Aether Chronicles: Birth Of A Legend-Chapter 174: Everywhere And Nowhere

Raegar was sprawled amid the wreckage, his legs useless from a crushing blow from enchanted metal that fell on him during the crash, which sent pain shooting through his body like a wave of agony.

Pain clouded his mind, but Drusilla hovered above him seconds later, looking worried. Her small hands glowed thanks to the dark energy as she poured her Aether into him. ''Stay with me! The girls need you! I need you!'' she urged.

Moments later, he felt the warmth of her Aether spread throughout his battered body, mending torn muscles and fractured bones. His vision cleared, strength returning in waves, but his eyes were locked on the battle ahead.

Raegar noticed three Tier Five Devils now surrounded the girls who fought back-to-back against the stronger opponents and were holding their own, impressing him to know end, but he needed to help.

Selene's Aether roared brighter, each strike a defiant scream against the darkness, while Dominique's sword sang, severing a Devil's tendon. Zahara's light flickered, her power waning as she burned through her Aether, trying to keep them in the fight.

She refused to falter, her hands trembling as she sustained her allies. The Devils closed in, their roars shaking the earth, and once healed, he rose to his feet. Just then, one of the fiends went after the healer.

Raegar went to react, but Drusilla quickly cast a Dark Shield in front of her that blocked the attack. His chest tightened as the enemy's powers sent them hurtling through the air, their bodies crashing into a hillside, causing a thunderous impact, churning dust and debris.

His eyes darted across the battlefield, searching for any sign they were still alive, his pulse quickening when sensing both of their auras, which made him relax as the Devils would ignore them.

Raegar turned to the battle, where Dominique quickly moved back, but it was too late. Moments later, the Demoness sprang into action as she launched herself in front of Dominique, intercepting a cunning sneak attack meant to end her.

Selene's scream sliced through the noise as the Devil's monstrous strength overwhelmed her. His gaze landed on her arms that shook violently, muscles straining to their limits as she fought to hold back the fiend's crushing power.

The earth groaned beneath her, unable to stand against the force, and was slammed into the ground. A sprawling crater yawned where she fell, its edges jagged and raw, yet the Devil advanced.

Its eyes burning with unrelenting malice as it closed in on Dominique, the last target in its merciless pursuit. When Raegar saw this, his eyes narrowed, and he quickly reacted as it swung its blade at the Vampire girl.

His voice cut through the tension, a low, urgent whisper. ''Fusion Overdrive!''

In the blink of an eye, he vanished from his position, a blur of motion too fast for the eye to track. He reappeared between them and blocked the attack, causing strain to run through his body.

His blades met the enemy's, a resounding clang, sparks erupting. Raegar's power surged, skyrocketing to the staggering heights of Tier Seven, an aura pulsing around him as he began fighting.

The air crackled as he countered so fast that it drove the enemy back with a force that shook the ground. They turned into two blurs as he defended the girls whenever the Devil tried to attack them.

***

From Dominique's perspective, the battlefield transformed into a spectacle of chaos and awe as the boy she was growing to care about was fighting the fiends that ambushed them while on the way back to Drakenwood.

Her heart pounded in her chest, the near-fatal slash would have taken her life. 'He saved my life once again,' she thought while holding her neck.

She shook her head and noticed the Devil now focused on Raegar just as he vanished in an instant that left her blinking at empty air. She noticed he moved like a storm given form, his speed so blinding that her eyes struggled to keep up.

''How did he get so fast?'' she muttered in amazement. ''He did say he'd been training since a young age.''

He was a phantom, a flicker of white and black weaving through the Devils. Like from a storybook, she saw thousands of slashes erupt around her, each one a precise, lethal stroke that carved through the fiends.

The air hummed with the song of his blade, a high-pitched whine that mingled among the shrieks of the fiends as they fell. They were torn asunder, blood spraying in dark fountains, bodies collapsing into heaps of sundered flesh and bone.

