blake…! BLAKEEE!"
Erika started screaming for Blake\'s aid, but there was no response.
"This is… is this the end?"
Elizabeth looked at the distance.
Any minute now, they would reach them.
"Maybe this is the death I deserve… for having failed these people," Elizabeth muttered. "Perhaps this is…"
"Stop it! Don\'t say such things!" Erika cried, suddenly grabbing Elizabeth. "W-We\'re running away, we can\'t die yet! NOT YET!"
"Erika?! Stop it…! Let me die here, this is my atonement, I failed as a Saintess!" Elizabeth cried as Erika grabbed her and started running.
"Shut up, Elizabeth! We can\'t just die here and then leave these people like this…"
Erika started crying as she saw her mother struggling, vomiting blood as the pressure of her magic couldn\'t be held anymore.
"We have to run… and live another day… T-This is what Blake always said!"
Tears fell from her eyes as the girl continued running.
At the same time, Chris, Erdrich, and Elfriedden were in the same situation.
But perhaps even worse.
All three of them were tired after the battle, having landed on the ground.
Only to see this, only to see the same horror as before…
"Is this it, guys?" Chris sighed, standing up.
His Mana was empty, and his Spirits all entered a slumber inside his Spiritual Orb.
The only thing he had was his equipment and his axe, and whatever stamina he had left.
"I… I think so…" Erdrich\'s eyes looked at the distance, looking sorrowful.
His demonic transformation was at his weakest, with only red tattoos over his white, human skin.
All of his energies had also almost completely depleted as well.
"Fucking hell… And we just defeated Mammon," Chris sighed.
"It seemed that… their transformation didn\'t depend on him…" Erdrich sighed.
As they talked, Elfriedden was right in front of them.
His body on the floor, crying.
"Mother… Rosen… Sapphirus…"
His tears kept falling into the floor and freezing into tiny ice crystals, shattering into countless pieces.
He was making his resolve to die or kill them.
Elfriedden was strong enough to know what was next.
If they couldn\'t turn back, there was no other option than to die or fight.
Chris and Erdrich looked at one another, and then walked towards Elfriedden, patting his shoulders.
"Elfriedden…"
"Stand up."
"Hah… R-Right…"
Elfriedden opened his eyes, slowly standing up, holding with him a long spear-like needle.
"Don\'t worry buddy," said Chris.
"We\'re going with you," Erdrich said.
"You two…" Elfriedden sighed, as a small smile surged on his lips, amidst the despair. "You bastards…"
Despite the despair he felt, he also felt a certain warmth.
The warmth of knowing that there were friends willing to go to hell with him…
"Let\'s do this…" Chris said.
"Yeah…" Erdrich nodded.
"One last battle then…" Elfriedden muttered. "In this shithole of a world…"
The three friends faced the army of Demonic Aberrations without escaping. The giants\' arms loomed over them; their weapons flared with the last vestiges of energy they had.
Eric carried Alberta as he ran away, seeing them only fifty meters away from them.
"W-What? No… guys… WAIT! Don\'t… DON\'T DO THIS!"
Eric continued crying as he noticed Alberta having already passed out on his arms.
Chris, Erdrich, and Elfriedden looked back at Eric.
"You\'ve got someone precious to protect, Eric!"
"Run away! We\'ll buy you time!"
"Just go…"
Eric looked at Alberta on his arms, and then his friends right behind him.
A decision he had to take to either stand and fight with them and end up risking Alberta\'s death.
Or escape and survive with her, leaving behind his friends to die.
"N-No… dammit… No…!" he continued crying, his glasses shattering. "DAMMIT! UAAAAGGH!"
Feeling horrified of his own decision, Eric started moving, he started running away from his friends, constantly apologizing, suffering.
"I\'m sorry, I\'m sorry, I\'m sorry, I\'m sorry…! Please forgive me…! PLEASE…!"
He looked at Alberta on his arms, hugging her tightly as he continued moving, even as the soles of his foot started bleeding.
"Good choice," Chris smiled.
"He\'s gone? Good…" Erdrich nodded.
"Mother, Rosenheim, Sapphirus, they\'re there… They came for me," Elfriedden noticed them.
The three Demonic Aberrations leading the army were those three.
Author\'s Note: Next Chapter is the end of this arc.