Rickard screamed, horrified at the thought of what had happened.
He dropped to the ground, completely devoid of any strength — be it mental or physical — at the sight of the impact.
All he could feel was an inexpressible horror. His mind raced, imagining the worst-case scenarios, which were surely just that... scenarios.
...Right?
To him, the world seemed to have stopped living, losing all semblance of colour, turning to a disgusting scale of greys that reflected his mental state. For the second time in one night, life had thrown him an extremely unpleasant surprise. After his wife had died, it was now his son's turn to be caught in the filthy clutches of death.
He kept his mouth open, yet no sound came out, or rather, just a kind of whimpering that resembled that of a dying animal, soon to be taken by the cold and unstoppable embrace of the underworld.
His brain was stuck on a loop, replaying the last few seconds of what had just happened. Still, the incessant repetition of the catastrophe was unbearable.
How could this have happened? Luka was right next to him just a few moments ago. Of course, the little boy had tried for a while to warn his father about something, but Rickard had been far too absorbed in his discussion with the other adults to hear him.
So... Was this discussion the cause of his misfortune?
No!
He had only been talking to the others for less than a minute. And how could a simple exchange of words with others have caused his son's death?
And besides, what did Luka even want? Why did he go to that place? What was he looking for? Why was he trying to get his attention?
A million questions began to flood Rickard's tormented mind. Without a single deceitful semblance of an answer in sight. But the cruel truth of the matter was that his son had just been struck by an object thrown at him by this wretched monster.
To be honest, he didn't even know what he was thinking anymore, his thoughts racing in all directions as he tried to find a way to avoid facing what was happening in front of him. But deep down, he knew that this time, he couldn't.
He would surely end up mad... or empty.
How much time had just passed? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days? Months? Years?
He couldn't say, because at that moment any pretence of a temporal notion had escaped his mind, which had itself fractured and shattered into hundreds of thousands of tiny pieces.
He was about to go insane... For real this time.
The worst thing was , unlike the first time, when there was at least the light of salvation that was his son, there was nothing to stop him from being swept away by the dark and foul current of madness this time around.
What had he ever done to deserve all this? First his wife, and now his one and only son.
Had he committed so much evil in his life to be punished so? Or was it the gods who were teaching him in the cruellest of ways that they were indeed present and had all the rights they wanted over his existence and those around him?
If that was so, then may they take him to whatever level of hell they wished, but may they bring his boy back . If they were really as genuine and as offended by his earlier stance on their legitimacy to control the course of existence, let them take his soul now and banish it wherever they pleased. He wouldn't complain.
All that mattered was that his little boy was safe and sound.
He moved, and raised his hands to his head in despair, his fists closing to reveal only thumbs pointing fatally at eyeballs that would soon be free of the curse of sight.
To hell with his cursed eyes. Never again would he see, if the death of everything he loved was the most recurring vision he was ever bound to face in the rest of his life.
But before Rickard could do something monumentally and irrevocably stupid, the cloud of dust lifted.
And there was—
A bluish glow behind the cloud of dust.
Then, just ten seconds after the fateful impact, the dust cloud dissipated, revealing the still slightly blurred silhouettes of Yugo and Luka, who were behind an energy barrier.
Tears streamed from Rickard's eyes, his thumbs still in their ominous position. His hands opened, finally letting his palms, trembling with intense relief, cover a face flooded with tears.
Rickard stood up, driven by the force of joy, love and alleviation that animated him at that moment, and hurried towards his son.
He practically ran, despite his missing limb, and ended up falling violently to the ground, his crutch not being designed for sprinting.
But it didn't matter.
He got up, his lip split and bleeding, his nose, part of his face and arms covered in scratches. Still it didn't matter.
All that he wanted was to run and see Luka. So he continued on his way, tears pouring from his eyes as he moved.
He embraced his son, hugging him as tightly as he could. This time, nothing would separate him from his child. No more harm would come to him.
"Daddy, you're suffocating me!" breathed little Luka, really suffocating under his father's embrace, and in an uncomfortable position because of a long object he was holding tightly.
Rickard, now relieved, loosened his grip a little, letting his son take a deep breath of the nocturnal air.
Once this was done, the little boy handed the object to Yugo, his innocent gaze fixed in the eyes of the reaper.
"Sir, your sword!"
Yugo took the blade, smiled, ruffled the little boy's hair and then turned around.
"Well done, Luka!"
***
The little boy had caught sight of the reaper's peculiar sword and figured he absolutely had to hand it to him.
That was precisely why he had tried to warn his father and the other adults, but no one would listen to him, preferring to concentrate on a conversation he didn't understand.
So he took the decision to go and fetch it himself. But he would never have believed that one of the pieces of debris thrown up by the monster's tail would come to meet him. As far as he was concerned, the real battle was taking place further away, on the esplanade, but this simple reflection from a child's brain could not possibly encompass all the risks involved in this whole situation.
