CHAPTER 59

TO REACH the center of the Hallowed Valley, the canyon, Sollel had to walk for several days. Only resting a few hours at night. And in her travel, she would something saw flowers randomly blooming on her path every time she was mumbling to herself and feeling down.

She was alone, she had no one to entertain her but herself, so her mind was always thinking things she didn't want to think.

But every time she would feel guilty at night, a flower would bloom beside her as if Gatria was trying to make her feel better. Somehow, it always lightens up her mood.

In her fourth day of travel, Sollel started to feel flame essences and some others, warning her that she was getting nearer to the canyon. She could also feel Zassia and Grath's essences.

Looks like they were already in position. Sollel thought as she continued walking towards the canyon.

Gatria's presence was getting stronger as she continued. And as she head down to the canyon, she could see rows and rows of sorcerer and sorceress blocking her path. No soldiers were present. Everyone was powerful and formidable. The elites of the elites of the Kingdom, Sollel presumed. From land to the air. She was surrounded by enemies. It looked like they were all ready for her arrival.

Her plan to separate was indeed a good idea.

Seeing how her enemies were all ready for her, before the effect of the moonrite stone that she was sure the enemies had to weaken her, Sollel already readied some of her large scale attacks under the clouds. Just waiting to be called down and be unleashed.

And every step of her feet, flame erupted from the ground, as if following her movement and forming a sea of scorching flames.

Sollel immediately knew when she entered the moonrite stone radius of effect because her cloak glowed red. Absorbing the effect of the stone so she could keep her strength, but Sollel didn't know how long will it last so she had to move. She had to get closer to cause more damage.

Not minding the wind sorcerer and sorceress attacks from the air, Sollel sprinted forward. Using the physical strength given to her by the deities, she used her legs full potential to speed up and she had become a blur in everyone's eyes.

Sollel only stopped when she reached the center of the valley where the sorcerers were. And as she stood in the center, surrounded by the elites of the kingdom, Sollel pull down the hood of her cloak and smiled at everyone.

"Hi," she said. "I'm here to fetch a friend."

The sorcerers answered Sollel with large and powerful attacks. From the air, wind vortex was launched at Sollel to unbalanced her and hoist her up to take her off guard. Robust gust of wind was also released and it immediately surrounded Sollel.

But the sorcerers did not stop their attacks because they taught to not stop until the woman was down or dead.

After the wind sorcerers attacks, flame sorcerers followed. They all dropped fireballs, fire blast and beam at the center, the scorching heat mixing with the wind, making the air became unbreathable unless one wanted their lungs burnt.

And what followed flame, was water.

Multiple water blades from multiple water sorcerers. Water bombs being thrown to the center. And water pillars to cage the Mistress of Flame so she couldn't escape.

Wind. Flame. Water.

Everyone attacked with their strongest attach at the same time and the Mistress of Flame remained in the center. They didn't even know what was happening to her, they just kept on attacking after they exhausted themselves, but that plan was not feasible when flames suddenly started raining.

Balls of flames. Raining down on them. The impact on the ground, making the whole valley trembled. Everyone on the ground fought to balance themselves at every shake of the valley and screams were heard as the balls of flame with the size of a large boulder kept dropping, creating chaos, dampening sight and hearing and killing everyone who could make a shield to protect themselves.

Wind sorcerers who could fly flew out of the range to be safe and at the safe distance, they saw the horrific sight on the ground. One wind sorcerer couldn't take the sight anymore— he flew towards the center to blast the Mistress of flame with his strongest wind attack, but before he could even call his wind, a ball of flame, dropped on him, pulverizing him in less than a minute.

In just a matter of minute after it started raining fire, fear was instilled in every sorcerers heart as it continued to rain flaming boulders. And their fear doubled when they saw the Mistress of flame standing in the midst of destruction, unharmed as her cloaks flow red.

The sorcerers near the Mistress of Flame, the one who gave their all to their attacks shivered in fear when they saw how unharmed she was. As if their powers had no effect on her!

"I thought this stone was supposed to weaken her!"

"I don't know! That's what they said!"

"Then why is she not weak, yet?!"

"That's a monster!"

"That's the Mistress of Flame!"

"What a monsters!"