Dominique's vision blurred, not from fear but from the impossibility of tracking Raegar's speed. He was everywhere and nowhere, a force of nature unbound. Each slash was a flash of light, a fleeting glimpse of his blade as it danced through the enemy ranks.

They stood no chance against him. Their claws swiped at empty air, their roars of rage dissolving into cries of agony. Her breath hitched as she caught a momentary glimpse of him, a silhouette wreathed in an otherworldly aura, his red eyes burning, full of rage and hatred.

Sparks flew every time their blades connected, illuminating the carnage in strobing bursts. The ground trembled beneath her feet, littered with the remains of the fiends, their once-terrifying forms now little more than shredded husks.

Dominique's hands clenched into fists. She had always known Raegar was formidable thanks to seeing him fight on multiple occasions that always shocked her, but this was godlike. 'He truly doesn't hate Devils,' she mused while watching him decapitate one of the creatures.

As the last fell, its sliced-up body collapsing in a spray of gore, he slowed as she watched him calm down. Raegar stood amidst the wreckage, chest heaving, his blade dripping with the blood of the vanquished fiends.

The air was thick thanks to the scent of death. Moments later, a dark portal tore open in the air, its edges crackling. A fresh wave of Devils poured through and looked at them like they were prey.

''There's even more!'' she muttered, shocked.

Raegar surged forward to meet them, his blade a blue. But before he could strike, a towering figure emerged from the portal, a Tier Ten fiend, radiating an aura so oppressive it seemed to warp the battlefield itself.

The fiend's presence stopped his advance by blocking his slash, causing sparks to fly everywhere, their clash sending shockwaves through the ground thanks to them being Tier Tens.

Her mind spun as Raegar's power ignited like a supernova. In a heartbeat, Dominique felt his Aether surge to unimaginable heights, meeting the Tier Ten crushing might using this mysterious strength, their clashes reverberating like thunder.

When she saw this, it caused her to start thinking, confused. 'How the fuck is he growing stronger in the middle of a fight!'

His aura surged through the air, a vibrant pulse of Aether enveloped the battlefield, igniting their surrounding battlefiend. Each strike unleashed sparks and shockwaves, casting the chaos in fleeting bursts of dazzling light.

Dominique's breath caught, her green eyes widening, her jaw falling slack as a staggering realization slammed into her like a bolt from the heavens. As the fight continued, the two beings turned into flashes of light, leaving behind a sea of dead bodies.

'No way!' she thought, her mind racing, heart pounding in her chest. 'He can't be the Aether King! That's just a legend and not even real!'

Dominique shook her head as her body ignited, a chilling aura of death that seemed to drain life itself. 'Well, it's time to show him the real me and if he doesn't like it, there's nothing I can do.'

The air grew cold, the chaos falling eerily silent as the remaining Devils turned their evil gazes toward her, sensing a new, terrifying threat. A slow, defiant smile curved her lips as she glanced at Raegar, the boy she'd grown to care for.

''Let me show you what the black sheep of the D'Ambrose family can do, Rae,'' she said, her voice laced with a dangerous edge.

''I want to fight by your side, and I can't afford to be weak when your enemies outmatch us,'' Dominique declared, stepping boldly toward the Devil.

***

Raegar stopped attacking when he heard her voice, he instantly sensed something change surge through the girl. The battlefield seemed to hold its breath, her presence morphing into something terrifying, a force that bent the very atmosphere around her.

'What is this feeling?' he thought, looking around. '

Selene, Zahara, and Drusilla emerged nearby. The Demoness was helping the blonde as the Fairy flew around them while keeping an eye on their surroundings. Raegar dismissed his ability and felt a sudden exhaustion rush over to them.

He stretched his arms as he approached the girls, greeting them. ''How are you three?''

The red-skinned beauty turned to him, exhausted. ''You're about to see the Death Witch of the North,'' she declared, her lips twisting into a knowing smirk. ''Prepare to be amazed by what our Dominique's accomplished.''