However, like many other children this evening, he was no longer just a child. He had faced death head-on, and was doing so again with the sacrifice of the many citizens and knights who were confronting this hellish creature.
Yet his innocence continued to apply, and he had no way of knowing that his life was also at stake.
Of course, he wasn't so childish and oblivious that he didn't know that a situation like this carried risks. After all, his now deceased mother was a more than explicit example, but he would never have believed that this fate could also befall him, when he was, in all likelihood, in safety.
But he had to do something. And it would soon, prove to be indeed the best course of action.
***
'"Rickard... take cover."' Yugo simply sighed, pleased to have his sword back.
At the same moment, another bolt of lightning struck the creature, which then collapsed.
This time, the blow was far too devastating, and the deformed lizard was unable to get up.
Yugo smiled again.
"Finally!"
He picked up a stone and threw it as far as he could in the direction of the battlefront, transposing himself there.
No sooner had the reaper reached the spot, than he used another spell, breaking the condition of not abusing his Kilith.
But it was for a good reason.
'Flamae!'
The blade burst into red and the runes scattered along the length of the sword, leaving scarlet sparks in their wake that snaked through the air. Yugo's black sword flared up and he ran towards the monster, striking it with his fiery thrust.
Not only did the blade do damage, but the flames spread like wildfire over the monster, the natural gas emanating from its body once again working against it.
The Negacion screamed in agony and tried to straighten up. It moved its remaining legs and attempted to rise like the giant, destructive creature it was supposed to be, but the repeated blows from the soldiers and citizens on its poor limbs finished off the creature's already fragile balance.
He laid there, unable to do anything other than suffer the barrage of blows.
Yugo, seeing the fire spreading, shouted at everyone present to strike the areas where the gas was escaping from the Negacion. This time, they all obeyed without a second's hesitation, seeing the flames continuing to dance on and around the monster.
The archers' flaming arrows hit their mark, the torches struck, and the sparks caused by the friction of the steel swords set the air ablaze.
The Negacion found itself buried under a veritable deluge of fire and blows.
"WILLFORS, NOW!" screamed Yugo.
The Knight-Banneret nodded and immediately infused his sword with small waves of lightning, his yellowish Kilith snaking around his blade forged from white Palatinite.
He struck the beast on the flank where he was positioned and saw the creature twitch from the shock that ran through its vile body. Another cloud of flames joined those already burning around it.
Willfors smiled, slightly realising the extent of the plan the young reaper had in mind.
'His emissary rank wasn't stolen after all!'
He struck a second time and the pattern was repeated.
At the same time, Yugo withdrew from the front and ran towards the mayor's group.
As he ran, a sudden shiver ran down his spine.
Before he could fully react, a shockwave threw him to the ground, and the familiar, perilous, and powerful pulse could be heard again, accompanied by the ominous mass of black dust.
He incanted a barrier, as solid as he could. But at the same time, his eyes met Rickard's.
How was he going to save them this time?
In the face of what was happening, it didn't matter if he risked another rupture, the last thing he wanted was to be hit by the beam. But at the same time, these people were the focal point of his mission as a reaper.
He had to save them.
He cancelled the barrier and stretched his arm towards the people who had helped him.
'At least they'll be spared.'
He clenched his fist, ready to endure his coming death once again.
Yugo was a reaper, so on many occasions he had seen death. His classmates, his team-mates when he was a grey and even above, the people he had worked with at the institute, many of them had lost their lives in the course of their missions.
It was already a given that the same fate would happen to him one day. His brain had accepted it.
However, in that same fraction of a moment, the vivid memory of his mother and brother, as well as that of the goal he was trying to achieve, flashed through his mind.
He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and incanted a new barrier over himself.
Two barriers wouldn't normally have been an issue. The problem, however, was that these two barriers were triple-layered. Creating just one was already a massive effort for the conjurer's body, but in his case, it was tantamount to committing a form of suicide.
However, he absolutely must not die. He still had far too much to accomplish.
The second barrier continued to be generated, but at the same time, the beating stopped and a very familiar high-pitched, deafening, yet horrifying and malevolent sound was heard.
The noise gave the impression of hearing a hundred people screaming in pain or agony, all at the same time, but with an octave so high that one's eardrums could have bled.
There was a pause of half a second... followed by the black beam.
However, unlike the first time, it was less powerful , in fact it seemed that the evil energy didn't even move; and without Yugo even knowing if he had managed to finalise his barrier, the shockwave spread.
When Yugo opened his eyes, the esplanade was in an even more desolate and destroyed state than it already was, just in the vicinity of the monster, but the inhabitants were still there on Yugo's side.
Everyone had survived, including him.
They were all safe and sound.
However, he stood up immediately, having noticed something unusual.
His barrier, which visibly seemed to have withstood the shock, was not the usual bluish colour, but a scarlet hue, reminiscent of his hair and the colour of the runes on his sword.
He coughed up some of the blood that had rushed to his throat, but strangely enough didn't feel really exhausted or out of energy.
