Primordial Conquest

Chapter 69: A defining moment

Norman's hand trembled visibly at the shaft of his spear as he gazed down at Arora's folded form.

His chest rose and fell unsteadily as he let out ragged and shallow breaths.

This was a result of using a technique that had taken far too much out of him.

Sagittarius: Heaven defying arrow.

It was a technique he had developed that involved creating a physical pathway through his ethereal arrows.

It allowed an object not connected to him to pass through the pathway in an instant, as if it were teleporting from one point to another.

Unlike his standard arrows, this attack would cause physical damage to whatever, or whoever they passed through in transit, while the object itself would remain completely undamaged.

It was an attack that could not be dodged or blocked by conventional means once the arrow locked onto its target.

This technique was one that intrinsically opposed the very nature of Sagittarius. An ability that served as a non-physical pathway for its user and whatever was connected to them at the time.

Inventing such a contradictory technique within his own ability caused an enormous strain on both his Heart shard and his body.

Which was why he currently felt as though he might collapse at any moment.

He had only developed this technique a few months ago in his outpost above Tarok. As of right now, it was not something he could use freely.

The only reason he had decided to, was because of the unexpected trick Arora had pulled with her Interitus.

"Tsk" he grumbled as the searing pain from his severed leg finally caught up to him in his weakened state.

Below him, Arora trembled endlessly as she clutched her punctured shoulder in tears.

Norman's Heart ached for the poor girl.

But it didn't make a difference.

Not after everything she had done.

Too many lives had already been lost at this point.

There was no way he would underestimate the danger she posed again.

He raised his spear higher as he steeled himself to finally end her suffering.

"Why!"

Norman paused as he heard Arora's ragged voice echo through the arena.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I wanted to leave this place! All I ever wanted was to get stronger and leave with the only person who cared about me!"

"But no! Those boys couldn't just let me and Arbus live peacefully!"

"They had to take him away from me! They had to force my hand and drag me into this nightmare!"

"They had to push me to do this!" She mumbled.

"I never wanted to kill anyone! I never wanted to fight anyone!"

"And now, once again, I'm about to be murdered by people who believe they're following a righteous cause!" Arora screamed through her endless sobbing.

Her entire body shook in anguish and rage.

Norman's eyes widened slightly when he heard her mention Arbus. 'How does she know him!?'

From what he could gather from her words, she had been on this planet for far longer than he had originally assumed.

He studied Arora for a few seconds, then asked hesitantly.

"Where is the boy, Arbus?"

He had almost forgotten the primary reason he was stationed above this planet.

His goal was to watch the boy, yes. But it was also to protect him at all costs.

After all, he had no desire to face the wrath of High Commander Nash Grimm if anything happened to his grandson under his watch.

Norman had been stunned by the level of importance the High Commander had placed on this assignment, especially considering how he seemed to despise his own grandchild.

He had simply guessed that the Tarokian chief was locked in an internal struggle with himself regarding the boy.

It made sense, considering his family lineage was entirely devoted to killing Reincarnators.

Silence stretched between the two of them for several moments as Arora remained motionless.

His grip on his spear tightened as he wondered if she would refuse to answer, or if she didn't know the boy as much as she had claimed.

"Hmm..."

"A√bu§?"

Arora's head slowly turned towards him until her empty and unfocused gaze locked onto his.

"W-who... is... that?" she questioned, genuine confusion lacing her tone. Her voice seemed rather hollow and distant.

Norman's eyes widened in horror.

Under normal circumstances, he would simply assume she was being evasive, refusing to answer his question.

But he knew that wasn't the case at all.

Because he had just remembered to sense the state of her soul.

A large chunk of it had just vanished a moment ago.

Which could only mean one thing.

She had just gotten stronger at the cost of more of her identity.

His gaze fell to her hand holding onto her injured shoulder, as he finally noticed the tiny concentrated marble sized beam she had been secretly gathering beneath her palm while they spoke.

'Ah' he thought solemnly.

