Chapter 75: Chapter 75

Henry's mind was back on functioning once he was able to catch the tip of the thread, he observed the barrier, then the trees, then the barrier again, noting for the first time that the forest didn't attack them nor show any sign of life and hostility, even when they attacked the newborns, until they attacked the barrier, with fire arrows at that, the fire that seemed to extinguish mid-air, could it be the one that lit up the trees? could it be that their attacks on the barrier were thrown back at them by some mysterious connection between it and the forest? This mechanism, whatever it was, seemed very difficult to decipher and so was the connection but again nothing was fully decipherable nor understandable since they got themselves into this crazy journey.

Henry decided to go on with his recent, hopefully correct, assumptions, use them as the departing point of their next move instead of futilely trying to understand something he just couldn't, but if his assumptions were correct, then it meant they barely had few minutes to move, otherwise, they would be losing the only opportunity they had to breach the barrier, one which created by Rima whom he still had to go look for, he knew something bad happened to her but refused to admit it was the worst.

Henry felt torn, both matters were very urgent, Rima was probably lying somewhere under the snow, drained and in need of help, but the barrier was resisting the ice and reflecting it to the forest which turned deadly cold, it was the explanation he came up with, for the human fire that attacked them right when they attacked the barrier.

"Ice demons!” Henry spoke loudly and clearly, knowing everyone was waiting for his orders “I need you to forge spears using your magic, as big as the ones that attacked us, as much as you can, as fast as you can! Shadow demons, I need twenty of you to form a small group and look for the queen, human soldiers and the rest of the shadow demons, I need you to form your lines around the barrier, but keep a safe distance from it, use the trees and snow as a cover and be prepared for a sudden attack!”

Henry watched as his orders were followed, the ice demons were grateful that he didn’t just ignore what happened to their queen, yet they were still focusing on the battle, it was a quality he noticed in demons, they were loyal, loved their leaders, yet at the same time, showed extreme bravery and resolution when losing them, and it made him wonder if it was because of the way they lived their lives, surrounded by dead, losing their loved ones so easily.

Those creatures were not monsters, in fact, they were less monstrous than some humans, they were simply creatures that desired life, enough to obey him, their prey.

That kind of trust was a privilege, an honor, and a burden that Henry planned to carry his entire life, not just while they were at war, but even after it, seeing the way they all mourned their lady and lord silently and placed their trust in him made him feel ashamed of his ancestor, the one who betrayed his brothers, their brothers, in the first place.

“What next?!” the shadow demoness came closer to him, and Henry didn’t know how to feel about her, he knew she manipulated him and wanted nothing but to punish her, yet at the same time, couldn’t, not only because she was the second in command after Eren, but because a part of him was still grateful to know the truth about the death of his friends and the person behind it.

“Aim all the fire scorpions towards the base of the dome and the ice ones towards the tip, the ones aiming at the tip, try to focus on the same spot, hit repeatedly without stop, I will be giving you the signal in a minute!” best was to ignore the demoness and the darkness she carried and focus on the task he had in hand, Henry thought, hoping his plan would work.

Magic was the mere ability to control nature and mess with the flow of energy of it elements, he once read, and if the barrier was made of magic, then what better way to attack it than messing the energy of the element surrounding it? Air.

The air inside the dome was much warmer, and it was clear from the way due and fog gathered inside the dome, while the outside of it was cold, Henry wasn’t an alchemist nor a scientist yet he planned to use this little detail to his advantage, with Rima’s snow stilling the barrier’s magic and him attacking the tip where the heat focused with ice spears and the bottom where it was the coldest with fire spears, the balance of the energy should be lost, and so is the damn barrier.

“Ready!” Henry’s statement echoed inside of him like a silent prayer, a question he asked himself, this was it! The moment to make it or break it.

“Fire!” thousands of spears were launched at the same time, each landing where it should, the whole matter took minutes, but everyone felt like it was years, and it was in those minutes of holding breath where Henry felt the true connection to everyone…

It was all becoming clear, and while cracks appeared on the exterior of the barrier, the ones in the united army closed as everyone felt the other, and by the time the cracks were sealed and the solidarity was achieved, the barrier broke down to millions and millions of tiny shards shining in the sky.

“We did it!” the demoness whispered in front of him, her eyes fixated on the wave of illuminated vapor which was imprisoned inside the dome being released, exposing the crystal walls of the castle.

"Your Grace" Henry looked back at the demoness, his eyes not holding the same warmth he had for everyone else, he didn’t have time to waste on her! he had to go find the ice queen, his queen, now that the barrier was breached!

"Glare at me all you want but now we need you to lead the attack, there is no guarantee the barrier will remain shattered, it is now or never!" Henry knew she was right, the urgency in her eyes and voice told him so as well, there was no one left to lead but him, yet his heart couldn’t stop pounding in his chest, telling him to go find his queen!

"Your Grace" more voices urged him, and more eyes looked at him with need, Henry felt his legs shake for a brief second, hesitating, he had to go, but he had to lead the army, it was the right thing but it felt so wrong, he looked back at where she was standing, hoping she would miraculously show up from under the snow safe and sound but nothing, she was no longer there...