"Keep the moonrite stone glowing!" Someone shouted, someone from the higher-up. "Imbued it with your essence and let it shine brightly. We will subdue that evil queen!"

Listening to their order, the remaining alive sorcerers who still had their stones imbued it with their essence.

And as it glowed brightly, the cloak the Mistress of Flame was wearing was also glowing brightly.

Sollel could feel that her cloak will not last that long. She could see it ends burning away as if it was the cloaks life line.

I have to move fast. Even as she thinks of that, the effect of the moonrite stone was slowly penetrating her cloak and affecting her as seconds passes.

Not wasting any time, Sollel raised her hand and as she fisted her knuckles, four gigantic flaming swords appeared in the sky in square formation and before anyone could react on how to protect themselves with such humongous flame attack, the flaming swords rapidly plummeted, leveling the ground and shaking the Hallowed Valley.

Not enough! Sollel shouted in her mind and she summoned countless of ball of flames, dozens of average sizes of flaming swords appeared in the sky, hovering the whole valley and two drops of her blood of flame crawled on the ground, blistering the path it took and leaving burnt marks.

The wind sorcerers outside the area of Sollel's attacks had their jaw dropped seeing such formidable flame.

No wonder their orders were to use the moonrite to weaken and not engage the woman in any way. These were the thought that was passing in every wind sorcerer's mind as they watch the horrific display of flame on the ground that even from a great distance, away from the area of attack, they could feel the scorching heat in the air!

But they were confident in their numbers. One versus hundreds of elemental sorcerers. They know they can win. They know they'll win without the stone. But they were only kidding themselves.

This was not a fight! This was a massacre! And they were the one being slaughtered!

"A monster..." one of the wind sorcerer watching from the distance murmured as she watched the Mistress of Flame caused chaos and bring doom and death on the ground.

One of the high-tier wind sorcerers nodded. "We need to go inform the king. Now! Tell him the stone is not working as they said!"

One wind sorcerer volunteered, but before she could get away, a flaming sword dropped from the sky, stabbing her and burning her to death with no remains as the sword pierces the ground.

Loud gasped in shock at what happened filled the air and no one dared to move! They thought they were out of the Mistress of Flame's range, but they were wrong! She was just letting them think that they are! But if they moved against her, they will be burned to death too!

All wind sorcerers were frozen in the air, afraid to make even a single move against the Mistress of Flame whom they bombarded with powerful attacks earlier, but it didn't even leave a scratch!

Frozen with fear in the air and scorching hell on the ground. In was utter chaos in the canyon. Just like what Sollel was aiming for.

Distraction. That was their plan.

As she raze a little hell in the canyon, she could feel Zassia and Grath are moving further until she could only feel a minuscule of their essence.

That means they're finally inside.

Sollel smiled in triumph, but the sorcerers who saw her smile felt the chill in their bones. In their eyes, Sollel's smile was gloating and monstrous.

"You're all done?" Sollel asked the sorcerer and sorceress around her who were still alive.

Sollel could already feel the moonrite stone breaking through her cloak and destroying the cloak enchantment. My cloak can only absorb so much. But before its destruction, she will destroy everything she could.

As if a child that was unleashed for the first time, Sollel raised both her hands in the air as she gleefully gathered all her essence and called her blood of flame.

"Blood of flame!" Sollel's thunderous voice echoed, sending chills to everyone who heard it and all they could do was watched her and wait for another destruction and hell. "Come forth, and heed my call!" Sollel spread her arms as she looked at the sky with a smile. "Filled thy air with my anger and release my fury. Breath of flame!"

The sorcerers waited with bated breath after the incantation, but nothing. No explosive flame raining from the sky. No attacks that shake the land.

It was dead silent.

Until one after another started coughing vigorously, as if they were being robbed of their breaths and their coughs became even more destructive as they struggle to breathe more air.

"W—w-what d—did you... do?" A water sorcerer near Sollel who was now coughing flame asked with great difficulty.

With grace and haughtiness combined, the Mistress of Flame answered. "I filled the air with small particles of my blood of flame. The harder you breath, the faster your inside burns and melts. I am actually forbidden to use it. It's lethal and it doesn't identify between ally and foe. But who could stop me?" A chilling smile spread across Sollel's face. "You imprisoned the ones who could tell me to stop, after all."