'So this is the end'

Commander Norman Sagitta understood immediately that he would not survive this attack. He also knew that there was absolutely no way for him to escape fast or far enough in his weakened state.

His mind raced with several thoughts of his family. His shining star. And his little bright Arrow.

A pale smile appeared on his face.

'live well'

An instant later, he moved with all the power he could muster to hurl his spear at her head, despite knowing it would accomplish nothing.

Then, the world darkened.

______________

After several agonizing minutes of running through the dense forest despite his injuries, Arbus could finally see the southern gates of Hai in the distance.

His eyes suddenly widened as he noticed the massive crowd of Tarokians gathered at the village's entrance, their faces etched with terrified and confused expressions.

He wasn't sure what could possibly cause an event like this to happen so suddenly.

A terrifying idea shot through his mind as he shook it away immediately. 'No, it can't be her. There's absolutely no way.'

As he drew closer to the gates, he spotted two familiar towering figures among the vast crowd.

His face brightened considerably as he immediately called out to them.

"Uncle Tino! Uncle Kyun!"

The two Tarokians heard Arbus's scream almost instantly as they tore their anxious gazes away from the arena where the commander had chased the Reincarnator into a few minutes ago.

Their faces lit up with relief as they spotted Arbus, who they had hoped was safe in all this commotion.

"Little pup!" Tino and Kyun shouted in unison with wide and joyful grins as they waved enthusiastically at him. Their expressions fell a moment later as they noticed the grievous wounds coating his body.

"Arbus, what happened to you!"

Some of the other villagers gradually tore their terrified gazes away from the Arena as well upon hearing that particular name being shouted repeatedly.

Their eyes widened in shock and renewed fear as they noticed Arbus's injured form approaching them. Without his bracelet to suppress his human appearance, he looked just like the Reincarnator child who had just transformed their peaceful village into a living nightmare.

"Ahh!!"

"There's another human child!"

Terrified screams erupted throughout the crowd as dozens of villagers scrambled to get away from him. The ones that managed to recognise him despite his new appearance wondered what the banished half-human child of the princess was doing here at such a sensitive time.

Arbus's steps halted as he observed their reactions.

Tino and Kyun were also shocked by the sudden outcry as well. They quickly snapped out of it as they tried to explain things to the crowd.

"Wait! This is the son of our Princess! He's not dangerous!"

"He's lived among us for years! He's one of us!"

Arbus's jaw clenched as he kept on moving forward, despite their behaviour. He had to find Arora no matter what.

He took another step, as his entire field of vision became consumed by impenetrable wall of darkness a second later.

"Huh?..."

BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!

A sphere of pure annihilation expanded in an instant, engulfing the entirety of Hai like a massive dome of absolute destruction.

The catastrophic energy reached high into the evening sky before suddenly shooting northward in a concentrated beam that could be seen from miles away.

It consumed everything in its path without discrimination. The raging stormy winds, the vibrant ocean of old trees, the countless creatures that called this forest home. Even the very earth itself couldn't resist it.

It consumed everything within a hundred kilometers north of the village.

After almost an entire minute, the energy slowly retracted toward its point of origin, leaving nothing but an impossibly long and wide crater stretching north from where Hai had once stood.

The only thing that remained in the direction the blast had consumed, was a single damaged treehouse, deep within the wide crater.

After returning to its epicenter in Hai, the destructive energy gradually dissipated to reveal nothing but a perfectly circular hole carved deep into the planet's surface.

Nothing remained of the centuries old settlement except for the vast and empty space.

And the lone figure floating at the very center of the devastation.

A young girl with obsidian eyes and snow-white hair. Her hand was still outstretched, facing the devastated north.

Arbus's gaze slowly swept across the empty void that stretched out before him, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing. The familiar gates of Hai, the bustling streets, the towering arena where his mom had performed her magic tricks in front of the entire village occasionally.

His Uncle Tino and his Uncle Kyun who had just been waving at him with worried smiles.

All of it..... was gone.

Erased, as if it had never existed.

"... what?"