"Your Grace" it was an ice demon who talked, "We are at war, and wars come with casualties, my lady had made her decision, fulfilled her part, now it is time to make yours, Now or never..."

"Very well... " Henry swallowed the heavy, bitter lump that gathered in his throat, hoping he will not regret this more than he already did, with one last sigh he ripped his eyes off that painful spot, looking back at the waiting commanders....

"Make it rain, Both ice and fire...."

"They are attacking the barrier" A beautiful woman with silver hair and clear eyes ran toward the crystal wall, her thin and simple white dress moving around her legs like liquid, placing her palm on it gently, her eyes seeing beyond it, seeing what was out there without being seen, her lips curled down and her thin eyebrows approached each other in worry, the expression giving her sharp yet gorgeous features the softness and innocence of a child’s face, drawing the man who was standing behind her in, and making him press his body to hers, pushing her flat on the wall while his hands surrounded her waist and his chest pressed on her back.

"I can't believe they made it this far!" the woman said, sensing the man’s hand resting on her belly where the discomfort tugged, rubbing the spot soothingly, and causing her to lean into his touch, giving him access to the sweet juncture of her neck and shoulder which he was quick to pepper with feather-like kisses…

"Lin, my love" He whispered, his lips still on her neck, "You worry too much..." His hands moved from her belly, roaming freely on her body with a torturous slow pace, but the woman held his hands in hers and ripped them off her body and turned to look at him with her worried clear eyes…

"The elders didn't return yet, Nov, the hybrid wasn’t found, nor was Zaman, and you know we can't purify the creation energy without them..." the woman words came out shaky, opposite to how she wanted to sound, never the less, the man got her message and sighed loudly, looking at the clear eyes which were identical to his and seeing his own reflection in them, his beautiful flawless reflection.

The same thought ran through the woman’s head, he was so beautiful indeed, and even though her worry was eating her up, she couldn’t help but feel herself being pulled by his intoxicating charm, her hands moved on their own to capture his face between them, her thumb moving up and down, caressing his porcelain skin.

"They made it this far Nov, they survived the sea monsters and the fog of delusion, they broke through the blood seal, they defeated the ascendents by now they are attacking the barrier...What if..."

The man named Nov covered the woman’s lips with his, feeling their softness and plumpness which contradicted the sharpness of her features, especially her high prominent cheekbones, and even after kissing her for thousands of years, he still found the feeling heady, his tongue bud enjoying her sweetness…

"Let them..." He broke the kiss to rest his forehead against hers, closing his eyes not just to savor the after taste of the Goddess’ lips, but to give what she said an actual thought...

It was indeed remarkable, there wasn't a union between humans and demons before but once there was, they defeated and broke through all the divine defenses, one by one, what surprised him the most was the fact that they survived the sea monsters, those vicious creatures gave him nightmares in his first years, especially when he knew who was really controlling them.

As for the ascendents, Nov scoffed internally, wondering how was he convinced in the first place to give up a small portion of his share of the creation energy just to turn those useless dogs into immortal mortals, each was given thousands of years to live, endless pleasurable treats, eternal youth and the power of a hundred men, their only job was to watch over the shores and prevent anyone from coming near the castle, a job they failed at miserably on the first actual working day...

"They can't survive the karmic barrier, soon the forest would attack them back the way they attacked it, You know How Historia was with these little things, so creative ..." Lin nodded her head at his words, the words she wanted to hear and chose to believe, centuries of living like a Goddess with nothing to worry about had turned her mind dull, and the mere process of thinking was too tiring for her.

"Without the elders here to purify the creation energy, it will be polluted the moment we use it to kill any one of them" Nov said as he stared in her eyes, not addressing her but she didn’t notice that…

"We can't let them, no matter, what we can't let them have what is ours, we are the Gods of this world"

"Are we?" Nov asked her, a humorless smirk dancing on his sinful lips "Do you think we are real Gods just because we claimed to be?! Oh, come on, even you are not that to believe that!" he scoffed at her, her eyes widened in disbelief at the way he talked to her

He was the perfect lover, the one who worshiped her and talked to her with all the gentleness in the world, she thought to herself, he was a God but he adored her, how dare he call her stupid over such an obvious matter?

Lin tried to pull herself from his embrace but he wouldn't let her, he was holding her tightly, enjoying how she tried to leave his forced embrace, he chuckled a bit before pushing her to the wall, holding her hands above her head and whispering in her ear seductively...

"My love, I love you so much " A shiver of pleasure ran in her body at his proximity, even when her mind couldn’t comprehend the way he was acting, Nov was always the down to earth God, the peaceful one who avoided fights and conflicts, who would just let everyone have things their way, but the way he was gripping her wrists painfully, the way he insulted her and then pressed her against the wall, made her feel a strange kind of pleasure, one which managed to make her forget her worries again.

"You know that right? Tell me that you do!" he moved closer to her, pressing her more between his chest and the wall to the point where her chest barely had enough space for air intakes, their thin clothes failing at holding back their bodies’ heat that seeped through the other’s pores.

"Nov please!! We need to focus, what if they..."

"They .... Will only be greeted with death" Nov cut her sharply, an evil light flashing in his eyes...