Chapter 59: Survival for 24 Hours Part 6End of Hour 16
By the end of the sixteenth hour, I stood drenched in blood, my enemies and my own.
The old man had already lost consciousness. I was afraid that he was dead, but his chest still rose and fell, faint but steady.
And me?
I was shaking, trembling, breaking apart from every corner of my body. But my eyes still burned, my grip still held, my will still blazed like fire in the dark.
The monsters kept coming. They would never stop.
But neither would I.
Not until dawn. Not until the king came. Not until my last drop of blood hit the earth.
I unlocked an instinct. I couldn't see what was happening, but every time I swung the sword and hit a monster, I felt like my body had adapted to everything. But even as my body adapted, the cost grew heavier.
My skin was torn, my blood dripping freely. My arms trembled, my knees buckled, but I forced them to obey. Every strike left cracks in my bones, every parry rattled my organs. My body was breaking apart with each moment, yet I refused to fall. My healing was at its limit, slowly, slowly my healing was decreasing.
But I refused to give up because Arthur was still behind me.
I glanced at him while killing many monster soldiers in one hit, the old man who helped me.
"Master, stay alive," I whispered through bloodied lips. "Just a little longer. Please."
The battlefield was hell itself. Corpses upon corpses, rubble upon rubble, the ground shaking under the sheer weight of it all. The night sky was hidden behind dust and smoke, no stars were shining.
And still, the monsters came.
But now, I didn't retreat. I advanced.
Step by step, cut by cut, scream by scream, I forced them back. Even if only an inch at a time, I made them bleed for every step they took toward us.
I wasn't fighting to win anymore. I wasn't fighting to survive.
I was fighting to defy.
Defy the stone plant boss who promised our deaths. Defy the endless tide. Defy fate itself.
Because I was Ank. And I refused to break.
I am the first person to conquer the whole universe.
I will not be defeated that easily.
Hour 17
The seventeenth hour began with a sound I never wanted to hear.
The old man's heartbeat was slowly fading. I was once again afraid and had the same thoughts coming again. What if he died? What would happen to Maya? How would I face her? How would I explain to her?
How would I live? I am attached to the old man. I didn't want his death. I was once again consumed by depression.
Hour 18
By the middle of the eighteenth hour, I started hearing voices.
Whispers in the dust, faint but sharp.
"Give up."
"You'll never win."
"You're already dead."
At first, I thought it was the stone plant soldiers. But their jagged mouths didn't move. Their eyes only glowed, empty and soulless.
The whispers came from within. My own mind, splintering under the weight of despair.
But I refused to obey my body, and I didn't stop.
Swing.
Slash.
Kill.
"Keep fighting," I muttered, over and over, like a mantra. "Keep fighting. It's for Maya. Keep fighting for Maya. Keep fighting. It's for Maya!"
Hour 19
The nineteenth hour was hell reborn.
The monster soldiers started attacking harder, as if sensing that my strength was failing. Their weapons struck faster, heavier. One blow slammed against my ribs, sending fire lancing through my chest. Another cut across my thigh, nearly buckling my leg.
Blood poured freely from me now. My vision was red. My sword slipped once, nearly falling, but I caught it, clutching it tighter even as the hilt dug into my broken fingers.
I could barely breathe. My chest wheezed, every inhale a struggle. My heart hammered wildly, each beat weaker than the last.
But I didn't fall.
Not yet.
I stood over Arthur's unconscious body, sword raised, teeth bared. The tide came, endless, merciless. And I cut them down, one after another, until I no longer knew where I ended and the blade began.
I was fury. I was despair. I was survival.
My body screamed. My mind shattered. My soul burned.
But still, I fought.
Now in Capital City Noah
The Emperor was in the meeting room talking to the director of SHO.
"Diamondheart Emperor, I know your situation and I already sent the SHO heroes for your help. They will reach as soon as possible.
And I wish you didn't forget your promise about Arthur."
"Yes," the Emperor replied. "I couldn't forget. I already sent my personal guards to search for Arthur and one of my commanders will rescue him.
They will find the information about Arthur as soon as possible.
I already gave them the teleportation device that you want to give him."
Minister March told the Emperor about the SHO director's condition secretly, so no one knew about the details of their deal. And after hearing the SHO director's condition, the Emperor quickly obeyed. The Emperor knew the SHO director was a great ally for him in the future.
"Can I ask you one question, director?"
"Yes, you can."
"Why did you want Arthur to be alive? I know who he was, but you were secretly helping me and misusing your power. What I hear about you is that you only care about SHO and nothing else.
So why were you interested in Arthur?"
"You don't know, Emperor.
Arthur was no ordinary hero.
His reputation far exceeds mine.
He had the option to become director of SHO but he refused. If the option was given to anyone, they would surely do anything for my position.
But he refused me on my face, saying 'I don't want to.'
Every hero's dream was to become the director of SHO, but he was different. And he had a great debt to me.
I will do anything to help him.
Even using all forces of SHO, I will help him."