2047 Split in Two (Part 1)

The accumulated damage drowned Ufyl's senses, making him lose focus. Without darkness fusion keeping the pain at bay, the Divine Beast failed to control both World Crusher and his own body.

As the spell faded, his hands spasmed and his knees buckled up. The moment Strife's haft was free from his grip, Faluel pierced Ufyl's heart. The glaive emitted a pulse of darkness magic that made the lungs rot and blocked his breathing technique.

The seven heads wheezed in unison in the attempt to heal their wounds with Invigoration. Air, blood, and life abandoned the corpse of the Seven Headed Dragon who disappeared in a flash of light, quickly followed by his equipment.

Once the emerald sphere disappeared, Faluel was panting hard, her body in no better condition than those of the human soldiers. Yet it only took her one breath to start healing.

"Thanks, if not for your help, this would have been much more-" The words died in her mouth when she turned around and witnessed what had happened to her allies.

Her injuries were bearable because her body was huge and her armor a masterpiece. The humans were much smaller and worse equipped. Despite Varegrave's efforts, being so close to a tier five Spirit Magic spell had brought most of them to the brink of death.

"Where the heck are the reinforcements?" She took her communication amulet out while her seven heads triaged the victims and cast many healing spells at the same time. "Didn't you hear the Royals?"

"Did you?" The annoyed voice of the Council's human representative answered from the other end. "The order was to abandon position and move the fight to the Divine Beasts in the sky. Not to help the Tiamat.

"The army of humans is irrelevant. Only the thunderstorm matters."

"Lith asked for our help!" She replied in outrage.

"Foolish child! We are doing this for him as well as for us! His efforts will be worth nothing if Belius falls. Our fallen will have died for nothing. Stop listening to your heart and think with your brain!

"This is a war, saving a single life means nothing. The human soldiers are just expendable pawns while Thrud's generals cannot be killed until we get rid of the Golden Griffon.

"First we need to stop the storm front. Only then can we worry about the rest. Raagu out."

Faluel cursed the human representative for her heartlessness and because she was right. Yet the Hydra didn't feel like abandoning all those people behind. They were so small and fragile yet they had bravely fought against a titan.

If not for their help and for Varegrave using the Small World to protect her, the fight wouldn't have ended so smoothly. The Hydra turned her head for an instant to check on Lith.

She saw Crank beating the Sekhmet like a dirty rug and felt reassured enough about her apprentice's well-being to keep treating the humans. She used healing spells to stabilize those heavily wounded, avoiding to consume her breathing technique.

It didn't matter if she used it on herself or on others, with every use Lifestream would lose its efficacy. She had no idea what was about to happen and couldn't risk it becoming ineffective once when she needed her breathing technique the most.

The head in charge of the triage noticed that, despite the first aid she had already provided him, Varegrave's life force kept waning.

'This doesn't make sense. According to my diagnostic spell, I've already taken care of his internal bleeding and of the rest of his major injuries. I don't expect him to jump back on his feet and fight, but the colonel should be fine.' She thought while double-checking Varegrave and finding nothing wrong with his body.

She used Life Vision as well and what she saw made her stomach churn.

Not only was Varegrave's life force becoming weaker by the second, his mana core was also turning from bright to blue. Refusing to believe her own eyes, she used Lifestream on him only to discover that her first impression was correct.

The colonel had strained his mana core so much during the fight with Ufyl and burned so much of his life force to constantly move the arrays that his core had cracked.

Varegrave could feel in his bones that something was wrong with him. The battle for Belius was far from over and he was still full of adrenaline for defeating a Dragon, yet he felt tired.

So tired that even the idea of getting up made him feel light-headed. A quick diagnostic spell confirmed him that the Hydra was an excellent healer and also strained him so much that he lost consciousness for a few seconds.

The screams and spells of his soldiers woke him up, but even after they shared part of their vitality with him his breath remained quick and shallow.

The colonel turned his head around and smiled when he saw that most of his regiment had survived. Over one-third of the soldiers had died, but for a suicide unit, it was an amazing success.

"I'm dying, aren't I?" Varegrave asked, his voice reduced to a whisper.

"Yes." One of Faluel's heads stayed by his side, trying everything she could to fix his core while the other six took care of the rest of the regiment.

"Please, don't waste your time with me, then. Take care of the others and protect Belius in my stead." Varegrave had spent his life on the line of duty and had often wondered how he would have felt when his time had come.

If the fear of death would have made him cry, if he would have felt proud of his achievements, or just been angry. Much to his surprise, he just felt at peace with himself.

"Are you sure?" Faluel asked. "I can't save you, but I can at least prolong your life enough to say your goodbyes."

"Thanks, but I have no one to call. I never had the time for a family and all of my friends are either dead or fighting for their lives at Prode or Vesta." He replied as his breathing became increasingly difficult. "I still can't believe it.

"I came here to die in two seconds but instead I lasted the whole battle and even killed a Dragon. I have no regrets. Please, let me go and tell Archmage Verhen that no matter what the rest of the Kingdom says, it was an honor fighting by his side.

"I only wish that-" His eyes lost their light and his head turned slightly to a side.

Faluel had never met Varegrave before but his actions had earned him her respect.

She had refused to let him die in pain. She had stood by his side to make him spend his last moments without pain while surrounded by the people he had given his life to protect.

"Your life mattered, young man. I'll make sure that your death matters as well." She said.

A gentle touch of Spirit Magic closed his eyes, giving him such a peaceful expression that if not for the stillness of death, Varegrave would have just seemed asleep. A blue light spread from under his left eyelid as it was shedding a small tear.