Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 241

Chapter 241: The Darkest Hour

Lysette’s breath quickened and sweat pooled onto her palms as the reality of the situation set in.  Her heart raced and she stepped backward as Alan approached.  His air was full of confidence and intimidation as he slowly stepped toward her.  A smirk appeared on his face, and though he was no demon, his desire for blood was as great as any Lysette had ever known.

He chuckled.  “You will not die quickly, demon.  Do you know what my Domain is, you wretched, accursed child?  Hope.  Hope for a future free of the constant warring that has plagued this cursed world since long before you or I was ever even a twinkle of a thought.  Hope that my people will know peace and prosperity in the world that is to come.  And most immediately for you, the false hope I allowed you to feel while you were tearing my avatar apart.”

“Credit to your side’s generals.  They are repelling my aura better than I had expected.  But look at them.  Go ahead, I won’t attack while your back is turned.”

Lysette did so.

“They fight valiantly, but they are only human.  Only mortal.  They cannot hope to outlast me.  Already they grow fatigued.  I could snuff out the last of their resistance right here and now.”

Alan flared his aura further, and an air of despair took hold of Lysette.  She shuddered.

“But there’s just something so satisfying about watching the reality of their situation slowly set in.  Watch as they struggle against reality.  And then, when that final scrap of hope fades from their eyes and despair sets in.  That moment is simply the most exquisite part of a duel.  Don’t you think?”

“I think you’re every bit as depraved as you claim me to be.”

Alan sneered.  “I assure you, your feeble attempts to wound me with sharpened words will avail you no better than any other thing you might wish to try.  Now then, since I am feeling generous and would like to watch you suffer a bit longer, I will allow you one free strike before I attack.”

Lysette hesitated, thinking of the best way to take advantage of his generosity.  No amount of direct force was going to be effective against that level of raw strength.  And anything indirect was unlikely to be powerful enough.  She could only think of one strategy that might buy her enough time for Mirae and Saffron to arrive and even the odds.

Lysette pulled a seed out of her pocket and readied a pair of ice daggers as the two sized each other up.  Alan stepped to the side counterclockwise, and Lyse followed suit as the battle which had before been in a brief ceasefire again flared to life.

But where the battle before was evenly matched, perhaps with the slightest of an advantage for the Domarians, now the Elithrians were pushing forward.  Their weapons were hitting with more force and recharging faster.  Domarian soldiers continued fighting bravely, attacking and defending each other, but they were dropping in droves.  And while Ari, Dani, and some of the stronger Domarians were able to slowly pick off Elithrians, there were still some twelve hundred of the original two thousand remaining.

The Domarian forces had already been cut down by more than half, with only twenty-five hundred who weren’t grievously wounded, unconscious, or dead.  Each moment, though Mirae and the chance at a counterattack came closer, even more soldiers fell.  More died.  And the goal of a world free of Asterion, free of Omnia’s system, free of gods warring while humans died, slipped further and further away.

“It’s too bad that you’re not human, so that I might savor your pleas.  Your soldiers, on the other hand?  I feel their pleading, their cries for a miracle to come and save them.  I can taste their desire for hope as they cling to life and struggle through their final moments so pointlessly.  I’m sure you wish for it too.  Wish for a miracle to save yourself.

“Maybe you plan to stall me out while you wait for someone else to save you?  I assure you, you and all your allies will be dead long before news of our attack makes its way to the capital.  Our counterintelligence was quite thorough in intercepting and negating your relay networks.  It’ll be another hour at best before your leaders hear anything about us, let alone prepare and launch any sort of token resistance against us.”  Alan placed his hands behind his back.  “As a show of grace to herald my Lord’s new world, I will fight you with my hands behind my back.”

Lysette activated Rekindle and charged forward, reasoning that any attempt to stall further would only hasten the deaths of her comrades.  She attacked swiftly yet cautiously, guarding her weak spots as best she knew how, but as she fought, she opened a line of communication with Ari and Kristil.

“I hope this is important, Lyse,” Ari messaged.  “I’m fighting for my literal life over here!”

“I have one idea that might help even the playing field, but I’m going to need both of your help.  Right now, their general is a Godslayer who is channeling power from all of our hopes and desires for a miracle.  Based on my understanding of how we gods work, if the recipient of a mortal’s prayer isn’t delineated, that prayer goes to and empowers the deity with the closest Domain.  And right now, that’s tall, bearded, and about to kick my ass.”

“So you need us to?”

“Have our soldiers start directing their hopes and prayers to me specifically.”

“And if we do this, we’ll be able to win?”

“I don’t know.  But I know that if we do nothing, we are definitely all going to die.”

“I believe in you, Lyse,” Kristil messaged.  “If this is what you think is our best chance, then I’ll put my faith in you.”

“Fine.  I have no better plans.”

“Thank you both,” Lysette responded.  “I will endeavor to be worth the faith you all have placed in me.”

Lysette continued her assault even throughout her telepathic conversation, though all the damage so far had been inflicted upon her.  Even her formidable regeneration could no longer keep up from so many deep tissue and organ injuries.  Welts and bruises were forming on her arms and legs, her eyes were black and blue.  Every muscle in her body pleaded for her to cease, to surrender, to give up, to submit.