He deactivated the barrier and circulated his Kilith.
His reaction escaped his lips violently.
'Huh?!'
He didn't quite understand how, but he felt he was at a reasonable level of energy.
Actually, no! It was more like he was back at an energy level that could allow him to use more spells.
He turned his head towards Rickard's group and saw that the barrier protecting them was still blue.
'How?! Why?!'
He sighed and shook his head.
Now was not the time to be pondering this most peculiar of phenomena.
Instead, he was delighted with the situation and headed towards the others, but stopped halfway.
"No need to go to see the doctor, if I've got this much energy."
He turned and headed back towards the battlefield, where the combatants were recovering from the impact, some still surprised to be alive.
"Willfors! Are you all right?!"
"Yes! We were just surprised and thrown by the shockwave, but the beam itself didn't do any damage."
Yugo turned to the knights and citizens present and asked them the same thing. The answers were similar to those of the banneret.
Apart from a few people who had been lifted by the blast of the beam, knocked unconscious by their fall or injured after being thrown onto the rubble, nothing seemed to be too serious.
Yugo blew out his breath and turned back to Willfors, who was talking to him.
"Do you know what made that monster miss his shot?"
Yugo shook his head, unable to explain.
"I don't know. But whatever the reason, we owe it our survival!"
One of the citizens suddenly pointed his sword at the misshapen figure of the giant lizard which was beginning to appear behind the cloud of dust.
When the massive cloud of dust that had formed around the monster dissipated, they were all horrified by what they saw.
The Negacion had a large part of its body covered by a material similar to rock or hardened sand, and the areas that were still "normal" were mostly open, revealing black flesh and muscles that twitched at the creature's slightest movement.
Bones, equally dark, as if they had been charred, protruded in places, piercing a slimy skin that itself leaked cascades of thick, sticky blood of the usual dark hue.
Repulsive viscera and organs littered the floor of the esplanade beneath the creature, some of them in a state of crumbling rock.
A pool of yellowish liquid had formed just below the monster, and a gaping hole, from which all this abominable mess emerged, was more than visible below where the creature's seal was located.
This sight extended over most of the creature's body and even its half-open head was visible, revealing something resembling a brain, and further down an eyeball dangled from an eyesocket held in place by a thread of flesh that could fall out at any moment, surrounded by traces of statufication that seemed to progress slowly towards the top of the skull.
The monster's abdominal seal had turned entirely grey, and no longer emanated the slightest glow.
"What the hell is that thing?!" said the citizen who had been pointing at the figure with the tip of his sword.
"Young master... What happened?!" insisted Willfors.
Yugo, for his part, was horrified at the implications of what he was seeing.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out for a few seconds.
His brain was racing and he was going over every detail of what had happened so far. The pieces of the jigsaw quickly clicked into place.
A dark realisation then emerged in his mind.
"It tried to... kill itself." Yugo finally spat out after what seemed like an eternity.
"Kill itself?!" exclaimed Willfors.
"Yes... I guess..." Yugo simply sighed, still unsure of what he was saying.
Indeed, no one would have thought that a Negacion would try to commit suicide. Besides, who would ever have imagined that the Negaciones, and particularly the Basuras, knew the concept of self-termination?
Hundreds of years of struggle and study of these creatures could not have led to such a hypothesis. And proposing the idea to any specialist would have earned you the fine appellation of "degenerate" from the community of researchers specialising in Negaciones.
But the facts were there, immovable and unmistakably concordant.
And yet a gargantuan question arose from all this.
Why?
Why would a Negacion want to commit suicide? And a Basura at that?
What kind of thought patterns could have led to such an idea within this monster?
Besides, how could a Basura even think?
'That proves it's not a normal Negacion!' thought Yugo, unable to provide the slightest answer to the web of questions that was beginning to weave through his mind.
He walked towards the creature, and as he did so, he noticed something about this monster.
In the Negacion's eyes, there was something akin to... fear.
On closer inspection, he could even discern a kind of plea to put an end to its suffering.
When Yugo saw this, he was unable to control the anger that overwhelmed him, pouring through his body like a tsunami that would devastate everything in its path.
Right up to the end, this monster proved to be different, but above all, right up to the end, it repulsed Yugo.
Of course, it was its duty to be afraid. It was only right that it should know the extent of the hatred that its kind had instilled in the hearts of its victims.
But never, under any circumstances, should it feel any emotion other than terror.
How could it possibly feel emotions?
How dare it even want its suffering to be put to an end.
It was the ultimate display of disrespect from this foul creature.
Yugo quickened his pace, carried away by a fury that was beginning to spill over.
His hands were shaking with rage, his fingers gripping the handle of the sword so tightly that his phalanxes were turning white, his complexion had turned so red with wrath that he could almost have been mistaken for a tomatian.
His gritted teeth were grinding under the friction caused by the pressure of his jaws, and his muscles were pulsing with every movement he made.
Yugo stepped in front of the monster and raised his sword.