Calm and melodious voice. But cold and terrifying.

"But don't you worry," Sollel still looked calm and amiable as she spoke frightening words. "I'm still weak, so the area of effect is rather small. And the duration only lasts for a minute. Though, after a minute, your all gonna be dead nonetheless."

Sollel's heart was dark as the starless and moonless night when it comes to humans that she didn't feel any pity as everyone around her started dropping to the ground and dying slowly and pitifully.

Instead, she watched them die. With no emotion on her face.

The humans I once adored... Now all I feel is resentment and fury.

Sollel closed her eyes as her breath of flame vanished from the air and the air became breathable again. But it was too late for everyone who got a whiff of her breath of flame.

Death surrounded Sollel, but also, she was surrounded by moonrite stone that was dropped by the dead sorcerer and sorceress on the ground. And since the moonrite stone already broke through her now destroyed cloak, slowly, she dropped to her knees, weak and couldn't move a muscle.

She had spent all her essence in her last attack. She had no strength left. And that was the scene General Kar, Warlord Hakkeran, the kingdom's sorcerers and the Adral warriors witnessed.

Hakkeran was ready to run to his queen and gathered her in his arms, but Gabin gripped his arm to stop him.

With an aching heart, Hakkeran just watched as General Kar throw his war hammer at his queen.

Hakkeran wanted to close his eyes, but he had a job to do. With his eyes on his queen, he watched as his Krahika got slammed with Kar's hammer and was thrown a few meters away on impact.

But the second time Kar throws his war hammer at Sollel, she managed to block it with her palm while kneeling on the ground and then throws it on the side as if it was a just a sack of grains.

And that shocked General Kar to the core that he became frozen.

"I'm w-weak..." Sollel whispered as she try her best to stand up, "but not t-that weak."

Kar gritted his teeth and called his war hammer back to his hand. Fueled by anger at what he had been through because of the Mistress of Flame, he throws his war hammer at Sollel again, but Hakkeran couldn't take it anymore.

In a blink of an eye, he was beside Sollel and his sword blocked General Kar's war hammer.

"It's my job to bring her back to the empire alive, General Kar." Said Hakkeran as he takes out a bright and large moonrite stone from his ring and encircled his arm around his queen's waist and carried her in his arms. "You may accompany me to make sure that she'll be back in her cell, or you can stay and make sure that Queen Gatria wouldn't be able to escape her moonrite prison."

Kar called his war hammer back to his hand and answered Hakkeran. "I trust you. I'll stay and make sure that Queen Gatria will stay in her prison."

Hakkeran nodded and called his gryphon out of its bead.

"Gabin, everyone, I'm going back to the empire to surrender the Mistress of Flame!" Hakkeran send out his order as he mounts his gryphon, with Sollel still in his arms. "Gabin, use the Kingdom's secret passage back to Ager after you helped General Kar secure Queen Gatria's cell."

When Gabin and everyone nodded at his order, Hakkeran signaled his gryphon to fly. And when they were already up in the air, just the two of them, Hakkeran pressed his lips against his queen's forehead.

"It's going to be all right, my Krahika." He whispered. "Just endure this last one for me. I swear on my name. This is the last one."

Sollel muttered weakly. "H-Hakken..."

Hakkeran's expression softened. "He's fine."

Sollel hated the feeling of the moonrite stone draining her strength, but upon hearing Hakkeran's voice, she slowly let go and stopped struggling. "H-Hakkeran..."

"I'm here." Hakkeran hold his queen's hand. "I'm sorry, but I can't seal this moonrite stone. You have to be weak for the meantime, my Krahika. The whole empire and the emperor are waiting for your return."

Sollel wanted to nod, but too weak to even do it so she just hummed.

"Forgive me, my Krahika."

"Hmm."

Hakkeran smiled softly at that before he whispered. "And I love you."

"Hmm."

Hakkeran dipped his head and claimed his queen's lips. He only pulled away after he felt contented and cradled his queen's body closed to his chest.

Their flight was uninterrupted and after a few days of flying with little rest and with his gryphon's exceptional speed, they finally reached the gate of the empire.

And in front of the emperor who had a greedy smile, Warlord Hakkeran Adral presented Queen Sollel, the Mistress of Flame and handed her back to the empire.



CECELIB | C.C.