Her heart raced with fear, filling her with tension to fight on in spite of being more outclassed than in any battle since her sparring match with Saffron the first time the two met.  And though it was merely her avatar engaged in combat, the pain, the fatigue, and the visceral stench of death, the screams of the dying, the burning of flesh exposed to Lunar Bolts.  All of it was felt by Lysette’s main body back in Ciricu.  And for all her other allies, her comrades, her friends, her compatriots, and all those who stood against Elithria and Asterion, they were putting their actual, literal life on the line.  Even her love, Mirae, who was fast approaching even now, was preparing themself for a showdown from which they might not survive.

If nothing else, Reciprocity dictated that Lysette hold nothing back.  That she would be a damned demigoddess who deserved contempt, who deserved to be slain and forgotten, should she even think about surrendering or fleeing this battle, let alone taking action toward either.  And so, though she was pummeled each time she clashed with Asterion’s Godslayer, she rose again, buoyed by the faith of those who had placed their trust in her.

After the seventh time of being knocked down, Lysette’s entire body grew numb to the pain.  It fought against her will with each muscle she tried to move, each step she tried to make.  Her body grew weak.  Her head grew light and her vision blurred from overuse of her abilities.  From overconsumption of Divine Essence.

“You should give up.  Submit.  Surrender.  Ease the pain of your comrades.  All you do by struggling is prolong your own suffering and those of everyone you profess to care about.”

Alan launched a volley of Lunar Bolts, each of which again pierced through her defenses like wet paper, burning her clothing and charring her flesh.  The acrid stench of her body catching fire filled her nose as a sharp pain shot out from her legs.  She screamed.  Alan laughed.  And the battle raged on, with Lysette’s adversary continuing to toy with her.  Continuing to give in to his cruelty and overconfidence, the one weakness Lysette was able to exploit, though not without cost.

The eighth volley rang true, but as Lysette again suffered more grievous wounds, she began to identify the subtle patterns in his attacks.  The Lunar bolts Alan was wielding were not just those she could see.  Those were real, but also distractions for the ones that disguised themselves even from her aura, materializing behind her the instant before impact.  And he had proclivities, subtle tells from the way his hands guided his technique.  His fingers twitched, and Lysette dodged to the right, sliding by a bolt coming toward her from behind.

Her confidence rose slightly, and when the ninth volley came, the pain had begun to subside.  Lysette found newfound strength returning to her.  She stood with resolve replacing despair in her eyes as she stared down her rival Godslayer.  And when he again attacked her with a barrage of Lunar Bolts, Lysette was able to dodge each and every one.

“I will commend you, Demon who calls herself Godslayer.  You are certainly far more tenacious than I had expected.  It is no wonder that you managed to slay my disciple.”

“Your disciple?”

“Loran Vanniere.  Certainly that name must ring a bell?”

“Of course.  So what’s next?  You take one of your pills?”

Alan laughed.  “Why would I sacrifice myself when there is no need to do so?  At least, that is what I would say, if those pills worked on us.  

“Oh, you’re curious?  They are an experiment of sorts.  You know what an Essence crystal is?  Essence coalesced into solid form.  These ‘pills’ as you call them?  They are the Divine Essence variant.  Our researchers have developed the technique.  Though, as you no doubt know, when given to a mortal Spark in such a manner, their body and Spark are both corrupted and destroyed by the sudden influx of Divinity.  For you or I, it would be just a little bit of refreshment.”

Alan retracted his Lunar Bolt.  He morphed into a mass of light and appeared behind Lysette in the blink of an eye and slammed her into the dirt.  He then stomped on her back, cracking her ribs, but Lysette didn’t make a sound, didn’t give him the satisfaction of any response as he continued to smash his boot into her and stamp it on her head.

“This little bout has been enjoyable, but I’m afraid we can play no longer.  A final word before you die?”

Lysette clenched her fist and attempted to break free, but it was met with his hand caressing her backside and pushing her down.

“I promise.  I’ll make sure this is nice and slow, to properly repay you for all the trouble you’ve caused.  Is such not in the true nature of your Recpirocity?”

“I think you should get your hands off her,” an angry voice called out from above.  “You’ve got bigger problems to deal with than your little spat with her.”

“Lyse!”  Mirae’s voice called out.  “I’ll be right there!”

Alan spat.  “Solanna?  Is that really you?

Solanna dropped to the ground, not making a sound as she conjured eight orbs of flame which hovered just behind her back.

“It’s been a hundred years.  I thought you were, and I quote, ‘done with all this goddess nonsense’?  Why do you appear here before me now?”

“I guess you could call this a favor for my great granddaughter.  If she’s going to fight in this pointless war, then I suppose I owe it to my family to not let her hog all the fun.”

“This demon is your great granddaughter?  I’m sorry, but I don’t see the family resemblance.”

“I’ll tell you what, Alan.  You’re more than welcome to beat that information out of me.  If you can.”

Chapter 240: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114112001

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 242: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114242865