Reaper's Crown

Ch. 64

In a flash, and much like on command, all the lights around Orania started lighting up, one by one, and the Oran Paladians peeked their heads out of their domes. Their eyes widened when brows were raised at the sight of Atomu, barely crawling out of the crowd.

Barely, but surely.

Atomu screamed out, getting back on his feet and yelling into the air. Now, with the weapon in both arms, he looked directly into the thousands of eyes of the demonic army, ready to strike.

He knew nothing, but all, at the very same time. The weapon sparkled the same way his eyes shone, and seemed to reflect the fiery passion, lit up, much like every light above.

His questions were finally heard, and although unanswered, seemed to have a conclusion in his heart.

It was all his fault, this entire time. His wrongs, his rights, they all stemmed from Atomu keeping it all to himself, and by chance, smashing them all into his Guardian Demon. It always listened, it always knew about his struggles.

It understood them and wanted to exploit them.

Atomu, though, he wasn't as weak as before. Hastily breathing in, his hand reached into his pocket, digging out the Clavis Crystal. He looked at its sparkle, for a second, before directly staring forward.

He had something else in mind. Bearing the sword, he started a mad dash up the stairs of the tree, with the army following right after, screaming their souls out.

Atomu ran as fast as he humanly could, but there was no way to outspeed them. Nevertheless, it seemed that his struggles weren't going to stop him from treading a different path.

At first, it was a hunch, but Atomu soon realised that he knew when threats were coming. With a swift jump, he avoided a spiky, iron ball strike and jumped off to the side, his sword sticking into the tree, slowly moving forward.

Atomu looked up. The eye looked back at him.

Sometimes, an arrow would pass through his arm, and a distant sword thrown in his way would cut off chunks of his hair, but it didn't seem like the pain could drag him down.

Atomu always witnessed it being someone else who was hurt. It was the Morians, who were sent off to Morta with his faux advice. It was the city of Magna, crushing down on itself because he wasn't strong enough to fight. It was Elton who died because he sacrificed himself so that the other Paladian wouldn't take a hit.

It was Bancho's body which was carried here, not his. It was Chyuuichi, actively losing bits and pieces of his life, in a place where he should've been cured. No matter how hard he thought about it, he was the only one who could ease his pain.

The more pain you receive, the harder it becomes to pierce through your shell, and the easier it is to take it in.

It came time that he was to finally receive some of these wounds.

He sure as hell deserved them.

With a swift flight up the branch, Atomu's weak legs started shaking, before moving forward, only for the army to follow in his step. His eyes were too weak to stay open, but even if they weren't, he sensed the incoming flunks of attacks, from left and right, with the ground twisting beneath him.

As if under some magic spell, his mind seemed to reach a place further down the branch, as if something was waiting on the other side of this massive bridge.

When his eyes were finally open, the branch didn't resemble the road it was beforehand. It was as if the tree itself was actively fighting against the horde, dropping some of them to the ground, in turn making it harder for Atomu to focus.